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Synopsis: Spanish Abroad is unreliable, unresponsive to email and unwilling to work with or properly explain anything to their (prospective) customers. Everything complaint I made was returned with fire especially sentences like, "We've been in business since 1996, so..." - as if that really makes a difference to me. Sounds more like they're trying to compensate for something.
Long story:
Spanish Abroad "scammed" me out of the deposit. First, let me state that it does say in their terms of service that the deposit is non-refundable. However, they say in multiple places throughout that money paid (without specifying what money) is refundable if the program is cancelled within a certain date.
Before registering, I contacted them and asked about the process of registering. I was explicitly told that I would receive a confirmation within two days.
Two days came and went. After ten days of waiting, I sent them an email asking what was up and the next day, I received my confirmation. No explanation was offered. By this time, plane tickets had skyrocketed.
I worked tenuously to make up the difference, but in the end, I couldn't gather the money and asked for the deposit back. Of course, they said no and that they would cancel the program, but the deposit was non-refundable and that fact was clearly written in their terms of service. I returned with their "two-day" confirmation policy, which is also outlined in their terms of service.
They danced around the question with things like, "We have set policies for a reason." and "..since we make it very clear in our policy.."
I'm well aware of just how quickly plane ticket prices can jump. If I was informed it might take weeks to get a confirmation, I would never have signed up, but no: I was guaranteed two business days. Now, I'm out $90 and a trip to Mexico.
I needn't mention that all of the above emails are days and sometimes weeks apart because of how unresponsive they were.
I had a great trip to Guatemala. It was an excellent school. The staff was professional and helpful. I decided to change my class time from the morning to the afternoon and they were able to accommodate me. I know the director had to do some juggling to achieve this outcome.
I did volunteer in a clinic. I worked 2 days one week and 3 days the following week. I chose not to volunteer more days as I also wanted to discover Antigua.
The family I lived with was also wonderful. Nice people, very friendly and helpful.