TCN scam

Nursing Students LPN-RN

Published

I was swayed into signing with TCN, was told I would be able to get my RN in 18 months. I can't pass the practice exams so I haven't been able to take the exam to even try to pass the course. I have called for assistance and was told the same thing "review my study habits". I have complained to the better business Bureau and to the school over the phone and in writing, each time I am told "I can't cancel my contract, and there is no time limit." They have gotten me for $15, 000.00, that I can't afford and I can't go to another school because I don't have the money. Can anyone help me with this issue? I am 54 years old and have 21 years nursing as a LPN , never have I seen such uncaring people. It bothers me to think we have such under handed people that takes advantage of people that might one day save their life.

HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Specializes in ICU.

It's doesn't magically go away after 7 years. They transfer it to a new collection agency and they can come after you for their 7 years. It can go on and on and with $15,000 in debt someone is going to sue you. This is absolutely why people need to be wary of for profit colleges and do their research when going to school. You are going to have to pay it back.

I don't know if this was all done online or what, but someone is going to say not everyone passes the exam and it's not their fault and technically they are right. If you got the materials and took the classes then they fulfilled their end of the obligation. They do not guarantee you will pass their class. Every college advertises get your RN in so many months. But there is a lot of fine print to that and it's up to you to understand what the fine print is.

You would have a case if you signed up and they never sent you the materials or never could take the classes due to a fault of the colleges. You also need to take a little responsibility here. You should have researched and understood what you were signing up for before signing on the dotted line.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
It's doesn't magically go away after 7 years. They transfer it to a new collection agency and they can come after you for their 7 years. It can go on and on and with $15000 in debt someone is going to sue you. This is absolutely why people need to be wary of for profit colleges and do their research when going to school. You are going to have to pay it back. I don't know if this was all done online or what, but someone is going to say not everyone passes the exam and it's not their fault and technically they are right. If you got the materials and took the classes then they fulfilled their end of the obligation. They do not guarantee you will pass their class. Every college advertises get your RN in so many months. But there is a lot of fine print to that and it's up to you to understand what the fine print is. You would have a case if you signed up and they never sent you the materials or never could take the classes due to a fault of the colleges. You also need to take a little responsibility here. You should have researched and understood what you were signing up for before signing on the dotted line.[/quote']

Just a clarification. "The College Network" is not a school , college or degree granting entity. It is a publisher that creates (VERY expensive) study guides for students to take CLEP, Dantes, excelsior, ISU and other exams.

Once they give you their study guide modules they have fulfilled their obligations whether or not you bother to challenge the exams and whether or not you pass the exams using their guides. As they have no relationship to Excelsior, CLEP or DANTES there is no guarantee the material is accurate.

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Justbeachy, TCN does guarantee that you will pass their courses. They also state they will provide tutors for any courses you are having problems with and they don't. When you call you talk to a person that reads from a script, and it is all ways the same thing,"review your study habits and keep trying". I believed what I was being told, which is why I have trust issues now. I do take responsibility for my actions (which is believing in a company that is a scam). I have been paying 247.00 for almost 2 yrs.and I dont want any of that money back, I just want my contract canceled, the money I have paid is a very expensive lesson learned.....

I guess no one has ever taken advantage of you........

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Justbeachy, TCN does guarantee that you will pass their courses. They also state they will provide tutors for any courses you are having problems with and they don't. When you call you talk to a person that reads from a script, and it is all ways the same thing,"review your study habits and keep trying". I believed what I was being told, which is why I have trust issues now. I do take responsibility for my actions (which is believing in a company that is a scam). I have been paying 247.00 for almost 2 yrs.and I dont want any of that money back, I just want my contract canceled, the money I have paid is a very expensive lesson learned.....

I guess no one has ever taken advantage of you........

This is how TCN stays in business. Is this "guarantee" of passing courses and being provided with tutors if necessary written in the contract you signed, or was this told to you verbally by a salesperson? They are only legally accountable for what is written into the contract. In general (I suppose there may be a few exceptions somewhere), the company is not responsible for what any of the salespeople say. It's not that any of us are unsympathetic, but there have been scads of threads here over the years about people who have been in the same situation as you and, unfortunately, it (almost) always turns out the same way. You signed a legally binding contract, and you are legally obligated to hold up your end of the contract. Without even reading the contract, I can pretty safely guess that TCN is doing what it is legally obligated to in the written contract, because, otherwise, they would have been successfully sued repeatedly by now and would have gone out of business. I'm sure they are paying some good attorneys a lot of money to make sure that everything they are doing is legal, however disgraceful and despicable it may be.

