Anonymous
map-marker Monterey, California

Useless, Unknowledgeable staff/evaluator, unprofessional and a total ripoff

Note that IERF Office Manager is Rachael.I dont think it matters what location this office is because IERF is just useless. I filed with IERF to get my college transcripts evaluated from the country I am from located in the Pacific Ocean. My fault not reseraching about IERf and blindly just trusting a referral. Truth be told IERF does not know what they are doing. If IERF claims to be a International evaluator, they should be able to have contacts or links to the universities outside of USA. But what they do is send emails just by searching online......No network................. My original application was on Ausust 01, 2012 and from there onwards till now that is February 05, 2013...yes 6 months, what I had to do is cancel my application with IERF. After providing unefficient and useless service they charged me $205.00 upon me cancelling on February 05, 2013....which I beleive is a total ripoff as NO service provided.
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Loss:
$205
1 comment
Guest

IERF...they completely suck, useless, unprofessional and a total ripoff...

A word of advise to all to avoid IERF...

Anonymous
map-marker Santa Ana, California

Extremely Unprofessional

This company is the worst one which doesn't take responsibility for its own action. The evaluators lack the knowledge and skills and do it all wrong, they have no clue what they are doing. If you contact them after 90 days regarding concern, you are out of luck. The company is more concerned about the fee, fee and more fee than about their customers. Even the managers are unprofessional, ignorant, rude and uncaring. I don't understand how they have been in business for so long. It is a waste of money and time,a total ripoff. I did the mistake of going through them but my advice to you all: DO NOT GO THROUGH THIS AGENCY.
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Alejandra Knc
map-marker Riverside, California

IERF is a scam, they don't know what they're doing.

I had several problems arise when I submitted my transcript from a different country to their Culver City office (6133 BRISTOL PKWY, CULVER CITY, CA 90230). I call, and I get the same *** answer: "Please send it by mail, email, fax"... They drive you crazy for you to drop it eventually, but don't be discouraged. They provide a service, you pay, and YOU need to get assistance if you are NOT SATISFIED. Do not go to the Better Business Bureau, they won't do anything for you. It's just a club with a pretty name, but they rarely settle disputes in a manner that benefits the consumer. My advice is: if you are not satisfied, and if you have followed all the steps in order to get assistance without any luck, complain to the Federal Trade Commission: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ DO NOT LET COMPANIES LIKE THIS STEAL THE MONEY OF OTHERS LIKE YOU. They set the rules, you follow them and still don't get your issues resolved. They suck and must be taken out of business.
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Loss:
$180
Anonymous
map-marker Los Angeles, California

IERF IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER

NEVER EVER CALL IERF. I AM REPORTING TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU. THEY HAVE KEPT MY DOSUMENTS FOR ONE YEAR. I KEEP CALLING AND EMAILING THEM, BUT THEY IGNORE ME. IM THINKING TO SUBMIT A LAWSUIT, BECAUSE ACCORDING TO OUR CONTRACT, THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO TRANSLATE MY DOCCS IN TWO WEEKS, IT HAS BEEN ABOUT 15 MONTHS. HORRIBLE. I THINK THEY LOST MY UNIVERSITY AND HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS AND TRANSCRIPTS, AND THEY ARE ORIGINAL. EVERY TIME I CALL OR EMAIL, THEY 'OH WE ARE SORRY' 'WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU' I HAVE REQUESTED MY DOCS AND REFUND ABOUT 5 MONTHS AGO AND STILL CANT GET THEM
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Loss:
$250
1 comment
Aaron C Img

Turns the caps lock of and learn proper grammar.

DoTheRightThingNow
map-marker Kingsport, Tennessee

IERF is negligent, incomptetent, & guilty of false adevertising

International Education Research Foundation (IERF) was used to obtain credentialing for my husband who received his training in physical therapy in the Philippines. IERF received all the necessary documentation to complete his application on January 4, 2011. Their website lists three months as the time frame for evaluation completion. It has been nearly six months, and we have yet to receive his evaluation.

The numerous attempts my husband made to inquire about what was taking so long were met with the same lies & excuses (i.e., "We've had an abundance of applicants and are training new staff.) I could feasibly accept that "explanation" had it been a few weeks delay--but, his report is three months overdue!

I finally called IERF myself today to argue my husband's case. We have five children, and my husband's livelihood has been at the mercy of IERF. We were to have relocated to Texas in May but were unable to do so because of the incompetence & negligence of IERF. Now, my family is suffering. Where is their compassion toward their fellow man?

IERF is not the organization in reality versus what they purport on their website. I also suspect that my husband was discriminated against because of his thick accent & nationality. This is totally unacceptable and warrants further investigation by the government.

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5 comments
Guest

I have had a bad experience with this company too. They did not do they job properly, which causes me now problems to proceed with my equation further on.

Guest

Please, can you recommend a better eval. company?

Guest

Agree with you all: service is bad, and seem to lack the competencies. Loss of my money, and it took forever to get anything from them.

