Imagine picking up the phone, thinking you're about to get a leg up in your career, only to discover years later that it left you saddled with debt.

That's precisely what happened to one woman, and her story should be a cautionary tale for all Australians, especially seniors.

Adelaide Nikola Cowin was a student at Flinders University back in 2014.

Out of work, Ms Cowin started looking for opportunities on job hunting sites like SEEK and CareerOne.

While job hunting, she received a call from a recruiter representing Franklyn Scholar, a now-defunct tertiary training provider.

The recruiter pitched to her that signing up for an online business management course could boost her job prospects.

Nikola Cowin has been looking for ways to jumpstart her career when she was contacted by a recruiter. Image Credit: Pexels/Kaboompics.com

Along with the pitch, Ms Cowin was promised that the course was 'government-funded', so she had 'nothing to lose'.

Ms Cowin, like thousands of others, signed up on the spot.

She was sceptical at first, but after receiving her login details and being assigned a trainer, she figured that it must be legitimate.

For the next two years, she juggled her university studies and the online course.

'They were targeting people who were pretty much jobless, which, looking back on it now, is rather dodgy,' Ms Cowin recounted.

'I didn't have any reason to really question it. I figured, if it was a scam, it was an elaborate scam.'

Fast forward to 2019, Ms Cowin and her best friend were talking about their HECS debts.

Her friend pointed out that Ms Cowin's debt seemed unusually high for someone who'd only completed a university degree.

After some digging with her university and the tax office, she discovered she had $35,880 in debt.

The most significant contributor was the VET FEE-HELP scheme courtesy of Franklyn Scholar.

'I was thinking, "Hang on, I wasn't meant to be charged for that course. What's going on here?"' Ms Cowin recalled.

She was especially confused after going through the processes with her university, as she knew she had signed a Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) to apply for the loan.

However, she never did. 'If there was a CAF, it was fabricated,' she insisted.

Unfortunately, Ms Cowin's story was far from unique.

During the mid-2010s, the VET FEE-HELP sector exploded as many providers used aggressive marketing tactics to sign up Australians out of work and looking for a fresh start.

A Deloitte audit later found that 86 per cent of Franklyn Scholar students had no online activity for nearly a year.

Many of Franklyn Scholar's students had been enrolled without their consent and knowledge.

Franklyn Scholar was eventually deregistered in 2017, and the government agreed to wipe the debts of students who had not completed their courses.

However, for Ms Cowin, who finished her course, the debt remained.

She spent six years fighting to have it waived, but every attempt has been unsuccessful.

The Department of Finance stated that waiving debts is a 'mechanism of last resort'.

Unless there's clear evidence of wrongdoing, the debt should remain.

In Ms Cowin's case, the Department could not find her signed CAF but argued that didn't mean it didn't exist.

The Department also said Ms Cowin should have received a Commonwealth Assistance Notice, but she insisted she never did.

For Ms Cowin and her partner, Matthew, the outcome of this debt was devastating.

'It just doesn't make sense. Nikola never signed any forms. Why would she sign up for a double diploma at twice the cost of her uni degree?' Matthew lamented.

As young parents on modest incomes, the debt is a heavy burden.

The VET FEE-HELP scandal has left thousands of Australians like Ms Cowin with debts.

These debts covered courses they never wanted, never completed, or never benefited from.

While the government has taken steps to clean up the sector and wipe out some debts, many still fight for justice.

Key Takeaways

• Nikola Cowin was unknowingly signed up for a costly online course, leading to a $36,000 VET FEE-HELP debt she only discovered years later.
• The course was promised to be government-funded and free, but Ms Cowin shared she never signed any required loan documents.
• Despite evidence of widespread misconduct by Franklyn Scholar, multiple attempts by Ms Cowin to have her debt waived have been unsuccessful.
• The case highlighted broader issues with aggressive recruitment tactics, inadequate record-keeping by defunct providers, and difficulties faced by affected students in seeking debt relief.

Have you or a loved one ever been caught out by a 'free' course or unexpected debt? Should the government do more to protect Aussies from dodgy tertiary providers? Share your thoughts and insights about this issue in the comments!

 

[darrellh]

That's a disgrace. The debt should be wiped. They know damn well it is a scam so stop putting them through the wringer. Bureaucracy again at it's worst.

 

[Sherril54]

You certainly have to make sure you read the the dotted line. There is not much free these days!

 

[novezar]

Damned if I know an answer.
Who can you contact when an offer like that is offered to you before you sign up.
There's always a glitch, &, some mongrel is just waiting for the unsuspecting potential victims.

 

[7777]

The manager and staff who conducted the enrolling, prepared invoices and did the administrative work at Franklyn Scholar, should all be brought before a judge in a court room for their misconduct and deceitful actions.
To have students enrolled, who have not been at the school and then give them a mega debt, is incomprehensible.
The people who ran Franklyn Scholar, are incompetent people, who need to be held accountable for their wrong doing and causing a tremendous amount of stress upon students, who don't know how to now, resolve debts that they did not create themselves.
As this was a place of education, the Department of Education need to step in, and use their legislative powers and both represent, and speak, on behalf of the students, to correct that what has been done wrong to them.

That's a disgrace. The debt should be wiped. They know damn well it is a scam so stop putting them through the wringer. Bureaucracy again at it's worst.

 

[suejenkins]

To have students enrolled, who have not been at the school and then give them a mega debt, is incomprehensible.

From the article: The recruiter pitched to her that signing up for an online business management course could boost her job prospects.

The people who ran Franklyn Scholar, are incompetent people, who need to be held accountable for their wrong doing and causing a tremendous amount of stress upon students, who don't know how to now, resolve debts that they did not create themselves.

Actually, they're criminals. They intentionally used hard-pressure sales tactics, a great script, and specifically aimed at young people who felt they were in a desperate situation.

It would be interesting to see the contract the students signed to look over the fine print after reading The most significant contributor was the VET FEE-HELP scheme courtesy of Franklyn Scholar.

To me, that surely sounds like something that would have to be paid back. But who reads the fine print in contracts? I have a feeling these students will from now on.

Courts can only work with contracts, not hearsay. Those who did read the fine print, and understood it, did not sign. Either party could say anything was agreed to verbally.

Obviously, this is only me speculating, but it's a great way for the company to have an out, legally.

 

[marni]

Many of these courses are/were a back door scheme for overseas students. Many of these “students” never sat in a chair, even at TAFE. They were too busy working