Education

The webpage included the following description of the course:

“Medical Secretary Course. Are you hoping to develop a career as a Medical Secretary? Our QQI Medical Secretary Course is designed for learners who wish to gain a recognised qualification as a medical secretary to enable them to begin work in a new role. QQI Medical Secretary…”

The complainant said they signed up to the QQI Medical Secretary course (level 5) as advertised. On completion of the course, the advertisers provided them with a virtual certificate which stated, “Medical Secretary”. On receipt of the physical certificate in the post, however, the title of the course was listed as “Medical Terminology”. The complainant said that while they had studied medical terminology as part of the course, this was not the title of the course they had signed up to.

The advertisers said they communicated with each learner on an individual basis, therefore, the complainant would have received a course brochure after submitting their email. They said that the brochure clearly stated that the learner would receive two certificates, one from QQI called “Medical Terminology” and another from DCM Learning called “Medical Secretary.” As QQI did not offer a medical secretary award, they said it was the case that dual certification was provided for the course in question.

The advertisers said they had discussed the dual certification process with industry partners over several years and had received plenty of positive feedback. They said they considered that the decision to purchase the course would not have been made solely on the marketing material referenced by the complainant as their team personally reaches out to each learner to ask about their interest in the course and their background, based on this information they advise if the course is suitable for them, and they also offer phone calls to discuss further. They said it was a thorough process to ensure the course is a good fit. They also said that the brochure, which provided further information, would also have been taken into consideration by the learner.

Complaint Upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.

The Committee noted that the course had been advertised as a “QQI Medical Secretary Course” whereas it was only one element of the course that had QQI certification. The Committee considered, therefore, it was misleading to include a reference to QQI in the title of the course.

In the circumstances, the Committee concluded that the advertising was misleading and in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement should not appear in the same format again.