Smart Tuition

Review: RE: Family ID# [redacted]

On 9/16/2015 a double payment was mistakenly made to pay for my daughter's tuition. I called Smart tuition and the representative stated that I needed bank statements and a letter written to the Smart tuition program in order to get my money back. Smart tuition also claimed that the monies never actually posted and that once it posted, they would refund the second payment. In the meantime I contacted my bank to keep them informed of what was going on as well file a claim for the second payment that was deducted because it had caused overdraft fees.

After a few calls with no resolve, I facilitated a conference call between my bank and Smart tuition. Wells Fargo confirmed that they never stopped any payments going to Smart tuition because the payment had already posted. A

All my bank transactions up to date show that there were no stop payments on my account. It also shows that Smart Tuition took two payments of $1047.03 on 9/16/2015 and reimbursed one payment of $1047.03 on 9/23/2015. I was not credited the second payment nor was the tuition paid , so the question is , where is the other $1047.03?Desired Settlement: I would like the tuition to be paid in full and all late fees removed on the account.

Business

Response:

I apologize for any frustration that you have experienced with Smart Tuition. On 9/15/15 a duplicate payment was made on our system. We refunded one payment for $1047.03 and the other payment of $1047.03 was charged back by the parent. I called the parent today with the bank on the line and confirmed what had happened. We are going to get the payment back from Visa who was holding the payment for a charge back response. I have waived 2 additional late fees for the parent. I will advise the parent when the payment is credited back to the account.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. It is unfortunate, as well as frustrating that I was not able to resolve this matter with Smart Tuition customer service/ account transaction representatives when I called. Their records should show the numerous times I called and the amount of time I spent dealing with this matter which was over 3 weeks. In the future, I hope that no parent has to take such measures to have an issue resolved. On a positive note, the parent representative that I spoke to this morning was knowledgeable and interested in analyzing how the issue occurred; hopefully to prevent this from happening in the future. He provided a solution and I find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: [redacted] subcontracted billing collection to Smart Tuition. Smart Tuition bills arrive at the earliest on the 15th of the month or at the latest on the 20th. Smart Tuition levies a $35.00 flat late payment fee for any payment not made by the 1st of the month. I did not sign up for this service and I refuse to pay what can range from 100% interest on a small payment to as low as 0.2% interest on a mid-term tuition bill of $16,000. The ridiculousness of such a fee aside, it is levied with as little as 10 days from receipt of bill to expected payment. It is unreasonable for a billing company to institute such timelines on their billings. I did not enter into a contract with this company and I will not abide by their unreasonable timeframes. I pay their bill each month so that it is received by them on the 6th of the following month. This is confirmed through my bank's bill pay service. Their bills indicate the 9th is their billing cycle end date.Desired Settlement: reverse the $35 late fee on every bill for which payment is received before their bill payment cycle of the 9th of each month. Change their policy to permit bill payers a minimum of 30 days from bill to payment receipt.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted],My name is [redacted] and I am the Director of Parent Experience with Smart Tuition. Iapologize for any frustration you have experienced during your 3 years withSmart Tuition. Smart Tuition generates invoices 20 days before your duedate of the 1st of the month. The school also provides a 7 day graceperiod. If payments are received before that grace period expires, nolate fee is charged. I have waived the late fees in the amount of $105and turned off the follow up service for the remainder of the year. Smart Tuition offers many different payment options. We offer phone payments throughour 24 hour help center (###-###-####). We offer web payments through our parent website ([redacted]). We offer auto debits (ACH) which automatically withdraw the funds on your due date. You can also make cash payments at [redacted], and [redacted]. We also accept checks and money orders. Paymentsmade by online bill pay are accepted however it is not the fastest way to paySmart Tuition. The payment is actually mailed to Smart Tuition from your bank. The [redacted] advises customers that they should allow 7-10 days for regularmail deliveries. If you have any additional questions, please contact me at ###-###-####. Sincerely, [redacted]Director of Parent ExperienceSmart Tuition

Review: Smart Tuition provides payment slips with amounts due and a due date, however on several occasions they applied a "late fee" (5/21/14, 4/21/14, 1/21/14, 9/23/13, 8/21/14, and 7/22/13). The 7/22/13 instance was indeed late but the others were sent by a shipping method that had tracking information showing the payments were received ahead of the due date. Their phone representatives tried such excuses as "it takes another day for posting" while that is not indicated on the payment slip. The 5/21/14 instance is not yet resolved; perhaps end-of-school-year pressures are being used.

