From my experience, Techworks UK is a company that tries to exploit the desperation of job-seekers to wrangle thousands of pounds in return for access to their online courses. I experienced poor access to the website, false promises about the time it would take me and the product I would receive, and above all else a very unprofessional response to my complaint. I feel that the way they lure people in is morally questionable, and particularly relevant to the current economic climate.
Here is my account of what happened:
While employed part-time, I decided to start looking for a full-time job. I uploaded my CV to a well-known recruitment website. Within a few days, to my delight, I received a phone call telling me that they had seen my CV on *****jobs.com and inviting me to an interview.
I turned up to the appointment in a suit and tie, ready to impress my interviewer. The first man who spoke to me talked about the IT training that Techworks offers, and the costs involved. Surprised that I was being asked to pay money at (what I thought was) a job interview, I expressed my concerns. They sold me the training on the basis that although having another job for half the week would slow my progress, it would only take me about one to three months to complete.
I told them that I couldn't really afford the money (it was about 1000), which prompted the first adviser to trade places with a hard-sell salesman. He responded that I could finance it through Hitachi Capital, interest-free for a year.By that time I would have such a lucrative job that the cost for the course would pale into insignificance. Since there was such a large discount (!) on the course, it would be silly to turn down this one-time offer, wouldn't it?
When the contract was laid out in front of me, I noticed that the price was now higher (1395). There is one module that is particularly tricky. Most people struggle with it and therefore we strongly recommend a class-based module, the salesman remarked.
I must admit, silly as I was, the pressure got to me and I signed. If I had only known that you can get books that do the same job for ~20, or a Learndirect course for 50 I may have been in a better position. Those are not the kind of preparations one makes for job interviews. I had just agreed to what I now feel is a rip-off.
The course itself is a bit like reading a book with really small pages. At times, you are quizzed on the material in the same way a book has questions with answers on another page. I learned a few things from it, although no more than a book could teach me (and books are far more pleasant to look at for long periods than a computer screen). On a later module, we are greeted by a photo of a lady standing next to a projector like a lecturer, and have to listen to an audio file of her reading a script, while diagrams pop up on the projector now and again. I started to wonder what my 1395 had bought me.
Another not-so-handy feature of the course is that you cannot always access it. Often the website was down, and there were occasions when I had only a short window of opportunity between work-days when I simply could not make any progress (I was sure to check other websites to make sure it wasn't my internet connection at fault!).
Six months had passed. I had heard nothing at all from Techworks, let alone anything about the class-based module I had paid extra money for. I was only just coming up to the first exam (the exam costs were not included in the high fee I had already agreed to pay, and there were seven exams to take!) It was taking far too long, and I felt that the Techworks advisers had misinformed me about how long I should expect it to take. I decided that it was time to complain. I phoned the number on the website, and was told that Customer Services would call me back. Later that day I received a call, telling me that they could not entertain a refund. I offered to stop now, and pay a proportion of the fee for what I had completed. We can't entertain a refund, repeated the helpful adviser. I asked when I would be starting the class-based module. Our records show you did not sign up for a class-based module. He followed up by saying that I could send in the contract if I wanted to prove it. All I had on my contract was MCSE/MCSA. I told him that I would write in with a complaint.
After speaking to the Citizen's Advice Bureau, I wrote a letter on 8th April (I will add it as an update to this report) to the address on the Terms and Conditions document they gave me:
Techworks Ltd.
145-157 St. John Street,
London,
EC1V 4PY
I sent it by recorded delivery, and a month later I got the letter back as the addressee had gone away. I called up immediately and they told me that they didn't accept letters to that address. I had to prompt for the correct one:
Triton Court,
14 Finsbury Square,
London,
EC2A 1BR
Almost a fortnight later I received an email from [email protected] by an unnamed person who dismissed my claims. The only positive thing they said was that they could offer the classes (I paid for) as a gesture of goodwill. As I had stopped using the course so as to not jeopardise my claim, and because I had lost trust and confidence in Techworks, this was not enough to pacify me. [The response will be available as an update, as well as a subsequent email I sent, in which I described why I thought their response was unsatisfactory.] They did not reply for two weeks and fed up, I emailed them again, asking for a response to my latest email. A day later, the unnamed adviser wrote only:
We have already provided answers to your questions, however you have deemed these unsatisfactory. Unfortunately we cannot provide any other alternative answers than we have already given.
The fact that they take so long to reply and do so in such an unprofessional manner is, to my mind, a sure sign that Techworks is to be avoided. I will try every available path to get my money back. I would be very grateful for any advice, and I will post any updates. I hope that I have been unlucky with the individual advisers from Techworks, and perhaps it will turn out that the company will eventually handle my complaint with dignity and professionalism. Unless I post a positive final update on this site, I can only offer my sincere advice to everybody contacted by Techworks: Avoid.
Zac
London
United Kingdom
0 comments