Fraser McKenzie

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by chrissie, Apr 20, 2009.

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  1. renee

    renee New Member

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    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if anyone is yet to go to this company fraser mckenzie or thinking of signing the contract PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE DONT DO IT. they target vulnerable people and tie them into this scam. and even if you do finish and keep your end of the contract they stick you in a telesales job for six moths just so they can keep to their "we will get you a job in 90 days". Like some of you i joined last year with empty impossible promises and i am stuck. I am going to the citizens advice b tommorrow coz surely this cant be legal. I am also looking to sign a petition and it looks like alot of you agree this is not on. if anyone is interested let me know. In these financial times we cant let these people take advantage of those just looking to work. PLEASE LETS STAND UP MAKE ENOUGH NOISE AND IF WE CAN STOP JUST ONE MORE PERSON BEING DUPED IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
     
  2. zebulebu

    zebulebu Terabyte Poster

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    Renee

    Sadly, nothing about what this mob - or any other TP for that matter is 'illegal'. Unethical, yes, but no-one ever won out on ethics in a court of law. There are countless threads about these - and all the other TPs - on this forum and many others, with people complaining about feeling 'ripped off'. I suspect you may have been one of those who fell foul of the marketing bollocks that said they would guarantee you a job after a few months of studying, with no experience. That's a shame - but a petition really won't make any difference - nor, I suspect, will the Citizen's Advice Bureau tell you any different.

    What you should do now, as soon as possible, is stop dwelling on the fact that you've been ripped off and get out there with your CV and start sending it to as many companies as possible. Register it on all the jobsites, send it to all the recruitment agencies. Sitting indoors seething about it isn't going to help you.

    I know that may come across as some harsh medicine, but seriously - its good advice, intended to give you a gentle nudge in the right direction. no-one ever achieved anything by getting a bunch of people together to moan about being ripped off. If you're good at IT, love it and really want to succeed in the industry, start shipping yourself round to companies. There are a lot of people on this forum who have been in your situation but have managed to get into the industry despite that - use them as an example and pester them for advice and information.

    Good luck!

    ...Why do I get the feeling I've just typed out what will ened up a big ol' waste of time and we'll never hear from Renee again? :)
     
    Certifications: A few
    WIP: None - f*** 'em
  3. renee

    renee New Member

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    hey zebulebu,

    lol at youll never hear from renee again, naaa u will hear from me. thanks for the advise. trust me since i was fifteen i have put myself through college undergrand and postgrad. i signed for this contract at a time when i had applied for so many positions but no one seemed to be hiring and this seemed like a silver lining. shame i didnt see the cloud. i am not and have never been a sit at home and moan and this is not what this is about i got a job and thank goodness for that coz if i hadnts shipped myself round as you say i would have been in a worse situation. yes a contract being unethical is no grounds to rescind a contract but misrepresentation is. i should know a bit about that seeing as i am a law postgrad, but dont discourage those who want to stand up for whats right, let them have a voice.

    but thanks for your comments :)
     
  4. auditor81

    auditor81 New Member

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    Hello all, crikey it's like the Sahara in Bristol today:shades

    anyway thought I'd let you all know that clown consultant called me back today. Frazer McKenzie now have a 'new way' of doing 'things' according to him...

    I very rarely use this term but the email title was an actual LOL 'NEW COURSE STUFF'

    Following on from our consultation on Friday. I have taken it upon myself to inform you of the new course formats and the way were going to be operating from for now on.

    We are going to be enrolling candidates on the IT course.

    At stage 1 we get you training on the compTIA A+. This exam vouchers can be purchased separately. Following on from this we then get to step 2, being MCTS-Windows Vista. This again is the 5 day course followed by a multi choice exam paper to be sat at a local test centre. That’s as far as people can go if they dont want to accept the career track. The days in the classroom to this stage is 5 days.

    Now up to this stage we give candidates 1 year to complete parts 1 and 2.

    The cost of this up to this stage is £1910

    The breakdown for this:
    A+, MCTS, 5 days classroom, MOC5115 and MOC5116, 70-620. 5115 and 5116 being moc book.

    Now this is where it differs. Candidates can walk away at this point, and only pay the £1910.

    At this point you will be MCTS qualified.

    The next key change to the old system is we ask candidates if they want to explore the career track only. This is where candidates sign up with a C4P partner, being step 3.

    You then carry on and study the MCITP, MCSA and due to the new set up were able to offer the MCSE all in. This now being the new step 4. This is also a 5 day classroom based course, followed by the multiple choice exam. Which we provide the exam vouchers for this (MCITP). MCSA/MCSE vouchers to be purchased separately 3, exams for each.

    At this point here the cost is £3590. You have to go through steps 1,2,3,4.

    At this point you have completed the technical level. And are certified MCITP/MCSA/MCSE.

