Pimsleur Approach
reviews and complaints

I have had very negative experienced with this company and when I researched online I had become aware that hundreds and possibly even thousands of victims have been ripped off by Internet Order LLC. Myself and others have been unfortunately naive to trust in a trial program that was about $10 to try out for 30 days.

The program arrived approximately 70 days later. Next, After about 100 days I am charged $512 so I file complaints to the BBC. They then attempt to contact me pretending this was all mishap and they told me they would never charge me again as long as I sent back the program. They even created a prepaid Fed-Ex form for me so I went to a shipment office and sent in both of the programs.

I called them to ask if they received the program a week later and they told me that they had just received it on that day, and that they had only received one of the packages because the Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 CDs are kept in different departments, but if I sent in the packages together everything should be cleared up within a week (complete lies and deceit).

Approximtely 60 days after I had sent back the programs I receive another letter asking for $256 threating me that they are going to hurt my credit, and to keep my honor and commitment... This low life, "Kathy Heart" after receiving my packages is trying to make my life and the lives of thousands of other victims miserable so that maybe we will get tired and possibly pay them eventually.

I urge others to not buy into their scam, and do NOT PAY them anything because even if you do, they will act like they didn't receive anything. Even if you send in a cheque and they cash it out, they will deny it ever occuring. If you ship the CDs, they will deny ever receiving it. "Internet Order LLC" is one of the lowest, and most despicable bunch of criminals I have ever heard of or come across. What a bunch of low lives.

I too ordered the 9>95 online course and checked that I did not want anymore cd's. Yesterday I got the gold set that I did not order. I am low income and can't afford this. I paid by paypal so I may have some recourse. It says it was billed to my credit card but the charges were 0. I'm going to check into blocking any further payments.

Learn to read the fine print man. I ordered the 9.99 Italian set fully aware that in 30 days I will receive the first of of the gold series. Now, I was not sure at the time whether or not I was going to continue on to this part of the subject option, (after recieving my trial I am planning now to continue) however that is beside the point. In no way did they trick or device me into paying for something. Don't give out your credit card information and your personal information unless you are sure of what your in for. It is YOUR responsibility to cancel before the 30 day period, which they make abundantly clear, they even offer you 30 days to fully use the product(260$ish) and return it for a full refund except shipping and handling. If you do not want to pay to ship it back to them then read the contract before putting your signature on the line, or cancel before they send it to you(they do state this). Getting mad for them automatically putting you on the bill roll is like getting mad at Netflix for doing the same thing after their free trial. It's just what's done nowadays.

I have had the same thing happen to me and i dont know what to do either. How much does it cost to keep it? It will cost prob 20$ for me to return it and that really pisses me off too.

The exact same thing happened to me, and all that hey had to say is that it is my fault for not reading their website...The rep I spoke with said that it is clearly in large print on the website that i would be charged for future products...It is a scam! they get your credit card info and charge you for products that you do not want and tell you its your fault for not reading. Someone really needs to do something about this, I mean if you believe in your product so much there is no reason why you need to TRICK people into paying for it.
Thank you Fancydance1212 for reporting them

Same thing happened to me. I was away and busy and didn't noticed that I needed to send it back or I would be charges. They have my credit card! Then they sent me another one! That one I sent back right away. They better not charge me for it. Ridiculous. How can they charge you for something you never ordered?

Same story. I ordered a starter set 4 CDs of Brazilian Portuguese. The cost was $9.90. However a few weeks later I receive in the mail the Gold set of CDs which I did not order explaining I'll be charged 4 payments of 64 U$ monthly.

Thanks for the warning. I did in fact order the sample CD, and it was moments after that that I came across this complaint board. I then called [protected] to opt out of the future shipments and charges, and the rep assured me that I wouldn't be receiving any. I'll take him at his word, but I agree that this is not a good business practice. I hope other mail order language course businesses have more consideration for their customers.

