ComplaintsforHearts Matter, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a Registered Nurse for 32 years, and I attempted to book a Pediatric Life Support Recertification class with this company. I was several pages into the booking process for this class, and still no price was displayed. Finally, I selected the class and saw that once in the cart, the class cost was $79. I paid. I received a confirmation email and found that I had been booked, in error, into a Basic Life Support Class. I immediately contacted the company to notify them. I was told that it was my error. I argued that it had taken many steps to book this class on their page…each page noting that I was booking a PALS class, not anything else. I felt that the web page link was maybe broken. I was told, “web pages do not break” I was offered a credit of $79 toward the other class, which was fine, until I learned that the other class, the correct class, was >$240! I would never buy that class at such an extremely high price. So, I requested a refund. I was told no refunds allowed! I feel that this company lured me to book a class by publishing the wrong price, and then tried to force me to pay the difference between that and a price nearly 3x more. If I did not, they would keep my $79 for doing nothing for me. I have since read online about all the unscrupulous practices of these online recertification courses. I have lodged a complaint with the ******** ***** *********** as well.

  Business response

  09/22/2022

  Introduction: Our Company, Hearts Matter L.L.C., is quite familiar with the complaint placed by ********
  ***** (BBB Complaint # ********). *** ***** has filed both a ****** dispute and a credit card chargeback
  regarding the purchase she made with our Company. According to her BBB compliant, *** ***** alleges our
  Company website “lured” her into an incorrect purchase. This is not true. Course registration through our
  website is a multistep process. *** ******* statement indicates she did not follow the correct steps to register
  for the course she desired.
  Background: Our Company, Hearts Matter L.L.C. provides ******** ***** *********** CPR training and
  certification courses. All Hearts Matter L.L.C. course registrations and payments are performed online via our
  Company website (https://www.heartsmatterllc.com/fastrack-registration). ****** is integrated into our website
  as our payment gateway.
  All Hearts Matter L.L.C. customers agree to our standard terms and conditions prior to proceeding with
  payment. These standard terms and conditions state all Hearts Matter L.L.C. course registration fees are non –
  refundable. Given our CPR training courses require providing course materials to students and booking of an
  AHA Instructor and facilities prior to the course, refunding registration fees would negatively impact our cash
  flow. In instances where registered clients wish not to attend their courses, we offer Hearts Matter Company
  “credit” which they can apply toward another course or the purchase of AHA learning materials.
  
  Explanation of the Hearts Matter LL.C. Registration Process and *** ******* Actions
  According to her statement, *** ***** did not follow the correct steps to register for an ******** *****
  *********** Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Update Course. The steps she took led to her registering
  for an ******** ***** *********** Basic Life Support (BLS) Renewal Course. We have outlined the
  registration steps most consistent with *** ******* statement.
  1. *** ***** first states, “I attempted to book a Pediatric Life Support Recertification class with this
  company. I was several pages into the booking process for this class, and still no price was displayed".
  
  Most likely *** ***** started by viewing the PALS course information page on our website (below).
  This page describes our different PALS course formats. It is not a registration page and does not show
  course prices. There is a “Register Now” button on this page that directs the customer to our
  FASTRACK REGISTRATION page where they can start the registration process.
  
  
  
  
  Page 1 of 5
  
  2. *** ***** most likely clicked the “Register Now” button and was sent to our FASTRACK
  REGISTRATION page (below). This page lists all our AHA courses on the left-hand side of the page.
  When a client makes a course selection it is shown by a darker box. Please note: the course listing on
  this page defaults to ******** - Basic Life Support courses, the first on the list. If *** *****
  did not select ******** – Pediatric Advanced Life Support Courses (green circle - third block
  down), she would have proceeded to register for a Basic Life Support course (red circle – darkened first
  block).
  
  
  
  
  3. *** ***** next states, “Finally, I selected the class and saw that once in the cart, the class cost was
  $79. I paid.”
  This would be the exact process *** ***** would have completed if she did not select the ********
  PALS course option and continued with the BLS course registration process. When she selected the
  BLS – Renewal course she would have seen the $74.99 price in the registration “cart” (red circle
  below). This would have totaled $79 with Kentucky state sales tax. This screenshot below shows the
  exact date and time of the course *** ***** registered for.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Page 2 of 5
  
  4. *** ***** states, “I feel that this company lured me to book a class by publishing the wrong price, and
  then tried to force me to pay the difference between that and a price nearly 3x more.”
  *** ***** is correct in calling this “a feeling”. This is not a fact. Had *** ***** correctly selected the
  PALS course option when she began her registration process, she would have continued through PALS
  course registration. She would have seen our published price for the PALS Update course of $224.99
  (green circle below). There is no page on our website that advertises an advanced life support class
  (ACLS or PALS) for less than $200, much less $74.99.
  