    Step 5 is foundation in project management. This again is a 2 day tutor led course. There are no exams to sit at this stage.

    The cost then at this stage assuming you follow all the steps is £4990.

    You have then completed the career level.

    We then initiate a job search for people who have chose to complete the career track. We invite candidates in to see us, as we give 1 to 1 recruitment sessions with experienced recruitment team. Who will work closely to find suitable jobs and employment opportunities. Candidates new to IT support will be given work experience in order to gain the necessary skills to make them benchmark people.


    In order to fund this, they have brought out new ways. These ways are:

    1. Upfront cash payment (candidate pays cash, credit/debit card, bank transfer etc)
    2. Student own finance-we recommend people use moneysupermarket.com for the best deals (candidates find alternative funding made payable to PPI learning)
    3. Loan with Barclays partner finance (PPI learning will try to arrange funding for client with Barclays finance)
    4. Deferred loan with Barclays partner finance (PPI learning services will try to arrange funding with a deferred repayment period for client using Barclays finance)
    5. Step monthly payments with no interest (client pays for the programme in monthly instalments.

    We pretty much touched on everything but step 5 which is new.

    Now step 5 allows candidates to pay a deposit direct to PPI. A deposit of £510 is to be paid before any training commences. This can be broken down into 2 payments of £255.

    Then after this its monthly payments of £280. But the added benefit is it can be done is stages. So say £1910, with the deposit paid, you have 5 months at £280. This covers up to step 1 and 2. This is where candidates can walk away.

    Candidates then pay another 6 months either straight after or with a break inbetween. This will then cover the payment of £3590 for the MCITP,MCSA and MCSE. So potentially you have made 12 month payments, and you have got the certificates you wanted.

    If you wanted to go down the project management route again. It’s a further 6 months again at £280. This making the sum total to £4990

    You can see straight away then we now giving candidates more options to get into the IT industry. And with the current down turn giving people the option to walk away at certain stages and to take gap breaks so to say. As you aware of the bad rep before. I think you will agree the new set up will wipe out the bad reports.

    I hope this helps.

    Ideally I would like to get you back in so we could discuss the new course etc and see if were able to offer you anything. PPI were recently audited within the last few weeks and the new system and structure passed all audit standards and requirements




    It's just a joke really ain't it and the sad thing is it's totally legal I'm sure. People in times like this are more then ever looking for that 'silver lining' and these swines prey on them with distorted cleverly worded pitches leaving you confused until they start talking about Barclays and deferred loan payments:eek: then you get your coat and tell them to jog on.

    I have no experience and I need the fundamental certifications first so as the good man BosonMichael advised I'll be doing the A+ CERT first, gotta find somewhere online to do that now actually.....

    and quoted for the forum 'As you aware of the bad rep before. I think you will agree the new set up will wipe out the bad reports.'

    ^^ that's because when he rang me back to see what I thought I said 'it sounded dodgy as f**k' , he then asked me if I'd been on certforums!! ha ha what a plum
     
  5. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    you don't need a course you need one/two books a computer and a brain and some determination

    That is all you need for any of the entry level certs after which you need experience for the higher level certs
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  6. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    So how many days actual direct classroom/lab training are they now including in their track from zero to MCSE now ?

    You only mention two weeks !
     
  7. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    All you need is the A+ All-in-One Exam Guide Sixth Edition by Meyers and either the VUE.com or Prometric.com Web site to schedule your exams. :)
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  8. auditor81

    auditor81 New Member

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    Hello Sir,

    like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Certification-All-Guide-Sixth/dp/0072263113

    then once I feel confident that I know it all go to one of those sites and take the test.

    How long would it take the average person to complete if I do 15 hours a week on this??

    many thanks for your input
     
  9. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Exactly that. You can also purchase practice exams to test yourself to see if you're ready. Keep in mind that there are legit practice exam providers and some not-so-legit practice exam providers out there... use CertGuard to see if the vendor is safe to use or not.

    As long as it takes. Some people need no study whatsoever. Others take years. I'm sure you'd be somewhere in between.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  10. auditor81

    auditor81 New Member

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    Cool well just purchased that from Amazon so I'll see what it's like and do my best I suppose!

    I'll hunt this forum for any info relating to the CompTIA A+ Certification once the book arrives


    Cheers
     
  11. techno

    techno Bit Poster

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    Hello,
    This Zenos Academy Is funded by the goverment for 16-18 year olds to get a basis in it. it is all free. you get instructor led training in classroom. Monday-Friday 9-5. the way im looking at it is you get a-level equivs and A+ N+ MCDST all free. no exam costs no book costs. training free. and theres no you must work for them crap. its goverement funded. like a god send. i didnt realise till not so long ago i thought college was the only thing on offer. but a dedicated it academy with all those certs in the shorter timescale. But im working at the moment and dont really want have 2 years skint rather than 5 months skint. lol
    Chris
     
    Certifications: MCTS X 4, MCITP Consumer Support
    WIP: 70-271, 70-272 im on a break
  12. natt

    natt Bit Poster

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    I have signed contract with them in june 2008.

