Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/28/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called Florida Pre Paid on Jan 21 to confirm if they had received an invoice from my son's school for his spring dorm payment. They confirmed that they had not. Then I emailed the ************* confirmed that they had in fact submitted an invoice to Florida Pre Paid for the spring dorm payment on Dec 11th & again on Jan 22 and both times was rejected for "Unpaid Fees". I called Florida Pre Paid again on Jan ******************************************************************************************* good standing, so I then requested that they escalate the issue, which they have to do in writing to their ****************** and that it would take 3-5 days for them to contact the school to resolve the payment rejection issue. Additionally, on Jan 23, I emailed Florida ************************* directly & provided all of the necessary information and paperwork to pay the dorm fee -- I did not receive a rejection notice nor did I receive any notice other than an auto confirmation email that they received my email. My son's spring dorm payment was due Jan 17 -- it is now late and putting him at risk for being kicked out of the dorm. Not to mention that his Bright Futures Scholarship disbursement, which he lives off of, is also being held up since this dorm payment is outstanding. On Jan 27 I called Florida Pre Paid again and spoke to a Supervisor, *****, who not only had issues having my call transferred to him and had to call me back instead, but also had technical issues with his phone and I couldn't hear him clearly, in addition, he was having health issues on the call with me and mentioned that he was in the emergency room the night before! Regardless, *****, the Supervisor, told me what all of the other **************** **** told me and did what the other **** had done -- which is escalate in writing to their ****************** since they have no other way of contacting them, no way to call them. My expectation is for *** to immediately pay the spring dorm fee!

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2025

  The issue preventing invoicing of the customers dormitory plan has been resolved and the customer has been advised.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a letter from Florida Prepaid College regarding a refund from an old account. On two occasions, I have requested via telephone conversations to have my email address updated because this is the only way a costumer can request a refund. Twice I have been told that my email address for my account has been updated to *********************** In both conversations, I was also told that I would receive a Refund Reimbursement form via email to my new email address. We are two months in and I have yet to have my email address changed which means am still unable to login to my account to request anything. The state would rather make it difficult so that my refund ends up going to them. I need help.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2025

  The customer's contact information has been updated as requested and their refund request has been submitted for expedited processing.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  As previously requested by myself and multiple FlPrepaid supervisors (including Ricari), please remove all flags and provide online access to the following accounts:Beneficiary - **** ***** ********** ********** ********** Beneficiary - ***** M ******* ********** ******** ******** Beneficiary - ****** ******* ********** ********** ********** Online access was given but only for ******* accounts, **********************, **********) however I completed the requested forms for all the accounts. Please look back at all the notes in your system from my numerous previous phone calls to customer service, including the notes left by two supervisors. Both supervisors verified receipt of required documentation for account password removal, removal of third party authorization, and written request for online access. Multiple tickets were submitted for flags to be removed from ALL my accounts to provide online access. My requests have been unresolved since 2022, despite compliance with all FLprepaid requirements. I am the account owner. **************** and both supervisors told me online access was required for me to to manage all aspects of these accounts. Unused funds from ****** and Noelles accounts need to be refunded Please remove the flags from the accounts referenced above and provide online access. Please have a supervisor contact me regarding the status of online access and management of my accounts promptly. My daughter, beneficiary, ***** *******, called last week and yesterday because she needs her unused funds applied to her final tuition due. Even now that the situation is urgent, possibly affecting her graduation in May 2025, she was given conflicting and different information than myself from customer service. This is unacceptable. All accounts were created prior to 2009, so additionally please verify any information provided to me and my daughter regarding these accounts aligns with the applicable guidelines. Thank you ******* ******