In addition, the payment due 5/20/14 did not include the final amount for the school year. The fee for one spring sport was included but another was not.Desired Settlement: Due date is the due date. In addition, I've had to pay an extra $4.58 for each shipment (9 times) for tracking services above normal postage.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted]

I would like to first apologize for any frustration you have experienced, thus far. I would like to assure you that all follow up fees have been waived on your account. Going forward payments received in the mail will be considered paid the day they are received. We certainly want to make paying as easy and worry free as possible, so please don't hesitate to use any of our other convenient payment methods (online, mobile app, and phone).

Please don't hesitate to contact me directly with any further questions or concerns.

Best regards,

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.

This is exactly what I was hoping for - payments are considered paid the day they are received. Obvously this would need to account for weekend days too.

Regards,

For incidental billing items (not tuition) Smart Tuition charges a flat fee of $40, which could be from 25% to 300% of the amount due. This flat fee for late payment on incidentals (such as a $12 gym shirt) is exceedingly excessive. I know of no other industry that allows this type of late fee structure. Smart Tuition needs to change their late payment fees to match a percentage of the amount due, say 5%. Charging 25-300% late fees is an unacceptable business practice.

Review: SMART TUITION appears to be running a business model where they increase profitability by charging families spurious late fees. To illustrate: They email an invoice on 6/9/15 for Payment Due on 6/20/15. (8 working days)

Client mails check on 6/14/15. They sit on it then post it on 6/23/15 for a 40$ Late Fee. When I called to dispute/ resolve charges "they agree to waive it". However this is occurring repeatedly. If the client doesn't protest, as a former employee pointed out multiplied by the number of families being exploited, this is an extra 2 Million/month profit for Smart Tuition. I am asking you to look at the legality of their billing practices. If you look at COMPLAINTBOARD.COM and type in SMART TUITION, you'll get an idea of the scope of the problem. I am actively trying to get my son's school to use another billing service. I actually pay his tuition in full prior to the start of the school year. These spurious charges are being levied toward incidentals. I have also written to the Atty Gen office of New Jersey and California to request an investigation of their business practices.Desired Settlement: Alteration in SMART TUITION questionable business practices

Business

Response:

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

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.

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.

Review: I have paid my tuition bill on time through my bank's online bill pay service. My bank has told me that the date I choose in the bill pay service is the date the vendor receives the payment. I have even scheduled the payment earlier than the due date to compensate for Smart Tuition's lax processing times. I have been charged multiple late fees and have contacted Smart Tuition multiple times to correct the discrepancy. I have not received any resolution from them or any intention to correct the problem. The only correspondence I receive from them is that I have late fees. I told their company in my last contact with them that my next complaint to have the late fees credited would be through the Revdex.com. I am disappointed that Smart Tuition requires this sort of process to correct simple billing issues. If I ran a company this way I would not have customers for long and thus, no company.Desired Settlement: Correct your customer service procedures and your billing practices.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted],

Please accept my sincere apologies for the frustration you have experienced when making your tuition payments through your banks online bill pay. After reading your complaint, I would like to take a moment to clarify the online bill pay process. Smart Tuition currently does not have an electronic relationship with your bank, as a result, your bank will mail out a paper check approximately 4 business days before the date you selected the payment to be paid. Banks have no way to guarantee payments will be received by this date, because they are sent via USPS, so unfortunately your Bank's representative gave you misinformation. Please check with your bank regarding best practices for setting up online bill payments in cases when a check must be mailed. Bank of America suggests their customers set the "Deliver By Date" to be 5 business days before the actual due date. Once payments are delivered to our lock box we will process them the same day (Monday-Friday - excluding Federal Holidays).

