PrepScholar, Inc.

Hi [redacted],   Thanks for writing in to PrepScholar and thank you for your patience while I reviewed the correspondence that you’ve had with our customer support team.   I apologize that there was some confusion over the refund of our program. I did look at your account and see that it was...

refunded on November 3rd, 2017. You should see the credit reflected on your statement shortly if you haven’t already.   I apologize again for the delay in responding to you. Please let our support team know if there is anything else we can do for you.   Best, [redacted] Operations Manager, PrepScholar

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
[It is obvious to me that the PrepScholar guarantee is always going to have a loophole in it so that refunds are not issued.]
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
[This business should be kicked out online. Did not provide services as they said. It addressed on their site for 40 hours study their program will improve over 160 point. My kid, very top student, spent over 100 hours and did not improve none. They waste the kid's time. Now they did not refund money base on their own policy. We had to listen two other party in most case. I have been dealing with so many companies online for over decade. This is the first time to deal such company. You teach kid to learn thing and then you get paid. How can you explain that you teach the kids 12 hours and 100 hours study and no point improved. I purchased the service for use it in June 2017, but they did not provide the service until later July. Anytime after July, the service is useless for me! ]
Regards,
[redacted]

Hi [redacted],My name is [redacted] and I am the Operations Manager at PrepScholar. I see that you originally emailed us on August 4th regarding the status of your book shipment. We responded with a resolution on August 5th which included a downloadable copy of the content required to move on with...

our program while our book distributor replenished their inventory. Below is the full copy of our August 5th email:"Thanks so much for writing in to PrepScholar and so sorry for any confusion or frustration over the past few weeks! Our program has officially transitioned to using the 2016-2017 Official [redacted] book.If there was a practice test on your dashboard from the old version, it was removed and will be replaced by one of the newer version tests.We're also in the process of sending out books to every student who requested one and hasn't yet received it, so be on the lookout for that soon!In the meantime, if you'd like to get a head start, you can take the first of 3 official new practice tests here:[redacted] Test 1 [This was the link for the file]Please note that we’re allowed to send you this test only because we ordered a book for you, so please do not share this test with anyone else."Our distributor has replenished stock of the book and your physical copy was shipped on August 11th 2016. We apologize for the delay in sending you the physical book; however, the digital copy that was emailed on August 5th contains the same content as the book we ship with our program to ensure that you had no delays in progressing with our program.I would like to have this complaint resolved as we sent a digital copy of the book within 24 hours of the original request and shipped the physical book the same day our distributor alerted us that the book was back in stock.Please let me know if you need any further information to resolve this case.Best,[redacted]

The business Prep Scholar addressed this issue and provided me with the refund of $399 and repeat of 12 tutoring hours. This tutor, [redacted] was very good. I guess we just ended with a lemon in [redacted] the previous time. Hopefully they have bid him farewell. I am satisfied with the resolution.

Hi [redacted],Thanks for taking the time to write in to PrepScholar. I know the recent results you received are disappointing and I am sorry to hear about this.Our 4 point guarantee starts in once you finish the program before an administration of a test, which means mastering all the skills. We can see...

that in your program that you have mastered 18 skills, but there are a total of 52 skills to master.I understand this is disappointing, and I’m sorry that we can’t currently grant you a refund. Our guarantee requires that students follow our program and put in the time necessary to complete the program.Our program comes equipped with a progress tab that lays out all 52 of these skills and your current performance on all of them. Additionally, at the end of every lesson you're told whether you're moving on to the more advanced material based on your test score.Unfortunately, since you've not mastered the program, we can't grant you a refund at this time. However, access to PrepScholar lasts for a full year, so there’s still plenty of time to master skills and continue improving. Once the program is completed and you find out the score, if there isn’t a 4 point improvement from the most recent test before PrepScholar, we’ll be happy to give a complete refund.

