Envision EMI
reviews and complaints

I am fully aware the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented but Envision's handling of issuing refunds is unacceptable. The program I enrolled my daughter in was canceled in April. I should not still be waiting on my refund the end of October. I have been reaching out since June. I was told my refund would be issued in August. August came and went. I reached out again and was told my refund would be issued in September. We are now towards the end of October and I still have not received my refund.

My daughter was scheduled to attend the June 12 session at Johns H. Due to the pandemic, I called to cancel in April and was told I should wait for the program to be cancelled to avoid paying a cancellation fee. I called back on May 1st to cancel and request a refund and was told refunds would be processed the end of July. When I didn't receive the refund in July, I was told it would be processed by the end of August. It is now September and I still don't have my refund and I can't get anyone on the phone to provide a status.

We had reserved a space for our daughter to attend a camp this summer. As others have mentioned, we requested a refund in April. We were told it would take 6-8 weeks for the refund, minus their transaction fee of course. No refund came. I called again in early July. I was told that all refund from April would be sent no later than July 31. The exact words were "if you don't have your money by July 31, we've got a problem". I did not receive my refund on July 31. I called again on August 3. I was told all refunds should be sent by the end of the month. I have absolutely zero faith in this company to return my money. Every month, they extend their own timeline. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!

My daughter was accepted to one of EMI's programs, and made her decision to attend based on EMI implying it was affiliated with Rice University. The program was slated for this summer, and we began making tuition payments in January. By April these had totaled more than $2,000. Because of COVID, EMI canceled the program had after inquiring, said they would refund our money, but not until July. When July rolled around and we'd still not received payment, I called EMI and was told payment would be coming "any day, the end of July at the very latest." On July 28 I called again to request payment, and got a recording saying refunds couldn't be processed until the end of August. My patience had run out. I spoke to a man at EMI who told me he wasn't authorized to return our payment. He refused to give me a phone number for a manager there. After this conversation I looked up EMI here at the Complaintsboard.com and saw dozens of complaints from people like me who were refused refunds until Complaintsboard.com interceded, and then got their money back. I'd paid via VISA, and now they are investigating EMI. I would urge anyone to stay away from this outfit. Even while they are stiff-arming people over refunds, they're collecting money for upcoming classes and events. I wonder if Rice University is aware of EMI's activities and how it effects their reputation.

Our daughter was nominated from her school to attend jrnylc this summer in Washington DC. We paid the deposit, filled out all the paperwork. Due to the corona virus pandemic and June only being 3 months away and this pandemic worsening by the day. Countries closing down, flights canceled everywhere. Professional sporting events cancelled or postponed. Major universities, and other local schools closing, businesses placing travel bans for employees. Even Disneyland closed and so much more. We politely asked for our deposit back and they said they would defer her placement until next year. My daughter's health condition is so much more important to me then sending her to Washington DC. My husband proceeded to contact envision and without any hesitation they denied our refund we requested. This is dishonest. Their actions are complete opposite of what they proclaim to teach our children of the future. They have low moral character, they are dishonest, they lack integrity. There are children potentially coming from all over the world, if there country has not already been banned from flying. We did not renege on our part of the agreement; however, as a parent it is our obligation to protect our children at all costs. This company clearly cares so much more about the money than our children's health! $499.99 is an awful low price to sell your reputation, your history, your integrity and legacy! If I could give 0 stars, that is what they deserve! They basically stole our money...that makes them thieves. I could see if we were cancelling just to cancel, but this is an INTERNATION CRISIS! PANDEMIC! An airborne disease that you wont even know you have until 5-7 days later. I am so happy we did not give them the remainder balance for the conference stay that we started to pay the day the news broke with the announcement of the coronavirus becoming a pandemic! This pandemic is said to continue for at least 4-6 more months. This is just the beginning. If you are a parent that also cancelled or plan on cancelling this event and want your refund, please stand with us. #iwantmyrefunjrnylc