I did as above and after a short time I received that "wonderful" second unordered package. The paperwork in the package showed that it was a free trial, but not how long the trial was. So I started listening to the "new" set of CDs. The first 4 were identical to the 4 purchased for $9.99. So on the the 5th thru 16th. when I go to CD #16. It said that it was to go along with the reading materiel provided either in paper form or PDF. Well the CD did not include include a PDF file so I dug into the box that the CD's originally came in and did not find the reading material, but did find a document that explained that this was a 30-day trial and I would be charged four payments of $64 against the credit card used for the original $9.99 purchase. And by now my 30-days were about up. Nowhere in the documentation did it have directions on how to return the package other than a warehouse address where the package came from. I finally found their web site and an 800 number to call and got instructions for shipping it back and getting off their mailing list. Of course the return shipment (UPS at about $15.00) was out of my pocket). They definitely lie when they say they have a way to learn a language in 10-days if they feel they need to keep sending you materiel for which they will charge $1, 064 (4 payments of $64 for each of 4 levels of lessons). The initial $9.99 is just so they can get your credit card information. DON'T DO IT. Go to your local public library and see what they have available.

dis iz wack real talk

im not ###in wit it...i was but im not

Pimsleur Approach scam me on the learning product. Initially I paid for S/H and the 9.95 CD. The company tried to build by charge care for 300.00 in payments of 62.95. Now I am being threaten by the company to put me in collection for 300.00. Anyone out their can help me.

I ordered the $9.99 10 lesson Spanish, and French, lessons from Pimsleur. I paid them via Pay Pal, and received the packages. Now they are sending me more stuff that I didn't order. I have not been charged for it yet, but I am sure I will be. I see others have complained about this. How can I force them to stop sending me stuff and charging me for it?

Thanks,
Brock Taylor

This is why you use your credit card, not paypal for these things. I don't know how you are gonna stop pay pal from milking your account but if you used a credit card all you have to do is call them and freeze out any further charges. In any event, you must prevent any further charges up front and now.

Agree... just getting our first round of doubled up $69 charges per month. Wife had no idea she wasn't buying a 9.99 item but a $700+ installment plan. Everything about the web page is deigned to draw your eye away from the minute-fonted 'terms" in which are buried quickly accruing sets of $277 dollar courses on installment charges. Even the method of cascading the payments is fairly obviously designed to test whether the card holder closely monitors their bill. Wait 30 days $69... 30 days later, bamm... another $69 then again... how many courses they have I have no idea. Wife will be calling today to demand credit and gladly return. If cannot contact or get no satisfaction, will dispute charges, file a complaint with PA attorney general, and complain to PBS that their name is being used for this scam.

I agree that Pimsluer is a scam, but I agree with some of the concepts the use as building blocks for their lies. I decided to watch an ad video for it and it SOUNDED good, but once you really pay attention to everything being said, you can pick out the lies and the facts. I do agree that there are better ways to learn language than "traditional" methods as far as at least speaking a language. Now, if you want to fully master a language, then you need to take more tedious measures such as going to school to learn the language. Most Americans can't even speak proper English in an "English speaking" country. I digress. Learning to communicate through language is something that comes natural to the average person. I personally enjoy Rosetta Stone's method of immersion. It makes more sense. Many languages have words that do not translate into other languages, so why do we think it's more efficient to try to translate everything into the language of the person learning. This just causes more confusion in the long term. When you learn a language through traditional methods, you end up thinking in two languages, translating in your head, and it takes longer to get your message across or to receive messages others are trying to communicate to you. When you learn a language through immersion, you learn to think in that language separately from your native tongue. Pimsleur is a scam but I know there are better, more effective ways out there to learn foreign languages out there. Not short cuts to learning languages, just more efficient methods.

Pimsluer is deceptive scam. Buy a CD for $9.95, now they charging me for $256.
As a professinal college Spanish teacher you are right.

I concur, Pimsluer is deceptive scam. Buy a CD for $9.95, now they draining me for $228.

Have they sent your account to any collecting agency so far?

They charged me three times without billing notice, order number is not the original with wrong order date. These information got from my credit card company, Pimsleur is suck.

Write a letter of complaint to the Attorney General of your state. Also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Philadelphia, PA (a city in which this company does business). If you call the company again, inform them you are recording the conversation and as calmly as possible, even if you have to talk over them, inform them you did not ask to be enrolled in their Rapid Fluency Program and demand to be removed. Finally, call your credit card company and file a complaint with them. In many cases, the card company will take over fighting the dispute for you and remove the charge from your account.

