CBT Direct Ex Employee, Read Before Purchasing Clearwater Florida

Throughout my bankruptcy, I received weekly calls from these liars, insisting that an $80/hour job awaited me if I took their course.  They "negotiated" a $600 price for the course.  Yeah, just $600.  They even agreed on 12 months, no interest at $50 a month (direct payment, of course - mistake number 2).  After signing their course and software agreement (which contained two little tiny windows of FOUR more pages of clauses in their agreement), I was still hesitant to sign, as I had NO credit, and my job was VERY shaky, thanks to the economic recession.  "Tammy" reassured me that CBT would "work with" me in the event of a financial hardship.

Two months later, after the bankruptcy, business dried up, and I was forced to close the account from which I paid CBT Direct's "tuition" (which was actually a financing contract, even though 4 pages of the agreement could not be printed thanks to their embedding of the additional material within the initial agreement).  I had notified them that I would be unable to make payment, and that the account was closed, which they said that they would note my CBT account, and await news from me that I had improved my situation.

IN THE MEANTIME, CBT DIRECT DENIED ANY ATTEMPTS BY ME TO ACCESS THE COURSE MATERIAL, CUTTING ME OFF FROM ANY ADDITIONAL STUDIES ON THE COURSE I HAD BEEN PAYING FOR.  (I include this statement, because I feel that it bears accentuation, since I did not have access to the uncompleted material, thus eliminating any gain I could have seen from the course material, including CERTIFICATION!)

The following month, I was contacted by CBT because my payment had been denied.  I asked why they had attempted to deduct it from my depleted (and closed) account, and they stated that they HAD to attempt to collect, as past students had lied about accounts being closed, and they had to assure themselves that I was not a liar, despite stating that they would await news from me.  I was curious as to why CBT Direct's past dealings with other students who were unable to pay would prompt such a blatant and disrespectful action, but I was told that it was "none of my business."

30 days later, after losing my car and health coverage due to lack of funds, I received a call from a collection agency asking about the remaining $500 that I supposedly owed CBT Direct.  I was dumbfounded, as I thought I was paying a TUITION, and thought that since I was unable to PAY, that I would just be denied access to the course, just like any other reputable educational institution.  But, alas, I was wrong, because I was dealing with CBT Direct, who does not charge tuition for education, but rather "licensing fees" to their "software" (which I no longer had access to).

Now, many months later, CBT Direct has conveniently used excerpts from my telephone conversations with their representatives to nitpick partial details and twist my own words to use against me with the Better Business Bureau and the New York State Attorney General's Office.  They have conveniently forgotten to mention that in those same recordings is their sales representative insisting that if I sign up and agree to the financing plan, that CBT Direct would work with me in the event of a financial hardship, and would NEVER do ANYTHING that would negatively affect my credit.

They lie.  Straightforward and simply put.  They will say WHATEVER you need to hear to get you to sign the agreement which contains a lot of wording designed to force you to pay, or sacrifice your credit, without regard to your education, welfare, family, or anything other than them getting their money.

Save your money.  Save your credit.  Go elsewhere.  Do NOT work with CBT Direct.  There are MANY more reliable, trustworthy, and caring educational resources out there!

I also was a previous employee of this company. Before I ever started there, I read the Rip Off Reports, and really did my homework on this company first before I took the job. I will tell you that I felt a little hesitation before I ever started because of all of the reports that I read. Then I was introduced to their sales philosophy. It is true, they do ask personal questions. Not to see if you are financially able to afford the product only, although that is part of the questioning, but mostly to even see if you need a certain product. Look you could be calling them because you need to get certified for A+ in order to satisfy some mandate by your company, but if you were certified CCNA you would make more money. So we would ask questions to find out what your needs and wants were in order to properly direct you to what training would work to help you reach that goal. So in that case the salesman just helped you by finding out what your need was, and finding out what will help you in the future. Now it is up to the customer to follow through and finish the program. I have to ask you, is that wrong? I never felt that it was. I received many emails, and phone calls from people that were very successful using their courses. I personally helped one guy who had never even been in IT to get his A+, Net+, and he got 2 MCP's. He then got a job as an IT manager for a small company. He was driving a truck, and is now an IT manager. Yeah what a rip off. There are many more stories just like that. People who used the product the way it is supposed to be used, followed through with their decision, and became successful. I am not a cold blooded person. If I spoke to someone that was not committed to doing what it took to get where they wanted to go, I did not waste my time or their time. I no longer work there, and I am not even in this industry anymore, but I hold the owners, managers, and sales staff to the utmost respect. There have been sales people that have come through there and were the type of people portrayed in a lot of these posts, but they are the exception not the norm. But I have worked in call centers, and telemarketing companies before. The sales people at CBT are not close to that, they actually take time to find out what you need. Sometimes when you are talking to someone that is telling you that they need your product, they would like to buy your product, they can even afford your product, you have to get them over that hump to help themselves. That is what I learned there. So CBT my hat is off to you. For the most part the sales people have a genuine interest in helping you the customer. It is ultimately up to you though. If you are willing to put in the effort to go through a training program the way your sales person tells you to, and you actually follow it, 9 out 10 times you will be successful. If you are not willing to put out the effort that it will take, then do not bother calling. As for Frank and Kim, it sounds like this is a personal issue from this "previous employee". They have a vested interest in the company, and of course they look at the bottom line, and as a business owner would you expect anything else? But heartless? Really? I will tell you this about these two. They definately helped me when I was working there, and I needed it. I was always treated with respect. Sales is an emotional business, and sometimes people get emotional. If you are seriously looking to get good training, and are willing to put in the effort to do it, then disregard the negative posts, and find out for yourself!

John