PawNtheSandman
Senior member
Here is my New Horizons horror story. I know what a fool I am but I would appreciate any advice.
I was always good with computers. I could build and fix them throughout High School. I went to College for a year in a Telecommunications Technology major what my advisor said was along the lines of what I wanted to do. College blew and I left after a year. I decided that in the meantime while I was working, I should get some certifications.
I looked into ITT Tech. Their price was crazy so I ruled them out. Across the street was New Horizons. New Horizons is a franchise establishment involved with computer training. I checked out their website, asked a bunch of people about it, 2 people I worked with were going there, everyone gave me great reviews of the place. I called the Albany, NY location and set up an appointment. I was very impressed with the place etc.
I eventually signed up for a "Information Technology" package deal. It was basically the A+, Network +, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CNP, SNCA certifications with "Test Pass Guarantee", live labs, books, job placement, classes, etc all for $15,000. (Believe me, if I knew then what I knew now, I would have laughed and left). But I got financed and began in October 2003.
I first attended A+ and Net+ classes. The teacher was awesome. He knew everything inside and out. I knew most of what he was teaching. The other students were adults sent by their employer. Most didn't know the difference between a IDE and Phone cable. I was obviously way more experienced than the other people. The teacher was great, helped everyone along and TAUGHT us things we would need to know for on the job situations. After a few months of studying from Mike Meyers All In One guides as well as the New Horizons online pre-tests, I passed all 3 certification tests.
No problem. Then I scheduled the MCSE classes. In a span of 3 months, I took the classes for 70-270, 290, 291, 293, 294. The final class was in October 2004. The classes were taught by a different teacher. The guy was very nice and knew his stuff but it seemed he was straight out of the MS trainer class. He basically read out of the book. It was very boring and I found myself struggling to stay awake and pay attention. Many of the people in those classes were again sent by their employer and had previous experience with the OS and Active Directory. I followed along in class, I had no problems with the labs and coursework. But it seemed I was only learning what was in the book. When it came time to start studying for the actual exam, I did not feel adaquately prepared. I purchased the ExamCram 2 book and used that. I then did many of the free practice tests from Examforce, and Techexams.net.
November 2004, I was ready to take the 70-270 XP Pro exam. When I wished to take a test, I would email my account manager and he would give me a test voucher for the exam to use through the Thompson Prometric website. I was given a voucher no problem. I took the test and passed.
I then began studying for 70-290 which was difficult. It seemed nothing in the ExamCram book and websites were covered in class. When I felt I was ready in Feburary, I emailed for a voucher. This is when the problem started. I was told that the company was bought out in August and was no longer honoring contracts with the previous owner. Thus I wouldn't be getting my voucher.
After sifting through the bullchit, this is what I found out.
New Horizons of Albany was a franchise of the New Horizons based in California. In August 2004, the owner of the Albany franchise left. Instead of closing shop, a new owner took over under a different name Sonjay Inc, but they operated under the New Horizons of Albany name. I asked why I was given a test voucher in November 2004 when the change occurred in August 2004. They told me it was a mistake and they shouldn't have given me that voucher. They claim they have no list and didn't know which students paid the old company instead of the new company.
Now keep this in mind, it is still called New Horizons of Albany. It is in the same location, same website, phone numbers, employees, etc. It was never shut down, and nothing was changed, except now it is being run by a new company that is "not honoring the old contracts".
I was told that they would still allow me to attend classes, but I would have to pay for all the test fees out of pocket. Part of my original agreement was broken down to $1,500 for all test fees including the "test pass guarantee" which meant if I failed an exam, they would keep giving me vouchers until I passed.
I was told to pay for the voucher for my tests out of pocket, keep the reciept and file a complaint with the NY Dept. of Education. I paid for 2 vouchers. I failed the 70-290 exam the first time by 10 points then passed the second time. After I passed, Dept. of Education issued a ruling that New Horizons is not liable for test fees. I would only be due a refund if they refused to allow me to attend classes.
Next thing I did was file a complaint in Small Claims Court. I had my day in court. The Judge urged everyone to talk before hand and try to settle. We talked. I told the owner of Sonjay Inc the deal. I said he either should honor the original contract which included the test fees and test pass guarantee, or issue me a refund. He said that he can't do either because he doesn't have my money. He said that Sonjay Inc is a seperate company than the one that I paid to attend. I told him bullchit, I pulled my bank reciept which showed the $15,000 being deposited to New Horizons of Albany bank account. They said that New Horizons is a franchise and I paid the previous owner who packed up and went back to California. He said Sonjay Inc opened the New Horizons franchise in the same spot in Albany and was a totally different company. They said they had no idea who signed with the old company and new company for a few months which is why they gave me the test voucher in November. I called bull on that.
