I received a letter in the mail telling me that my daughter and I were scheduled to attend a college workshop. My daughter was home schooled at the time so I thought they got our information through the school. The letter said we needed to confirm registration. When I called to inquire about the workshop I specifically asked if this was through her school and was told "Yes" and that attendence was "mandatory".
The letter stated that they would help us determine if we qualified for finanical aid. Being a single mother - with no child support - I thought this could help us. The letter was very misleading in that we thought this was about college tuition assistance. It wasn't.
After the presentation we were told to wait until we were called. When we were called we found out that it was a sales pitch. They told us that they could assist my daughter with tutoring in math and science. We told them she did not need this as she exceled in these subjects. They then told us that they would help her with essays to enter into the best colleges. We were going to leave but were then told to just try it and we could cancel at any time.
We signed up for the service and my daugher got online and checked it out. She told me that there was nothing they could do for her. And - they never contacted us. I called to cancel the service but was told I couldn't. That I only had one week to cancel the service. I told the woman - who was very rude - that we were told we could cancel at any time. She told us that the contract stipulated we only had one week -- it was on the BACK of the contract!
I reported the company to the Better Business Bureau. I stated that I did not want a refund -- just to get out of the contract like we were promised. Both my daugher and I heard this. Since reporting them they have started sending emails. They claimed they did nothing wrong and would not let me out of the contract. I am still arguing this case with the BBB.
You may want to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or the FTC. I did a little checking on this organization (C3) and found them to be a bit suspicious, even when I called, their call center had no information or details about what this company offers that you cannot get for free from Federal Student Aid, or through direct communications with the schools themselves. Go to CFPB's web site http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ and you can file a complaint. CFPB has been highly visible in dealing with 3rd party service providers and working with private loan issues. They may be able to help. In the future, you should check these businesses at online sites other than their own to see if others were scammed or provided services for fees that normally you could get for free. For instance, there are companies out there that will help secure federal student loans or a fee, when the FAFSA is the official application for federal student aid (student loans) that is free to apply (Free Application Federal Student Aid=FAFSA). Also, be wary when you get such offers in the mal from groups that have a web sire or email address that does NOT include ".gov", ".ed" in its address. There are more and more 3rd party providers of services out there, and they tend to write their contracts in very precise ways to completely insulate them from litigation, and at the same time provide the unwary consumer with no way out of the contract. For now, the best defense is to do your homework up front before even replying to these things you might get in the mail. BTW, I received a letter from this C3 business today. I immediately found many negative comments on the BBB site, as well as several other sites reporting very bad experiences with C3. I will not even think about pursuing this matter further.
Right C3, LLC Reviews
I received a letter in the mail telling me that my daughter and I were scheduled to attend a college workshop. My daughter was home schooled at the time so I thought they got our information through the school. The letter said we needed to confirm registration. When I called to inquire about the workshop I specifically asked if this was through her school and was told "Yes" and that attendence was "mandatory".
The letter stated that they would help us determine if we qualified for finanical aid. Being a single mother - with no child support - I thought this could help us. The letter was very misleading in that we thought this was about college tuition assistance. It wasn't.
After the presentation we were told to wait until we were called. When we were called we found out that it was a sales pitch. They told us that they could assist my daughter with tutoring in math and science. We told them she did not need this as she exceled in these subjects. They then told us that they would help her with essays to enter into the best colleges. We were going to leave but were then told to just try it and we could cancel at any time.
We signed up for the service and my daugher got online and checked it out. She told me that there was nothing they could do for her. And - they never contacted us. I called to cancel the service but was told I couldn't. That I only had one week to cancel the service. I told the woman - who was very rude - that we were told we could cancel at any time. She told us that the contract stipulated we only had one week -- it was on the BACK of the contract!
I reported the company to the Better Business Bureau. I stated that I did not want a refund -- just to get out of the contract like we were promised. Both my daugher and I heard this. Since reporting them they have started sending emails. They claimed they did nothing wrong and would not let me out of the contract. I am still arguing this case with the BBB.
They are taking $38 a week out of my account.
Change banks
You could change banks or bank accounts or tell the bank to not honor any bank draft requests from that particular company and see what happens.
BBB is a good start, but...
You may want to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or the FTC. I did a little checking on this organization (C3) and found them to be a bit suspicious, even when I called, their call center had no information or details about what this company offers that you cannot get for free from Federal Student Aid, or through direct communications with the schools themselves. Go to CFPB's web site http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ and you can file a complaint. CFPB has been highly visible in dealing with 3rd party service providers and working with private loan issues. They may be able to help. In the future, you should check these businesses at online sites other than their own to see if others were scammed or provided services for fees that normally you could get for free. For instance, there are companies out there that will help secure federal student loans or a fee, when the FAFSA is the official application for federal student aid (student loans) that is free to apply (Free Application Federal Student Aid=FAFSA). Also, be wary when you get such offers in the mal from groups that have a web sire or email address that does NOT include ".gov", ".ed" in its address. There are more and more 3rd party providers of services out there, and they tend to write their contracts in very precise ways to completely insulate them from litigation, and at the same time provide the unwary consumer with no way out of the contract. For now, the best defense is to do your homework up front before even replying to these things you might get in the mail. BTW, I received a letter from this C3 business today. I immediately found many negative comments on the BBB site, as well as several other sites reporting very bad experiences with C3. I will not even think about pursuing this matter further.
Right C3, LLC SCAM BASTERS
This is a SCAM. Do not fall into these CORRUPTED people traps.
Can't wait to see some good COPS putting these scammers to justice. Clear them off of our Great Country streets.