Barrington University is a Scam

It is very important for every to know what a scam Barrington University is. www.barrington.edu First make note they are not accredited. The agency that they state on their site is an agency founded by the father of the owner.
Barrington runs from any actions against them by selling their schools.
We have been burned as a supplier regarding their affiliate program. In one month we registered more than 239 students and we have not been paid a dime yet. They agreed to pay us for more than a month, but they delayed with excuses, hurricanes, change of ownership, deciding if the new owners or old owners are responsible. They even tried that none of the leads we sent them were good, although that was not our deal, nor is it what is clearly stated on the site in the Affiliate Section. Now that I am angry, they are holding my anger against me and saying "well we won't pay you now" Wake up time, there was never any intention of paying anything.
The previous owner, (I am not so sure if he is not still the owner and the sale is a front) Steve Bettinger is a scam artist and with his money which he has stolen from students and suppliers alike, has put in place smooth talking puppets that use very ingenious stall tactics. He hides behind other companies, past company now not in operation www.virtualacademics.com and now he is operating in a company called Cenuco.
When shown that I was going to the New York Times, etc, they told me that they would pay us when we retract the statement. Very smooth, even until the end. I told them I would retract it when they pay me.
If they are doing this with the suppliers, I can only imagine what they are doing with unsuspecting students.
You can find various complaints about them on the Internet.
Education should be the one area that should still be sacred, not to be a scam.

 

Alison: You can find various complaints about them on the Internet.

John: Indeed, including nearly 100 on this very forum.

Alison: Education should be the one area that should still be sacred, not to be a scam.

John: Indeed, and so one wonders what sort of due diligence your organization did before supplying hundreds of, um, "students" to Barrington? And dare we ask if you work for any other, um, "schools."


John Bear, Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Co-author (with retired FBI agent Allen Ezell) of
Degree Mills: the billion dollar industry that has sold
more than a million fake diplomas
Prometheus Books, January 2005

 

John,
Please give me a break. I have been through enough, that now you are insuiting that I am part of that.
You are right, I should have checked them out better. But I fell for the fact that they were Licensed by the State of Alabama and their smooth talking salesman.
I am just a little guy, with my own Education Service in Mexico.
I don't work for any other schools. I wish I was as big as you would like to think I am, but sadly I am a half intelligent person who has been had.
Of course I feel awful for those 239 students that registered through my advertising, but I can sleep at night because there was no malice intended on my part. Let's hope they didn't actually go through with the registration. But believe me I paid the price, I spent advertising dollar out of my own pocket, month of being told I would be paid, and then in the end threatened.

 

More information

By the way after reading some of the previous threads when I did a search, I have realized that people seem to have done a lot of research about this school. One thing not known that I know now is that Barrington "was so called sold" to Iverson Business School www.iversonschool.edu on October 1, 2004
They were even worse than Barrington, insulting me saying "I am an idiot and must be hard up for cash"
John, I read a previous thread and you mentioned the Department of Education of Alabama's Dr. Eddie Johnson, I was also in contact with him and he forwarded me to Ame Green, who told me in almost the same sentence "I am not in charge of issuing the Licenses, but I am in charge of issuing the Licenses" unbelievable!!! I guess they are in on or don't care.
One place they do care that may have some clout is the South Florida Business Journal. They have written many articles on them.
I hope John or other people whom seem to know the history of this school better than myself will be able one day to stop them.

 

Rather than getting mad at John, why not just answer his question? It seems that anyone who has set up a business of referring people to a school, and then referred more than 200 potential students to a school might also (a) be working with some other schools and (b) might have tried to find out about the school before making the referrals.

I would be troubled having referred these people to a scam like Barrington. Doing your due diligence would seem to go along with the responsibility of running such a business.

 

I was not getting angry at John. I am frustrated and upset.
I didn't set-up a business to get students to sign up with Barrington, I am a school. They approached me. I thought they were on the up and up. Obviously you know that scam artists fool people right? Well I fooled. I said already that John was right and I should have searched more on the net. But you use the word "Due Diligence" like a have whole staff of people that couldv'e worked on this, unfortunately I don't.
If I had known that reactions to my threads would be that I am the bad guy, then I would not have posted this.
My purpose was to warn students but also potential affiliates because it is not nice to get burned as a business either.

