Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Review: I cancelled the (Health Coach Training Program) within the 7 day limit and I have not been contacted by phone to finish the cancellation as they promised.

I have called, left messages and emailed about this repeatedly and they refuse to cooperate.Desired Settlement: Complete cancellation of the course and a refund due to unethical business practices.

Consumer

Response:

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

Sincerely,

Review: This company continues to charge me a fee of 199.00 per month totaling 1600.00 over the last 8 months. I cancelled my enrollment and I'm still being charged. I was told I would receive mail stating how much I owe. I did recently move however all mail was forwarded to me without any correspondence from this company. I call and I'm left with voicemail. This is unethical. Charging a person for services that I do not receive and also I have no bill to tell me what I owe or what is left.

I am a registered nurse. I am honest and a ethical person. I have never in my adult life made a complaint about a business until now. This is unacceptable and thievery.Desired Settlement: I want in writing why I am still being charged and what is left that I owe. I want monthly charges to be stopped immediately. I will take this further if necessary.

Business

Response:

We wrote to her on 12/** explaining the charges and amount owed for the withdrawal fee and did not hear

anything back.

I had her card refunded

for the last two payments and stopped further processing. We service over 8000 students annually and have a clear, understandable, state regulated withdrawal policy. Occasionally a student will make contact in the wrong place, as did this student, and we cannot make certain a student is completely satisfied unless they communicate with us. We go beyond the letter of regulations to see that students are treated fairly.

Review: The problem lies with this organization's handling of a case I consider to be fraud. One of their [redacted], [redacted],([redacted]) charged a fee for a "course" which never materialized. Though the fee was nominal, what is troubling is that *no one* is accountable for [redacted]'s actions. I contact4d [redacted] for a refund, and she refused. She also said she would not discuss the issue further. So, I contacted Institute for Integrative Nutrition, from where she received her certificate.. Not only would they not assist with the complaint, they would not give me the name of the head of their company. I also feel that [redacted] used emotional manipulation and switch/bait tactics to secure a sale. I have also contacted the [redacted], and they also do not take any responsibility nor get involved. They also do not respond to emails, nor do they disclose who the head of their organization is. The main concern here is that no one is accountable.

Address: I am working internationally. The address provided is in **. If you need a ** address, I can provide one, however, it would be better to send to the ** address. The best is to reply by email.Desired Settlement: 1) Refund. 2) Assure accountability / oversight over [redacted] of this institute.

Business

Response:

The complaint while lodged against IIN the school is actually a complaint against a [redacted] of the school.Nonetheless the complainant was listened to and when I determined that $29 was the amount in dispute I paid the complainant this amount from personal funds.The gesture was acknowledged as satisfactory and the issue resolved.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. My hope is that in future, more can be done to emphasize to health coaches the gravity of what they do; teach them ways in which to behave in an ethical manner; to deliver excellence in all aspects; and, that there be auspice(s) to whom they answer, and who hold them accountable.

Sincerely,

Review: I am a recent IIN graduate (December 2014). I understand that IIN is updating websites for health coaches, which is great for those who wish to upgrade.

However, part of the reason that I signed up for IIN was to have free access to the website platform, which was promoted in the marketing materials. In particular, the IIN 2014 Training Program Catalog states on page 39:

DID YOU KNOW?

• You could invest $3,000–$5,000 to have a website like this built for you, but you still wouldn’t have access to the unique social media content we publish for you, website updates, client tools and resources, hosting, support, and more!

• To host a website with this level of design, customization, and content can cost up to $100 per month.

• All of this is our gift to you to ensure your success as a Health Coach!

I assume that a portion of my tuition payment included the cost for the health coach website, which I was able to use for only a few months. Now, less than 4 months after graduating, the website has lost a lot of functionality, and the only option that graduates have is to sign up for a new website at $12.95 per month (it's free for the first 6 months). This is not an acceptable substitute because, based on the marketing materials and everything that I had heard in the program from ambassadors and peer group leaders, this is not what what was advertised. Thus, it was reasonable for incoming health coaches to sign up for the program because they expected to continue to use the website feature after graduation. It is unreasonable to expect graduates to pay for a feature that was included in their tuition costs. I am very disappointed because just a few months after graduating and starting my health coaching business, a feature that had been advertised by IIN as part of the program that I could continue to use after the program is being discontinued, unless I pay the monthly charges. I am also disappointed in how this news was announced and that graduates have little to no options, other than signing up for the paid site.Desired Settlement: At the very least, IIN could have decided to include an option that would allow health coaches to keep the old platform for free, and provide a paid site for those who wish to update. It isn't clear to me why this option isn't available. Alternatively, IIN could also reimburse recent graduates a portion of their tuition for the lack of functionality and inaccessibility / unavailability of a feature that was included in the program materials and in their tuition.

