Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/29/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

   
  Complaint: 22354932
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The order issued by the **** remains significant, as BloomTech and ****** ****** continue to misrepresent their job placement capabilities. This has been a topic of discussion among students on LinkedIn, where many have voiced similar concerns.
  
  During my time at BloomTech, I experienced multiple rounds of layoffs (three to four), which created an unstable learning environment. Upon enrollment, I was promised a dedicated career coach and learning assistant. However, following the initial layoffs, my assigned support was changed without notice, and I was never assigned the same dedicated mentors again, contrary to what had been promised. Additionally, there was a lack of communication regarding changes to the Slack channels, leading to a period of confusion among students about how to access support.
  
  I encountered numerous issues with broken links, including a non-functioning help hub link. I often found myself relying more on fellow students for assistance than on the staff of a program that charged $35,000 upon graduation. There were instances when I took time off from my day job to attend class, only to discover that the instructor was unavailable, with no prior email notification. Additionally, the tutoring hours were reduced from one hour to only 30 minutes, resulting in rushed sessions that made it challenging to receive adequate support. I was instructed to schedule additional 30 minute meetings, which made it nearly impossible to move forward in the course due to the lack of timely assistance. Given these circumstances, it seems unfair for BloomTech to assert that I was falling behind when they were not providing the necessary support to facilitate my progress in the program.
  
  It is also inaccurate to state that I was inactive as a student. I have documented correspondence with **** ****-********, School Operations Manager, in which she inquired about my plans to continue and mentioned that extensions could be granted under extenuating circumstances. At the time of my dismissal, I had not reached the 18-month limit, having recently submitted a quiz that demonstrated my progress. I communicated to **** the challenges I faced, including ongoing conflict in my home country, and expressed my intention to complete the program within six months. Unfortunately, I was dismissed shortly thereafter.
  
  Additionally, I wish to address a concerning incident involving ****, who discussed my husband, a fellow student in the data science program, with another student. Although she did not disclose our names, she advised him against engaging with us, the two married students. This behavior, while not directly naming us, undermines our privacy and is unprofessional.
  
  I have repeatedly requested BloomTech to cancel my contract due to dissatisfaction with the lack of support my husband received post-graduation and my own experiences with delayed responsesoften exceeding 24 hours. I was frequently directed to use ChatGPT for assistance instead of receiving help from staff. As I sought to raise these issues within the **************** I found that other students shared my frustrations. However, I witnessed my husband being removed from the Slack channel for voicing his concerns, which deterred me from expressing my feedback, even when it was constructive. We have never communicated anything false or derogatory, and I possess screenshots and emails documenting these experiences.
  
  The response from BloomTech serves as a clear illustration of their failure to acknowledge and address the concerns raised by numerous students, including myself. The institution's operations appear rooted in misrepresentation, as evidenced by their choice to showcase only outdated placement statistics. 
  
  Many of the issues I have highlighted have been reported in various articles, leading to significant consequences for BloomTech and ****** ******, including financial penalties for multiple infractions.

  I cannot be asked to pay $35,000 for a program that has failed to deliver on its promises and subsequently dismissed me based on unfounded allegations.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  thout notifying anyone after they first started firing people which made it incredibly confusing and impossible to contact any of the support staff or access the study groups that had been created.After making a lot of noise, BloomTech kicked me out. They are still asking me to pay almost $20k after not receiving any of what they promised me. Why is this relevant? Well, BloomTech and the CEO ****** ****** are dishonest and dont have their students futures in mind. It is a company built by 2 boot camp graduates looking to get rich off of preying on those who are seeking a better life. They even called other student on my behalf and shared private information with them about me, and instructed them not to engage with me.Ascent no longer works with BloomTech as a result of this. The lending company wont even be associated with BloomTech or ****** ****** because they are legally no longer allowed to be involved in student lending.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2024

  Response:

  
  The recent order issued by the ************************************ (****) did not impact all of our students but rather specifically affected a specific population of students who executed an Income Share Agreement (ISA) during a certain timeframe. We want to emphasize that although we understand that this may have caused some concern and we do not agree with the ***** allegations, we chose to settle this matter to avoid lengthy and detracting litigation and instead focus on our core mission of educating our students. Our commitment to transparency, compliance with regulatory standards, and providing an exceptional educational experience remains unchanged. Ascent funding does not service ISAs, they provide loans to students, the change from one loan company to another was not associated with the **** order in any manner.

