Smart Tuition

I apologize for any confusion with credit card convenience fees. We have spots on our website that breakdown the convenience fee and the percentage of the credit card convenience fee. Your school also hands out a FAQ with this information on itI will work with our product
development team to make this information more visible.I am refunding your $credit card convenience fee this time however going forward if you use a credit card, there will be a credit card convenience fee associated with itYou can avoid this fee by using a routing number with your bank account number from either a checking or savings account to make a payment
Kind regards,
J** ***
Director of Parent Experience
Smart Tuition

I apologize for any frustration you are experiencing with Smart Tuition. We have reallocated your payment plan so that the months that were missed are spread through the remaining months. We emailed you an updated invoice today I received the escalation from
our Team Lead yesterday and reached out to Ms***. I advised her that the credit card that she was attempting to pay tuition with is not going through. I offered to call the credit card company with her on the phone. She declined but she advised me she would call me back in an hour. I never received a call back but hopefully she worked everything out with the credit card company. When we receive a credit card payment the bank immediately informs us if the credit card is acceptable or not. In this case, the parent received an error code from her bank. There was no convenience fee because the credit card transaction was never processed If the parent would like to make another payment today, we are available. We provide other payment methods in case the parent would like to pay by another method. I recommend either making the payment over the phone or on our website to eliminate any transit times. If Ms*** would like to call me directly to make the payment, that is fine also Sincerely, *** *** Director of Parent Experience Smart Tuition

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's 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 ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meOne note on their response is that I did contact the company via e-mail (vsphone as discussed in their response) prior to reaching out to the Revdex.com and the company's response was not satisfactory which is the reason I contacted the Revdex.com
Regards,
*** ***

Tell us why here...My name is Jim *** and I am the Director of ParentExperience with Smart Tuition. Iapologize for any frustration you had with Smart Tuition. I have reviewed your account and pulled the check that wasmailed to Smart
Tuition. The check wasdated 2/23/15. If you submitted thepayment through your bank’s online bill pay system on Friday 2/20/15, it’s verypossible they would not have issued the payment until the next businessday. The next business day would havebeen Monday 2/23/which was the date of the check. The check was received on 3/3/and postedto your account on 3/4/which is the next business day. I have waived your late fee as acourtesy. If you need more informationon the when your bank sends the payment out after you submit the payment, youshould speak to your bank directly. Thetime frame from the 2/23/which was the date of the check to when we receivedthe payment was less than days.Regarding your request for a grace period on your payments,that is entirely up to the school to determine. Smart Tuition works closely with each school and if they have anyconcerns about grace periods, we will address them.If you have any further questions you can contact me at###-###-####.Best regards,Jim ***Director of Parent ExperienceSmart Tuition

I do apologize that at the time you called we were not able to provide you with the full banking information that was enteredPlease understand that we have extremely high security measures in place to protect your banking information, which is why it was not visible to the individual
who you spoke withWith that said, we do have an escalation process which would go to our bank for review and confirmationThe individual you spoke with on 9/did send this request for review, so she followed the required steps to process your requestI certainly do apologize if she did not convey this to you over the phone. Your $failed fee has since been waived and I see a new payment was taken over the phone for the original amount doWe truly did not mean to cause you frustration and/or any inconvenience with this processI hope you find the outcome of this matter to be more than satisfactory. Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions or concerns.Best regards,

I apologize for any frustration youexperienced with Smart Tuition. Inresearching your account, on 6/10/your first payment failed because accountnumber structure is invalid. You wouldneed to speak to your bank directly as to why they failed the transaction. We
absorbed the failed fee on our end. No late fee was assessed.On 6/12/a phone payment was attemptedwith a different checking account and that transaction failed due toPolicies/regulations restrict activity to this account. You would need to speak to your bank directlyto see why they rejected this transaction. We absorbed the failed fee on our end. No late fee was assessed. We credited your account for the missing money gram today6/29/for $417.50. The payment wasdelayed because the Smart Family ID was written incorrectly on the moneygram. This caused a delay in processingbecause the money gram had to be sent from our lockbox to our company office toresearch. We have not received your Julypayment yet, I would give it a few more days.We have many different payment options. You do not have to use a credit card but ifyou would like to use one there is a convenience fee of 2.65%. You can avoid this fee by paying from achecking or savings account by providing a routing number and a bank accountnumber.I will reach out to you directly and confirm the correct SmartFamily ID number for future use. Thankyou for your patience in this matter

