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ABCmouse.com / Age of Learning

ABCmouse.com / Age of Learning review: unethical business practices 30

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2:27 pm EDT
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ABC Mouse says that there is a 30-day trial and that a full refund will be forthcoming if not satisfied - I paid for a one-year subscription. After only two (2) weeks I notified them that I want to cancel - it was not appropriate content for my 2-year-old grand daughter. Good luck - no response from them, multiple emails with no response, no phone number to contact them, no customer phone number, and my only recourse was to challenge the credit card payment and do a BBB complaint. ABC Mouse is unethical. Warning . . . do not use this company!

Update by Grant Austin
Dec 02, 2013 3:40 pm EST

ABC Mouse finally agreed to refund 100% of the amount paid . . . however, only because:
(a) I had kept a "screen shot" of every email to them and every cancellation request, and
(b) the proof was sufficiently voluminous that I had the backing of my credit card company that believed in the facts, and
(c) I filed a complaint with the BBB (although ABC Mouse is not a BBB member). This had the impact of raising the profile and perception about the validity of my complaint.
Beware of your dealings with ABC Mouse.

30 comments
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Terryg1
, GB
Aug 21, 2018 8:08 am EDT

ABC MOUSE is a company owned by a Scientology whale. He has donated at least 20 million dollars to Scientology. By funding him you are inadvertently funding this disgusting cult that routinely abuse children and deprive them of a proper education. Avoid this company.

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Michelle Patterson Gillespie
, US
Jul 11, 2018 2:35 pm EDT

This company is HORRIBLE. Getting rid of the monthly payments is like trying to get rid of super-resistant head lice. I think it's time to get legislators involved in establishing consumer protections around companies like this -- relative to automatically renewing subscriptions.

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EMTerry
, US
Sep 06, 2017 8:05 am EDT

I really can't understand how a company can be allowed to operate so fraudulently. After a year trying to cancel, I finally called American Express and reported it as fraudulent charge and explained to them and they "blocked" them from charging on my card again. I'm sure this is not the first they have heard of this practice by ABC Mouse. I hope there is a class action against them for these egregious business practices. Also, if you are on twitter you can tweet complains to them at @ABCmouse. Would be good to get something going on Social media to pressure them to stop perpetuating this. I think I had about 2 years of $7.95 charges that we didn't want.

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Selena Jordan
, US
Mar 04, 2017 7:40 am EST

I am trying to cancel and none of the phone numbers are going through they charged for a yearly subscription without my knowledge and I was going to cancel and wrote them 3 times and still no answer very disappointing!

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Dasha2
, US
Feb 13, 2017 1:53 pm EST

It's time to sue This company for lack of following their own Policy Rules, There is more then enough people to stand agents ABC Mouse and show others what true scammers they really are.
This is a joke to us parents and a major disappointment to the kids that could have truly benefited from this APP.

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Christen Wagers
, US
Dec 21, 2016 6:05 pm EST

I cancelled my subscription and 3 months later my card is still being charged. I sat on hold for over a hour and still haven't talked to anyone. They say you get a confirmation email but I didn't receive one in October. I recancelled and still never got this email they "supposedly "send out. I just want my money back. I will write a million complaints until I get my $23.85 back.! Maybe if you quit taking people's money you could fix your system.

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Cici_cymone
, US
Dec 03, 2016 3:00 pm EST

I got ABC back in 2014. The same day I signed up, I cancelled and I received email saying my subscription was cancelled. I was never charged and thought nothing of it. Well, I just notice last month that I had a charge from ABC mouse that dates back to 32/16. After reading all of your comments, I am going to meet with a attorney that handles class action lawsuits, monday. I tried calling ABC but was left on hold for about an hour. I will try their main number during business hours/days to see if I can get an answer. If the lawfirm accepts the class action, I will post back on this site and others to notify all those involved. Or maybe we all will start seeing the commericals on TV about this lawsuit. ABC is totally unethical but I guess this is a scam that businesses will use to get over on people.

