Complaint Review: Mike Bostock - California Technical Academy - Riverside California
Ripoff Report on CBS 19
Ripoff Report on CBS 19 - Global Marketing Alliance
Ripoff Report on ABC 15 - Smart Shopper
Ripoff Report - Girls Gone Wild
Ripoff Report on Fox 11 - Car Repair
- Author Not Confirmed
- Mike Bostock - California Technical Academy 1285 Columbia Ave Riverside, California USA
- Phone: (951) 276-1414
- Web: http://www.cta.edu/
- Category: Colorado toursium dept
Mike Bostock - California Technical Academy Computer Training Academy, CTA5, Career Training Academy, CTA, Laptop Training Solutions, LTS, LTS5 California Technical Academy Ripoff refuses to fulfill contract and will not refund money. Mike Bostock has clearly not held up his end of a legaly binding contract. Riverside California
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Response to Claim against Mike Bostock and CTA
Show customers why they should trust your business over your competitors...
listed on other sites?
Those sites steal
Ripoff Report's
content.
We can get those
removed for you!
Find out more here.
Ripoff Report
willing to make a
commitment to
customer satisfaction
Click here now..
Laptop Included *10.00 Month Option
California Technical Academy is a company that claims to provide distance learning for Microsoft certified IT training. I purchased their MCSE certification program in May of 2002. The program, according to their website and Mr. Mike Bostock, the Manager of the San Diego office, consists of a new laptop computer, an assortment of CD's which course work, textbooks/workbooks also containing coursework, and a level of customer service that would make it seem as if I were in a classroom with the instructors.
A few weeks after I signed the contract and student loan papers and sent them back via FedEx, I received the laptop as promised and an assortment of CDs. There were no further instructions or books.
I called Mr. Bostock and informed him of what seemed to me to be an omission, but he informed me that the books came from a different location than the computer and software, and would arrive in a few days. He told me to insert the first CD and call him if I had any questions. This was not exactly the level of customer service I had been led to believe I would be getting, but I am somewhat of a self-starter so I go ahead.
The software is a very well done tutorial and I had little problems getting going. However, I found it dificult to retain the information based on the computer screen alone. After several months I had still not received the promised books.
I place a call to Mr. Bostock, but he was not in as he was working at another office. I believe they called it the Vista office. Little did I know that this was the same response I would get every time I tried to call Mr. Bostock.
After several calls in which I left a messsage for Mr. Bostock and recieved no return phone call, I asked the person answering the phone if I could call Mr. Bostock at the Vista office. She readily gave me the number for that office. When I tried to call Mr. Bostock there, I was told that he was in a meeting and would return my call when he was out.
Over the next several weeks / months, I received a plethora of reasons why Mr. Bostock was unavialable, but assured each time that he would return my call at his earliest convenience.
Evntually, perhaps because she recognized my voice, the receptionist asked if there was anyone else who could be of assistance. I briefly explained to her that I had received the computer, but no books, syllabus, or any direction.
She asked If I wanted to talk to one of the instructors, to which I gladly agreed. After explaining the situation to Jake, he informed me to continue on to a particular lesson and then call him back and that in the mean time, he would see why I had not yet recieved my books. This took place during the winter of 2002/2003, more than a year since I had signed up for the program that the website indicated many were able to complete within a year. That is the last time I was able to contact Jake.
After several months pass in which I became disgusted with the situation, I let the matter lie. In July of 2003 I began to get irritated at the monthly payment I was making for what in my mind was nothing. I sent an e-mail to Mr. Bostock detailing my dissapointment at the level of service and support I had experienced, and informing him of my intention to package the laptop and software and send it to him, and that I expected a full refund of the money that had been paid in my behalf. Over two years after Mr. Bostock had extolled the virtues of his school to me on the telephone he finally responds to me. After countless unreturned phone calls, Mr. Bostock replys to my e-mail to inform me that refund requests are handled by a diferent department, and must be submitted in writing.
I followed Mr. Bostock's instructions and submitted my request in writing and sent it in via USPS. After several more months and no response, I again e-mailed Mr. Bostock. This time I got no response. After a few weeks, I e-mailed a second time. Still no response. Again I wait a few weeks, and e-mail Mr. Bostock again, but no response. This morning, I e-mailed Mr. Bostock again but also coppied the message to another e-mail address I seen on the website.
Mr. Mike Bostock mentions a completely fictional, non-contract "unenrollment procedure" which extends your enrolment until he terminates it from the time notice is given to unenroll. This means you will continue to be billed as an enrolled student until this period ends. This is not in the contract. Also, if you are using financial aid from FAFSA Pell Grant, Department of Education, Veterans Administration, Department of Rehabilitation, and Workforce Development Center -- those funds will be used and billed while you wait!
This afternoon, I received a reply from a Mr. Tom Van Voorhis explaining to me that I had 5 days from the original contract date to request a full refund, and six months in which I could recieve a pro-rated refund. After the six month period, there are no refunds. Mr. Van Voorhis further stated that while he was not contractually obligated to do so he would send me updated software and books if I would like.
These gentlemen have clearly not held up their end of a legaly binding contract. By their refusal to deliver the paid for goods, and unwillingness to provide the paid for support, they are in breach of contract. I have been more than reasonable and patient with them allowing them ample opportunity to resolve the issue. They have refused to do so. This constitutes theft; They take my money and refuse to provide the goods and services that the contract outlines.
