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Business Profile

Tutoring

Babbel

Headquarters

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Tutoring.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Babbel's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Babbel has 2 locations, listed below.

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    • Babbel

      475 Park Ave S Fl 2 New York, NY 10016-6952

    • Babbel

      1601 California Ave Palo Alto, CA 94304-1111

    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 77 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 37 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    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.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/17/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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.
      Babbel is removing money from my credit card and I cannot access them to update my account. Their phone number does not work. My account on my phone does not work. I do not know what to do but they keep sending messages that the account is not updated. I am not proficient on computers. My wife is typing this for me. I really do not know what to do but I cannot get them to stop other than cancel my credit card and it is a hassle to do that because we have alot of automatic payments that come out of it.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/26/2024

      Hi ***,

      I'm sorry to hear that you have been experiencing problems.

      We have received and responded to your direct messages to the Babbel **************** team. The email address you used to register with Babbel has been updated and we have provided guidance on managing purchases made through your personal Apple App Store account.

      Hopefully we have resolved your issues but if you need any further help, please either respond to any of the emails you have received from us or simply contact us again at **********************************.

      We're happy to help and thank you for choosing language learning with Babbel.

      Kind regards,
      The Babbel **************** Team

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/09/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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.
      The annual fee came up on the Babbel subscription. I noticed the charge within 48 Hours. there is a clause that states refunds available within 20 days. It tapped my CC. I needed that money for food. I have been FIGHTING for a refund since the charge. The Charge was on June 15th I sent the first email for a refund June 17th.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/08/2024

      Hi there,

      Thank you for contacting us regarding your subscription renewal experience.
      We would like to apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.

      Please note that the 20 day guarantee Babbel offers is valid only from the original date of purchase.

      We have reviewed your case, and as a gesture of goodwill, we will issue a full refund for the recent renewal charge.

      Best Regards,
      Babbel Team

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/08/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 signed up for a two-year subscription on or about July 5, 2022. Today, July 5, 2024, it auto-renewed for another year without warning. I logged in to the website (the first time in at least 18 months) and cancelled auto-renewal box and was told that a refund would not be forthcoming. They claim that I was informed of the auto-renewal at sign up. I recall no such thing. Further, I have no email correspondence from them that this was their policy. The only correspondence I have relating to the original July 5, 2022 transaction is the Paypal receipt for my payment to Babbel. Again, I had no knowledge or notification that my membership would auto-renew at the end of two years. They could have easily sent me a reminder 30 days before auto-renewal, but they chose not to. It is clear to me that this company knowingly conceals the fact that they place new customers on auto-renewal without notice. Then, years later, again without any notice, they charge another year of membership on the down low. And today, having immediately cancelled auto-renewal (which by default cancels my membership) they tell me that the $83.40 they JUST TODAY charged me can't be refunded. Bottom line, Babbel is actively engaging in a very unethical business practice. I hadn't logged into Babbel for approximately 20 months before today, and they have the gall to treat me like an active, continuing customer after all this time has passed? If they were truly interested in attracting and retaining loyal customers, they wouldn't resort to this type of extortion.The FTC or some other governing agency should be going after this company for misleading practices that are clearly intended to take advantage of consumers. I believe in paying for what you want, but only for when you want it. I did not sign up for 2 years of language tutoring services back in 2022 only to be treated like a timeshare holder in 2024. I agreed to pay for two years of service, nothing more.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/10/2024

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.  A full refund has been made.

      Sincerely,

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



       

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/02/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 not used Babbels language learning app in months and they are now trying to charge my account for a yearly subscription renewal. I do not want to renew the subscription but the business has made it impossible to cancel using their website and they keep trying to charge my account. I have followed the directions on how to cancel which tells me to turn off auto renewal in the account settings but it does not give me that option. I have been all over the settings and account portions of the app and website and turn off auto renewal is no where to be found. I sent a message to their support and received a email saying that they are working on a response which is not helpful just give me a response dont work on giving me a response especially since I simply stated to them I want to cancel my account its too bad because its a good app but I want to cancel my subscription because I am focusing on other things in my life right now and I would have purchased another subscription later when I was ready and had more time to continue learning but because they have made it this big ordeal to cancel I will now never use their app again and I will solely use their competitors app as I was using when I first signed up for Babbel. I just want my subscription cancelled and to not have fraud alert calling me every couple of weeks because they keep trying to collect my subscription.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/25/2024

      Hi *****,

      Thank you for your feedback and I'm sorry to hear that you have been experiencing problems.

