Complaint Review: Infosec Institute

 I have been out of work for almost a year, and am trying to retrain in the voice over Internet protocol world. I passed my CCNA in February 2013. In August 2014, I attended the Cisco voice certification class (640-461) and was told by the Infosec representative that they had a 98% pass rate and that I would be taking the exam at the end of the week. The course cost was $3399.00, plus my travel expenses from Kansas City to Dulles Virginia (approximately, an additional $900.00). The instructor spoke terrible English, and did not know the guidelines that were told to me regarding taking the exam and the pass rate. I was the only student in attendance (which I was told there would be three or four others), and there were only four students online (one of which dropped out immediately). Two of those students did not receive their lab equipment until midweek during the class. Nobody took the exam at the end of the week and to my knowledge, no one has passed the exam at this point. I was also told that if I did not pass the exam, I would be allowed retake course at no charge.

I was scheduled to retake the class in October 2014 but, it was canceled at the last minute. I was then told I would have to wait until after the first of the year (2015). They now tell me they are not going to offer this class in 2015. Sales director, Cathy Clewlow offered me an alternative course that would cost them $200 through another online training center. This was not live training, there were no labs, and I could purchase that type of training from eBay on a DVD for approximately $50. This was not the type of training I purchased for $3399.00. When I told her I wanted a refund so I could get the training I paid for elsewhere, her comment to me was “we don’t do that!”, and she abruptly hung up on me. I then followed up with an email to Cathy telling her I expect to receive my refund immediately. She has not responded. As of writing this February 9, 2015, I still have not heard from anyone and remain unemployed. Infosec completely misrepresented the type of training I received, and did not live up to any of the promises they made. They do not care about the quality of instruction they provide, and only want to get your money. Beware of this organization!