Eventually the Judge called us up. The owner of Sonjay Inc made a motion to get the case thrown out stating he is not the proper defendant. I was never given a chance to pled my case to the Judge. The Judge said I needed to have the proper defendant before he heard the case. He gave Sonjay Inc 3 weeks to prepare a afadavit. I recieved the afadavit on the deadline. He basically stated the same thing he told me, the previous New Horizons was owned by someone else and he bailed with the money. Sonjay Inc opened a new New Horizon in the same location and he is not the plaintiff. I should be going after the original owner who now lives in California. He also showed a letter he sent to him via registered mail with return reciept. Inside that letter was my orignal compalint letters, the notice to appear in court, etc. The letter was deemed undeliverable because the person would not sign for it.
I now have 3 weeks to mail Sonjay Inc and the Judge my afadavit. We will then meet back in court in September where the Judge will decide if I have the right person.
So where it stands now, I am about halfway through my classes through New Horizons. They refuse to pay for my tests but will let me attend class should I choose. I can understand where Sonjay Inc stands, but it seems like I was mislead the whole time. Never at anypoint was I or any other student notified of the new ownership. The place is exactly the same with the same employees, etc. The only change was the owner. The way I see it is that I paid New Horizons, and thus regardless of the owner, I am entitled to the contract that was signed. It seems they are picking and choosing which parts of the contract they want to honor.
I am really unsure about how to procede. I do not want to hire a lawyer and I don't know what to do if the Judge denys my claim. I need advice from someone who really knows their stuff, not some armchair lawyer. If all else fails, I plan on going to local TV and Radio. A neighbor works for the local news and I would have no problem getting them to do a smear piece on them. As well as a local radio station that does the same. I figure to let Sonjay know this and tell them that they can refund me the $1,500 test fee and let it go, or take the chance with me getting the smear pieces ran on TV and Radio and potentially lose out on thousands more in revenue.
Using what I know now, if I had to go back, I would have never chose New Horizons. They are horrible. They read out of a book and send you on your way. They produce nothing but papercerts unless you choose to put the time and effort to teach yourself with outside materials. The only people who benefit anything from them are the individuals whose jobs pay for them to go there.
With the $15,000 I spent there, I could have purchsed the MS Press, ExamCram, CBT Nuggets, all exam fees, and probably build my own home lab and still saved a ton of money. Don't bother calling me a fool and flaming me, I already know what a inexperienced mistake I made.
Now some people have good experience with them, but for anyone in NY, avoid New Horizons of Albany at any cost.
Any suggestions on how I can avoid getting screwed?
I was always good with computers. I could build and fix them throughout High School. I went to College for a year in a Telecommunications Technology major what my advisor said was along the lines of what I wanted to do. College blew and I left after a year. I decided that in the meantime while I was working, I should get some certifications.
I looked into ITT Tech. Their price was crazy so I ruled them out. Across the street was New Horizons. New Horizons is a franchise establishment involved with computer training. I checked out their website, asked a bunch of people about it, 2 people I worked with were going there, everyone gave me great reviews of the place. I called the Albany, NY location and set up an appointment. I was very impressed with the place etc.
I eventually signed up for a "Information Technology" package deal. It was basically the A+, Network +, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CNP, SNCA certifications with "Test Pass Guarantee", live labs, books, job placement, classes, etc all for $15,000. (Believe me, if I knew then what I knew now, I would have laughed and left). But I got financed and began in October 2003.
I first attended A+ and Net+ classes. The teacher was awesome. He knew everything inside and out. I knew most of what he was teaching. The other students were adults sent by their employer. Most didn't know the difference between a IDE and Phone cable. I was obviously way more experienced than the other people. The teacher was great, helped everyone along and TAUGHT us things we would need to know for on the job situations. After a few months of studying from Mike Meyers All In One guides as well as the New Horizons online pre-tests, I passed all 3 certification tests.
No problem. Then I scheduled the MCSE classes. In a span of 3 months, I took the classes for 70-270, 290, 291, 293, 294. The final class was in October 2004. The classes were taught by a different teacher. The guy was very nice and knew his stuff but it seemed he was straight out of the MS trainer class. He basically read out of the book. It was very boring and I found myself struggling to stay awake and pay attention. Many of the people in those classes were again sent by their employer and had previous experience with the OS and Active Directory. I followed along in class, I had no problems with the labs and coursework. But it seemed I was only learning what was in the book. When it came time to start studying for the actual exam, I did not feel adaquately prepared. I purchased the ExamCram 2 book and used that. I then did many of the free practice tests from Examforce, and Techexams.net.
November 2004, I was ready to take the 70-270 XP Pro exam. When I wished to take a test, I would email my account manager and he would give me a test voucher for the exam to use through the Thompson Prometric website. I was given a voucher no problem. I took the test and passed.