I also signed up for the trial. On my first credit card statement they charged me three times for the "automatic membership". No joy calling to complaint. They just talk without listening, no concern on their part. They got their money and that seems to be all they're interested in. What a rip-off!

Thought I only owed 1 small payment and just got a letter for money I owe and had no idea about not happy

I ordered the $9.95 Greek beginner course and a few months later I get more courses with no bill! I thought it was part of the promotion since it said on the bill I owe nothing. I then got a letter a few months later saying that I need to pay $256.00!

I called customer service the moment I received the letter and the supervisor said that there was nothing they can do because it is outside of the 30 day window to return. I tried to explain to them that I didn't order anything else. The supervisor said that I did it was in smaller font on the screen. SCAM! This was a horrible experience. The supervisor wouldn't do anything to help me even though this was the first correspondence I have received from them. This was a horrible mistake.

Please take it from me and do not purchase anything from this company! They do not care about their customers and will not help with something is wrong.

Thank you so much people for warning me about this scam before I got involved with Pimsleur. They advertise on facebook and I am going to everybody there about them. I always check out and look complaints about companies before doing business with them. Did this with Fingerhut; they are bad news too. I LOVE the interenet!

Thank you people above for warning about this scam by Pimsleur. You saved me a big headache from getting involved with them. I LOVE the interent!

Pimsleur on line advertising is very deceptive. What a deal $9.95 includes shipping right? Wrong ! When you order you are actually agreeing to receive many language courses They list 60 different languages! They keep billing you $64.00 a month until you send the CDs back and ask them to stop sending languages. They send out discs and you have a limited time to return them. They bill you $265.95 for that language in ongoing monthly installments. It is an outlandish unbelievable scam. I can't believe they are allowed to continue this public deception. Fraud, Swindling, racketeering come to mind.

Have they sent your account to any collecting agency so far?

Same thing happened to me. I purchased the $9.95 thing in January thinking that was "it". I went on vacation and when i returned I found a big black box with lots of CD in it from this Pimsleur company. I couldn't understand this. It didn't seem to me that it could be connected to the $9.95 purchase Imade. I oopened my AX bill and found a charge for $64.00. I called the 800 number and got the most arrogant woman on the phone. She REFUSED to cancel the order (which I never placed) or tell me where I can return it. She said it was the "Gold" edition and I didn't return it in 30 days so the billing has begun and she won't stop it. I was beside myself. I was in Florida for 6 weeks while this "Gold" edition sat at the post office. I told her I WOULD NOT pay for one more charge to my account. She said, "Sorry, it's already 'in the system'". After repeated attempts to stop this, I hung up. I looked at the complaints onthe internet about this company. Then called American Express who said they will block this merchant from charging anything to me again.

The same thing happened to me as the first post. Then when I call, they tell me it's included in the information. Not... I ask to speak to a manager because I didn't feel as though I should pay the $6.00 return fee. I also expressed I would go to the bank for the card and lodge a complaint. So the operator comes back on the line and is going to send me a UPS return label. I'm not sure if I got this through Groupon or another like Groupon but I am going to lodge a complaint with them as well. The operator was so nice, I told her she is too nice to work for a company like that. Never again!

