Home Learning (or 'Distance Learning') has become very popular in recent times- and for good reason. Why wait until college/uni term starts to get going with a course? If you have work or other commitments, a home learning course can be a very good choice.
Many websites offer home learning courses, a wide variety of choice is available.
I feel reasonably qualified to talk about home learning, having dealt with these companies myself and know others who have also taken home learning courses.
So what do I mean by "beware home learning scams"?
Some Home Learning providers are charging extortionate amounts and using "pressure selling" whilst failing to provide a good service. An uninformed or unsuspecting individual eager to improve their prospects in life could potentially be decieved by these companies.
Some distance learning providers will encourage you to accept a visit at your home from one of their "advisors". Of course these advisors are in fact just highly trained sales people, likely on a commission for selling the course to you. I warn you now- they are very, very good at their job! Even if you think "I'm not the kind of person who gets conned easily", I recommend you tread carefully if you deal with a company that carries out this practice. If you are not careful, they will come into your home and will leave within half an hour having signed you up on a contract and gained hundreds or thousands of £ of your money.
If you are feeling quite depressed and stuck in a rut and very eager to "get going" with something like a home learning course, you are quite an easy target for these sales people. I know from first hand experience that they will prey on your desire for self improvement and urge to you sign up quickly so you can get started on gaining a qualification that will apparently improve your life for the better.
Personal experiences
Morality seems lacking when it comes to this sort of thing. Let me share with you a story. A few years ago, a friend of mine had to have an opperation on his spine which meant that he would be out of work for quite some time. He wanted to use his time out of work doing something productive, so he wanted to do a home learning course to stay productive and improve his prospects upon recovery. Having contacted a distance learning provider, a lady came round to see him and very quickly talked him into signing up not only for a course he had in mind, but an additional course on top of that which allegedly meant he got a "discount" for signing up to two. He was then in debt for two years. The bill amounted to almost £2000.
You might just say it was his responsibility to be careful before he signed up to it, but in my view, the sales woman took advantage of a vulnerable situation to make money.
Often the advisor will not say "you'll have to pay £2000", because this would immediately ring alarm bells. Instead a "payment plan" is discussed and worded in a careful way to make it seem like you are getting a great deal.
One common technique which I've seen used a number of times when trying to make a large course fee sound less significant than it really is, is to talk to you about the subject/career you are interested in. The advisor will talk about the qualification they are offering and tell you that you could pass the course and gain a qualification within a few short months which will allow to you apply for jobs earning a good salary. They may produce figures of alleged salaries you might recieve in your new career, for example, telling you that you will earn £30,000 a year. They will say- "what's a £2000 course fee when you could get a job earning £30,000 a year? Why, you could have it paid off within a couple of months!".
I have yet to see ONE example of these bold claims becoming a reality, so as nice as it is to imagine easily stepping into a lucrative new career and easily paying off the course fees, don't count on it.
I myself was very nearly conned by one of these sales people into signing up to an expensive home learning course, and if it wasn't for the fact a friend of mine who was present at the time of the sale "butted in" and insisted the sales person gave me some time to think about it- I was on the verge of signing up. The sales person was visibly annoyed by this and needless to say once I had time to think, I did not follow up the sales pitch.
All I will say to you is that if a distance learning company feel the need to send one of these people to your home to "have a chat"- BE ON GUARD, and don't sign anything on the spot. No matter how wonderful or brilliant they make the whole deal sound. Always let them go away and have a think on it for at least 24 hours. Remember, this is YOUR hard saved money we are talking about here, and you are entitled to make sure you are spending it on something worthwhile.
The second thing I would say about distance learning is that very high costs are completely unjustified. This may sound an obvious thing to say, but before I had seriously researched this topic, I simply did not question why a company might need to charge thousands of pounds for a course. I just assumed it was the norm. I assumed they must charge these rates "for a reason". The truth is, the only "reason" they are charging that- is to make a hell of a lot of money!
Ask youself- what am I getting for my money?
One thing I found useful in helping break out of this mentality is to step back and take an objective look at what you are actually getting for your money. Something people should be very aware of is that a lot of the time the price you pay does NOT cover the cost of your exams for whatever it is you are studying. Some learning providers make this clear, others try to hide it in the "small print".
Many try to justify the high prices by promising a fancy array of "features" and "benefits" , "access to forums" , "a personal tutor 24/7" blah blah blah. Many of the times from personal experience, I can tell you that this "support" is very hit and miss. I've recieved replies from email "tutors" which were short, lacking in detail and even containing "typos"!
THE REALITY IS THAT AFTER PAYING HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS £, WHAT YOU ARE RECIEVING IS A STUDY FOLDER THROUGH THE POST.
That is it. A folder containing study material. Think about it. Is that folder really worth £500-£2000 or more?
Here's a hint, I wish I had learned before I did the courses I did- go out and buy books on whatever it is you are studying, study it yourself, and book the exam yourself!
The books might cost £10 or £20 each and contain all the same info- maybe even more. And you have to pay for your own exams anyway!
A great example of this is the microsoft desktop support technician qualification- you can buy the book for maybe £30 on amazon.co.uk that teaches you EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. Then book an exam (I think the provider is pearson vue). Meanwhile, home learning providers sell on "study packs" (the same info, dressed up with their logo on it) for thousands of £ !!
As for the "support" and "amazing benefits"- get a friend to help you or something. Those "amazing benefits" really arn't worth all that money. Why would you pay someone hundreds or thousands of pounts just to have them send you a couple of emails anyway?
Many home learning providers no longer even publish the cost of their courses on their website and instead insist that you call and "talk to an advisor".
So, should you avoid home learning companies altogether?
Not all home learning providers are bad. I really feel it is important to stress that point. Some provide a good service and value for money and can be much cheaper than going to university! Nearly all of them will charge a few hundred pounds for their courses, but depending upon what course you are looking to take I would advise you to think long and hard if you are looking to purchase a course which is in the £500 plus range.
I'm not saying don't do home learning- I am saying that it costs a lot of money and to take your time.
My advice:
1. Shop around. Don't rush and buy the first thing you see.
2. If a sales person comes to your house- NEVER let them pressure you into signing up on the spot, no matter how good they make it sound. Always go away and have a think about it.
3. Consider the alternatives- can you study the course you want to do by buying books from companies such as amazon.co.uk and then booking the test yourself?
4. Make sure it's a recognised qualification- Don't take their word for it, because all distance learning providers will say "we offer recognised qualifications". Research who is the examining body. Look for independant analysis as to whether the qualification being offered is widely recognised. Otherwise it will just end up becoming a useless (and very expensive) piece of paper!
5. Get to know the company you are dealing with- see if you can find any independent reviews of them on the internet. Beware of reviews that sound like they are just trying to promote the company and provide you with links to their products, because it is likely that they are just trying to make money through an affiliate marketing scheme. Look for reviews perhaps on forums.
I hope this is of help to anyone considering buying a distance learning course.
I am not going to name specific companies in this article which I consider to be untrustworthy, or recommend any companies in particular. This is because every experience with a particular company is purely subjective and where I had a good or a bad experience, you might have a different experience. You just need to find what works for YOU and remember to take basic precautions listed in this article.
Please feel free to leave comments about your own experience with distance learning! Thanks for reading.
Note: any comments by readers about specific companies are purely subjective opinions only and do not necessarily reflect my own opinions.
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