The owner of a beauty college which refused to refund two students from Brent despite offering a money back guarantee has been fined and ordered to compensate them.

Samonson Afolayan, whose businesses trades as the London School of Health and Beauty, admitted false advertising after he was prosecuted by Brent and Harrow Trading Standard Services (BHTSS).

Brent Magistrates’ Court heard the two residents signed up to the college after they were shown impressive state-of-the-art facilities at the London Metropolitan University in Islington.

Two days before the course was due to start they were sent an email saying it was being held at a different address in the borough.

However, on arriving the students found that the accommodation was locked up and once opened it fell well short of expectations as it was held in a small, dark room, with no proper treatment, toilet or washing facilities.

The premises were so substandard that the tutor emailed the students to apologise that she had resigned.

When the pair asked for a refund they were refused despite the college offering ‘a ‘100% Money Back Guarantee’ claiming if students were “...not fully convinced that the training you are receiving is of the highest standard, the tutors are not fully dedicated to your success or that the teaching you receive is not engaging enough, we will refund you every penny of your investment”.

In a further twist the college passed on one of the student’s details to a debt collection agency as she still had not paid the full balance of the course at the outset.

In court Afolayan said that there had not been a deliberate attempt to mislead anyone and he will make changes to the refund policy.

He pleaded guilty to two offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for falsely advertising.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,307 to BHTSS plus £2,129 compensation to two the students.

Bill Bilon, head of consumer and business protection at BHTSS, said: “Businesses who make statements such as this clearly designed to induce customers, must ensure they provide exactly what they are claiming.

“After their experience with the college, the students should have been given a full refund as the tuition and facilities which were provided, were not as described or fit for purpose.”