CBT & A1 Licence - major problem :-(

Sorry to hear how harshly you were treated. To give you a further option for training I can recommend my old instructor, Martin, who is based in Croydon. I'm afraid I don't know what the deal is for training people with impaired hearing but if the location suits maybe you could phone and have a chat with him. Hope everything works out, and don't give up.
http://www.motorcycle-training.f2s.com/croydon.html

Hey, OK, here's my idea. My stepdad is going deaf through old age and has a hearing aid that although is not the same make as yours, is very similar in layout.

I know this sounds weird but he's got really big ears and it was always tight, so we extended the tube between the bit that goes behind the ear and the bit that goes inside the ear. It is after all only a clear, empty, plastic tube for the sound to travel down. So you could extend it a bit more and wear your hearing aid around your neck, even just under the lower lip of the side of your lid, on a string or some elastic, with a slightly longer tube going to the ear-insert part. Can you at least wear that bit? If you separated the two bits and connected them with a longer clear tube, know what I mean?

Then simply tape the normal ear-piece of the CBT school's radio system directly to your hearing aid (brown, behind the ear part you've now got round your neck), for the duration of the training. You may need to set it to the telephone setting in case of feedback, I don't know...

We got more of that style clear pipe from a local modeling shop, I think they use it in pneumatics too, with inserts and everything. You know, local shops for local people where they sell radio control cars and planes and stuff. I bet if you took it into and explained your situation to them, they'd knock you something up that would work for free. If I lived near you, I'd bl**dy well do it myself.

Do you understand what I mean by all this? This way you can use you hearing aid and take the CBT like everyone else without paying a premium or having to put up with people's bulls**t.

Good luck. Let me know if you need me to be less clumsy with my explanation.

P.S. Where there's a will there's a way...in situations like this anyway.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

I booked a CBT today and got up this morning to go and do it. However on the way there matts bike failed (he'l put up a post later about that) and we had to get a recovery van back to his dads garage.

In the meantime I rang up the Training place where I booked my CBT (Nigel Norton) and they were SO angry and rude and basically told me to go elsewhere because they had "gone to a lot of effort to get arrangements in place". (for those that d ont know, I was going to have one-to-one tutition for £90 due to my hearing impairment).

They then told me that they had brought in a specially trained instructor (god knows why, I dont sign, I can lip-read without hearing aids). I finally managed to get a word in and said that I physically couldnt get there but I was happy to pay a cancellation fee - which was £90.

I feel uncomfy going back, so I rang a different training place in London who were very kind and happy to help. But they have no experience of training deaf people and were not quite sure how it would work. Its normally £125 (to teach 4 ppl), but for one-to-one they said they would have to bump up the cost to £200. I asked if the increased fee would apply for the A1 licence and they said "yes but we dont know how we would train you since we use the radio intercom system". I told them I would think about it then put the phone down and just cried at how difficult it is to do a simple thing

£200 is too much should I swallow my pride and try Nigel Norton again? and hope they are nice to me?

I dont know what to do. Maybe I should give up altogether

Maria

p.s. [Edit] oh, and if anyone knows of somewhere in london that could train me, id be grateful if you could let me know.

Sorry can't read all the replies but if the thread is still on topic & you're still looking for answers (probably not ) why didn't you get a taxi instead of Matt's broken bike? surely would have been cheaper than £90 cancellation fee?
I would be careful about cutting off your nose to spite your face before you dismiss going back to the same place £90 sounds a lot better than £200 to me.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Stu

Sorry can't read all the replies but if the thread is still on topic & you're still looking for answers (probably not ) why didn't you get a taxi instead of Matt's broken bike? surely would have been cheaper than £90 cancellation fee?
I would be careful about cutting off your nose to spite your face before you dismiss going back to the same place £90 sounds a lot better than £200 to me.

OK read a few more replies, and in my defence 'cos I know I will get slated for my 1st impressions
I'm just saying that out of the 2 choices I would rather stick with 90 than £200. If you can find a better place that's reasonable all well & good
I thought £100 was the min limit before credit card co's got involved on your behalf?
Still think a taxi or other transport would have been reasonable in the circumstances as I would have expected a cancelation charge as you say like a dentist. It's not as if you needed Matt's bike to do the training on.

have you been through the yellow pages or typed it in t'internet tbh i wouldnt go back to them either.

Originally Posted by Stu

OK read a few more replies, and in my defence 'cos I know I will get slated for my 1st impressions
I'm just saying that out of the 2 choices I would rather stick with 90 than £200. If you can find a better place that's reasonable all well & good
I thought £100 was the min limit before credit card co's got involved on your behalf?
Still think a taxi or other transport would have been reasonable in the circumstances as I would have expected a cancelation charge as you say like a dentist. It's not as if you needed Matt's bike to do the training on.

Im not bothering on getting the money back, its my word against his and TBH, I dont want to deal with him/the company again because they were very rude and told me "to go somewhere else" before I had even explained why I couldnt make it in the first place. Even with an explanation, they continued to be rude even though I said I was more than willing to pay the cancellation fee.

I couldn't get a Taxi or alternative transport because I wouldnt have made it in time. They dont accept late-comers so I still would have been turned away.

I think I had a lucky escape..!

Maria

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

Im not bothering on getting the money back, its my word against his and TBH, I dont want to deal with him/the company again because they were very rude and told me "to go somewhere else" before I had even explained why I couldnt make it in the first place. Even with an explanation, they continued to be rude even though I said I was more than willing to pay the cancellation fee.

I couldn't get a Taxi or alternative transport because I wouldnt have made it in time. They dont accept late-comers so I still would have been turned away.

I think I had a lucky escape..!

What nasty pieces of work You sound well rid of them Maria, good on you. Have you found a place to take your CBT now then?

[BillyC]

Maria,

First of all, I'm really sorry to hear of your experiences. It's appalling for anyone to be treated in that way, no matter what their needs are.

You, and everyone here know that you'll get this sorted, though I think we've all met some obstructions along the way.

I've an avenue that's at least worth pursuing, so I'll PM you details...

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Miss Alpinestarhero

I couldn't get a Taxi or alternative transport because I wouldnt have made it in time. They dont accept late-comers so I still would have been turned away.

I think I had a lucky escape..!

Maria

Ahh, I see sounds very harsh and as you say, sounds like you're well shot of them, shame it was such an expensive & upsetting lesson

All the best with your future learning