I was really disappointed with my experience on ELVTR’s Fantasy Writing course with Ed McDonald and strongly advise against this course.
The course was advertised as including 9 workshops, 12 case studies and 9 assignments, but my experience fell significantly short of these promises. I identified only 7 workshops and 4 substantive case studies, and received just 5 assignments. There were also issues with delayed and inconsistent feedback - we waited nearly 7 weeks for the final assignment feedback and some people received simplistic feedback (e.g. "I like this").
Perhaps most disappointing was the recommendation letter. The course materials explicitly stated that students in the top 10% qualified for a letter. I worked hard, achieved 107/110, came second in the class and received a perfect score on my final assignment. ELVTR initially confirmed in writing that I qualified and that the letter would be sent, only to later retract this, explaining that the instructor, Ed McDonald, does not sign recommendation letters "for everyone" . Although an alternative one-to-one session was offered, this was not what had been promised and the arranged one during the course was of little value, feeling like I had inconvenienced the lecturer.
I invested £988 and considerable time and effort in this course, relying on its advertised content and benefits. I have now submitted a formal complaint requesting a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Ultimately, my concern is the gap between what was advertised and what was delivered, compounded by the handling of a promise to deliver a award after meeting a previously outlined criteria. I hope ELVTR takes these concerns seriously and improves its transparency and accountability for future students.
SG
Simon G.
Refused to tell me the price over the…
Refused to tell me the price over the phone and was confrontational instead of patient. Very weird when they want me to buy something!
Response from | elvtr |Sep 29, 2026
Hi Simon, we sincerely apologize for the miscommunication. We appreciate your feedback and for taking our manager’s call earlier. We remain dedicated to assisting you at [email protected] whenever you're ready.
RE
Ren
I signed up for a course
I signed up for a course. I took the first class. I quickly realized it was not for me. I asked for 100% monetary refund. They said no, you can have an 80% credit. That’s a total BS. These folks have terrible customer service. Do not do anything with them.
Response from | elvtr |Jul 27, 2026
Hi Ren, thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry this wasn't the right fit for you. We'd like to look into this further with you and will reach out directly so we can help. We're happy to discuss your concerns directly.
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L N.
Persistent sales calls after signing up…
Persistent sales calls after signing up for their lead gen on instagram - 3 missed calls everyday at all hours. And then when I finally picked up the call - the person on the line was incredibly rude, and read off AI generated answers without any indication of knowledge about the courses they're selling.
Response from | elvtr |Jul 14, 2026
We're sorry to hear about this experience. This isn't the standard we aim for, and we appreciate you bringing it to our attention. If you're open to it, please reach out to us with your contact details so we can review what happened and ensure your feedback reaches the appropriate team.
AJ
Amy J.
Classes too big to care.
I have after 2 weeks felt like I'm stupid, ignored, and have been spoken down to on multiple occasions. The course itself has battered my mental health, I felt I couldn't seek help or support from the discord group and have complete lost all trust and confidence in myself on the course. I have been left feeling like it was a mistake to trust the company. Firstly, the first meeting upon signing up never happened for me, I waited around the full 30 minutes on the call, sent out emails to see if something had happened and to see if they were going to reschedule etc, got no response, the next day I finally hear back that there was an issue and that they we're going to reschedule but there was 0 suitable times for myself (me being from UK and the course being delivered from USA), I reached out to support and already felt uncomfortable with taking the class but was convinced to just give the class a go and if i still felt uncomfortable after a week I could request to leave. I attended the first class and there was lots of encouragement in that first meeting with the teachers and it was incredible to meet the faces of some of the people to get involved with, the 2nd class was missed due to an emergency family situation and no support to catch up was provided, the discord group has a mixture of people but most were ex or current college students and most had no time for those with little to no art class experience (it is not a beginner friendly environment), I raised concerns again but got ignored, I decided to try again with the next class and the class itself was ok, but the project needed to be completed was art college level, again it's not beginner friendly, specific books were heavily needed and referred to which made it impossible to do the course without purchasing the additional materials which for someone like me, disabled, unemployed and low benefit income meant going without dinners for myself for a few days just to be able to buy the necessary materials. Even after all this I found that with my dyslexia, mild learning difficulties and mental health difficulties support wasn't there. Instead the only real support I ever got was from a couple of other students and even then most other students made me consistently feel stupid for not understanding what needed to be done, it started pulling on my mental health and I did my best to hold on. The 4th class came along and it got significantly overwhelming, I felt I couldn't ask for help because I felt like I would just be made to be stupid again, I acknowledged that the environment was making me lose confidence in myself to try, the course material made no sense to me as most of it required visualisation, something I physically cannot do as my mind has no ability to form pictures or images, I attempted to reach out to support once again and just got ignored. I have now walked away from the discord group after being put into a mental spiral where the darker thoughts have become significantly difficult to ignore (I'm on phones trying to get help as body is shaking, i'm in tears and quite frankly don't want to be around anymore) and feel like I was taken advantage of.
Response from | elvtr |Jul 13, 2026
Amy, we're truly sorry to read about your experience and the impact it has had on you. We're sorry the experience didn't reflect the level of support we aim to provide. We'd appreciate the opportunity to look into your concerns and discuss them with you directly. This is not the environment we want any student to have. Thank you for taking the time to share this. Our team will review your case and follow up with you promptly.
DA
Dakota
Data Analysis In Healthcare
Do not take the Data Analysis in Healthcare Course taught by Jesse Andrist through ELVTR. You would learn more by watching YouTube videos or using AI to create data sets for you to explore/ work on on your own. In fact, the instructor actually advises students to use AI to learn. The assignments in the class will not prepare you adequately. I am half way done the class and have learned more through independent work than with this class. Do not waste your money on this class.
Response from | elvtr |Jun 23, 2026
Dakota, we’re sorry to hear this course felt too limited for you. Your feedback is helpful, and we’ll share it with the team. We appreciate you taking the time to share it. Wish you the best moving forward!
JA
Jana A.
I received a call from elvtr stating I…
I received a call from elvtr stating I had an account with Wells Fargo from 15 years ago. I have never had a credit card or loan from Wells Fargo. The man that called me accused me of lying. I don’t think this is a legitimate company.
Response from | elvtr |Jun 11, 2026
Jana, we’re sorry for this upsetting call. Although this doesn't seem like it was from our team, please send us the best contact details for the call so we can review this and help clear things up.
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Benedict G.
Awful
Awful, constant harrassment even after I blocked their number, no way to opt out of the 10+ messages they decide to send.
Response from | elvtr |May 14, 2026
We’re sorry, Benedict — that’s not the experience we want. We take unwanted contact seriously. We’ll look into it right away and make sure it doesn't happen again. Thank you for flagging this; wishing you all the best.