I have waived the late fees on your account, please note we offer several other immediate payment options via automatic debit, phone, web, and our mobile app. If you have any questions about these other payment methods or have more concerns you would like to discuss further, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best regards,

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

Smart Tuition is not telling the truth. They say that my bank is not sending the payment on time or the USPS is slow in delivering the check. According to my bank's records the payment sent for August 1, 2014 cleared my bank on August 2, 2014. It takes 24 hours for a deposited check to clear my bank, so that means the payment had to be deposited on August 1, 2014 by Smart Tuition. I was charged a $40 late fee for my August payment. The payment sent for September 1, 2014 cleared my bank on September 3, 2014, which means Smart Tuition would have deposited it on September 2, 2014. It couldn't have been deposited on September 1, 2014 because that was a national holiday, Labor Day. I was charged a $40 late fee for my September payment.

The response I got from Smart Tuition seems to be the same response they give to everyone that has my same grievance. They blame every variable in the payment process except themselves. Stop charging late fees for payments that are not late.

Business

Response:

Good afternoon,I apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced. We have turned off the follow up service for the remaining 14-15 school year and waived all of your late fees. We would rather do this, than have you have a negative experience at Smart Tuition. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact me directly. Sincerely,[redacted]

Director of Parent ExperienceSmart Tuition [redacted]

Review: This bill is for my son's school tuition. I always use bill pay from my bank. My bank sends out the payment at least 2 days prior to the date I have requested, for whatever reason Smart Tuition keeps processing my payment late and trying to charge me a late fee. All of my other bills sent from the bank are sent all over the United States and always get there on time. I have called once to have my payment adjusted. I have also payed one of the late fees. I don't understand how it can take a week or more to process a payment. Also, last month I had to send the payment the day I received it to get it there on time. This month, I received the payment form on December 14 when the payment was due on December 15th. To me, this feels like a scam to get paid for a late fee.Desired Settlement: I would like the one adjustment that was supposed to have been taken off eliminated from my account. I would also like to be reimbursed for the late payment that I have already paid.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],

I am really sorry you have had so many issues with making payments to us. Many companies are able to accept electronic payments from banks, which is why you see many of your other bills being posted by the due date; however, at this time we do not have an electronic relationship with your bank, so a physical check is mailed. Obviously, anything sent through U.S. mail adds another layer of uncertainty. With delivery delays due to weather or budget cuts, [redacted] has become less reliable. With that being said we are working on getting an electronic relationship setup with banks, so our reliance on [redacted] is reduced. In the meantime, we have waived the late fees on your account.

If you have any questions in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Parent Advocate at Smart Tuition

###-###-####

Review: They are trying to charge me fees for billing me when my checking account was closed and I was unaware my checking account was closed and that I needed to provide them of a new account. I was unaware of any funds needed to be paid. Then they stated they tried contacted me when the transfer had failed but had all of my wrong information. I had changed all of my information with the school and the school advised me that they would update smart tuition of the changes but didn't. They had my wrong email, home address and telephone. I did not receive one message from them. Now they are refusing to take off the extra fees when it was stuff that was out of my control and I was not notified of anything.Desired Settlement: Take off the extra fees that they are trying to Bill me such as late fees, returned check, etc.

Consumer

Response:

Hi, my name is [redacted] and my complaint id is [redacted]. I nolonger want to make the complaint. It was actually just resolved and I amhappy with the results. I would like to withdraw my complaint if possible.If you have any further questions you many contact me thru email or by phoneat [redacted]. Thank you.

Business

Response:

I called the parent last night and resolved the situation by absorbing the 3 failed bank fees that were accessed from the parents bank rejecting the transfer. Smart Tuition was never informed of any changes to the parents information. We absorbed the fees because felt like that was the right thing to do. In speaking with the parent last night, he assured me that all of his information was correct going forward. I took a payment from him over the phone to clear up the past due amounts and turned the auto debit back on. The parent advised me that all of his issues with his bank have been corrected.

