Ambassador Programs, Inc.

Review: In the fall of 2013 my son received an invitation to the Student Ambassador Travel Program with Student Ambassador International program. We went to the delegation meeting. During the meeting the staff members talked highly of the program. Afterwards my child was interested in attending the MEditerranean Program for summer 2014. I asked there representative in the hallway if some reason we would be eligible for a refund if we paid the deposit and were not able to secure additional funding, I also asked if we made the deposit and subsequent payments would we be eligible for a refund if an extenuating circumstance occurred- both representatives said Yes we would be eligible for a refund.

I lost my job later in the fall of 2013 due to a severe illness and was not able to secure funding for the trip. I expressed to the organization that we had financial difficulty. The organization suggested different means to earn the money via fundraising. Our family made attempts to do fundraising but could not gain the money needed for my son to travel. I recently requested a refund of the $250 deposit from the company, and was told that I was not eligible for the refund because there were fees that the organization takes out. Our local representative said we would be eligible for a refund but the account manager refuses to give us a refund. My husband is a veteran and he made the deposit for our son to attend the trip. He has served this country on numerous deployments and has done his duty for this country. This organization has stolen, $250 from my family.

The company had multiple account representatives call me leaving messages regarding the incident. Both account representatives said I was not eligible for a refund but then offered to allow me to apply our $250 to a future program. I explained to one representative that I would not be able to commit to a future program due to my employment situation. I do understand there are policies and procedures however my concern is that the representatives give false information to families in person in order to get families to pay the initial deposit and then, families may have an extenuating circumstance and the organizations believes it to be okay to keep a family's hard earned money when they have really done nothing for the purpose of the assisting the child to gain funding.

The representative I corresponded with said the terms and conditions allows the P2P organization to keep deposits even when the family was unable to make subsequent payments due to the company having to make travel arrangements and coordinate meals etc, my concern is that the company is giving a sales pitch and representatives do not clearly state to families that there are additional fees that apply in order to gain a refund. The representatives do not explain in detail the refund policy, and I do not remember signing a contract regarding the travel arrangements. In this trying economy my family does not have the means to give away $250 to an organization that uses intense selling practices and sales pitches to manipulate parents into sending their children on the trips.

The other significant piece is the only option the organization allows is to apply my deposit amount of $250 to another trip for the year 2015 or a cheaper trip for the year 2014. I do not understand how, they so easily can go back into the sales pitch when I already addressed my concern regarding not having stable employment to be able to commit to sending my son on another trip. I feel if they are willing to apply my payment to another program that could just as easily give my family a refund.

I do not like the practices that this organization uses to get parents to send their children on the trips. The company is listed as a charitable organization, and I do not understand this either, as there is nothing charitable about stealing $250 from a 20 year military veteran, when the P2P organization did nothing to assist myself or my son. The company says they offer scholarships and tells parents there are ways to get scholarships, but when I asked about scholarships, the company said students have to do fundraising. We tried every means to send our son on this trip but life's circumstances prevented this….I have chronic illness which requires consistent medical attention, and my spouse is a veteran. I think it unfortunate the People to People organization will not consider extenuating circumstances before the account reps spew their sales pitches and take hard earned money under the guise of administrative fees.

This company, takes for granted the fact at some point in the future my family may have considered this program again, or we may have recommended the program to friends and family but after this experience we will not be sharing any positive information regarding this program with friends or family. We will not consider any future opportunities with company. We will also share our experiences with our friends and family via social media, and via military events, etc. This is a very unfortunate circumstance and this business should at least consider extenuating circumstances and not be so willing to steal hard earned money…especially with the state of our country's economy.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the $250 to my husband's credit card which People 2 People have on file.

Business

Response:

April 16, 2014

Dear [redacted]:

In response to your complaint

submitted to the Revdex.com, case #[redacted]:

Our Admissions Advisors, who

conduct the introductory meetings, state that a full refund will be provided to

families who withdraw from the program within 3 business days of application,

or to delegates who are not accepted by the program office after the interview;

they do not inform families that refunds will be provided if they cannot afford

the program. This information is also expressly stated on page 3 of our Booking

Conditions and Terms and Conditions of Travel. We regret if any of this

material was misunderstood or made unclear to you in any way.

