Let us see how Pan Am performs ...UPDATE!!

Perpetual, No I am not...at least not yet. I don't know if they have breeched the contract. When I left, I signed a paper stating that I would come back in person to pick up my deposit and go over any necessary paperwork. Instead, Pan Am decided to mail everything to me. I haven't received anything in the mail yet so I don't know what information they sent me. You wouldn't happen to be getting a group together to file a lawsuit would ya??? LOL If so, let me know. /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif
 
Do you have an email address of the people you are dealing with over at Pan Am? I'd like to drop them a line.
 
This Pan Am crowd make Enron, Worldcom, etc look like decent people. I'd sure like to see this sort of story on the news to educate people about their proactices.
 
Flip, if Pan Am pisses off enough students, you just might get your wish...LOL. /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif
 
Well this certainly is one of the more interesting threads. I'm not going to pick sides because I have no flying experience and no experience with a big school, yet. I do think that this thread has been very informative. I can certainly see that something like this is possible. Money is involved of course. I don't care how much it is. Because I am a potential customer of a big school such as PanAm, I am interested in the stories of those who have been there, both negative and positive. I can make my own decisions. So thanks for the posts everyone, from both sides of the fence. FLDiver I hope you do get your money back and can further your training. I also hope this is an isolated occurrence and not something that goes on regularly at PanAm.


I put down my T.C. Boyle book because this was more interesting. Well, not really. But I am interested to hear what happens next.

Good luck to all! /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif
 
Thanks for the post....While I am not encouraging people to choose sides, I am informing people of my experience at Pan Am. I have really tried to be as accurate as possible without revealing any names or intentionally trying to piss people off. Just a note here, I don't know what is in the package that Pan Am sent me. For all I know, it may be a refund of my money along with my deposit. I can only wish. On the other hand, it may be bad news. They may want me to come to Ft. Pierce and go over charges and paperwork, Who knows. I will keep the forum updated though. No matter what the outcome I will try to keep the forum updated. Hopefully I have helped future students make a better informed decision about which school to attend. I really think Pan Am has the "potential" to be an outstanding school. With a good attitude adjustment, some changes in their contract and a reminder of who the customer is, they may be one of the better schools. But for now, they (Pan Am) are digging a huge hole and covering themselves up in it. That is truley a shame. /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
and a reminder of who the customer is,

[/ QUOTE ]

I do have to agree with you on this part for some things.
 
stuffed banana peppers, its an italian thing my girl makes.

i do hope you get things resolved, i do hope you get your money back. i can completely understand why you are so upset. it is a bunch of cash. for students that don't mesh well, the school ( any school, or business) should just take the $2k the student signed away as a contract termination fee and reimburse the rest in a timely fashion. it gets you out of thier hair, and it also lets you get on with your life. you both get to cut your losses.

either way, i didn't mean to be an ass to ya. sircumstances got me a little less than composed. i apologize
 
have you spoken with the Better Business Bureau? Panam is a member company and the BBB provides mediation services for situations like you find yourself in now.
 
Dak....apology accepted!! Thanks for the reply and the understanding. I know I do sound like a broken record at times. As far as the school taking the 2K....why? It doesn't cost that much to break a contract. They just want your money. I agree with breaking it off ASAP and getting on with it. There is no reason to keep someone's money for that amount of time. I really think that if they just would have let me go peacfully, I would have never outted them like I am doing now.
Dak, I went back and read some of your posts on other threads. I must admit that I admire your dedication and positive attitude throughout your stay at Pan Am. It seems to me that you have witnessed and experienced some of the same things that happened to me. Some students have dropped out or have been kicked out due to various reasons, they even put you in the Instrument ground school while you were still studying for your PPL. They did the same to me....RUSH RUSH RUSH!! They talked about pulling me out of the Instrument ground school but it never happened. I really think it hurt my total learning experience trying to keep up with both. I see they tried charging you with a flight that was cancelled due to weather. I am glad you called them on it and had no trouble getting it resolved. Most of the time there was no problem with getting things straightened out, but there comes a time when you have to say enough is enough. You have seen it for yourself, students dropping out or being kicked out, students failing checkrides and stage checks, students being charged for things that didn't happen. I am sure not all of it was Pan Am's fault but you have to stand back and ask why there are so many people that this happens to.
I had similar instructor problems, I had many instructors while I was at Pan Am, I was assigned a primary but flew with many people due to various reasons, then one day I showed up and was surprised to find that my primary instructor had been changed to someone else, I was never notified in advance. On a positive note, the last instructor I had was very good. I learned a hell of a lot from him. We argued and yelled at each other sometimes but all in all he helped me out a great deal. Now that I am looking back on my experience at Pan Am and all that happened there, I realize that there will be some problems along the way and you have to deal with them as they come. But when you are paying 57 K to a school, you really should expect better performance from them. You really shouldn't have to watch them like a hawk. And you know the rest of the story. Keep studying hard and stay dedicated to what you are doing, keep your nose clean and watch Pan Am...you will see daylight at the other end and you will make it through.