Review: The first email I received from this company was dated May 31, 2015 (two days ago) and it alleged that I already had an overdue payment for school lunches allegedly eaten by my child. The business could not provide an itemized bill, only the total. They attempted to secure payment without my authorization and, when it did not go through, because the banking information they had was erroneous, they charged a banking fee. I got the late fee and banking fee reversed, but this business has seriously unethical billing practices. They had my child's school re-up my account this school year, instead of asking me directly. There seems to be no way to opt out of their service.Desired Settlement: I want an itemized bill. I also want to be sure that my "Smart for Charters" account is discontinued after this school year. My daughter makes her own lunch now. Finally, I want a paper copy of any future bills to be mailed to me at the address I gave Revdex.com in the "tell us about yourself" section of this complaint process. I don't want to receive any more e-billing from this company, I never consented to e-billing and their email system appears to be flawed (or their emails went into spam, since I was not expecting them). I did not consent to e-billing and want paper bills from them in the future.

Business

Response:

Tell us why here...We explained the parent’s concerns to the school and theyreached out to the parent. Currently the school mandates all families beenrolled with Smart for Charters (SFC). This family has an account in the prioryear as well with SFC. For the current school year, the school re-enrolled allactive families to be billed again through SFC, including this family. The schoolreached out to the family to explain and advise that for the current year theschool has not billed this family until May for lunch fee. Parent confirmedthat he received some emails from SFC. This family was on automatic debit withSFC in prior year, so account rolled over on auto debit. Families onautomatic debit do not get invoices, but do get advice of debit email. Theschool also explained to family how they can review their billing itemsonline. The account was taken off auto debit, so that for futurebillings, the family will receive emailed invoices (school uses green invoicefor all families). The school has reviewed all the parent’s concerns with themand advised us that everything has been resolved. Parent has sincesubmitted a payment on balance due.

Consumer

Response:

This business needs to offer itemized billing. They also need to bill monthly. They sent me a bill in May for amounts allegedly owed as far back as March. The first email I saw was May 31st and the first email sent was on May 20th (which also did not contain an itemized bill). This business needs to improve its billing practices markedly and nothing in their response indicates that they understand the billing problems they have.

Business

Response:

I apologize for any confusion. We offer the billing details online however we do not offer itemized billing from schools. The school keeps all itemized billing records in house. We will look into whether we have the ability to offer this at a later date. As of today, all schools keep that data in house. If you need to reference that information you can contact the school directly.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because they cannot provide itemized billing information, like every other reputable business I have ever encountered.

Review: Never recieved a bill prior to due date, yet was charged with late fee and also service fee. Lady refused to discuss resolutionDesired Settlement: Fees wavied.

Business

Response:

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]###-###-####

Review: I have had a charge of $ 60 late fee on on Dec 1 they started charging me late charges from a late charge every month I pay my amount of 450 on time my . Since then they have been charging me $50 for the reason of the late fee I had from before so far my charges have become $310.00 since How could they charge you $50.00 every month just cause you have not pay the amount that is owe. I have never heard of this. I spoke to a lawyer and they stated to get in touch with you that you will handle the situation!Desired Settlement: I told them I would pay for what I owe but at the time I am having hardship they started from $110.00 to $310.00 and they are just going to keep charging a late fee on a late fee don understand how is this possible or legel.

I just like to pay what I owe they say no to pay $310.00 I pay $450.00 a month for school and I am struggling with all I got and how they are charging me all this money!

Business

Response:

My name is Jim [redacted] and I am the Director of ParentExperience. We have reviewed yourrequest with the school to waive all your late fees and failed paymentfees. They have advised Smart Tuitionthat they would like the opportunity to speak to you about this on Friday2/27/15 before any fees are waived. After they make a decision we will revisit the situation.Sincerely,Jim [redacted]Director of Parent ExperienceSmart Tuition

Review: I make payments directly to Smart Tuition on their website that stored bank account information. I have made 3 consecutive payments using the stored bank account information. On the fourth payment, I was charged a $30 [redacted] Bank Failure Fee. I did not change any of my stored bank account information and I was not notified of any problems with my stored bank account information on Smart Tuition's website. I called customer service to report this and they agreed to remove the [redacted] fee. However, when I made another payment using the same bank account, it failed again and I was charged another $30 [redacted] failure fee. I again reported this to Smart Tuition customer service but they did not remove the fee.Desired Settlement: I would like for the $30 [redacted] failure fee to be removed.