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someonefrompa
, US
Oct 04, 2016 10:27 pm EDT

We are getting charged for last year by ABCMOUSE after we cancelled the enrollment for our daughter.

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Ruth Nina
, US
Oct 02, 2016 7:34 pm EDT

Saludos, escribo desde la República Dominicana. Me suscribí para que mi hija de 4 años lo usara y practicara el ingles. Elegí el plan de deducción mensual. Cuando accesé, me dí cuenta que no era lo que deseaba. Cancelé inmediatamente. Ahora, casi 6 meses más tarde veo que me han estado debitando de mi tarjeta de crédito. Procedí a buscar los emails que me enviaron de cancelación de cuenta. Al parecer, los envian al spam y, al menos en mi cuenta los spam se borran a los 30 días. Es decir, no tengo prueba de que cancelé, pero estoy 100% segura de que lo hice INMEDIATAMENTE. Osea, no había pasado 1 hora de haberme suscrito y procedí a solicitar mi cancelación. Ahora volví a cancelar y veo me mandan el mail de cancelación a la bandeja de spam. Entiendo que esto es un robo y que aleatoriamente esta empresa engaña a algunos de sus clientes. Obviamente, no los engaña a todos, pues dejarían de funcionar. Al ver estos reviews me doy cuenta que es una práctica recurrente en esta empresa. Lo peor de todo es que me encuentro en otro país y esto me hace sentir impotente ante cualquier reclamo legal. De todos modos, escribo mi comentario para evitar que otros tontos sean sorprendidos como yo y otos muchos han sido. ABCmouse es un ROBO, UNA ESTAFA, POR FAVOR CORRAN LA VOZ.

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skimanatt
, US
Aug 31, 2016 2:18 pm EDT

I too have been frustrated by the lack of customer support and the extreme difficulty in cancelling! The ABCMOUSE phone number [protected] x 4 above is the only place I've ever seen one and they were able to help me. Call them for an attempt at resolving. They definitely have predatory business practices and should be ashamed of themselves for their scamming!

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kim ochoa
, US
Jul 21, 2016 5:51 pm EDT

for all the people out there that have tried to cancel their membership with ABC Mouse with no sucess then call this number and you will get a live person to talk to [protected] ext.4 and you will get a real person to talk to they told me they would cancel my membership so let's see and what happens what this company is doing is so wrong maybe we all need to get together a file a class action suite against they please let me know what your out come is my email is ochoakim54@yahoo.com

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GinaD.
, US
Jun 29, 2016 3:05 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Same problems as most - they refuse to stop billing my card $7.95 per month. I finally spoke with a person who told me that even though I cancelled my account, I had a second account and that is why the billing continued. I never opened two accounts. When I asked why I was never billed for two accounts and only one prior to my cancellation, she didn't have an answer for me. This company is stealing money. After 10 months of this, I filed an online complaint with BBB and filed a fraud complaint with my bank. Stay away from this company.

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Jerome A. Gabor
, US
May 17, 2016 1:59 pm EDT

I have been trying to get this ABC Mouse off/cancelled from my account for over a year. I've written letters & got no response. I guess the only thing left to do is to write the Attorney Generals office to get this situation resolved or cancel my credit card. $8.00 every month for the last 18 months=$144 that I need to be reimbursed. The money is not the issue just stop taking money out of my account. My grand-daughter has moved out of the area for almost two years.. My name is Jerome A. Gabor, 8528 Panadero Drive, Austin, TX 78747; my Email: jagabor45@yahoo.com; my cell: [protected]. I would like a written response as to what action has been taken to close/cancel this account with you.