I received an email from Mrs*** on 5/11/about thedelays she was experiencing with online bill pay. I called her immediately to address theseissues and explain that most of the delays associated with online bill pay areout of our control. I waived her latefee and
suggested some quicker ways to make payments with Smart Tuition. In speaking with the parent, she advised that the paymentwas sent on 5/1/however the check we received was dated 5/6/15. Wereceive the check on 5/11/15. When bankssend online bill pay checks through the mail, they are mailed by regular mailso there is no way to track the payment or verify when the payment was received. Payments are credited by the next businessday that we receive the them. I have emailedMrs*** a copy of the check that we received dated 5/6/15. Smart Tuition is looking into a number of solutions with ourLockbox company to reduce some of these delays that are out of ourcontrol. Director of the Parent ExperienceSmart Tuition

Good afternoon, We already waived your late fee and your account is up to date. We are not in the mortgage or car loan business so we cannot be compared to those types of organizations. Schools rely on timely payments to function properly. Smart Tuition does not hold payments made to us, we simply transfer the payments to them. All schools have the option to have a grace period however we do not encourage grace periods because people tend to use the grace period as the new due date. The statement that you made regarding the only way you can make a payment is by credit card is completely false. You can make a payment through your checking account or savings account using your routing number with your bank account number with no fee Smart Tuition provides parents with options to make payments that typically are not provided at the school level We have been in the tuition management business for almost years with private and religious organizations. We are not being deceptive at all. Online bill payments are simply not the fastest way to make a payment. We are in the process of setting up electronic payments for the second quarter of next year This should eliminate these transit issues going forward I’m sorry you are unhappy with our service Sincerely,
*** ***
Director of Parent Experience
Smart Tuition

Dear Mr.***,I would like to apologize for any frustration you have experienced. Invoices are generated days before your due date on the 1st of the month. The reason the invoice was generated late was due to an adjustment on your account on 9/24/14.
An invoice was then automatically generated to your account which resulted in the invoice being generated in less than the typical days. We waived the late fee and turned off the follow up service for the year on 10/3/so you will not receive any additional late fees. I understand that the school responded to your request on 10/2/and in turn we responded to you on 10/3/via email. If you wish to receive email invoices in the future, you may activate that feature by calling our parent help center hours a day, days a week at ###-###-####.Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any further questions or concerns. Best regards, *** ***Director of Parent Experience?

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***While this issue can be considered as resolved, their accounting still seems to be badMy account summary doesn't show the show the proper transactions made or scheduled for the future

Dear Mr***,
Thank you for reaching out to the Revdex.com regarding your concernsI certainly do apologize for any frustration you have experienced, thus farAs a courtesy, I have waived all of the late fees on your account, but to ensure this is no longer a pain point for you,
I would like to take the opportunity to explain the joint agreement that Smart Tuition has with St*** *** High School, regarding payment due dates and late fees
The establish due date on your account is the 20th of each monthThe school has also extended a day grace period, as a courtesyIf there is an outstanding balance greater than $the day after your grace period ends, then your account will be assessed a $late feeSubsequent payments will always post to late fees and bank fees first, and then, the remaining payment amount will post to the schools tuition and school feesWith all of that in mind I am going to review why each late fee was assessedPayment History
Due Date w/grace Amount Due Payment Date Payment Amount Month Applied Late Fee Additional Notes 6/24/ $July
7/29/$7/20/$July
8/29/$8/29/$August
9/29/$10/21/$September $$tuition + $Late fee = $
10/29/$10/25/$October
11/29/$12/31/$November $
12/29/$1/15/$December $
1/29/$1/22/$January $
3/1/$2/20/$February $
3/29/$3/20/$March $
4/29/$
5/29/$
As you can see the payment amounts were not enough to cover the total amount due, so as a result, late fees were assessedAgain, I have waived a total of $in late fees, as a courtesyYour April balance of $is due by 4/29/We did reach out to the school to discuss your concerns and they have asked that in the future you bring your concerns to their attention immediatelyYou may also feel free to contact me directly should you have any further questions or concerns
I hope I was able to clear up any misunderstanding and that you are satisfied with the resolution
Sincerely,
*** ***
***
###-###-####

I apologize for any inconvenience you have experiencedIf the payment was made at PM PST on 10/15/16, our system would have charged you a late fee automatically because it was already the 16th in the East. Your due date is the 15th of the month. I will waive
the late fee for this month. Going forward, please try and make the payment before PM EST This is the 2nd courtesy waiver we have provided this yearIf you have any questions about this please let us know. Thank you for using Smart Tuition.
Sincerely,
*** ***
Director of Parent Experience
Smart Tuition