Business

Response:

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 ExperienceSmart Tuition

Review: I have setup my smart for charters account with monthly automatic debit and really made sure that my checking account information is correct before I submitted it. Now I am being told that the payment has been rejected by the bank for incorrect account information and customer service cannot verify/validate the information I provided other than the last four digits of the account number. You are not even able to waive the late fee as it is not my mistake and you cannot even validate it. I strongly believe this is a scam.

Business

Response:

I do apologize that at the time you called we were not able to provide you with the full banking information that was entered. Please 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 with. With that said, we do have an escalation process which would go to our bank for review and confirmation. The individual you spoke with on 9/5 did send this request for review, so she followed the required steps to process your request. I certainly do apologize if she did not convey this to you over the phone. Your $25 failed fee has since been waived and I see a new payment was taken over the phone for the original amount do. We truly did not mean to cause you frustration and/or any inconvenience with this process. I 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,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. While this issue can be considered as resolved, their accounting still seems to be bad. My account summary doesn't show the show the proper transactions made or scheduled for the future.

Review: This bill is for my daughter school tuition. I use bill pay from my bank. My bank sends out the payment at least 2 days prior to the date I have requested, for whatever reason Smart Tuition keeps processing my payment late and trying to charge me a late fee. I have adjusted the day of payment at least 3x. How can it possibly take a company over a week to process a payment. Last conversation they stated it was the postal service who was taking a long time. It sounds more like a scam to get paid for a late fee. This is being processed in the US so I don't understand what the problem is. This company needs to be stopped or shut down.Desired Settlement: I would like the late fee charge reversed and something needs to be done about this company.

Business

Response:

Thank you for contacting the Revdex.com regarding your concerns. I reviewed your payment history last

year and see all 12 payments were sent by mail and were all processed before

your due date. Our process for receiving mailed payments has not changed. I would like to take a moment to clarify how Smart Tuition processes payments received in the mail.

Smart Tuition processes payments Monday-Friday (excluding federal holidays). Mail is collected

at our lock box five times a day to ensure payments are processed

the day we receive them in the mail. With

over 10,000 payments processed each day, I can assure you there is a streamlined process in place and

Smart Tuition would never sit on

payments to cause someone to be late. In fact, the opposite is true, which is why we offer three immediate payment options

(web/mobile app, phone & Auto-debit) for our

families & extend a one-time late fee courtesy waiver for every family each school year. With USPS budget cutbacks and reduced delivery days, USPS has unfortunately been less reliable.

We are truly sorry your payment took so long to be delivered. All late fees were waived on

your account. I hope I was able to

clarify our process and put your mind at ease. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Consumer

Response:

[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.]

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

Although I appreciate how this was resolved I am not happy with how Smart Tuition handles their payment processing. It is after talking with several other families that had the same problem that I decided to write the Revdex.com. Blaming the USPS is not acceptable. I can MAIL a payment on the 10th of any month and it seems to be processed within a few days. Something is not being done correctly.

Thank you for promptly handling this situation and your time.