    I actually managed to complete all the exams. have no idea how, but I did, i guess i did not want to pay a penny.

    When we were signing I had to come with my partner as a guarantor as i didnt pass the credit check.

    My boyfriend signed the loan with barclays and SEPERATE agreement with FMK that they will cover the cost. of course if i pass exams. i did.

    NOW. first loan payment came out nearly two weeks ago and no money whatsoever has been transferred into his account so far. I have emailed twice, called 5 times, even managed to speak to a dude called Ed yesterday in Aldgate branch. All great, except the person who deal with payments is currently unavailable and supervisor and manager magically were in the meeting and were supposed to give me a call later yesterday. that never happened. i have tried to call few times this morning and it is going to voicemail. isnt that lovely? so atm, i passed the course, they suggesting that i go for TELESALES for 'work experience' wen im from retail background so to be honest i so dont need this experience. and they made me pass a test 'technical test just for our record so we know what type of employment to put you into'. i was supposed to have results after two days. two and a half weeks have passed and i have not heard from them since.

    worst thing is i even consider going there in person to speak to them, but they won't come down and see you will they...

    so im askin if anyone has any info about how their payments have been arranged..... cos i need to put this money into my mans account and i dont have it... so what do i do :cry:

    oh, and my friend who also finished the course seems to be having same problem...... :cry:

    and so far all we did was study and cry... and my patience is running out...
     
    Certifications: mcdst, mcsa, mcse
  13. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Hello Natt,

    You are a shining example of why we advise people not to use TP's.

    You are now hopelessly overcertified, one can only assume you used 'unorthodox' methods to get there.

    If you weren't trained properly, and have not passed your exams legitamately then why should you be offered positions above telesales ?

    Leave town ? find a new man and empty his account ? :rolleyes:

    The likelyhood was always going to be that you had signed your money over the minute you signed the contract.

    You could petition your MP etc or talk to lawyers, however you have passed the course, and they have offered you a job. So in essence you have fallen into their trap by passsing, a simliar argument would work in their favour if you failed. They are running the casino, you won't beat the house ! Also since you already gave them £5k, they can afford £5k more than you on legal expenses. So in reality you have already hopelessly weakened your position.

    I am very sorry for your situation, but this is why we try to protect people from TP's and themselves. You will just have to chalk this one down to experience and dust yourself down and start again.

    Remove the MCSA and MCSE from your CV, start applying for jobs. London is one of the best places in the country for IT work, you still have a much better chance than the millions starving in Africa.

    Sign up for a part time foundation degree with a college with a good reputation, in general there are no 'short cuts', yes intensive training is possible, but not for all, and its likely to leave gaps in your knowledge.

    Know that when you go for an IT position you will be up against people who have owned computers since the age of 10 and spent every waking minute trying to learn about them, they have taken IT GCSES, A-levels, NVQs, HNDs, Degrees, etc, read countless websites, books, magazines, five months on a Fraser McKenzie course isn't going to make you a better candidate, nor should it.

    Best of luck ! :D
     
  14. Martina

    Martina New Member

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    Hi, I am in the same situation. Could you tell me how it is going, did you send any complaint letter? What shall I do? thank
     
  15. Daniel006

    Daniel006 New Member

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    Hi Martina,

    I phoned the OFT and they recorded my case but I found them to be no help what so ever really. The woman just seemed to want to get me off the phone asap. A woman phoned me to discuss it further and left a message but then afterwards I could never get hold of her. So I forgot about it - then many weeks later I got a standard letter saying take them to court if they have breached the contract (which obviously they haven't at the this point). So that was of very little help.

    One thing that did come from it though is that maybe I could take them to court under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 (think that's what it is off the top of my head). As FM told me several things that I could disprove and that was a blantant lie or 'misrepresentation'.

    1] You need no experience to do this course - this was the first line on the introduction paper they gave to me on my first interview and my FM representative wrote this on that paper as well. This can be disproved even on the Mircosoft website where it says for MSCA/MCSE that you do need previous experience.

    Here's the MS link:http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcse.aspx

    2] My FM representative wrote on the same piece (which I've kept) of paper that the average lenght of time to complete the training is 2-3 months which, as anyone with any clue about MCSA/MCSE knows, is near impossible.

    Maybe I have a case as I signed the contract under the impression that these were realistic expectations and was being told these things by someone who is considered to be trusted as it's their job to know about these things.

    Personally, I'm just going to pay the loan off during the interest-free period and just walk away from FM. I have had so many issues with FM - some annoying, some very serious - that I just want to be done with it all. Even if that means it going to cost me £4K+.