  
  
  
  
  5. Lastly, when *** ***** completed her registration, she agreed to our Company’s standard terms and
  conditions stating all course registration fees are non – refundable (yellow box below). These terms
  also state no refunds with course cancellations or no – shows.
  
  
  
  
  
  Our course registration process is multiple steps, allowing clients the flexibility to select their desired
  course, course format, date and time and student type. We frequently have students call our office with
  
  Page 3 of 5
  
  questions about registration steps. We also advertise at the top of our registration page that step – by
  step registration instructions can be found at the bottom of the page (yellow box below).
  
  
  
  
  
  These instructions show clients how to complete each registration step correctly (below). *** ***** did
  not mention these registration instructions in her statement because she did not follow them. The
  instructions clearly state clients must select the correct course and course location at the start of the
  registration process (yellow boxes). If a client selects an incorrect course at the beginning of their
  registration, they will register and pay for an incorrect course. In *** ******* case, she paid the correct
  fee for an incorrect course. This is not a scam.
  
  
  
  
  
  Within 10 minutes of her BLS course registration, *** ***** received a BLS course confirmation email
  and an access code for her BLS Provider Manual E-book (retail $15) from our Company. Two and a
  half hours after registration, *** ***** called our office to report she was registered for the incorrect
  course and argued she should be refunded. We reiterated per the terms and conditions she agreed to
  with her registration, her course registration fees are non – refundable. We offered to convert her BLS
  
  Page 4 of 5
  
  course registration to a PALS course with her payment of the difference in registration fees. She
  refused. We offered to convert her BLS course registration fees to other AHA learning materials or
  another course. Again, she refused.
  
  Our Company has unsuccessfully attempted multiple times to discuss our registration process and term
  and conditions with *** *****. *** ***** remains convinced our Company website was designed to
  “scam” her. It is clear from her BBB complaint she was uncertain about her choices during the
  registration process. Our Company would like to meet with *** ***** to discuss her complaint. As
  our prior attempts at discussion have been unsuccessful, we request BBB mediation in this matter.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  The Hearts Matter Team
  
  
  Page 5 of 5

  Customer response

  09/23/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  
  

  It is very nice and very professional and very verbose that hearts matter supplied such a long response to my complaint. However none of the things that they said, addressed the problem. I did indeed follow all of the prompts and webpages as shown by Hearts Matter.  However due to a broken link or some other glitch I did not land on the final page where I could pay for a pals class.  Since there was no indication on that last page that I was registering for a basic life support class I had no idea that I had done so. Moments later when I received confirmation from hearts matter through my email, I saw that an error had happened. And only minutes later I contacted the company to discuss this error. I was told that “websites don’t break“ and that it was all my fault. I asked for a refund, because I did not need a BLS class. I was told NO REFUNDS, but that I could use my $79 towards a greater than $240 PALS class.   I felt this was  extremely expensive, and could not pay the additional amount.  When I asked for a refund I was told I was not allowed to have that and I was forced to use the money that they already had to attend their very exorbitantly priced pals class.  When I contacted the ******** ***** ***********, who is the accrediting body for this company,  I was told that ******** ***** *********** does not agree with strict policies about refunds. They also said that this was not in keeping with their vision or mission statement. They also said they would look into the matter about removing their accreditation from Hearts Matter. Bottom line… I feel that if the error was either mine or Hearts Matters’s if identified within moments of  the transaction that a good faith refund, would not negatively impact their cash flow, (as they claim is the reason for denying me).  To say that one transaction reversed within moments would be a detriment to their company is nonsense. And because of this behavior they have not only lost my business but other nurses too!  We talk and trust one another!  It would’ve seemed more prudent just to act in good faith. It certainly says nothing about their customer service. Nurses! beware! This company doesn’t care about you! Take your money and your business elsewhere!
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** ***** ******
  

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  As recorded in our prior response, we request BBB mediation in this complaint by *** *****.

*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. ↩