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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
11/15/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I completed my high school diploma program through Penn foster over five years ago, in the recent few months I noticed that I never received my diploma, I believe the reason I haven’t received an after completion of the course is because I still have a balance owed on my account. I completed the high school diploma program in less than a two month time frame, I’ve been trying to reach out to the business over the past six months to work out some type of payment arrangement for me to obtain my high school diploma, whenever I call, I can never get through to a live person. The *** system sends me to the collection agency that’s handling my account , when I contact the collection agency, they are very very extremely rude and tells me to pay the money that’s the only way I’ll be able to get my high school diploma, the amount that they are saying that I owe is a lot higher than what I remember I’m hoping to be able to work out some sort of payment arrangement with the corrected amount to obtain my high school diploma Thank you. .Business response
11/17/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: ***********************
Student Number: ********
To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address **. ****** concerns. ************* enrolled into the High School program on August 10, 2015, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. I will include a copy of the enrollment agreement.
************** completed 104 out of 104 exams. Due to defaulted payments, **. ****** account was sent to multiple outside collection agencies starting on June 23, 2016. As stated in the enrollment agreement, Penn Foster reserves the right to suspend your enrollment in the Program immediately and require you to pay the outstanding balance of the program price associated with the payment plan you chose. In addition, you will be responsible for any collection costs,including legal fees, incurred by Penn Foster to collect amounts owed.
************** can reach out directly to the collection agency or our financial department to start making payments on his tuition which is owed. Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at *************.
Sincerely.
Laura C*******
Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/19/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Order Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Was not told I only had 3 years to finish. I mailed in the last 2 classes and they are telling me that I have to re-enroll and pay another $1000. That I don't have again. Where is my diploma?Business response
10/26/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: ***************************
Student Number: ********To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address *** ******’s concerns. *** ****** enrolled into the High School Diploma program on March 21, 2009, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. I will include a copy of the agreement. *** ****** completed 89.9% of the program before the study time expired on April 19, 2012.
*** ******’s enrollment agreement stated that she has 36 months to complete the program. Paid extensions are available as long as the program is completed in four years. *** ****** did not complete the program within the time frame that she agreed to.
*** ****** was advised on February 2, 2012, on her program expiration date. *** ****** inquired and was advised on what was left to academically complete on July 15, 2015. On October 19, 2022, *** ****** called to inquire on her program and was advised of her next steps. If *** ****** would like to complete the program, she will need to be re-enrolled into the program and have a grade evaluation completed. *** ****** would receive academic and monetary credits according to the results of a grad evaluations.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at (570) 961-4014.Sincerely.
Andrew K*********
Sr. Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/17/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I attended Penn Foster for Paralegal studies, and I wasn't able to finish. Once I paid off my balance, I was able to start class again and was told I could pick up where I started off. I paid the fee of a $1.00 and once I logged in they had me starting from the beginning as if I had just enrolled in classes. I tried to reach out several times no one was able to assist me with the class adjustment or explain why I had to start over. I requested to unenroll in classes. I received an emailed that it was done. Fast forward 6 months later I get a letter from a collection agency that I owe them $350.00. I never receive a notice from them and what am I paying for when I didn't take the classes?Business response
11/03/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: *************************
Student Number: ********
To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address **. ******* concerns.**************** enrolled in the Paralegal Studies Associate Degree on January 27,2022, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. I will include a copy of the enrollment agreement.
On January 27, 2022, **************** sent Penn Foster an email stating they received two emails regarding their enrollment agreement, but they needed the new student ID number to add banking information. This email comes from the same email address that **************** provided the BBB. On the same day a reply was sent to **************** providing their new student ID number of ********.
As **************** was a prior student, a transcript evaluation was completed on January 27, 2022. Academic and Monetary credits were provided to **************** due to the evaluation results. A copy of the evaluation was emailed to **************** on January 27, 2022.
Due to defaulted payments **. ******* account was sent to a third-party collection agency. On June 21, 2022 Ms. ******* account was closed as a result of the cancellation letter sent by ****************. As an act of good faith, we waived the late fees associated with the account and closed the account according to the contractual cancellation terms.
**************** will currently need to speak to the collection agency regarding her cancelation liability obligations.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at **************.
Sincerely.
Andrew K***********
Sr. Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/16/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I have not used any services from Penn Foster, have not taken any classes and they are claiming that I owe them $935.88Business response
10/18/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: *************************************
Student Numbers: ********To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address *** ***********’s concerns. *** *********** enrolled into the High School program on May 21, 2018, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. I will include a copy of the enrollment agreement.
After reviewing *** ***********’s account, I was unable to find any correspondence regarding cancelling. On October 18, 2022, I emailed *** *********** personally to resolve his concerns and come to an amicable resolution.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at ###-###-####.
Sincerely.
Laura C*******
Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/12/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I signed up to take a course with penn foster. I was paying monthly as agreed and went through personal hardship and dropped out of the course. I’ve been harassed by this company and reported to collections for the amount of the full program and then some. How can I be charged for a program that was NOT even completed? My dropping out caused no hardship or financial cost to the school yet they keep appearing on my credit report. This school is not even nationally accredited! I want the collection completely deleted off my credit from all 3 credit bureau’s.Business response
10/17/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: ***************************
Student Number: ********
To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address **. ********'s concerns.****************** enrolled in the Medical Assistant diploma on January 8, 2020, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment.
