The Knowledge Academy Norwich - Norwich

Chris K.

I booked a CeMap course, to become a mortgage advisor. I have used The Knowledge Academy (TKA) in the past and not had an issue, however, this was the worst experience I have dealt with.

I was already dubious, when all suppliers in the industry were offering 10-14 day courses, and TKA were offering it over a 3 day period. The salesman assured me that there would be no issues at all, as they are very experienced. Based on my previous experience, the timeline working out in my favour, I went ahead and booked the course and subsequent exams for after the course.

When the course started is when all the issues started. The guy taking the course openly admitted to not having done the subject before, and not having much knowledge of the subject. He was pleased when a Mortgage Admin was taking the course, as all questions could be aimed at her for the answers, to which she wasn't too pleased about.
During the course, the instructor just proceeded to read out the slides, without any further information being provided for them. It was basically an audiobook, which was pointless and not why I chose 'Instructor-led' option. I wanted to be taught, however, not one single question was answered.

The instructor didn't know we had left the EU, which caused issues around some of the questions. The data was out of date by 2 years, meaning that there were a lot of inconsistencies with the facts due to the changing landscape of this subject. The main issue arose when another attendee asked if there was going to be an exam for the subject, to which the instructor advised there would be nothing required, as the course gave all the information and attendance certification required to pass. Not only is this incorrect, but I had to make sure the others were clear they needed an exam. It is not my place to explain to the other attendees, how, where and when they needed to take exams, that is the instructor.

The course was designed for 9-4 over three days; at 1309 the instructor tried to finish for the day, but we requested to continue on. He then finished the course at 1400, stating that he has fully completed Module 1, the instructor then proceeded to say there was nothing more to teach for that day and said it would end there, then left.

Module 1 was therefore completed in 2 hours and 40 minutes when you take into account the breaks. Other courses take 5 days to complete Module 1. What an absolute debacle, they have not only outsourced this to India, but they have done so with someone with no knowledge and no understanding of the subject matter, so he is basically just reading the subject matter aloud. The content didn't cover anywhere near enough of the exam, as I went through the content and a mock exam, of the first 20 questions only 3 were covered in the content. I didn't pay £800 for them to not even cover the subject matter.

I am utterly ashamed that they are able to call themselves accredited, as they shouldn't have anything of the sort to give this kind of training. I would like to add that I feel sorry for the other attendants on the course who suffered the same fate as myself.

I have made it abundantly clear to TKA that I am unhappy with the course. I didn't attend the subsequent days, as there was no point. I made a complaint, requested my money back for the terrible service that was provided. The only solution they are willing to offer, which took time to get anyways, was a credit to be used in the next 6 months. Why would I want to use you again after such awful service? I will be speaking to the LIBF to ensure they are aware of this situation.

John