Complaints

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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 took out 2 loans for tuition at ******** *** ********* university they are loans through the dept of education. I have requested the total amounts of each loan. Subsidized and unsubsidized total amounts. Not just per term amounts. TOTAL amounts and I cannot seem to get this information from the school or national student Clearinghouse, which is who **** uses for this. I will take legal action if necessary.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/02/2023

  We would be happy to assist, however the National Student Clearinghouse does not collect loan balance amounts.  To find out the balance of your student loans, you can either contact your student loan servicer(s) or log-in to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at ***************************** to request information on your loans.  
  
  We hope this information is helpful to you. 

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/03/2023

  I never got an answer. I understand you are not a loan servicer, however, you DO allocate the monies. Surely you can provide a reason why my pell grant money went from $1232 to $616. I have a 4.0 gpa. 
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Regards,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/18/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  On September 13 I attempted to obtain verification of enrollment from the National clearing house. This is the company my University contracts with to obtain this information. After several attempts I continued to get error messages that I had a previous account. I contacted ******* on 9/14 who assured me she had deleted one account and I should wait until the next business day. I attempted again and continued to have issues. I was then in contract with ******************* who assured my he had deleted one account (he did not) and that my account would be available again,. I tried all day on 9/15 to no avail despite approximately 10 emails back and forth that the problem had been resolved. I was advised to "Delete my account myself and recreate another one which I did to no avail. Again... I was contacted by a "supervisor" late on Friday who assured me IT was "working on it" and it would be resolved on Monday morning and I would be contracted. I have not been contacted and FOUR days later I cannot obtain my Verification. This is ridiculous and this organization maintains important student records. I did NOT create several accounts, this is an issue they have created with miscommunication and a true lack of IT support

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2023

  Customer satisfaction is very important to National Student Clearinghouse, and we apologize that your experience was not what you expected. Thanks to your request for support we uncovered an incorrect link on your schools website that would have made this process much simpler for you. We have alerted the school and this should prevent other students from encountering a problem.  We provided you the correct link on September 18 and confirmed you were able to obtain the verification on the same day. Should you have additional questions or concerns, please contact us at ************ and request to speak to the Supervisor or Manager of Verification Services Support.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  On 07/24/2023 I ordered my transcript from ********* University to ************ (Order # ********). It was shipped out on 07/26/2023. Today it is 08/16/2023, 20 days later, and my transcript is still nowhere to be found. I am relying on this transcript to be able to advance past my first year of biology and get a head start on the second year but if my college is unable to receive this transcript, I will be unable to do so and will have to take the first year all over again. NSC is posing a great threat to my future at this point in time and has done nothing about it other than pushing me off in their emails. I need a resolution fast.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2023

  Customer satisfaction is very important to the National Student Clearinghouse and we apologize your experience was not as expected. Our records indicate that your transcript order was placed on 7/24/2023 and sent on 7/26/2023, by regular 1st class US mail. Please note that neither the school nor the Clearinghouse can be responsible for US Postal Service standard delivery times or delays. Your institution offers the option to send transcripts by regular mail, express mail and electronically, which is noted during the ordering process. Additionally, before you order, your institution's notification page states the following: At this time we recommend requesting an electronic transcript due to significant delays in delivery from the US Postal Service. On 8/10/2023, as a curtesy, we resent the transcript to the recipient's mailing address you entered on your order. Our records indicate you submitted an order for an electronic transcript on 9/2/2023 (retrieved by your recipient on 9/5/2023) and you requested a refund which we alerted you was approved by the school on 9/7/2023. Should you have any additional concerns, do not hesitate to contact us at ###-###-#### Monday - Friday, 9am - 6pm Eastern.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/17/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/27/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 had to pay $10 for one school transcript and $5 for another to send out official transcripts for a graduate school application. This does not provide the individual with a copy of their transcripts and I had to go back and pay for two more copies just for myself. The transcripts aren't even attached to the email they sent me and both links fail to open when I try to click on them. One because it says that the link has expired even though it is set to expire a month from now; the other just won't even open to be downloaded. There is zero customer service with this garbage company. The FAQ "help page" is of no use and talks you in circles like their garbage format is your problem not theirs. I can't believe we are at a point in the college scam industry where one can't just order transcripts from the college they went to and paid tens of thousands to attend. I am beyond infuriated.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/13/2023

  Customer satisfaction is very important to National Student Clearinghouse, and we apologize that your experience was not what you expected. The Clearinghouse maintains the ordering platform for students from many participating colleges and universities to order their transcripts however, each school is the repository for the academic records and, therefore, is the entity that processes and fulfills the transcript order. The total cost of a transcript includes the fee the school charges for the transcript, the delivery method,and a small processing fee for each recipient. As the customer noted, a technical issue was uncovered where the access link was expiring prematurely,resulting in a large volume of support requests. The issue was resolved and we made two attempts to contact the customer to determine if they needed additional assistance. If further assistance is required, simply reply to our emails or contact us via phone at ************ (2pm 4pm ET, M-F). 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/24/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 have been trying to access my own personal data and opt out of certain information for months now. They have inaccurate information that they are supplying to a current University I am trying to finish school with and they will not let me see my data or opt out of certain things and they are using a third party that I have not given them permission to use. Under federal law for students I am required and have the right to access my files at any time and see them. I'm also a victim of a violent crime which affords me certain protections under Michigan law for privacy and confidentiality. I believe they have breached my privacy and allowed individuals access to my information that they shouldn't have. I want to see the information I have I want a copy of all of my data and I want to log into my account and see the information they have.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/23/2023

