ComplaintsforHealth Coach Institute LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up for their coaching program around 2 months ago. I was told in the beginning that if I decided to not continue with the course in 30 days of it, I would get a refund. At no time was I told that I would be unable to withdraw and then continue to have to pay for something I no longer wanted to do. And its expensive! $6000 to just toss away is not possible in this economy or ever! Ive reached out numerous times and have been told it was in their terms and agreements. It should have been a whole separate thing that was sent to me to sign so that I saw it and could acknowledge it! They sneakily place it right in when you pay and they make you do automatic payments that they now refuse to stop. I have been in contact with my credit card company to stop the payments, but this truly seems like a scam company who only wants your money and will not work with you whatsoever, no matter the circumstances.

  

  Business response

  10/01/2024

  Hello *******,
  
  My name is ****** ********, and I'm the Director of Support at the Health Coach Institute. Thank you for reaching out about this concern.
  
  In reviewing your account, I see that you did accept our Terms and Conditions. All of our policies are outlined here, and you did agree that you understood and accepted these terms.
  
  The full Terms and Conditions can be found here: ************************************************************
  
  The section under Refunds and Cancellations addresses our policy on withdrawing from the course after the refund period: "After the expiration of the Coach Course Refund Period, Student shall continue to be responsible for ensuring that payments are made on time and in full according to the Payment Schedule."

  I'm sorry that you felt like we wouldn't work with you on this, but we reserve the right to make significant policy exceptions, like the one you are asking for, based on extreme, extenuating circumstances.
  
  I realize that this isn't the answer you are hoping for, but in order to remain within integrity of decisions made for other students in similar situations, I cannot honor your request to cancel your financial responsibility with HCI.

  Best,

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

  Customer response

  10/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 22360377
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As I have said numerous times now, it was not made clear that this was what was to happen after 30 days. It was only told to me that if I decided to stop taking the course before 30 days, I would receive a refund. 
  Also, I did not sign anything. I did not agree to have monthly payments. I agreed to pay that first month. After that, it was being automatically drafted from my account. You claim that by making that first payment, I agreed to automatic payments and the terms and conditions. Why didnt I receive anything in writing??? Why didnt I get a chance to confirm that this is what I was signing up for? It should not matter if or when I decided to stop taking the courses. I did not get a loan from you, this is my own money. I should have every right to withdraw. I should not be forced to pay for something I didnt complete (havent even finished a quarter of it). I dont want access to any of it. I have paid a couple months and that should be sufficient. If it does not get resolved here, I will have no choice but to take legal action. No student should have to deal with this!!!!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I can't remember exactly when this account was open. I have tried to cancel, but it has not been successful. Instead they reported to the credit bureaus that I still owe them $5,000. The document attached shows that the high balance was $7,164 showing that I have paid $2,164 for the program. I don't understand why they are expecting me to pay for the entire program when I have not completed the program and will not complete the program. I have now filed my second dispute with the credit bureaus. I want this removed from my credit reports and marked paid.

  

  Business response

  04/03/2023

  Dear *****,
  
  My name is ****** and Im the Director of Support and Services at Health Coach Institute.
  
  *************** to the issues raised in your correspondence on the Better Business Bureau website. We treat all feedback, regardless of content, seriously and want to thank you for letting your thoughts be known.
  
  When potential students begin talks with a sales representative, it is our goal to offer every opportunity to answer questions regarding the course content, the refund period, course requirements to earn a certificate, etc. We make ourselves available to students via phone, email, and text in order to ensure students have full clarity and can make an informed and empowered decision to enroll in any of our courses.
  
  In alignment with this, it is always the goal of Health Coach Institute to represent our courses in an honest and transparent manner so that students may determine if the course is the correct fit for them. In the event that the course is not a good fit, we proudly offer all students a full, money-back guarantee, regardless of the reason for the request, provided a request is made within the refund period in writing to our ******************* In order to provide full clarity, this refund policy is outlined in the course terms conditions that all students sign, communicated during the enrollment call, and sent via email immediately after enrollment with the specific refund deadline. Once the refund deadline passes, students are responsible for the full tuition fees, paid or unpaid, as agreed to in the course terms and conditions.
  
