Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/06/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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 paid for the two-month English course at HLIC in 2022 as a pathway course for college studying and planned to enrol and study in June of 2023. But in May of 2023, my improved English scores met the college requirements and I didn't need to take the pathway English course. As a result, before the course began, I wrote email to HLIC to cancel my classes and ask for refunding the tutition. But they said I was not able to ask for any refund because I have asked for one deferral before. I didn't make sense as I have not enrolled yet and took any lesson at this center. And now I try to contact them by emails, there is no any response given. I truely hope BBB could help me solve this case. Thanks so much.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/06/2024

  The story is incomplete. The student does not qualify for a refund, based on our refund policy clearly posted on our webpage. 
  
  -You applied to our program, and paid. 
  -You then ask for a deferral while you waited for visa to line up. We granted it. 
  -You then contacted me and we organized that we would offer a 2nd deferral (1 deferral is our policy so this was a major exception), or pass the tuition onto your daughter.  As you continued to wait for your visa.
  -You didn't need our class after your visa lined up in July, so once you found out that you didn't need it, we allowed you pass the tuition on to your daughter  (you requested this in august) as a private class, as you were not eligible for a refund, 
  - Classes were organized for her, a teacher was hired, and they began. The first class the teacher had a very serious family emergency and she had to cancel the same day, but we had our academic director ready to step in and take her place for the day. They went to a museum. You were then hesitant for your daughter to join her class again (perhaps because of the confusion with the teachers emergency), and perhaps some sessions were online and some were in person. I'm not certain, but we operate on a hybrid model....so as you were not pleased...we reorganized once again. 
  -The tuition, at your request, was later passed onto a friend as the class with your daughter did not work for you.  Because we had tried very hard to work with you, we still agreed you could pass the class onto a friend, as we did not want you to be disappointed. 
  - We corresponded with your friend, and that friend did not end up joining our program either. That was back in the fall of 2023.
  - Now, in June 2024, you are requesting a refund again, but all of this came from the fact that you did not qualify for a refund back in 2022. Once you defer you no longer qualify for a refund. You deferred twice, started classes for your daughter and canceled, passed the tuition onto a friend who never started. We have been incredibly accommodating with you. And now you have posted this on BBB, even though you never qualified for a refund. We are sorry you are so upset, our refund policy is very clearly posted online. You are welcome to continue to find someone else to pass the class semester over to. Please have them contact us directly. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/06/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:

  I just mentioned the main points of my case in order to advoid confusion for the 3rd party.

  First of all, when I bought the course in 2022, there was no official document provided showing that only one deferral is allowed and no refund is permitted if you already asked for one deferral. Per my record, when the registrar Queeny refused my 2nd deferral on 6/22/2023, I applied for a refund, which was also rejected. And then you reached out to me to work on options. See the attached snapshot of the email.

  Yes. I agreed to pass my tuition to my daughter in last August. It shall be NOT the first class of my daughter’s course. We appointed 9/10/2023 to meet the teacher to discuss the plan of the classes for my daughter. But the teacher didn’t show up after waiting for one hour at your center and I didn’t receive any reply email about her reason for absence, which left me a bad impression. See the attached snapshot of the email.

  I did introduce one friend to you on 10/16/2023, but you confirmed you cannot provide the program for her to meet the CBBC requirements. See the attached snapshot of the email.

  I am sorry that I really have no time to find the student that can be able to take my tuition. I really want to settle down my case with a refund. I didn’t enroll and take any classes at your center. Why I am not eligible for a refund? I can’t find any statement in your refund policy which I downloaded as attached.