Review: on August 1, of 2013 I received a call that they had not received payment for school tuition. I explain that was impossible because I had mailed out a check three weeks prior. they said you need to transfer the money over today along with a $35.00 late fee. I asked her what happens if you receive my check?; she replied we will simply send it back I have made a note of this. I was not happy that it was going to cost me an extra $35.00 but what choice did I have; so I transferred the money over with the late fee. On May 23, 2014 they cashed my check from July of 2013 in the amount of $3,210. I called immediately and asked them why was this cashed? They had no response why it was cashed but told me they would wire the money back. When I looked today they still did not wire back funds. I called them and they said it would take an additional 24 to 48 hours. This is my checking account that is used to pay bills and now I am going to bounce checks. I refuse to believe that they just received my check 10 months later. Was is more believable is they misplaced the check in there company found it and cashed it.Desired Settlement: I would like my money back along with the late charge associated with there incompetence. If the money is not wired back in time for other funds to be paid to creditors, any late charges or bounced checks should be there responsibility.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.[redacted],We certainly do apologize that you were originally given incorrect information about what would happen if and when the missing check was received at the processing center. We process over 10,000 payments a day, so it is impossible to look for one check deemed missing and send it back. We do record all of our calls so I will make sure it is reviewed and addressed with the representative you spoke with.In the meantime, our records show we refunded $3210 via check on 5/29/2014 and also waived the $35 follow up fee. If there is anything still outstanding, please feel free to contact me directly.Again, my sincere apologies.Best regards,[redacted]Smart Tuition###-###-####[redacted]

Review: Hello, My biggest problem first hand is that Smart tuition does not list what I am being charged on invoice. Late fees are not listed on invoices. Every month it seems like they will find a way to charge you $40 extra. To a parent that does not pay attention or has signed up for auto debit its just extra money in the bank. I receive emails with different balances than what the school says that I owe. Now I have late fees that total more than my final balance. I could not register my daughter for the next school year unless everything was caught up. My daughter has attended this school since Pre K and we have not had a problem until now. I have brought cars, houses and even cut throat credit cards that had there rates laid out better. Also their Revdex.com link on their direct website does not work how convenient. Also when you click on contact us that magically doesn't work either. I have filed a complaint with them just to recover my late fees that I have paid but just that fast I had $80 in late fees applied to my account. We all have a purpose here on earth. If there purpose is to cause aggravation than so be it. If Smart tuition is going to bend me over like that and I have to pay could you tell them to at least whisper to me.Desired Settlement: I would like to see my late fees taken away. And I would also like different options for the future so that I can stand clear of Smart tuition.

Business

Response:

My name is [redacted] 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 $280 in late fees for the 14-15 school year. Late fees are not listed on invoices because the late fees are applied after the due date. Late 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 payment5-7 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],

Review: Every year, at least once, Smart Tiuition claims they have not received my payment and that my payment is late (which is not the case), & therefore, I have to pay a late fee. It doesn't matter how far in advance I send my payment in to them! Case in point. I sent in my payment to Smart Tuition through my bank (because I do not trust this company with any of my bank info). My bank generates a check (which can be tracked), which was processed December 21st (I am aware that Christmas fell that week), but according to my bank, the check was delivered to Smart Tuition by December 28th, which was 3 days before the payment was due!! There is NO reason they should not have processed my payment by the due date and issue me a late fee on January 4th!! If it's because of the New Year holiday, then that's their problem!!! My payment was delivered before the due date & I want my late fee waived!! This company is horrible!! They process payments when they feel like and I am convinced they try to get late fees to make money!! I will be speaking with my kids school about this horrible company!! Really wish they went some other company for tuition payments

Business

Response:

I apologize for any frustration you are experiencing with Smart Tuition. The late fee was already waived when you called us on 1/4/16. The payment was being processed that day and was in your account on 1/5/16. I have responded to many of these types of complaints regarding online bill pay. The payment from your bank is sent by regular mail and cannot be tracked. The bank estimates when we should receive the payment. There are many other factors with this type of payment method that are out of our control. We understand that many families use this payment method and that we need to accept online bill payments electronically instead of by check. We do not have an ETA on when this will happen however I want to assure you that I have been pushing for this process to happen ASAP. Until that time comes, we have other options to make payments. I recommend making 1 time payments online or by phone. I understand you may not want to do this but these payment methods are much faster ways to make payments. We are a PCI compliant company and your bank information is blocked out so that no one can see that information going forward. [redacted] Director of Parent Experience Smart Tuition

Consumer

Response:

[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.]

