Not verified... and seeking legal action

[Eclipse]

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Just sent this email to AMCAS, and boy does it feel good. Kind of like therapy.

To Whom It May Concern:

I submitted my application on July 9th, and, 13 weeks later, I have still not been verified. I've been patient, but I can't stand by and let you ignore my application any longer. I am currently seeking legal action against AMCAS, and, if you want to avoid future legal problems, I advise you to start work on my application now. Please consider that any response you provide (including a form letter response) or lack thereof may be used in the legal action I am seeking. You can expect a letter from my lawyer by the end of next week.

 

[Hopkins2010]

Good luck, I'm with you in the cause.

I just think that AMCAS will be able to slither its way out of any legal troubles.

 

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by baylor21:
•Good luck, I'm with you in the cause.

I just think that AMCAS will be able to slither its way out of any legal troubles.•

Actually, I'm not referring to the class action lawsuit (although I think that'd be great.) I just heard that, once AMCAS gets a letter from your lawyer, they verify you in a very timely manner. It was someone here on SDN, but can't remember who said this. I figure the effort is worth it if it means I will finally get verified.

 

[SMW]

I'm doing the same. Luckily my Dad's a lawyer, so it won't cost me. I also felt immediately better the minute I decided to do it. 😀

 

[jftsai]

where are you sending the letter from your lawyer?

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by Eclipse:
•Actually, I'm not referring to the class action lawsuit (although I think that'd be great.) I just heard that, once AMCAS gets a letter from your lawyer, they verify you in a very timely manner. It was someone here on SDN, but can't remember who said this. I figure the effort is worth it if it means I will finally get verified.•

It was Amy Beth who first threatened to sue for breach of contract and age discrimination. She got verified fast. Then CU in MD school got a promise that her problem with (I believe) schools not getting her released scores would be corrected after her lawyer sent a letter.

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by jftsai:
•where are you sending the letter from your lawyer?•

To Jordan Cohen, president of AAMC. His address is in the thread "Letter to the President of AMCAS."

 

[jftsai]

thanks SMW!

 

[jmcnyc]

its nice to hear people taking action against AMCAS. i had posted a message two weeks ago about a class action law suit and got little reponse...is anyone interested or think that its an appropriate move?

 

[E'01]

jmcnyc - I think it would be appropriate AFTER we get into a medical school. I'm just afraid to take any unnecessary chances right now.

 

[SMW]

I agree, E'01. Even then, jmcnyc, it would be hard to find someone to take the case on a contingent fee basis, which is how these lawsuits are generally done, because of the low (to a lawyer who's got to fund the whole case himself with the possibility of getting zero out of it) monetary damages and the difficulty of proving the damage. Say average damages for those who don't get in are $400 app fees plus another $100 in copying, postage, phone bills, missed work shifts, etc. Say the total number of applicants this year ends up being 30,000, so 10,000 don't get in. That's only $5 million, low for a national class action lawsuit. Plus it would be really hard to prove damages. Once you're in med school, you don't really have any to speak of. It would be impossible to prove that you could have gotten into a better school and gone on to make more money in your lifetime. Those who don't get in would have a tough time proving that they would have gotten in if only AMCAS had been more on the ball. That's a glimpse into how the case would be viewed by an experienced class action attorney. 🙁

But sending a letter threatening to sue on an individual basis seems to be working to get particular applications on a fast track to verification. 😀

 

[jdub]

hey eclipse,

have you heard anything from amcas with regards to your email?

 

[Jonny-5]

Hey Eclipse,

I know your pain. I submitted July 8th and was verified TODAY! I cannot believe the treatment I have received from SCAMCAS. Anyway, best of luck and check your email for SCAMCAS sightings!

 

[SMW]

I would imagine that Nancy Tillinghast got AMCAS to work on verifying eclipse's application the minute she got that e-mail.
See the thread entitled "Nancy Tillinghast is a Saint!!" for a description of the magic she can work. 😀

 

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by jdub:
•hey eclipse,

have you heard anything from amcas with regards to your email?•

They did respond to the email, but that was only after I sent Dr. Cohen a letter and already had gotten verified, so I don't know if the email itself did anything. Possible they just didn't get to the email until after I was verified, but more likely they were waiting until I was verified before responding.


______,

There will be no need to seek legal advise as your application have [their mistake, not mine] already been processed.

Please let us know if you have any additional concerns

Thank you for contacting us.
AMCAS


Amazing that I bugged the "specialists" for months and then get verified in just a few days. Glad to have that over with, though. Also, good to hear other people are doing the same thing and getting results.

 

[Mage]

Originally posted by SMW:
•It was Amy Beth who first threatened to sue for breach of contract and age discrimination. She got verified fast. Then CU in MD school got a promise that her problem with (I believe) schools not getting her released scores would be corrected after her lawyer sent a letter.•

Age discrimination? For being too old or being too young? I'm very willing to talk to a lawyer (friend of my father's) if it's the latter...or heck, I think I'm going to talk to the lawyer anyway.

 

[SMW]

It was the former, not the latter. People are having pretty good success this past week just contacting Nancy Tillinghast. You might not even need the lawyer, although a legal letter certainly wouldn't hurt. When did you submit? I think the legal letters have mainly jolted them into processing apps in the proper order, so if you're a relatively recent submitter, it might not have quite the effect as, say, those who submited in June and July and still aren't verified. I'd say you have to give them 6-8 weeks before you have a justifiable reason to threaten them with legal action (lots of us waited 3 months!).