The buyer [redacted] has received and used the product purchased without completing the requirements needed to qualify for our guarantee. This buyer is therefore ineligible for a refund.   The PrepScholar Terms of Service ("https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/terms") detail cases in which buyers may be eligible or ineligible for a refund. As explained therein, buyers are only eligible for full refunds if: 1) They are within 5 days of purchase, or 2) They have used a single hour of tutoring and fewer than 10 hours of the PrepScholar software.   A buyer is also eligible for a partial refund and free tutoring if they master all skills in the PrepScholar software, meet with their tutor for all hours initially purchased, and do not achieve a 160+ point increase in their SAT scores, as described in our Terms.   As the attached documents and explanation below show, the buyer [redacted] does not fit these requirements for eligibility.   On July 16, 2017, the buyer purchased the product "Full Tutor-Led Complete Prep," which comprises 12 hours of expert tutoring and full access to PrepScholar's Complete Online Prep. The registered user for the account is [redacted]. Due to a delay connecting the buyer with a tutor who had a compatible schedule, the buyer was also credited 2 free hours of tutoring, as shown in the "Changes" section of the attached Record of Tutoring Services Delivered ("[redacted]) Record of Tutoring Services Delivered.pdf").   To date, the buyer has scheduled and received 11.5 of the 12 hours of tutoring purchased initially purchased. The attached Record of Tutoring Services Delivered ("[redacted]) Record of Tutoring Services Delivered.pdf") shows a record of each tutoring session as confirmed when scheduled with the buyer. This document also shows the current status of every scheduled and delivered hour. Cancellations were handled as described in our terms. Certain sessions were followed by solicitations for feedback: Sessions with "Rating" of 5 indicate the buyer reported the highest level of satisfaction with services provided.   The attached Software Usage Log ("[redacted]) Product Usage Log.pdf") shows that the buyer, [redacted], through the registered user [redacted], received and used the PrepScholar Complete Online Prep software as purchased. The buyer has used the product for more than 5 days and over 10 hours.   As the buyer has not completed all tutoring hours initially purchased and has not mastered all skills in the PrepScholar software (as shown in the Product Usage Log, the user has mastered 7 of the 49 skills), they are not eligible for any refund or free tutoring under our guarantee.   The buyer has been informed of and acknowledged our policies and is aware that they are not eligible for any refunds, as shown in the attached Acknowledgment of Services Received and Refund Policy ("[redacted] Acknowledgment of Services Received and Refund Policy.pdf"). The buyer was also informed several times by their tutor, [redacted], of the need to complete the software program, as shown in the attached Repeat Reminder of Correct Program Usage ("[redacted] Repeat Reminder of Correct Program Usage.pdf").   Because the buyer, [redacted], has received and extensively used the product purchased without meeting the requirements for our Point Increase Guarantee, they are not qualified for a refund or credit of the amount disputed. PrepScholar has fully delivered all products and services purchased. In addition, the buyer has an open chargeback dispute that we are in the process of resolving with our financial institutions. We therefore request that the complaint be dismissed.

The buyer has received and used the product purchased without completing the requirements needed to qualify for our guarantee. This buyer is therefore ineligible for a refund.   The PrepScholar Terms of Service (https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/terms) detail cases in which buyers may be...

eligible or ineligible for a refund. As explained therein, buyers are only eligible for full refunds if: 1) They are within 5 days of purchase, or 2) They have used a single hour of tutoring and fewer than 10 hours of the PrepScholar software.   A buyer is also eligible for a partial refund and free tutoring if they master all skills in the PrepScholar software, meet with their tutor for all hours initially purchased, and do not achieve a 160+ point increase in their SAT scores, as described in our Terms.   As the explanation below show, the buyer does not fit these requirements for eligibility.   On July 16, 2017, the buyer purchased the product "Full Tutor-Led Complete Prep," which comprises 12 hours of expert tutoring and full access to PrepScholar's Complete Online Prep. Due to a delay connecting the buyer with a tutor who had a compatible schedule, the buyer was also credited 2 free hours of tutoring.   To date, the buyer has scheduled and received 11.5 of the 12 hours of tutoring purchased initially purchased. Cancellations were handled as described in our terms. Certain tutoring sessions were followed by solicitations for feedback: Sessions with "Rating" of 5 indicate the buyer reported the highest level of satisfaction with services provided.   The buyer received and used the PrepScholar Complete Online Prep software as purchased. The buyer has used the product for more than 5 days and over 10 hours.   As the buyer has not completed all tutoring hours initially purchased and has not mastered all skills in the PrepScholar software (the user has mastered 7 of the 49 skills), they are not eligible for any refund or free tutoring under our guarantee.   The buyer has been informed of and acknowledged our policies and is aware that they are not eligible for any refunds. The buyer was also informed several times by their tutor of the need to complete the software program.   Because the buyer has received and extensively used the product purchased without meeting the requirements for our Point Increase Guarantee, they are not qualified for a refund or credit of the amount disputed. PrepScholar has fully delivered all products and services purchased. We therefore request that the claim be dismissed.

