Diver Training Rip-off - Divers Beware!

[L. Smallman]

Thanks you all for your comments on this thread. I too was very interested to hear Bob Bigg's side to this story. However, he has chosen not to contact me or respond to any of my calls or emails up to this point and remember I have been leaving phone messages and emails since 1/15/01.

Jeff from A.K.A. Divers did post a comment on this thread and I have been in contact with him via email. I have been copying emails to Bob over to Jeff and Jeff has confirmed to me that he is receiving the copies. Jeff suggested I visit the shop during business hours to have this resolved, but there was no reference as to why Bob will not contact me. Bob is not only the owner of the shop but was also the trainer. I hope Bob does post something, anything, to this thread. I hope he contacts me with the information I requested. As I said at the beginning of the post, I was interested in hearing from Bob Biggs, but I no longer care what his excuse might be I just would like my "C" card. I do understand, however, that it is important that he let ya'll know his side. So I hope you get to hear it. Bob used both PADI materials and TDI/SDI materials in the training sessions. I contacted them both and have heard back for PADI: they say the Cert. number Bob gave me is not a PADI number (this was a number he gave me to identify him as my trainer). PADI also says they can find no paperwork filed on mine or Mitch's (my diving buddy) nitrox training. So I am awaiting a response from TDI/SDI.

At this point I would rather not have to go to the shop. When I have called there in the past no one there has been able to answer my questions. The shop is not close by for me, I work fulltime and I have three kids to get back and forth to several different schools and practice. Email or phone seems an easy place to take care of this. Here's hoping we all hear from Bob.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[King_Neptune]

Nooooo, no, no ...

For those that all sent me PM's and emails .... I'm not saying anyone is right and anyone is wrong ... I did not even make 1 single mention of this shop or of the person making the claim in any specifics. Gezzz people, read closer! I said, almost word for word, exactly what you said. There is two sides and we will dig until we find out all the facts.

Additionally, what I said was in "gereral", towards seeking help from us here ... My only point was that I don't want to discourage anyone from looking for help with a matter. I know nothing about this shop nor this person and never claimed to.

I just don't want people to think that they cant raise questions or seek advice or help when dealing with a shop. There is obviously two sides to all stories, but I want people to feel free to speak up if they need help and have a legit problem.



=-)

 

[L. Smallman]

We are all still waiting the dive shop's side of the story...and I am still waiting for the "C" cards.
Laura

 

[L. Smallman]

I have contacted the shop and emailed the owner many times, since 1/15/01. At first I tried not to be a pest and called every two weeks, I always got the shop manager who's last day was this past Saturday.

If, you have been keeping up with this thread you will know he could not explain why the owner/trainer has not contacted. He also did not want me to mention his name anymore in connection with this problem.

I am beginning to have the same concern as you about the Certification ID numbers. I sent another email to TDI last night and I am awaiting their reply. I emailed the owner again this morning. I feel like such a pest! But it really shouldn't be this hard...should it?? Most likely I will have to go back down to the shop and I will have to take time off from work to do it and who knows whether the owner will be there?

I'll let ya'll know as soon as I here anything from TDI and/or the owner.

Thanks,

Laura

 

[turnerjd]

Laura,

The best thing that you can do at the moment is to send copies of your logbook off to the training agency you were expecting the card from. This should work if there is an instructor number there. Put a covering letter with it (plus copies of all the relevant e-mails) and ask their customer services people to sort it out. They will also have someone similar to the PADI Student Research Co-ordinators, who is their expert in dealing with these things.

If you don't have any registration numbers in your logbook then it is a bit harder, and I don't know what else to suggest to you.

What would make me very suspicious is the use of more than one agencies materials, and that you don't really know which agencys' certification you were doing.

There can be one of two reasons, either he gave you several agencies and false numbers because he wasn't qualified to teach that course, so you didn't know who to complain to, or, there is some other politics going on within the shop that we are unaware of.

I don't know which it is, but it could very easily be the latter. It is normally the shop that takes the money, then provides you with the relevant materials, and the instructor with the PIC to register you, and his fee per student. Now, if the shop was doing something dodgy with the 'special offer' and cutting corners to reduce the price there could very easily be something else going on between the instructor and the shop that we don't know about.

Often in diving you get what you payed for, low prices generally means that they have cut something somewhere. (for example, in instruction it is generally the time for the course, the number of people on the course, and the quality that suffer)

Just .02

Jon T

 

[ericfine50]

Sounds about right. I wonder if the PADI or SDI/TDI would have what certifications he has on file?

Eric

 

[turnerjd]

Eric,

I had a play with the PADI ProCheck, and DiveCheck, but it is very difficult to check online if you only have a name. Also we don't know how the name appears on the card. (eg Bob X Biggs, Robert X Biggs, Robert Biggs etc.....) and without a birthday you can't use the DiveCheck system.

I will look through my back issues of the PADI UJ, you know the section, the one where it said Joe Bloggs (#XXXXX) has never been a padi member etc....... to see if he has appeared there recently.

Jon T

 

[Tom]

... in the 3 SDI classes that I've been involved in, the cards were handed out at the end of the class. Last weekend when my son was certified, he had a card in his hand before we left the dive site.

Tom

 

[L. Smallman]

Thanks for all the information. I will keep checking and go forward with your advice. I did all my prior training with another trainer, not involved with a dive shop. He was great and always gave us temp. C cards as soon as the training was complete and my cards always came even sooner that he said they would.

I was worried about getting all my training from one person and thought maybe it would be a good idea to diversify and have the advantage of different viewpoints as far as training.

Boy, do I regret that now. I intend to go back to "old faithful" for any further training.

Laura

 

[L. Smallman]

Okay everyone, I actually managed to get Bob Biggs on the phone when I telephoned his shop today! He said he had been gone on a commercial dive job.

I did ask why his store manager was not able to handle the problem during this time as I had been calling since 1/15/01. He said his manager had been "taken care of". I don't really know how to take that, as although not real helpful the former manager was always courteous and I got the feeling from him it was his idea to leave. We may never really know. You may remember when I spoke to the former manager on Saturday and he said that it was his last day and did not wish to be associated with any of this.

Bob agreed I had a legimate reason to be dissatisfied with the service and the way I had been treated. He said he would refund both my fee and my buddy's fee. He said he would send in the paperwork to TDI for our C cards today or tomorrow and that he would send us temp. cards.

I am very happy about this development but, I will let you all know what actually materializes. At this point, I will take a "wait and see" attitude. I can't help but think this thread had something to do with the apparently more cooperative and positive turn of events in this situation. I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Thanks again to all have offered advice and comments. I will let ya'll know how this turns out.

Thanks,

Laura