I wish I could give zero stars because that is what this corporation deserves. My daughter was supposed to go to the Business Innovations trip in July . With COVID hitting and spreading like wildfire and turning into a global pandemic we tried cancelling the trip in late March. I was promptly told that if I cancelled I would not receive any refund because THEY hadn't cancelled the trip. I was told that their own medical team was monitoring the situation and would determine at a later date if it was safe to continue or not. Fast forward to April when things were not getting better but actually getting worse I received and email with options for cancelling. The main options were: move your trip to next summer and pay the 2020 price, pick another program for the 2020 summer or transfer your money you have paid to another student. None of these options worked for us since my daughter is a Senior this school year and will be heading off to college next summer so we opted to have a representative call us to discuss the options we had. After some back and forth with this representative she reluctantly cancelled my daughters trip and said we would receive a refund but it could take UP TO July to receive it. I called several times including in early July when a manager actually called me back and assured me that I would have our refund by the END of July. It is August 3 and I have still not received a refund. I called today and there is now an automated message stating all refunds will now be issued by the end of August. I am supposedly going to have a manager call me back today since I was assured by a manager that my refund would be issued by the end of July. Each time I get the same excuse that since they are an international company they are having to issue a massive amount of refunds. I understand that but I requested a refund in April and was told it would be issued by the end of July which did not happen and now I am being told that it won't be issued until the end of August. As far as I am concerned this screams scam, it's horrible business practice. I will update if I hear from a manager and more importantly IF I receive a refund from them.

My daughter was excited to go to this camp. She paid for it herself but when she got there it was not what the invite said it would be. She was suppose to be in forensic science but she was put into med. It is even on her online profile that she was suppose to be in forensic science. None of the groups had the supplies they were suppose to have so they sat around and did nothing most of the time. She paid almost $3,000 for this experience and they only wanted to give us back our full refund fee or 50% on another visit. I called the day I got the email 7/7/23 to discuss that those options weren’t very accommodating for the price she paid. Erica is who I was talking to and she filed a case said she’d get back to me before the deadline to choose one of their options. Never heard back. I called again got someone else they said our case had been closed. I asked to speak to Erika and they said she’s working on other things she will call you back. To this day I haven’t heard back from anyone.

Hello,

I am reaching out to you in the hopes that you can assist me in receiving a refund for the $799 I paid to enroll my son in the medical program with Envision.

I was assured by a representative that if my son did not attend, I would receive a refund. Despite being put on a payment plan, I was confident that this would not be an issue. Unfortunately, just before I was going to pay in full, I received an email informing me that the program was canceled and my son's spot was given to another student on the waiting list. As a result, my son did not incur any fees or costs.

As we researched Envision and the medical program further, my son uncovered multiple negative reviews, including a concerning incident where a student was hospitalized without any support from Envision. My son made the final decision not to attend, and I relayed this information to Envision. However, they informed me that I would not be refunded as initially promised.

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter, as I believe I justifiably deserve a refund for the amount I paid. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

I enrolled my son in the National Youth Leadership Form in Healthcare scheduled for July 2022. I have reached out twice to getter better clarity on the program that is marketed as a very prestigious opporunity and that my son was nominated for. I have been told conflicting information that gives me GREAT pause about leaving him with them for 9 days. The COVID protocol has been updated and now I am being told I may not be able to accompany him when he is registered or settled into room. Since these are new updates to the program, I believe the terms of what we mutually agreed to are invalid and I also believe I was greatly misled in my decision to enroll our son. I have repeatedly asked for a refund in light of my concerns...and just told that they can only refund the souvenir photo and *** credits. Clearly that is not fair considering they will fill his spot immediately. I have asked for someone in management to review and I was told that was not possible. I am seeking more assistance before I am charged the final $933.75 on 6/1/2022.

Our daughter was scheduled to attend the 2020 Summer program, however due to the pandemic the session was cancelled. We agreed to allow the session to roll over into early summer 2021 session, yet considering the current pandemic still has not subsided and it has placed a financial burden on our family, we reached out December 3 to request a refund. We were told that we wouldn't be refunded any payments made prior to August and it would take up to 60 days to receive the remaining portion made after that date. I requested to speak with a manager to review this matter as that didn't seem fair at all considering they haven't provided services. The manager called and left a message weeks later and I returned his call and left a message, to receive no response. I reached out yesterday inquiring on my refund status and was told the manager would give me a call. As of this moment, we have not received a call back from the manager nor received any refund amount.We trusted this company, please do not waste your funds on this program. The only alternative solution to this matter is to seek legal action.