In order to successfully register

for our programs, potential delegates and their families are required to read

and accept the Terms and Conditions before they are able to complete and submit

their application; a copy of the Terms, accepted by your family on August 28,

2013, is enclosed for your further review. Under “Refunds and Cancellation

Fees” on page 6, the Terms clearly states that the applicable penalty for

withdrawals received between 149 and 60 days prior to departure is the deposit.

We realize our program is not

always a good fit for every family who registers. After reviewing [redacted]’s

account and discussing your unique circumstances, we have approved your request

for an exception to our policy as a gesture of goodwill. Your refund in the

amount of $250 will be processed back to your credit card, last four digits 8751,

within 14 to 21 business days. In addition, based on the information provided

in your dispute, we have removed Maurice’s name from any future invitation to

our programs.

On behalf of the staff at

People to People, we wish you and your family the best in your future

endeavors.

Regards,

Sr. Customer Relations

Specialist

cc: Revdex.com

Consumer

Response:

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. My Resolution Moderator is [redacted] to whom I have CC'd to this email.

Thank you Revdex.com for your assistance in getting our desired resolution. Also, thank you to the Organization for reconsidering their initial determination and for allowing a refund in the full amount.

Regards,

This company claims they offer scholarships but take the liberty to change rules and deadlines and they see fit. My child entered a project that she worked on for several days for a scholarship BEFORE the deadline only to find out the day AFTER the deadline for project entries that the scholarship had been extended for an additional 30 more days with no explanation or reason. Then we found out that that particular scholarship was for a specific region that we do not even live in!!! NONE of it was ever explain anywhere on the scholarship information. TOTAL FRAUD and manipulation. They have NO scholarships!!!!!!

Review: People to People writes to parents of middle school and high school children saying they were "nominated" for international travel programs that sound quite prestigious. There is no information provided about how the children were nominated. I called their offices today and insisted on an answer. I was told they got my son's name from a list of children who play soccer in our neighborhood in [redacted]. This is appalling! They are buying mailing lists in order to solicit children for an expense international travel program. What's even worse is that it is terribly manipulative. My son thinks he has received an honor and is very excited about the opportunity.Desired Settlement: I think the program needs to be completed changed. As far as I can tell from some preliminary research this was once a prestigious program and it has devolved into something else. Parents need to know the truth about this program.

Business

Response:

October 15, 2014

[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]:

In response to your complaint

submitted to the Revdex.com, case #[redacted]:

People to People Student

Ambassador Programs provides educational travel programs designed to continue

the mission of People to People International, a private sector, non-profit

501(c)3 organization, which was originally founded by President Eisenhower.

People to People

Ambassador Programs and People to People International have worked together for

more than 40 years. People to People International selected People to People

Ambassador Programs to carry out the mission of its educational travel

programs. The two organizations are united in their mission and vision, making

this one of the few longtime licensing relationships.

Students can be invited to the local information meeting through

direct nominations by teachers, former Student Ambassadors or their parents. In

areas where we do not receive direct nominations, we enlist the help of student

listing organizations. These are the same organizations that colleges and

universities use to recruit students for their programs. Our goal is to allow

as many qualified students as possible the opportunity to participate in our

programs. Students can also request an invitation on line.

Regardless of how

they receive an invitation, all students must be selected through an interview

process. If they choose to enroll after the information meeting, students

must submit three letters of recommendation and be interviewed by local

delegation leaders. We rely on this selection process to help us accept the

best students and ensure that they are appropriate candidates for the program.

I am sorry that

our invitation has upset your family. We understand that our program may not be

the right fit for everyone that we invite, and have removed [redacted] from our

invitation list.

On behalf of the staff at People to

People, we wish you and your family the best in your future endeavors.

Regards,

Sr. Customer Relations

Specialist

cc: Revdex.com

Consumer

Response:

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I do not think that the company answered my complaint in their letter. The key to my complaint is their use of the word "nominate" in their original correspondence. I appreciate that in some areas of the country students are truly nominated for "People to People", but in cases such as ours where the company is essentially buying a local mailing list, they absolutely must stop suggesting that their letter is anything other than a solicitation. They should not be allowed to send letters to young children suggesting that they were "nominated" for an honor when it is simply untrue.

