Ashworth College ripoff Norcross Georgia

I went to Ashworth from 2007-2008. I receive my diploma in Medical and Dental Office assisting. I was able to abtain a job as a federal contractee at a federal prison in Honolulu,Hi (my husband was stationed at Hickam AFB at the time). It paid $18.00 an hour. I was a Dental Assistant. I was also able to have a job as a Medical office assisting at a larger Hospital in Hawaii(Queens Medical Center). This job paid $10.00 an hour. So for anyone who says employers dont' take online degrees/ diplomas serious, I would have to disagree. What people dont understand is that online degree or more popular then Brick and Mortar schools now a days. Its just the way of the future. Why do you think traditional school are offer complete degrees online. Its because they are losing money to online schools. I understand everyone is different. And don't think I have something against traditional school. I received my Associate degree from Chaminade University of Honolulu, and I'm currently wroking on my BS in management from the same school. This was just my personal experience with Ashworth.

I recently found out that I have been sent to collections by Ashworth Collage; who owns P.C.D.I. and James Madison High School for an account I never had.

I called them up and was told that I have not one but 5 open accounts with them all in a state I dont reside in and they would not remove this fraudulent information from my credit file until I paid even though I have never taken any of their courses; let alone any other such program. I earned my education in the class room not on the internet!

In fact I wasnt even in the country when I supposedly signed up for these courses; I was serving in Iraq! I asked them to provide proof that I so much as applied for their class or to show me my signature on a contract and they could not. The representative only stated that they dont need a signature or a contract to bill someone for their classes. Plain and simple if they cant prove that I have ever had a contract with them they have no legal leg to stand on to bill me or to place me in collections.

After a search on the internet I found many others with the same situation I am in; being billed and placed into collections for classes they never took. I will be contacting an attorney to see about starting a class action law suit against these crooks; anyone interested please send an email to serevice@bailenforcer.org and also take a few moments to visit the GA Attorney General Consumer Affairs website and file a complaint against them. That site is

http://consumer.georgia.gov/02/oca/home/0,2471,5426814,00.html

I was very close to finishing my degree (just a course away) and then they shut down my access to the student portal, I tried calling would be put on hold for 30 minutes, disconnected, called again to be put on hold for another 30 minutes and then disconnected, didn't receive my proctor exams or remaining 1 or 2 courses, would not respond to emails or letters. I even stopped receiving bills and when I did get a hold of someone, was told to pay through the student portal. I then told them, I've been locked out and they said your account is closed so you need to speak to the system administrator to reinstate. So needless to say, tried to contact them and no luck...

Since, I could not even get a bill to start some type a complaint against Ashworth. I started to do some more research and it was unbelievable how many people were getting ripped off from Ashworth. Everything was pretty much along the same guidelines...I also learned from other colleges that Ashworth would not transfer credits AND employers would not accept their degrees because in fact Ashworth was not accredited.

Try to get your transcripts and you will also see that is impossible!! So, I have been advised to contact Department of Education.

I really think a class action should be started on Ashworth College and I would definitely sign up!!

I received my associates degree from Ashworth and I have had no problems with It The U.s. Navy accepted( I received higher payer, rank etc.) I also transfered my credits to a Regional Accredited College They accepted with no problem the only thing is that they only accepted 75% value for each credit. Now I'm on my way to receive my bachelors from a RA Accredited college all thanks to Ashworth.

Just because you get a degree of WHATEVER type in this economy doesn't guarantee you a THING! It sure won't guarantee you a job.
I know because after ten years, I have a relative who was suddenly forced out into the job market and that hard-earned bachelor's degree which WAS FROM AN ACCREDITED STATE UNIVERSITY and all those honor societies and high grade point average didn't mean JACK.

IT IS ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW MORE THAN WHAT YOU KNOW.
To be good at a job, it takes a lot of time on that job and on the job training for that specific job unless it is related to MEDICINE!

You should have checked with whoever licenses institutions of higher learning in your state to see if this was an ACCREDITED SCHOOL or not.
Or go to an established mortar and bricks university in your area and see who accredits them. Then, check and see BEFORE you enroll in a school whether or not the credits will transfer.

Back in the 1980s, there were some trade schools whose sole reason to exist was to take money from students --usually in the form of student loans --- in exchange for teaching you a trade which was about to become obsolete or one in which you would never get a job. My female cousin almost fell prey to a scam like that when she found out that the school was getting a percentage from referring the students to a financial institution when they got the students to take our the loans to finance their educations there. The interest rates kept going up so high that even if they had gotten a job in whatever it was they trained for, they would never have paid off the loan! Sweet! Permanent income for the school and the lender and BAD news for the student. In fact, these crooks had authorization to take your SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS,INCOME TAX REFUNDS AND ANY INCOME YOU MIGHT GET!
Another one of my cousins got a Master's Degree but never was able to get a job that paid more than minimum wage! Discrimination? Prejudice? Job market in a Recession? I don't know why.

I am very leery of any education even though I am pursuing a LAW DEGREE.

It seems like to me it is a roll of the dice not to mention the state of the national economy as to whether or not that degree is going to help you get a better job or not WHETHER OR NOT THE SCHOOL IS ONLINE AND WHATEVER THEY ARE PURPORTING TO TEACH YOU...