Jim
 
Ok..new UPDATE !!! I got my "package" in the mail. After 60 days of holding my money, all they could or would produce is one single sheet of paper stating that XXXX amount of money was sent back to the lender. There are portions that are even hand written!! Also, it states that there is no deposit on file !!! How in the hell could I have attended the school without giving them a deposit?? I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they made a mistake and sent my deposit to the lender with the rest of my money, even though I did fill out a form stating that I wanted my deposit returned to me directly.
I am going to make a prediction here, I am going to call Pan Am in about an hour, give them time for lunch. I am going to demand an itemized statement, because they failed to send me one, and ask where the hell my deposit went. I am willing to bet that they will give me a hard time about getting an itemized statement and will have no clue where my deposit is. Just a prediction...let see how well Pan Am performs. I am getting ready to pay a personal visit to this place. /ubbthreads/images/icons/mad.gif

Jim
 
These schools really need to learn to be more student oriented. These money and "administrative hell" stories about PanAm and the obnoxious marketing of Comair are putting a bad taste in my mouth before I even get a chance to see the schools. I am still going to look at them objectively and decide where I will get the best training and future prospects.

It seems like these schools need to make a few changes in attitudes and they would improve their reputations greatly. They would be better off for it, including financially.
 
That's why I always say, find a convenient school that you feel comfortable at and train there. Airlines could care less where you trained at.

I got my private from a school that specialized in training crop dusters... big deal! /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif It was down the street from my house and I could ride my 10-speed there after 6th period Trig!
 
1:30 pm. 7/18/2002, placed another call to Pan Am, again got the voice mail, left message to call me back regarding an itemized statement and information on the whereabouts of my deposit. Still waiting !!!
I have decided to seek out the FBO that fits MY needs to conduct the rest of my training. I see no need to sign my life away again. It will take me a long long time to recover from the losses of attending Pan Am.
Doug, any new news or info on trying to contact Pan Am?

Jim
 
I'm still digging through my cards to find my contacts information.

I wish this happened over at DVT because I'd just drive down there and talk to them myself.
 
Doug, I will be able to get you the information within the next couple of days, when I return home. Thanks.

Jim
 
You know, next time you talk to Pan Am, be quite frank and let them know that this thread's gotten over 300 views in 3 days by potential students.
 
WOW !!! I didn't realize it, but you are right. Now imagine the PR and the prospective students, if all this info had been positive and a good review of Pan Am. One student CAN make a difference...I hope you guys at Pan Am are tuned in and learning from this !!
New UPDATE !! My call was returned, I was shocked, it was the same girl who had told me it was none of my business what Pan Am did with my money. This time she was very cordial and gave me no hassle about getting my itemized statement ( I wonder if my letter of complaint to the CEO brought her down a few notches).
I will have to dig up the reciept of my $500.00 deposit and she told me that if I could prove that Pan Am got my $500.00 that she would return it. Hummm.....I am still skeptical. Just because they were prompt just this once, still doesn't make up for the money they took from me. I am sure the itemized statement that she promised to send me will tell the tale. I am not expecting to get my money back, I am sure I will have to make more and more phone calls about the fradulent charges. Doug, next time I do talk to Pan Am, I will definately let them know about this website and this thread. STAY TUNED !!!

Jim
 
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