In September 2012 I fell for this scam and purchased the $9.95 CD. Two weeks later a larger package arrived from the same company. I called them and asked what was this about. They replied (the guys from www.pimsleurapproach.com) that it is a 30 day trial and so I should try it and if I don't like it I can return it. I replied that I am really not interested, I just bought the CD for $9.95 and that was all I wanted. After much arguments the person gave in and sent me a return authorization by email. Two days later I returned the package (imagine I had to pay for usps shipping for something I never ordered!). Now, February 2013, I receive a pink envelope from someone named Kelly Heart (I figured after I opened the envelope from the same address as the Pimsleur co. ) Inside, a warning or rather a threat how they will send me to collections because they couldn't collect the $264 from my credit card for all these past months (!) and how I owed them this amount of money, etc.
Needless to say how I felt. I called the company (by the way, it doesn't matter it states Internet LLC, it is the same company as Pimsleur approach, they are all in the same game, the same scam, so please, do not believe for a second that this is an honest business and that some other parties are responsible). On the phone I explained how 5 months ago I returned their package, etc, only to find out that they have already sent me to a collection agency and this Kelly Heart is nothing but the name of their collection agency!
I was so upset that I didn't want to speak any further, the guy asked me if I had proof that I returned their package!
Next day, luckily a Saturday, I spent it all looking for a receipt and a tracking number from last year. It literally took me the whole day to look through all my paperwork, and yes, I did find both, receipt and tracking number which I verified again on line to confirm that they received the package only two days after!
Now, I am debating how to proceed. I read a lot on line about this scam and I feel someone needs to do something to stop these people and their scam. Also, I don't know at this time if my credit score has been damaged, I need to find out as I have been working really hard for the last year to increase my score.
Any suggestions are welcome and again, please be aware of this BIG SCAM!

Pimsleur Approach is a sleazy company that sends out DOZENS of spam email per day.
They are going charge you $256.00, close your credit card to avoid further charge.

It sounds like your a whinny cry baby that needs attention. Before running your mouth get the facts. The only thing I see in your complaint is that your down grading a company that you have no information on except an email that ISN'T always sent out by the company itsef, but by affiliates that are trying to make a living. Your comments about being a lair, cheat etc., so you harbor a dislike for yourself, you tell others that they are liars, cheats, and pickpockets, because you yourself have cheated and stoled from people and and you feel that everybody else is too. I for one have used the programs and can speak 7 laugaus and can write in 3. But of coarse in your eyes I am a lair and a cheat and work for the company because I don't agree with you.

To the individual who wrote:

"Stop Complaining and take responsibility for your actions. The website clearly states that you will revive other orders. I saw the terms and conditions, why didn't anybody else? Oh i know.. because you didn't READ.. Now how is that their fault? Smh.. get it together...When I called to return I didn't get through either, but on their website you can chat live with a rep, and they gave me return info... I bet none of you thought of that, now did you... Of course not..."

I agree we should read the agreement but it is nonetheless a sleazy and underhanded way to do business. Your support of such tactics clearly indicates that your character is in question. Also, if you agreed to the terms because as you stated you READ them, then why did you call to break the contract you had originally agreed to? Does the 'Learn in 10 days' not really work? Hum? Another possible scam. You appear to be a liar and a fraud yourself and obviously support Barney Franks and his foul ilk. Supporting such ignoble morals makes me think you must either work for the company in question, be a lawyer, politician or pick pocket. Perhaps a combination of several of the the above which would go a long why towards your ultimate goal of being a liberal talk show host. Good day.

Stop Complaining and take responsibility for your actions. The website clearly states that you will revive other orders. I saw the terms and conditions, why didn't anybody else? Oh i know.. because you didn't READ.. Now how is that their fault? Smh.. get it together...When I called to return I didn't get through either, but on their website you can chat live with a rep, and they gave me return info... I bet none of you thought of that, now did you... Of course not...

The above also happened to me and I was dissuaded from returning the first unsolicited shipment because it says FREE TRIal and order total $0.00. Then at the top is said "Paid by: Credit Card". So now they say I owe the first two payments of $69.12 each. This is very deceptive advertising and I believe could be considered fraudulent. I have now turned the matter over to my credit card company but maybe I should still send them a certified letter stating that I will accept no further shipments.

I am so glad I looked into this before ordering. Anytime something sounds too good to be true, it never fails to be exactly that...not true! Thanks for saving me that incredible anguish which obviously comes with the small loss of $10. I usually do the research first before I jump at an unbelievable offer, and this is a really good example of why that is such an important example to follow!