  In any restructuring with BloomTech, students did not lose any access to academic support and career coaches were reassigned toward the end of the program to assist in career support.
  Ms. **** was unfortunately not making continuous, successful progress through the program. In a self-paced program at BloomTech, students can complete the program as quickly they want, usually average 6-9 months. However, as part of the enrollment agreement signed by Ms. ***** the maximum allotted time is 18 months. She did not finish her program in time, she was behind by 14 Sprints. She was considered inactive at the time of expiration as she had not successfully progressed through the Sprint within 30 days as outlined below from our catalog.

  ATTENDANCE Attendance  and  participation  in  BloomTech  courses  is  measured  in  multiple  ways, including  but  not  limited  to  taking  attendance  in  live  instruction  experiences,  verifying module  &  sprint  project  attempts,  and  activity  in  BloomTechs  learning  management systems,  etc.  While  students  may  choose  to  attend  live  or  view  recorded  sessions, attendance  and  engagement  with  the  material  is  critical  to  success  in  the  program. Students  who  fail  to  submit  an  assignment  using  the  Learning  Management  System  for more  than  seven  (7)  days  or  do  not  successfully  complete  a  Sprint  within  30  days  will be  marked  as  inactive,  and  BloomTech  will  reach  out  to  verify  enrollment.  BloomTech may  withdraw  inactive  students  to  protect  them  from  unintentional  further  vesting  of tuition.
  Ms. **** asked to cancel her enrollment and contract prior to her program expiring. She was advised that she could withdraw, but her contract would remain intact. Despite Ms. **** being considered inactive and requesting cancellation, she was offered a program extension if she complied with certain requested information, including confirming her intent to complete the entirety of the program. This information was never provided and therefore an extension was not granted and her program expired.
  Ms. **** and two other students were engaged in what BloomTech considers negative and derogatory comments in public messages in our community forum. Ms. **** as well as the other two students were advised that this type of behavior was considered misconduct. One of the students was removed, however, Ms. **** was left in the forum after being warned. I have included our catalog policy on professional behavior below:
  Professionalism Professionalism should be a theme that runs through a student's work and interactions at BloomTech. To ****** a professional environment students must:
  ? Maintain a positive and respectful attitude toward their fellow students and BloomTech staff.
  ? Use a respectful tone in all communication, whether written or verbal. This includes communication via Slack, the Portal, Zoom, the content of a student's work, naming conventions, email, text message and all other forms of communication.
  ? Be punctual to all live sessions and accountable for one's attendance by completing all required pre-work. If you are not able to attend, you are responsible for communicating with BloomTech staff, if at all possible, prior to your absence.
  ? Maintain open communication with staff and fellow students. Students have the responsibility to remain in communication with BloomTech administration, by checking their email, text messages, reading and engaging in Slack channels, Slack direct messages, and reading all school announcements daily.
  ? Best practices are: if a student wouldnt do or say it in front of an employer or colleagues at their job, they shouldn't do it here at BloomTech.
  

  Although the three of them were engaged as a group in the misconduct, no personal information was ever discussed with any other student, nor were any specific names mentioned. This conversation was recorded and there is no mention of anyones personal information.

  Unfortunately, subsequent to Ms. ***** departure from BloomTech, she has continued to spread false information about BloomTech and tagging current and prior employees of the company in public forums and social media accounts using derogatory and false information.

  We wish Ms. **** the best in all her future endeavors and hope that she can respectfully move on from this situation and use the information that she has already gained from her program to apply to future employment and education.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2024

  Complaint: The order issued by the **** remains significant, as BloomTech and ****** ****** continue to misrepresent their job placement capabilities. This has been a topic of discussion among students on ********, where many have voiced similar concerns.
  
  Response: Denied. Already addressed in previous response.
  
