Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Preply, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

Preply, Inc. has 2 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Preply, Inc.

  1309 Beacon St Ste 300 Brookline, MA 02446-5252

• 

  Preply, Inc.

  1309 Beacon St Brookline, MA 02446

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been using Preply well before they started the following unfair/underhanded charging methodology without notifying its customers. Without ever sending a notification to us, some months ago they started auto-charging my card. When I asked for a refund and an explanation for this new practice, they didn't fully refund and kept a small service fee (I didnt notice it then, I just assumed they would refund fully ). This underhanded practice I mentioned is like this I always by single lessons and I book when I am ready, but now the minute their system sees I am down to 1 last prepaid ******* it automatically charges 4 lessons. I have never purchased package lessons and they know it, hence I am surprised by this unexpected charging practice. The first time I contacted them and asked them when they started implementing this auto-charge and requested a refund; they told me to turn off the auto refill and they refunded me. I immediately turned off the "1" auto refill button but I didnt realize they hadnt refunded me fully. The second time it happened, I complained that it was unfair that they could behave this way without ever telling us and requested a refund. They refunded me again and this time I noticed they kept about ****. Today, it happened again, and when I went to look into settings I realized for each teacher there was an auto refill button turned on. I am sure they changed their user interface system (something they do all of the time) because the first time, there was only 1 auto-refill button in my settings. Their tutoring platform tends to have lots of glitches so I thought the second time was another glitch so i didn't check my settings. I would like for BBB to intervene. They can't keep changing their interface at whim and no warning and tell us they cant full refund us. Bank overdraft fees are expensive and I am sure they will not refund us for these fees if we ask them to, yet they can our money without notifying us of policy/payment changes

  Business Response

  Date: 11/02/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry that you were charged for the lessons automatically. At the moment, the email used to file the complaint does not exist in our system, please get in touch with your registered email ID so we can issue a refund or looking into options for resolving this matter.

   

  Please note that, our subscription model allows users to choose between 1 to 5 lessons/week, and can be cancelled or paused anytime. We also offer free replacement with an other tutor. Users are charged every 28 days and are eligible for a refund (T&C applied). At the same time we would like to highlight, that you receive email notifications before your hours expire and at the checkout, you are warned that payment will be renewed every 4 weeks with the subscription. So, we make sure to inform Preply customers about platform rules and actions taken on Preply.

   

  Please also note that, we as a company make sure to make the rules visible ine very step of the way for our users.

   

  Looking forward to hearing from you!

   

  Regards,

  Preply

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This morning PREPLY,Inc. (A "business" that I have no dealings with nor have ever heard of) made four charges to my debit card. We had not been out of the house on this day nor used the debit card for any type of transaction for a month or so.There are many reports of these crooks stealing money from people who have no dealings with or knowledge of.These are thieves not incompetents who made a transactional error.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/18/2023

  Hello!

   

  We are sorry for the inconvenience.

  Looks like your data has been leaked in an open website and someone is using your card for purchase in Preply. We would suggest getting in touch with your bank and blocking your card. In the mean time, please get in touch with us with your last 4 digits of your credit card so we can issue a full refund to you and block your card in our system so that the person who is using your card,cannot make further purchases online.

   

  Looking forward to hearing from you.

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought 4 ****** hours on this website in Nov. There was no information on the purchase page to inform me that the ****** hours would expire and get reolaced one month later. One month after the purchase, due to the busy work and the infection of coronavirus, I did not book any courses or attend any courses on the website. During the whole month, the website did not inform me of this matter anywhere except a reminding email (which I did not see). Then they just took all my ****** hours away. When I pruchase the hours ,there's no where had mentionedthe hours will get expired or replaced after a month.It just says it will subscribe automatically and your ******s hours will get increased after subscribe .That make no sense if I subscribe and the hours I bought last month will just go disappear no matter you have used it or not.I try to check with the customer service of the website for many times, and they refused to refund my ****** hours and said thats what their policy is.That make no sense they just took my ****** hours away(=took away my money) .It is unreasonable to cancel my class hours while I didnt book or attend any classes with the teacher. What's more, in the process of my purchase, there is no hint or notice to tell me that the class period will expire within a month, which is to cheat consumers to buy ****** hours and keep taking the consumer's money away secrectly.I am very surprised and angry with the website for this behavior and dont want to take any ****** on this rubbery website anymore.I want them to refund the money of the expenses of the ****** hours that had been deducted for no reason and also the rest ****** hours in my balance.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry for the inconvenience. 

  Our subscription model allows users to choose between 1 to 5 lessons/week, and can be cancelled or paused anytime. We also offer free replacement with an other tutor. Users are charged every 28 days and are eligible for a refund (T&C applied). Kindly contact us via our live chat, we would appreciate your detailed feedback.

  If you think you will be busy, you can pause your subscription once per billing cycle. You won't be able to schedule or take any lessons with your tutor while paused however you can reactivate it anytime without losing hours.

  If you have hours left on your balance before your billing date, the amount of hours for one week will roll over to the next month & the rest will be deducted. If you have some hours left in your profile which are not in use, you may pause your subscription, this way your hours will not expire.

  Please also refer to the attachment, our system does make sure to educate the users on our model via the UI/UX of the website and also via emails. Additionally, our T&C also states the same regarding our policies for subscription.

  If you have any other queries, please get in touch with us via our live chat.