THIS Company is a fraud. They are quick to collect your money but don't want to refund. My son was enrolled in the 2020 programme . We paid the first installment , our situation changes and we decided not to send him, when I asked for a refund I was told that they cannot refund at the time. When I asked in December I was told to wait in January when they will start emrollment. When I enquire today this was their reply " Thank you for your email. We're sorry to hear that you no longer wish to attend our programs in 2021. Unfortunately, since you agreed to the transfer policy and transferred your tuition to 2021, we cannot issue you a refund of your tuition as per our terms and conditions. If you allow us, one suggestion we can make is that you finish your re-enrollment to 2021. Should the programs be cancelled due to COVID-19, we'd work with you with the same options for 2020, a refund of your tuition being one of those. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our Office of Admissions at ***. If you're currently outside the US/Canada, you can reach them at +***. We're available from Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. est." I need my S509.22

I enrolled my daughter in a week program and put a down payment of $1,043.54 on 2/6/22. On 3/15/22 an email was sent regarding Covid requirements that were not in the initial terms of the agreement. They gave options to meet the vaccination requirements, transfer to a different program, transfer enrollment to 2023, or to be contacted by one of the admission advisors. I called and they gave me the same options. After speaking with my daughter, none of the options were acceptable so I called back and let them know that regrettably we would have to cancel as she was really set on attending ***, one of the main reasons I agreed to enroll her and also for her to have the experience prior to her high school graduation. They explained that a $499 deposit was not refundable and that I would receive the balance. I explained that had not for the new vaccine requirement, we would have not had to cancel and those were not the terms that I agreed on when I enrolled her. Since the reason for our cancellation was due to terms we did not agree to, I feel we are due a full refund. We would not have enrolled her initially if this requirement was in the agreement. We have not received any of the materials and do not have access to the agreements we signed since it was all online and it is not accessible. I received $405.54 on 6/2/22 and am requesting the balance of $638 be refunded.

I received a very official looking letter saying that my child had been selected for an exclusive trip to Washington DC. The letter was worded in such a was as to give the impression that it was offered by the University of ***. I later learned this is not the case. The letter also listed a number of government officials that my son would meet while there. I learned that this too was misleading. After making the first charge to my credit card, I saw an alarming review online that alerted me that this was not a University program and was actually a private company. I looked over the letter again and found the company name printed in small font in the bottom corner. A search of the company name yielded a large number of complaints and poor reviews, among those was an account of someone who had participated in this event stating that they never got to meet any of the people listed and they actually spent most of their time in a waiting area. Other reviews went on about the rude and overbearing staff which glassdoor reports are routinely working over 100 hours per week. These revelations are why I called Envision and sought a refund of my money. Even though it had been less than 24 hours and the charge was still pending, the Envision representative told me she would not refund my money because it was processed online, (if I had ordered over the phone she would have been required to.) She told me that my only recourse was to dispute the charge with my credit card company.

This company has debited my bank account for $1196 for a program attendance that were canceled for 2019. My granddaughter was interested in attending the program July ; however, she chose to attend another camp. Contact was made with a company representative who informed us the initial $500 could not be reimbursed; however, the second installment of $400 could be reimbursed. We were informed the initial $500 would be used towards her attending in 2020 which we agreed to. We did receive the second installment of $400. Several personal circumstances have occurred in my life, providing care for grandchildren, family death and having to assist with the care of a parent after Hurricane Michael destroyed her home and her being hospitalized from falls. Upon becoming aware that $299 (transaction of $299 from April through July / a final transaction to occur in August) was being taken from my bank account which I never agreed to I contacted the company whose representative Jeffery R stated there was no documentation in their computer system of the conversation with myself, my daughter, and the company representative. It was this representative who informed me that a final transaction of $299 would occur in August. He also stated my granddaughter was considered a no show for the program after they were unable to reach us via telephone; however, there is no receipt of a call being placed to the contact telephone number and because we were going on the agreement my granddaughter would be attending the program in 2020 instead of July .