Note: If the alternative (refund) option is chose, the refund is based on the monthly cost of the website for 5 years. (12.95 x 12 x 5 = $777).

Business

Response:

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) supports over 35,000 Health Coach Websites. As technology changes rapidly so does IIN's method of providing to its students and graduates websites. This year IIN provided the greatest improvement to our student support ever. The improvement was so substantial that out of 35,000 students and graduates we received 40 inquiries requesting more information and three complaints. By far this change and how it was messaged was a great success. This changeover is not complete and won't be for another six months. IIN expects to have zero complaints when the new sites are fully implemented. However, IIN chooses to operate with a 100% satisfaction promise and each of the three complaints have been given the opportunity to maintain the old site or equivalent.

Review: I made the mistake of signing up for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, thinking that I would receive a nutritional education based in fact. I've quickly learned that the information imparted to students is the biased and completely non-science based opinion of the founder, [redacted]. The interactions that I've had with my fellow "students" are very frightening - they are advising pregnant women to take high doses of supplements that they know nothing about, and they are advising other parents to avoid vaccinating their children. Integrative Nutrition puts this all under the heading of "Bio-Individuality", which is new age garbage. They provide meaningless certificates to an undereducated and extremely dangerous population. They give a veneer of legitimacy to people that are going to end up getting someone killed. They also provided sub-standard technology as their online classes were frequently down and impossible to watch.

Needless to say, I feel misled and tricked. I requested my money back and that they cease charging my card, as I feel that they did not provide the service that they had promised. Not only did no one get back to me after my request, but they then proceeded to charge my card again. I do not want to fund this fraud machine.Desired Settlement: I want all of my money back, including their ridiculously high, "materials fee". I received a book and a workbook which I would be happy to return to them as I don't believe they are worth $900.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

This letter is in response to the notice of Complaint that the Institute for Integrative Nutrition ("llN") received from your office on November **, 2013. The notice was on behalf of [redacted], [redacted], with the ID number [redacted].

Thank you for making us aware of this complaint. llN takes all complaints very seriously and appreciates the forum that the Revdex.com offers.

[redacted] enrolled in our Health Coach Training Program on September **, 2013. Her complaint concerns alleged inadequacies in our curriculum, in our technology, and in our treatment of her request for a refund, along with alleged underqualification of our students and graduates to practice as health coaches. Prior to this filed complaint, [redacted] had several interactions with llN's Student Success team, the details of which are recounted below. [redacted]'s complaint is without merit.

At present, we have reached out to [redacted] to explain that we will gladly issue a full refund if she has not already disputed the charge that llN made to her credit card (in which case llN's Finance Department will need to resolve the issue with [redacted]'s financial institution), but wish to voice our opinion regarding her complaint:

Dissatisfaction with Curriculum:

Part of [redacted]'s complaint alleges that llN's curriculum is "the biased and completely non-science based opinion of the founder, [redacted]l." We wholeheartedly disagree.

Since 1992, llN has been the cutting-edge leader in holistic nutrition education. IIN has educated and transformed the lives of thousands of students worldwide through instruction from the world's foremost experts in nutrition and wellness like [redacted],MD,[redacted], PhD, [redacted],MD and [redacted], among many others.

llN's curriculum teaches a wide variety of skills in health coaching, nutrition education, business management and healthy lifestyle choices. Our students gain a clear understanding of over 100 major dietary theories from Ayurveda to The Zone and are taught how to integrate traditional nutrition philosophies with the most current health concepts. Graduates ofthe Health Coach Training Program often use this knowledge to launch successful careers as health coaches, by empowering their clients to meet health and wellness goals.

llN students are given access to a wide breadth of material,including forty "modules" consisting of lectures, videos,articles, and handouts focused on specific nutrition concepts and health issues,as well as business training and coaching skills development. Our curriculum is quite robust and we have had thousands of fully satisfied graduates.

Dissatisfaction with Technology:

llN's curriculum is administered online and through an app. We acknowledge that [redacted] may have experienced some technical difficulties, although we disagree with her assertion that our "online classes were frequently down and impossible to watch." Any downtime is addressed and quickly rectified,and llN's Technology team is constantly working to update and improve our technology and ensure that our offerings meet or exceed our students' expectations.

Concerns about Qualifications of Students and Graduates:

Graduates of the Health Coach Training Program often use the knowledge they have gained from IIN's curriculum to launch successful careers as health coaches by empowering their clients to meet health and wellness goals. We wholeheartedly disagree with [redacted]'s assertion that IIN students are "undereducated and extremely dangerous."

The interactions with students that [redacted] is referring to took place on Facebook and/or IIN's Online Education Forum,platforms for communication and connection between students. IIN does not encourage students to give each other health advice.