    From what else I've read it seems that FM are dodgy anyway. I've read that people have passed all the exams and they haven't paid the fees or when they've passed they haven't found them a job or contacted about what's happening next or when they have found them a job it's been really poor job like telesales etc.

    I doubt a letter threatening legal action is going to make them pay your fees as they just don't seem to care granted the way that they conduct themselves and treat others. Their lack of professionism is amazing - from conducting interviews in busy hall ways, keeping you waiting, not helping those asking for help once they've signed up to what happens once you've completed the course - so I doubt they'll give a damn what ever you do.

    I just hope that what information is available (which wasn't about when I signed up) will discourage others from signing up but, unfortunately, I fear it's too late for us.

    Sorry.

    Personally, since I've stopped worrying about it all and got over having to pay £4k+ for a couple of crappy qualifications (Vista and ITIL - not MCSA/MCSE!) that I couldn't care less about. I've felt a lot better, less stressed and started to have some fun again. And after recently reading about some of the other awful experiences people have had even after passing I feel that I've probably got out at the right time.

    Sorry if I haven't been much help but there's a group on Facebook called 'Screwed By Fraser McKenzie' where you'll find lots of others in a similar situation to you but I've found them to be of no use whatsoever, it's just a load of people moaning but not making any practical suggestions on how to resolve their issues.
     
  16. renee

    renee New Member

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    Sorry if I haven't been much help but there's a group on Facebook called 'Screwed By Fraser McKenzie' where you'll find lots of others in a similar situation to you but I've found them to be of no use whatsoever, it's just a load of people moaning but not making any practical suggestions on how to resolve their issues.[/QUOTE]

    do not feel like u have been of no help everyone in here positive or not are of help. trust me every phonecall to the oft helps i have written to barclays and the oft and got positive response. the thing we dont realise is we are alot of voices and i know alot of u feel like your complaints to these people have not been heard but trust me they have. i got a letter from the oft and barclays. barclays have frozen the loan on the fact tht the oft and the other people who have had so many complaints about FMK and guess what FMK ACTUALLY CALLED ME SCARED so continue to do what u can because in no time yhis company will not continue what they do. i can testify you can beat them TRUST ME
     
  17. renee

    renee New Member

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    PLEASE PEOPLE do not feel like u have been of no help everyone in here positive or not are of help. trust me every phonecall to the oft helps i have written to barclays and the oft and got positive response. the thing we dont realise is we are alot of voices and i know alot of u feel like your complaints to these people have not been heard but trust me they have. i got a letter from the oft and barclays. barclays have frozen the loan on the fact tht the oft and the other people who have had so many complaints about FMK and guess what FMK ACTUALLY CALLED ME SCARED so continue to do what u can because in no time yhis company will not continue what they do. i can testify you can beat them TRUST ME[/QUOTE]
     
  18. samsamman

    samsamman New Member

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    I am currently in a similar situation. I have a few months til I hit my 12 month deadline and I have 2 exams remaining. They paid for my first few exams, but have not had a penny off them since and I don't expect that to change.

    I know of 4 people who have completed the training. 2 were placed in 'unpaid work experience' for 2 months in a small IT company, 1 of these people whose 12 months has recently lapsed has had barclays taking money out of their account despite 100% doing their part of the contract. The other 2 who did the recruitment track have been left in the dark. FM have no intention what so ever of giving us a penny, they are laughing all the way to the bank targeting the vulnerable. You ask them for help and support and the most they do is encourage the use of brainbdumps!

    I for one plan to fight FM all the way, lucky for me I am good friends with a top London solicitor and she seems pretty confident I will walk away not owing a penny and FM will be put under full investigation.

    I am also hoping to organise a public meet up in August, the media will be notified of this and I'm fairly confident there will be an overwhelming response from you all in the same situation. I won't give any more details because there is no doubt we are being watched by FM hence why I use a false name
     
  19. T-90

    T-90 New Member

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    [/QUOTE]

    Renee, you contacted Barclays Partner Finance and they agrred to freeze the loan? If that is the case then that could be very useful for the rest of us. If you dont mind me asking, what did you tell them in your letter?
     
  20. jonnyboy

    jonnyboy New Member

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    I too have passed all the exams within 12 months but havent received a single penny from them. I've tried contacting them but have heard nothing. Who would be best to write to? Financial Ombudsman? Trading Standards? Barclays? All 3? The company is a joke! My 3 months havent passed yet but Im pretty sure it will without hearing anything else from them. Is it too early to contact anyone?

    The contract states:

    They will pay for all first exam attempts - They havent
    They will pay for the training if I complete the exams within a year - I have received nothing yet
    They will find me a job within 3 months - Not heard anything yet.
     

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