As of October 17, 2022, ****************** has not submitted her required cancellation notice. The notice can be emailed or mailed. Due to defaulted payments, **. ********'s account was sent to an outside collection agency. ****************** could email me her withdraw request directly at ***************@pennfoster.edu. Once the required request is received, we would close out the account according to the agreed upon cancellation terms. Penn Foster College cancellation terms could be located on the enrollment agreement as well as at ************************************************************.
Penn Foster College is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at **************.
Sincerely.
Andrew K*******
Sr. Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/10/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I applied to be a student in Penn Fosters Veterinary technician Program, but was not disclosed all of the requirements that must be completed before beginning and then required to pay the full cost after wanting to cancel.Business response
10/11/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: ***************************
Student Number: ********
To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address *** *******’ concerns. *** ******* enrolled in the Veterinary Technician Associate degree on July 25, 2022, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. All requirements of the program can be found prior to enrolling into the program at ********************************************************* *************************** *** ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************On September 12, 2022, *** ******* submitted an email request to withdraw from the program. As *** ******* completed 62.2% of the semester, she would be responsible for the full semester cost. All cancellation terms could be found on the enrollment agreement as well as our website at ************************************************************ . *** ******* email was replied to on September 17, 2022, advising that she would owe a liability of $1634.00 if the account were to be closed and to reply to the email to confirm the cancellation request.
Due to completing over 50% of the semester, *** ******* will be held to the terms of the agreement she voluntarily signed.Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at (**** ********.
Sincerely.
Andrew K*********
Sr. Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/07/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I have had my information stolen and used for someone to join the school and I have been trying to get in contact with them for months now and tell them that this isn’t me. I’m not the one attending the school and nobody is reaching out to me this has caused my accounts to go in the negatives. I have no credit and I’ve lost all my money because they are constantly taking it out and I have no recollection of this this isn’t my doing and I have again tried getting in contact with someone associated with the school to tell them that this isn’t me I didn’t do that someone has stolen my information.Business response
10/11/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: *************************
Student Number: ********To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address *** ******’s concerns. *** ****** enrolled into the Medical Assistant Associates Degree program on September 20, 2021, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment.After reviewing the account, I was unable to locate any correspondence regarding disputing *** ******’s Associates Degree. On October 11, 2022, I reached out to *** ****** directly, to start the dispute process.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at (**** ********.
Sincerely.
Laura C******
Escalation SpecialistInitial Complaint
10/04/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
9/29/22 I enrolled in a program. PennFoster has not taken out payment yet and I have not received student ID yet. I tried to contact through email. No response yet. Please contact me **********************Business response
10/04/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: ***********************************
To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address **. ********* concerns. Reviewing the information provided, it has been determined that ******************** has yet to fully enroll into the program. I will have a member of our team reach out to ******************** directly to assist with the completion of the enrollment process.Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at **************.
Sincerely.
Andrew K**********;
Sr. Escalation SpecialistCustomer response
10/21/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
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.
Regards,
***********************************Initial Complaint
09/29/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Order Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I signed up for penn foster so i could pursue a ged/diploma when i signed up i had no idea that even if id never take a class they would continue to charge me today i received a bill in the mail for 1300 dollars i have never even once used the platform after i signed up and forgot honestly that i even had it. i want them to remove those charges and close that account.Business response
10/06/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: *************************
Student Number ********
To Whom It May Concern:I welcome the opportunity to address ****************** s concerns. ****************** enrolled online into the High School Diploma program on June 25, 2021, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment. I will include a copy of the agreement.
On October 3, 2022 I emailed ****************** to advise that she did agree to be held to the terms of the agreement she voluntarily signed. Per **. *******'s wishes, I closed the account out according to the contractual terms. ****************** is responsible for the programs registration fee and 10% of the tuition. As of October 6, 2022, **. ******** cancel liability equals $285.50.****************** will be held to the terms that she agreed to.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at **************.Sincerely,
Andrew K**********
Sr. Escalations SpecialistInitial Complaint
09/20/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I finished paying of the program on 11/3/2020 and its still showing that i owe 406 on my credit reportBusiness response
09/28/2022
BBB Case Number: ********
Student Name: *********************************
Student Number: ********To Whom It May Concern:
I welcome the opportunity to address **. ********** concerns.********************** enrolled into the Automotive Repair Technician Diploma on December 3, 2018, by submitting a signed enrollment agreement and down payment.
Due to defaulted payments, **. ********** account was sent to an outside collection agency on July 11, 2019. **. ********** account was recalled from collections on July 12, 2020. As of November 3, 2020,********************** has a zero balance with Penn Foster.
As Penn Foster does not handle credit reporting, an email was sent to the collection agency for further review. ********************** will need to speak with the agency directly for further information on amending her credit.
Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. If you have any further questions, please contact me at **************.
Sincerely.
Andrew K*********;
Sr. Escalation Specialist
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Customer Complaints Summary
144 total complaints in the last 3 years.
49 complaints closed in the last 12 months.