FLYBOYMATTHEW

I am looking for advice or personal experiences from those of you that have signed a training contract with a company, and left the company prior to the fulfillment of the contract.

- Are these contracts legally binding?
- What is the success rate of the companies that go after pilots for the monies that they feel are "owed" to them?
- How would one go about disputing a contract without having to deal with collectors and have it affect your credit rating?

I am a firm believer that it is the company's responsibility to provide a pilot with the job-specific training required to perform the duties of the job. I am in a position where I have an offer from another company that can offer me better pay, better QOL, and better experience. However, I am currently under contract with another company and, according to the contract in question, if I were to leave, I would owe them money. The offer of employment was conditional upon me signing this contract, and I feel that I signed it under duress. I provided a service to the company (and was undercompensated for my service at that) and I don't think I owe them one red cent. Every employee hired by a company is going to produce a different return on investment for the company. If the company is not going to provide a severence bonus for a pilot who exceeds the expected ROI, why should a pilot have to pay the company if they choose to leave prior to reaching that point?

If a company treated their employees well, they wouldn't have to bully them into staying.