We had enrolled our child, ***, in an envision week long event at *** University in GA. We had the entire trip almost paid off as required according to the payment plan. The COVID guidelines were updated from when we signed up, saying my child is required to have the covid vaccine to attend. We opted to cancel for a full refund, which is allowed. We called and cancelled on 4/12/2022. We were told the refund will happen in 15 business days. That didnt happen. I called on 5/6/2022, the 18th business day, and was told that the refund was behind but should for sure be issued by 5/13/2022(the 23rd business day.) That still has not happened. I called today, 5/23/22, spoke to Donat M, and was told that when the trip was cancelled, it refund was never requested by the employee cancelling which means it has never been put in queue. She said she is requesting the refund but it will ANOTHER 20 business days. When I asked for it to be escalated since it has already been double the original amount of time at no fault of our own, she refused saying there is no one that can make this happen quicker. I asked if there was a manger or supervisor that can help because this is all due to the neglect of Envision WorldStrides, and was told there is no one who can help. The lack of customer service and lack of responsibility within this company is absurd. They are so quick to take your money but you have to fight with them to get it back. I would like our money refunded immediately. I would also encourage them to find a better way to help client's with refunds because this is awful

Daughter was nominated by a teacher for a summer day-camp program that would take place ~30 min from our home. First off, the invitation is worded to read like this program is endorsed by the school and school system, it is most definitely not! After getting feedback from a couple other parents who had a decent experience in prior years, we signed up. We did read the fine print about a portion of the fee being non-refundable for various extreme reasons, force majeure, etc. Pretty standard stuff for any contract or payment and we knew in the age of Covid, that could be an issue. Never in our dreams did we expect a day camp program to be moved almost 2 hours away, but sure enough, that's what they did and now are refusing to refund my entire amount. How do you move a day camper program that far and think its fair to not offer a full refund? There's no force majeure, no covid restrictions, and there are plenty of other facilities in the same area to hold the camp. I feel I was bait and switched. Furthermore, we were told we'd receive our partial refund in 10-14 days. I called on day 14 after receiving nothing, and was told it would deposit that day or the following Monday. Its currently day 18, the following Wednesday, still nothing, and when I called again they just tell me its processing. When you ask to speak to someone else, they tell you that's not possible and there is no one else to speak to. They took my number and offered to have someone call me to set up a meeting with a Manager, 5 days later and still no call. Its just stonewall after stonewall, excuse after excuse. I've received no refund after they chose to move a day camp program 2 hours from the advertised location, and at this point I'm doubting I'll ever see my money.

I enrolled my daughter into the *** Pathways to STEM program with Envision by *** on January 16th, 2022 for the sum of $2,495.00. A one week educational camp at the University of ***, 6 hours from home. Within hours of signing up, I learned disturbing information about the organization and the potential danger to my daughter (10 yrs old) from last minute venue changes, i.e. from the secure environment of a university to a hotel and irresponsible chaperones and counselors. Since this occurred over the MLK weekend, the credit card transaction had not yet completed by Tuesday morning when I called to cancel. I called Envision ***) on 01/18/2022 09:53 am. I spoke with *** and told him that I did not feel comfortable with sending my daughter to the program and explained about the numerous reviews that had came to my attention. He told me that there was a $499 non-refundable fee (other documentation shows $450). While it does say that on their website, I believe it to be unreasonable for Envision to retain those funds since the money had not completed the transaction and no services were rendered at the time of the requested cancellation. *** told me that someone would call me within 48 hours. The call wasn't made. On 01/21/2022 04:06 pm I called and spoke with *** and reiterated what I had told *** on the previous call; that I believe I am entitled to a full refund due to the fact that no services were rendered by Envision. She told me that the money would be returned in 7 to 10 days minus the $499. I told her that since they didn't return my call that I had no confidence that they would get the money back to me within the stated time frame. Their non-refundable amount of $499 is unreasonable, disproportionate and excessive to the point of being penalizing in nature.