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2025

  The customer's online access has been restored and our customer service team is in direct contact with the customer to address their time sensitive transaction requests.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/27/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I asked for funds to be released to my son's college institution several weeks ago. I followed up to the location of the funds on 12/17 and again on 12/27. All 3 customer service **** that I spoke with stated that there would be no issue in getting funds paid before the institution's January 7 billing cutoff. The past 2 customer service **** were obviously taking the phone calls from home and were very unwilling to answer questions or offer assistance. Neither stated or offered any solutions in speeding up the process. I finally asked to speak with a manager today and he informed me that bills will not be paid until AFTER January 10. And - he stated that he couldn't guarantee or confirm if/when funds would be released. I did my due diligence to get funds released yet Florida prepaid has not done anything on their part to get funds released and continue to hold my funds hostage.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  The Florida Prepaid Plans has contacted the Customer and are working with them directly on a solution for invoicing to the Beneficiarys school. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have a 4 year tuition and a 2 year dorm allowance with Florida Prepaid. We were told to make the Fall semester housing payment ourselves and that we would be reimbursed since our son is living in an on campus fraternity at **. For over a month we have been given the runaround and misinformation on what the requirements are to allow Finance to approve the request. After being told by ******* the supervisor that I now needed to send an email and attach the documents (class schedule, invoice, proof of payment, ect), the system rejected the email because the attachments were too large. I then sent a ****** drive link within the body of the email that included all documentation requested. I heard nothing back, another 5 days wasted. I called this morning at 8am and was on the phone for an hour with no resolution except that they have now found my email but cant open the file. Its a link and its shareable and is very easy to open by clicking directly on it. The *** said she spoke with a supervisor named ******* and that she would not get on the phone with me and that a supervisor would not be available to speak with me all day. This is at 8:30am. These employees and supervisors dont care. Everyone I talked to gave me different information to get reimbursed. We are not allowed to talk to Finance unless they call us directly, which doesnt happen. Remember, this is our money that we paid into the plan. It does not belong to Fl Prepaid. I suggest you do not use this plan for your child and use something else. Look into ******** or something similar and not with government employees. This process has been painstakingly brutal and you will waste hours on the phone trying to get your childs education/housing reimbursed as was promised and agreed to by the plan.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/20/2024

  This request has been processed and resolved to the Customers satisfaction.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/22/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We purchased a Florida Prepaid plan. We knew that it did not cover "fees", books, and housing. We assumed that fees would be $50 or $100 here or there. Our son's first semester of college at *** is resulting in fees alone that exceed by several hundred dollars the actual credits that we've purchased with our Florida Prepaid Plan. My Florida Prepaid is misleading in their marketing and advertising indicating that your savings plan will cover credits to get a four-year bachelors degree. From their website: "Prepaid Plans let you lock in future tuition costs at todays Plan prices, and we handle the restguaranteed." This is completely untrue. Florida Prepaid must be held accountable for misleading statements and claims. When speaking with an FAU (Florida *******************) representative just now, he point blank stated, "Florida Prepaid does not cover full tuition for credit hours." On Florida Prepaid's website we read, "If the actual cost of tuition and fees is higher than our original projection, Florida Prepaid covers the difference-Guaranteed." Florida Prepaid is making deceptive claims.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2024

  The customer’s plan will pay out as detailed in the Master Contract which governs the Florida Prepaid College Plans.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 22260531
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I made the case that Florida Prepaid marketing and communication is misleading. 
  

  Florida Prepaid’s response does not address my complaint.

  I understand that I’ve been duped. I paid too much attention to marketing statements and didn’t do my research to learn how the industry has created practices that allow you to make claims that are misleading. Based on statement from FAU staff, its clear that they are accustomed to people’s surprise when learning that fees associated with credits and classes are actually higher that cost of credits. To claim that a customer has purchased 120 credits to earn a bachelors degree is misleading.

  Again, I am not expecting to receive more money.

  I am hoping that two things happen:

  1) I will contribute to helping others who are considering the prepaid plan to better understand the difference between marketing explanations and how the system actually works so that they can make more informed decisions without needing to hire an attorney or investing significant amount of time to educate themselves

  2) contribute to Florida Prepaid taking greater measure to inform potential customers how it works. For instance, in marketing, in big print on website, etc. a concrete example should be presented as to how much the prepaid plan covers of the two year commission and how much the fees actually amount to.

   

  For instance, in marketing, in big print on website, etc. a concrete example should be presented as to how much the prepaid plan covers of the two year commission and how much the fees actually amount to.

  I see it the same way that consumer protection has led to credit card companies being required to be far more explicit about implications of how their system works. The same goes with mortgage companies. I’ve witnessed huge improvements over the years in what companies are required to do to help ensure potential customers are informed of their decisions. 
  

  Florida Prepaid needs to do a better job at this.

  Sincerely,
  
  John Engle

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2024

  We have confirmed the accuracy of our marketing materials, and we reiterate that the Plan will pay benefits in accordance with the Master Contract for the Prepaid Plan coverage purchased.
  
  Before 2011, the program offered multiple independent tuition and fee products to help families save for Registration Fees (including the tuition fee), Local Fees, and the Tuition Differential Fee as each are defined in the Prepaid Plan Master Contract.
  
