Northstar Thinktank misleading advertising, rip-off, take your money that's all they are interested in Austin Texas

In December 2008 I joined Bob Doyle's Coaching Program. I received two 'interview' phone calls from two different members of Bob Doyle's staff inviting me to take part in this program. When I said that I had no computer experience, I was assured that all I needed to know was how to turn a computer on and how to move a mouse around. So I paid $8000 for this program which was supposed to take approximately 6 months to complete.

I was passed on to a mentor at Northstar Thinktank for the course. The course consisted of showing me around a few sites, then giving me homework to do. The homework was to read and study other people's material on how to start up a website and put it into practice. If I wasn't sure about certain aspects of this work, they suggested that I get professional help, namely someone employed by their company, at additional costs. I did ask for help in setting up the website which cost me an additional $1000, but only half of the promised work was carried out. Five months through the program I was still very confused and still just as ignorant about using a computer and only then did they send me a link to help me learn about the computer, which I believe should have been given to me during the first month. Unfortunately, this link is only accessible to people in the US and Canada. There were quite a few hiccups after that which resulted in the Program Manager getting in touch with me.
We discussed all the problems. When I mentioned that the two initial phone calls were very misleading about not needing any computer experience, the Program Manager personally told me that they don't normally take on 'newbies'. She also promised to find a way for me to get access to the link for learning about the computer. A week later I was sent an e-mail saying that they were not responsible for that. I responded by asking how they normally train 'newbies' who reside in other parts of the world. I also asked for a reimbursement. Then I received an e-mail saying that they don't normally reimburse people who drop out of the program but in my case they would reimburse me for part of the program minus an administration fee. I reluctantly agreed to this. I was told on the 16 June 2009 that they would reimburse me with $2500 and it would be paid into my credit card. After several e-mails following up the progress of this reimbursement, I received this e-mail on the 22 July 2009:
Larry Horwitz 'You have been more than patient. I wish I could wave a magic wand and have your refund in your hand tonight. Unfortunately, the refunds are not my responsibility to take care of. That duty belongs to the Controller and the CEO. All I can do is continue to bother them on your behalf to get them to take care of this sooner than later'.
I think this e-mail summarises the attitude of the company.
I would like a reimbursement of the full $9000 paid to the company as the website has been aborted.


Lorna
Guildford
United Kingdom