I fell for the Sterling con as well.
Even went as far as paying for the CPC test,then was chatting to the bloke who runs the CPC test place (In Wembley),and when it transpired I was doing a Sterling course,he refunded my money and explained that unless I was running a transport co there is NO WAY I would pass a operator’s CPC course without a huge amount of study.
Bloke got quite animated about it and said there should be laws about such misleading claims.
What did Sterling do about that then? Could you carry on with the course or what?
Hmmm… there seems to be a new STICKY at the top of this forum 
Seen it but i seriously doubt people will see it in time to be honest.
stormnation:
Seen it but i seriously doubt people will see it in time to be honest.
If it helps a few, it will be a start 
stormnation:
What did Sterling do about that then? Could you carry on with the course or what?
Well I’d already passed the Class 2 by then,realised I’d been had,so decided to put it down to experience.
By the way,has anyone taken any legal advice on claiming a refund from Sterling?
I thought about it but haven’t got the time or money to bother with it.
They really shouldn’t be able to get away with blatant lies like that though.
Oh,and no,I wasn’t allowed to do the Class 1 without passing the CPC test.
Unless I paid £1400 or something to do a separate Class 1 .
I was told by Sterling the CPC is a simple test about driving hours etc.
Lying ■■■■■■
Use your rights!
If you have paid for anything that you feel is a ‘con’ or not delivered the service you paid for - then contact your Credit Card company and ask them to chargeback the payment. Say that you have been misled and money taken form your card without full knowledge of what it was for.
This CPC scam is exactly the kind of thing credit card companies hate - if as a consumer you have been misled, then the card companies will refund your money and automatically take it from Sterling. It is then up to Sterling to prove that they have not misled you at all.
As Sterling take payments over the phone - the transactions are listed as ‘Cardholder not present’ - this gives you 100x more power than if you bought something face-to-face with chip and pin.
Once you have contacted your card company - they will contact Sterling and ask for all sorts of documentation to refute your claim.
You WILL get your money back. This is especially true of deposits and part-payments…where you have not recieved any actual goods or services for your payment.
(I used to work in Visa’s call centre - so I know…but now I’m almost an HGV driver!)
PM me if you need any more help.
JT
Leonard Hatred:
Oh,and no,I wasn’t allowed to do the Class 1 without passing the CPC test.Unless I paid £1400 or something to do a separate Class 1 .
I was told by Sterling the CPC is a simple test about driving hours etc.
Yep, i was in the same situation too 
So i thought bugger that, id rather take my money else where, so i found a provider who i should have gone with originally to my class 1 with, unfortunatly id already done my class2 and passed with them, ah well…hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it? 
Stu190:
hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it?
Hindsight might be but the empty pocket isn’t
stormnation:
Stu190:
hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it?Hindsight might be but the empty pocket isn’t
Definatly, i see them regular as the head office is in Basildon i beleive? Where i deliver down there i just cringe when i see one riding about
Stu190:
Definatly, i see them regular as the head office is in Basildon i beleive? Where i deliver down there i just cringe when i see one riding about
YOu cringe at the sight of the empty pockets?? 
Yes, the Head office is at Cornwallis House, Howard Close, Basildon SS14 3BB, just incase you were wondering 
Leonard Hatred:
I was told by Sterling the CPC is a simple test about driving hours etc.Lying [zb].
If that’s what you were told, then they lied to you. 
I can tell you for a fact that there are 30 (thirty) modules to the Nat CPC.
In fact, they couldn’t even lie properly, because there are 2 modules that relate to drivers’ hours.
Here’s another CPC factoid:
The exams are split as follows:
UNIT 1: 30 MULTI-CHOICE QUESTIONS IN 45 MINUTES
UNIT 2: 40 MULTI-CHOICE QUESTIONS IN 60 MINUTES
UNIT 4: 8 CASE STUDY QUESTIONS IN 2 HOURS
You need to pass units 1, 2 and 4 in order to gain a National CPC certificate.
Leonard Hatred:
I fell for the Sterling con as well.
Even went as far as paying for the CPC test,then was chatting to the bloke who runs the CPC test place (In Wembley),and when it transpired I was doing a Sterling course,he refunded my money and explained that unless I was running a transport co there is NO WAY I would pass a operator’s CPC course without a huge amount of study.
Indeed! I’m still waiting for my results from the March CPC (about two weeks till they’re released) and I can safely say without fear of exaggeration that I put in about 300 hours of study Whether it has paid off remains to be seen…
Oh, BTW, did you get the package which included a free ADR course? That would be the free course excluding the exams (£200)
Dr Dubya:
Oh, BTW, did you get the package which included a free ADR course? That would be the free course excluding the exams (£200)
There is another route to taking ‘combined’ ADR exams, but not all providers use that system.
Exam fees of £200 is a legitimate price for Core, Packages, Tanks and seven classes.
But then again, exam fees of £120 can get you exactly the same ADR licence.
(It is a slightly higher risk option.)
It’s a case of knowing which questions to ask when making the bookings.
I’d stress that the choice of which exam route to use lies with the provider NOT the candidate.