I HAVE ALSO FOUND OUT IT IS WHO YOU KNOW AND NOT NECESSARILY WHAT YOU KNOW WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING A JOB!

Maybe I am wrong or cynical... I am going to try and complete my education because it has been very useful so far. I can't give legal advice but I sure can give some common sense advice and help people avoid mistakes!

Online education is still somewhat new and when you consider that traditional colleges and universities haven't changed in quite a while, it is going to take people a long time to get used to online schools and SOME of them do NOT have GOOD REPUTATIONS.
SOME of them are being sued for promises they made that they can't possibly keep.

You could say the same for the more traditional mortar and bricks institutions because just because you have that degree, doesn't mean that you are going to get that great job!

Right now, I don't think it matters WHERE you get that degree, IF you don't have influential friends or family members where the jobs are, you aren't most likely are not going to get one IN THIS ECONOMY!

I haven't seen it this BAD since Carter was President and there were some times in the Kennedy administration where it wasn't that great either.

Why in the world should you get a refund? The contract does not require Ashworth to do anything more than send you the books and award you a degree or diploma if you complete the requirements. You did so and they don't owe you anything else at this point.

You paid Ashworth for a service, they performed that service, and you don't get your money back.

If a business or school doesn't accept DETC accreditation, that's up to them, but it doesn't mean that you get a refund. It means you either continue your education elsewhere--plenty of regionally accredited institutions will accept a degree from Ashworth, despite what you've been told (try Bellevue University) or find an employer who will accept it.

Hello, my name is Angela and I am also a victim of PCDI, Ashworth. I've contacted them and the DETC about a refund for their services, I am still waiting on a reply from the DETC, if my needs are not met my families Attorney will see about filing suit against Ashworth, PCDI. Since so many others are going through this same situation, we are in talks to make this a class action lawsuit. Also our local news station has a segment called 7 on your side. I encourage you to write and call you station and tip them off about Ashworth PCDI so others will not invest their hard earned money into this fraud that they call a college.
If you may be interested in joining a class action lawsuit you can e-mail me at (((ROR REDACTED)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I just want to say to everyone who has attended this school that I am truly sorry. I know it must be very frustrating to you all. You spent so much money and time working toward a degree that is useless.

Some one comment that all schools have different requirement and that you should do what ever you need to do to meet the requirement of that school. This is true but this is not the case with transferring credits from Ashworth. The issue at hand is that Asworth/PCDI is not regionally accredited. Without regionally accreditation these people have a useless degree. If they want to further their education at any regionally accredited community college or university, they have to start as freshmen. Most regionally accredited universities and community colleges within the same state have articulation agreements with each other. What this means is, if some one attends the community college and receives an Associates degree then they can, if accepted at the university, come in as a junior because the school has transferred in so many credit hours.
As the young lady mention also, she could not use her degree from Ashworth College to get a job in her field. Most major companies are now requiring that you send in an official transcript from the school that you graduated from or verifying with schools that you did graduate. They are looking to hire individuals that received degrees from regionally accredited schools.
Some one mentioned that must companies do not view online degrees as creditable. This is not the case. Most major regionally accredited universities and Communities College now offer classes online. Some schools have it were you can get your degree by taking all of your classes online.
My only suggest to people is to do your research before hand. Here is a website that list all the regional accreditation agencies. I hope this is helpful. (((ROR REDACTED LINK FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Regardless of what school you are transferring into or attending, you must fulfill their requirements. If this means starting over, do it. If it means the new school will only accept part of your classes completed, do it. Do not let this be a hurdle you cannot overcome. I understand your frustration, but you have to reorganize and get over this hurdle. In whichever educational institution you choose, utilize the academic advisers at the school to help you achieve your career goals. Good Luck!

Is Ashworth an online school? Most employers do not think highly of these schools.

So, basically, you are not interested in contributing to the body of information that potential consumers can use BEFORE making a decision.

Rather, you choose to address individual complaints on an individual basis via an organization that is funded by your membership fees.

Seems like your organization's lack of respect for the consumer and potential student speaks for itself, whether or not the complainants are "held accountable."

Thanks for nuthin'

Professional Career Development Institute is aware of this site and others like it and has chosen not to respond because they do not hold the student accountable who is filing the complaint and they(this site) do not provide any avenue for complaint resolution. If you read more statements on this site you will see where some students have posted favorable remarks about us as well.

Professional Career Development Institute is a member of the Better Business Bureau and settles all disputes and grievances filed with them. We encourage you to visit thier website to review our history for yourself. Keep in mind when you are reviewing our account that we have over 200,000 students enrolled in our programs.

While we consider every complaint seriously, we think you will agree that the overall number of complaints is relatively small. Students may also settle grievances through the Distance Education Training Council (DETC) or The National Department of Education and can be reached at www.detc.org. The NPEC is a state agency that oversees all postsecondary courses and can be reached at nces.ed.gov/npec.

Even though students have these avenues to settle grievances, most often the quickest way is to contact us directly at 1-800-224-7234 or email us at education@pcdi.com and we will do everything we can to settle any issue. We are proud of the programs we offer and have thousands of graduates who have benefited from our program. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Customer Service Dept. Sent 8/1/06