I have had the most awful experience with this company, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. They continuously lost my childs paperwork. Told me I didn't have travel plans filled in, even though they had been for 4 months. Kept sending me email, saying they didn't have anything, after I got an email 3 weeks before saying they got it all. Then they posted a date for the program on the website, yet changed it on the paper, after I had already made arrangements for travel. (getting off work and expenses there). I repeatedly called and said the date that was stated on the program first, and even said the date and day of the week, yet not one person told me I was wrong. Even though they had the information pulled up. Then my child didn't receive the packet for the trip, nor the shirt. They said they would send it out and we would get it in time. Well, got the packet 2 weeks before departure there(suppose to be 1 month or longer before), and shirt day before(only after multiple calls saying we needed it to check in on the date I was first informed). Then we get there and no one is there, so called and they said I was mistaken, that wasn't the date. How in the world would someone get the date wrong after seeing it and marking it on the calendar a year in advance? Sorry just not how I work. On call they told me no one was there to receive said child and no one would be til next day, so we left. Yet 2 hours on another call they said they was someone there to get said child. Just seems fishy to me. So NO I will never refer anyone to this service for their child. It's not worth all the mistakes they give out or the heart ache I had to see my child go through because they told us the wrong drop off time. It's a scam to me, and don't waste your hard earned money on this program when you can't even get a refund for something that wasn't your fault and out of your control. Funny part was, they shut down their website and changed things months before. We tried to log back in after all the issues, and NOW they say there is an error and have cancelled my childs log on.
We won't ever see that money back, but I'd rather have my child safe with me. I don't think I would even trust them to take care of my child for 5 days(even though the program says 7). If they lose paperwork, emails, what's to say they wouldn't lose my child?
Hope this helps someone else not get ripped off!

Review: To whom it may concern my son [redacted] was accepted to the student ambassador program to travel to Australia, During the orientat[redacted] and meeting they never told me that if for any reason he could not attend the trip we would lose all of our money. They stated to me if could not pay all of the money, we could use the money for a local trip in the United States. I called them to let them know that I. l received a call from [redacted] school. They stated do to his math scores on the standardize test he is required to attend summer school from June 23, 2014 thru July 28, 2014. So I asked them could we use the money for a another trip at a later date. She stated to me can he go to summer school at another date. I stayed that I do not control the date the Chicago Public School set for him to go to summer school. They asked me several times if I was having a problem paying for his trip. we could look at a cheaper trip for [redacted]. If they would have told me this in the orientat[redacted] that once you pay your money you can not get your money back or use the money for any other trip. I can see them penalizing but keep all the money and to state that is nothing we can do is unacceptable.Desired Settlement: allow him to use the for another trip.

Business

Response:

We have been in contact with [redacted] regarding her complaint #[redacted]. We have explained to her our withdrawal penalties and the reason for them. We have also explained that, as a result of her unique circumstances, we are willing to reduce those penalties assessed on her account and provide a travel certificate of the remainder ($3379), good for 2015 travel. [redacted] has already enrolled [redacted] in a 2015 program and we will place certificate #[redacted] on his account today. We now consider this matter resolved.

Review: My son was nominated by his school 2 years ago to take part in this ambassador program for a trip to [redacted]. At that time we only had 4 months to come up with the tuition required for the trip. Being that the deadline was in such a short time I had it transferred to a 2014 trip that was the same. During the transfer process I was told at the time that the money already paid from my son's hard working donations were to be applied to his tuition cost. My situation is that I work full time, single mother and didn't have enough time and money raised to meet the tuition goal. I received a call from [redacted] giving me a hard decision to make on behalf of my son on his tuition. If his tuition was not received in full payment within 4 days that he will be dis-enrolled from the program. Also that ONLY a portion of the money will be returned. I went round and round with the lady I spoke to and finally asked to speak to a supervisor, she took my number and said one will call me back within the hour. So far no call back and i'm wondering when I will get justice. We paid almost $1,000.00 and they are only going to reimburse $353.00 of it. Their excuse is a fee that magically appeared and I requested to see it in writing. STILL NO WORD! Now when I tried to log on to the site it won't let me saying he's not enrolled anymore.......Desired Settlement: We would like the total paid to date returned!

