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PrintHelp Me Hank: Teacher Test Troubles
Drama teacher Trisha Geary got through the difficult part: she taught classes and got her masters degree and passed the Massachusetts teacher competency test.
Trisha Geary, Teacher
"I completed the program I wanted the certification."
She just had to apply online at the state Department of Education for her official certificate--just click the mouse to pay DOE the fee.
Trisha Geary
"I OK'd $100 and that was the end of that."
Then the phone call came from the State Controllers Office.
Trisha Geary
"They said there's an issue with my credit card."
"What did they mean an issue?"Hank Phillippi Ryan
Trisha Geary
"I had no idea. They didn’t want to tell me."
But when she went online for her credit card records, up came the $100 charge for her certificate, and another one and another one and another one - 290 times!
"This is what you printed out. It says $29,000."Hank
Trisha Geary
"I just laughed. I couldn’t believe it."
She instantly called the credit card company.
Trisha Geary
"She said ‘well, you know what, I’m going to find out who can fix this for you.’"
Meanwhile, because Trisha's credit limit is just $3,100 dollars. Her credit card was frozen and unusable! And the next day, there were hundreds more $100 charges!
"What was the new total?"Hank
Trisha Geary
"$57,000."
Finally the bill hit more than $80,000!
"How did they explain this to you?"Hank
Trisha Geary
"It’s a computer glitch."
The DOE wrote the credit card company, explaining $84,000 was "inadvertently charged" and 100 percent should be credited, but the company told Trisha, fixing her account could take a while.
Trisha Geary
"They have a new system and no one knows how to use it yet."
That’s when she called "Help Me Hank".
We called the credit card company, saying they should they fix her bill, and cancel over the limit charges."
And soon after, Trisha got another phone call.
Trisha Geary
"Suddenly they learned how to use the system."
Now her bill lists credits instead of charges, and by the time school starts this fall, she should have what was almpst the world’s most expensive teacher's certification.
Trisha Geary
"I’m going to frame it! It was such a pain to get it."
The DOE called what happened to Trisha was "technical hiccup", and has since fixed that computer glitch.
If you're fighting a a consumer battle, maybe I can help!