ComplaintsforContractors Intelligence School Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This business has no idea how to help students pass state exams ! And they advertise 100% pass or money back guarantee ,but do not honor it !! Out of the 125 questions on the **2 test I only recognized 2 questions from contractors intelligence schools and they were worded different ! I was in the dark on the whole test .I prepped very well using all their study materials and was scoring in the high 90's on all practice exams and still failed because they did not provide accurate study materials !! I called the school to complain and spoke with ****** who told me to watch all videos and read all reading info provided besides modules and practice exams I was studying. Took his advice and failed second attempt at PSI school . This time I did not notice one bit of their study materials in the state test again !! So I called ****** back and he asks me if I can remember word for word any of the questions asked on the state test, So I gave him a couple and then realized he was writing them down. And when I called him on it he said "The **2 is the newest hardest test they have right now and we don't have much on it" After that admission I was done and requested my money back. They gave me a definite no by way of email. I called the California ********************* and they told me their tests are highly secret and NOBODY has access to them. They said schools that advertise a pass guarantee are scams and I should be fully refunded! I paid $249.00 for their initial program. And every time you fail there is a $100 retest fee to the state. I also paid them an extension fee because they provide so much overwhelming materials in their program that are not on the actual test!! I am going to speak with an attorney concerning legal advice. IF YOU ARE TAKING THE **2 REMODELING EXAM STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCHOOL! THEY DO NOT PROVIDE ACCURATEOR CURRANT ANSWERS AND YOU WILL NOT BE REFUNDED !!!!!!!!!

• Initial Complaint

  09/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello my name is ***********************. I am currently on the journey of getting my B2 residential remodeling contractors license in the *******************. I stumbled upon this company called Contractors intelligence school located in **********. This companys website is Contractorsischool.com . I inquired about more information about there services on there website via phone call for how they can help me with that specific license. If it is even possible. A guy named *** contacted me a couple of days later and began to sell me on the course they offered, assuring me that they could help me in my situation, not even knowing it fully*.I got pumped because this was my shot. Its exactly what I wanted to hear. As he persisted to take my credit card info over the phone. I did not have the card on my person at the time. I rushed to my card and signed up for the courses online which came out to about 566.95$ in total on my bank statement. I quickly realized when I was looking at the application that needed to be accepted by CSLB, which also cost another 250$ to review, that there is nothing they could do to HELP me in my situation. As this realization came to me, in less than 24 hours of me Paying for their services, I called their office to get a clarification and start inquiring about a refund as the course was completely useless to me at this point. The couple of people that I talked to at the front desk assured me that I would almost surely get a refund and emailed me a refund form. I filled it out then sent it back. In less than 24 hours they responded with a denial hitting me with a few lines from there contract. (They did offer to freeze my account for 3 months which I accepted.) I will not be using there services regardless and would like a full refundtheir contracts main purpose is to deny you a refund. Im not sure why their business rating is so high on the BBB. Please do yourself a favor and go to another school if you are on the same mission.

  

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  ******, thank you for raising your concern.

  
  Your reason for cancelling the course involves your learning about the state fees.  The state fees are clearly displayed on our website.  The state fees were also disclosed in the contract that you willingly accepted before using our course.

  
  We do NOT offer an UNCONDITIONAL money-back guarantee.  In fact, on all our advertisements, we state 100% Pass-Exam Moneyback Guarantee.  This guarantee is also reflected in your receipt that you provided as supporting evidence to the Better Business Bureau.  

  
  The contract that you are downplaying, is a very important tool used to protect both parties.  Once you enter the contract, both parties must uphold their end of the bargain. 
  

  Our school offered to work with you and freeze your enrollment for 3 months, which you accepted.  Then, you decided to walk back on the new terms, leave us a 1-star review on BBB, and file this complaint.
  

  As per our correspondences, it appears that the true reason why you want to cancel the course is because you went with another school after purchasing our course.  Unfortunately, we do not offer an order cancelation because you decided to go with another school.  You logged-in and used our course, then decided to cancel.  No exam preparation school in our industry will allow to use their course then seek a refund.  
  

  We are NOT hiding our terms and conditions. They are posted in the footer of every webpage, which you can read before purchasing our course. Additionally, you can create a free demo account and try our course before becoming a student.

  We wish you the best of luck for your future endeavors.

