ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES COMPLAINT

Indiana’s Attorney General has filed a complaint against the College Network, an Indianapolis-based college test preparation company, for falsely claiming it offers educational programs that will lead to college degrees or transferable credits at accredited universities.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has received 492 written complaints since 2011 from consumers who paid thousands of dollars for allegedly bogus educational programs offered by the College Network.

According to the complaint, the College Network advertises study programs for end-of-course college equivalency exams that the company falsely claims will be accepted for credit by various colleges and universities that it lists as “degree partners” or “education partners,” including Indiana State University, Purdue University, George Washington University and others. Despite this representation, there is no guarantee College Network students will be admitted into these universities or awarded credits.

According to the complaint, College Network employees falsely represent to students that they are paying for and pursuing a specific degree program at a specific university. The educational programs and packages offered by the College Network and paid for by Indiana consumers range in cost from $2,000 to $10,000.

The AG’s complaint notes that most customers of the College Network cannot afford to pay for the educational programs up-front, so employees often assist them in applying for a line of credit from a third-party credit union. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office accuses the College Network of violating the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the Credit Services Organizations Act. The lawsuit seeks cancellation of all contracts with consumers, consumer restitution, civil penalties and attorney fees.

Zoeller reminds Hoosiers to diligently research companies that offer higher education programs before signing up or making any payments. People who believe they were duped by the College Network can still file a complaint by calling the Indiana attorney general’s office or visiting indianaconsumer.com.