Complaints

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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/02/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 completed a Service Learning program In ******, Ireland this past summer (2023), where I was asked to pay a $750 housing deposit. Upon completion of the program, I was informed that the deposit would be fully refunded to me within **** weeks. After twelve weeks had passed with no refund, I contacted *** and they said the deposit would be coming shortly through the mail, within 2-3 weeks. This time has also elapsed with no refund has been located in the mail. I am asking that *** sends me the full housing deposit refund as promised.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint and explain more about the extenuating circumstances. One of our housing providers in ****** requires that we collect a $750  refundable housing deposit from students. We submit their housing deposit to the provider on behalf of the students, and then facilitate the return of the deposits following students departure from the housing accommodation. As the statement below states, we advise students that refunds of these types of deposits will take approximately **** weeks to process after the program's end date. ****** program ended on July 30. On August 15th, **** received an email explaining the refund process, and reminding students of the **** week timeframe.  
  
  On October 16th, we received an email from **** asking for an update on her refund. At that time, we were still waiting to receive the refund from our ****** housing provider, despite multiple attempts from our side to confirm the refund. We emailed **** and the other students on October 16th (11 weeks from the program end date) to inform them that there was a delay in receiving their housing deposit refunds. We estimated it would be another 2-3 weeks for their refunds to be received. Our refund from our housing provider in ****** was received on November 1st and we expedited our internal refund processes so that refunds could be returned to students as soon as possible. The refunds checks were mailed on November 7th, just over 14 weeks from the program end date. We have called and emailed **** to apologize for the delay and keep her informed. We do apologize for the inconveniences of these delays and look forward to **** receiving her refund shortly.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/20/2023

  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:08/23/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 studied abroad in ********* spring semester of 2023 and was in an apartment with 5 other girls. I only received like half of my housing deposit back and am wondering why? The apartment was in great condition right before we left and when the housing team from Barcelona came to check everything a couple days before move out. However,I left the apartment in an abrupt manner as apparently me and 2 of my other roommates were being evicted from there literally upon move out by the ****************** saying that the renter that *** was renting the apartment through wasnt paying his bills/something along those lines as they didnt speak that good of English. Me and one of my roommates called the **************** during this time and they were very confused and didnt really help us out as we felt very unsafe at the time. So with all *** has put us through and yet still takes $240 out of my $500 housing deposit is ridiculous especially since that comes out to almost $1500 amongst all six of us that lived there! I want the rest of my money back as this is extremely unprofessional and *** ****** even explain the charges taken out which is also very shady.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/02/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this issue. The student has likewise reached out to us directly and we are providing them a similar response. Attached please find a copy of the Apartment Contract that the student signed prior to her program. The contract explains expectations and responsibilities of students living in an apartment rented by our organization. It outlines the allotted utility usage per student, and explains that if the students in the apartment exceed the allotment, they are responsible for those costs. Information about the higher cost of utilities in the host country is also covered in the students on-site orientation.
  
  Attached are some of the copies of the utility bills, most notably the electricity bill for the apartment the student resided in during their program. I have more invoices but due to the system limits I was not able to upload everything. I am happy to provide them if requested.  Also attached  you can find a total calculation of all utilities, the 50 EUR per student allotment from our organization, and how the excess use resulted in the ****** EUR charge per student that was taken out of the students housing deposit (in the *** equivalent). Important to note is that several similar student apartments had minimal to no charges taken out of their housing deposit for excessive utility usage. For example, the apartment immediately next door to this residence, also occupied by 6 students during the same period, was charged ***** EUR per student for excess utilities from their deposit. Regarding our lack of ability to explain the charges; when the student inquired, they were informed it was for excess utility use, but our US representative did not immediately have access to the invoices to provide a specific record of the charges to the student. We have since solicited the attached documentation from our colleagues on-site in Barcelona.
  
  We are sorry for the confusion at the apartment on the final day of the program, and that the student felt unsafe at the time. Following the students departure from the apartment that day at noon, the apartment was to be occupied by a different housing agency. Representatives from that housing agency had arrived earlier than the designated move-out time to clean the apartment prior to the next arrival. When the students notified our on-site staff of the issue, we contacted the housing agency we were working with, who clarified for the other agency that our students had until noon to be in the apartment. We addressed this with the representatives at the apartment and the students departed as planned shortly after. Spanish governmental representatives were not present during this interaction, but we can understand how this situation was misunderstood due to language barriers.
  
