College Prep Foundation

Victim Location 97015

Total money lost $220

Type of a scam Other

College Prep Foundation makes random phone calls that prey on college-bound teens. They claim your teen checked a box during their PSAT college exam that solicits students to enter their parent’s phone number for a free 30-day trial of SAT/ACT college exam prep material sent via mail that contains two CD-Roms. The product is antiquated, and does not seem compatiable for computers, and comes with no instructions. You are told on the phone you have a month to review the product, and receive a full refund if not interested. You are instructed to send the material back with vague instructions. They charge you up front for a deposit of $219.84, which I was charged on April 21, 2020 on my credit card they asked for on the phone. I called the following month to confirm instructions to return the product, and the associate told me I still had until the end of the month to review their product. I proceeded to send the product back to the return address provided, via US Mail. It would have arrived by May 31st. I never received a refund. In fact, they proceed to charge me an additional $69.95. Alarmed by more charges, I called to dispute the charge, speaking to the same associate. I asked to refund it and he claimed I was past the trial period, but would send the message to the management that I attempted to return the product and asked for a refund. I never received a refund, and each time I call, they don’t give me a straight answer, and claim that I did not meet their return policy guidelines, despite what their associate told me on the phone. I looked them up finally on BBB, and it shows this College Prep Foundation is out of business with three or four locations listed. A month after I sent the product back to their address, I received it as returned mail marked "refused." When I called about this, the associate told me that if it was received past the due date, they would refuse the return. Again, I was told I had until the end of the month of May to return the product. (I received the returned mail dated 6/30/20 back to my home address.) I have been disputing this charge for almost two months, asking for a refund. The last phone call I made on 7/21/20-the associate claimed he had to convey my message to a manager, and he could not do anything further. He hung up on me while I was speaking. That is when I looked up the company on ScamPulse.com and noticed all its locations are marked "out of business." I have made a dispute of the charge with my credit card to see if they can handle the credit due. Please see image attached of the returned package.