Envision EMI

I purchased a China Cultural Extension Experience for my daughter in 2013 through the International Scholars Laureate Program. After making down payment and a few auto payments my daughter informed me that she would be attending another travel program through her college program. When I received my reminder of payment I emailed Mr. David M[redacted] and he promptly informed me to call in. After calling in to request that they not deduct money from my account the deduction was still made. I contacted the office again and they informed me that I could simply transfer the funds to another trip which I agreed to. The following year I called to see what destinations were planned but again those dates did not pan out because my daughter again traveled with her college. At no time was I told if she does not take the trip within a specific period of time that all funds are forfeited. In fact, I was given the Nationwide Insurance phone number and told to initiate a claim for refund since I had travel protection plan coverage. My daughter graduated from undergraduate studies but expressed an interest in utilizing her funds for educational travel. When I contacted them this year 2015, the name appears to be changed to Envision EMI and I was told that the funds expired and that I no longer had access to them. I requested that she verify that and she returned to the call stating that nothing could be done. I expressed my displeasure, obtained the address to request an appeal and stated that I felt that practice to be fraudulent since it was never explained at any time that my funds of over $2000 would expire.

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 2:55 PMSubject: RE: [redacted] Complaint ([redacted])To: [redacted] <[redacted]>
[redacted], Envision response:  Envision considers this case to be closed as a full refund was issued on May 13,...

2015. Thanks. CARL *. M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 2:49 PMSubject: RE: [redacted] Complaint ([redacted])To: [redacted] <[redacted]>[redacted],Resolution:  Given the misinformation regarding the cancellation policy, we will be refunding the request amount of...

$604.00.  Someone from out office will be contacting the family shortly. CARL *. M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 2:43 PMSubject: CID #[redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]>Date Filed: 7/13/15 Complaint Details: My son is signed up for a program at their school/institution and is having anxiety attacks about being away...

for a week. He is having several issues about this and this school will not refund the 2139.00 we paid in installment payments. Envision Response:  Per the Terms & Conditions that the parent/student agreed to upon enrollment into the program on January 13, 2015, any cancellation requests made on or after April 2, 2015 do not allow for a refund of tuition.  The cancellation request was made on July 13, 2015 for the program began on July 19, 2015. We would be willing to transfer the students tuition to a program occurring in the summer 2016, but per the agreement, we cannot issue a refund.  CARL L. M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS

Dear [redacted],
We have researched this complaint and will issue a refund in the amount of $1391.24.  I have attached the release that must be signed by [redacted] and returned back to me in order for the refund to be processed.  Please note the release must be signed...

by a witness as well.  The refund will be issued in the form of a credit to the card used to enroll in the program.  The signed and witnessed release can be emailed directly to me at [redacted] or faxed to me at ###-###-####. 
We do apologize.
Kind regards,
[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I remember that if I transferred it may not be refundable at that point.  Regardless I reread and that is their policy.    My point is that I want this documented and information available to future perspective victims of this organization.   As while this may be their policy to take 2500$ from families when they are unable to attend and no services have remotely been rendered for the money they paid even if these families have unforeseen circumstances which prevent them from attending the camp, as is our case.    It is highly likely families fall upon hard times and have circumstances which prevent them from attending and this money is a lot of money to be out with nothing in return for it.     
I cannot imagine anyone that reads this thinks this is a fair or just policy!   While I can understand them not returning the full monies for some upfront administrative expenses, I am quite baffled that the full amount is kept if a camper is unable to attend.    I am sure they will fill this spot and get double the money but not for double the work or boarding accommodations. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted],
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Envision provided a full refund at the request of the family.
 
[redacted]
DIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS
 
From: [redacted] [mailto:d[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org] Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 10:48 AMTo: [redacted]Subject: [redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I was told the money had already been spent on the program that my daughter was unable to attend because she was unable to fly. So, if the money was spent
how is that my money  available to be transferred to a program for next summer. When I spoke with James I informed him that as a graduating senior next year my daughter would be unable to attend
one of the programs. I understand if they don't want to refund all my money but I would like for them to refund at least half of it.  
Regards,
[redacted]

We are sorry to hear that your expectations for our program were not met. Envision does strive to give students their first choice of capstone, but as stated in the enrollment materials it isn't something we can guarantee. We have a limited number of experts available in each field, and if demand...

is particularly high for one it is sometimes necessary to give students their second choice. We do ask scholars to rank each option beforehand, so we can try our hardest to place everyone in a capstone they will enjoy, even if it is not their first choice. As a gesture of good faith, we would like to offer a partial refund of $1000, which we'll process as soon as we receive your response.
 