  The Clearinghouse provides several services on behalf of institutions of higher education, including transcript ordering, enrollment and degree verifications, and research-related services. We strive to provide our participating institutions and their students with excellent customer service,and are more than willing to help ******************, with her cooperation and consistent with our role as an institutional agent. To date, ****************** has not agreed to provide the necessary information to our customer service department so that we can provide the access and information she seeks.
  There are five aspects to her complaint: access to her information, correction, opting out, consent, and access to her account.  Each is addressed below. 
  Access
  First, she states that she wants access to the information that we have on her. Our records indicate that she called our customer service line on the afternoon of May 11, 2023 complaining that she was not able to get through our authentication process in order to place a request to verify her postsecondary enrollment and/or degrees, which would have provided the access she seeks.  This is a service we provide to students and former students of our participating institutions, to allow them to self-verify enrollment and degrees. In order to protect the privacy of those individuals whose data we hold on behalf of postsecondary institutions,we require those who attempt a self-verification to demonstrate they are who they claim to be by going through an authentication process. This is a similar process to that used by banks, and the company we use for this process is a leading standard in authentication.  ***************** was not able to be authenticated through that process, which happens at times.  When that happens, we provide customers with a manual process to assist them. To move forward through this manual process, we ask for additional information. ****************** declined to participate in this manual process,leaving us with no way to authenticate her and allow her to receive the information she was requesting.
  Correction
  She believes we have inaccurate information on her, and wants to have that information corrected. Because we hold enrollment and degree data as an agent of our participating institutions, ****************** would need to contact her institution to request that they instruct us to make any corrections.  We do not correct data in our system without being instructed to do so by the institution whose data we hold.
  Opting-Out
  The enrollment and degree data we hold on individual students like ****************** is subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which allows students to opt-out of institutions and their agents (such as the Clearinghouse) disclosing directory information under the directory information exception to FERPAs consent requirement. If ***************** wants to take advantage of this FERPA provision, she must contact her institution, since under FERPA these opt-outs are managed by institutions.  Our participating institutions communicate to us which students have exercised their opt-out rights under FERPA, and we apply these opt-outs at their direction pursuant to FERPA.
  Permission
  ****************** complains that we are disclosing her information to third parties without her permission. Our services are provided in compliance with FERPA, which requires consent for disclosure of a students education record unless an exception applies, such as the directory information exception.  Our Privacy Policy is instructive in this regard (****************************************************************************).
  Account Access
  ****************** requests that she be able to log into her account to be to see the information that the Clearinghouse has on her.  When she tried to access her account she was not able to do so, and called our customer service department. When one of our customer service agents attempted to help her troubleshoot the issue, she did not want to cooperate in the process.  We feel confident that if she were to cooperate with the troubleshooting process, this issue could be resolved and she could gain access to her account.
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to **. ******** complaint.  We stand ready to help her access her information and her account, understand FERPAs requirements, and (at the direction of the institution(s) she has attended) correct any inaccuracies in her data or enact a FERPA directory information opt-out. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/04/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  March 2023, I paid $15, to the National Student Clearing House for my transcript to be sent to a different college I am transferring to. The transcript was never sent.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/30/2023

  --------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: ************************* <**********************>
  Date: Sat, May 27, 2023 at 9:17 PM
  Subject: Re: You have a new message from the BBB of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #********.
  To: Better Business Bureau <[email protected]>
  
  

  Attn:  BBB

  
  

  This complaint has been settled.

  
  

  Thank you Very much

  *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/28/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  Transcript Order Details:#********, 1/16/23, $17.85, Physical mail to HAND deliver to ****************************** (***)#********, 1/6/23, $15.00, Pdf document Email to myself to confirm #********, 1/3/23, $1.95, Electronic exchange from ********************* (***) to *** #********, 10/11/23, $1.95, Electronic exchange from *** to *** I wasted enough time calling 2 colleges & this mandatory business between them to facilitate the delivery of my student transcripts for college application. In October, I made a transcript order (#********) in which *** delayed my application process due to a missing graduation date from *** on my official transcript.After several emails and calls between myself with each, National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), ********** they have continuously delayed and redirected me to the other businesses/colleges to sort this out AND, in which case, nothing has been properly sorted out.***'s recommendation was to order another one (#********) and, which I did, while NSC refused to offer me a refund despite the error in the order. After a second time, *** sent me what they were receiving and it was NOT an official transcript but some excel table format of my transcript so it clearly wouldn't have a graduation date on it.I called ***'s side with the attached document from *** in which they stated there was a date on the unofficial AND recommended me to order a pdf copy (#********) to confirm and provide to ***. This was the official one but *** refuses to take anything from me unless its from NSC or *** directly. I tried asking *** to send a copy on my behalf and skip NSC but, per their policy, they couldn't?! Frustrated with the back and forth, loopholes and errors, none of the two colleges want to further investigate asist in the matter. NSC also refuses to offer any refunds while continuing to direct me back to the colleges. At this point, I am demanding a refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/16/2023