  Because a request for a refund was not made within the refund window, we cannot approve your request for a refund at this time, but do encourage you to utilize the lifetime access you have to the course.

  Best,

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

  Director of Support and Services
  

  Customer response

  04/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 19630133
  
  I am rejecting this response because the Health Coach Institute rep is discussing the refund policy in her response. I have not asked for a refund. I have asked for the $5,000 to be removed from my credit report. I have already submitted documentation that I have paid $2,164. I have not and will not complete the program. The $5,000 is for the rest of the program. I want to see a breakdown of what I have paid for and what the $5,000 covers. I will also be submitting this same request to the credit bureaus.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This institution misled me into believing that I would be accredited, come to find out at tax time they ARE NOT, after their staff evaded and lied to my tax specialist by telling her that the company IS federally accredited. Per their *********************** Coach Federation (ICF) -The Become a Health and Life Coach (****) program is CCE accredited by the International Coach Federation. The International Coaching Federation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to professional coaching. ICF has been the gold standard in coaching for over 25 years. After completing the **** program, you can reach out to *********************************** to request your CC (Core Competency) and RD ********************** hours." When concluded a deeper dive per their information: "We are not a US ********** of ********* accredited institute; this means that students typically cannot claim education tax benefits from taking our course and we do not provide ****-T forms or EIN. Please consult your tax advisor for more details on your tax preparations."I have paid $4100 in one year, to find out I cannot even include this information on my Taxes, which they DID NOT disclose while purchasing the program and I specifically asked them. They knowingly and purposefully deceived me. They send out no paperwork after signing up for their program, nor any sort of educational or financial support - which they CLAIM to help with 24/7. They disclose that they are always available, but I have not been able to speak with an actual, live person for over a year. Only automated emails and calls are available. Misleading their students is wrong for monetary gain. They need to be more transparent because this seems like a VERY expensive scheme for building their OWN business.

  

  Business response

  02/07/2023

  Hello *****,

  My name is *****************************, and I'm the Director of Support and Tuition at HCI. We've spoken before via email, but I'd like to address the issues outlined in your BBB complaint.
  
  The Become a Health and Life Coach (BHLC) program is CCE accredited by the International Coach Federation. The International Coaching Federation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to professional coaching. ICF has been the gold standard in coaching for over 25 years. For more info, visit our help center article outlining our accreditation: *******************************************************************************. This is the accreditation discussed during enrollment.
  
  Students of our program are unable to claim tax benefits from their enrollment with us, because we are not a government-accredited educational institution and do not participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. ********** of ********** We note this in our help center here: ************************************************************************************************************. We provide this info for transparency to all of our students.

  I spoke with the Director of Enrollment about your complaint and was unable to find any evidence of misinformation at the time of enrollment.
  
  I also want to add that our records show that we've communicated with you via email on 7 different occasions where you reached out to support or tuition. I can also see discourse between you and members of both the tuition and support teams, and I can assure you that each agent is a live person. I'm sorry again to hear that your experience has been less than you hoped for, but I wish you all the best as you continue your journey.

  Sincerely,

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

  Director of Support and Tuition
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  After paying for this course for a year, I had to take a walk away offer on June 16. And on July 4 the company took my tuition out again. And its been 2 weeks of waiting for that money to be put back into my account. I have no money to pay for my camping spot, as Im living in a trailer right now, and Id like my money back.

  

  Business response

  07/21/2022

  Hello ******,

   

  We're sorry for the error in billing, it does appear that it was our mistake. I can see that the issue is cleared up now, and we apologize for the inconvenience it caused you.

   

  Best,

  HCI Support
  

  Customer response

  07/21/2022

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

   

*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. ↩