Consumer Alert - Fraudulent Postal Exam Preparation Services

Effective test preparation is essential for Postal exams. High failure rates support this need. Unfortunately, a number of scam operators have cropped up across the U.S. posing as Postal test prep services. The below points warn consumers how to avoid being ripped-off by fraudulent advertisements when seeking test prep assistance and how to seek relief if victimized. When responding to an ad about Postal jobs or when shopping for a Postal exam study guide …

1. Demand the firm's full name, address, and phone number. This information may be required to submit an inquiry or a complaint with consumer protection agencies. If the advertiser refuses to disclose this information, or if you are told that this information will be made available only after the purchase, the firm is almost surely a rip-off.

2. Demand to speak with a real, live human being … do not settle for only a phone recording that gives a sales pitch and/or instructions on how and where to attend a workshop. If you are not given the opportunity to have all your questions specifically answered, assume the worst.

3. Demand assurance that no additional money will be asked of you after the original transaction and that the advertised fees cover all necessary materials and services. A common practice is for firms to advertise workshops with a low admission fee … or maybe even for free. However, attendees may be pressured to spend additional money - up to several hundred dollars more in some cases - for the necessary study and practice materials.

4. Demand a guarantee that the study and practice materials are 100% up-to-date. Obsolete study guides are a widespread problem especially for new exam 473. In some cases, it is simply a matter of obsolete guides remaining on bookstore or library shelves. However, in other cases, obsolete guides are knowingly misrepresented as being up-to-date. To identify and avoid obsolete study guides, see Pathfinder's Obsolete Postal Exam Study Guide Consumer Alert.

5. Check with the Postal Service to confirm that the exam is actually to be given soon in your area. Postal exams are offered on an erratic, as-needed basis. Some exams may only be given once every few years. Be wary of ads that appear week after week always claiming that the Post Office is "now testing" or "now hiring".

6. Beware of advertisers that try to pose as the Postal Service or as a non-profit organization. Although it is illegal to falsely claim to be the U.S. Postal Service or to be a non-profit organization, this frequently happens.

7. Beware of advertisers that claim they can place you in a job with the Postal Service or that guarantee you a job with the Postal Service. The Postal Service does its own hiring based for the most part on exam scores. Absolutely no person, business, or outside agency can influence Postal hiring procedures.

8. To find full contact info for a firm and to view the Better Business Bureau report on a firm, go to the BBB website. Simply key in whatever information you have and click "Search".

9. To file a complaint on a business, contact the below consumer protection agencies. In addition to assisting in your pursuit for justice and compensation, filing such a complaint also serves to protect the public as a whole.

10. If you believe that you have been victimized, and if the purchase was made by credit card, call the credit card company at the toll free number on the back of the card. Where warranted, they will issue you a credit for the disputed amount and will charge that amount back against the offending merchant. Unless the merchant provides credible evidence to refute your claim within a limited time period, the credit will stand.


Pathfinder Distributing, Inc.
1-800-748-1819

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