Urgent Complaint: Service and Refund Issues with Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology Registration Process

I am deeply dissatisfied with the level of service I have encountered from the institution.

As an international resident residing in South Africa with prior experience studying at tertiary institutions, my recent interaction with this establishment has been notably subpar. I dutifully submitted my application along with the requisite documentation, only to be informed that I needed to make a registration payment. Following this request, I sought official confirmation of my acceptance, which was promptly provided. Subsequently, I made the payment for registration.

To my surprise, immediately after submitting my payment, the institution informed me that they required additional details to determine my eligibility. Specifically, they requested my academic results for grading, a request that was made after they had already received my documentation. Regrettably, there was no prior communication about this requirement, leaving me in a perplexing situation. Securing the funds for registration had been a challenging endeavor, and now I found myself faced with the additional financial burden of having my certificates graded.

In contrast, several other institutions were prepared to admit me without such a prerequisite. Consequently, I opted to inform the institution that I would be pursuing enrollment elsewhere and kindly requested a refund of my registration fees. I have furnished all the necessary supporting documentation to facilitate this refund process. Regrettably, despite the institution's prior urgency in soliciting payment, I have yet to receive my refund. My attempts to communicate with them have yielded limited responses, a stark contrast to the persistent outreach I experienced when they were collecting fees.

It is worth noting that the fees in question were not categorized as application fees but rather as registration fees, an integral component of the overall school fees. My concerns revolve around two primary issues:

a) The institution's practice of collecting fees from students without conducting thorough assessments. b) The protracted delay in processing my refund, which has now extended beyond two months. Initially, I was informed that the typical turnaround time for such matters was two weeks, a timeframe that I found to be unduly lengthy. However, even after allowing for this extended period, I am yet to receive any communication or resolution.

I must emphasize that individuals like myself, hailing from underprivileged backgrounds, make substantial sacrifices to finance our education endeavors. Every bit of money saved for this purpose represents a significant commitment, and it is disheartening to experience what feels like an exploitation of our circumstances.

I earnestly implore the institution to review and rectify these issues promptly, not only for my benefit but also for the sake of fairness and integrity in their dealings with students from diverse backgrounds.