I then began studying for 70-290 which was difficult. It seemed nothing in the ExamCram book and websites were covered in class. When I felt I was ready in Feburary, I emailed for a voucher. This is when the problem started. I was told that the company was bought out in August and was no longer honoring contracts with the previous owner. Thus I wouldn't be getting my voucher.
After sifting through the bullchit, this is what I found out.
New Horizons of Albany was a franchise of the New Horizons based in California. In August 2004, the owner of the Albany franchise left. Instead of closing shop, a new owner took over under a different name Sonjay Inc, but they operated under the New Horizons of Albany name. I asked why I was given a test voucher in November 2004 when the change occurred in August 2004. They told me it was a mistake and they shouldn't have given me that voucher. They claim they have no list and didn't know which students paid the old company instead of the new company.
Now keep this in mind, it is still called New Horizons of Albany. It is in the same location, same website, phone numbers, employees, etc. It was never shut down, and nothing was changed, except now it is being run by a new company that is "not honoring the old contracts".
I was told that they would still allow me to attend classes, but I would have to pay for all the test fees out of pocket. Part of my original agreement was broken down to $1,500 for all test fees including the "test pass guarantee" which meant if I failed an exam, they would keep giving me vouchers until I passed.
I was told to pay for the voucher for my tests out of pocket, keep the reciept and file a complaint with the NY Dept. of Education. I paid for 2 vouchers. I failed the 70-290 exam the first time by 10 points then passed the second time. After I passed, Dept. of Education issued a ruling that New Horizons is not liable for test fees. I would only be due a refund if they refused to allow me to attend classes.
Next thing I did was file a complaint in Small Claims Court. I had my day in court. The Judge urged everyone to talk before hand and try to settle. We talked. I told the owner of Sonjay Inc the deal. I said he either should honor the original contract which included the test fees and test pass guarantee, or issue me a refund. He said that he can't do either because he doesn't have my money. He said that Sonjay Inc is a seperate company than the one that I paid to attend. I told him bullchit, I pulled my bank reciept which showed the $15,000 being deposited to New Horizons of Albany bank account. They said that New Horizons is a franchise and I paid the previous owner who packed up and went back to California. He said Sonjay Inc opened the New Horizons franchise in the same spot in Albany and was a totally different company. They said they had no idea who signed with the old company and new company for a few months which is why they gave me the test voucher in November. I called bull on that.
Eventually the Judge called us up. The owner of Sonjay Inc made a motion to get the case thrown out stating he is not the proper defendant. I was never given a chance to pled my case to the Judge. The Judge said I needed to have the proper defendant before he heard the case. He gave Sonjay Inc 3 weeks to prepare a afadavit. I recieved the afadavit on the deadline. He basically stated the same thing he told me, the previous New Horizons was owned by someone else and he bailed with the money. Sonjay Inc opened a new New Horizon in the same location and he is not the plaintiff. I should be going after the original owner who now lives in California. He also showed a letter he sent to him via registered mail with return reciept. Inside that letter was my orignal compalint letters, the notice to appear in court, etc. The letter was deemed undeliverable because the person would not sign for it.
I now have 3 weeks to mail Sonjay Inc and the Judge my afadavit. We will then meet back in court in September where the Judge will decide if I have the right person.
So where it stands now, I am about halfway through my classes through New Horizons. They refuse to pay for my tests but will let me attend class should I choose. I can understand where Sonjay Inc stands, but it seems like I was mislead the whole time. Never at anypoint was I or any other student notified of the new ownership. The place is exactly the same with the same employees, etc. The only change was the owner. The way I see it is that I paid New Horizons, and thus regardless of the owner, I am entitled to the contract that was signed. It seems they are picking and choosing which parts of the contract they want to honor.
I am really unsure about how to procede. I do not want to hire a lawyer and I don't know what to do if the Judge denys my claim. I need advice from someone who really knows their stuff, not some armchair lawyer. If all else fails, I plan on going to local TV and Radio. A neighbor works for the local news and I would have no problem getting them to do a smear piece on them. As well as a local radio station that does the same. I figure to let Sonjay know this and tell them that they can refund me the $1,500 test fee and let it go, or take the chance with me getting the smear pieces ran on TV and Radio and potentially lose out on thousands more in revenue.
Using what I know now, if I had to go back, I would have never chose New Horizons. They are horrible. They read out of a book and send you on your way. They produce nothing but papercerts unless you choose to put the time and effort to teach yourself with outside materials. The only people who benefit anything from them are the individuals whose jobs pay for them to go there.
With the $15,000 I spent there, I could have purchsed the MS Press, ExamCram, CBT Nuggets, all exam fees, and probably build my own home lab and still saved a ton of money. Don't bother calling me a fool and flaming me, I already know what a inexperienced mistake I made.
Now some people have good experience with them, but for anyone in NY, avoid New Horizons of Albany at any cost.
Any suggestions on how I can avoid getting screwed?
