Complaint Review: SmartCertify Direct - CBT DIRECT - Clearwater Florida

In December 2004 I was contacted by a very 'forward' salesman about IT Training. They promised incredible things, great courses and when I asked about paying for this AND a certification test....they told me they would do the testing and administer the certificaiton...no extra cost. Being a struggling family man of limited means I did the 'smart' thing and signed up for the $1200 dollar course to acquire an A+, Network+, and MCSE. These among other promised things never materialized.

Promised was LIVE tutors,certification testing and administration, a cd with simulators for training with all the components of the MCSE including different server and situation sims. All this was a joke, never heard from a live instructor, the courses were apparently written by the owners gerbil, and guess what... NO CD OR DOWNLOAD.

4 Months after signing up, my newborn son went into the hospital for 2 months at a hospital over 2 hours away. Obviously being dissatisfied and otherwise occupied with my son in the ICU, I did not have time to negotiate with CareCredit(another whole ball 'o wax) and the account was placed in collections.

Negotiated with CareCredit after the fact for a $300 downpayment and $110 per month until the balance was paid. A total of $1200 plus the $300 original 4 months was paid. Also during this period the SmartCertify site kept freezing, going down, and moving without a forwarding address. Now 2 Years later I have a 'cut off your toes' style collection laywer breathing down my neck with a $2600 dollar bill threatening to go to court. Also they claim a 32% interest rate on the $2600 while things are figured out. Also my account has been sold multiple times to collection agencies even while making payments. I guess they lost patience and decided to try to force a collection.

The two parts of this tale of woe are this....SmartCertify never delivered on their promises - 1. Live Instructors 2. Instructive Materials(Ended up getting a book from the library for FREE to study...and passed) 3. NO CD or Downloaded Trainers. The second part of this SERVICES NOT RENDERED scam is the credit agencies that shuffle you around, threaten to take you to court, and JACK UP YOUR BILL WITH ASTRONOMICAL CHARGES.

If I lose this battle I will end up paying $6300 for a course that is free from the library or low cost from a community college. So, now the fight forges on...I am contending that the services I PAID FOR were not rendered...and the original bill was not paid. Cost comparison is this... if the original $1200 had not been paid AND %32 interest was due on 24 months...it is ONLY $1968 not the $5000 they promise to charge in court. AVOID THESE PEOPLE AT ALL COSTS!!!!! It is a scam from end to end.

In closing...ask yourself if you ordered food and never got it, or got a worm infested piece of garbage, would you pay for it? No! Most certainly not...we need to do the same with unscrupulous frauds like SmartCertify(CBT Direct). If you can, stay out of SmartCertify's way, and if you have already been duped by their scam, do not stand idly by and let them take money from your FAMILY'S pocket. This is a total outrage and I am joining as many CLASS ACTION SUITS as possible and forwarding all information I have to the New York State Attorney General's office for investigation and prosecution!

Charles

Plattsburgh, New York
U.S.A.