Educational Funding Company [EFC]
reviews and complaints

I have been in contact with a lady named yetti and efc Tuition had pulled 295$ twice within less than two weeks apart from each other. She informed me that I would have a free month of not paying yet two weeks later another 295$ was pulled again from my bank account. This institution is a scam and they do not have a great crm team and obviously their billing is messed up pretty bad. I will never do business again with efc.

I have attempted to cancel the karate membership for both of my children. I was told when we signed up over two years ago that the contract was binding for 1 year and you can't cancel within that first year. They push a black belt club that provides an extra class per week and belt tests for free. We signed both kids up for black belt club and were never told that there is a 3 year contract. Very deceitful behavior from both the EFC and Rising Sun Karate Academy. I notified the dojo of our desire to cancel which we were instructed to contact EFC. I spoke to EFC who stated they needed to speak with the owner of the studio before canceling and they would call back. They never called me back. I have been contacting the owner of the dojo who states he has no control over the money and the contract and that we need to go through EFC who is not contacting us. I sent a cancelation letter by mail and email to EFC due to EFC ignoring our calls. They responded with that we are in a contract that is for 3 years in length with one finishing in 17 months and the other about 25 months. We weren't told of the contract and I informed EFC the one time I spoke to them that they no longer have permission to charge our debit card which was on July 5 or 6. We were charged by EFC on July 26th ignoring my request. We are disgusted with both companies with their lack of communication, professionalism, and their deceitful practices.

This company charge me monthly on my student loan while the loan was transfer to a different company.I been trying to contact this company but no luck.I need my money back! I was paying for years and years till I found out.ATI is also close down due to all these fraud.I end up paying a lot more for my student loan and get no information about the school. How this [censored] happens ?

Like all of the other reviews for this "company" that I have seen online, this fraudulent company continues to charge me MONTHLY payments for an expired 6 month contract that I had with a nearby gym. This contract expired over a year ago, and I still continue to receive charges to my card- Sometimes multiple charges for $180 per month. This month for examples, they charged my card twice for a total of $360. When you contact the company they say that they show "no record of billing you." Then they pass you around and give you to numerous "people" that are unhelpful, pretend to have no record of you, pretend that they never billed your card, etc. My bank disputes these charges every month, but Educational Funding Company continues to charge me whenever they feel like it, and many times my bank lets it go through. This experience has been a total nightmare. I have no idea how these criminals are able to continue fraudulently taking advantage of people. I recently contacted a lawyer and am currently in the process of filing A Fair Debt Collection Practices and Consumer Fraud lawsuit against them.

Rock Solid Integrity, Trustworthiness and Dependability were the key driving forces of this esteemed establishment for the past 45 years. We at Educational Funding Company pride in ourselves for providing the best possible customer services the industry would offer.

Having said that, at times we too make mistakes, After all we are all human. It is not a crime to make a mistake – the crime is making the same mistake twice ! So please help us to help you.

If you are displeased with the way we have handled your accounts for whatever the reason - please let us know the specifics of the issue in hand – so that we can compose every effort to make your future encounters with Educational Funding Company - a pleasant and successful FIRST TIME – EVERY TIME experiences.

So please be kind enough to let us know the necessary details either by Email [[protected]@efconline.com] or calling us on [protected].

Thank you.

The Educational Funding Company are PURE scam artist at their finest. I go to a martial arts school that uses their services and they're completely incompetent and liars. It has taken me almost 2 weeks to get my tuition refunded and every time I ask they say "Tomorrow". I have called nearly 6 times and the school has even reached out over 4 times. They say they're located in Maryland but you can tell they're outsourcing to India. The customer service reps are unprofessional and will tell you anything to get you off of the phone.

I highly suggest NO ONE use their services as this is not the first incident I've had with EFC. They also make it very hard for you to cancel your membership and will harass you worse than a creditor.

(For Search engine Sake)

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I have been with Educational Funding Company for 14 years . Educational funding Company has been in business for over 40 years . One of the services we provide is tuition billing for Martial Arts . True when we talk about money and payment - it is a very sensitive issue - when the customer refuses to pay . It has been my pleasure to resolve issues on a mutual win win for both parties . Even if the caller is unpleasant we always end on a positive note - to settle the issue and move forward . I believe Good Service is Good Business .
It is our reputation that has made Educational Funding Company premier Martial Arts Consulting and Tuition Billing Company .