  There were additional fee coverage options available to the purchaser at the time of this purchase and until the student was in 11th grade. Those Plan coverage options were not purchased by the Account Owner.
  
  In 2011, the Program bundled multiple fee components into the price of Prepaid Plans and, at that time, updated the marketing materials accordingly.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/19/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My daughter starts off USF campus housing on 8/21/2024, but for the past 3 months each Florida prepaid employees has told us different requirements on how to get the off campus for housing approved and has refused to send us the requested form the Unavailable dorm refund form I had forgotten a verbal password and have been trying to get that changed so I can get full access to the account as the owner of the account but have not been able to navigate through the red tape to get that done. One employee named ***** after an hour on the phone just hung up on us as, I am assuming, he was just tired of hearing our complaints. I suggest you never use this program, I suggest you get a college fund through some other non-government entity as these government employees really do not care.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2024

  The Florida Prepaid College Plans has received all documentation required to process the customers request.

  The customer has been contacted and advised the refund will be processed when 2024 School Payment Rates are received. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/24/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  During the Open Enrollment period, I reached out to Florida Prepaid to see about upgrading both of my children's 2-year college plans to 2 University plans. I was advised that I would have to cancel the college plan and wait for the cancellation to be processed, at which point I could add the university plans. I was assured that although this would take me past the open enrollment period, there would be a notation made so that a supervisor could push the application through for approval, despite it being past the deadline. I have all of this on record from the chat on 4/30/2024.I have had to consistently follow-up on the new applications, which continuously showed as "processing". I have called and chatted multiple times and each time was told that the supervisor would push it through. Most recently, on 6/14/2024, I was told that I would have to file for an appeal to the Board because the applications were submitted after the enrollment period, and the appeal could take ***** days for review. I reiterated that I was told I would be granted an exception, considering that I had to wait for the cancellations to be processed. ****** told me she was unable to access that history. I requested to speak with the next level and was told by the person I was speaking with (******) that she is the highest level and she reports directly to the Board. She would not provide me any other contact information and directed me to their mailing address, so I really have no further means for a prompt resolution. In the meantime, the college plan cancellations were processed, so now my children are short by the two years that were supposed to be added for the 2024 enrollment period. Had I know what an awful experience this would be, we would have just retained the original college plans, one of which was already paid off.I have documentation from the saved chats to verify what I was told, confirming that the new applications would be approved for 2024.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/24/2024

  Florida Prepaid College Board updated the plans as requested. The Board considers this matter resolved to the Customers complete satisfaction.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Eighteen years ago, I opened a college savings plan for my daughter and, two years later, another for my youngest child. I diligently paid $337 a month for over 13 years. However, due to a medical issue, I fell behind on my payments. I reached out to the company to inquire about options to put my account on hold due to my medical situation. They informed me that since I had also been paying for room and board, I could notarize a form to apply the total amount paid towards the college plan to cover the $811 overdue balance, bringing my account to a fully paid status.Three months later, I received a letter stating that I had overpaid my younger daughters account, resulting in an overage. I called to request that this overage be used to pay off my older daughters account. This request was honored, and I was informed that both accounts were settled.For the next three years, I did not hear from the company until a few months ago. I received a letter stating that my oldest daughter's account was canceled or closed, and that her room and board, as well as her four-year tuition, would be donated to someone else. I was shocked and immediately called the company, only to be placed on hold for nearly an hour with no real solution in 3 calls. I am seeking guidance and assistance as I feel my family is being taken advantage of. We have invested a significant amount of money and trusted this company to secure my daughters' futures. I am requesting that the company add all the money they owe us together, pay off the remaining balance, and honor their promise to send my daughter to college.Please help our family rectify this situation and ensure that my daughters receive the education we diligently saved for.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/21/2024

  The Florida Prepaid College Board reinstated the plan as requested by the Customer and considers this matter resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/13/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Florida prepaid contacted me about a refund in account ********** i also cancelled one of the dormitories the amount was in total $9,960.67 That i should be getting back. i have been pending a check since March. I was told that they would void the first check and resend another check. i have called several times and they keep giving me the run around. I ask if there was another way they could send me the check electronically or certified mail, but they keep telling me i have to wait for a manual check.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/22/2024

  This matter has been fully resolved as requested by the Account Owner.

  The customers refund has been re-issued and the Florida Prepaid Board confirmed the Account Owner received the refund.