  We hope that this information is helpful in clarifying more about this students situation. Again, we regret any misunderstandings that occurred and look forward to resolving the confusion with the student directly.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/23/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  My daughter went on a study abroad trip in June/July 2022. Prior to the trip, she paid a $500 housing deposit which was to be refunded "approximately 2-3 months after the end of the month in which the program ended." She returned in early July 2022, so the deposit was supposed to have been received by September/October 2022. After it was not received, she contacted the company and they said to give it another couple weeks - she did and still no refund. Follow-up in December yielded no results or any response. In February, we had an attorney contact the company. The company responded by saying the check was likely lost in the mail and it would be re-issued. BUT - despite the fact that the refund was already approved (otherwise a first check would not have been issued) - they maintain it is impossible to have a check issued sooner than "6-8 weeks" because they "do not control that process" (well, who the heck does, then??). In follow-up attempts by our attorney to at least verify the SECOND check was issued, the company has completely ghosted him and will not give common courtesy of a response. We are now less than a week from "6-8 weeks" and STILL NO REFUND. It is coming up on a year since my daughter's trip and she is still waiting for $500 that is undisputedly hers, which she was entitled to receive back MONTHS ago. No response from the company and looking at the process of another LAME excuse and another UNREASONABLE 6-8 week delay to get the refund. THERE IS NO REASON ON EARTH THAT IT SHOULD ***********-8 WEEKS TO WRITE A CHECK. There is no information publicly to contact anyone other than "*************************, Program Manager, Europe" who is the one who has decided not to be helpful in escalating this and is not responding to requests from our attorney. All I want is a check issued back to her IMMEDIATELY.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/29/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.
  
  Our organization has been in contact with this student and their family regarding the housing deposit refund since October 2022. Typically housing deposit refunds are issued back to students in the 3-4 month quoted timeframe, however, this particular group of refunds was delayed beyond that approximate quoted time.
  
  When the student followed up with our office in December and January, they received prompt responses from their Program Manager, who alerted the Finance team of the missing refund. Unfortunately, there were subsequent administrative errors, and the refund check was not issued as requested.
  
  When contacted February 1st, 2023, by an attorney regarding the missing refund, the Program Manager responded on February 2nd, 2023. They confirmed that a check was being reissued and would be mailed within a 6-8 week timeframe. They also acknowledged and apologized for the delay in issuing the refund. Our organization has a layered process to issuing refunds, and a 6-8 week turnaround time is the standard. Given the existing delay, we should have requested an expedited check at this time and do regret the additional delay in returning the funds to the student.
  
  When the attorney contacted the Program Manager for an update March 16th, 2023, their message was automatically re-routed to an employee who was out of the office, and who responded on March 20th, 2023. During this time frame, our office was available to be contacted directly via email or phone as publicly listed on our website and in all employee email signatures. Since March 20th, we have provided several updates to the attorney as we worked to reissue the check as soon as possible and have additionally communicated our regret around the inappropriate delay.
  
  The refund check has now been issued for the full amount by our Finance team and was mailed out on March 28th, 2023. We sincerely apologize for the delay in issuing the refund, and it's not a reflection of our typical business practices.
  
  We look forward to the full resolution of this issue and want to thank you again for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********.  While disputing some of the details provided, the check has now been received and no further action is required.  But, for the record, the response provided by the business is slightly contradictory to what actually happened - or at least what the business told our attorney really happened.  (I'm not submitting emails, but I do have them if there is any dispute).

  The business says the employee receiving the message was simply "out of the office" - the email correspondence from the company to my daughter and the attorney indicates she "no longer works" there.  This accounts for some of the delay between March 16 and March 20.  BUT, this does not account for the fact that our attorney attempted multiple communications by telephone between February 2 and March 16 which were not responded to at all, leading him to attempt calls from other numbers because he felt the particular employee was specifically trying to avoid answering questions about the delay in payment. Whether that's because the party to whom they were directed was no longer with the company or whether her departure was later is not known.  But the company's response that they were available by telephone *may* have been true between March 16 and March 20, but it certainly didn't appear to be true between February and March.  This appears to attempt to minimize our difficulties reaching someone who, per implication, may have been out a few days. In reality, it appears the communications were directed to a vacant chair with no one taking up the slack for a much longer period of time than the 4 days or so implied in the business' response.

  Further, while the company (in its response) says my daughter's check was part of a "batch" that was not processed, the email from the company to our attorney on February 2 indicated our check was "likely lost in the mail."  If it was part of a "batch" that actually makes it worse as we can't have been the only ones complaining and they should have been on to a resolution much sooner.  It seems the email to our attorney was an attempt to shift the blame to the post office, perhaps.  

  Regardless of what happened to cause the problem, we understand things happen and the initial delay is not a concern.  It was the lack of response once the delay was brought to the company's attention and their "its out of our control - it will be 6-8 more weeks" to reissue a simple check that is unacceptable.  A new check should have been issued immediately.  The company has acknowledged that, at least.  We did receive the check and that is all we needed.  But, the inconsistency in the response here versus what was emailed to our attorney is concerning.  I would rather they simply owned the mistake rather than minimize it or give varying responses based upon the audience. 

  From our standpoint, this matter is resolved and no further action is required.  Thank you.  

  Regards,
  

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