Before enrolling back in the Fall of 2005 in Allied Business Schools, Inc. I closely read their advertisement and enrollment paperwork, and talked to their student counselor about their promises of cutting edge vocational training in Medical Coding & Billing and of a personalized student support Advisor. I was assured that their materials and textbooks were high quality, up-to-date, and user friendly. It was a pack of lies.
As I studied I was gravely concerned to note numerous factual errors between the statements in the textbooks and the statements in Allied's accompanying materials and weekly quizzes.
When I talked to my Advisor I was assured that these "minor discrepancies" were "insignificant" and was told to "stop trying so hard", and to "focus instead on the general sense of the coursework".
My concerns grew the further I proceeded in the course as I read numerous references in the textbooks to future legislation changes, medical billing procedure changes, and medical coding changes to take place. The only problem was that this "future" the textbook kept referencing had already passed several years previously!!
Again I called my Advisor only to be told this time that Allied was "aware of the problem" and that a new, up-to-date textbook was "in the works to be published next year".
NEXT year?!? Then why on earth was I learning obsolete material?
My Advisor told me that I could go to an outside source to purchase and study the updates after completion of the course if I felt it might benefit me.
They, of course, felt no necessity to provide it for me.
Determined to succeed despite such obstacles I kept studying. My graded quizzes began being returned to me several weeks late and out of order: week four arrived in the mail, then week two, then week five... and some of them were marked Failure to Pass so I double-checked them for errors but found none.
Confused, I called my Advisor yet again who also was puzzled on looking at the original graded quizzes and verified that ALL of my answers were indeed correct. My Advisor called me back later after some investigation and light heartedly passed off the incorrect grading incidents as the "over enthusiasm" of a newly hired grader.
Oh really?
I asked just what were the qualifications Allied required of these graders? My Advisor answered that it "wasn't appropriate to go into that? with me. When I asked why not my Advisor would not discuss the issue further but stated that from now on someone else would be assigned to grade my work.
I became further alarmed at the quality issues of my studies when the material began to reference yet another book and to require coursework from it.
I contacted my Advisor and was told to "ignore" any work requiring use of that particular book as Allied no longer required or provided it. I specifically asked if material from this missing book was included in the Mid-term or Final exams and was assured that it was not.
It came time to take the Mid-Term and sure enough there were questions relating to information that could only be known if the missing book had been studied. I called my Advisor and challenged this issue but was told to "just do the best to answer the questions using logic".
Excuse me? I thought I was studying to be a medical biller & coder, not a psychic!!
Doubtless, like others swindled by this company, I was sold the idea that this course would make me hotly employable anywhere. It is not true. Allied Business School courses are sub-standard, out-dated, unprofessional, and an absolute SCAM.
Fighting Back
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.