Demetriou company accused of unconscionable conduct by ACCC

[Lucifers Hero 39,798]

Demetriou company Acquire Learning accused of unconscionable conduct.

An interesting article: "Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou's vocational education company Acquire Learning has been charged with unconscionable conduct and false or misleading behaviour after it sold tens of thousands of government-funded courses to vulnerable job-seekers...The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has alleged in action before the Federal Court that the company bought the details of unsuccessful job applicants on websites such as CareerOne, then cold-called them to sell expensive diploma courses."

That reads as AD owning the company but the article says he is Executive Director.  It could be both.  Nonetheless, the 'unconscionable conduct and false or misleading behaviour' happened on his watch so has responsibility and accountability.

(BTW, why is a company listed on the stock exchange in Career One doing 'selling the details of unsuccessful applicants' to anyone.  I thought privacy laws made that illegal in this country).

It must be very strange for AD for the shoe to be on the other foot, so to speak and he being with the party that has behaved badly and is off to the Federal Court.  I always had a bit of time for AD but a lot of people are going to have a field day over this.

The more I think about it the more appalling this situation is.  A company taking advantage of vulnerable people to exploit them and profit from their vulnerability.  Doesn't get much worse than that really.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Lucifer's Hero

[monoccular 17,428]

It will be fascinating to see how this unfolds.   Am I correct in saying that he has no official rôle in the AFL now?   If he does it should be suspended pending the outcome.  

[Gorgoroth 12,950]

vlad is about to realise he isn't that important...

[beelzebub 23,374]

why am I not surprised

[daisycutter 29,616]

well, while at the afl he had a lot of experience in how to bleed public money from various governments. just a continuation of feeding from the trough

the amount of money the afl (and it's components) get direct from governments is a disgrace considering they are one of the most financially successful sports organisations in the country

[Whispering_Jack 30,107]

The title to the thread is somewhat misleading because Demetriou's company is not engaged in the game but private enterprise and of course, has yet to be found guilty of committing an offence.

If you want to relate it to the time he was AFL CEO then by all means but IMO quite independently of the issues of this case, Demetriou's final years at the helm were littered with several questionable decisions which has many including myself scratching our heads in bewilderment at the way he was running the competition.

Still, there are those who will argue that it doesn't matter because the AFL was making money. That's what I call an embarrassing position to have in the context in which the competition was conducted at times.

[Lucifers Hero 39,798]

The thread title was meant to be a bit ironic as to how the tables have turned for AD...but I can see the problem. 

Mods by all means change the title...I would but I don't know how...

[sue 9,106]

AD's firm may be innocent but ideological cutting back of TAFE for private firms to take over has led to a rash of rip off merchants.

[beelzebub 23,374]

31 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

The thread title was meant to be a bit ironic as to how the tables have turned for AD...but I can see the problem. 

Mods by all means change the title...I would but I don't know how...

edit is your friend

[Lucifers Hero 39,798]

32 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

edit is your friend

Thanks Bub

[John Crow Batty 8,863]

2 hours ago, sue said:

AD's firm may be innocent but ideological cutting back of TAFE for private firms to take over has led to a rash of rip off merchants.

This is only the beginning. Now it is students and the unemployed. Wait till NDIS fully rolls out. There will be scams galore and the disabled will be mightily ripped off.

Edited December 17, 2015 by america de cali

[Clintosaurus 7,846]

I think they sponsor Carlton. Might be on their shorts.

[beelzebub 23,374]

7 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

I think they sponsor Carlton. Might be on their shorts.

They are a sponsor.....good get

[Biffen 12,943]

There is not much new about this.

Unfortunately an industry has grown around the educated being employed to exploit the jobless uneducated.

Half the agencies promising jobs are in fact frauds.

Therese Rein made a killing off it.

Many of them claim to be non- profit but are solely profit,no performance.

The training of skills in this country is laughable and so are the agencies apparently linking the labour to the industries.

They are basically parasitical life forces feeding of the promise of a job that never existed before the person signed on for the course and the job is unlikely to exist when they have driven the jobless person further into debt.