   

  Thank you,

  Preply

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am asking for a refund. As their policy does not clearly state that you need to fit both criterias. Additionally, when I advocated about this being part of their policy they sent me one set of terms which did not clearly outline refunds and then 8 hours later when I pushed about it a bit more a second set, which stated under no circumstances would there be any refunds given. However, how is this possible if the service provided was subpar? Then are you supposed to just hand over the remaining balance of your payment to them? All of the policies are contradictory of one another. They are clearly laid out and you can not buy individual hours. I would just like my ****** back that is all.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/14/2023

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint. When I try to communicate with business they keep sending me in a run around loop of different emails I can file my complaint with however no one ever follows up.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  Hello ******, we apologize for any inconvenience you've experienced with our platform. Your feedback is important,as we believe it is cruital to improving the quality of our services. 
  Please note that our subscription refund policy is detailed in our Subscription Terms of Service, section ****. Refunds are granted if no hours have been used, and the purchase was made within the last 28 days.
  If you have any further questions or wish to share your detailed feedback with us, please reach out to us via live chat or email. We look forward to hearing from you soon ! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/27/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased hours of learning with this company. As my tutor is French and I am English I communicated with him about how this works but between ** and the language barrier I got the wrong end of the stick. This meant I lost 56 hours of learning I had paid for as I did not understand the company would not roll the hours over. I was unable to actually book these hours through preply as the company has a setting so that if you stop your subscription (which I did as I had 56 hours unused to get through) you can not book lessons, only use the ones that are prescheduled. I therefore assumed that it would keep programming the weekly lessons I had paid for until they were over. This was not the case. I find this incredibly unethical to take payment for lessons I have to received nor could book in the system, and further was misinformed by my tutor would not expire. In an ideal world! I would like my lessons to be refunded or replaced by hours that I can use, and also for others to be warned about this company.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry for the inconvenience caused!

  Please write to our support, and of course we will find a solution to your case.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have never heard of this company before and I haven't purchased anything from them..they have got my card number and keep trying to take money out of my account fraudulently...thx this company is dirty and needs to be stopped

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry to hear about this!

  Please get in touch with our support and we will be happy to help!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company made an unauthorized withdrawal on my cash card. I have never contacted them, nor requested services of any type.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry to hear about this!

  Please get in touch with our support and we will be happy to help!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/30/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  12/30/2022; This business has randomly charges my card for $18.27, a hour after someone sent me some money; Im not sure how they had my card information on hand to do so, but it happened. I never once did business with them at all; as I also have no previous transactions with the company at all and is very confused and unhappy with the situation.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry to hear about this!

  Please get in touch with our support and we will be happy to help!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/02/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [I reject everything because I have never been reimbursed for the money they took out my account; Even knowing that I never had any business with them for them to do so.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  Jameel

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 10/07/2023

  Hello ******,

  We are sorry for the inconvenience.

  We noticed that your last contact was with us on the 30th of December 2022 stating that the funds were taken out of your bank and that you have never heard of Preply. We definitely would like to apologize for that. Looks like you used your card in an unprotected site and it has been hacked. We suggest you getting in touch with your bank to block the card.

  Regarding the refund, we noticed that you shared this very screenshot earlier as well. The information is rather incomplete and we are unable to find your funds in the system.

  Please get in touch with us with the last 4 digits of your credit card that was charged and we will immediately issue a refund.

  Looking forward to hearing from you!

   

  Regards,

  Preply

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/11/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have spent $2868.37 with Preply, an online tutoring service, over the past several months. Today I learned that they had been "writing off" portions of my payments without my knowledge and without notification. While I can see my receipts and history of past payments, they provide no accounting for how these payments are applied or this practice of "writing off" hours at the end of the customers subscription billing cycle. In at least one case, a fully supported action that I took within their interface, the transfer of hours from one tutor to another, resulted in a nearly immediate and automated "write off" of **** hours (approximate value $166.00) from my account without notification.They are unwilling or unable to provide an accounting for how hours are applied to services, and to what extent my payments have been "written off" without my knowledge.Hours "written off" in this way appear not to result in payments to the tutor. This practice is ethically questionable and given its potential scale potentially a question that should be addressed by a state or federal regulator.I want a full accounting of how my payments have been applied to services, and a refund for all hours "written off" in this way. I am providing record of my payments, the only record available from Preply. While it describes what I purchased, it provides no record of what was provided and what was "written off."

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/21/2022

  I haven't heard from them, though they did credit back my account with all of the hours that they "expired." However, since those hours would have simply expired again within three weeks I binged and used them all up. Not effective. Not useful. Just a way to make sure Preply didn't get to keep all the money and had to give at least some to a tutor.

  Really, at this point, I think an ideal resolution would be for Preply to account for how funds are credited. At present, they only give you a receipt. They don't tell you how you funds translate into hours with a tutor, and they DO NOT EVEN TELL YOU if you payment has "expired" and gone straight to profit. I think a good resolution would be to provide that visibility to customers.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry for the inconvenience caused!

  Upon the purchase we explain all the details and how it works, we also send email notifications about it.

  You can check more in the attached link:

  ****************************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/04/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They claim to offer a refund if not satisfied. There are no asterisks or fine print on the website. I requested a refund and was subsequently denied due to it being more than 90 days. I uploaded a screenshot of the money back guarantee that they advertised.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/15/2022

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Hello!

  We are sorry for the inconvenience caused!

  Please note it is stated in our Refund and Payment Policy that we cannot issue a refund if the payment was made in more than 90 days.

  You can check the policy in the attached link:

  *****************************************************************************************************************************************

  The hours you have can be used with your current tutor, or you can transfer them to any tutor of your choice.