Be advised, these individuals have expressed and unwillingness to correct this matter until now they can see that my patience has expired, so now they make a left-handed effort to appease me. One would be wise to exercise extreme caution in any dealings with these people.
Also beware, Mr. Mike Bostock runs Doc's Computer Repair where his students offer computer repair services as an unpaid internship.
George
Bucyrus, Ohio
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/24/2016 08:25 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/mike-bostock-california-technical-academy/riverside-california-92507/mike-bostock-california-technical-academy-computer-training-academy-cta5-career-train-1329954. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:
#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds
Response to Claim against Mike Bostock and CTA
AUTHOR: Mike Bostock - (USA)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Mr. George
Based on your statements, I see that you enrolled as a student with Laptop Training Solutions. I would first like to express my sincerest apology for any issues you may have experienced in dealing with Laptop Training Solutions or the owners and operators of Laptop Training Solutions and any issues you had with getting them to honor their contract with you. I performed the duties of an Admissions Representative at Laptop Training Solutions in San Diego, Ca. until June 2002. I terminated my employment with that company because I did not agree with the changes the owner was making to the educational plans and the instructional plans or with the way he managed the business, specifically how he treated his employees and how he processed withdraws and refunds. I had an extremely different view than the owner of Laptop Training Solutions on how the training should be delivered, how the education plans should be laid out, how employees should be treated and how withdraws and refunds should be processed. I had heard from other students that after I quit, the customer service and instructional support at Laptop Training Solutions spiraled downhill very quickly. It would have been impossible for you to contact me at Laptop Training Solutions any time after June 2002 as I no longer was an employee and anything emailed or mailed to you with my name on it was done so, in deception, by the operators of Laptop Training Solutions.
Laptop Training Solutions had two locations, one in San Diego, Ca. and one in Vista, Ca. and was solely owned and operated by Matt Kolasar. I believe that Laptop Training Solutions ceased doing business sometime in 2003-2004. If you were a current student at Laptop Training Solutions when they ceased doing business, you may be eligible for some economic relief through a program called the Student Tuition Recover Fund (STRF) which is managed through the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). You should have been notified of this resource when the owner of Laptop Training Solutions closed that school. I assisted the BPPE, at that time, with as much information as I had and I know that many of the students of Laptop Training Solutions, that were affected by the closing of that school, received assistance from the BPPE and the STRF Program. You will need copies of your Enrollment Agreement, Student Loan Contract and any other documentation you may have. You can contact the BPPE at:
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
Phone: 916-431-6959 Website: www.bppe.ca.gov
I hope they can help you resolve your contract issues with Laptop Training Solutions. If you need the contact name and number of the person who was handling the Laptop Training Solutions closure, you can contact me directly and I will get that for you.
After terminating my employment with Laptop Training Solutions, I became the Director at California Technical Academy in Riverside, Ca. California Technical Academy has no business ties and no association with Laptop Training Solutions or the owner of Laptop Training Solutions, Matt Kolasar. As the Director of California Technical Academy, I have worked diligently to build a program that provides a thorough cutting-edge education, thorough support and follows all the rules of accreditation and licensing, to the letter. In 2008, California Technical Academy opened a Satellite Facility in Temecula, Ca. and in late 2016 a Branch Facility, in North County San Diego, Ca. California Technical Academy is an Accredited Institution and maintains the highest standards of an Accredited Institution, at all times. We have very few students that withdraw from our program but when they do, all withdraws are promptly processed under the guidelines of accreditation and all eligible refunds are submitted in a timely manner.
You are correct, Doc's Computer Service is associated with California Technical Academy, as is CalTech Business and I.T. Solutions. However, I do no manage those businesses. It is managed by Keith Edwards and Chris Tower and run by Microsoft Certified Systems Administrators and Engineers as well as A+ Certified Technicians. I believe that you are trying to paint this as a negative, when it is actually a positive that no other schools offer. Doc's Computer Service and CalTech Business and I.T. Solutions provide Computer Repair and I.T. Services and Solutions, respectfully, to the general public and too small and medium size businesses in our communities. They also provide the opportunity for the students of California Technical Academy to get additional, real world, hands-on training, as an extra opportunity, if the student wishes to participate by assisting the Certified Administrators and Technicians at both of these businesses. It is an opportunity for any California Technical Academy Student but it is not a requirement of the programs at the California Technical Academy. Both are VA Workstudy sites. Some students participate as interns and some students get paid to participate and some students get paid by the VA to participate and so far, every student that has participated, has gone on to obtain a great job at the career level and they are thankful for the opportunity.
Lastly, to anyone who is reading this. Unlike the BBB, this website, Rip Off Report, allows anyone to write anything, about anyone without providing one shred of verification or providing one ounce of proof. If what has been written and posted is false, blatantly misleading, purposefully incorrect, completely wrong, slanderous or defamatory, they want $2,000 up front and $500/hr. to start the process of researching the falsely written and posted information. In this instance, they could have easily verified that the author of this complaint lumped into his complaint several businesses that have no connection and no relation to the business that he has issue with. Also, they could have easily found that the person named in the complaint was the former employee of the company that he has issue with, not the owner or the operator of that company who is the individual responsible for honoring his agreements with them.
If you want to truthfully see the professionalism of California Technical Academy and how successful our students are, contact us directly and schedule a time to meet with one of our team members and to speak with some of our students and graduates.
Mike Bostock, Director of California Technical Academy
Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.
