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What can I do if I have already been defrauded by a Paintless Dent Repair training school? Can I get any of my money back?

We hear this question all the time. You may be able to get part or all of your money back depending on these factors:

#1 The state where the training school is located. Paintless dent repair training schools are called vocational institutions by most states they are in. In many states there is a government run bureau that will arbitrate between you and the vocational school that gave you poor training. You do not need a lawyer. These bureaus generally favor the student if you have your reciepts, and have any witnesses that were there at the time of your training such as another student that can verify the poor quality of the training. The witness will be interviewed by phone so there is no need to travel.  You will be asked to fill out some paperwork, and the whole process can take anywhere from 4 weeks to several months depending on the state. 

      If the state does have a vocational bureau, and the paintless dent removal training school is not registered with the state, you may be entitled to a full refund of all tuition because the school falied to register with the state, and is conducting an illegal business.

     In states where there is no government bureau the chances of getting a refund are poor. Hiring a lawyer can easily exceed the costs of a refund, and the training school counts on this fact.

The best way to determine if your state has such a bureau is to do a  google search on "fill in your state vocational education bureau". This should bring up the state agency responsible to help you.

#2 The contract you signed. This of course varies widely. If the school has state approval to operate, the contract will state the specific rights you have.  Many contracts contain little about what happens if a student is unhappy about the training afterwards but the state bureau can still help you if you act soon enough.

     Many paintless dent repair training schools try and get you to sign something saying you were satisfied with the training, and as you already know you don't really realize you have had bad training untill months after you have been trained. In many states this statement you may have signed means nothing legally and is meant to try and discourage you from sueing after you realize you were taken. Some conditions set forth in the contract with the school may not be binding on you because the conditions of the contract are not applicable in that state. 


NOTICE: Unfortunately in California as of July 2007 the bureau responsible to regulate vocational training schools in California (the BPPVE) was dissolved. There is now NO regulating authority in California to turn to if you have been financially harmed by any school. TopGun PDR Training is the only PDR training school in California to sign the voluntary compliance act of the BPPVE to insure that you have recourse if you have a formal complaint. All other PDR schools in California can now do whatever they please with no fear of reprisal because they will not sign this agreement that has been offered to all vocational schools in California. See the link http://www.bppve.ca.gov/voluntaryagreelist.pdf

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What you can do to prepare for Paintless Dent Repair training at TopGun

 

      There are several things you can do to prepare for PDR training. But first lets talk about a few things you should NOT do.

# 1  Don’t practice!  It is ALWAYS easier to train a person that knows nothing about paintless dent repair than to train someone that has practiced on their own. Practicing incorrectly only leads to bad habits. The fewer bad habits you have the quicker you will learn.

     If you have already trained at a mill type school, or with a training video, stop practicing and just relax until your training begins with us.

#2  Don’t  worry.  It is my responsibility to teach you paintless dent removal. As long as you have better than average hand eye coordination,  good eyesight, and patience, I guarantee you will learn this art.

#3  Don’t buy any tools. Even if someone offers you a great deal. Most tools out there are junk, please don’t waste your money!

 

Now for the dos

#1  Get your marketing plan going now.  Most techs wait too long to start this most important step.  Plan your domain name,  website layout,  and basic marketing strategy before you train if at all possible. I am always available to help with this, and there is a special section on TopGun to help you prepare your marketing plan. Call me for details.

#2  Exercise and stretch daily. This may seem trivial but it is very important. Most people tire quickly in the forearms, and shoulders when first practicing paintless dent repair.  The following exercises will help you to develop the muscles you will need. It isn’t necessary to bulk up, or lift heavy weights, just do a moderate amount of these exercises.

     Squeezing a rubber ball. Do this for 5-10 minutes a day with each hand.

     Wrist curls both front and reverse with a light weight ot barbell

     Back  Stretches  especially for lower and mid back.

      Light push ups for shoulder and back muscles

#3 Prepare your family. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, learning Paintless Dent Repair takes a commitment to practice regularly after training for 2 to 3 months. It really helps if your family is ready to support you, and realizes that your free time will be limited for a while.

 

What is the best type of reflection system to use for Paintless dent repair training?

      In paintless dent repair we use a reflection on the surface of the panel to show us information about the dent, where our tool tip is, and how to fix the dent. The most important thing to have while your learning PDR is the right reflection for your eyes. There are many types of reflections such as fogs, lines, bare bulb, natural reflections, etc. Each of these reflection types have advantages and disadvantages for each individual tech. Also, each of these types have several variations. For example, we use 44 different fog variations when we are dialing in a student who needs a fog board, so we can find the perfect reflection for that student.

So which reflection method is the best? The answer is, there is NO BEST REFLECTION. What works for one tech may often not work for another because everyone sees things differently.  So how do you find the reflection that works best for you? The only way is to experiment with every type to determine what is best for you. It also greatly helps to have someone experienced in using all types of reflections to guide you through this process. Most techs end up with a combination of two reflection types that works best for them in most situations. There are also times when a tech may need to use two or more reflections to see everything they need to see to get a quality repair.

Unfortunately almost all trainers will teach with the relection that they use. If you don't see the same things the trainer sees with his reflection, you can be in for a very frustrating experience. At TopGun this is one of our specialities. We take the time and effort necessary to find you the reflection, or combination of reflections that work best for you. So when you hear a PDR  trainer say that the reflection he uses is the best one out there, and is the only one you should use, this is not a good sign of a competent trainer. What can be even more confusing is using a fog that is borderline for your eyes. This is because you can see enough visual information to fix most dents, but not enough information to do a clean and fast repair. This is a very common problem with many newer techs who were ony exposed to one reflection type during training.

In addition you must know how to adjust the reflection that is best for you to get the most visual information from it. Many techs use a good reflection for their eyes, but never really see all that it can show them because they don't know the fine points of how to adjust and use it. A good trainer will know the fine points of every type of reflection so he can help any student to find his perfect reflection.

The single most important tool is  the right reflection for your eyes because you can't fix what you can't see.  Techs using the wrong or borderline reflection to repair dents is probably the #1 reason many techs do poor quality work.