Business

Response:

April 29, 2014

Review: My daughter [redacted] was invited to the People to People seminar for international travel. A $400.00 deposit was required and provided to hold a spot. A return of the deposit was promised if additional funds were unavailable for travel. We frequently corresponded with the company indicating that we could not acquire funds for the trip and wanted a refund. The seminar provided false information r/t refund. Terms and conditions were not honored. Please investigate. Hopefully we can get back our refund, if not. hope it does not happen to other poor people.Desired Settlement: Refund or want to make terms and conditions are clear in seminars.

Business

Response:

In response to your complaint submitted to the RevDex.com, case #[redacted]: Our Admissions Advisors, who conduct the introductory

meetings, state that a full refund will be provided to families who withdraw

from the program within 3 business days of application, or to delegates who are

not accepted by the program office after the interview. They do not claim that

a full refund will be provided to families who cannot afford the program. We

regret if this was misunderstood or unclear to you in any way. In order to successfully register on our website, potential

delegates and their families are required to read and accept our Booking

Conditions and Terms and Conditions of Travel before they are able to complete

and submit their application; a hardcopy has been provided for your further

review. Under “Refund and Withdrawal Fees”, the Terms and Conditions clearly

states that “if the program office removes a delegate for non-payment of

scheduled installments, the refund and withdrawal fee policy will apply as

noted.” In the interest of investigating your concerns, we

reviewed [redacted]’s account. Our records indicate that we received your deposit

in the amount of $400 on January 15, 2013. The first payment for [redacted]’s

program in the amount of $500 was due on February 1, 2013, the second payment

in the amount of $1000 was due on March 1, 2013, the third payment in the

amount of $1000 was due on April 1, 2013, and the account balance in the amount

of $4115 was due on May 1, 2013. We received none of those payments. Our program office attempted to contact you via

email on April 9, 10, 18, and 23 in an attempt to bring your account current.

Our efforts were unsuccessful and we were required to withdraw [redacted] on May

20 as a result. Our notice of withdrawal to you stated that a refund would be

provided, if one was due. Because extensive planning is required to operate

our programs, we incur many costs long before the departure date. As a result,

the fees outlined in our Withdrawal and Refund policy are retained based on the

date of withdrawal from the program. [redacted] enrolled in our program on January

15, 2013 and was withdrawn 53 days prior to the departure date of July 12. As

stated in the Terms and Conditions, the applicable penalty for withdrawals in

that timeframe was 25% of the program costs, or $1624.75. As a result, your

$400 deposit was retained in fees; we do not pursue collection of the

difference. On behalf of the staff at People to People, we wish

you and your family the best in your future endeavors.

I would advise that parents getting this letter form P2P to review the company and especially the costs before letting their son or daughter read the letter of invitation. My daughter was so excited that she was "picked" to be a part of this program. The cost was over $4,000.00. Once she found this out, she was so sad and upset for days. I feel that the letter misguides you into thinking that it is a "scholarship" type of program. I thought she was picked because of her excellent grades. I feel very manipulated. I think P2P should state in the letter the cost of the program, so the parent and child would not get hopeful if they could not afford it. I know they offer fund raising but how likely is it that a child could raise even 2,000.00. I feel this program is targeted to rich kids.

