Thats you off my xmas card list
Do you work for padi by any chance , no , of course not. Yeah right
Firstly , I have been with Padi for a while and do not complain about the training and other services that they provide.
The instructor that I was talking to is a personal friend of mine , and is not tied to any dive shop. He has had to buy the manual from DIVE SUPPLY in bangkok. The shop is known as probably the cheapest dive shop in bangkok , and the price increase is reflected at most dive shops throughout bangkok and thailand for that matter.
The reason that you need to buy the manual , is that the paperwork that gets sent back to padi is included in the book , so if you dont buy the book new , you have no paperwork to send back your course details. Sort of like , being held to ransom.
Secondly , we were just out on a fun dive , so not I nor anyone else was on the course , the subject just came up in a discussion. The information that he has was given to him by Padi in australia.
If I have got my facts wrong then Ill be the first to apologies to Padi , if not then I think Padi should start listening.