Since they did not have the knowledge of the institutions where I got my degrees from, despite me sending original documents to them, they did call them up, and since my degrees were not recent it created issues because my institution had changed name, leadership, and the program had changed to a lesser-recognized degree. Besides bugging everybody, asking for new documents from the institutions (they got them all), at the end, in the report, they wrote something like: "after some kind of studies, xxx obtained xxx". Needless to say, this ("after some kind of studies") looks good in an evaluation, isn't it ?! If I would give an evaluation like that at my job, after spending two month on a subject, I would certainly get fired.

Useless document they provided, to say the least. If they are not competent to evaluate a degree, they should refuse to do it and return the money, that would be the honest way to do it. Of course, they do not. As a consequence, I had to resubmit everything to another agency and then got a fair evaluation.

So, it was possible after all. Finally, I would recommend you save your money and time, and go with someone else for evaluation. Keep in mind, the U.S.

government does not regulate/endorse any foreign credentials evaluation agencies, so each one has own rules, so you can choose. I did a mistake not looking closer at this.

Guest

This completely reflects my experience with the (extremely) bad and incompetent service of the company.

Guest

It is not surprising to hear the frustration that you guys went through but it is common if you are a customer of IERF.

The staff are always new and need training because there is a high turnover there...either you quit or you get fired.

The report is supposed to be reviewed by a senior evaluator but it is not. It is being reviewed by new evaluators since ALL the senior evaluators quit, one by one, due to unethical practice.

I would not pay a penny to do my evaluation since the staffs are not qualified to evaluate. The evaluations are based on guessing not on research.

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Verity Cau
map-marker Dayton, Ohio

IERF

I was born in the USA, hold a bachelors from a US institution and did a full international program overseas at one of the worlds top 100 universities. I come home to find that my degree is not recognized by the US Government and must be evaluated for federal employment purposes. The government website links me to a number of evaluation consultancies, charging astronomical fees to compare my course structure with that of an 'unknown' and possibly non-professionally accredited program structure from an university located in the US. I returned early in order to find gainful employment after paying an arm and a leg for a quality education. Naturally, I do not have my

graduation certificate yet as the ceremony was to take place roughly 3 months from the time I returned to the States. I have original transcripts indicating that I had both graduated and my degree was conferred. Needing to apply for various employment opportunities, I contacted IERF via email regarding the situation (degree has not arrived, transcripts indicate degree completion and conferral). I was told that this has occurred before and that I should submit my documents online for a standard report. I call to double check as I had already been passed between three people via email. The woman who answered was extremely authoritative, rude and would not pass me onto the person who made the final decision via email. I explained the situation tto her, she confirmed that it would be fine to submit online. I hang up, submit my information and end up paying $120 USD for a report, shipping there and their extremely overpriced return shipping fee.

The following two weeks I continually received emails requesting my degree certificate, new transcripts with multiple dates opposed to single 'completion and conferral' date. I checked with my universities admin/graduation offices to confirm that it was indeed a date for both the COMPLETION AND CONFERRAL during this period. I also informed them of what wast going on with my application at IERF and that international students should be made aware of this issue. I sent back emails to IREF, of their own staff members explaining that it was acceptable to submit documents under these circumstances with no results.

IERF is highly unprofessional, rude and should be class action sued for administrative malfeasance. IERF is nothing more than a phone bank, now $120 USD richer, a recent graduate more economically deprived and I still do not have the paperwork required to apply for federal work due to IERF's negligence. I'm pissed.

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Loss:
$121
1 comment
Guest

IERF has a Review policy (within 90 days), but they want to see another fee even though their policy states different. Very unprofessional.

No chance to talk to anyone by email. Only 'no-reply adress' email correspondance.

dorothee p
map-marker New York, New York

They didn't even the time to translate in english

i had to do a credential certification to get a job and to be eligible to some exams. because i'm in a specialized field (rehabilitation) I chose ierf because they seemed to know about physical therapy. i owned a french bachelor degree in psychomotor therapy and a french master degree in orientation and mobility for the blind. ierf didn't recognize my bachelor degree in psychomotor therapy ( another evaluator did) but the worst is my second degree. On my french papers it's says " locomotion", the french title for the profession of 'orientation and mobility instructor' in the u.s. even though i sent them all the translation, i wrote them that i knew my studies were really specific but i could answer their questions, ierf didn't even take the time to translate the words. my evaluation states "locomotion of the blind" i didn't studied how they walked! i sent an email to ierf. i was nice because i wanted them to fix that, they never answered. i didn't bother to try again. waste of time and energy. i went to globe language after that. it was ok.
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Loss:
$100
1 comment
Guest

They lost part of my documents. No chance to get them to answer!

