New Students Beware of Meal Plan!!

chaz_0426
Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:20:08 +0000

All new students or current students beware of this so this doesn’t happen to you.

Meal plans are designed to scam you! The food and dinning facilities are the best but their meal plans are not.

Beware that when you purchase a meal plan, whether or not you have money left at the end of the fall semester that WILL roll over, you HAVE TO buy an additional plan for the spring semester in order to use your roll over dollars.

They will not tell you that and it is not anywhere in writing as of yet.

I didn’t learn this until my senior year the hard way.

This last semester tech took $200 from me. I paid $500 for a $250 meal plan which is their smallest since I live off campus. I didn’t eat on campus as much as I had thought so I decided to not add additional dollars for the spring semester since I was told my dollars roll over. However when I went to eat on campus in the Spring, my card didn’t work. I went to the Student Services/hokie passport office and they told me since I had not added an additional $250 for the spring, my dollars I had saved from the spring semester were null. They were still on my account but I was not able to use them since I had not paid for an additonal plan. I was not told this or aware of this and I couldn’t ask for my $200 back since I couldn’t use it and I had no reason to pay $500 to add another $250 just to be able to use that money again.

My parents called to question them about this and basically they told them that I could only get that money back with a lawyer.

So basically I had no choice and had to let it go and also couldn’t eat on campus. They basically robbed me.

Just beware that when you purchase a meal plan, whether or not you have money left at the end of the fall semester that will roll over, you HAVE TO buy an additional plan for the spring semester in order to use your roll over dollars.

In my case I had a lot of roll over dollars $200 and thought that could get me through the Spring since I eat on campus once or twice a week. I couldn’t use that $200 since I didn’t purchase/add more money to it.

Also they like to lead you to think your saving money by purchasing a meal plan since everything is 50% off when you buy it. However when you go to pay for it online (or ask your parents) you’ll find that your paying $1000 for a $500 Mega/Major flex plan. So your basically paying the full price regardless, your just paying it early which works against you if you end up not eating as much as you had thought.

Just beware of this and it’s not common knowledge among a lot of new students but is for other students.

You’ll find that many students elect to put on dinning dollars which is basically an ATM account for meals. That is the best approach since you have full control over that money and they don’t touch it or take it until after you graduate or resign. You don’t get 50% off when paying for a meal or food item but you never get 50% off in the first place, however you have the added benefit of being free from the meal plan/scam system and can add money as you need it and not risk wasting any.