this is a posting i put on a website at the end of march beginning of April:
I paid £3,500 for a course to learn ten hair extension techniques, I paid a £60 deposit at the beginning of February 2007 and the balance on 27th February,it was a 12 module course, with theory. I was to stay in a hotel for five days and train at a purpose built training centre, and be competent in all ten techniques by the time i left. In my fee was bed breakfast, lunch and dinner, payment for a car to pick me up and take me to the training school and drop me back at the hotel every night too and a professional kit.
I arrived at the hotel on sunday night, the woman who runs the course was supposeed to meet me at 8pm as stated in the training schedule, she didnt trn up, i called her, she had no intention of coming but said she would come over if i really wanted her to, as it was 9,45pm by that time, i said i couldnt ecpect her to come out to the hotel at that time as it was too late now, i asked her where the car would pick me up to take me to the training school, as stated in the schedule, the first bomb shell, the training school wasnt fully built, so i would be training in a conference room at the hotel.
I was having serious doubts as to the professionalism of this woman at this point but decided to stick it out and hoped things improved.
She turned up the next day and we had to go to this conference room where out mannequin head to practice on were attached to low tables, not at the correct height at all, it wasnt an adequately equipped room in no way shape or form.
I had to spend all morning photo copying my own training manual, whilst she sat there goingt hrough her messages on her dating site profile, I was also led to believe i would recieve one to one training, another girl turned up on the course who was staying with her at her house.
I answered a few appraisals that she told us to find the wustions in the manuals, i didnt do that cos i saw it as cheating.
We had lunch taht was supposed to be provided as stated in the training agreement and schedule and i ended up having to pay for mine, she then went off to fetch some supplies, apparently, me and the other girl went back to the room to carry on sitting there as we had nothing to do, we hadnt been taught any techniques, so couldnt practice, so i carried on with my photocopying as instructed by the tutor, by 7pm she still hadnt returned, our training days were meant to be 10am -5pm, so at 7pm when the ink ran out on the photocopier i left the room and went back to my room very upset and worried.
The next day, I sat waiting outside the conference room, i couldnt get in as i didnt have a key, she called at 10.30am and told me to get a key from reception that she was just taking her car into the garage, i let myself in the room and finished my photocopying cos she had finally returned on monday night at 8pm and put new ink in for me, so i spent another hour photocopying the rest of my own manual, they finally turned up in the room at 11.45am, we sat around and did almost nothing again and then she taught us how to do one tachnique, we spent less than hour on that technique and that was it, that one technique costs £350 to learn. We finished at around 6.30pm
The next day, I let myself in the room and recieved a text telling me that they were on there way but they had to go and see the builders at the teaining centre, they turned up at just after 11am, she used to go through her messages first, them do her hair and her make up then we would start around 12.00, we practiced doing ordinary plaits over and over again whilst she was online checking her messages.we learned to microbraid and sew a weft on on one part of the head, it took about an hour, for that it cost £499.
We broke for lunch and were told to come back after an hour, i went to my room and broke down in tears, the training was very sloppy, her time keeping was disgusting and the course was not at all as described, I rang my husband and told him that i wanted to come home that night.
I went back into the conference room after an hour, the tutor wasnt there, an hour after we were supposed to restart, she strolled in with KFC asking if we minded her eating her dinner in there, she sat down and ate her dinner for another half an hour.
I felt totally incompetent at all of the techniques as we were only allowed to do them once, she then asked us to put our glue guns on, that she described as professional extension glue guns, that heat up to 700 degrees, i knew that was a lie and that the whole thing would melt at that temperature, i have since found out the guns are just ordinary household glue guns used for multi purpose.
We put 7 single hair extensions in, it took 20 minutes, for that it costs £459, we spent no more time on that.
I packed my kit away at the end of the day and went to my room and started packing, I had seen enough, my dad and sister came to pick me up as my husband was still at work and i signed out of the hotel, came home and emailed her, she still hasnt read the email but has offered me two training days in the cnetre when it is built, she put me leaving down to me missing the kids and the bed being uncomfortable, i tld her that it wasnt and that i had sent her an email explaining my reasons and that i would await her response to that, I have stated that i would like all correspondence via email or letter so that i have copies.
I have been pricing up the kit that i paid £280 the most i can get the total to by pricing up at a few shops is £170.
I also got the hotel to give me a beakdown of the cost of accomodation that i had been charged for as part of the package by the trainer, I had been charged, £1120, my bill with breakfast and dinner came to £550, I only ate 2 meals the whole time i was there as i was so churned up from the stress of realising that i had been ripped off. So i actually ran up £406 of a bill, which included bed and breakfast and the two meals.
I still cant eat properly, i feel sick and feel really stressed.
Do you think I have a legitimate claim???
I sent an email to my local consumer advice office and i am awaiting a response, I atill havent had a response to my email that i sent to the woman who runs this course, she is basically ignoring me.
