Busuu

There are so many language learning sites better than this one. If you get a subscription here - beware it's re-occurring. And when you are ready to cancel it - also beware, as it will not go through. You will think it did and then they will charge you again a month later. Customer service is useless they refuse to refund me for the months not used as well as they keep telling me they can't cancel my account since I have to do it myself. But the website is broken. So I'm still getting charged. Have to get a new credit card now after being charged for 4 months after I emailed them FOUR MONTHS AGO to cancel my subscription. Stay away.

Hi, I have a premium membership in busuu but for months writing exercises are not available. I sent a bunch of e-mails but so far no respond or any sign that someone reads them. I think, the company accepting payments from around the world should also have way of providing their services equally well as they take our money! I feel I've been cheated! DO NOT TRUST BUSUU!

This is a repeat of a complaint earlier this week, to which there was no response. Who are these people?
On 21 July 2013 I cancelled my Busuu premium membership. According to the website, repayments will be made within 7 days. It has now been 2 weeks, with no refund. Furthermore, their website does not give an email address for communication, merely a limited selection of tick boxes for feedback. Enquiring about a refund does evidently not feature in those tick boxes.
Having read other complaints about Busuu, I am also concerned that they will charge my credit card for a renewal despite the fact that I cancelled the Premium membership within the prescribed period.

On 21 July 2013 I cancelled my Busuu premium membership. According to the website, repayments will be made within 7 days. It has now been 2 weeks, with no refund. Furthermore, their website does not give an email address for communication, merely a limited selection of tick boxes for feedback. Enquiring about a refund does evidently not feature in those tick boxes.
Having read other complaints about Busuu, I am also concerned that they will charge my credit card for a renewal despite the fact that I cancelled the Premium membership within the prescribed period.

I had a premium subscription with Busuu.com which has been running for quite a while, I cancelled my subcription after the last updgrade which was in April 2013 via the subcriptions section of the website, it subsequently had a message saying "You have purchased a Premium subscription until 21.7.2013. As you have already cancelled your subscription, your premium account will be converted into a free basic account after this date." However when 21 July 2013 arrived I received an email declaring that I had successfully upgraded my account and thus my credit card would be debited $38.97. I was obviously rather confused so logged in to see what was happening the message in my subscriptions page had now changed to "You have purchased a Premium subscription until 21.10.2013. As you have already cancelled your subscription, your premium account will be converted into a free basic account after this date." This is despite having not logged on or further modified my subscription in any way after having previously cancelled. This feels very fraudulent, I got in touch with Buusu via the email contact they provide, and upon explaining their error received this reply:

Hello Stephen Graham,

Thanks for your message.

We are sorry that you were unaware of the fact that the subscription is being renewed automatically. We inform about this on the purchase page (www.busuu.com/subscribe) and in our premium terms and conditions, which you accepted (www.busuu.com/premium_terms and http://www.busuu.com/help).

Your subscription can only be cancelled by you. You can do this at any time at www.busuu.com/mysubscription (your Premium area), by clicking on cancel "here" and then following the steps through to the end, where you need to confirm again. If you don´t do so, your membership will be renewed automatically again. If you have paid via PayPal, you will automatically be redirected to their website, where you will have to cancel your subscription with them as well. After having completed the cancellation process, you will receive a email from us!

Please note that we cannot refund already paid memberships.

Sunny greetings
The busuu.com team
I followed up with the following:
Hi

I cancelled via the subscriptions section of the website, I cancelled right
after the renewal in April, the subscriptions part of the site then had a
message that stated You have purchased a Premium subscription until
21.7.2013. As you have already cancelled your subscription, your premium
account will be converted into a free basic account after this date,
however now it reads You have purchased a Premium subscription until
21.10.2013. As you have already cancelled your subscription, your premium
account will be converted into a free basic account after this date. I do
not understand as I have not adjusted my subscription any further, it is
starting to feel like some kind of scam!

I expect a speedy resolution to this.

Thanks

Stephen

Hello Stephen Graham,

Thank you for your message.

Your subscription can only be cancelled by you.

