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American School of Real Estate Express, LLC Real Estate Express, LLC They will blame you when there is a problem...then take your money! Internet
I signed up with Real Estate Express to get my Florida Real Estate License (63 hour Pre-Licensing Course). I should of signed up with a local RE school, but was trying to be "cost effective" and signed up for their online course.
While taking their practice quiz on the second module I continued to receive the same failing grade for the quiz. I tried taking the quiz several times using different answers and continued to receive the same score. I contacted their customer service and they walked me threw different internet options, thinking that it may be my browser.
I took the quiz 3 more times and the same results and wasted 5 hours taken the same quiz. I asked for a refund and received this email from their Chief Admin - Tami Davis:
"I just logged into your account, took the unit 2 quiz and passed the first time. Evidently online is not for you. We have over 1500 active people taking the FL Pre license course with no problems. I will process a refund less the admin fee. You will receive an email confirmation when it is processed next week."
I received the refund today, I paid $134 for their online course and received $84 refund, and they kept $50 for an admin fee. I am happy I no longer I have to deal with a company that blames their customers and NEVER takes responsibility for their short comings.
My issue with Real Estate Express (American School of Real Estate Express, LLC), is that they NEVER offered me any other options (example: CD, RE Book, etc), instead blamed me for the issue and stole an admin fee with no further explanation. Clearly I passed the first module with no problems, but because of time constraints and the online issue I had with the 2nd module quiz, I asked for a refund from the online school. The American School of Real Estate Express, LLC has some real customer service issues, but I would like a full refund so that I may continue with another RE school.
If I can warn one potential client from using this company-please do not use this national company for your licensing requirements. If there is a problem they will blame you and then take your money for talking with them when there is a problem. NEVER AGAIN - This Company is a joke! You have been warned!
6 Updates & Rebuttals
P.C.
Singer Island,Florida,
USA
YOU get out of It what YOU put into it !!
#7Consumer Comment
Sat, May 30, 2015
I also went through Real Estate Express. There is nothing wrong with their program. What was stated by the company is acurate. Some people are not good canidates for online. If you are not highly disiplined or test well you need to go sit in a school.
It took me quite some time to work through this program and prepare for the state test that I passed 1st try. If you take this program, take it serious. and yes you might have to go through the prep, many times. Their tests are so hard so they make sure you are ready to take the state test. That's how they offer their guarantees in many of the states. and most people who take the state tests do not pass the first time( in general not from this program)
In North Carolina you have to sit in a classroom, which with my schedule found it to be very inconvenient. You do tend to learn more in the classrom provided they are good teachers which Bill Trull of Cumbie & Trull definately is. His pretest to move on for the state was extremely tough also and I barely passed on the first try, but I did and it made the state test in NC seem like a piece of cake when I took it.
The beauty of this program is it is inexpensive and it is convenient & I will be going to them for my schooling and test prep for Broker in Florida and also sending my son to them.
By the way, they were very generous to give you back $84 of the cost, honestly you didn't deserve any of it back. It amazes me how many people do not take responsibility for themselves and blame everyone else!
Natalie
new port richy,Florida,
Good experience
#7Consumer Comment
Wed, December 04, 2013
I am surprised to learn of these complaints against Real Estate Express as I completed their program approx. two weeks ago and am currently still using the materials they provided to study for my state exam. Concerning unit review questions, frequently questionas are asked which were not covered in the online unit review notes but were covered in the provided e-book or in the state law itself. At the start of each online unit, it is distinctly stated which corresponding provided e-book chapters as well as state laws the student should study which correspond with the particular online unit review. It is simple and straight forward. The online unit reviews are just that,,,, reviews! ... such as one would receive in any classroom situation by an instructor covering the most important highlights of a chapter.
I was a bit lazy at times, preferring to only study the review notes while ignoring the e-books and avoiding studying the state law in detail. My laziness went directly against the recommendations of Real Estate Express school which specifically tells each student the online units are not comprehensive and that further study of the e-book as well as state law is highy recommened. They go as far as to state that the probablities of passing the class and state exam based on the online unit notes alone are not high. What more could they say?
At some point late into my studies, I finally decided to study the e-book chapters as well as review the state law as was recommended by the school before I took the class exam. I have to say, I was surprised at how difficult the class exam was. I did pass... howvever, I then fully understood the necessity to really study the e-book chapters in depth as well as pay a great deal of attention to the written law. Meanwhile, the school also offers online tutors to help with any questions one may have... not that my laziness ever took advantage of that.. but I will now for the state exam.
I had decided to take an online class because I could not afford the time off to take a "real life" class. There, so far,has been about two times I had problems logging in and that was probably due to some internet connection crisis of my own, a browser freak-out or maybe thier system was down for a few hours for maintanence. Well, welcome to the internet!... It happens sometimes!
I am satisfied with my experience and the only recomendation I would give the school would be to make it even more clear how difficult the class exam actually is ... as the online unit exams were easier than the actual class exam. Meanwhile, the e-book chapter exams were more difficult than the online unit exams but the final exam was alot tougher than any of them. (however, I am certain I would not hold hold this perception if I had actualy prepared for the class exam as recommened by the school by thoroughly studying the e-book and state law to begin with!!!!Also... I would recommend that practice "final exams" be given. In general, my experience was certainly satisfactory and I would recommend the course to others as I already have.
A ripoff?.. no. Great value for one's money?.. yes. Does the course require self dicipline? Yes. Is it prone to internet, browser and computer hiccups? Yes.. as is everything online.
