Buy a degree - USDOE recognized??

I could hardly believe what this place claims in their explanation of "accreditation"...

http://www.mluxo.com/online-college-degrees/faqs.asp#q26

This is one of those places that lets you buy a degree in 14 days.

 

I have sent them a question on that little matter. I'll post their reply, if one is received.

 

Maybe USDOE doesn't stand for what we think.
Maybe its...

United Schools Down On Education ????

 

USDOE = US Dept of Energy

The US Dept of Education uses ED as its abbreviation (But I have never seen it expressed as USED). On this forum I assume DOE is the Dept of Education.

 

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey my name is J

I have been cheated out of my money badly, I have tried to purchase a degree basted on my life experience from Almeda University, they told me that I shall be receiving a degree from them but I didn't get a thing,when I tried to asked for my money back or I will report this to my credit company, they threaten me by saying that they will put my name and details all over the web saying that I bought my degree online and will
also send a lot of emails with my SSN.
I am not the only one I know people get the same threat daily.
What can I do against this degree mill? I been cheated for the sum of $595,
They have so much leverage right now
Does some one have a idea? ?
The F site is http://www.almedauniversity.org
Please send me any idea, I really need my money back

Mod edit -- detached from a sticky in the Fake Banks forum and moved to a more appropriate place. SB

 

The Diploma and transcript samples are from

"Columbia State University"

Is mr R Peller out of jail?

The USDOE claim most likely bogus.
This can be a license from stste like WY and they claim their Department of Education is recognized by the secretary and Federal DOE.

Or it could be the UNESCO - HAIR registry that lists many mills
and anyone can register there anything.
I seen there once a University of Cidonia and location was the planet Mars.

Learner

 

Here is an example of link that some diploma mills are using


http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/edlite-unesco.html

The U.S. Department of Education anticipates playing a strong and constructive role in the education sector of UNESCO's work. Within the Department, UNESCO affairs are coordinated by the International Affairs Staff.

For information, please contact Joseph A. Esposito, Associate Under Secretary for International Affairs.

So if they claim they are recognized by UNESCO - here you go

This can very easy confuse unsuspecting customer.

 

Help!!

Can some one give me a answer what I can do regurding
almeda ???
thay need my money back

 

Poeple who regularly post to them forum are not in the debt collection business.

And most of us would be querying why you tried to 'purchase' your education from the internet?????

 

'this forum' - pardon my hurried grammar and 2 fingers

 

Re: Help!!

One of the IP addresses used recently by the Saint Regis group is 209.124.83.218. This is (or was) the IP address for

www.Bestonlinedegrees.info
panamacanaluniversity.edu.dept.cc
JamesMonroeUniversity.edu.dept.cc

The Bestonlinedegrees domain had been registered to

EduManagement Online Services
Highway 95
Post Falls, Idaho
83854

which makes it a piece of SRU. The site had featured Almeda as its most prominently pitched program. There had been one or two other SRU sites pitching Almeda too, if I recall correctly.

 

Re: Help!!

I have difficulty accepting that your credit card company reacted in a threatening manner.

How much could you have lost? Is it really worth your time and effort to try and recover it? If you can't afford that loss, why would you spend the money on something like this?

Your question is one for a consumer affairs board. Try one of the sites at About.com.

I'm not so sure you can enforce a contract with an illegal objective.

Personally, I think you got your money's worth. While you didn't get the fake credentials you crave, you got an education, the kind only a diploma mill can deliver.

 

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

For what it's worth here's their refund policy. Doubtful they will comply or cooperate in any event. If you go that route, it's typically a one-way street, brother. It's a valuable lesson though..."it's all about the money" - Big Dan from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.

"Refund Policy

If you are unsatisfied in any way with your degree, you may request a refund in accordance with the schedule below. Once we receive your request, Almeda will ask you (at your expense) to return your degree as well as the other materials you received. The return must be made using a traceable shipping method such as FedEx or UPS. Upon receipt of these materials, Almeda will provide a full refund as follows.

Full refund (less $55.00 processing fee) if materials are returned within 7 days of receipt
2/3rd refund (less $55.00 processing fee) if materials are returned between 8 and 14 days of receipt
1/3rd refund (less $55.00 processing fee) if materials are returned between 15 and 21 days of receipt
No refund after 21 days

The following fees are not refundable:

Application and evaluation fee (currently waived)
Rush order expediting fee
Shipping fee
Setup fee"

 

Re: Re: Help!!

Hmmm...how can someone from Almeda post one's SSN unless you provided it to them in the first place?

I don't agree - unless the poster lives in a state where such degrees aren't permissible, there's nothing illegal about ordering a piece of paper for $595 (stupid maybe, but not illegal).

Since he didn't receive what he ordered it seems as though he could ask for specific performance (deliver the worthless degree), or perhaps the contract could be voided.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I dunno... sounds like you got pretty much what you paid for. If you dance with the devil, expect to get burned. I have no sympathy.

That said, "J" should have no trouble doing a chargeback through his credit card company. If the mill then turns around and does what it threatened, then "J" really would have something he could sue them for -- maybe even something about which he could file a criminal complaint. And disclosing his personal data, as threatened, would be instantaneous grounds for the mill to lose its right to accept credit cards anymore.

 

Back to the topic at hand...

Even though they claim

(http://www.mluxo.com/online-college...es/faqs.asp#q26)

They also have this...

(http://www.mluxo.com/online-college-degrees/faqs.asp#q27)

So their schools are recognized by the USDOE, but schools that offer programs similar to theirs are not.

 

Larryjf: "So their schools are recognized by the USDOE, but schools that offer programs similar to theirs are not."

Just a flurry of confustication!!! Many of these operations selling paper recognize there are magic words in the market and one of the magic words in the education industry is "accredited". These operations also realize that most people don't know anything about the subject... heck even professionals in the industry sometimes get confused.... so, these types will say anything; sometimes it sounds plausible, other times confusing... but the magic word is inevitably presented and people send them the money. It's stupid I know, but hey...

 

I'm willing to bet that they are not reccognized by US DoE

Learner

 

Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once upon a time a Coke machine ate some of my quarters without giving me my Coke. Like others ahead of me, I taped a little note to the machine asking for my refund. At some point I noted that the machine had been refilled and I wasn't given my refund. I came to work the next day with a BIG sheet of paper that covered the entire face of the machine. It had a short note written on it describing my situation and asking others to refrain from purchasing the products until I received my money. Some people cut holes in my paper so that they could access the coin slot and take out the purchased products. Little diagrams appeared so that people knew where the buttons were located and which button produced whichich product. Graffiti appeared. All this took place yet my paper, along with my message, remained in place. Clearly some people just went ahead and bought their sodas. It seems, however, that enough people refrained from purchasing that the next time the Coke Guy showed up to fill the machine, my quarters appeared in my mailbox (along with a short apology). Of course, my big sheet of paper disappeared immediately. What has this to do with eyal's dilemma? My moral of the story is, "If you can't, somehow, hit them in the wallet then you're screwed." (Also, we would both be better off without the products we were purchasing).
I agree with Rich on this one. You've gotten a valuable education from this. I hope you were paying attention in class.
Jack

 

"universities" degrees come from

It looks like the site...
http://www.mluxo.com/online-college...es/faqs.asp#q26
offers degrees from 2 "universities"...
Pacific University
Los Angeles University