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Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. Though I did not appreciate having to jump through so many hoops to have the right result happen, I will say that both employees from customer service were always polite.  I just don't understand that when I provided the proof the cancellation email was sent prior to the deadline, that it got dragged out and I even had to go this route.  Thank you for reviewing and taking care of this matter.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hi [redacted],   Thanks for writing to PrepScholar. I’m sorry to hear that your score did not increase by the amount that you were hoping for. Unfortunately, only 1 skill of the 52 we have available for the ACT was completed on this account. Our terms of service for the refund...

([redacted]) state that every lesson assigned to you by PrepScholar must be completed to be eligible for the refund. We are unable to guarantee a 4-point increase when less than 2% of our course material is mastered.   Here is the relevant section from our terms of service:   You finish our course. You take and pass, as defined within the PrepScholar package, every lesson assigned to you by PrepScholar. This includes completing all practice tests assigned to you. This includes either achieving mastery on all lessons or taking a lesson sufficiently many times so it is no longer assigned to you.   We clearly state that achieving mastery or taking all of our lessons a sufficient number of times is required for refund eligibility in our terms of service.   Your account is still active with PrepScholar, and we will be happy to provide a refund if you do complete our course and still don’t see at least a 4 point improvement.   Thanks again for writing to us and good luck with your ACT studying!   Best, [redacted] Operations Manager, PrepScholar

Hi [redacted],Mastery can be obtained on the lessons, as is evidenced by [redacted]’s performance on the 2 skills he did achieve the required level of progress on. The lessons are structured to not only break down concepts and explain how to come to a correct answer, but also to explain why an incorrect answer may have been chosen. Understanding a mistake is a critical component when trying to improve an ACT score.We have a suggested baseline of 40 hours of prep to see any score improvement, but that is not always sufficient to master all of our lessons. While some students do achieve mastery in all 52 skills within 40 hours, others may need more time to truly master the material. There is a finite, single-digit number of times a quiz will reappear before the program determines that it is no longer beneficial to be assigned.Unfortunately, we are unable to process a refund with such a small percentage of our program complete.[redacted] did see an improvement as a result of his time spent studying, which is great to see! We should see an even larger improvement on his score with further preparation and mastery of the skills tested on the ACT.Best,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing in. Our support team has begun processing your refund as discussed in our standard support channels. We will be processing the refund request once we receive the required reports. Sorry for the confusion about the payee for the refund!Please let our support team know if...

there is anything else we can do!Best,PrepScholar

Hi [redacted], Thanks for writing in to let us know you are dissatisfied with the refund process. I took some time to review the timeline and sequence of events, and at this time it looks like you’ve initiated a dispute with your card issuer which blocks our ability to process a refund. We did process...

the original request to cancel the tutoring package you purchased for $1596 on August 20th. We then received a second refund request to refund the remainder of your original purchase on August 22, and we emailed to let you know that it was due for processing. Unfortunately, we noticed there was a dispute initiated on the charge when we attempted to process the second refund, which prevented the refund from being completed. The dispute was still active when we attempted to refund a second time, and at this point we are unable to process the refund through our standard process as the dispute is still open. We attempted to process the refund on several occasions, but due to the open dispute we were unable to complete the process. We processed the first refund within 2 days of the request, but have been unable to complete the second portion due to the credit card dispute.

Hi,My name is [redacted] and I am the Operations Manager for PrepScholar. We received a complaint on February 1st, 2016 stating we did not send a refund in accordance with our terms of service. According to the terms and service publically available on our website...

([redacted]), we state that all refunds will be processed within 60 days of the request. The relevant section from our terms of service:“The submission must contain the email address of the account as well as a Payee name and a Payee address. If you purchased a Complete package, the full sum you paid will be refunded to you. The credit Refund method will be via credit card or check at PrepScholar’s discretion within 60 days PrepScholar receiving the request.”We received the initial materials related to the refund on January 15th, 2016 and mailed a refund check on February 4th, 2016 after verifying the supplied documentation.I would like to have this complaint removed as we did issue a refund in accordance with our terms of service. Attached are screenshots of the email we received on January 15th 2016 and our follow-up confirming the refund on February 4th 2016.Please let me know if you require any further information to resolve this case.Best,[redacted]