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As others have indicated, WordSmart also lied during the initial phone call setting out the terms of the purchase and program. Here is the email I received today following phone calls and emails from/to WordSmart. I requested a copy of the recorded phone call and this response email refutes what was stated in the recorded portion of the call. Also, the details of my specific questions regarding any further charges beyond the initial $169.80 charge were discussed prior to the recorded portion. In fact, the WordSmart rep specifically stated that nothing further was needed beyond the $169.80 purchase, but other products were available IF we wanted them.
"You can pick and choose from what is said on the recording if you’d like but the fact is Mr. Prezlock clearly told you about the future billings of $49.95. This was stated repeatedly in writing as well. You received products at your home along with our name and phone number on your credit card statement without contacting us and informing us of any issue or returning any products. As you mentioned our policy states “IF YOU CHOOSE TO DISCONTINUE YOUR SERVICE AFTER THE 30-DAY GUARANTEE PERIOD, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CHARGES INCURRED UP TO THAT DATE”. We are going against this policy for you and refunding for your last shipment. You mentioned the red “Thank you” card which also mentions the future billings and the 30 day evaluation. We are honoring a 30 day evaluation for you even though our policy expressly states that time period is for the initial shipment only, and we have credited you for your January shipment.
What Mr. Prezlock was explaining when he mentioned the book of the month club is that the products will not start up again the following month if you call to cancel one month, which is what happens with book clubs. He stated that we just need one phone call to stop the service. If you were unclear on this point we had a customer service department here every business day and would have been happy to explain our program to you.
The fact is that you were told of the future products both verbally and in writing. The fact is you received the items at your home and had our name and phone number on your credit card statement for several months without contacting us and informing us of any issue. The fact is that as soon as you contacted us we stopped all billings permanently. The fact is that we went against our policy and refunding you for the last shipment, honoring a 30 day return policy. Again, I’m sorry that you are unhappy and that you forgot to call us, but my company has done nothing wrong.
If you would like to take us up on the offer of exchanging your remaining products for different levels at no charge we would be happy to do this for you. But in regards to processing any additional refunds, we will not be able to authorize that. We are like any other business in that we have a return policy, and we believe we have the right to uphold this policy. No further exceptions will be made on your account."
I would like to see an attorney take on a class action lawsuit against WordSmart. I have filed a complaint with the California BBB and am filing complaints with both the NC and California AGs. Isn't it interesting that they do not specify in their shipment that there is a 2-year money back guarantee on the initial purchase as far as the 200 point increase in SAT scores? Isn't it interesting that they state the initial product can only be returned WITHIN the 30 days - that is not a full 30-day guarantee, so what about the 2-year guarantee on the 200 point increase? Rather conflicting guarantees. Also, if the product is returned because there was no an increase of 200 or more in the SAT score, they screen the CD to confirm that the student spent 20 hrs. per week on the product. Our son had a very short time from the date of receipt to the date of the SAT and the telemarketer assured me that he had sufficient time to use the product and see the increase. Fortunately, our son had taken the SAT test 3 times and ended up taking the highest scores from different sections for his final total. He scored 20 points higher on one part after using the WordSmart program, but scored lower on the other two parts than previously. Definitely not worth $169.80 + additional $173.40 for "updates."
Faith Bristow is the Customer Service Manager. They protect the President/CEO and everything runs through their "board." The only increases from WordSmart programs are the dollars going into its board/investors' pockets.
WordSmart has lied about their product from day 1 and continues to lie about the product. Mr. Prezlock told me he would be the person I would deal with and gave me a phone number to contact him. I attempted to call WordSmart, but Mr. Prezlock was "not available" at the number he gave me. Faith Bristow later informed me that he had "transferred" to another department with the company. They do not honor their money back guarantee unless you prove to them that the student has used the program for the specified ungodly number of hours that WordSmart requires. Mr. Prezlock clearly knew that our son did NOT have the time to spend on this product before his SAT and Mr. Prezlock stated that our son only had to review those sections where he wanted improvement. That was a lie. Mr. Prezlock was informed what our son's previous SAT scores were and "guaranteed" the 200 point increase if our son used the product for the short time before the upcoming SAT exam. Our son used the product. He did NOT increase his scores by 200. Mr. Prezlock was clearly informed that I did NOT want additional products after that first shipping and he clearly understood. WordSmart has done this repeatedly to numerous customers. They have made their earnings from their deceptive trade practices.
The factual information the public needs to know is that Wordsmart exists only to bilk people out of money. Their products are essentially worthless and serve only as a cover for their fraudulent business practices. Heed the warnings of the plethora of people who share their stories of highly deceptive marketing and billing practices. Do not fall for the protests of the Wordsmart representatives with their obvious agenda. Note that even their defenses reek of doublespeak and consistently blame the customer. This company is a scam and their products are of no value.
TOTALLY!
