all 30 comments

[–]LorienTheFirstOne 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Since they have a refund policy and you passed that date, its a difficult thing to cancel without the vendor agreeing. Your only possible reason would be if you could show that they engaged in unfair practices in making the sale somehow, That would give you recourse under the Consumer Protection Act. Greed leads people to bad choices.

[–]shivi47[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First of all, thank you for such a quick reply, it means a lot at this time constraint.

I see, okay that's a good place to start. Thank you!

[–]boymonkey0412 10 points11 points  (5 children)

Doesn’t AM 640 Toronto have an infomation type show on this OTA? It sounds like a huge scam.

[–]shivi47[S] 9 points10 points  (4 children)

It's a really big investment trading course and they have many positive reviews but all of them sound very fake and are too optimistic like an infomercial. It most definitely sounds like a scam but somehow they've legally covered themselves a little too well for the time being.

[–]badtradesguy 7 points8 points  (1 child)

honestly man your parents seem dense if theyre dropping coin like this.

[–]Head_Crash 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's basically how the "self help" industry works. They make wild claims about teaching people "secrets" that only the rich and powerful know. The reality is that drive, ambition, intelligence, and most importantly social connections are what seperate the successful from the failures.

Realistically, investing isn't complicated when you don't have money.

[–]Head_Crash 1 point2 points  (0 children)

most definitely sounds like a scam

Most scams do. They generally want to target people who are willing to overlook that because those folks are less likely to put up a fight.

[–]alphawolf29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

investment courses like this are always a scam. Kevin o'leary used to get paid huge sums to endorse them.

[–]beeskers 8 points9 points  (2 children)

As one person mentioned, the small claims court option might be one way to go. You could meet with a lawyer to see if a letter to them stating you have obtained representation is enough to get them to back off. Generally speaking scam companies don't like to end up before the courts for any reason.

Check to see if there's any cause through consumer protection: https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-rights-when-signing-or-cancelling-contract

[–]shivi47[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I am definitely going to look into this path as well.

[–]earthforce_1 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think in Ontario you have 7 days cooling off time to cancel? I think it was for door to door sales, check if it still applies.

[–]mPisi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

US FTC Sues Online Training Academy for Running Investment Training Scheme

This is action in the US, but they might be feeling some strain recently. I wanted to post in case anyone else is searching on the OTA scam.

[–]Sask-a-lone 7 points8 points  (4 children)

Not a lawyer, but as a consumer I can stop paying for any service I signed up for and let them take the case to small claims court. They might take it to collections which will hit my credit score in the US (if I have any). If I don't then maybe it won't matter that much? Then I would try my best to get back whatever downpayment I made either by negotiating directly or take them to court (assuming I have a solid argument).

Good luck OP, this case definitely sucks.

[–]ArcticLarmer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a Canadian agreement he linked, the contract specifically states that the contract is signed in Ontario and follows Ontario law.

I was wondering if it was a foreign agreement too, but they could totally obtain a Canadian judgement, or seek collection using an Ontario based agency. The actual company they contracted with seems to be a Canadian based expansion of the original organization.

[–]shivi47[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I appreciate the advice, it's good insight.

I tried to see if there may be a way to stop payments but the contract definitely says that the account will be sent to the collection agency if a payment is not made on time or is missed completely.

I'm not sure if my parents have any credit score in the US but if sending their account to the collection agency hurts their credit in Canada, it would be horrible. They've worked so hard as immigrants over the years to build this credit, it would ruin a lot of what they worked for..

Nonetheless, your help is much appreciated and I will definitely do my best to see if I can find a way for them to stop paying.

[–]Sask-a-lone 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Something I learned and read about how judges look at financially challenging cases: if it feels consciously unfair they are quick in throwing the case out of the window. Maybe lawyers in this sub can explain it better but it having a "student" as the contract describes your parents to continue paying an outstanding amount of - say - $32,000 after they changed their heart towards a "training" program seems totally unfair. No conscious judge would push a student to pay for a training he/she don't want anymore. Most training service providers will make it easy for students to step down. If this case was laid in front of a fair judge they might save your parents the haggle if paying 10s of thousands even after signing an agreement.


I really appreciate this insight, and it makes me less afraid of taking this route. I’ll bring this up with my parents and see if I can slowly introduce this option. Thank you!

[–]STR-6055 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Okay, I found this information in the Consumer Protection Act Regulations (O. Reg. 17/05: GENERAL) regarding Personal Development Services. It reads:

Your Rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002

You may cancel this agreement at any time during the period that ends ten (10) days after the later of the day you receive a written copy of the agreement and the day all the services are AVAILABLE You do not need to give the supplier a reason for cancelling during this 10-day period.

In addition, there are grounds that allow you to cancel this agreement. You may also have other rights, duties and remedies at law. For more information, you may contact the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services.

To cancel this agreement, you must give notice of cancellation to the supplier, at the address set out in the agreement, by any means that allows you to prove the date on which you gave notice. If no address is set out in the agreement, use any address of the supplier that is on record with the Government of Ontario or the Government of Canada or is known by you.

If you cancel this agreement, the supplier has fifteen (15) days to refund any payment you have made and return to you all goods delivered under a trade-in arrangement (or refund an amount equal to the trade-in allowance).

So I suppose the question is: are the services "available?" If not then you may still have time to cancel the Contract as per the Consumer Protection Act. Nevertheless, you should contact the Minsitry of Consumer and Business Services or whatever the equivalent is today and see what your options are.

[–]chrisnew 2 points3 points  (1 child)

This is specifically for “Personal Development Services”, which are usually defined as health and fitness services. It is a stretch to include the classes described above.

[–]STR-6055 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're absolutely right. I overlooked that.

[–]shivi47[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, thank you so much for going to so much work to pull this up, I appreciate the effort.

I’m looking into the Consumer Protection Act and thank you for letting me know about the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services; will absolutely look into it!

[–]anywhatever 1 point2 points  (1 child)

they're under investigation in the US, halted with assets freeze and barred from collecting loans https://www.ftc.gov/comment/reply/1566133
they changed their name showing "sage. professional services" instead of "online trading academy.education" in the transaction and keep trying to charge credit card. guess you can dispute charge saying you have nothing to do/no contracts/obligations with that company


Thank you for the update! I appreciate that people are still helping me out, every bit is useful ☺️.

[–]OTAOfficial 0 points1 point  (2 children)

u/shivi47 - Hello, can you please email us at [socialmedia@otahq.com](mailto:socialmedia@otahq.com)? We would like to directly help you with your issue. Thank you!

[–]shivi47[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Hi, I've made an attempt to contact this email address however it either doesn't exist or cannot receive emails. Please let me know if there is another way to contact you.

[–]OTAOfficial 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just sent you a Reddit DM. Happy to help you.

[–]Yotototo420 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Omg. I didn't even read the whole thing. I get SO angry with idiots (no offense) paying even a few hundred for trading BUT ESPECIALLY Forex courses!

If I could make tons of money trading, on a market open all day 6 days a week, why the fuck would i waste time teaching people my secrets instead of just trading?

Forex is straight gambling. I play fucking stock options which many consider gambling but i wouldn't touch forex with a 10 foot pole

33k for shit you can learn on youtube? Man....

[–]anywhatever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

there are still people who are both teaching and trading successfully even forex, but seems like not in this particular case we have here

[–]Head_Crash 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Find a lawyer ASAP. A lawyer can help find a way out if there is one. Don't wait.


Thank you for emphasizing the urgency, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to get professional help on this as well, seeing the time constraint. However, I’m wondering if there are any affordable consultation options for this situation.