Stifel Nicolaus

October 9, 2014
To Whom it May Concern:
On 9/15/2014, [redacted], purchased two courses from The Income Tax School, Inc. (ITS).
1. California CTEC 20-Hour CE Bundle $234 (consists of 7 chapters)
2. Annual Federal Tax Refresher Course $25...

(consist of 3 domains, which are the equivalent of 3 chapters)
The total cost of which was $259 less a total discount of $165.41.  The total cost of the courses, after discount was $93.59, paid for through a credit card charge. [redacted] received his user ID and password for the course on 9/17/2014, which provided access to the courses ordered.  
On 9/19/2014, [redacted] logged into the [redacted]) to begin his courses.  He chose to access the Annual Tax Refresher Course first. [redacted] accepted the Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement, view the Academic Honesty & Online Test Policy and accepted the terms related to the Academic Honesty & Online Test Policy.  
After completing the information in the General area of the course, [redacted] moved on to Topic 1 which contains the following domains:
• Domain 1 - Tax Law Updates
• Domain 2 - Federal Tax Law Refresher
• Domain 3 - Due Diligence/Preparer Requirements
[redacted] accessed each domain, which means he opened each domain and had the opportunity to download each to his computer.  He did not complete the test for this course.  See Statement 1 for the course activity report labeled 2014AFTR Activity Report
On 9/19/2014, within 15 minutes of accessing Domain 3 of the Annual Federal Tax Refresher course, [redacted] began accessing material for the California CTEC 20-Hour [redacted].  Again, he completed the General section at the beginning of the course and then proceeded to Topic 1, where he began working on Chapter 1.  (See Statement 2 for the 2013CABTL Activity Report.
Over the next 5 days, [redacted] accessed the first three chapters of the California CTEC 20-Hour Bundle.  He successfully completed the assignments for Chapter 1 and the first assignment for Chapter 2; however on 9/24/2014, he failed the second assignment for Chapter 2 twice.  Upon failing the assignment a second time, [redacted] was locked out of his course.  ITS has a policy (Academic Honesty Policy and Online Test Policy) that states when a student fails an assignment twice, he must have a counseling session with an instructor to determine where the student is having problems.  During the counseling session, the instructor will provide additional direction on the subject matter on which the student is having difficulty.  After the counseling session, the student’s course will be unlocked to allow a third attempt to pass the assignment.  Please see Statement 3 for the Academic Honesty Policy and Online Test Policy.  Each student must accept the conditions of the Academic Honesty Policy and Online Test Policy prior to taking the course.
On 9/25/2014, [redacted] contact ITS via email to request a refund of his fees.  A copy of the email is shown on the next page.
 
[redacted] states he did not receive his login information until 9/18/2014.  His login information was sent on 9/17/2014 (see Statement 4).  We usually issue user login information within 24-48 hours, closer to the 24 hours time frame.  [redacted] login was issued within that time period and would have been issued sooner; however, we had to contact him regarding his order which delayed issuing his user login information; however, not beyond the 48 hours time period.
The next item addressed by [redacted] is listed as reason 1 for his cancellation.  [redacted] indicates that he doesn’t have time to wait two business days for a teacher or technical support to contact him.  The first email we received from him was sent on 9/24/2014 @ 3:38pm.  We responded to that email on 9/24/2014 @ 4:32pm, not quite an hour after he sent the email.  See Statement 5.
The second email we received was the one shown above, dated 9/25/2014 which requested a refund.  We responded to that email on 9/26/2014; however, [redacted] called our office prior to our response being sent to him.  Our refund procedure was explained to him as was the Online Testing Policy.  It was explained that we need to ensure that our students comprehend the material and cannot simply allow attempts on assignment without guidance.  [redacted] informed us that it was not our responsibility to ensure that the students comprehend the material, that the student has to assume that responsibility.  We requested that he agree to the counseling session with an instructor and he continued refuse; maintaining his request for a refund.  [redacted] requested that a note be made regarding his phone, which was done and emailed to our ITS staff.  See Statement 6.
 The email response, which was prepared prior to [redacted] call, was sent immediately following the call.  The refund calculation was included in this response.  See Statement 7.
[redacted] contacted us via email, the final time, on 9/27/2014 to inform us that was unhappy about our refund calculation.  He requested a copy of our refund policy for details regarding the charges for chapters completed and accessed.  In his email, [redacted] indicated that he was only willing to pay the $25 cancellation fee and wanted a refund for the remainder of his fees.  After receiving his email, we once again reviewed his completion/access to the courses.  We also reviewed his refund calculation to ensure the refund was calculated accurately and according to our refund policy.  On 9/29/2014, we responded with a copy of the refund policy included within the email.  See Statement 8.  A copy of our refund policy is shown on the next page.
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Refund Policy for Courses and [redacted] Under 30 Hours:
Within 5 calendar days following the receipt by e-mail of an e-learning student User ID, a student may cancel enrollment and receive a full refund of all tuition and fees, less any shipping charges incurred, provided that the student has also shipped any optional printed books, CDs and other materials back to us in reusable condition within that same time frame and student has not started taking the course. However, [redacted] that are 4 hours or less are not refundable. If the optional books, CDs and materials were ordered and are not returned there will be no refund. If the returned books, CDs and other materials are not in reusable condition a $25 book fee will apply.
If cancellation of enrollment occurs after 5 days of receipt of a student User ID, the following refund policies will apply:
1. If cancellation occurs before completion of or access to less than 50% of the course, the student will receive a prorated refund of tuition less a $25 registration fee and shipping charges incurred, provided that any optional printed books, CDs and other materials received are returned at the student’s expense. If any optional books,CDs and materials were ordered and are not returned there will be no refund. In addition to the above mentioned fees, if the returned books, CDs and other materials are not the current version and in reusable condition, a $25 book fee will apply.
 2. If cancellation occurs after completion of or access to more than 50% of the course, the student will not be entitled to a refund. 
Refunds must be requested by giving notice of cancellation within the time frame specified for the course completion or one year of the date of enrollment, whichever is earlier. Please allow 30 days for refunds to be processed. Dependent on your credit card provider, refunds may take 1-2 billing cycles to appear on your statement.  Refund requests should be e-mailed to [redacted].
Students who do not finish the course within the allotted time frame must pay a $65 reinstatement fee to continue on for an additional term.
[redacted] refund was issued on 9/29/2014, in the amount of $13.24.
Please let us know if you have questions or need additional information.