Dear Nairalanders,

Many of us have lost our dreams to student recruitment agents and study abroad consultants. In some cases some are unable to recover from financial losses sustained through these transactions. Anybody applying through an agent to study abroad is at risk. Because of the cross border nature of these transactions, prosecution is a long process and many give up the fight in pursuit of justice, allowing agents get away with their actions.

This needs to stop.

Below is an account of my experience with Aerocadet Academy/ Raich Aerospace LLC.

I signed a flight training agreement with Aerocadet Academy to attend the Full Professional Pilot Programme. As per the agreement, Aerocadet was to enrol me at a Flight Training Center (FTP) in Miami Florida and provide documents for visa support. On my part, I was required to pay the sum of $5110:
$515 – Flight Training Provider enrolment fee.
$1750 – Payment for internship with Raich Aerospace LLC to gain experience. Location would be my home country of Nigeria as this would also serve for home tie.
$2845 – 5% of the tuition fee, refundable upon completion of training.

According to their website, their services are free but the agreement stated that I had to make all payments to the FTP through them to enable them earn a commission, which was understable. It also stated I would be charged a consultancy fee totaling 5% of my tuition if I defaulted in any way or cancelled the agreement.

I signed the agreement and made the required deposit.

Aerocadet’s aviation training consultant- Russ Sherwood, whose online profile also reads Airline Captain at Delta Connection, sent an offer of employment letter with the wrong FTP details. I sent at least three emails requesting the letter be corrected, he responded to these emails at least twice addressing other concerns but disregarded my request for an amended letter. He claimed he did not receive the requests.

The VO pointed out that the information on the letter from Aerocadet that did not match details on my Form I20 and my visa application was refused. Russ Sherwood suggested that I go to Canada for the initial training and transfer to the USA from there or cancel the agreement if I wanted. Then the GM of Raich Aerospace Gene Carroll made an apology and said the company would pay for my US visa application after I had completed the initial training elsewhere and was ready to transfer to them in USA.

After careful consideration, I declined this suggestion and asked for other options. I was told I could cancel the agreement in which case they would retain my deposit as consultancy fee.

When I said I had logged a complaint locally with a federal agency for prosecution through a partner agency in USA, they sent an email warning to terminate all direct email communication with me. They said they would only communicate with me/the authorities through their legal representative and only via mail sent to their Hong Kong offices.

It is common knowledge that failure to perform by a party nullifies an agreement, yet Aerocadet/Raich Aerospace continue to hold me to the terms of agreement that had been nulled by their negligence. With no care for the implication a visa denial on the grounds of presenting inaccurate information at the embassy could have on my record or that I was losing valuable time as a result of their action, I was being made to bear the financial burden for their negligence.

The activities of these agents need to be regulated to ensure fair practices and stop the exploitation of foreign applicants made vulnerable by international borders.

Kindly click on the link below to sign the petition. This cause needs your signature to make a difference. Together we can. Thank you.

https://www.change.org/p/federal-trade-commission-regulate-the-activities-of-overseas-student-recruitment-agents

...need to get some info from you based on aerocadet...