NEW & Original Background Information:

I enrolled in the William Brewster TESOL Institute Indonesia locations 200 Hour online TESOL course on 09/21/06. This school's Director is Ernest "Trey" Woodford citing an impressive list of experience, but no listed formal educational credentials. My research also shows from his website he is Director of the American Language Institute (English lessons) in Indonesia, is affiliated with Batvia University, Indonesia, founder of the International Conservation Society reported to be a non-profit NGO and also advertises a paid outbound program for Boy Scouts to earn merit badges. He also advertises franchises for American Language Institute at a discounted price of $10,000 USD plus nominal annual fees. He apparently is originally from the Maryland/D.C. area ( Brewster TESOL Institute, 301 223-9551, 16600 C Spiceberry Ct, Hagerstown, MD 21740 US) and there is a Brewster link online listed in Hagerstown, Maryland which indicates at least some affiliation with the training in Indonesia.

At the time of my enrollment 09/21/06 they did not accept Major credit cards (should have been a red flag since with a card you have some recourse to challenge), so I had to go through the procedure of their designated online payment acceptor PayPay. The tuition was quickly deducted by PayPay on 09/21/06 from my checking account and Module I of 10 was immediately sent, including an advertised HELP link.

I quickly determined their HELP link sent was no good. On 09/27/06 after much diligent work, I finished Module I and at 9:01PM EST attempted to submit my Questions and Answers for grading at the enrollments@tesol1.net address provided. I received a message from Yahoo stating their Mailbox Quota Exceeded. I continued to re-submit the Q&As 9 more times to this address day and night before terminating at 1:44AM EST on 09/29/06. Each time Yahoo rejected saying the "Mail Quota Exceeded". I searched Brewsters website for a phone number in Indonesia and found none. I did find an alternate E-mail link (admin@tesol1.net) and submitted the Q&As on 09/30/06 at 02:00AM EST. It was not rejected, but no response was received. I also sent a message VIA their website contact page and it appears it was not rejected, but no responses.

On 09/30/06 at 9:40AM I finally received a response from Ernest Woodford at a ali@tesol1.net address apologizing, providing no valid reason other than his mailbox fills quickly and asking me to re-submit my Q&As. He provided an Indonesian phone number and 4 more e-mail addresses in addition to the 2 I had. By this time, I had enrolled in a new course that is more expensive, but has a toll free number, professional with text books and CDs and has some links with other countries to help facilitate Foreign Expert Certificates.

I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt since there can always be an accident, natural disaster, technical problem, etc., but the growing evidence against Brewster-Indonesia is not good. The alternate E-mail link worked, therefore it was not a tech problem (He admitted this). The HELP link does not work (He admitted this). Furthermore there must be many unread messages to generate a "Mailbox Quota Exceeded" message. I raised questions about the lack of quality materials (he admitted this)

While I agree with you that the materials may not be as attractively packaged as one may prefer (and am even willing to work on this as needed
I value your fedback and strive to continue to improve the course.

The obvious question is why no quality after 2-3 years of being in operation? In other words, he wants me to bear with him and help him improve his course as I go. Ludicrous!

On the surface(website) the outline of the Course looks like a good value for the money ($103.99 USD) compared to schools costing $300- 500 USD and up for less hours. However what is the value when the Course materials are poorly written, organized or questions relevant to the content of the course? What is the value when Q&As submitted are submitted but rejected over 72 hours, much less graded in a timely manner?

Module I has some good material, but it is grades a "C-" at best in my opinion and does not necessarily contain all the information to answer the questions. If I did not have a personal library of books or do independent research online, I would not have been able to answer all the questions properly. This 200 Hour TESOL Course almost appears to be a "Draft" and not a polished lesson one would hope for. I made my living writing Federal Grant proposals, policy and procedure manuals, organizational plans, operational plans, training and other reports as a Lieutenant for a State Police agency. I believe I am an excellent judge of professional vs. unprofessional. Of course, there is no text books, CD's, etc. nor were advertised or expected at this Bargain basement price.

On 09/30/06 at 11:27AM EST I rejected his previous offer to continue and demanded a refund which he rejected on 10/01/06 at 5:56AM EST

I regret that I am unable to issue a refund on the basis of your request. The only circumstance under which refunds can be issued is if we fail to place you following your enrollments on the course.