Thank you for allowing us to address your concerns and best wishes to you and your family.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I asked who gave my daughters name and information out.  The teacher referenced in the "invitation" is not a teacher at [redacted] School.  I want to know who gave you my daughters private information.  If indeed a school employee gave out information, I want to know EXACTLY who, and your contact info for them.  I have inquired with the school and they assured me nobody gives out information.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted],
I would like to inform you that we have refunded all monies paid for the four students that you signed up for the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.  The sum of the refund equates to $8,001.20.
I apologize for the inconvenience we have...

caused during this process.  I appreciate you notifying me of the issues you encountered with our customer service and I will ensure to address these.  
In the event you would reconsider the attendance of the fours students you were sponsoring to the Junior National Young Leaders Conference, I would be more than happy to work with you directly.  Please consider the $1,000 scholarships that we can awarded to the four students a standing offer for attendance to this year's Junior National Young Leaders Conference.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
###-###-####

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I would want a full refund of my money,  I can always reconsider the offer (for next year's travel) at a later time. 
Regards,
[redacted]

An Envision representative, Matt,  has spoken with [redacted].  A conclusion to the conversation was that Envision would honor the request refund amount of $2941.65 upon receipt of a signed refund release.Once the release is received by Envision, Envision will consider this...

matter resolved.

[redacted],
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Envision provided a full refund at the request of the family on July 16, 2014.
 
[redacted]
DIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS
 
From: [redacted] [mailto:d[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org] Sent: [redacted]To: [redacted]Subject:�...⇄

I was told I was selected for my academic excellence to participate in this travel program called International Scholar Laureate Program. I had a few questions so I called without the intention of signing up for it. The admissions advisor was very adamant that I secure my spot because there were only 2 left. I wasn't in a position where I could just dump $550 dollars into someone else's pocket and wanted to wait until I heard back from the scholarship I applied for. She told me if I didn't put the deposit down I wouldn't be able to go, but also told me that a lot of people back out. I was on break at work so that didn't register as a red flag because it was hard to hear her in the first place. Everytime I asked about the likelihood of receiving a scholarship and how much people typically received, she wasn't very helpful and gave me vague answers like she didn't know or the scholarships awarded are so low it's not worth putting in the deposit. She also told me I'd get an email with more information about the trip and I haven't. The phone also hung up and she didn't try to call me back which worried me. I felt like I just got coerced into doing something I didn't want to do in the first place.
I work to pay for school myself while I'm a full time student. I couldn't afford to pay for this in the first place and now I'm struggling to find the money to pay for my next tuition installment. It is incredibly unacceptable to take advantage of hard-working college students who already have barely enough to get by.
I've had to pick up more hours just to be able to squeeze by. I really thought this would help me in the medical field but upon further research, which the company has done a great job of trying to hide, the trip isn't as beneficial as it's advertised because the people aren't chosen for their "academic excellence." It also makes me nervous that in previous years people have not been taken care of like they were supposed to. That's especially worrisome going to an expensive foreign country on the other side of the world from anyone who could help.

Desired Settlement: I would appreciate a full refund of the $549.00 deposit made.

Review: Due to an inner ear infection my daughter was unable to board her flight to the Envision program. She had a doctor's note telling her not to fly. I contacted Envision about a refund of my money, but they refuse to refund my money. They offered to transfer it to one of next years programs at an additional $50 fee to me. I informed them that due to her schedule next year she would not be able to attend any of the programs. I just want to get my money back. As a single mom it took a lot of long hours at work to raise this money. My daughter is very disappointed in this whole situation, as am I. It seems that this is all about the money for them.Desired Settlement: Refund

Business

Response:

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 7:19 AMSubject: CID# [redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]>Envision Response: Upon review of the complaint submitted to the Revdex.com, we unfortunately cannot offer any additional resolutions outside of the option already provided. What we can do is waive the $50 transfer fee and transfer the tuition to a program during the summer of 2016. At the point of enrollment on March 18, 2015, the agreement terms and cancellation policy were accepted. The cancellation policy stated that cancellation requests received on or after April 2, 2015 are not entitled to a refund. Again, at this time, we would be happy to offer a transfer to a 2016 program and waive the $50 transfer fee. CARL ** M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS ENVISION1919 Gallows Road, Suite 700Vienna, VA 22182T/F: ###-###-####cm[redacted]@envisionexperience.comwww.envisionexperience.com

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I was told the money had already been spent on the program that my daughter was unable to attend because she was unable to fly. So, if the money was spenthow is that my money available to be transferred to a program for next summer. When I spoke with James I informed him that as a graduating senior next year my daughter would be unable to attend

Review: From Me to "[redacted]": I am demanding a refund. I have closed the account that was used for drafting my payments so that Envision may not continue to draft from my account. "[redacted]" in customer service refused to give me the information of her supervisor as did three other people beneath her. To date, I have never received the information regarding curriculum, instruction, qualification, agenda, daily activities, or living arrangements that I was promised if I enrolled my son "early enough to ensure he was granted placement." I am sure I have fallen victim to yet another scam story sponsored by this organization like those I have read repeatedly on the internet.[redacted]: So we can process the full refund of $1084.00 paid to 2014 National Youth Leadership Forum: Explore STEM, please sign and return the attached document. This is required anytime we refund monies outside of our refund policy.Me: I was advised not to sign the release until it is modified to express the exact method that the refund will be disbursed. A check made payable to me and delivered by certified mail would be the most secure method.[redacted]: We have to first try to refund the credit card used to pay for the program before we can issue a check. This is according to our agreement with our credit card servicer. If the credit card cannot be refunded then we will be able to issue a check to you for the refund. To get process started we do need the release signed and returned.Me: Please see the attached, executed documents with directions for a pending amendment. [redacted]: I have been instructed that we cannot accept this with the amendment it has to be signed unaltered. I will notify you as to the status of the refund as it is being processed once we receive a newly signed document...... I have explained to [redacted] repeatedly that my debit card was deactivated and it is unknown if it will be eligible for use as a refund. He will not make plans to assure that my account is refunded correctly.Desired Settlement: Refund to my bank account via the PROPER information or issue of a check sent via certified mail.