Enrollment at IIN and Student Agreement:

Potential IIN students may enroll in our program after a lengthy conversation with an admissions representative. Often, prospective students speak more than once with a member of the admissions team. During these conversations, any questions regarding the program and its content, the tuition, and the withdrawal fees are answered.

Upon enrollment, and before being able to begin any portion of the program, all IIN students must agree electronically to the Student and Online Education Forum Agreement (the "Student Agreement") and

Enrollment Agreement, which set forth, among other things, the students' obligations with respect to tuition and refund and withdrawal policies.

[redacted] Enrolls at IIN:

[redacted] enrolled with IIN on September **,2013 for our Health Coach Training Program and agreed to the terms and conditions contained in the Student Agreement on the same day.

IIN Withdrawal Policy and Protocol:

When a student chooses to withdraw from the program, they are subject to refunds in accordance with the New York State Department of Education Approved Withdrawal Policy, a part of the Enrollment Agreement. For your reference, the relevant section of the Enrollment Agreement is included below:

REFUND POLICY and WITHDRAWAL POLICY - TERMS

A. A student who cancels within 7 days of enrollment but before instruction begins receives all monies returned with the exception of $495, which consists of the $100 non-refundable registration fee and a portion of the Software and Content Licenses fee.

B. Thereafter, a student will be liable for

1. The non-refundable registration fee ;

2. The Books and Materials fee;

3. The Software and Content Licenses fee; and

Tuition liability as of the student's last date of electronic captured activity with the school. Tuition liability is divided into three quarters. Total tuition liability is limited to the quarter during which the student withdrew or was terminated,and any previously completed quarters.

TUITION REFUND POLICY

A. First Quarter

If termination occurs school may keep

Prior to or during the first week 0% During the second week 25% During the third week 50%

During the fourth week 75% During the fifth week 100%

B. Subsequent Quarters

If termination occurs school may keep

Prior to or during the first week 0% During the second week 25% During the third week 50%

During the fourth week 75% During the fifth week 100%

The Enrollment Agreement discloses the withdrawal fee in detail, indicating that all paid tuition,less the

$495 non-refundable enrollment deposit (consisting of the non-refundable registration fee and a portion of the software and content licensing fee) is refundable if a student chooses to withdraw within the first 7 business days after enrollment and before instruction begins. If a student chooses to withdraw after 7 business days,but before instruction begins,a larger fee is retained which represents, among other things,the software licensing and registration fee.

[redacted] Announces I ntent to Withdraw from IIN:

IIN maintains a record of communications with every student. [redacted] announced her intent to withdraw from the Health Coach Training Program on November **, 2013.A member of IIN's Student Success Team responded to [redacted]'s email on the same day and attempted to reach her by phone in order to complete the withdrawal. [redacted] was unable to answer the phone, and wrote an email detailing her complaints about the Health Coach Training Program.

The Student Success staff member who had been communicating with [redacted] was out of the office on November **, 2013. On Saturday, November **, 2013, [redacted] wrote to the Student Success staff member to inform her that [redacted]'s credit card had been charged $299 and that she ([redacted]) had disputed the charge with her bank.

As soon as she received [redacted]'s latest emails on Monday, November **, 2013,the Student Success staff member at IIN reached out to [redacted] 5 (five) times that week via phone and email,but did not receive any response from [redacted].

IIN Reaches Out to [redacted] to Determine Next Steps:

Since the filing of this complaint, we have been in touch with [redacted] and understand that our program was not the right path for her. Aiming not to have an unsatisfied student, we will gladly issue [redacted] a full refund of all money paid to llN if she has not,in fact, disputed the $299 charge that llN made to her credit card. If [redacted] has officially disputed the charge that was made on November **, 2013, IIN's Finance Department will have to resolve the matter with her financial institution .We will do everything possible to resolve this matter amicably and satisfactorily.

If you require any additional documentation or have any questions,please contact me at ###-###-#### or [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: I started to attend school here last year. I then stopped going to school here because I couldn't afford it I emailed them saying I couldn't afford it and I stopped using there program in September and I started in February. My account is now in collections. I did not understand that if I stopped that I had to pay the full tuition amount.Desired Settlement: I would like to know why that if I started the program and stopped going there that I would need to pay the full tuition amount and if I don't I would like them to take my account out of collections. So I stopped getting harassed by amer assist a/r collections.

Business

Response:

This letter is in response to the notice of Complaint that the Institute for Integrative Nutrition ("llN") received from your office on July **, 2013. The notice was on behalf of [redacted], residing at [redacted].

Thank you for making us aware of this complaint. llN takes all complaints very seriously and appreciates the forum that the Revdex.com offers.

