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Report: #602623

Complaint Review: Top Test Prep - Internet

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  • Reported By: Anonymous — Bethesda Maryland United States of America
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  • Top Test Prep 1027 33rd St NW Suite 140 Internet United States of America

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I contacted Top Test Prep to inquire about their test preparation services for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Before contracting the service, I had several phone conversations with Ross Blankenship, according to their website, the founder of the company. In those conversations I emphasized insistently that I was looking for a highly experienced tutor, since I was not a just-out-of-college-client. I expressed that I already had a PhD and an MBA, and that I would not take an inexperienced tutor. I was verbally and in writing promised a tutor at the level that I was expecting. Over the phone I also stated that I would not take two-hour sessions as I was being offered and that I would only take one-hour sessions. Mr. Blankenship and I agreed that I would take one-hour sessions, except for the first session which would be a two-hour session. I also expressed that I was taking the test Oct. 2010, and that I would like to spread the twenty sessions contracted between May and October.

The first tutoring session took place on May 8th. Before starting the session, I asked the tutor when did she take the LSAT. She responded Oct. 2009. Therefore, in a very best case scenario, she only had a 7-month experience tutoring for the test (Top Test Prep claims in its website that all their tutors have taken the test, therefore she could not start tutoring clients before Oct. 2009). Then I asked her what the plan for the 20 sessions was. She could not respond. She looked at some printed pages from the company that apparently described a plan, but after reading the instructions for the first session she said that it was a waist of time to spend the session reading me out loud a printed material from page 4 to 31. I concluded she had not read the material before getting to the tutoring session, that she disagreed on the one she was provided by the company, but that she did not have an alternative one. She was clearly unprepared for the session. She also informed me that she was instructed by Mr. Blankenship that she had to come back the next day for another two-hour session, although that agreement was never made: Mr. Blankenship and I never agreed on having a session the next day, much less a second two-hour session in two consecutive days.

The tutor stated that one of the reasons why she was insisting in two-hour sessions was that she lived far from the city and it was a long drive for her. She also informed me she could only work with me until August, although I made clear that I was taking the test in October and that I wanted to spread the sessions between May and October. She responded that since August, I would not need a tutor. After the session I send an email to Mr. Blankenship requesting my money back, since a series of commitment where broken. Since actually all the agreements were not honored, I felt Mr. Blankenship was running his business in bad faith. I received a call from Mr. Blankenship that same Saturday May 8th. I told him that I would prefer to have a conversation with him on Monday. He insisted. I expressed to him that all the agreements that we made where broken and that I wanted my money back (money that I needed to hire a different service). He said that our contract had a no-money-back- clause and that his only concerned was to see me improving for the test. He kept repeating that phrase without listening to my complaints and concluding that I was experiencing buyer remorse. He became very aggressive and he ended stating that he had no obligation to talk to me and hanged up the phone. Since then, I have not had any contact with a representative from Top Test Prep (today is May 12th, 2010).

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 05/12/2010 12:45 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/top-test-prep/internet/top-test-prep-uses-underqualified-tutors-for-lsat-prepararion-although-promising-experienc-602623. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
3Author
0Consumer
1Employee/Owner

#4 Author of original report

Something Fishy at Top Test Prep

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (USA)

POSTED: Friday, July 16, 2010

At the crux of my complaint against Top Test Prep (TTP) is the promise they made to assigned me a highly experienced tutor for my preparation to the LSAT, as I clearly requested from the start. Doing some research I discovered that the "highly experienced tutor" assigned to me was a 2009 college graduate from The College of William and Mary. How could a 2009 college graduate could be considered, by any strech of the imagination, an experienced tutor?


After over a month working with a tutor from The Princeton Review, I discovered very fast the gigantic difference between a professional tutor and somebody just making some bucks before getting into graduate school. 


The bad faith on the part of TTP is already documented: the Office of the Atttorney General of the State of Maryland assigned a mediator. However, Top Test Prep was unwilling to subject the case to mediation, much less to an arbitration. Why? Because they know that if they go that route, the good faith route, they are going to be force to return the money. They know that their position does not pass the test of a neutral third party.


Stay away from Top Test Prep.   

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#3 Author of original report

President of Top Test Prep Now Goes Against the Client

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (USA)

POSTED: Wednesday, June 09, 2010

You see. This is the style of the company. Pompous rhetoric about what they deliver, poor service, unmet promises, let's-go-against-the-client-policy, even if we have to fictionalized a story and, of course, no refunds (paraphrasing, "we worked so hard in preparing for our client). Well, it was a "mere" 2,000 dollar preparation that did not show in the only session that I had.  