(Also, again, you can't pass "their" courses, since they don't offer courses. They are not a school. They are a publishing company. They are selling you study materials for courses offered by schools which have absolutely no connection to TCN.)

There was a thread here a while back about someone going to, I think, their state attorney general's office and eventually getting some relief (contract cancelled and some money refunded). I don't recall the details, but you might want to look for it and see if there is some information there that may be helpful for you.

Best wishes!

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Justbeachy TCN does guarantee that you will pass their courses. They also state they will provide tutors for any courses you are having problems with and they don't. When you call you talk to a person that reads from a script, and it is all ways the same thing,"review your study habits and keep trying". I believed what I was being told, which is why I have trust issues now. I do take responsibility for my actions (which is believing in a company that is a scam). I have been paying 247.00 for almost 2 yrs.and I dont want any of that money back, I just want my contract canceled, the money I have paid is a very expensive lesson learned..... I guess no one has ever taken advantage of you........[/quote']

You misunderstood what I posted. I was responding to the poster that assumed TCN is a school. The "product " sold by TCN is not a degree, credits, or graduation as they are not a school. They are a publisher that sells expensive study guides and claims to offer tutoring services. They hide their terms in their contract knowing full well that most consumers do not have a lawyer review every document they sign. Their phone and field reps are selective in the information that they reveal.

If you are not passing the challenge exams then have an attorney review your contract. If you are doing excelsior college, if you fail any exam 3 times you are dismissed from the program and this should nullify your TCN contract. CA students who signed up with TCN to complete LPN-BSN at ISU were barred from completing the program because of issues with CABRN ISU & TCN Most of these individuals were allowed to cancel the contract. Perhaps if you can document their refusal to provide qualified tutors this can nullify the contract. They are not authorized to use Excelsior logos in their promotional material or otherwise imply a mutual relationship (there IS a relationship with ISU though) and I've been told that TCN has been told formally to stop telling potential customers that they can assist individuals with admissions to EC and that they are some how interrelated. This may help nullify your contract. Have an attorney review your contract (which is likely two-fold one with the bank/credit union for the loan billed as a financing plan to pay for the study modules, and two with TCN to provide the study guide and "tutoring") the issue likely is what you think is a contract is TCN (as i am guessing that is what the rep told you) is a promissory note for the loan with the credit union.

I admit I looked at TCN and was leery when I saw all the college logos and that was my first clue that they are not a degree granting entity. When they came to my practical nursing school I felt like I was listening to a used car salesman trying to make the hard sell at the end of the quarter trying to play lets make a deal. It seemed too good to be true and upon further research it was exactly what I thought.

Later I read many online reviews and tales like yours on this forum.

I was fortunate to realize this before meeting 1:1 with a rep or signing the contract. I realize that others were lead to believe that this program is a cost effective method to bridge from LPN to RN.

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Specializes in ICU.

Thank you for clarifying JustBeachy. I appreciate that.

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Thank you just beachy I will look into your suggestions. Nurses work hard and it is a shame that there are companies like TCN that would take advantage of them.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Thank you just beachy I will look into your suggestions. Nurses work hard and it is a shame that there are companies like TCN that would take advantage of them.

Unfortunately they know people are anxious to continue their education and capitalize on the excitement. It's sad

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Unfortunately they know people are anxious to continue their education and capitalize on the excitement. It's sad

I'm no fan of TCN, but what they do is legal. What's really sad to me is that so many people sign contracts involving lots of money without thoroughly reading the contract and investigating the reputation and "track record" of the company. Pretty scary.

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They have some very good slick talking employees. If you do question the contract, they tell you that you read it wrong, or that they will get back to you and never do. They are very good at being deceitful.....

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Hi I have been talkin with the college network, they mentioned excelsior college, they showed me the program modules, they also said I would have to apply to excellsior separately, just very concerned since I have children to support, concerned in Minnesota

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Specializes in SNF, home health.

Lesson lived, lesson learned. I too was a victim of tcn. The only thing I got out from this rip off of a school were the countless 1", 2" binders that I've used for myself and my daughter's school!

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