An aspiring practical nurse claims that she has been left to 'sit in limbo' for almost a year after paying $250,000 in school fee but has not had any classes.

THE STAR understands that the 33-year-old woman has since tried to get a refund but that too has been futile.

Diane Tomlin told THE STAR that she was introduced by a friend to the Kingston-based school which has an affiliation with one of Jamaica's top-rated universities.

According to Tomlin, she paid her school fee last April and was told that classes would commence last June. However, she was further informed by the school that classes would not begin until September of that year.

transfer or refund

"When September came they told me something else, they asked me if I wanted a transfer or a refund and I told them that I wanted back my money. They said once I write a letter indicating a refund the process would take a month and six weeks and up to now even after I have done all of that I still cannot get back my money," Tomlin said.

Interestingly, Tomlin claims that it was after she had paid the school fee, that she was informed that the school was not given the go-ahead from the Nursing Council of Jamaica.

She further reasoned, "I heard that the school is in some financial difficulties but that is not my problem. I have waited long enough and I need my money so that I can pursue my studies elsewhere. When I got the chance to speak with the director of the school he managed to tell me that the school is not a bank and I really don't know what that means. But I know that I have my receipts showing that I paid the fee to the school's account."

When contact was made with the school, we were informed that Tomlin was in fact registered for the practical nursing programme. However, we were told by the school's accountant that because Tomlin had opted for a transfer after the programme got delayed, this may have hampered her refund.

When questions were raised as to why the refund process is taking so long and if the school is in financial difficulties we were directed to the school's director.

However, calls to the school director's phone went unanswered.