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Business Profile

Colleges and Universities

Berklee College of Music, Inc.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Berklee College of Music, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Berklee College of Music, Inc. has 4 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 3 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/30/2025

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      **Nature of Complaint:** Unreasonable requirement for international graduates to maintain and pay for unnecessary health insurance coverage. **Details of Complaint:** I am an international student who graduated from Berklee College of Music at the end of the Fall 2024 semester. As I am leaving the ************* permanently after graduation, the health insurance coverage for the Spring 2025 semester is entirely unnecessary and holds no practical value for my situation. Despite my status as a graduating student and my imminent departure, Berklee College of Music and ********* ************************ require students to pay for a full academic year of insurance unless they explicitly request termination before a strict deadline, which was December 31, 2024, in this case. This policy disregards the unique circumstances of graduating international students who clearly have no need for continued coverage. I only became aware of the termination deadline on January 3, 2025, when I proactively contacted ********* to cancel my insurance, that was no email no text no any kind of notification before that. By that time, I had missed the deadline by less than 72 hours. Both Berklee and ********* have refused my request for a retroactive termination and refund, citing the policy deadline. When I continued to try to contact them to resolve the issue, they never responded to my emails. This rigid adherence to policy fails to account for the financial and practical irrelevance of continued insurance coverage for students in my situation. This policy is both unreasonable and unfair to graduating international students who, by definition, will no longer benefit from the service. Requiring payment for unused insurance amounts to an unjust financial burden. I am requesting a refund of the Spring 2025 insurance premium.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/09/2025

      I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/17/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased an online course for my son. He never took the course. Berklee Online says he didnt drop within 2 weeks he cant get refund. **** says its been past 180 days I cant dispute. I purchased in March 2024, just found out Oct 2024 my son never took course. Son moved out of my house Sept 2024. I dont see why Berkelee gets to keep my $1620.00 for a never taken course

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/28/2024

      I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint. I emailed them before I contacted you and they said their policy is drop the class 2 weeks after payment. It is an online class that was never accessed so the teacher had no effort they had to exert so to me there is no reason they should get to keep my payment. $1620 is a lot of money for me to have nothing in return. And $1620 is a lot of money for them to have for doing nothing. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/11/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I paid in full for an online class on January 9, 2023 (The installments were paid to Berklee Online Nov 2022 $500., December 2022 $500., and $240. Was my last payment on January 9th, when the class opened up to me).I have just been dying diagnosed with type a flu from my doctors and I am in a lot of pain and I wanted to cancel the class and receive a full refund but they will only refund me 50%. I find this outrageous when I was only in the class for one day. I am someone on disability, with a very limited income, and I need the money back for food and necessities. My chest pain is so severe from the coughing and illness that I am really not able to do this class and I overestimated my enthusiasm to out will my pain/illness in this situation. I havent been able to eat regularly since January 2 and Ive been in bed the entire time.I was very excited for the class, but I found out the online form that is not what I wanted in a guitar class. I believe I need in person, instruction, and participating in a band to improve my skills. I have read online that Berklee Onlines policy is that they only refund 50% but thats really outrageous when Ive only been in the class for one day. I can understand them keeping the registration fee and other associated fees but not 50% - thats ridiculous!!!

    Berklee College of Music, Inc. is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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