Duke University

I purchased a parking permit from Duke University. It was sent months after it was originally supposed to. They now refuse to replace it. On July 14th 2015, I purchased a parking permit from Duke university for the 'green lots', the section of parking lots close to the Law school which I intend. I paid 171$, an and the permit would have allowed me to park in those lots for the upcoming academic year. In short, I never received it because of various problems and beuracratic stubbornness. The confirmation email I received said the permit would be mailed to my apartment in seven business days. It wasn't actually sent until the first week of August, two weeks later than was stated. By that time I had moved out of my apartment to return to Durham to return to school. I did not receive a confirmation of the mailing until I was already moving into my current apartment, at which point I was to busy with moving in and moving the old leaseholder's furniture out return to my old apartment. I contacted my old apartment to ask if they could forward my permit when they got it, but they said it was their policy not to do so. After some pleading, on the second week of August a friendly staff member agreed to check the mail and send what she could. The permit had not arrived yet, and even after making sure to change my forwarding address it has not arrived at my new address. I went to the parking department on the second week of August. They refused to issue a replacement, claiming it was too early. When I asked what day I should could back, the person at the desk said she couldn't say because a day hadn't been set. She knew it was too early, but couldn't say when it wouldn't be too early. I was issued a temporary paper hang-tag allowing me to park on campus, and told to wait for my permit to make its way back to me. Even when I explained that the permit would not be forwarded and was most likely thrown away, she merely repeated that I should wait for its eventual return. I returned the next week to replace the paper hang tag because it was only for one week and had expired. I was told the same thing; it was too early to replace permits, and wait for the original to return. I was given another paper hang tag with a one week expiration date. To my best recollection, in total I made five trips back to the parking office between August and September to try and replace my permit. Every time the answer was the same, that it was too early, but they couldn't give me any guess as to when it wouldn't be too early. On my last trip they stopped giving me hangtags and instead simply printed a paper permit out for the rest of the year. However the paper permit isn't as good as the real thing, because, despite what the parking office told me, it can't actually open the gates leading into the green lot. It only allows me to not get towed if I could theoretically access the lot. I only figured out the paper bar code wouldn't work one morning, and by the time it was clear that it wouldn't open there was a line of cars blocked up behind me, most of the drivers were angry because I was inadvertently barricading the parking lot. And it was pouring rain, and I had to run out of my car and ask one of them to help. When I sent an online complaint to the Parking dept. they sort of apologized, but claimed that if the paper permit did not work that my student id would also open the gate. I have tested both my id and the temporary permit, neither work to open the gate. In the mean time I have been parking in the Duke "gravel lot' used for joggers on a nearby trail which is further from the law school, and turns to mud overtime it rains. The resolution I would like is to finally receive after nearly two months of waiting is a replacement parking permit. [redacted] ///// Desired SettlementI want a replacement permit. /////

Made cash deposit of $300 through a 'quick deposit' box in the lobby despite some skepticism. Was only credited $280, CU refused to acknowledge error.Deposited $300 ($20 x 15 in bills) to jointly held account at [redacted] Credit Union through a quick deposit envelope system in the lobby. The account was later credited $280, warranting a call which resulted in customer service promising to follow up with me once they double checked that their teller wasn't out of balance/any other errors etc. After not receiving a call back for several days I attempted to contact them again, at which point customer service politely informed me there was nothing they could do. I realize that I should have been far more skeptical of a system which adds an additional step in between the customer and teller involved in a cash transfer, but being a Credit Union (a business whose job is to handle people's money) I assumed they would be able to handle the relatively small sum without any trouble./////Desired SettlementI just want the $20 credited to my account. It is a matter of principle at this point as a new customer whose very first transaction was incorrectly counted. /////

Tuition issuesI am a graduate student within their Civil & Environmental Engineering program. Shortly after being admitted into the program (last year), even before making the decision to attend Duke, I exchanged a series of emails with both my academic adviser and the departmental dean of graduate studies regarding my degree and financing options. Both of them communicated to me that I could easily finish my coursework within a timespan of two semesters. In the event that my thesis spilled over the summer I would not be liable for the full third semester tuition, but merely a continuation fee ($2,700). With this understanding I accepted Duke's admission offer from a number of options I had. And cost was a major factor in my decision. Of course, I operated under the assumption that these two authority figures were representative of the university as a whole. I have now come to find out that the graduate school will not allow me to graduate before first paying for three semesters worth of tuition (an extra $21,000). After speaking with the financial coordinator I am now being prompted to pay and register for a third semester's tuition during the summer term in order to graduate over the next few months. This policy was somewhat hidden from both the student body and departmental officials. In fact, even when communicating this newfound information, both my adviser and director of graduate studies were unsure as to how the system works or why I would be held liable for the extra semester's sum of money. It contradicts all prior information I had gathered on the subject. Likewise, the appropriate cost of the graduate degree was not clearly stated in either an offer letter or the online literature. By the end of the this semester I will have surpassed all of the academic requirements necessary to gradate, and thus see no apparent justification for me having to take an excessive amount of extra loans without any academic gain to show for it. I have contacted many officers within the graduate school, but they all seem reluctant to resolve or hear my case. Desired SettlementNot be held liable for the extra semester's sum of money.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]The Duke University Graduate School's policy is that master's students are required to enroll in and pay tuition for at least three semesters of full-time study. This policy is clearly stated on our website at https://[redacted], as is the full-time per-semester tuition charge. This tuition policy is based on the total cost of the degree, rather than the duration of study, and a number of our peer institutions have similar policies. We believe our policy has been clearly and consistently communicated, and we have met with the student to discuss options for financing the outstanding balance of her tuition.

