People to People International, which organizes international study tours, says it regrets any "misunderstanding" caused by recent complaints about the invitations it sends to parents of students targeted for 20-day $5,000 international study tours.
Earlier this year, the Iowa Attorney General asked People to People to modify its practices after the parents of a child who died in 1993 received a letter saying their long-dead son had been "recommended" for the study-abroad program.
"We conveyed our concern to People to People that parents who are induced to believe that their child was selected on merit are potentially misled, and may be improperly manipulated into making substantial expenditures they might otherwise decline to make," Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.
People to People said it would make the changes, but consumers around the country complain that they are continuing to receive the solicitations, which many find misleading.
"I have received a very misleading letter from the company, it basically has the same language as Iowa letter to deceased boy's parents ... It states that Michelle will advance as a young leader because of this program. It appears to be government sponsored. Apparently, it is not," said Christine of Elmsford, N.Y., in a complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com.
The program does appear to have a government tie-in. George W. Bush is People to People's honorary chairman and past honorary chairmen include all former presidents dating back to the group's founder, President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But the money for the student travel comes out of the parents' pockets -- around $5,000 for a typical 20-day tour, according to Miller.
People to People did not return three telephone calls from a reporter seeking comment earlier this month, but followed up with a letter saying it wanted to "offer some details about our invitation letters."
"Regrettably, from time to time, we have mailed a letter to a family in error," said a missive on People to People letterhead signed by Jeffrey D. Thomas, who represented himself as Chief Executive Officer.
But in fact, Mary Jean Eisenhower is the President/Chief Executive Officer of People to People, the Kansas City-based not-for-profit founded by her grandfather. Thomas is the CEO of a publicly-traded for-profit company, Ambassadors Group, headquartered in Spokane, Washington.
Although details of the relationship between the two are not obvious, Ambassadors Group apparently is licensed to use the People to People name. Travel arrangements are handled by private agencies.
The company should have no trouble finding travel agents. Its chairman is John A. Ueberroth, former chairman of Hawaiian Airlines and past president of Carlson Travel Group.
In its latest earnings report, Ambassadors Group had net income of $18.5 million for the second quarter of 2006, compared to $15.2 million a year earlier. Gross "program receipts," revenue from programs the company runs for People to People and others, increased 21 percent to $98.7 million.
People to People, by contrast, reported total revenue of $4.7 million for all of 2005, of which about $1.8 million came from "special projects" and $908,000 from "student programs," according to its tax return.
Mary Jean Eisenhower was paid $157,628 in 2005, according to the People to People tax return. Thomas was paid $2,075,879, not counting stock options valued at about $14,683,861, according to public records.
Invitations
In his letter, Thomas said his group gets names of prospective students from three sources:
• Direct student recommendations from teachers. These include the more than 3,000 teachers who travel as chaperones on the tours and "thousands of teachers that support our programs by recommending some of their outstanding students to us."
• Recommendations from past participants. "Many students and their parents provide recoommendations for future delegates," Thomas said.
• National academic listings. "We work with the same groups that colleges and universities use to identify potential undergraduates. Part of this group comes from the College Board ..."
The Iowa Attorney General's Office complained that in-person presentations to families who receive the invitation letter also convey the message that students are specially selected as an honor, and People to People representatives describe the program similarly over the telephone.
Although the company agreed to tone down its representations, recent complaints from consumers cast doubt upon that pledge.
"On 9-7-06, I received through US postal mail service, a letter from People to People International stating my daughter had been selected to participant in an international exchange student program and that 'she had been named for this honor by a teacher, former Student Ambassador or national academic listing,'" said Beth of Lincolnton NC in a complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com.
"I called the phone number provided on the letter on 9-13-06 to inquire as to exactly which source nominated my child. I was told by the representative, Amelia Adams, that "unfortunately, the space where a person is suppose to fill in their name has been left blank, therefore she is unable to provide that information," Beth said.