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Kelly Cronin
, US
May 17, 2016 12:42 pm EDT

I just tried to get a refund for the 2 years that were billed to me after I requested that my account be closed. I called customer service twice and then the main office in Glendale per one of the posts above. They refused to refund me the full amount since I didn't log in and discontinue the account on-line after I requested the discontinuation via phone to customer services in Feb 2014. I've also found hundreds of complains on other sites with poor customer ratings. PBS Sprout and other forms of media that advertise ABCmouse.com should be informed about these fraudulent practices. Parents need to know before they get ripped off.

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Disappointedmouseuser
, US
May 10, 2016 9:42 am EDT

I also signed up for a free 30 day trial and was charged for 1 year immediately. I tried to cancel only a few days into the free trial but they refuse. Very deceptive and unethical company.

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caka
, US
Apr 25, 2016 4:01 pm EDT

This is the worst scam I have experienced in recent years. They wont refund my fees. Complete rip off. Pathetic business model and a very unethical company.

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Maria Capraun
, US
Mar 15, 2016 1:34 pm EDT

I cancelled the same day they processed my renewal and will not refund me. They were kind enough to cancel my subscription for next years renewal. They are terrible and their is no way to change billing information once you are sucked in.

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C James Gibson
, US
Feb 28, 2016 8:50 pm EST

The website offers a 30 day free trial. I was charged for a FULL YEAR that I did not authorize. When I contacted them a day later, they sent me a text (no contact telephone information on their website), stating I would not be getting a free trial. They informed me that I could cancel anytime but would not receive a refund. FRAUD, DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES, UNAUTHORIZED CHARGE! DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION. I learned the hard way.

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MLVD888
, US
Feb 25, 2016 9:15 am EST

ABC mouse autobilled me without sending an invoice. Auto billing is not a new concept but it is the first company I have encountered that will not accept that it is wrong to continue billing if services are not rendered or even received. They are billing for the following year but do not want to issue a refund even if I have stated the application is not being used.

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Not Happy with ABCMouse.com
, US
Feb 23, 2016 1:18 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ABCMOUSE.COM! Don't even sign up for the FREE TRIAL! I signed up for 1 year membership because it was cheaper than getting it monthly, but I guess once your 1 year is up, they started charging me $19.05 a month instead of $7.95 a month! What's bad is that once your 1 year is up, they won't send you an email or a letter to let you know that your 1 year membership is up. They just started charging you $19.50 per month! I thought it was $7.95 a month! Now that I want to cancel, I can't call a customer service because THEY DON'T HAVE ONE! I called 818.246.2223 as the number was mentioned on the complaint above and the receptionist won't transfer me to anyone. I Googled the CEO, Doug Dohring and the parent company is Age of Learning and I can't even find a phone number to call him to complaint about their unethical business practices!

PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF FROM THIS HEADACHE AND STAY AWAY FROM ABCMOUSE.COM!

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Sommer Espie
, US
Feb 21, 2016 2:45 pm EST

Wow I thought I was the only one. Signed up for my two yr old and thought I was signing up for a one month free trial. Billed the next day for 29.95. Found a number for their customer service and was absolutely shocked to hear there were over 250 callers ahead of me. Opted to request a call back. All day long I waited, no call back. I will be calling again on Monday and now I'm really upset as it sounds like I won't be able to get my account canceled and a refund given.

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Vicki L. Ray
, US
Feb 18, 2016 2:07 pm EST

I'm afraid that I'm going to be joining the others who have complaints about customer service (or lack of). I joined about a year for $7.95/mo which was automatically charged to a credit card. I was babysitting daily for a young boy and thought he'd enjoy this site. However, he was not that interested even when I changed the academic levels to a higher age setting. I no longer have this child (he's in school all day now) and want to cancel my membership since it's been 6 months since we've used this website. When I saw the amount being deducted this month, it reminded me to cancel. However, when I went to the website and tried to log in, my password did not work. I sent a request to reset the password three times. Supposedly, I would receive an email instructing me to reset the password. I did not receive any emails. I did check the spam mail, too. I have sent an email to
customer service today (2/18/2016) and from reading the experiences of others I'm not very hopeful that I'll receive a response. I'm afraid I'll have to
resort to contacting my bank to put a stop to the payments. I wish I'd read reviews before subscribing!