Payment posted to wrong credit card accountpayment lost and/or not posted to car loan account I sent in my credit card payment with payment coupon but somehow the payment posted to a family members account in error. I had to send in a double payment plus pay extra postage to send the payment certified.Now my car payment that has been sent in is not posted and/or lost. Will have to pay extra fees to either cancel payment and reissue or send in a double payment and pay extra postage to send it certified mail.If the payment volume is too much for the credit union to handle they need to send it to an outsourced agency to process as they had with the credit card payments before the credit union took over their own payment processing. Desired SettlementFor the credit union to hire competent employees or more employees to process the payments that are coming in.Outsource the payment processing.Business Response We have apologized to Mrs. [redacted] for the inconvenience we caused her in this matter. Please have her call our office and we can discuss this matter further.Thank you,Duke University Federal Credit Union

False advertising for auto loan application process.I applied online for an auto loan because it clearly states that one will have a decision in 15 minutes. I am in the market to purchase a vehicle today. Instead at the end of the application process I received a message that I will be contacted in the next business day. had I known this would happen, I would have never applied. now Duke FCU has pulled my credit score, which harms my credit and I am left without the ability to complete my transaction as promised on the website. This means I have to apply through another entity again today, which will further harm my credit score.Desired SettlementDo something to rectify the credit score pull and it's resultant harm to my credit score.More info received from the consumer 2014-06-30It has been resolved

I would like to file a complaint against Duke TIP's sales practice regarding application fee collection for its Duke TIP CRISIS summer camp program. I couldn't find the correct address from the drop down menu for the Duke TIP office. Below is the correct contact information for the Duke TIP program:Main Office[redacted]Campus Address[redacted]I applied to the 2016 Duke TIP CRISIS summer camp program on behalf of my son on April 8, 2016. When I go through the online application process, some of the programs are showing full with no available spot. I searched around to find a program at my desired location that showed available spots and completed the application process (including the application fee payment, Order Number: [redacted]). Three days after the application on April 11, 2016, I received an email from Duke TIP stating that my son was put on wait list. He never got a spot.I fully understand the policy that application fee is not refundable. My complaint is with the sales practice. I was misled during the application process to believe that spots were available for the program I desired at the location I desired. That's the only reason I went through the application process. Had I known that the program was full (which the Duke TIP organizer should be fully aware), I won't have applied to the program in the first place. Based on this, I would like to request Duke Tip to refund my application fee due to fraudulent information provided during the application process. I would further urge Duke TIP to change the summer camp application practice to provide up to date program availability information on their website. People can still apply to a program that's showing full with the knowledge that their application would be put on wait list. But that decision is the consumer's to make. Duke TIP should be fair and transparent with program availability information to facilitate consumers' application/purchase decisions.Desired SettlementI would like to request Duke Tip to refund my application fee of $25 due to fraudulent information provided during the application process. I would further urge Duke TIP to change the summer camp application practice to provide up to date program availability information on their website. Business Response This reply is in response to the complaint filed regarding the Duke TIP CRISIS summer program application process. The customer's complaint indicates a request for a refund of the application fee due to fraudulent information provided during the application process. He indicated that when selecting course choices some of them showed no available spots and therefore he thought all of the courses displayed had availability. This is not the case and the course selection page of the application states, in bold red text, "Being able to select courses below does not guarantee current availability. Courses will remain listed until a course and its wait list are full." (I cannot attach a screenshot of the wording in this reply box, but I can supply if you provide another way to share that information.) Courses that were no longer accepting applications were removed from the list of available options. Our online application and website do not show the number of available spots remaining in a course because we do not process applications in real time and this data would never be accurate. We believe the bold, red message on the page where the family selected courses of interest clearly refute this assertion of fraudulent sales practice. We believe the parent misunderstood what was stated on the course selection page.Consumer Response I don't agree with Duke TIP's response. 1. There is no reason why Duke TIP can't provide real time information regarding availability in this day and age. This would simply be the number of spots available in each program vs. the number of applications. Any consumer making purchases online for merchandise, event tickets, or class registration should be familiar with this feature. I believe this feature is missing from the Duke TIP online application process with the intent to mislead applicants. 2. Duke TIP is selling a commercial service based on capacity. If I reserved a flight ticket, the airline made a mistake and the flight happened to be oversold so I don't get a seat, I get all my money back, plus a voucher to use on my next flight. I don't think it should work any differently for Duke TIP. I don't believe anyone should pay an application fee (or reservation fee) and end up not getting service. On the country, Duke TIP should pay the customer a fee for the hassle for going through the application process, wait around a few months, ending up not getting service, and the disruption of the summer scheduling. 3. I also question the nature of the application fee. As mentioned on the first item, Duke TIP doesn't provide real time availability information so people are applying online in the blind. The program should be equal-opportunity so admission would be on first-come-first-serve basis, there is nothing to "process" for applicants who end up not getting service. So the application fee is of no benefit to the applicants not getting in the program what so ever. As mentioned on the second item, Duke TIP should refund the application fee with an apology at the minimum, and provide additional financial compensation if it were a company with higher standard. Final Business Response I realize that the customer does not agree with our response per his comment above, but our position has not changed. We clearly state on our website how the admissions process works and it states that it is not first-come, first-served. While the customer may wish that we processed applications this way, we do not and we state that up front in our materials. He may not agree with our business processes, which is his prerogative, but this is where we would have to agree to disagree.