My name is *** *** and I am the Director of Parent Experience with Smart Tuition. I apologize that you have had a negative experience with Smart Tuition. We have credited your account $in late fees for the 14-school year. Late fees are not listed on
invoices because the late fees are applied after the due dateLate fees are not charged unless you arelate or have a past due balance. You can see late fees listed on your Billing Details if you log into your Smart Tuitionaccount at parent.smarttuition.com. If payments are made on or before your due date and you don’t have a past duebalance you will not receive a late fee. Since your account is on Mail in then you would need to send the payment5-business days before your due date so we will receive it on time. As far as providing another option for Smart Tuition, you should speak to the school directly about that request. If you have any other questions pleasecontact me at [email protected],

Fee happy company. $50 late fee on a $241 bill. Smart Tuition has not responded to any of my messages submitted through their website "contact us" form.

Good morning,
Last night I received an email to our company from our customer service email address.  The parent expressed her disapproval of a late fee on her account and threatened to go to the Revdex.com and other media outlets.  I waived the late fee and immediately responded to the...

parent after business hours.  We are in the process of setting up electronic online bill payments.  There are better options to pay Smart Tuition such as our website and by phone.  The would eliminate the transit times for checks mailed by online bill payments from banks.  Until this is set up by the 2nd Q of next year, online bill payment is the slowest way to make a payment. We rely on the banks sending the checks and the USPS to deliver the payment.  The payment was delayed in the mail because of the increase in mail due to the holiday season.  The banks cannot guarantee anything due to the fact that they mail things by regular mail.  They give parents an estimated delivery date.  They also engage in practices called batching where they mail mutiple checks with different due dates in one big batch.  We cannot control delivery times of payments.  I apologize for the delay in payment but we do not engage in predatory practices.  We offer multiple payment methods for parents to pay the schools on time.  We never promoted or suggested making payments by online bill pay because we do not believe it is the best way to make a payment.
Once again, we are in the process of setting up electronic online bill payments by the 2nd Quarter of next year.
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
Director of Parent Experience
Smart Tuition

Dear Mrs.[redacted],I sincerely apologize that you did not receive your invoice for September. I see that the school activated your account on 8/27/2014 and an invoice was generated that same day. Unfortunately, I cannot speak [redacted] when it comes to delivery times and delays; however, I have...

removed the $50 late fee as a result of any delivery delay. Please know you do have the option to receive your invoices via email if you would like to avoid any possible US mail delivery delays. In addition, you can review and print invoices from your Smart Tuition account, which are made available 20 days prior to your upcoming due date.If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.Best regards,[redacted]Parent Advocate[redacted]###-###-####

The complaint has been resolved.
sans-serif;">Unbeknownst to me, they refunded the charges July 21.  They did not notify me of this, did not respond to my emails asking for resolution, and I have not had a paper statement from my credit card company since, so did not know.
However I can now see online that a refund has been issued.
 
It took 5 months, their customer service was terrible, I hope I never have to deal with them again, but the money I wanted refunded has been credited.

Thank you for your concern.  Generally Smart Tuition recommends that invoicesare generated 20 days prior to the due date each month.  Your school, the[redacted]l has requested that we shorten the invoice generation timing asthey have many incidental fee billings each...

month.   We sincerelyapologize if you received a late fee because of the shortened invoice timingand would like to advise you that it has been waived as a courtesy to yourregular tuition payments.  We have been serving schools and parents for almost 30 years and have an A+accreditation from the Revdex.com.  We are awareof complaints on the internet, and make every attempt to contact these parentsto resolve the situation.  Additionally,our family help center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We are attempting to work with your school about this process and truly appreciateyour feedback.  Our hope is to find a solution in the near future.Your feedback is extremely helpful and truly appreciated. Your Smart Tuition Team

Dear[redacted],I would like to apologize for any frustration that you experienced.  I would like to assure you that all the follow up fees have been waived on your account.  Your account is currently set up for auto debits going forward, so there should be no further issues as long as...

the auto debits are successful.  We send prior to debit emails 10 days before the auto debits are withdrawn from your bank account.  If you notice any discrepancies with the amount, please call our parent help center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at ###-###-####.Please do not hesitate to contact [redacted](Director of Parent Experience) or I directly with any further questions or concerns.Best regards,[redacted]Parent Advocate Smart Tuition

I apologize for any confusion.  I absorbed the failed bank fee for $30.  I will call you directly to clear out any old bank info from our system and enter it in correctly.  There may be multiple bank accounts on file and one of the bank account numbers may be incorrect.  That...

would explain why some of the transactions go through and the 3 other transactions did not.  Just FYI, we already waived the other 2 failed fees. 
Best regards,
 
[redacted]
Director of Parent Experience
Smart Tuition