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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

Find a Location

Babbel 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.

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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:12/13/2023

      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 purchased Babbel subscription on a monthly basis as stated in their marketing. It wasn't until after I completed the purchase, that I noticed they charged me for an entire year! Also, it doesn't state that the cancellation policy until AFTER purchase. This is manipulation and terrible customer service practice. I cancelled because I simply did not have the extra time to use it. I sent an email through both the site and the ** email provided, which once answered, was told that they would NOT refund my money for the duration of the year?!? 3 out of 12 months should yield a refund from those other 9 months. If I had seen their terrible grade on BBB & the reviews regarding ** issues, I would have NEVER purchased the subscription. With that said, I's like my refund for the 9 months that the subscription would not be used.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/02/2023

      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 purchased Babbel last year, I used it sporadically. I got an email yesterday stating that my subscription was renewed, I immediately emailed Babbel and asked for a refund because now I am not using the product at all. I received a reply saying that I cannot receive a refund, its their policy.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/27/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Babbel has been resolved.

      (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/27/2023

      Type:Order 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 paid for 3 months of language lessons online. I haven't received even one because I can't get into the website. I tried repeatedly to change the password to get in but the only thing I'm sent to is the subscription page. I called and sent several emails with no reply. The phone immediately disconnects as soon as you call them. There is a Spanish phone number that you can leave a message but I don't speak Spanish. I just mailed a snail mail letter to the company in ********* too. I am also trying to stop paying through my credit card company but they said the bill has to post first. I am trying to cancel before it posts. PLEASE HELP! *************************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/23/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Babbel has been resolved.

      (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/14/2023

      Type:Billing 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.
      Dec 12, 2022 my wife bought me a 1 year subscription for Babbel, I had tried Babbel before that for several months, si Stopped and then used the link my wife sent me for my 1 year subscription, ever since then Babbel has been charging me every 3 months $39.99 on my credit card, I fight it they say its valid, I have showed them my wife paid for it, still they will NOT stop billing me, I don't want to change my credit card number because its linked to many automatic payments, but Babbel will NOT stop charging me, they already got paid from my wife, I showed them her bank account withdrawal on that date? they say they cannot locate my wife name or email? whats even worse is she has her own account to learn Italian, and mine is Spanish, but they telling us they haven't any information on her? come on now? this is fraud and rediculous and needs to stop I want ALL of my charges back since Dec 2022

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/26/2023

      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.
      On June 4, I applied for 3 months Italian ******* Paypal processed payment of $37.95 + tax = $41.56 on the same day. It was stated that I can get full refund if I cancelled ****** within 20 days. I tried app but did not like contents of the ******* On June 08, I sent an email requesting cancellation of subscription and requested refund of money to *********************************** I cancelled auto renewal in my account. I have not received confirmation of cancellation nor refund of money since June 08. I sent another email to customer support but have not receive any response. Two emails must be gone through to Babbel customer support because I have not received bounced emails. I want my money back. I do not understand why Babbel does not refund money. I also want removal of my account from ******************.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/20/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Babbel has been resolved.

      (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/06/2023

      Type:Billing 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.
      July 3, $37.95, possibly earlier charges.I tried to subscribe but it never gave me access. Then I saw rhe latest charge and went to cancel but I still show no access.It then prompts me to subscribe yet I'm being charged for a subscription I would like any money charged to be fully refunded and my recurring charges to cease This is for card ending in ****

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/12/2023

      Type:Order 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.
      In January 2023 I purchased Babble Spanish learning podcasts for 1 year for *****. After I completed the second ****** they blocked me from continuing and tried to make me pay for additional ******s. I immediately cancelled my contract with them. I made a complaint with Paypal and got my money returned. They are now billing me another ***** for another year. I have made a complaint with paypal again and emailed Babble twice. The informed me through paypal that they cancelled my contract yet again. I want my refund of ***** that they were NOT supposed to take since the contract was previously cancelled. looking at complaints on your website, I see this happens frequently with this company.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/06/2023

      Type:Service or Repair 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 am absolutely furious that I paid for this and the app doesnt even work. Last time I sent you people a message, I couldnt get my app to open the review because an unknown error has occurred. Please try again later. I was able to fix it once by reinstalling the app, but now the problem is back and I have not been able to fix the issue by reinstalling the app TWICE. Now my next ****** is stuck in the same review ****** and I cannot keep going in the course because I cannot get it to load. I am beyond tired of this and am about ready to go to the Better Business Bureau because this is an absolute scam. They are charging way too much for a language learning app that, quite literally, does not work. I am not getting what Im paying for. ******** doesnt have as many glitches as this app, and that is seriously embarrassing. To add insult to injury, whenever I contact support, they send me the same automated string of characters telling me to reinstall the app, etc. Its almost like they dont want to fix the problem.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/30/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Babbel has been resolved.

      (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/22/2023

      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.
      On at least two occasions I have had unauthorized withdrawals from Babbel via PayPal. I am not a subscriber to their services.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/23/2023

      Hi ******,
       
      We have cancelled your subscription and have refunded the latest charge. The money should be with you in five working days any problems, just let me know. You still have access to your vocab and Review.

      If you come back to ** in the future, please note that all our subscriptions automatically renew unless you choose to cancel beforehand. This is mentioned in Terms and Conditions, in the confirmation email after purchase, in Account Information and also under Payment, Subscriptions & Account in our Help Center.
       
      Kind regards,

      Babbel ****************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/20/2023

      Type:Billing 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.
      On 4/7/2023, I received notification that I was being charged $90.28 for subscription renewal for Babbel Language software. I sent their customer support team a request to cancel and I asked for a refund, since I did it the same day it renewed. I never actually heard from anyone, however four days later, I noticed a refund to my PayPal account (which was the original payment method), then two days later, an attempt to charge me again happened. I sent an email to support and didn't here from anyone. The next day, they tried again and this time my bank paid it. I called my bank and put a stop payment on anything coming in from Babbel going forward, however they had already paid them.

    Babbel is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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