  Complaint: During my time at BloomTech, I experienced multiple rounds of layoffs (three to four), which created an unstable learning environment. Upon enrollment, I was promised a dedicated career coach and learning assistant. However, following the initial layoffs, my assigned support was changed without notice, and I was never assigned the same dedicated mentors again, contrary to what had been promised. Additionally, there was a lack of communication regarding changes to the Slack channels, leading to a period of confusion among students about how to access support.
  
  
  Response: Denied. All learner facing staff that were provided for academic support, i.e. Learner Assistants and Instructors were not affected in any staffing changes. Career support was restructured to the end of the program where it is better suited and focused on helping learners with job search.
  
  Complaint: I encountered numerous issues with broken links, including a non-functioning help hub link. I often found myself relying more on fellow students for assistance than on the staff of a program that charged $35,000 upon graduation. There were instances when I took time off from my day job to attend class, only to discover that the instructor was unavailable, with no prior email notification. Additionally, the tutoring hours were reduced from one hour to only 30 minutes, resulting in rushed sessions that made it challenging to receive adequate support. I was instructed to schedule additional 30 minute meetings, which made it nearly impossible to move forward in the course due to the lack of timely assistance. Given these circumstances, it seems unfair for BloomTech to assert that I was falling behind when they were not providing the necessary support to facilitate my progress in the program.
  
  Response: Denied. From time to time, we may have had technical issues, but those were resolved in a timely manner. In addition, as Ms. **** mentioned, if she did not feel that the fast pace of the live classes that she attended was enough, she was provided with one-on-one support. There were periods of time that Ms. **** made little to no progress in the program, which resulted in her running out of time to complete the program.
  
  Complaint: It is also inaccurate to state that I was inactive as a student. I have documented correspondence with **** ****-********, School Operations Manager, in which she inquired about my plans to continue and mentioned that extensions could be granted under extenuating circumstances. At the time of my dismissal, I had not reached the 18-month limit, having recently submitted a quiz that demonstrated my progress. I communicated to **** the challenges I faced, including ongoing conflict in my home country, and expressed my intention to complete the program within six months. Unfortunately, I was dismissed shortly thereafter.
  
  Response: Denied. Mostly addressed in previous response. Per policy Ms. **** was inactive. The conversation mentioned was recorded and reviewed, there is no breach in privacy with conversations with other students.
  
  Complaint: I have repeatedly requested BloomTech to cancel my contract due to dissatisfaction with the lack of support my husband received post-graduation and my own experiences with delayed responsesoften exceeding 24 hours. I was frequently directed to use ChatGPT for assistance instead of receiving help from staff. As I sought to raise these issues within the **************** I found that other students shared my frustrations. However, I witnessed my husband being removed from the Slack channel for voicing his concerns, which deterred me from expressing my feedback, even when it was constructive. We have never communicated anything false or derogatory, and I possess screenshots and emails documenting these experiences.
  
  Response: Denied. Addressed in previous response.
  
  
  Final note and summary: All of Ms. ***** complaints and concerns have been addressed previously in emails directly with BloomTech staff. She made several requests to cancel her program previously and despite that we offered an extension if she wanted to finish.  We tried to work with her and offered a program extension if she confirmed that her intent was to finish the program. We made three attempts to request the information, and she refused to respond to the requested information.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/09/2024

   
  Complaint: 22354932
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am writing in response to BloomTech's ongoing misrepresentations and inadequate support, which the ************************************ (****) has found to violate the ****************** Protection Act of 2010. According to the ***** BloomTech and ****** ****** have engaged in deceptive practices, taking unreasonable advantage of consumers who rely on BloomTech to act in their best interests (***** 2024). These findings are significant, particularly as I and many other students continue to encounter false claims regarding job placement and the level of support offered.

  I have personally spoken with numerous students who feel unable to voice their concerns due to financial burdens incurred by BloomTech's program. Many are struggling to meet the unrealistic demands placed on them to qualify for the tuition refund guarantee. Despite paying $35,000 for this program, I have been denied access to job placement statistics and a list of affiliated employers, which raises serious questions about transparency and accountability.

  It is troubling to hear BloomTech assert that no students were affected by layoffs. I am a direct victim of this instability, having experienced multiple changes in my assigned career coach without any communication about these transitions. Initially, each student was promised a dedicated learner assistant, yet these commitments evaporated alongside the layoffs. The resulting lack of clear communication regarding Slack channel changes left many students, including myself, in a state of confusion.

