[Dan Cole]

about 8 months ago i had become frustrated with eeking out a pathetic wage playing SNGs and decided to get a job. i was still playing poker and just kind of looking, eventually i found a place in new york city that was a sort of package deal where they put you through armed guard security training and helped you find a job. i did some research and it seemed pretty legit. and everything about the operation seemed relatively legit too.

so i signed up. you have to pay a fee of 2500 dollars which includes your application fee to the city ( which is around 500 dollars i believe ) and pays for all the classes you have to take. the way the process goes is that you take 4 classes at this gun range in NYC learning some basic information about being a guard and learning how to fire a rifle. then after that you fill out an extensive application to the city of new york and wait a couple of months until they presumably approve you. then you take the rest of the courses in which you get your permit to be able to use a gun etc etc. then this place helps you find a job.

so i completed the initial 4 courses and was in the process of submitting my application when i 1) recovered from my prolonged downswing and 2) started to get a bunch of writing work that i had been pursuing and 3) experienced a bunch of success with my blog.

so basically i'm doing very well financially now and the idea of becoming an armed guard is no longer of any interest to me.

i've been calling the security place repeatedly for the past 3 months ( admittedly i keep getting side tracked and going a week or two at a time forgetting to call since i've been very busy ) and i've been having a hard time contacting them. for a while i was trying to contact the guy who was helping me submit my application and soon it became clear that he was blatantly ignoring me. then i started calling the guy who signed me up in the first place and once i got him on the line he told me about another guy who handled that type of thing. i called him repeatedly and he never picks up ( although he apparently does exist because whenever i call and he isn't there, the secretary gives me an estimate of when he will be back ), and his voicemail is full. i convinced the secretary to give me his cell phone number and his voice mail is full on that too.

i'm sort of at a loss of what to do. admittedly it's a pretty dumb situation to be in but i feel i am obviously due at least part of the 2500 dollar application fee since i completed like less than 10 percent of the overall training that the money was for. what would be my best course of action here?

thanks for any help i can get.