I'm kidding, not accusing you of this, so don't come jumping back in a firestorm...  Some people lately have been misinterpreting posts, so I want to make that clear.  But playing devil's advocate, one might say -

"So you basically wanted a discounted rate, while you "checked it out", rather than paying monthly, so that IF you liked it, you'd come out ahead, and otherwise, if you chose not to stick it out, you'd save a bit, by terminating early?"   

That, or:

"Dad saw the charge on his credit card, so you don't want to pay the bill."   

I'm not saying that you are wrong.  I'm not saying Thomas is wrong.  What I'm saying is, I legitimately see both interpretatons / sides of this, and that you'll have to settle it between the two of you.

I didn't say the 'refund' situation was clear.  That's between you and Thomas.

I was referring to your 'original' request of him, to bypass the exam.  His policy was spelled out in the FAQ, clearly.  So because you don't agree with, and want to follow, the standard policy, you requested a refund.

If you buy a software license, and disagree with it after a month, they generally won't refund it, based on time or other usage.  You paid for, and had access to, intellectual property.  I can understand your desire for a refund, but I can also understand his stance, if he doesn't.  So it's a matter the two of you will have to work out.

At this point, it's between you and Thomas.

I'm glad you gave your opinions on the course and the situation, though.  It's always good to get feedback, good or bad, so folks can make their own decisions.

I'm sure Thomas will speak for himself, but as for the question about being required to pass an exam before moving to the next level, this has been in his FAQ for quite some time:

http://hackingdojo.com/faq/


Q: Do new students have access to all the levels of instruction at once? Or do students advance one level at a time?
A: Students advance one level at a time and will only have access to their appropriate skill level. This ensures that a student has the demonstrable skills and knowledge for the next level before advancing; otherwise they would struggle with the new material and hinder the progress of others during the live mentor training sessions. Once the student has demonstrated to the instructor their competency in the skills needed to move on, they do so. Competency is demonstrated through completion of a hands-on, written and practice exam.

Q: What if I already know the Shodan material – do I have to pay for the training, or can I simply move onto the Nidan level?
A: A new student that feels confident they can pass the Shodan exams should immediately ask to take the tests. The new student will have only one week to request the exams and successfully pass both the written and practical. If they fail to pass both, they must complete the Shodan material before moving onto the Nidan material.

Looks pretty clear to me...

hen I took the course, I never had a problem. Writing the report is part of the requirements of a course. I never moved out of the shodan class, because I never felt I learned enough to do the requirements to move up. But that was my issue, not a problem with the course.

As for a refund, try that with a University. You sign up for a class, decide you don't like the teacher and drop. If it's past the drop date, you'll get nothing back. The University I'm at, if you wait too long, you get an E for the course.

As for Attrition... be ready to answer lots and lots and lots of questions. if you want an idea of what it's like, check out the Exotic Liability episode, where Chris Nickerson talks about it. They know how to do journalism over there, and know the power of their brand, and try to use it wisely.

Again, by all means, share away.  We understand.

Very interesting experiences. Hmm. Well, I would certainly agree that if there was unused portion of the class and subscription remaining, most companies will refund the unused portion. I would review anything you signed, the sites policies. If there is no clause stating that there are no refunds, then I would say you have a legit gripe on that account. I would also consider inquiring about if he would refund the remaining amount if you did complete the course (i.e. the report)

I must say, I had a friend who had an experience with Hacking Dojo where they said they had contact issues as well... I cant confirm anything independently, but the situation was resolved eventually.

I dont know about attrition, I would personally reserve that for the most extreme and blatant cases. This seems more like disputes.

Even though I haven't had any bad experience with the Hacking Dojo, I think you should contact http://attrition.org/ about this. (Twitter: attritionorg , Email: jericho[at]attrition.org)

This is an open forum.  Review away.  (My only request is that the review be written respectfully, even if negative.)  But opinions are welcome.

I think he means one of the members (i.e. "pentest here", which should be "pentesters" in plural form.)

If I can guess the name without saying who, I get a free beer  

I have uniqpass - I haven't had an opportunity to use it enough to really form an opinion on it yet. What little I have used it, I haven't been too impressed - more so in the fact of what it missed that other wordlists I have identified.