  Furthermore, my tutoring sessions were abruptly reduced from 50 minutes to just 30 minutes. On several occasions, the instructors appeared unprepared, which severely disrupted my ability to receive the necessary support. I spent months attempting to obtain help through the school, and unfortunately, I have been left with no choice but to file complaints against them. As I have reiterated multiple times, the issue is not merely a fast-paced class; it is the lack of adequate support and resources that is hindering my progress.

  In BloomTechs response, it was mentioned that our conversation was recorded. However, I was informed by **** ****-******** that this conversation was not recorded, and I am in communication with the student who was called by **** on their personal cellphone. I have documented evidence of all communications, and I am perplexed as to why BloomTech continues to make these inaccurate claims.

  Additionally, I have requested a six-month extension due to the ongoing conflict in my home country, along with various family and financial challenges. Despite these requests, I was subsequently removed from the program for allegedly not fulfilling the extension request appropriately.

  It is imperative that BloomTech acknowledges these concerns and takes responsibility for the impact its actions have had on students. I urge you to address these issues directly and provide the necessary support and transparency that all students deserve.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/04/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

   
  Complaint: 21799227
  
  I am rejecting this response because: they truthfully aren't resolving the complaint and defecting there responsibilities for the lies given. Trying to say they are in the right and stole thousands for fake claims and canceled the enrollment without entire refund. The ceo is not allowed to do student loans and they just won't budge. Very unprofessional organization who preys on disadvantaged people and mocks them.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 06/28/2024

  Dear BBB, 
     
  
  We are in receipt of the complaint from ********************* and have reached out to him directly as the concerns relate directly to his private student information. 
  
   
  
  While we have responded to ***** previous inquiries, including his concerns regarding the ************************************ (CFPB) consent order, the order only pertains to certain affected consumers. 
  
   
  
  Furthermore, we want to highlight that BloomTech does not agree with the CFPBs allegations and chose to settle this matter to avoid lengthy and detracting litigation and instead focus on our core mission of educating our students. Our commitment to transparency, compliance with regulatory standards, and providing an exceptional educational experience remains unwavering.
  
   
  
  We take every matter brought to us by current and former students seriously and are working with **** to resolve his concerns.
  
  
  
  Standing by to support,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 06/28/2024

  Complainant has been advised on several occasions that his financing does not fall under the **** order. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21799227
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Company is still trying to use this as a pathetic excuse to not fixing the problem there is clearly lies and they are scamming and praying on people with false promises. I did not get what I paid for and they clearly do not care to help. Perhaps legal action is necessary to help this business realize they are scamming people left and right.
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/06/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was a former student of Lambda School (now **************** and was enrolled in their *************** course 30 Sep 2019 - 08 Apr 2020. Lambda defers payments for students so they do not have to pay any monies upfront until after they are hired and working in the tech industry making around $45k/year. I never completed the course but was expected to report my income to **** per agreement signed to avoid paying $30k for an education I never received or took advantage of. My withdrawal from the school was processed on 08 Apr 2020.Up until that point I was reporting my income to avoid having a $30k bill that I cannot afford being sent to collection. The contract is fulfilled by a third part known as ****. **** emailed me and informed me that income I reported did not match tax documents I submitted and I emailed them back explaining that I did not understand how to fix the issue on their website (this has now been addressed and my income is now correctly reported). I reached out **** for assistance with this issue on 29 Aug 22. They always responded but their answers didn't help me fix the issue (until recently). I emailed **** once again on 5 Jan 23 asking for help with the same issue. During the latest email exchange with ********** also asked for confirmation on how much longer I would have to report my income and they suggested I contact: ******************************* So, I did. I reached out to them on 05 Jan 23 and asked them how much longer I would have to report my income, twice, and never heard back from them, although I understand not much time has passed since my initial email. After my email to ********* Services, on the following day, 6 Jan 23, **** sent me an email stating I was in breach of my contract due to my income not being reported properly and I am now liable to pay $30,000. However, I have been in contact with **** since August of last year trying to resolve this issue to no avail (until recently). Emails will be attached for reference.