大象传媒

A family from Carmarthenshire have spent more than a year trying to track down their dog 鈥� after an attempt to find him a new home ended up with him apparently up for sale on the internet.听

Tracey Evans, from Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, had owned her beagle, Buddy, since he was a puppy.听听

She said: "Buddy was about twelve weeks when we got him. He was an adorable, affectionate, playful dog."

But two years later, with the family working full time, they felt Buddy wasn't getting the attention he deserved and took the painful decision to find him a new home.

They spotted an advert from someone in Cardiff looking for a beagle on a pet trading website. Tracey phoned the number and found herself talking spoke to a woman calling herself Hannah.

Tracey said: "She informed us that Buddy was initially for her father. Her dad was looking for a beagle and wanted a companion that he could take for walks."

The family met Hannah in a convenient supermarket car park in Carmarthen to hand over Buddy.

Tracey said: "She seemed a really nice person. It was very difficult for us to know that we were going to part with him, but she did inform me that we'll be able to visit him.鈥�

But just after Buddy had been handed over to Hannah, the family say something very worrying happened.

Tracey said: "I needed her to complete the microchip paperwork and for her to put a signature on the piece of paper that she was actually taking legal ownership. She went to her car and then within seconds she just drove off."

Tracey was stunned. A few hours later, when she went online, she made a shocking discovery.

"She'd put Buddy up for sale that evening for a hundred fifty pound on the Pets4Home website,鈥� Tracey said. 听

There was no photo so she couldn't be absolutely certain, but the advert came from Hannah's computer. Tracey tried for days to get Buddy back. When Hannah finally replied, she did offer to return the dog, but the family said they could never pin her down to arrange a meeting. Then communication broke down completely.

X-Ray texted the mobile number used by Hannah. But the person we spoke to wasn't called Hannah. She was called Heidi Pullen and lives near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.听

She had several accounts with the Pets4Homes website and placed 24 wanted or for sale ads with them.

Tracey said: 鈥淚t still torments us. We just need him home, we just need to know where he is, if he's being well looked, if he's being cared for."

X-Ray spoke to Heidi Pullen. She says she used the name Hannah for personal reasons, and claims she paid 拢50 for Buddy. This is something the Evans family deny.

Heidi听says the dog is safe and well, but won't say where. She says she can't remember putting Buddy up for sale, and hasn't explained why she placed so many wanted and for sale ads on the Pets4Homes website. She says she did offer to return Buddy, but says it's Tracey's fault that didn't happen. That offer, she says, is no longer open.听

In these tough economic times it鈥檚 not easy to get a job, which is why so many of us are signing up for training courses.听 And you don鈥檛 need to attend your local college to learn anymore 鈥� there are thousands of online courses to choose from.

Rebecca James, from Beddau, Rhondda Cynon Taf, thought she鈥檇 chosen the perfect online course for her.听 Rebecca put her education on hold eight years ago when her daughter Robyn was born.听 But, determined to make a better life for Robyn and herself, she enrolled on a teaching assistant course with Cambridge Open College.

Every moment she had spare, Rebecca would crack open her text books and get studying.听 And her hard work was paying off 鈥� she passed each module with flying colours.

In December 2014 she sent off her final piece of coursework and waited for her graduation certificate to come through the door.听 However, as the weeks passed there was no news from the college.

Rebecca tried calling and emailing but there was never any answer.听 Then one day, when visiting the Cambridge Open College website, she got the news that it had gone into liquidation.听 And worse news was to come 鈥搒he wouldn鈥檛 be able to transfer any of her completed modules to a different college.

Rebecca now has nothing to show for her 18-months of hard work and her 拢295 course costs.

The problem has arisen because there doesn鈥檛 appear to be any exam board supporting Rebecca鈥檚 qualification. All she was going to receive was a certificate issued by the company.听听 So when the company went bust she had nowhere else to turn.

So how can you avoid getting caught out in the same way as Rebecca?

• or will be able to offer you support and advice here in Wales on where to start when you鈥檙e first looking for the right course
  
• Find out what others are saying about the course by searching online forums
  
• Accredited courses are more likely to be recognised, and if anything happens to the college, you will be able to transfer the credits you鈥檝e already earned. You can get help searching for accredited courses in England on the website or by contacting for those in Wales
  
• Worried about the college? Check with for Welsh based colleges offering online courses and the for English based ones
  
• If you鈥檙e studying in the hope it鈥檒l get you your dream job, check with relevant employers that the course will be recognised/valued in your chosen industry
  
• Treat it like any other online transaction 鈥� take care