Institute for Writers LLC

I find it rather funny that of the complaint's I can view, one had delivery issues (& I wonder if they ever considered checking their spam folder as I have often found messages sent to spam in my [redacted] account only because they were pre-flagged as potential spam by the [redacted] filter system) & said they couldn't reach anyone (again, I wonder if they thought to go to the main website for this institution to see if contact numbers had changed or they were in the process of moving etc.); while the other even in his complaint seemed brash and put out with thingsHe said they complained about tuition owed but yet he said he was paid in full, to me his remarks raise a red flag; but that's me I guessI started this course back in late 1988, but had to terminte sadly for health reasons, never once did they demand the remainder of the tuituon owed! A few year's ago they contacted me by email ( I had quarried about possibly taking the course again) I was informed that I could start again & all I had to do was pay a reinstatement fee then a small monthly fee; I agreed but again had to drop this time due to other factors that I can not discussAgain, they were very agreeable, told me if I wished to try again they would happily take me backNo mention of owing a balance though of my almost $tuition, I have a blance of just barely over $left; I know as I just checked not minutes before coming hereThey have again reached out to me,and again no mention I owe them and must pay immediately; just an invitation to start up againSo, I do not understand the two complaints I could read as never once did I have trouble contacting anyone from this institute!

[redacted] enrolled in our Writing for Children and Teenagers course on March 31, Prior to enrolling we mailed him an enrollment package which provided [redacted] with an introduction to his instructor [redacted] , cost of the course, our refund/withdrawal policy, the approximate time it takes to complete the course, plus many more important facts about taking a course with us Our Confirmation of Enrollment states the following: We attempt to cultivate a positive environment for our students and our staff and faculty So we ask our students to avoid any behavior that could be interpreted as abusive or threatening, and refrain from submitting lessons that could be interpreted as offensive or inappropriate for children’s literature We reserve the right to expel any student who doesn’t adhere to these standards, and the appropriate tuition refunds will be made In [redacted] ’s case a refund was not due to him I have included a copy of the Confirmation of Enrollment [redacted] received from us It outlines our Refund/Withdrawal policy and informs students that once enrolled over days the full tuition amount is due to the school [redacted] was enrolled well over 1,days when he was withdrawn from the course this past March for lesson inactivity The course normally take years to complete and we are flexible, but after many months of no contact a student does run the risk of being withdrawn We are not offering [redacted] the opportunity to resume his course with us based on his rude and nasty behavior during phone conversations with our Student Services department He called Student Services to take time off from the course in early due to eye surgery When his leave of absence was over he contacted us in June claiming he received no help from us or his instructor At this point [redacted] had completed four of the ten assignments He was unable explain what his concerns were We offered him the option of working with a different instructor, explained our money back guarantee and told him if he decided to withdraw we would close his account in good standing and look for no further tuition payments from himHe said he would call us back with his decision On July 24, [redacted] called again upset with a letter informing him his tuition payment was overdue and saying he never heard from us We explained we were waiting for his decision based on our June 12th conversation regarding the options we offered him At this point we offered him three specific instructors as transfer options and moved is payment due date ahead to August 1, to give him time to make a decision On September 5th [redacted] called to make a tuition payment for August The counselor told him he owed for September too He reacted badly to being asked to pay for September’s tuition in addition to August’s and was verbally abusive to the counselor and threatened to drop the course, but did not do Later the same day [redacted] called back and again was extremely rude and nasty Again, we explained that we have been trying to help him by offering a new instructor and by moving his due date ahead to give him time to make a decision about a new instructor As of today we are still not clear why [redacted] was dissatisfied with the instruction and service he received from the school In March [redacted] ’s student file was closed for lesson inactivity He sent a condescending email about his withdrawal and that it must be a mistake – even though he hadn’t sent a lesson since His student file was reviewed and it was determined that based on his prior abusive behavior we would not offer him reinstatement

Since [redacted] paid $after he requested to withdraw from the course I will process a refund of the $ In September [redacted] called the school several times upset because he received letters asking for tuition payment His tone was hostile and he was extremely rude during these conversations We wanted to assist [redacted] with his writing needs and offered him the option to work with a different instructor, but he never took us up on our offer We were unable to discern exactly why [redacted] was unhappy with the course I will process his refund today