At the beginning of November of 2011, my current employment had downsizing and my paycheck took a big hit. I tried reorganizing my finances to be able to pay for my son's martial arts and myself at Bergeron Karate Center (School code 3066) but with a new born on the way and a new place with higher rent, I could not afford it (and since my wife doesn't work, the finances fall on my shoulders). So I informed the owner of the school of my current situation. He informed me that he couldn't cancel my membership since he does not take care of tuition. He mentioned to call Education Funding Company. he gave me a name "Joseph" at [protected] Ext 205 and told me that they won't cancel my membership as it's their bread and butter (his own words) but I should try none the less, in case they can. I contacted this Joseph and I explained my situation to him. He told me that it would be possible to cancel my membership but I had to fax my situation to them. So I did just that, on the 28th of November 2011 at 11:23am, I faxed my situation, explaining that I could no longer financially pay for Martial Arts and was requesting a cancellation. After a month I started getting automated messages from EFC asking me to pay. I was surprised since I had set up for a cancellation. So I called this Joseph(multiple times) once more, and left a message explaining that since everything was cancelled to stop calling and harassing us. A month later he contacted me, left me a message saying he was replying to my multiple messages. So I called him and finally got in touch with him. He explained that it wasn't cancelled and I had to pay, that there was no way to cancel. I explained to him that with the newborn and my financial situation there was no money to give them. He then say "That's ok, You'll be placed in collection and since you can't pay, the issue will be over and done with". That is completely unacceptable, no collection agency will accept "I can't pay" and leave it at that. You mean to tell me that they refuse to cancel my membership, wait almost two months to tell me they wont and then put me in collection to tarnish my name with creditors? This was infuriating. I also told him that I never received any documentation that mentioned anything about the fact that the account was still active and I needed to still pay. They had my old address, so I gave him my new and I told him it didn't really matter because I had moved closer to the school. I told him my address wasn't the reason why I was cancelling but because I can't afford it. So I went to the owner of the school and once again he explain to me that he could do nothing. He even brushed over my concerns about all the complaints about EFC on the net or the fact that they had an F rating with the BBB. He also mentioned that Joseph had called him and said I was cancelling because I had moved and he wanted to find out how far it was. Well the owner said I lived real close to the school...well of course... it's not like I mentioned that to Joseph, ...oh wait, I did. So now this agent from EFC is making me look like a liar to the owner of the school. I simply cannot fathom why this is acceptable. I would understand If my reasons to cancel were flimsy but I CANNOT PAY FOR IT. I AM FINANCIALLY INCAPABLE TO CONTINUE PAYING FOR THIS SERVICE. How hard is it to understand. I keep getting the brush over on both side and neither is willing to help me and both are fine with screwing me out of my money and tarnishing my name. Thank god I had the intelligence to contact my bank on the day I thought I cancelled, to block EFC from taking more money or they would have continued and I would have been royally screwed for a lot of my bills or simply for food for my whole family. No where does it say on your membership that if you are unable to financially pay for the service that you will still be billed or that if you can't pay no matter if you request for a cancellation that you will be put in collection and get your name ruined. What kind of scam company is this? And how is it they are STILL around after all this time of scamming people. I am in financial difficulties as it is, I do not need this mental stress to top it off. I will contact them once more but to inform them that I have reported them to Ripoff and other sites on the net and that if push comes to shove, I'll find a way to get a lawyer because this is clearly unacceptable and I will not be bullied in paying a service I no longer use. If you plan on joining anything that requires a membership, please ask and educate yourself where the tuition goes because if it's Educational Funding Company, this might happen to you. Avoid EFC if you know what's good for you.

Keeping customers happy, ensuring that they come back in the future and encouraging them to sell the merits of my organization to their friends, relatives and colleagues is the aspiration of all of us who are at Educational Funding Company. There are a number of ways to do this and one of the most effective of these is to provide excellent customer service. The primary objective of our customer service is to resolve problems, answer enquiries, grievances and to make the customer's experience of dealing with EFC as easy, clear and smooth as possible. At another level, we also take that as an opportunity to gain insight into the concerns and opinions of customers and a chance to tailor our services per their needs. We try to structure calls from customers as best as we can. Customers often call with a grievance and we allow them to air it in the first instance. Because, we know courtesy costs nothing and will go a long way in building up a sound and long-term relationship. Once this is done, we take the opportunity to seize control of the direction of the conversation. We try to break the problem down into specific points and summarize these back to the caller to clarify the exact nature of the complaint and to show that we are aware of what the problems are and have a near perfect solution to them.
This is easier said than done. Starting and maintaining a good relationship with customers can be a difficult task but once you get the basics right, it can make the difference between the success and failure of our business. We firmly believe all of us who are here at Educational Funding Company would go that extra mile to make sure the customer always leaves us with a pleasant experience.