      The **************** team here at ****************** received your emails and responded within 30 minutes. Please check that our responses have not been filtered to any spam folder.

      I can confirm here that your subscription has been cancelled and that no further charges will be made unless you choose to continue learning with us.

      The option to cancel an active subscription is available on the Account Information page of Babbel accounts: ******************************************************************************************

      The important thing to remember is to cancel before the date when a payment is due.

      Thank you for choosing language learning with Babbel and I hope our courses proved useful!

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/25/2024

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 a 3 month subscription for Portuguese. Without my knowledge, Babbel enrolled me auto-renew. I only realized this when I looked at my credit card charges and was charged for an additional 3 months. I was two days late in cancelling and Babble won't give me a refund. This is a total ripoff.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/08/2024

      Hi there, 

      Thank you for sharing your experience. 

      We can see that our colleague has explained directly via emal that a refund is not possible and offered you a voucher as a goodwill gesture that was accepted by you. 

      If you need any further help, you can contact us at ********************************** 

      Best Regards,
      Babbel Team 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/22/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 Babbel Complete 1 Yr on Feb 25, 2024. I then purchased Babbel Complete Lifetime on Apr 27, 2024 and was told that the remainder of the original subscription for the purchase of Babbel Complete 1 Yr would be refunded. For some inexplicable reason, the Babbel team cancelled BOTH subscriptions: the Babbel Complete Lifetime and the Babbel Complete 1 yr, and never refunded ANYTHING!!!

      Business Response

      Date: 08/08/2024

      Hi there, 

      Thank you for sharing your experience. 

      We can see that our colleague has confirmed to you that your lifetime subscription access to has been reinstated.

      We are not able to refund the previous subscription, but we have reached out via email and offered you a voucher code as a good will gesture. 

      If you have any other questions, please contact us at ********************************** 

      Best Regards,
      Babbel Team  

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/17/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 is a case of deceptive practices of an auto-renewal of subscription I didn't know I was signed up for. Even though I contacted them within 48 hours of charge not even posted yet, only pending on my card, they refused to let me cancel the charge. The date of the charge is 5/15 according to my card alert I got - two days ago

      Business Response

      Date: 08/08/2024

      Hi there, 

      Thank you for contacting us regarding your subscription renewal experience. 

      We can see that your colleague has refunded the amount back to your account. 

      Please feel free to reach out to us at ********************************** if you need any further help. 

      Best Regards,
      Babbel Team 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/22/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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 signed up for this service a year ago, and it was terrible and I stopped using it. On April 15th I received an email thanking me for my renewal. They had me on auto-renewal. When I complained they told me that auto-renewal was in their ****************** and that I had to cancel at least one day before it renewed. I had stopped using the service so I never though twice about this nor did I know it auto-renewed. They claim they send me a reminder 30 days prior, they did not. The refuse to refund my money.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/17/2024

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by Babbel regarding complaint ID ********.

      My credit card company refunded me the money though.

      Sincerely,

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


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/09/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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 very upset because Babbel charged me $96.78 without my consent. I requested a refund and they denied it. I signed up for Babbel on January 17, 2023, and willingly paid $77.29 for the one-year subscription. Against my will and wishes, I was then charged on January 17, 2024, for $96.78. I did not see this until now. I have not used the application. I did not authorize this charge. This auto-renew is against the law.I attempted to resolve this through email with Babbel to no avail. I've attached the invoice for which I demand an immediate refund.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/04/2024

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by Babbel regarding complaint ID ********.

      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/03/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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 keep getting email ads I do not want. All I want is for them to quit sending emails.

    Babbel is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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