Business

Response:

I responded to this one via fax on 4/18. We have her signed release and was crediting her account. We know she closed this account but we had to try that way first before sending a check. We assumed she got her money because she didn’t contact us to say she didn’t. I am checking on this though. Do you know if this is a mix up on your end or if she in fact didn’t receive her money by chance?

Please let me know!

Review: After outside events made my student's attendance impossible, action was taken to cancel and withdraw from the summer program. The "Retention Department" representative informed us that because enrollment was done online, no refund was available, despite having purchased insurance for this program, because the cancellation refund window was closed in late April. The program does not begin until 18 July, so that alone seems unreasonably early for closure.

Envision EMI is not forthcoming or upfront about the terms of their service contract and will not in good faith work with families who have unforeseen schedule conflicts or emergencies (in this case a sick relative).Desired Settlement: Refund of $2016.20, the cost of the program minus the cost of goods mailed by Envision EMI to the student (printed materials, books).

Business

Response:

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 3:00 PMSubject: RE: [redacted] Complaint ([redacted])To: [redacted] <[redacted]>[redacted], Envision Response: On March 13, 2015 when the enrollment into the 2015 [redacted] Conference was completed, the applicant agreed to the terms and conditions which outlined the cancellation policy: Cancellations received on or after April 2, 2015 are not eligible for a refund. In an effort to help resolve the issue, we would be willing to transfer the tuition to the program in 2016 and waive our $50 transfer fee. Thanks. CARL *. M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS

Review: My son was selected to participate in a travel opportunity through Envision EMI (aka International Scholar Laureate Program). When I spoke with an admissions counselor, I was told that our deposit of $525 was non-refundable (I do admit that I was told that in an initial conversation with [redacted] on 2-14-14). I asked if there were scholarship opportunities for these trips and was told to apply for the scholarships online. [redacted] asked if we would need the scholarship before committing to the program and I said yes.

We applied for the scholarship online, and 4 days later I called to ask if the scholarship information had beenr received and asked if my son was eligible for the scholarship. On that day, I spoke to a [redacted] in admissions. [redacted] explained that it would take a couple of weeks for the decision to be made, but strongly encouraged me to get my son signed up for the program since there were only 7 spots left for this trip. I reminded him that we would need the answer to the scholarship before we could totally commit. At that point, he said, I would strongly suggest you get signed up for the trip since there are limited amounts of spots left, and if you don't do it now, you may not be able to get a spot.

-- at this point, I feel like my son was coerced into signing up -- they knew that we were depending on the scholarship money to help pay for the trip -- [redacted] advised us to sign up without knowledge (but implicating that we would receive assistance).

My son made his $525 deposit, then found out that he was not eligible for the scholarship. I feel that [redacted] was very misleading to my son, and he felt pressured to register for the trip.

My son is a hard-working student. He has received straight A's throughout high school and two years of college thus far. He is working two jobs to help pay for schooling. My husband is disabled (unable to work), but we are not eligible for financial assitance for our children to attend college.

We thought this opportunity would help our son in his quest to work for the FBI or CIA when he is finished with college. The $525 deposit has created quite a setback for him and he has had to increase his working hours, at both jobs, to try to make up for the deposit he made under duress.Desired Settlement: We would like a full refund of the $525 deposit my son made in good faith

Business

Response:

April 24, 2014Dear [redacted]:RE: RefundWe have investigated this claim and will refund [redacted] $525.00. We ask that he sign the attached release. The release must be witnessed as well.The refund will be initiated once we receive the signed/witnessed form back. The form can 5 emailed directly to me at: [redacted]. Please note the refund will be issued in the form of a credit to the card used to make the initial purchase. We will request the credit immediately upon receiving the form back but sometimes it takes up to a week (business days) for the credit to show up on the account.Kind regards,

Review: I've reached out to [redacted] on numerous of occasions in hopes of getting my money back for my son's trip - that he no longer wants to attend. I am a single parent and can NOT afford to just lose over $1,000!! I want my money back!Desired Settlement: I want all monies paid to be me reimbursed back to me.

Business

Response:

From: Carl M[redacted] Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 2:55 PMSubject: RE: [redacted] Complaint ([redacted])To: [redacted] <[redacted]>[redacted], Envision response: Envision considers this case to be closed as a full refund was issued on May 13, 2015. Thanks. CARL *. M[redacted], PMPDIRECTOR, RETENTION & MARKETING OPERATIONS

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.

Regards,