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William Remick
, US
Nov 23, 2015 10:15 pm EST

I have been trying to log in with no success. Repeated 4 attempts to reset my password get 0 results. I have been tapped for fees but nothing to show for it .. ROBBERY!

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sabinebaby84
, US
Aug 25, 2015 5:54 pm EDT

about abcmouse.com I Cancel every month and when I call they said we never receive my cancelation and we can see what every one does on there account I told the lady that if you can see every one you will see I was trying to cancel several time. how can I find someone to close this company down.

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Jo1234
, US
May 21, 2015 4:38 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

So disappointed with the level of customer service of this company. It's almost impossible to reach a live person, they will not give you access to manager and clearly do not care about the customer satisfaction with the service. it was extremely difficult to cancel the subscription, and after doing so I was still being charge every month. Once I was able to reach customer service (after many attempts via email) the representative refused to reimbursed the charges even knowing that the website was never accessed. He was extremely condescending and unprofesional. Its a scam! Horrible and unethical Company.

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Jamie1Z1
Temecula, US
Aug 03, 2014 2:18 pm EDT

Scam! This company ABC MOUSE is a scam! There good, until you start to cancel. They won't let you cancel! Lets start a class action Law suit I call, I email ever single month to cancel. They keep billing me! If you google Abc mouse won't cancel, you'll see a bunch of different people that can't get ahold of them or won't let them cancel. It's illegal! Someone from my husbands company started a class action lawsuit against his company and she won a million dollars! It was because she started the class action lawsuit is why she won so much! My husband got 4600.00 from the lawsuit, everyone that worked there got money. So basically anyone can start a class action law suit. Here's the number of an attorney that does class action lawsuits [protected] This company does class action law suits, call them to start one today.

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Trekstuff
Aberdeen, US
Jun 02, 2014 3:28 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Many complaints here as well:

http://codecorner.galanter.net/2013/02/07/abcmouse-com-contact-number-is-800-633-3331/

Hopefully the forum opened there will help users help each other.

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NLewisphd
San Diego, US
Feb 13, 2014 12:27 pm EST

In the end I found the company's main office, and called there and spoke with a manager, who kindly refunded the $80. However, I have 2 major concerns about this company:
1) If you pay up front they will not remind you of your account before charging you again 18 months later
2) The customer service rep, while clearly in the ABCmouse offices in Glendale, CA, flat out lied to me about access to a manager. She said "there are no managers in at this time". Immediately after that I called the main office (818.246.2223) and they offered to have me speak with the manager. I understand why they do this, but it doesn't change the fact that it's dishonest, and reflects very poorly on the ethics of the company.

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NLewisphd
San Diego, US
Feb 13, 2014 12:04 pm EST

We signed on with at "pay $80 get 18 months" deal. However, we found that at the end of this, it was near impossible to get a hold of them to cancel. When we finally got a hold of them to cancel, they refused to refund the money, even though we hadn't used their service.

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ripped off dad
, US
Dec 02, 2013 2:36 pm EST

I "cancelled" ABC mouse about 6 months ago via the web link which is not easy to find, by design I suspect. About 4 months later I noticed the charge again on the same day that they had been taking it out each month. My wife then called the contact number from the website, no answer, left a message, they left a message, she called back no answer. The run around begins. I called my bank (Wells Fargo) today to stop payment, or block payment, she said they could recover last months payment, but the only way to stop the EFT is to get a new check card. So we would then have to notify all of the other companies that we bill pay online. What a pain in the ### just to prevent $7.95 from being stolen every month! I can not get the word out enough, but I will try. Every online forum that I can find will be notified, and I may even go to the police since they really are stealing. A class action lawsuit would get their attention, but a really scary good lawyer would have to see a huge payday out of it. You've been warned. God bless.

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