Really? This is not what his website indicates;

Q: With no physical address, how can I be sure of the legitimacy of this program and the safety of sending a payment?
A:We are registered with Paypal with a financial institution which is a subsidiary of the US government (Navy Federal Credit Union). Our course director is also registered with Paypal with his social security number, which the above credit union can verify as being legitimate.
Paypal also offers consumer protection service, including buyer reimbursement claims in the event of fraudulent or undsatisfactory services. For further information on the protection offered by Paypal please go to http://www.paypal.com

Now this sounds good, but here are the facts. PayPal IS NOT BREWSTERS money transfer service. At the time of my enrollment it was PayPay and now since my complaint moneybookers.com. As of 10/02/10/03/06 he now has Google as a payment option featuring major credit cards. PayPay temporarily suspended his account after my complaint (indications of other complaints also)

Dear Julian,
thank you for you report.
PayPay account of Brewster TESOL Institute has been temporary terminated,
until this client will return your payment or provide us with explanation of
your case.

Thank you again for contacting PayPay.
Regards,
PayPay support

Now one could argue that me or anyone should pick-up on the fact PayPal is different from PayPay, but I submit it is not only false, deceptive, unethical, unscrupulous and yes bogus to use PayPal in Woodfords website to legitimize his business when they have nothing to do with Brewster. I will leave it to law enforcement to determine if it is criminal fraud.

Woodford appears to be fat and happy sitting in Indonesia

If you proceed with the course and I fail to assist you in finding a job in a timely manner I will gladly issue a refund as promised. Otherwise I regret that I cannot help, even if served with an executive order from President Bush himself or under duress from the UN "peacekeeping" forces. I have neither defrauded anybody nor failed to do what was promised,.

Sounds like he is ready to make a Branch Davidian Waco, Texas style stand off against the agents of the U.S.!! Apparently he does not understand Americans overseas are subject to the laws of the United States, especially when operating on the Internet. IF a local, state or federal law enforcement agency finds probable cause of fraud or any crime committed by an American overseas exists, a warrant will be issued, served and extradition proceedings will commence.

I intend to take any course seriously to LEARN and not just get a certificate, but at this rate I would never have been able to learn anything or receive a certificate in a timely manner!! The William Brewster TESOL Institute in Indonesia is "Bush league" at best and a total waste of time and money. I have not and can not accuse Woodford of fraud as of this date, but the Jury is still out on this. However I can state unequivocally they are guilty of false advertising, non-performance and providing a sub-par service and quality of course materials.

This school reminds me of the "Contractors" that rush to Florida after a Hurricane, take deposits for services and never heard from again. I feel fortunate I discovered this at an early stage so as not to waste more valuable and limited time which could cost me a good job. I have lost weeks of time enrolling in Brewster, completing Module I, then sending Brewster multiple rejected e-mails over more than 72 hours, posting comments such as this, searching for and enrolling in another course and starting over.

As a retired State Police Investigative Lieutenant I have documented all my attempts and correspondence with Brewster, service providers, copies of his website and am on firm ground. I can only say "shame on me" for not doing more due diligence in selecting a TESOL training school. I forgot the old adage "You get what you pay for", so I encourage all to not consider price as much as quality. If you are a serious student not just looking for a "fast-track" certificate, be prepared to spend at least $400 USD or more to get a quality course. On the flip-side spending more than $500 may not be necessary. Many schools out here are asking for outrageous tuitions that are no better than what you can get or $400-500 USD. Bottom line....do your homework and compare quality as well as cost.

As you might guess, I am adamant about bringing Brewster TESOL and Ernest Trey Woodfords business practices to the light of day. I am requesting all others having the same or similar problems with Brewster-Indonesia, to respond with your comments and experiences to help others avoid wasting time and money. If you have any verifiable evidence such as written correspondence, printed e-mails, etc. that corroborate your case, then please contact me at daviddukeal@yahoo.com.

There is no way of knowing how many young or inexperienced recent college graduates there are who have had the same problem , but chose to write off the $70 or $100 spent as an expensive lesson. Serious people conduct searches of these sites and for reviews and complaints when doing their due diligence, so let's all help our fellow future teachers!

In this litigious world, too many people are worried about having legal actions brought against them, but if you tell the truth and have documentation that can back-up your complaint, this is not libel or slander. The hucksters and con-artists of the world operating from third world countries, or any country for that matter, are the ones who need to be concerned if people challenge them for non-performance or worse and bring this to a public forum.

If it sounds like I am a consumer advocate, you are right. In my former life I was on my States Attorney Generals Office Consumer Fraud Task Force in addition to my other duties. You can gauge the level of my furor and commitment to justice from the length of this posting.