It must be said however, in business, there will always be clients who have problems using a product no matter how great the product is. In an online business there are always customers who have problems dealing with the specific platform, structure ect a business utilizes. It is my experience, an unsatisfied customer, especially on the onset of his/her experience (unit two of 20 as described above by an unsatisfied customer) will be most cooperative within a conflict if it is handled within the scope of that customer's experience. Witholding $50 for administrative fees certainly could not be worth the huge, public complaint the particular customer generated. I would hope the school corrected this situation. In general, again, this school delivered what it promised and more. I am surprised to read these reports. I can understand complaints, however, reducing complaints of this school to a "rip-off" site is something I can not agree with.
norelco
United States of AmericaLearn from us, save your money
#7Consumer Comment
Fri, November 02, 2012
I bought the Real Estate Express course.
The rep I spoke to on before ordering said the program is guaranteed and gave a total if I used a discount code. After purchase the buyer finds out that the discount makes the guarantee void. That should be made clear or the guarantee should not be part of the sales pitch.
The course is written in horrible grammar, syntax errors by the page, run-on sentences, ambiguous sentence structures. Yet, one of their no-author-badly-writen own website reviews claims it's "one of the best well-written,...online lecture" if that's the case, I'd hate to see the mediocre ones.
The quizzes ask about material which was never covered in the unit. I could give examples. So as you take the quizzes you're left guessing no matter how good your study habits are and how well you review and understand the material. You could ask an instructor via email to explain the reason why you're being asked facts that weren't covered in the unit even dispute your answers and ask for a grade change, but because you get your answers a day or two later, the immediacy of the internet is reverted back to the speed of a homing pigeon by Real Estate Express. Everyone should also know that you can't move from one section to the next until you've finished the current section, which will put you in a delay if you're waiting for instructor responses. It's pretty discouraging. They're going to ask something they didn't cover and they are going to ask questions in inaccurate confusing grammar.
You can't keep your quizzes for review. Any other school turns quizzes back to students to study. I've been taking screen shots, so I can discuss the unfounded questions and pidgeon English of the quizzes with the instructor and review.
When you email customer support they tend to sweep your issue under the rug. You'll get a very polite "live with it".
jlorraine
Florida,United States of America
Thank you Real Estate Express!
#7Consumer Comment
Fri, August 12, 2011
I used Real Estate Express / American School of Real Estate back in 2006 to obtain my Salesperson license. I used it also for all of my designations as well as CE classes. I am now getting ready to use them for my Broker's courses. I will admit that the Pre-Licensing course did not fully prepare me for the State exam that I took. I found that the questions were completely different than what I was expecting. However, I did pass on the first try and was overall very pleased with that.
I can understand your frustration but there must have been some other problem. I would have tried using an alternative computer since it worked just fine when they logged into your account. However, they are very clear that there are no refunds. If they allowed refunds then everyone would be taking their courses for free!
I continue to refer this company to friends that are interested in obtaining their license. My only complaint: I wish they would send me coupon codes so that I can save money! I keep using them and referring them, I think I have made them quite a bit of money by now! I would like to get a discount! =)
jland
Florida,United States of America
They talk out of both sides of their neck!
#7Author of original report
Wed, July 14, 2010
The point is instead of continuing to waste your time trying to justified why you think you deserve the monies, you should be doing the right thing and refunding the whole amount. It does not matter how many satified customers you have, this customer is not! You are taking monies from hard working people like myself that are just trying to get ahead.
If it takes me venting my fustrations about Real Estate Express to every forum, blog, board, and social network to deter one person from using your company then it was worth the money you took from me!
A word of advise for anyone considering using American School of Real Estate Express, LLC for your Real Estate studies. Use a company that does business in the state you reside in - support your local economy. That way you will not have to deal with a company that steals your money, pulls your chain and then talks out of both sides of their neck when dealing with them.
You've been warned - Buyer Beware!
AccountableTruth
St. Louis,Missouri,
USA
Two Sides to Every Story - See for yourself
#7UPDATE Employee
Sun, July 11, 2010
Joe contacted us with the issue he described with the quiz. We sent several replies to him via email, with suggestions on how to deal with the problem. I do not know that he even tried the suggestions we provided. He emailed back that he was done and wanted a refund.
The problem Joe is describing is very common. However, it's a user issue. When a quiz is graded, it lists two columns - one has the correct answer and the other column has the wrong answer. The columns are labeled. However, customer's often confuse the two columns. They look at the wrong column - think it's the right column and enter their wrong answers in twice - or more. This is easily corrected by reading the questions and columns and following our recommendations.
If someone comes back a third time with the same issue, we assume there my be a problem. We go into their account and try to recreate the error. Sometimes there is an error. We then address the error. In this case however, it worked perfectly. I tried several times, but was able to pass this quiz he took six times - the first time through. I could not recreate this problem in any browser under any circumstances I could recreate.
Online courses aren't for everyone. And some are simply frustrated the more they try to continue.
I felt this was the case with Joe. He was not willing to try and resolve the issue. So, per the cancellation policy he viewed prior to purchase, on the course syllabus and on the course orientation he had to agree to prior to entering the course, I refunded his money.
Joe also filed a complaint with the BBB. Please go to the BBB website and view the result. View our A+ rating as well as anything filed concerning our company and the results of those filed complaints, including Joes. http://www.bbb.org/stlouis/business-reviews/schools-business-and-vocational/american-school-of-real-estate-express-in-saint-louis-mo-310039067
We do take responsibility for our short-comings. Feel free to contact us at any time.