  Customer response

  09/15/2022

  I am rejecting this response because:Seems to me that yall are making conclusions based on assumptions. Like I stated when I called, the course is useless to me. Everyday we get reminded how blessed we are without the need to take advantage of others or situations, so we keep it moving on this side. Im high key disappointed in myself for falling into this trap, but it is what it is and comes with a ****** to be learned. All I have left to say for now is shame on yall for the way that you choose to conduct business. You may have gained my money but youve lost my recommendations as well as my respect. Add me on your list of misled customers while I add contractors intelligence school to the list of unethical businesses that are not to be considered in the future. Have a good day. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up for the contractor intelligible school for assistance to pass a license exam. The gave me a book to read a, a couple dvds, and online practice exams which I completed. When I actually took the state exam, ,none of the material on the exam was materiel which was covered in the "Contractor Intelligence School" study program. Contractor intelligence schools material is antiquated by about 50 years. They supplied me test questions like "how tall is a cleat ladder?" and what is the tallest height for a metal extension ladder?" No questions like this were asked on the test. The test was far more complicated that anything they supplied. The must have no idea what is actually on the **34 test. I only passed the test because I ave been in the industry for 27 years and am actually far more familiar with the trade than anyone at "Contractor Intelligence School" I know this school did not provide me the right material, because I have other licenses and I have used other exam prep schools. every other school I have enrolled with has given me exactly what is on the exam and given me exactly the material I needed to study in order to prepare for it. The time and money I wasted with them will never be recovered. Studying their irrelevant material was a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. If this is an honorable company, they will refund my money and go re-examine their c34 exam and study material.

  

  Business response

  01/07/2022

  Dear *****,
  
   
  
  We are sorry to hear that you failed your C-34 exam.
  
   
  
  We are trying to keep our material as current as possible.  The trade that you signed up for is very UNPOPULAR trade.  From thousands that enroll and take their contractors license exam each year, only about 15 students enroll into C34 course each year.  We make our best effort to keep our C34 up-to-date.
  
   
  
  According to our records, instead of working with our school on your refund, you stated that you will spend all of the wasted time studying, making us look bad on the internet. 
  
   
  
  We understand that not every program that we offer is perfect for everyone.  Thats why we offer pass-exam moneyback guarantee and 98% of our students do pass on their first try. 
  
   
  
  We are willing to issue a full refund for the course to ****************, with the condition that we part our ways and **************** will not harass our company in the future.
  
   
  
  Sincerely,
  
   
  
  *************************
  Director

  

  Business response

  01/07/2022

  Dear *****,
  
   
  
  Congratulations on passing your C-34 exam.
  
   
  
  We are trying to keep our material as current as possible.  The trade that you signed up for is very UNPOPULAR trade.  From thousands that enroll and take their contractors license exam each year, only about 15 students enroll into C34 course each year.  We make our best effort to keep our C34 up-to-date.
  
   
  
  According to our records, instead of working with our school on your issue, you stated that you will spend all of the wasted time studying, making us look bad on the internet.  You leave us many negative reviews on many intenet platforms.
  
   
  
  We understand that not every program that we offer is perfect for everyone.  Also, it depends on which questions the **** selects from their test bank to test you on.  Thats why we offer pass-exam moneyback guarantee and 98% of our students do pass on their first try.  
  
   
  
  You accepted our terms and conditions for money-back guarantee, which stated:
  
  SECTION 10 - PASS EXAM MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE POLICY
  We offer a money back guarantee if: (1) you enroll in a Course and complete the Course, in its entirety; (2) you sign up for and take the **** licensing exam; and (3) if you are unable to pass either law and/or trade portions of the contractors exam on your first and second try, within the Term, subject to the limitations found below. 
  If the student who is enrolled in our in-class preparation course fails the exam on the first try within 6 months of his/her enrollment, CIS will cover a one-time $60.00 retest fee (we do not pay re-test fee for students enrolled in our home-study or online programs).  If the student fails the Law exam on the second try within 6 months of his/her enrollment, then the refund will be issued in the amount of $245.00 for the Law tuition.  If the student fails the Trade exam on the second try within 6 months of his/her enrollment, we will issue a full refund in the amount of $150.00 for the trade tuition.  If the student requests a refund for the course, the retest fee paid by Contractors Intelligence School, **** (if applicable), will be deducted from the refund.  In order to receive a refund, the student must request a refund in writing, along with the Notice of Failure To Pass an Examination issued by the state, within 14 calendar days from the date of Notice of Failure.  
  All Materials must be returned before you receive money-back in connection with this provision. We cannot offer a money back guarantee if you do not take your ********** contractor's exam within six (6) months of your enrollment, unless agreed to in writing by CIS. We also cannot offer a money-back guarantee if you fail to take your **** test, do not finish your **** test, or other factors in our sole discretion that would impact this guarantee including, without limitation, falsely representing information in your **** application or other factors outside the control of CIS. Approved refunds, if any, will be sent to you within 30 days of the date of the request to the card on file. 
  
   
  
  These terms and conditions are available on our website for anyone to read before purchasing our courses.  Unfortunately, you did not meet our terms and conditions to qualify for a refund since you passed the state exam.
  
   
  
  We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors.
  