Our child was nominated by his teacher at school for a STEM camp that is arranged by Envision at a in-state University. They require you to respond over the web or over the phone to accept the invitation to the program. They send you a nice looking letter in the mail once you are nominated, and I almost mistook it for junk-mail from the way it was packaged. The way the letter is written though, it makes you think this is a high honor for your child and that they were chosen out of thousands of kids to even have the opportunity to attend this camp. So my wife called and reserved his spot, which they also say the spots go fast, and she was read the terms and conditions over the phone. During which she was read the terms, she asked specifically about being able to cancel. The lady on the phone was very vague with her answers, but assured my wife that she could cancel but if anything she would only loose $50 out of the $499 deposit that we paid depending on the reason for the cancellation. Now fast forward a couple of weeks, and we call Envision to cancel and we are being told that the entire deposit is non-refundable. We were told arrangements were already being made for our child and money paid. We are only 10 days out from paying the deposit, and the camp is not until June. I find it hard to believe that $499 has already been spent on arrangements after just 11 days. I also have failed to find any policy on the company's website that states that the $499 deposit is non-refundable. Not to mention that the person on the phone was asked many questions about canceling and never once said that $499 was non-refundable. The website states under the deposit information, "*$450 deposit plus one-time $49 deposit fee Includes a $10 installment fee per payment; amounts may vary based on the selection of session, optional items, and date in which you enroll". Then if you look under their website's listed "terms and conditions", no where does it state anything about deposits.

My child was nominated by her teacher for the STEM summer camp program through Envision. I accepted the invitation online so that I could reserve a spot for her because according to them the spots get filled really quickly. At the same time, I reviewed all their policies and call the office in Virginia to speak with someone about my concerns. All my questions were answered and I felt very confident about signing her up. During my call, before sign-in up online, I asked about their cancellation policy and I was told that if I needed to cancel it would not be an issue as long as the program had not started. I was told about payment options and since I did not have all the money at once, I opted for the payment plan which required a downpayment of $499. The same customer service representative informed me that if I had to cancel I would only loose $50 out of the $499 deposit that we paid depending on the reason for the cancellation. Now here we are 10 days after signing my daughter up a family member has been diagnosed with a termina illness and we will traveling out of the country for the entire summer. I just got off the phone with Envision to cancel and I am being told that the entire deposit is non-refundable. I'm being told that arrangements were already being made for our child and money paid. We are only 11 days out from paying the deposit, and the camp is not until the end of July -- four months away. I find it difficult to believe that $499 has already been spent on arrangements after just 10 days. I also have failed to find any policy on the company's website that states that the $499 deposit is non-refundable. Not to mention that the person on the phone was asked many questions about canceling and never mentioned that the deposit was non-refundable. The website states under the deposit information, "*$450 deposit plus one-time $49 deposit fee Includes a $10 installment fee per payment; amounts may vary based on the selection of session, optional items, and date in which you enroll". Then if you look under their website's listed "terms and conditions", no where does it state anything about deposits.

We paid Envision $2,356 for our son to go to an engineering camp this summer at ***. In April we were notified that the trip was cancelled due to COVID-19, but we wouldn't get our money back until "approximately late July ", according to the email from Nicci at Envision on April 16th. I have asked Nicci and Reggie for a refund immediately given that no service was provided. Reggie told me that Envision has scheduled all of their payments to be refunded in July because they have to get my money back from the university first. I am left to assume that Envision relies on their customer payments (my money) to float much of their operating expenses, doesn't have cash reserves, and/or the ability to get a short term business loans to pay customers timely (hard to imagine banks not lending in this pandemic environment where the government gave out billions in emergency loan), even after Envision tells the customer they will not be able to provide the service the customer paid for months ago. Although, I'm not sure how they managed to pay back the other people that posted complaints on this web site, but not me. They are obviously a very risky business to buy from if they don't have the funds, or the credit backing of their own bank for a short term loan to pay back their customers (families) immediately. Envision and their banks know they will be paid by the Universities. During this difficult economic time, instead of consumers having that money back in their family budget because they aren't getting the services paid for, Envision has decided they would rather have the money in their business budget. I would never do business with this company again, as I don't believe they do the right thing for their customer. I should have received my money back in April. My personal income is suffering during this pandemic and $2,356 is a lot of money. Additionally, the phone number for the agent that was emailing me isn't working, the phone number for the manager that left me a voice mail is no longer in service, the phone number on the web site wasn't working, and had to find a number on *** to reach someone, that ultimately refused to give me contact information for someone that could make a decision.