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Off topic AIF
I know this is off mtb topic, but just needed to see if i could get some advise...
In a nut shell... I joined the Australian Institute of Fitness 2 weeks ago after paying them a $500 deposit. I went to my first induction class last Tuesday. The day after i had a managers meeting at work. afterwards my boss phoned me and gave me an offer a couldn't refuse, and that would be a fantastic career opportunity for me. I accepted.
I Phoned AIF the following day and told them my situation and asked them how i go about cancelling my course, not asking for my deposit back as i know there are admin fees. They then told me that I have to still pay them 100% ($5,000.00) for the course even if i did only go for the induction class?? That is a brand new BIKE! And they brag and carry on about calling each other "friends" and looking out for everyones best interests! If i were told about that been the case, i would've looked into the whole thing alot harder. But apparently its in very fine print on one of the 25papers i had to sign. The "career guru" must've overlooked that subject in the meeting!
Emailed head office and waiting for a response to see what can be done.
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Do they have your bank info?
If not then just dont pay it, surely there is a cooling off period or something?
Yea dude, they have my bank info and it is set for them to deduct every week.
cooling off period is 7 days prior to course commencing. They obviously do it like that so that the person is stuck in the course.
I would check the cooling off period. All financial commitments should have a cooling off period. Otherwise I would be following up with the Office of fair trading. Otherwise change your bank details.
If you refuse to pay, be aware you can have your credit record marked up. Black marks will stay on your credit record for 5 years, potentially barring you from loans or forcing you into more expensive loan arrangements under more onerous terms if you wish to borrow to buy a car or a home later.
Suggest you get onto Lifeline and see a financial counsellor. This arrangement sounds like it could be overturned under unfair contracts provisions. http://www.hdy.com.au/attachments/ConsumerLaw_AP...
However, having started the induction you may have to continue.
Follow up your phone call with a written confirmation: a letter or email with delivery and read receipts turned on. Don;t just leave it to phone calls that leave no documentation trail.
A friend of mine's son got taken to the cleaners in court by Three over a mobile phone account he tried to cancel, and because of the lack of evidence that he'd tried to cancel the arrangement the contract was enforced. It was expensive for him and he is now unable to get a loan for a ute and trade tools.
Always read and udnerstand the fine print before committing to any financial arrangement.
I hope this helps.
due to the fact it is a contract and it was a clause in the extremely long fine print ) and the cooling off period has finished, it is a problem. contracts by name are generally legally binding, sometimes you can negotiate a smaller fee to cease the contract. i know someone that does a bit of commercial law, ill ask and repost.
I got a refund from Acay? internet providers after they continued to deduct their monthly fee for months after canceling the service by threatening to flame them on every website I could find. AIF would get a very bad name if you told your story on every fitness website in Australia and I would do that if it were me, the more bitter and driven you sound the more likely you are of success, even pretending to be insane has worked for me, I always get a refund in shops.
John.
Sure use the internet community and the threat of bad press, it's your best option as it looks like you're stuffed contractualy. Don't go over the top though because it reduces your credibility in the arguement and makes it easy to dismiss you as a crackpot. Tell the story as it is and let people form their own judgements, if AIF isn't proud of their position (or at least how it will be percieved) it will be in their interest to hose it down by buying you out
contact he consumer affairs tribunal, or department of fair trading, they will ahve more info on where u stand, as well as the possiblitlity of getting out of it considering the contract isnt exactly fair. they'll be able to give you the advice u need
You could try contacting Lauretta Stace, CEO of Fitness Australia. AIF (I believe) are the largest providers of Fitness certification in the country, however it is Fitness Australia that looks after registration.
You could suggest to FIA how MTB uses so many facets of fitness (aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, strength, power, endurance and flexibility) and therefore with the ever growing popularity of our sport, it seems reasonable that many bikers would look to improve their performance through additional study (simply to learn rather than become a certified trainer). With YOUR access to sites such as NobMob and Rotorburn, surely FIA would best benefit from people like you writing positively about the course rather than your bad experiences over some petty admin misunderstanding.
My 2 cents: If you are looking at some form of certification, look at something like the CrossFit certification. Its by no means all encompassing and IMO it is becoming a little elitist but it borrows heavily from the principles of Gym Jones (where CrossFit has its roots). They look at functional training with emphasis upon all facets of fitness. As an ex member of Fitness First, the trainers that I spoke to (and were FIA trained) commented that they had looked at further study (outside of FIA) as the courses they initially did were simply inadequate.
Have you spoken to your boss and seen if there is anyway you could continue with the course? In my opinion, you are passionate enough to have signed up for it in the first place... what if the job doesn't work out in a year or so, then you'll have it in your back pocket!
Hey guys thanks for your help in all this.
Update is that... Spoke to department of fair trading and apparently they can't really do much about the situation. So i phoned the girl i emailed through regarding my cancellation and she said that it has been sent to the careers advisor to deal with, and i will expect a phone call from him by tomorrow.
Hopefully he is the one that i was told that is a mtbiker and goes in all the events. surely he'd be on nobmob!! Otherwise might just have to contact a few friends at 104.1 and have a chat!