  Customer satisfaction is very important to National Student Clearinghouse, and we apologize that their experience was not what they expected. The Clearinghouse maintains the ordering platform for students from many participating colleges and universities to order their transcripts however, each school is the repository for the academic records and, therefore, is the only entity with access to the contents of the transcript. As stated on the ePDF delivery method description, The accuracy and correctness of the electronic transcript is solely the responsibility of your school.
  
  On behalf of the customer, we have reached out to school to request a refund for the orders in question and are waiting on their response. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/31/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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.

  Ordered an electronic transcript and paid for it. Transcript cannot be delivered because it REQUIRES a desktop computer to open the file. Company needs to provide electronic transcript file that can be opened. Most of the world has mobile devices and there is no excuse for this company to refuse to provide a usable service when people are paying there fees.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/10/2022

  Customer satisfaction is very important to the National Student Clearinghouse. The electronic transcript is a PDF document that is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access and tampering by malicious actors as transcripts may include personally identifiable information (PII). Due to this encryption the latest version of ***** ******* Reader is required to view the PDF. Most mobile devices use ***** mobile app, which does not work with the security features applied to the electronic transcripts. We understand that most students use their mobile devices for everything therefore our product team continuously works to improve the user experience while maintaining the security features for the student’s benefit. Additionally, both laptops and desktops can be used to view electronic transcripts.
  
  We see that the electronic transcript was retrieved on 11/3/2022, however we have reached out to the student to assist with accessing the electronic transcript and are awaiting a response from the student. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/24/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  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 was attempting to send an electronic copy of my school transcripts. The transcripts were sent to the recipient who was unable to download the file, although she followed the instructions as indicated by the company. I had the same issue several months ago when I tried to download electronic transcripts; even though I followed the instructions word for word, I was still unable to download the file. I tried to contact the company for a refund and they simply deferred me to the school. I dont appreciate this lack of responsibility and accountability, and the fact of the company simply attempted to diffuse the responsibility to someone else. Given that National student clearinghouse is the only way of obtaining school transcripts, their subpar customer service and lack of accountability borders on fraud. I am extremely frustrated and disappointed by their services and would like an apology and a full refund for my transcript request. These types of business practices are unacceptable.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2022

  Customer satisfaction is very important to the National Student Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse maintains the ordering (and in some cases the delivery) platform for participating schools, so their students can order their transcripts quick and easily. The total cost of a transcript includes the fee the school charges for the transcript, the delivery method, and a small processing fee for each recipient. Therefore, refunds must be approved by the sending school. However, as a one-time-courtesy, we are authorizing a full refund of $9.25 for the transcript order. You will receive an electronic notification when our Accounting Department completes their refund process. At that time, we will electronically notify your financial institution to return the funds to your account. Please be aware that it could take up to 30 days for the refund to appear on your account or statement depending on your credit card company. 
  
  We also would like to share our responses sent to the customer on 7/2/21 and 9/21/22 which outline troubleshooting steps and practical tips for downloading and opening the transcript which can be found on our help site at www.mystudentcenter.org:
  
  For the electronic PDF transcript to load correctly, you must open it with Adobe Reader on a laptop or desktop computer. It will *not* load on a smartphone, or on a tablet device running ***** *****. Even if ***** Reader is already installed on your computer, the transcript file may be opening in another PDF viewer. This may cause it to load an error message or appear blank.
  To view your electronic transcript: First, save it to your computers hard drive. Then, open it with ***** Reader. Do not try to open the transcript within your internet browser. If you are using ****** ****** it will try to open the transcript in its native PDF viewer. Make sure you are downloading the transcript and then opening it separately.

  For ****:
  Generally, Preview is set as the default viewer on a ***, but it is not capable of opening a certified PDF document.
  To view your PDF transcript using ***** Reader:
  
  Click the secure link you received via email and log in using your email address and password received via email.
  Download and save the transcript to your hard drive.
  Browse to the file and right click or control click on it.
  Click "Open With" and select ***** Reader. It will ask if you would like to make it your default viewer, please select yes.
  
  For PCs:
  When you click Download, the transcript file will automatically be saved to the default location: *****************************. Please open ***** Reader first then go to file, select open and locate the transcript in the Downloads folder.
  
  If the transcript is still not loading within ***** Reader, please reply with the operating system of your computer and a screenshot of what happens when you try to open the transcript.
  
  Should you have any further questions or need support, do not hesitate to call us at ************, Monday - Friday, 9am - 6pm.