   
  
  Sincerely,
  
   
  
  *************************
  Director

• Initial Complaint

  08/20/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I originally engaged Contractors Intelligence School to identify if my qualifications were enough to apply and sit for the contractor’s license test, etc. In discussion with a representative of the company “*** *******” I was assured my qualification were sufficient and there would be no problem processing my application with the CSLB. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. After months of back and forth preparing the application, it was ultimately rejected by CSLB. With that said, I requested a refund, but have been given the run-around with no resolution or refund to date. My last email to the refund department went unanswered. At this point, I feel like Contractors Intelligence School was deceptive and sold me a bag of goods. Extremely frustrated and dissatisfied.

  

  Business response

  08/20/2021

  We would like to address Mr. ******* concern regarding the refund.

  Attached please find enrollment agreement that Mr. ***** accepted on 12/21/2020 at 8:17 am using IP address *********** *********** ********* *** ******** ********** ****** ****** ******* **** ******** ***** ********* ISP:Cox Communications).

  The agreement that Mr. ***** accepted clearly stated: "The applicant must have 4 years of full-time verifiable journeyman level experience within the 10 years preceding the application.  CSLB may grant up to three years of credit toward the four-year experience requirement for completed training in an accredited school and/or apprenticeship programs in the construction trade for which the applicant is applying."

  After Mr. ******* application was submitted to the CSLB, the CSLB found that Mr. ***** falsified on his experience and did NOT have direct supervision experience.  Mr. ***** acted more like an advisor and did not directly supervised the work that he indicated on this application.  This fact was not disclosed to our agent at the time of enrollment, and Mr. ***** ignored the experience requirement mentioned in the enrollment agreement that he accepted.

  The accepted enrollment agreement also stated: "No other agreements, representations, warranties or other matters, oral or written, purportedly agreed to or represented by or on behalf of the school by any of its employees or agents, or contained in any sales materials or brochures, shall be deemed to bind the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof."  Mr. ***** failed to provide us with a written communication proving that our agent has mislead Mr. *****.  We would have tons of complaints from thousands of students that we enroll each year if our agents were misleading them with the experience requirement.

  Since Mr. ***** accepted our enrollment agreement and used our course for over 6-months, we cannot issue a refund unless Mr. ***** meets terms and conditions of our Pass Exam Money-Back Guarantee policy.

  Customer response

  08/25/2021

  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  
  

  WOW, they got me.  I didn’t read the fine print in the two-page agreement.  I paid $874.50 based on a conversation instead of reading the fine print.  Shame on me.  Seems like these guys are professionals at scamming people out of their money.  Their response seems like a boilerplate response drafted by a lawyer… 

  Let me go back to the conversation I had with the Contractors Intelligence School representative “Tom *******” and the statement the company provided in their rebuttal on the BBB site.

  “This fact was not disclosed to our agent at the time of enrollment, and Mr. ***** ignored the experience requirement mentioned in the enrollment agreement that he accepted”. 

  This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I clearly explained my experience to Mr. *******.  I even went to the extent that I was skeptical that I had the experience.  However, Mr. ******* ensured me that my qualifications and experience were sufficient, and I would have no problems qualifying to sit for the exam with CSLB.  He closed me by stating that if I didn’t qualify, they had a guarantee/refund policy.

  With that said, I paid Contractors Intelligence School for both the General A & B ($874.50) course work with the assumption that I would qualify to sit for both exams. At minimum, it seems like they should refund me a portion of the cost as I didn’t use any of the course work other then browsing it when I originally enrolled.

  There is no record of this conversation between me and Mr. *******.  All I ask is that the BBB post this complaint for the world to see and hopefully no one else will falls prey to this unscrupulous business practice. 

  This company baited me into buying a service based on a conversation and was well aware of my work history and experience.  Fair warning to anyone wanting to use their services.  Use caution.  No way this company should be rated as A+ on BBB. 

  I feel cheated and once again ask BBB to just post my complaint.  I want nothing more to do with this company and the bad taste it has left me… 

  
  

  

  Business response

  08/27/2021

  Mr. *****, we are again sorry to hear that you had negative experience with our company.  

  Our agent, Tom *******, has been with our company for over 3 years.  We have a very high staff retention rate because we hire honest agent that will give accurate information to our prospective students. Tom would not be working for our company if he would have a tack record of dishonesty.  He is an honest man.

  As mentioned before, we do have literally thousands of students that go through our school each year to get themselves prepared for the state exam.  You are right about the fact that we would not have A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau if we were in the business of scamming our customers.

  Our terms and conditions are posted on our website for public to see before they purchase our courses.  

  Customer response

  08/27/2021

  I am rejecting this response because:  Again, I am not satisfied and ask BBB to post my complaint for everyone to see.  They can keep the money.
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