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Business Profile

Correspondence Schools

Stratford Career Institute

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Correspondence Schools.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 55 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 10 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/11/2022

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I should have read the reviews before enrolling. I enrolled and paid the sign up fee and then decided I no longer want to continue. I've tried emailing multiple times and calling multiple times and I can't seem to find any way to unenroll and make sure I don't get charged again. I haven't recieved any materials and I haven't done any courses. I just want confirmation that I'm unenrolled and won't be charged.

    Business Response

    Date: 10/12/2022

    I am in receipt of your e-mail dated October 11, 2022,
    regarding a complaint filed by ********* ******. Having reviewed Ms. ******' files,
    I am pleased to provide the following information.Ms. ****** enrolled in our Private Investigator program on October 7th,
    2022 and subsequently requested the cancellation of the program by e-mail on October 7th, 2022. The program was effectively cancelled and as per the terms and conditions of the Tuition Contract & Service Guarantee a refund of the down payment in the amount of $10.00 is applicable and will be processed shortly. Please allow up to 5 business days for the refund to appear on the statement. Should you require additional
    information, please do not hesitate to contact me toll-free at ###-###-####.
    Our hours are from 8:00am to 4:30pm (EST) Monday through Thursday, and until 3:30pm
    on Fridays.  Sincerely,Brandi H*** Supervisor Student Services

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/07/2022

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Stratford career institute is stating I was a student with them and put a collections on my credit. I am 45 and physically disabled, I also live in on Illinois not anywhere near NY or VT. I have asked many times for proof with no response. I believe this place is a big scam and trying to take advantage of disabled people. I never went to this college. They are fraudulently ruining my credit and trying to get me to give them a payment for education I never received. The man I spoke with said it was for a home inspection diploma. I have MS and ME I can not get up on a ladder or roof. I am physically disabled. They need to take this off my credit. I see with their reviews I am not the only one this has happened to.

    Business Response

    Date: 10/12/2022

    I am in receipt of your letter dated October 7, 2022,
    regarding a complaint filed by ******** *******. Having reviewed Ms. *******’s files,
    I am pleased to provide the following information.According to our records an online enrollment application was received for the Real Estate Appraiser program on October 12, 2021. The information provided corresponds to the address and name Ms. ******* provided for the BBB complaint. Upon further review of our records no correspondence or telephone calls were received from Ms. ******* for the duration of her enrollment. Furthermore, no information was relayed to Stratford from Ms. ******* that she disputed the enrollment and no tuition
    payments were successfully received after the date of enrollment. In an effort to bring
    the account up to date, numerous payment reminders were issued to Ms. ******* at the address provided with no reply. The account was eventually forwarded to an outside collection
    agency on May 2, 2022 for the outstanding balance of $609.00.Students
    may discontinue their studies at any time over the course of their enrollment
    with SCI. Cancellation policies are included in the Service Guarantee that is issued to every Stratford Student and
    cancellation requests may be sent by any method including by mail, e-mail or
    telephone. Upon review of Ms. *******'s file, no cancellation request was
    received by any method.Although
    no cancellation request or documentation supporting Ms. *******'s claim that she did not request enrollment in the Real Estate Appraiser program were received, I have authorized our Accounts Department
    to close Ms. ******* file and waive the remaining account balance. The
    collection agency has been notified accordingly. Should you require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me
    toll-free at ###-###-####. Our hours are from 8:00am to 4:30pm (EST) Monday through
    Thursday, and until 3:30pm on Fridays.  Sincerely,Brandi H*** Supervisor Student Services

    Customer Answer

    Date: 10/13/2022

    Better Business Bureau:



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



    Regards,



    ******** *******








  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/04/2022

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I have been taking an art class from Stratford Career Institute. I am only taking it as a hobby. However, I have waited over two months for them to grade my last two assignments. I emailed them and they said they had received my assignments but were behind schedule in grading. I said okay, as long as they had received them.
    However, not it has been another two weeks, and looking online, my assignments are still not graded. They are still taking my monthly automatic payment like clockwork. I do not feel like it is helping me to wait over two months for assignments to be graded. Could you please light a fire under them and get them to do their job?

    Business Response

    Date: 10/05/2022

    I am in receipt of your e-mail dated October 5, 2022, regarding a complaint filed by ***** ***** ********. Having reviewed Ms. ********'s files, I am pleased to provide the following information.According to our records exam ACC8-B was received on August 18, 2022 and exam ACC8-C was received on September 12, 2022. While standard processing times for practical exams, i.e. not multiple choice, is approximately 2 to 3 weeks we do acknowledge that there has been a longer delay. The reason for the delay was a staff change for the position of Art Instructor as well as a large influx of practical art exams that were received during the months of August and September 2022. This information was relayed to Ms. ********, along with our sincerest apologies for the delay, in reply to an e-mail inquiry from the student on September  16, 2022 and subsequently on October 4, 2022.To mitigate further down-time for the student, the subsequent module in Ms. ********'s Art program has been ordered for shipment with standard delivery time of approximately 7 to 10 business days. Additionally, we have asked the new Art Instructor to prioritize the grading of Ms. ********'s exams and have instructed our Accounts department to hold invoices for the month of October 2022 so that no payment is required during this time. Should you require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me toll-free at 1************. Our hours are from 8:00am to 4:30pm (EST) Monday through Thursday, and until 3:30pm on Fridays.Sincerely, Brandi H*** Supervisor Student Services

    Customer Answer

    Date: 10/05/2022

    Better Business Bureau:

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

    Regards,

    ***** ********

Stratford Career Institute is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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