[redacted] enrolled in our March 2012 Health Coach Training Program on February *, 2012. [redacted] did not complete llN's graduation requirements and did not successfully graduate from the program. However, [redacted] is still considered an active student in our database. [redacted]' complaint concerns money due to llN. llN wishes to address its policies and [redacted]' complaint briefly below.

llN Policy and Protocol:

Potential students of llN have the option to enroll in our program after a lengthy conversation with an admissions advisor. Oftentimes, prospective students may speak on more than one occasion with a member of the admissions team.

During these conversations, any questions regarding the school program and content, the tuition and withdrawal fees are answered.

We offer our students a variety of tuition payment plans options, which are flexible both in time period and amount. At any time, if a student is having difficulty with the payment plan they have chosen, they have the option to switch payment plans. If a student is having difficulties making one particular payment, we present them with the option to defer the payment for a nominal fee.

We pride ourselves on our customer service and our ability to work out reasonable payment plans for students on a tight budget. We also track all communications with students for monitoring purposes and to ensure that we maintain excellent customer service. We ensure that all student inquiries are responded to on a timely basis.

Upon enrollment, and before being able to begin any portions of the program, [redacted], like all our students, agreed electronically to the Student and Online Education

Forum Agreement (the "Student Agreement"), which sets forth, among other things, the students' obligations with respect to tuition, transfer, refund and withdrawal policies.

On September **, 2012, [redacted] informed llN that she was experiencing financial difficulties and may need to withdraw. We responded to her request, outlining how much [redacted] would be responsible to pay to llN in line with our withdrawal policy located

in the Student Agreement, which amounted to $2351.50. [redacted] chose to remain in the program and discuss further financing options of her payments to llN on October **, 2012. [redacted] made no further indications of her desire to withdraw from the program.

Although [redacted]' complaint alleges that she "stopped going to school" at llN, as she did not officially withdraw from the program, she is still bound by the terms of the Student Agreement, and liable to pay the full tuition amount due to llN as outlined in [redacted]' payment plan, which totals $6,747.00. However, in order to reach an amicable solution, llN has reached out to [redacted] to offer to officially withdraw [redacted] from the program, and adjust her amount due to llN to reflect a withdrawal date of September **, 2012. As of this date, we have yet to receive a response from [redacted] to this resolution.

We strongly believe that this complaint is without merit. Based on the information presented above, we have been more than accommodating to the student in question. We will continue to attempt to reach [redacted] to work out our differences in an amicable manner. We wish [redacted] all the best in her future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have been in connect with [redacted]. I am just waiting for a response from him back to the agreement we have set up.

Review: Basically it is an issue of "bait and switch". Juliette, the CSR got me excited (I already was interested in the programme), and I sent my money to her BEFORE they sent out the cancelation clause. I can show you exactly the emails. I did tell Juliet at the beginning that I might having to change dates or cancel altogetther... and as cheerful and helpful that she is, she only suggested two daates... the one where I was already signed up for (which started - I think, Jan ** 2016) and the next one, March **, 2016 9 which I have asked to rejoin due to my health. But she pressured me into the Jan [redacted] class, saying I would be about to catch up on all the fundamentals and the 3 days of module number 1. I found that between my doctor's appt I could not. SO, I requested, that I change to the next class... then my first payment bounced.... I'm in Canadda, I'm on disability (OSDP), probably for life. I can barely afford the minimum tuition fee of $199. by the CSR, Juliet, should know about the current exchange rates. I did not... so I tired to come up with the balance... basically coming to another $100. Making my tuition about $300. To that, I did not agree to. Juliet is one of the top CSR at IIN, she knows what she's doing. I don't doubt for a minute that she doesn't truely know the exchange rates.

So the I was directed to talk to a person named Teri. She then told me the low down - and what the price of leaving the programme early would be - which since, technically, I'm in the March ** Class.... so I haven't even started!! And my next payment Teri says is now due on the [redacted] of February?! Um, you'd think that all payments would cease until I begin the course... how stupid am I?

So Teri then told me the amount they require from me was:

"Since you have already paid $199.00, the remaining balance your are responsible for is $1794.75. Our Finance Team can work with you to arrange a payment plan for that remaining balance should that be necessary."

I told her that since I cannot even pay the $300, how am I to come up with the $1794.75??!!

2 hours ago, I received this:

"Teri (Institute for Integrative Nutrition)

Feb **, 11:38 AM

[redacted]"

Well, gosh golly, they make me blush - I am honoured that they are giving me a discount... that I STILL cannot afford to pay... because I would need to add the exchange. Getting the Doctor's note is no problem. But it doesn't fix the fact that I don't feel I can trust the programme and this has taken my desire away totally from trying to better myself at this time.Desired Settlement: Refund AND have them required, for future students, tellemail with the payment dates, the Student and Enrollment Agreements.

Consumer

Response:

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

Sincerely,