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: At no time in my relationship with the "school" was behavior mentioned. Curiously it only comes up now. When the school was still waiting to collect the rest of my tuition they were most solicitous. In fact, I tried to terminate my student status in June and July of 2013, and received written assurances that they were only concerned with my success. No mention of behavior. The following letter is in response to my initial complaint on June 12, 2013. By using a "secret" excuse to bar me from finishing a course for which I paid in full, the school violates its' contract with me both in the spirit and letter***,
Thank you for your messageSorry that you
are unhappy with the course, but please be aware that the money back guarantee
is available to graduates from the course who feel that they have not become
better writers after receiving instruction on all the lessonsPlease refer to
the Confirmation of Enrollment form you received prior to enrolling
Instructors do provide one on one instruction
by reviewing the contents of your individual file, along with your current
submission, separate from other studentsHowever, if you are unhappy with your
current instructor we can transfer you to a different one and you can resume by
sending your lessons by email for quicker turn-around-time if you preferAlso,
keep in mind that if you have questions about your assignments, you can send a
message to your instructor using the link in the student centerInstructors
are available for responding and will usually respond in about one to two
business daysIf you would rather withdraw, I will close the file in good
standingLet us know how you would like to proceed
***
Student Services
Rather, the file was not closed in good standing, nor is any mention made of behavior again. It would seem behavior only became an issue at the end. The following reply from the school makes no mention, as you will see
Hello, again, ***,
It would be helpful to us if you could be specific about your concerns
with the course; as I review your file, I see that you've addressed
concerns about payments, but nothing specific about the course or your
instructor until the message we just received todayRest assured
Student Services would have addressed any questions you had about the
program, because we are here to helpPlease refer to my other message I
sent today and let us know how we can assist you
***
Student Services
-----Original Message-----
From: ***
[mailto:***]
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2:AM
To: Student Services - Email #
Subject: Student Services Message
PrefixLen........:
HttpRefer........:
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/lessons/iclstudent.cgi?s=AWM%
&c=icl&p=student_center_comments.htm&n=
HttpReqUri.......: /cgi-bin/mailform3.cgi
FormMailto.......: ***
FormName.........: Student Services Message
FormRespLoc......: respcomments.htm
FormVersion......:
Name.............: *** ***
Account..........: *** ***
EmailAddress.....: ***
Message..........: I just sent in a letter informing your "school" of my
resignationIt has been a very unsatisfactory
relationship
What makes it more so is the "faculty's" deafening
silence
to any negative input on the "product"
I feel takenThank you for reminding me that there
is no
fool like an old foolBut to prey on people's
dreams put a
step below a telemarketer for a scam charity
*** ***
***
Sincerely,
*** ***
Bearing in mind that I had already filled out a student survey expressing my disappointment with the course, the proper thing to do should have been obvious. However more promises were made, or implied in the next letter, AGAIN WITH NO MENTION OF BEHAVIOR

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: The school STILL refuses to address the initial complaint. They state I was rude. I suppose I could say they were rude and offer the same evidence, that being nothing. They have refused to allow me to complete my studies, and have done so with the specious claim that I was "rude". No proof can be offered, nor is politeness pertinent to the contract between us. As I said, I am being excluded from my completion of the course on the basis of rudeness.
The fact that the school has now offered a partial refund is further evidence of their admission of fault in the matter. I expect a full refund, as completing the course at this point woul be impossible, with the school acting in bad faith
Sincerely,
*** ***

I am in receipt of the complaint you mailed to us from [redacted].  I am very sorry [redacted] has been having problems reaching us.  We are under new management and we just recently moved our offices.  However, the [redacted] newsletter stopped being published over a...

year ago.  All of our subscribers were notified and received a subscription from another very reputable children’s newsletter Children’s Book Insider.  All subscribers also received a subscription extension from [redacted] at no additional cost.  [redacted] request to renew her subscription to [redacted] was not done and we did not charge her credit card.  We will be updating our websites and will remove [redacted] from our offerings.I apologize for the lack of communication, but we’ve had many changes and we will be up to speed very soon.[redacted]Writer’s Bookstore

I find it rather funny that of the complaint's I can view, one had delivery issues (& I wonder if they ever considered checking their spam folder as I have often found messages sent to spam in my [redacted] account only because they were pre-flagged as potential spam by the [redacted] filter system) & said they couldn't reach anyone (again, I wonder if they thought to go to the main website for this institution to see if contact numbers had changed or they were in the process of moving etc.); while the other even in his complaint seemed brash and put out with things. He said they complained about tuition owed but yet he said he was paid in full, to me his remarks raise a red flag; but that's me I guess. I started this course back in late 1988, but had to terminte sadly for health reasons, never once did they demand the remainder of the tuituon owed! A few year's ago they contacted me by email ( I had quarried about possibly taking the course again) I was informed that I could start again & all I had to do was pay a reinstatement fee then a small monthly fee; I agreed but again had to drop this time due to other factors that I can not discuss. Again, they were very agreeable, told me if I wished to try again they would happily take me back. No mention of owing a balance though of my almost $1000.00 tuition, I have a blance of just barely over $200.00 left; I know as I just checked not 10 minutes before coming here. They have again reached out to me,and again no mention I owe them and must pay immediately; just an invitation to start up again. So, I do not understand the two complaints I could read as never once did I have trouble contacting anyone from this institute!