 

When one swims in a pool of alligators, one must be prepared to be bit.

 

Well I guess if I was looking for pity, I won't find it here.
But you are right Bill. Unfortunately, I didn't know they were alligators, I should have but I didn't. But all you will be happy to know I paid for it, I just don't understand why all you not liking Barrington are also happy that they profitted from it at the same time.

 

Would not a business matter be more appropriately addressed to the Alabama Attorney General:

http://www.ago.state.al.us/

 

I notice John's question remains unanswered.

 

Rich,
Read the threads again. John's questions were answered.
I DON'T WORK FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL. I OWN MY OWN SCHOOL
and many times I referred to the fact that I agree, I should have researched better for my sake and the sake of my students.
I think its tragic too.
I should not have to come to this forum, I was trying to warn people but all that has come out of this is a mandate on me and the focus has been lost.
That is also tragic.

 

I don't think that anyone is happy. There was nothing to be happy about? I also don't see any reason that I should feel pity for you? It is the "students" that I have pity for.

 

Is it permitted to ask which school you own, Alison?

A Google search for the words "Alison" and "School" did come up with Alison's School of Motoring, which, intriguingly, but probably quite irrelevantly, is in Buxton, England, site of a major thread in this forum relating to Buxton University (www.derbyshire.gov.uk/b_line/details.asp?id=782 )

The state people in Alabama seem now to be saying that, in effect, their hands are tied, and unless the legislature changes the law, the Barringtons and other dreadfuls pretending to be in Alabama will roll merrily on.

 

John,
You searched for Alison and school? Are you mocking me? If I didn't think you were I would tell you which school I own, but somehow I think you would just make a fool of me. As I have already told you, I have already paid dearly.
That is unfortunate about the Alabama Government.

 

Actually, no. His "worked for" comment was directed not at your school, whatever that is. It referenced your referral activities. Was Barrington the only school to which you referred students?

No tragedy in focusing on the activities you described. No one has any insight to them beyond what you've shared. I just thought it was unfortunate for you to indicate you were comfortable (being able to "sleep at night") with sending more than 200 students to a diploma mill.

 

Seriously, Alison, nobody is here to fight with you. Nor is anyone here to pity you. Dr Bear tried to find out the name of your school, since you chose not to divulge it (a refusal which does not enhance your credibility, rightly or wrongly). How on earth is that mocking you? No one here has any capacity to make a fool of you. I suspect that you might be angry with the wrong people.

Fairness Disclosure Statement:
Of course, having made a sauna joke on another thread, I have been denounced as of bad character, so you may want to be cautious in answering my question. Or not answer it from a laptop in a sauna.

 

Alison: "John, You searched for Alison and school? Are you mocking me?"

John: No. Not my style. I am genuinely interested in knowing the name of the school.

 

Alison, thanks for sharing your experience.

You will not get one bit of sympathy on this site.

I'd suggest you just save your time posting here and use it more constructively in trying to come to some satisfactory resolution over your problems.

Many of us have made some terrible mistakes in our lives. Put this down as one in your life and move on...

 

I'm guessing, based on her email address, that the school in question is

http://engcanada.com/

 

Alison, it doesn't appear anyone is trying to mock you. You must understand that any 'attitude' you are perceiving is due to the fact (by your own admission) that you referred 239 students to a bogus "university". It's possible you didn't know Barrington was a diploma mill when you referred those 239 students, and obvious they likely didn't know you were referring them to one.

Now that you do know better it would be ethical to:

a.) Contact those 239 students, inform them of your error, inform them that Barrington is a diploma mill, and apologize.
b.) Offer those 239 students a full refund of any fees you may have collected from them for your referrals.

To neglect to do both of the above would be unethical. Redemption is a wonderful thing but if you don't do all in your power to correct any past wrongs that are possible to correct then others can't be blamed for doubting the legitimacy of the redemption.


Kit