You can do this at any time at www.busuu.com/mysubscription (your Premium area), by clicking on cancel "here" and then following the steps through to the end, where you need to confirm again. If you don´t do so, your membership will be renewed automatically again. If you have paid via PayPal, you will automatically be redirected to their website, where you will have to cancel your subscription with them as well. After having completed the cancellation process, you will receive a email from us!

Of course you will still be able to enjoy all the Premium advantages until the end of the period you signed up for.

We hope you will continue learning with busuu.com!

Sunny greetings,
The busuu.com team
www.busuu.com

So I advise extreme caution when dealing with this company, the reply appears either automated or copy and pasted as it in no way addresses the actual issue raised. I have since went on the site to see if I missed something, there is no further options to do anything other what I had done. I do believe I have been fraudulently dealt with.

regards

Stephen

I am writing here because I couldn't find any means to communicate with Busuu.com from their website, other than a 'general feedback' section with a limit of 450 characters.

As a teacher of English and a learner of Spanish I have been both a fan and advocate of Busuu.com, having recommended the site to countless students and language learners in general. However, I am disgusted that my premium membership was automatically renewed without any warning or notice from them, only receiving an email to inform me that the transaction had happened. I'm not against auto-renewals in general but only because companies generally remind you in the weeks leading up to the end of the subscription date and thus giving you the choice.

Yes they state during registration that auto renewals will happen so I know that this is my own fault for not remembering the exact date in which I subscribed and therefore would be due for a renewal. However, I honestly believe that it is unrealistic for the majority of customers to remember these specifics, which is why my phone company, car insurance, gym membership, internet provider etc send letters or emails to remind me. Often I will let the auto renewal take place but other times I like to shop around, but either way I appreciate the choice.

I have no doubt the only reason they give these reminders is maintain customer satisfaction and to avoid an angry backlash, preferring I'm sure to stay quiet and hoping the customer has once again forgotten, in order to secure another term of payment. And this is exactly what I believe Busuu has done in this case, charging me for another year's subscription without the option to cancel or to even contact them formally. Why else would they not give a reminder like so many other companies do?

It both angers and saddens me that a company I have come to hold in such high regard has such shameful business practices, destroying all notion of 'community' they claim to embrace. I have found many other complaints on the internet directed at Busuu.com regarding this issue and I urge them to take note and focus on developing a good reputation instead of securing as much money as possible using immoral tactics. Such a shame.

Hello,

After i become a premium member on busuu.com i realized that the services are less than my expactations. at the same day which my membership started, i wanted to cancel my membership and request refund and started to look for a contact information to explain my complaint and i want to cancel my membership.
at contact us section there is no e-mail address, at "terms" section i found an e-mail address "[protected]@busuu.com" and i sent an email, but 2 days passed already and no reply yet.
then yesterday i checked busuu app on my android device and there was a contact us section there, i insert my name, email and i wrote my complaint, again no reply.
today i requested for cancelation of renewing the membership and i received an email from [protected]@busuu.com

i wrote my complaint there too and now waiting for an answer.

In 2013 how can it be possible that a website don't have a concrete contact information on the website. there is only office address and like a joke it is written there, "contact us".

So if i want to cancel my membership, i shuld send an enveloped mail ) it is ridiculous

Dear busuu please cancel my membership send my money back and put an email address, tel no. fax no whatever to your website.

Yesterday i bought premium

1 year premium account but 24 hour done still my account normal and no one answering my mails ([protected]@busuu.com, [protected]@busuu.com)

site said if u buy with credit card upgrading take 1 or more hours but nothing happened
I never thought this beatiful site premium service soo bad

busuu name : Faruk_Coban

mail : [protected]@hotmail.com

Hi,

I initally really loved your site. However when I encountered a problem, and went to "Help" it was not listed there. You offer no methods of contact for help and the feedback link is a lie as it does not actually allow feedback. I have no problem with this but you should not call it feedback as that is false advertising. So, the problem is that I have paid for your service and yet some of the things premium is meant to offer are not working, so I would like assistance! I have tried using the job application, using facebook and even that awards page but so far have heard back from noone. I am at my wits end and very upset, I feel like I have been scammed, please prove me wrong.