This is exactly what happened to me. Just spoke to Pimsleur who told me I was billed in error because it has been less than 30 days. Should not have been billed until December 7, 2011. Even more importantly, I did not know that by purchasing the 'limited time, special offer" that I was also going to be charged $64 for each of apparently many future shipments of the 'real' language courses. Even the order sheet in the box is deceptive. It says 'unit price FREE' and order total $ 0.00' .But at the top of the form it says 'paid by Credit Card'. I bought the $9.95 course because it sounded like a complete beginners course. Now I have to pay to ship this course back within 10 days. There are no return shipping refunds. This company's practices are COMPLETELY DECEPTIVE IF NOT DOWNRIGHT FRAUDULENT.

a friend did me the favor of sending me the $9.95 introduction. a month later a "gold level" box arrived in the mail with 16 cds. i did not ask for it, so i ignored it. next i get a dunning letter from them. afraid of a credit demerit, i called them and complained and negotiated a settlement price of about half of what they were asking for. now i discover that they only sent me half of level one, and that to get the rest of level one i have to buy more cds.
by the way, i like the program--pimsluer was a professor at ohio state, and designed a wonderful program. unfortunately, it is now in the hands of unethical marketers--shame on simon and shuster who own the program.
frederic harwood

Strange symbols appeared in my texts when I posted it!

I to ordered the $9.95 set and was sent the gold set. There was a box on the form I submitted with my credit card payment about the gold edition and I unchecked that box. I did not send the gold set back, but I did cancel that debit card after they got me for $128.00. They have been after me and trying repeatedly to charge the cancelled card. I'm giving in and paying them because I don't want a collection on my credit report.
This has made me wiser about reading all the fine print.
If anyone is interested, a letter I received from the company listed them as : I.O, LLC. 1600 JFK Blvd. 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103.

I was fortunate enough to research their website before buying into their program. For those of you reading this that have not given your $10 to this company...educate yourself first! Each language requires 4 separate CD disks. You will be sent a disk every 8 weeks and charged $64 a month for each disk. If you are doing the math in your head, you'll realize that you start paying for the next disk before the last one is paid off, making your monthly charge $128, not $64. Also, the free trial period begins the day you give your credit card info, not the day you receive the first disk. It could be 3 weeks before you get that first disk, giving you a week left to your trial period to get it back to them if you are not satisfied. If they dont get it back in exactly 30 days from the time you signed up, you are officially in it for the long haul. That said, the entire language program will cost under $1100 and that's not bad if you will indeed be fluent in the language at the end of the program. Taking a language course at the college will cost you that much and you will only learn the basics. The catch is (and they are counting on this) is that you will lose interest, much like becoming a gym member, and they'll have your money whether you learn the language or not.

It happened to me too! I drive a truck and thought it would be a productive way to spend my time to learn a language. Anything that sounds that good should have warned me to be more careful. I just received my unwanted "gold edition" in the mail and hope that I can send it back and not be charged, but it appears that this is the m.o. of this company in order to bilk money from folks. I will contact my bank and try to stop them from continuing this scam that way. This causes much concern that they "got me" and there isn't a recourse. It should be reported to the appropriate authorities so maybe they can put a stop to this.

Hi,
Can i file a police complain? i see 64 charged to my account for a pack i didnt order and not even open. I am calling them tomorrow. If they dont agree, i am ready to file a police case for fraud.

Listen up and spread the word around. This is called negative option marketing. It means that there is usually a box or form that you have to fill in or opt out of if you DON'T want the "free trial". Most people never know they are signed up. Technically, the company is operating within the law, because the trial and all the other nonsense is clearly written out in size 2 font on a backpage somewhere. So what are consumers to do?
You can call and hold for awhile ans maybe get some sort of break, OR, you can file a charge-back on with your credit card provider. This doesn't mean you'll win. It is a legal transaction. But these companies operate under shady circumstances which makes them vulnarable to these charge-backs. The reason is that VISA, Mastercard, and Amex especially go through a lot of trouble to invesitgate and mediate these charge-backs. So a company gets a certain ceiling per month that it can hit. After that, they are not allowed to process that type of card. That's why you should call and threaten charge-backs. BTW - every payment counts as one; so if you owe 4 payments or have bee n deducted 4 payments, that means four seperate charge-backs. I worked for a similar "company" and they feared that more than anything. Imagine not being able to process VISA cards. - Like I said. Call them and try it. See what happens. And be firm.