I just hired The Pinceton Review for the same purpose. Preparation for the LSAT. Again, I requested an experienced tutor. What did I get? Somebody with 11 years of experience who is also a trainer for tutors with less expierence. Since the first session it became obvious to me that the tutor knew what she was doing. No pompous rhetorict, a well thought plan, and first class delivery. If that is not all, cheaper than Top Test Prep! That is conducting business in good faith and honoring agreements, which is the minimum that one would expect from a big, medium or small firm.

My advise: if you want to prepare for the LSAT and you happen to live in the Washington DC area, do not consider these crooks (Top Test Prep). Hire an established and serious company like The Princeton Review, because there is a lot at stake in these tests beyond the money.   

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#2 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Individual is Untruthful - This Business is Dedicated and Driven to Help Others

AUTHOR: TheTruth - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
This individual has purported many false claims about our small business. He has taken the liberty to write a lengthy report, while excluding the true facts about our business and what we did to actually help him.  

His report is inaccurate for the following reasons:

Here's the truth.

First, when the individual contacted us to sign-up, he never once mentioned that he was unsure if he wanted to take the actual test.  When someone signs up for a program, they clearly know whether or not they actually plan on taking the actual test.  The individual lied to us about his intentions.  On the one hand, he said he had planned on taking the exam, but within an hour of his first lesson, he said the test would be too difficult.  We are fully aware that tests can be difficult, which is why we help students prepare for the tests.  Our strategies have helped thousands of students get ready for tests by improving their scores and building their confidence.  When an individual is unsure or uncertain as to whether they want to take an exam, we switch to more confidence building strategies.  Instead of allowing us to try this approach, the individual became upset with himself and used our program as a scapegoat for his real problems.  The truth is that we did everything we could to re-assure the individual that he should stick to the plan.  However, instead of being flexible and coming back to the next lesson with new strategies, he immediately became angry and refused to proceed.

Second, the individual has made many false claims about our teachers.  The teacher with whom he worked has helped many students improve their scores.  Everyone of our teachers are trained, have teaching experience, and know the test which they teach.  The day of the teacher's first lesson, she drove to meet the student, and yet this individual arrived almost 20 minutes late to his first lesson.  This individual was agitated with himself, and not with our program.  The teacher showed up on time, and the individual was late.  We ask that every student with whom we work, at the very least, show up on time.  Punctuality is crucial for a successful program.  In this case, the teacher did everything she could to be ready, and yet the student was late and disheveled.  Instead of saying he was late, the individual again, became angry and upset.  Our custom built programs rely in part on the student's ability to show up on time.  If he intends on going to law school, he should be aware that punctuality is a marker of professionalism.  Our teacher was on time and ready to help.

Third, the individual makes inaccurate claims about our scheduling process.  When a student signs up for our program, we know exactly how much time each lesson should be.  It's our job.  We are the professionals.  To make an analogy, it's as if this individual went to visit a doctor and he then tried to diagnose and prescribe his own medicine.  It's not his role - it's the business' role to prescribe the right formula for his success.  We are trained teachers who have worked with enough students on this test and others, so that we know exactly how to make a program successful and improve students' scores.  To suggest, as he does, that we said he would definitely need 2 hour lessons, without having worked with him before, would not be the best approach.  After the first lesson, we receive feedback from the actual tutor and then make an assessment as to whether 2 hour or 3 hour lessons are better.  

Last, this individual received resources, time and energy from our business.  We spent many hours planning a program that would help him succeed.  Yet, his false claims threaten not just our small business, but others as well.  

I want other businesses and consumers to know that we are dedicated to making every program successful.  In this case, our teacher did have the ability and the passion to help him improve his scores, however, his anger and indignation with the actual test which he was preparing for has clouded his judgment about our program.  

We feel bad for any company that has to deal with individuals like this.  

We remain dedicated to improving scores, and if anyone has a question about how successful our programs are, get in touch with us directly to speak with thousands of satisfied clients.

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#1 Author of original report

Top Test Prep Shows No Interest in Solving the Problem

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (USA)

POSTED: Tuesday, June 01, 2010

20 days after filing the report and almost a month after complaining directly to the company, Top Test Prep is missing in action. I have not received calls, letters, etc.

At this point the case is being handled by a mediator from The Office of The Attorney General, State of Maryland.

This is a text-book case that shows how service firms should not deal with a clients issue. This is even more serious than the original wrong doing.     

 

   

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