Priscila Dwd
map-marker Amsterdam, Ohio

IERF Lacks Professional Expertise

I wish I had googled them earlier! Before paying them in good faith for their "services". Oh how I regret not having researched before throwing my hard earned money and time away!!! IERF does not have professionals knowledgeable with different country standards and requirements. My college education was acquired in a country bigger than the continental USA, and yet they were unable to return me the services I paid them for, claiming they were unable to communicate with my country because they lacked any employee that spoke that language (which by the way, with more than 240 million speakers, it is the sixth most spoken language in the world). No Refunds!!!!!!!!!! I Paid them for absolutely nothing, annnnd they keep your documents, so it's a lose-lose situation, not to mention the stress and wrinkles you gain and the 8+ month wait and battle before you realize you are doomed. :cry :sigh
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1 comment
Priscila Dwd

:cry :sigh

Guler O
map-marker San Mateo, California

Don't trust IERF

they lost everything I earned in my life (my degrees my diploma) in the mail.. and they think they are not responsible.. no refund no apology no effort to locate. you don't need to work with such institution.. terrible terrible people.. terrible terrible company.. should not even be in the business.. do not send anything for evaluation.. those things have no value to this company... All I received was an e mail stating thay they received my application. i have not received any e mail that results was sent to me... I had to call several times to find out that it was sent to me and I haven't receive it.. so I have lost everything I worked for in my youth.. do not trust them...
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4 comments
Guest

They lost part (!) of my documents, only half of them came back! Very poor service attitude. No chance to talk to anybody.

Guest

commuication is the key

they do not communicate..

they still have the copies of everything they have lost. and they don't bother to send even those to me.. do not trust them.

Guest

Oooh yeah another company blaming USPS :upset

Guest

Why will they be resposible for something lost in the mail? They're IERF right not USPS... ;)

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wahla w
map-marker New York, New York

Extremely unprofessional and rude, waste of time, money and credentials...

This foundation lacks any professionalism they claim to have and misinform new clients about, as they claim to accumulate it during a path of 40 years… They fraudulently trap consumers into a contract with a non refundable money and much more expenses than what they advertise ($185 fee + $285 other expenses). They severely lack knowledge of international education systems and foreign polices, so you end up wasting time, money and being stigmatized with a nonequivalent educational levels even if your academic achievements are internationally recognized through different other countries. Even though original documents were represented to them, they still require additional documents that dose/may not exist and inquiring about it from native educational institutes could cause applicants embarrassment and humiliation with their native universities, institutes and/or governments. Evaluations are based on personal opinions and NOT as advertized, while if an applicant would complain; it could cost this individual valuable time, extra money and the lost of a priceless original document by mistake… Finally, IERF lack customer service and professional conduct… get ready to be insulted on the phone or accused of literacy even if you hold a PhD and it is a total rip-off in terms of money and NO refunds…
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Loss:
$470
1 comment
Guest

I did not agree to their evaluation, I called to complain and after a harsh phone conversation, the evaluator suggested that I take my credentials and go back home to where I got them the first place, even though I am an American citizen and this is my only home, what a pity?!!

Varvara
map-marker Charleston, South Carolina

IERF extremely unprofessional and rude

Do not use this company IERF for evaluation your diplomas. I had very bad experience. For me it was waste of time and money. They have no idea about systems of education in different countries. The report was done very unprofessional and all evaluation was made by one person. On my request to reevaluate they told me that it is my problem that I do not agree.

Now I have to find another agency and evaluate my Diploma again.

Another service they offer, it is physical therapy. I can't understand how is it possible.

Please find another agency to safe your time and money

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Loss:
$185
6 comments
Guest

I am still waiting for some of my original translated documents! Since 4 months.

Guest

I submitted my application since aug 09, now Jun 2010, 10 months and they are still waiting for the reply from my country. They have no idea how to deal with evaluations from other country especially third world countries.

Paid more then $200 for their service.

They are very unreliable, unprofessional. Don't waste your money on them!

Guest

i sent my bachelor degree and master degree to IERF 4 months ago .I do not have my evsluation,yet.I still have to waits........

Guest

I have had more than 50 degree's evaluated here, but never had any issues.

Guest

I have had more that 50 degree's evaluated here and never had any issues..

Guest

You are right, I started the evaluation since December but until now, I still fighting with them to get it fix.

I Have get intouch with them since that time no good reply.

They have all my original document

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summer a Jbt
map-marker San Francisco, California

IERF lost my origonal High School diploma

IERF lost my High school diploma. they dont do anything to send it back to me, i have not refunded my $225 dollars that i have sent them to evaluate my credentials. I sent them my documents dated August 20, 2009, all of them original, they keep telling me to send another original transcripts and high school diploma or they will not evaluate my credentials. I got fed up and told them to withdraw the evaluation and send all my original documents, i received it last Sept. 11, and my original high school diploma is missing, and i have not refunded my $225 dollars that i've sent them! these people from IERF are not professional and they are SUCKERS!
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4 comments
Guest

So glad I checked all the reviews of IERF. I almost send my docs today for evaluation.

Placed a call to their office asked them resolution of their complaints, she can't say a word. That's it...

As a consumer, sharing it out loud is the only we will can be heared by others.

Guest

And I thought I was the only one that disapponted! IERF was the worst service experience so far!

Guest

seriously i have never experienced such unprofessional treatment anywhere.. I wonder after many such cases how is the organisation still playing in the market.to *** with IERF.

wahla w

Extremely unprofessional and rude, waste of time, money and credentials

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