I think I've been scammed by World Education Services

[thetons8785]

Okay, 

So I'm applying for UPenn GSE.  In order to apply, I have to get a course-by-course evaluation for my study abroad transcript from a service provider on the NACES list.  

So I pour over the list, each one of the companies, and finally decide to go with WES.  

1.  HGSE also recommends WES for similar situations (if offered admission)
2. Penn GSE themselves supports them through NACES. 
3.  They're website looks legit (except the fact that you have to pay to even talk to them-- that was a red flag, but some legit companies do that)

All of that equals pretty reputable service to me. 

Sooooo... I pay for the service, a whomping $249; then find an extraneous charge for 2 extra services: 1 extra report + shipping to be sent to my house (not something I selected in checkout); learn that sending reports to personal addresses violates their policy (like they violated their OWN policy!); email specific questions; get generic answers; call three times; get a recording that says WES isn't taking calls from individual applicants AT ALL, and tells you to write an email (like wtf); I call again, and connect through to the business line to see if they're taking business calls; they do; I leave a message and contact info (hoping for something); nothing- no response. Oh yeah, and drafted an email in French (which I haven't spoken in years). Then, belatedly, I found this, this, this and more. 

So after all this I've sent a final two emails, one of which notifies them I will be contacting the BBB if they don't respond promptly, appropriately, and authentically (They are a BBB member).

I don't think they're gonna do anything.  My one last hope is calling this number or someone from this list of U.S. representatives (it's really indirect, but I mean what else is there to do). 

After that I'm lost.  Like I have no idea what to do.  The list of NACES service providers was exhaustive, but I couldn't find anyone I could trust more than WES, and this is what happened. 

Has anyone ever successfully, and happily (considering the circumstances) used a course-by-course evaluation services from one of the companies on the NACES list?

Is anyone applying to / already applied to Penn GSE for a M.S.Ed who also has to do an evaluation like this?

Any insight would be super appreciated.  I'm at the end of my rope here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[I_mix]

I have personally used WES before and didn't have issues with it. As far as I was aware at the time (three years ago), it was part of their policy to send you a copy of your evaluated transcript. I believe it was free of charge, but my memory is hazy. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help. 

 

[CoffeeFueledAnxiety]

I used WES few months ago and while their customer service is really just sh*t, I believe they are a legitimate service. Like @I_mix mentioned, they will automatically send one copy of the report to your address. However, if my memory serves me, they do charge you for it.

The thing is, you want to be absolutely sure you have sent everything they asked you to in the exact way they asked you to do it. If you do, then you will only have to wait for a few weeks and your transcript evaluation will be done and sent to the address you put on their site. However, if there's any mistakes or if you missed any of their instruction, it could go very bad. Like I said before, their customer service is of no use for anyone. They only reply using generic email and you would get frustrated. The online review will only highlight your anxiety, too. 

I hope I can say something better, but all you can do if you have sent them everything they need is wait. If you still want to send the transcript to other addresses then just put them in and hope for no refund on the report you did not ask for that will arrive in your mailbox later. 

[thetons8785]

Hi there @CoffeeFueledAnxiety and @I_mix!  Sorry it took so long to get back.  I thought I'd get a notification on comments, but didn't seem to.  Thanks to you both for the feedback.  Like you said CoffeeFueledAnxiety, the online reviews definitely freaked me out a bit, and their customer service was shite. 

There were a few hoops I would have had to jump through to get my study abroad transcript since it was almost 10 years ago that I did it... So before I dove deep I called Penn GSE's admissions office to see if they could waive the course-by-course eval requirement for my study abroad coursework since it only converted into 4 courses total at my home univeristy, and they very generously did. 

I ended up getting my money back by filing a complaint with my credit card company...

Hopefully I won't have to deal with WES in the future, but if I do I know that they aren't as big of scammers as all the terrible reviews the internet birthed!

Thanks guys!

[I_mix]

@thetons8785 Glad to know that it was resolved.