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

But I have to add, that my bank does in fact know when the check was delivered (I called them to verify this). This type of siuation happens at least once a year (for the past 3 years) & each time your company claims my payments were late, they were not. Smart Tuition just had not processed my payment for whatever reason, and once it gets passed the due date, I get a message from Smart Tuition saying my payment is late! It's not until I make a complaint to the Revdex.com that all of sudden, the company received my check, payment is processed and late fee waived!

Regards,

Review: In the month of June we paid 600$ in fees.

In the month of July we were billed 480.00 in tuition plus a 35.$ fee

I called smart tuition multiple times to ask about the 35$ fee and was told I would get a response phone call within 24 hours. Never did. I assumed my 600$ fee included a 35$ fee and called to discuss it. The employees cannot help you they apparently send it to other places and people. So others are to return your call. Well they never do nor did. After months of phone calls with speaking to people that do not or can not help or answer any of your questions. I sent in the payment of 480.00$ and did not send in the 35$ fee because nobody can answer if it was included in the 600$ dollar fee that I paid in June 1st . Well I received another bill in September for 480.$ 35$ fee and a late payment of 30$. And still no answer to my question. Today I stood on the phone for 28 minutes talking to another girl who could not help me and told me they would call me back. I insisted on a call back! Well. Because I did not pay the 35$ fee that I questioned. They charged me a late fee of 30$. My complaint is I was never late. Which I paid my amount. I did not at fee because I was never told if that fee was in the 600$ fee. I will pay the 35$ fee but I will not pay late fee. The late fee is their responsibility for not doing their jobs and checking and getting back to me. Or just not having the ability to do the work. Very terrible company for handling questions or inquiry's. And I feel the should credit my account for late fee. Their work ethic has a lot to be desired and they should be held responsible for not doing their jobs or being allowed to do them. Very very very bad service. Please help me and let others know what to expect if dealing with a company of their nature. I feel like they are scammers and it needs attention and help . Thank you!Desired Settlement: To credit my account and also for it to be known of the extremely bad business practice

Business

Response:

I apologize for any frustration that you are having with Smart Tuition. On your first call to Smart Tuition you requested a payment plan change on 7/7/15. There was also a question about you $600 payment for school fees that you sent. We emailed you on 7/7/15 that the payment plan was changed and that the school was in the process of transferring payments to Smart Tuition. On 7/31/15, you called requesting we waive the Smart Admin fee of $35. On 8/3/15, we emailed you that we cannot waive the Smart Admin fee of $35. Due to the fact that the Smart Admin fee of $35 was never paid, a late fee was charged because there was a balance that remained on the account. On 8/26/15, you requested the late fee be waived and about the $600 that was a missing payment. On 8/26/15, we were advised by the school that the $600 was not billed through Smart Tuition in the first half and per the school the late fee should not be waived. On 8/31/15 you called regarding all of the previous questions and spoke with one of our supervisors who advised you of all the previous notes on the account. On 9/2/15, you spoke to another representative and disputed the late fee again. We reviewed this with the school on 9/2/15 and they advised the late fee should remain on the account. We called you back on 9/2/15 and left a message on your voicemail. We will waive the $30 late fee as a one time courtesy. If the previous balance is not paid in full another late fee will be charged. We are also going to speak to your school directly about your complaintto advise them of what happened.Smart Tuition has been in business for almost 30 years with private and religious schools. We are not in the business of “scamming” parents for a $30 late fee. We understand this is a new process for you and we will continue to work with the Diocese of Philadelphia going forward. Some of the positive things that Smart Tuition offers parents is a 24 hour parent help center, a personal account that you can log into to view your account, and many different payment options. We wish you the best of luck in the upcoming2015-16 school year.Sincerely, Smart Tuition

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.

This company has made a perfectly great relationship with my private school so negative that I am considering pulling my children. There are fees to sign up to pay bills with this service (we have no choice), theres a 2.5% fee to pay your bill (on a $600 tuition bill, you do the math), if you are late there's a $40 late fee with no grace period. They are absolutely horrible to deal with and should be ashamed! There fees are higher than my mortgage company!