Ok well this should answer everyone's question about compensation. This just in from PADI.
Dear Tracy,
I'm sorry but we are unable to provide you a refund or compensation for payments made to Ms. Treanor as she is not a PADI employee and your fees were paid directly to Ms. Treanor rather than to PADI.
In light of the circumstances however, if you decide to seek training from a different instructor for your Deep Diver and Dry Suit Diver specialty certifications, we would be pleased to waive the processing fees that are typically required to process these certifications. In order to accomplish this waiver it is important to have your new instructor contact me in advance of your training so that I may explain to your new instructor how this can be accomplished.
Best regards,
Tom Warnack
Consultant
This isn't quite a refund of the processing fee but I think it is almost as good. PADI doesn't want to lose the sale. It is like when you go to a store, buy something and return it for a refund. Some stores will give a full refund. Some stores will charge a restocking fee. Some stores will give you a store credit. PADI is giving you a "store credit" on the processing fee. If you don't want the Deep Diver and Dry Suit Diver specialty training, maybe you can work something out with PADI to apply the money to some other course processing fee.
If PADI revokes your certification then they should make good on something. I do see PADI's point that they were not paid for the classes. My money did go directly to the instructor who then screwed me. It's not a matter of whether or not I care about or even need the certifications it's a matter of personal honor. She did not "give" me these certifications because she felt I was qualified, it turns out she needed a quick buck and I was one of her patsies. I know there are many people out there who would rejoice at the fact that they received C-cards for basically having to do nothing but I'm not one of them. The piece of plastic means nothing to me, it's the heart and effort that went behind receiving the certification that matters, the sense of personal achievement in knowing that I earned it. I did not earn these certifications and this is why I reported this instructor.
This is something that has always irked me. PADI sets the standard and certifies that an Instructor is capable of providing the required training. After that the only money which is directly tied to any training you get is the processing fee. If the course requires books and/or videos, the instructor/shop purchases the materials from PADI then sells them to you. If the instructor charges you for a course but does not provide the required training materials, PADI does not see any of the money. The instructor just pockets the money and you get ripped off. If the instructor does not give you the appropriate training then PADI can only investigate the instructor to see if they are still qualified to give the training they proved they were capable of previously. One or two complaints could just be students who didn't pass and wanted the certification anyway. When I was getting my OW there was another student who really wasn't getting it. He was a complete disaster. They didn't give him his certification. Even after working one-on-one with an instructor he failed to do the required skills. He said he was going to complain to PADI and have the instructor's license revoked. He was an excellent instructor. As I learned more and more about diving I realized how good my first instructor was. The problem was that other student not the instructor. PADI did not do anything to my instructor. I'm sure that guy ranted about how horrible PADI was and they were all just a bunch of crooks.
In truth, I have seen a lot of bad instructors. A friend of my wife wanted to do a referral. My shop was too far for her boyfriend. The shop he decided on gave them classroom work, no books, no pool time then sent them to the Caribbean to finish their open water dives. The shop in the Caribbean total them they had been ripped off and needed the books and pool time. They refused to do just the open water dives and said they could pay for everything. They did the whole certification in the Caribbean. I total them to file a complaint with PADI but they never did. They just wanted to put it all behind them.
I am glad you filed a complaint. It won't get you all your money back but it might stop Ms. Treanor from doing this to someone else. The cards you received should have Ms. Treanor's PADI number on it. You can check her status at
PADI Pro Chek. If you go to this page
Consumer Alerts you will find links for expelled and suspended members. If Ms. Treanor is suspended or expelled it will appear on these lists. I cannot see PADI withholding this information from you but making it publicly available on their website. Even if they let you know they are done with their investigation, you can go to the website and see if she was suspended or expelled.
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That's where that PADI accounting sounded an alarm. Those things aren't free, you get to buy your own set of each- can't even xerox the test forms.
PADI has a hard time keeping track of who has materials or not. They don't require the instructor to buy the material directly from them for each student they have. For example, we had a contract instructor at my shop. He'd train students using our gear and facilities. We'd sell the student the materials, gear, etc. and the instructor would get paid for giving the training. He would also send in the application. PADI could probably figure it out and confirm we sold the books to the student but they don't.
Other scenarios I have seen... a large online retailer buys materials in bulk. They get a discount from PADI for buying bulk. They sell the material online. As an independent instructor, I might pay $80 for all the materials (just making a number up) but due to a bulk discount, the large retailer is SELLING it for $60. Rather than buy it from PADI, I'll buy it from the large retailer. PADI has no way to track this.
So receiving a PIC from an instructor but no request for materials isn't unusual. All the forms are in the books. The student is required to tear the page out of the book and submit it for their records. The shop/instructor is supposed to hold on to the forms. They submit the results but not the actual paperwork. This is because PADI doesn't want to store millions of forms. It also saves the instructor the money mailing the forms to PADI. They just submit the results electronically. PADI trusts the instructor has a copy of the students forms. Now if someone complains and says they never got the material, PADI will request the forms. When Ms. Treanor fails to produce the forms it will support TracyN's claim.