Unfortunately, there are many kids out there looking for meaningless-soft office jobs.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

[Rod Grinter Riot Squad 5,654]

The money some sods make ripping off the government and unemployed by getting them further 'education' is astounding and the system is as corrupt as just about any in the country

[monoccular 17,428]

48 minutes ago, Rod Grinter Riot Squad said:

The money some sods make ripping off the government and unemployed by getting them further 'education' is astounding and the system is as corrupt as just about any in the country

As corrupt as the AFL and in particular  its Tribunal and MRP.?  Surely not. 

[Cards13 9,117]

All the shifty D2D f's who left the energy sales industry flocked to the education for $$ sector. The money these slime bags make is disgusting, the fact is come from the government/people getting scammed  is even worse.

[Rod Grinter Riot Squad 5,654]

54 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

All the shifty D2D f's who left the energy sales industry flocked to the education for $$ sector. The money these slime bags make is disgusting, the fact is come from the government/people getting scammed  is even worse.

The people are getting scammed, the government know what is going on and how much is being rorted. Some in it turn a blind eye, undoubtedly taking their cut.

[Whispering_Jack 30,107]

2 hours ago, Cards13 said:

All the shifty D2D f's who left the energy sales industry flocked to the education for $$ sector. The money these slime bags make is disgusting, the fact is come from the government/people getting scammed  is even worse.

In that case, surely some AFL club has missed an opportunity to secure a lucrative sponsorship from one of these companies? ?

[rjay 24,928]

47 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

In that case, surely some AFL club has missed an opportunity to secure a lucrative sponsorship from one of these companies? ?

 

5 hours ago, Clintosaurus said:

I think they sponsor Carlton. Might be on their shorts.

AquireLearningWatch....

Interesting that Trigg has a similar CV to someone else.

[AllMyTeamsAreWank 564]

I spent the last six months working in this industry and left only 2 weeks ago. I left because it is the most misleading and predatory industry I have ever been a part of and didn't want a bar of it.

The government set up the private education industry so that RTOs basically had a licence to print money at the expense of the young, uneducated and easily persuaded. Unlike tertiary institutions, RTOs can charge whatever they want for their courses and have access to $100,000 worth of VET FEE-HELP loans to fund courses, which the student is required to pay back HECs style. The reality is, most students will either never earn enough to pay them back or don't understand they will even be saddled with a debt. The most unbelievable statistic is only 7% students pass courses that are completed online, which is the majority. RTOs have been taking a healthy slice of government funding whether their students pass or not.  The government is only really now starting to put the regulations in place to stop rip-off merchants from making a quick buck.

To put it into context, one of the providers we worked with was charging $27,000 for a Diploma in IT. You could do a Bachelors at Melbourne Uni for less! Another was charging $32,000 for a "Business Mastery" course, which is just a Diploma of Business with a fancy name.  

Acquire Learning have a reputation for super dodgy sales tactics and making it extremely difficult for students to withdraw once they realise they've been duped. Just google 'Acquire Whirlpool' to get an idea of it. 

I'm happily sitting on the sidelines, now hoping the government closes up all these sharks and starts from scratch. 

Edited December 18, 2015 by AllMyTeamsAreWank

[Mach5 4,767]

Maybe not illegal, but certainly not ethical.

[Lucifers Hero 39,798]

I notice that the link in the opening post now goes to a somewhat different article and the para's in "quotes" have been removed from the story and it is much 'softer'.  The first article is no longer available on The Age website...ah, the beauty of the internet...unpleasant things just disappear into the ether!

I also notice that the story has not appeared on the AFL website, which occasionally has stories about AFL 'personalities'.

The cynic in me wonders if powerful forces went to work on The Age and the journalist over the last 24 hours to temper the story!!  Like, 'lets bury it as fast as we can!!  Expecially if 'Acquired Learning' sponsors Carlton and we all know which high ranking AFL Commissioner was premiership captain of. 

Yes, I'm cynical but I just don't trust anyone at or connected with the AFL. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by Lucifer's Hero

[AllMyTeamsAreWank 564]

35 minutes ago, Mach5 said:

Maybe not illegal, but certainly not ethical.

Which part? Much of what RTOs and brokers like Acquire have been doing is in violation of regulations, namely inducements and hard sell tactics.