Beware of this company, they'll never cancell the charges to your credit card.
My kids stopped taking classes in Kuk Sool Won, Brownsville since february 2011. I asked to stop the charges to my card, and 3 months later, they still keep charging my card. This company is run by NICHOLAS COKINOS (EXT 222)/OWNER 2) JOHN COKINOS (EXT 221)/PRESIDENT 3) MARK COKINOS (EXT 219)/VICE-PRESIDENT 4) NED MUFFLEY (EXT 238)/GENERAL MANAGER. Just google Educational Financial Company, and you'll see the ammount of complaints they have, everywhere. They have an "F" in the BBB website.

If you're going to call them, always dial these person's extention. Never speack with the "account representatives" as they will keep you in the runaround.

Important: http://www.merareview.com/11815/fraud-&-unlawfull-practice.html

EFC Martial Arts tuition and John Beluschak's school in Clairton PA are insane. I did a kickboxing fitness class for one year. I cancelled my contract at the end of the first year ( to not renew the next) well... they keep charging my credit card. I spoke with John Beluschak and the tuition companyand they told me no refunds where possible. This is unbeliveable with how expensive they are. Even when you dont want to renew they still charge you! I do not ever recommend any attending this school or any other that has you sign a peice of paper with EFC at the top. I thought John Beluschak was a good person, now I found out that he is very money hungry and doesnt care about anyone but him self!

I am trying to cancel my Karate contract and have yet to hear back from this company. They are very difficult to deal with. The representatives are rude and disrespectful. I finally spoke with someone who told me that if I had sufficient documentation in the contract would be canceled and I would not be charged another month since I have paid the last months tuition, have been unable to attend classes and submitted the necessary paperwork in due time. Yet I was charged for the month on my credit card. This company has caused unnecessary stress and anguish. I feel this is such a scam. The Karate school has you sign a contract and relinquishes their part by using EFC. Mind you-at no point do they say you may NOT cancel. I was told that should anything come up where I needed to cancel I would have to go through this company. They pressure you to sign this piece of paper but never tell you directly that if you sign you will be OWNED by them for the length of the contract. After reading other complaints and their report from Better Business Bureau I am guessing this is going to be a long drawn out process. I am hoping my case resolves without anymore problems but I still feel this company should have a suit filed against them. There should be no contract conditions that make you the property of company because in essence that is what this does. At least that is how I feel. Has a suit been filed? Any advice from people in similar situations?

I started Kick Boxing Classes about 6 weeks ago - I did try twice a week for two weeks before I decided that I liked it.
At this point I was asking for pricing to sign up - one of the instructors said it would be $100 per month with a 30 day cancellation. For my next class I brought in a check and gave it to him.
Friday of last week I received a letter from EFC that they will be taking the amount out of my account every month now ?
I did try calling them right away on Friday (left message) as well as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday... well I was getting edgy. I finally spoke with one of the supervisors "Raj" - he said he cant see anything in the system that I even called...I told him I NEVER signed a contract yet and how they get my information...he told me today at 1pm that he will retieve the information from my school and will email it to me by tomorrow - ha - that piece of document I want to see...
Second - I am trying to contact the responsible person at my school which I found out that he is travelling this week so no luck here.
After I read so many complaints about EFC I am worried actually... I have contacted my bank also.

For 2 months I have been trying to straighten out my account with Educational Funding Company, You whould thing when someone is trying to pay a bill the would be cooperation from the billing company. They have yet to return my calls. Yet I continue to receive late fees and notices monthly. In addition, my son has relocated to another state, which contractually allows for contract cancellation. As of yet, I have not been successful in these efforts either.

My husband and I enrolled our 6 year old son in a nearby Karate school and at the time we don't remember signing any contract with this Educational Funding Company. But after almost 4 years, when we wanted to take a break, we were told that we have some contract with Educational Funding Company. I called the EFC and they refused my request.
They said we have signed a contract and the contract gets renewed automatically every year ?