[redacted] enrolled in our Writing for Children and Teenagers course on March 31, 2011.  Prior to enrolling we mailed him an enrollment...

package which provided [redacted] with an introduction to his instructor [redacted], cost of the course, our refund/withdrawal policy, the approximate time it takes to complete the course, plus many more important facts about taking a course with us.
Our Confirmation of Enrollment states the following:  We attempt to cultivate a positive environment for our students and our staff and faculty.  So we ask our students to avoid any behavior that could be interpreted as abusive or threatening, and refrain from submitting lessons that could be interpreted as offensive or inappropriate for children’s literature.  We reserve the right to expel any student who doesn’t adhere to these standards, and the appropriate tuition refunds will be made.  In [redacted]’s case a refund was not due to him.
I have included a copy of the Confirmation of Enrollment [redacted] received from us.  It outlines our Refund/Withdrawal policy and informs students that once enrolled over 540 days the full tuition amount is due to the school.  [redacted] was enrolled well over 1,000 days when he was withdrawn from the course this past March for lesson inactivity.  The course normally take 2 years to complete and we are flexible, but after many months of no contact a student does run the risk of being withdrawn.
We are not offering [redacted] the opportunity to resume his course with us based on his rude and nasty behavior during phone conversations with our Student Services department.  He called Student Services to take time off from the course in early 2013 due to eye surgery.  When his leave of absence was over he contacted us in June 2013 claiming he received no help from us or his instructor.  At this point [redacted] had completed four of the ten assignments.  He was unable explain what his concerns were.  We offered him the option of working with a different instructor, explained our money back guarantee and told him if he decided to withdraw we would close his account in good standing and look for no further tuition payments from him. He said he would call us back with his decision.
On July 24, 2013 [redacted] called again upset with a letter informing him his tuition payment was overdue and saying he never heard from us.  We explained we were waiting for his decision based on our June 12th conversation regarding the options we offered him.  At this point we offered him three specific instructors as transfer options and moved is payment due date ahead to August 1, 2013 to give him time to make a decision. 
On September 5th [redacted] called to make a tuition payment for August.  The counselor told him he owed for September too.  He reacted badly to being asked to pay for September’s tuition in addition to August’s and was verbally abusive to the counselor and threatened to drop the course, but did not do.
Later the same day [redacted] called back and again was extremely rude and nasty.  Again, we explained that we have been trying to help him by offering a new instructor and by moving his due date ahead to give him time to make a decision about a new instructor.  As of today we are still not clear why [redacted] was dissatisfied with the instruction and service he received from the school. 
In March 2014 [redacted]’s student file was closed for lesson inactivity.  He sent a condescending email about his withdrawal and that it must be a mistake – even though he hadn’t sent a lesson since 2012.  His student file was reviewed and it was determined that based on his prior abusive behavior we would not offer him reinstatement.

This is my experience with a company formerly known as the Long Ridge Writer's Group, now The Institute for Writers. About sixteen or more years ago I found one of their ads in a magazine or book. I cannot remember. It was quite a long time ago. I decided to try their test and was surprised I was accepted to this exclusive class to learn the craft of writing from an actual author. I began my classes (through the mail that is how long ago it was) and soon found that my instructor did not get back to me in a timely manner and once she did, I was told that I should quit writing.
Okay, I was sad to get that kind of feedback, but realized that if the school didn't want me as a writer, I could in fact quit engaging with them. So I cancelled the class. I told them why I wanted to cancel and supposedly that was the end of it.
Except, over the last many years now, they send me countless offers to rejoin. When I explain what happened and why I don't want to rejoin they say they will leave me alone. I have asked repeatedly at this point for them to leave me alone. Still, periodically they send offers for an ever increasing fee to attend their class.
I'm not sure if they are a reputable institute now, but my experience has not been good.

Since [redacted] paid $112.00 after he requested to withdraw from the course I will process a refund of the $112.00.  In September 2013 [redacted] called the school several times upset because he received letters asking for tuition payment.  His tone was hostile and he was extremely rude during these conversations.   We wanted to assist [redacted] with his writing needs and offered him the option to work with a different instructor, but he never took us up on our offer.  We were unable to discern exactly why [redacted] was unhappy with the course.  I will process his refund today.