Sincerely,

Review: The people to people program, has taken $250, of which they've done no work for. They made a phone call to me on 02/11/2014, to remind me that my son has no spot reserved on the program that I signed him up for. The message stated that I needed to call to talk about arrangements so he could still travel, if I so choose. This program at the initial meeting stated that there would be a withdrawal penalty, but not the entire deposit. I've been diligently trying to raise money to afford my son this opportunity to travel with this program. When I realized that we could not raise the money and received the phone call, I called to cancel his pending reservation. I cancelled the reservation 4 months before the scheduled travel date, and this program is trying to justify why they are keeping the entire deposit amount. I went into this listening to these program advisers and made the mistake of not completely reading every page of the agreement. Even by any stretch of the imagination, 4 months is a sufficient amount of time to remove someone from a list that he isn't confirmed on at this point. Although, I do not agree with them keeping any of the money, I could consciously see this company keeping $100 of the deposit, since they claim that they've put in work for someone who doesn't even have a spot because of non-payment. This company is taking people's hard earned money for nothing in return.Desired Settlement: I would like for this company to return $200 of my deposit, because of the information that I was given by this company's employees and for the simple reason of my child is not traveling and they have done nothing to earn my $250.

Business

Response:

February 14, 2014

Re: [redacted]

Delegate

ID [redacted]

Dear [redacted]:

In response to your complaint

submitted to the Revdex.com, case #[redacted]:

In order to successfully

register on our website, potential delegates and their families are required to

read and accept our Booking Conditions and Terms and Conditions of Travel

before they are able to complete and submit their application; a hardcopy has

been provided for your further review.

Because extensive planning is

required to operate our programs, we incur many costs long before the departure

date. As a result, the fees outlined in our Withdrawal and Refund policy on

page 6 are retained based on the date of withdrawal from the program. Our

records indicate that you enrolled Caleel on September 11, 2013 and withdrew

him on February 13, 2014, 117 days prior to the departure date of June 10. As

stated in the Terms and Conditions, the applicable financial penalty for

withdrawals 149 to 60 days prior to the departure date is the deposit. As a

result, your $250 payment was retained in fees; we do not pursue collection of

the difference.

We appreciate your efforts to

help provide this opportunity for [redacted]. We also regret any potential

misinterpretation of the information provided at our initial meeting. As a

gesture of goodwill, we have agreed to retain only the $95 non-refundable

application fee and provide you with a refund of $155. This refund will be

processed back to your credit card used for payment, last four digits [redacted],

within 14 to 21 days.

On behalf of the staff at People

to People, we wish you and your family the best in your future endeavors.

Regards,

Delegate Care

Enclosure

cc: Revdex.com

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business' response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

Revdex.com:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: I have a problem with this company soliciting for me to send my 10 year old with them to a foreign country for 19 days. How did they find out that I have a son and how do they know his name! I recently read a documentary in which young women were solicited for opportunities in Europe and their family were very eager to pay for it--only to send them off to human trafficers who used this "great opportunity in Europe" as a ruse. How do I keep my son's name from getting in the hands of soliciters!Desired Settlement: I want the government to investigate to see if they are legit and that our kids are safe! I don't want any more letters of this nature.

Business

Response:

January 30, 2014

Dear [redacted]:

In response to your complaint

submitted to the Revdex.com, case #[redacted]:

People to People Student

Ambassador Programs provides educational travel programs designed to continue

the mission of People to People International, a private sector, non-profit

501(c)3 organization, which was originally founded by President Eisenhower.

People to People

Ambassador Programs and People to People International have worked together for

more than 40 years. People to People International selected People to People

Ambassador Programs to carry out the mission of its educational travel

programs. The two organizations are united in their mission and vision, making

this one of the few longtime licensing relationships.

Students can be invited to the local information meeting through

direct nominations by teachers, former Student Ambassadors or their parents. In

areas where we do not receive direct nominations, we enlist the help of student

listing organizations. These are the same organizations that colleges and

universities use to recruit students for their programs. Our goal is to allow

as many qualified students as possible the opportunity to participate in our

programs. Students can also request an invitation on line.

Regardless of how

they receive an invitation, all students must be selected through an interview

process. If they choose to enroll after the information meeting, students

must submit three letters of recommendation and be interviewed by local

delegation leaders. We rely on this selection process to help us accept the

best students and ensure that they are appropriate candidates for the program.

I am sorry that

our invitation has upset your family. We understand that our program may not be

the right fit for everyone that we invite, and have removed [redacted] from our

invitation list.

On behalf of the staff at People to

People, we wish you and your family the best in your future endeavors.

Regards,

Sr. Customer Relations

Specialist

cc: Revdex.com

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business' response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

Revdex.com:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,