Workshop Helps Former Students File for Refunds : Pacoima: Many of the participants, burdened with poor credit ratings, want to pay back loans used to attend schools run by a now-bankrupt firm.

Raquel Zezatti of Sylmar said she was promised a lucrative career in word processing if she enrolled in a nine-month course at National Technical School in Los Angeles.

“They said I’d make a lot of money,” she said.

But Zezatti, a mother of four, discovered the school was poorly run and dropped out after less than two months because, she said, “I wasn’t learning anything.”

She didn’t quit, however, until after she had taken out more than $2,000 in student loans for tuition.

Now, four years later, Zezatti cannot open a checking account or obtain credit because she refused, as a matter of principle, to repay the full amount of the loans. “She wanted a better car, but she couldn’t get credit to buy it,” said her daughter, Christy Olguin, 19. “I just pray for all this to be over.”

Zezatti, accompanied by her daughter, was among about 50 former students of trade schools operated by the bankrupt United Education and Software Inc. who attended a workshop Saturday at the Pacoima office of San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services. Originally based in Encino, United Education and Software’s schools served students throughout Los Angeles.

The purpose of Saturday’s event was to help the former students file claims for refunds to repay their loans, said attorney Roberta Stovitz, coordinator of the consumer and employment affairs unit for the legal services agency.

“There are hundreds, maybe thousands, out there who don’t realize they have to file a claim to get their money back,” she said. “They only have until June 25 to file these claims.”

Many former students have alleged that the schools, contrary to their advertising, failed to prepare them for new careers and did not help them find jobs after graduation. Many said teachers were incompetent and that equipment was always broken, outdated or nonexistent.

United Education and Software, which operated Pacific Coast Technical Institute in Van Nuys, National Technical School in Los Angeles and other trade schools, filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection in December, 1989. The action came after a federal audit of one of the schools and a $24-million consumer-protection complaint filed by the state attorney general’s office.

As a result of the state action, the company agreed last year to set aside $6.5 million to refund loan debts of former students and $600,000 to pay claims filed by students for the company’s failure to provide instruction, supplies or equipment.

“I think we should be compensated for the time we wasted in class,” said Lucille Malander of Pacoima, who studied data processing at the company’s Van Nuys facility. “I was valedictorian of my class and they still didn’t find me a job.”

James Jors of Canoga Park said he was standing in line to file for unemployment benefits about four years ago when he was approached by a recruiter from Pacific Coast Technical School in Van Nuys.

“I was promised a job in computer repair,” said Jors, a former hotel manager who owes about $4,000 in student loans.

After a nine-month course at the school, Jors said, “all I got was telephone calls from creditors. But I’m better off. I started my own carpet-cleaning business.”

Former student Julia Bosinger of Woodland Hills said she owes $7,000 in student loans for the course she took in data processing at the Van Nuys school. “They promised me a job, but all I got was some low-paying, part-time work,” she said. “Now, I’m back where I was before. I’m a sales clerk.”

Most former students at Saturday’s workshop said they were more concerned about their credit ratings than their failure to learn a trade at the school.

“I was looking for something better,” said David Gonzales of Los Angeles. “So, I signed up for classes in machine shop. But I learned more from another student than I did from the teacher.”

Now, he has returned to his former job of driving a delivery truck and has $2,800 in student loans to repay. A collection agency has threatened to take him to court if he doesn’t make payments of $400 a month, he said.

“I was getting headaches because of the stress,” said Gonzales, who supports his mother and sister. “I worry about what I owe. I really want to get this out of my mind.”

Jose Barragan of Mission Hills said he owes $3,500 for the classes he took in computer repair.

“They promised me a high-paying job, but all they were able to get me was a job that paid $5 an hour,” he said. “I didn’t learn anything there. The teacher would come in, write something on the blackboard and then leave after about 10 minutes.”

Stovitz said the legal services agency will provide help for any other former students of United Education and Software schools who believe they may have been short-changed or defrauded.

“I know there are literally thousands out there,” she said.

As for Raquel Zezatti, she sees a brighter future for her family, despite her experience at the trade school.

She is now enrolled in an English as a second language class at Mission College, where she hopes to take child development classes and someday to find a job in the child-care field.

The college, she said, helped her pay her $60 enrollment fee and gave her $100 to purchase books. “I have hope now,” she said. “Things will get better.”