I tatally agree with NC parent
Wordsmart is terrible and responsible for bilking many people for a lot of money. Why not take back unopened software? My experience with them reall floored me. Their defensive attitude says it all. There are thousands of complaints against them. The complaints all site almost exactly the same issues.
Mrs. P.
I do not wish to get into an online argument with you on this issue but I do not want the public to have incorrect information either. The fact is that WordSmart has not lied and we have a recording to prove it. I am sorry that you forgot to contact until over four months after your trial expired but that is not WordSmarts fault. When you told us you were unhappy we reviewed our sales call to make sure you were clearly informed of the 30 day trial and that other products would be sent after the trial period. The recording confirmed everything was explained to you. Regarding our SAT/ACT guarantee, of course there has to be a time period specified to use the product. It wouldn’t make sense to say our product could be used for a short time period, for example 14 minutes which is how long your son used the product, and we would still guarantee a 200 point increase on the test. Obviously we have to have a time period required. Since your student used the product for so little time it is not surprising that he did not receive the score increase. You are however, as you’ve been informed in the past, still qualified to take advantage of our guarantee for up to two years after the date of purchase, so though September of 2013 on your account.
The first time you contacted us we stopped all automatic shipments. After reviewing your account, despite confirming you were told other products would be sent after your trial, we credited you for your last shipment. We have tried to work with you. I am sorry that we were not able to make you happy but like any other company we have the right to a return policy.
If anyone has a question about their account, the date of their trial period, when their next shipment is scheduled, guarantee information (which can also be found at http://www.wordsmart.com/infopages/guarantee.php), or would like to stop all future billings our customer service department can be contacted at [protected] and we would be happy to help you.
Response to Mrs. P from WordSmart.
I am an employee at WordSmart and want to comment on this complaint. I am familiar with this account and have pulled the account notes and done a thorough account review. I appreciate the customer (Mrs. P) including the email from our customer service department which does explain that her recorded sales call proves she was informed other products would be sent after her trial period was over. There was not a lie on the initial phone call and we have a recording to prove it. As the email explained to Mrs. P, if she did not want to receive additional products she only needed to call us and inform us any time during her trial period of her cancellation request. Again, the recorded sales call proves this was explained to her and she got off the phone call with the understanding that she needed to call us to cancel future billings. Instead she participated in our monthly subscription program for three months after her trial expired. Even though our return policy states that anything sent after the 30 day trial is not refundable we made an exception for Mrs. P and refunded her for her last shipment, as a courtesy. Mrs. P is correct that nothing further was needed beyond her initial shipment, we have never disputed that. Our first shipment does stand alone and is very helpful for SAT and ACT preparation. However many customers want to continue and receive other WordSmart products. If they do not want to do so they only need to contact us one time and cancel the monthly shipment service. We can be contacted at [protected].
In response to Mrs. Ps comment that we don’t specify in our shipment that there is a two year money back guarantee on the initial purchase, she is incorrect, this information is included in writing in our first shipment. It is also on our website. That guarantee is not something we are trying to hide, it is something we want our customers to be aware of. It’s unclear what Mrs. P means when she states that being able to return the initial product “WITHIN” the 30 days is not a full 30-day guarantee. All of our first shipments are sent for a 30 day trial period that does not start until the customer receives the product at their home. Our customers do get a full 30 day trial period. I’m also unsure why Mrs. P is saying these two guarantees conflict but to try to clear it up for her I will explain in more detail. We send the initial WordSmart product out for a 30 day trial that starts upon product receipt. This means our customers can return the product at any time during the 30 day trial for any reason. Once the 30 day trial has expired the initial shipment is no longer refundable for any reason but we have a secondary that goes up to two years after the date of purchase. This secondary guarantee is based on whether using our product increased the students SAT or ACT score. Hopefully this clears up our guarantees for Mrs. P. If she has any additional questions we would be happy to explain further if she contacts us at [protected]. Specifics about our guarantees can be found at www.wordsmart.com.
As Mrs. P. noted in the email she copied to this website, she was clearly informed of her initial product being sent for a 30 day trial. She was clearly informed other products would be sent after this trial expired. She received products at her home monthly along with our name and phone number on her credit card statement. She never returned any products. She did not call us until four months after she received her first shipment. When she did call us we immediately stopped all future billings and refunded her for her last 30 days of shipments. We researched her sales call to make sure our sales person explained the program correctly, and confirmed that he did. As we’ve stated to Mrs. P before, we are sorry that she is unhappy but we do have a return policy like any other business and that policy does not encompass 60, 90 or 120 days of shipments.
To clarify for anyone who has questions about the WordSmart program – We send the initial WordSmart product for a 30 day trial period. We have a secondary guarantee which goes for up to two years after the date of purchase which is based on our product being used and which states that the use of our product will increase the SAT or ACT score. The WordSmart program is a subscription program and additional WordSmart disks are sent on a monthly basis. These monthly shipments are additional vocabulary and can be stopped at any time, permanently. If anyone has any questions regarding their account our customer service department is available daily until 5 PM PST and can be contacted at [protected].
Thank you.