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Pimsleur Approach

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Consumer reviews about Pimsleur Approach

Inou
Dec 10, 2011

Scam and lies

Most of these comments are based on problems with shipping and recurrent fees and things of the sort. There aren't much comments on the program itself. If you look at the reality of the situation, whenever you want to order a program on the Internet or phone from the company itself, almost always you're going to have problems. If you want to avoid this don't order directly from pimsleur, try amazon or eBay to avoid these shipping problems because it's an almost guarantee that you won't have them. I have tried the pimsleur approach program myself. And commenting solely on the program. It does exactly what it says. I took three years of french in high school and it was a waste of time. During the first year I decided to try pimsleur and soon after that everyone saw how I was actually a better speaker in french and could comprehend a lot better than them even though I was only getting a C in the class. Even my teacher constantly commented how I belonged in French 2 not 1. I come from a french speaking family being Congolese and attend french mass and I am always being commented on how well I speak french after pimsleur. Even when I went to visit Kinshasa a french speaking city people noticed how well my french was for an American and how I don't even have an accent. So the program itself, not problems or issues with shipping or ordering, is the real deal and does exactly what it says.

Inou
Dec 12, 2011

Misleading website

The Pimsleur Approach program is not a scam or fraudulent. Most of these comments don't even comment on the product itself, just issues people had with shipping, billing and things of the sort. If you want to comment on problems with that then there should be a separate topic based solely on that. I find it very ridiculous how people order things off the Internet without reading the terms and conditions and the fine print. IT"S OFF THE INTERNET PEOPLE!! You should take the time read them for a lot of the things your purchase. If after reading the terms and conditions, it would have been known that after purchasing the offer you would later be charged for future shipments and so on and so on. Don't just order things off the Internet just according to how you perceive it to be without actually reading the terms and conditions and say that you have been deceived or it's a fraud. Also when it comes to ordering products on line from the Internet or by call and pay by phone, I don't recommend it since too many people have issues. Which is why I recommend just getting it from Amazon or eBay. You get what you ordered with a greatly slighter chance of shipping problems and you don't have to worry about automatic recurrent payments.

Now to talk about the product and my personal experience with it, the Pimsleur Approach is real deal. It does exactly what it says it does. When I began taking French in high school i quickly saw that it was not very effective when it actually being able to use and communicate in the language. At first I decided to take french since it was a language I needed to learn and was thrilled at the opportunity of being able to do so.
Being Congolese, I come from a french speaking family and culture. Unfortunately, my parents never really spoke to me in french or in any of the other languages they knew. A reason for that would be for some reason there are some American doctors that tell foreigners not to teach their children their native language, because this is America they must speak English and too many languages being spoken at home will delay a child's development. And being foreign and seeing that this is being said by an AMERICAN doctor, they must be right therefore some comply.
So within the first few months of class I could pick up the material a little better than the others because I was already accustomed to hearing french so some of the stuff just clicked. But, it still was not enough. So I began searching for language learning software and programs that could help me out. None of them seemed to be efficient. Finally I came across Pimsleur. After trying it I could actually start conversing with my dad in french. My classmates began to see that I was actually somewhat of a french speaker and my teacher even commented several times that I should be in French 2 not French 1. Also on my trip to visit family members in Congo, many of them were surprised on how well my french was for an American and with no accent. Here in the states I attend mass in french, and even the fellow french and french speaking church goers noticed how well I am able to speak in french. Pimsleur Approach is definitely a great program, and I would highly recommend it.

Inou
Dec 12, 2011

Enrolled in Program Not Authorized

The Pimsleur Approach program is not a scam or fraudulent. Most of these comments don't even comment on the product itself, just issues people had with shipping, billing and things of the sort. If you want to comment on problems with that then there should be a separate topic based solely on that. I find it very ridiculous how people order things off the Internet without reading the terms and conditions and the fine print. IT"S OFF THE INTERNET PEOPLE!! You should take the time read them for a lot of the things your purchase. If after reading the terms and conditions, it would have been known that after purchasing the offer you would later be charged for future shipments and so on and so on. Don't just order things off the Internet just according to how you perceive it to be without actually reading the terms and conditions and say that you have been deceived or it's a fraud. Also when it comes to ordering products on line from the Internet or by call and pay by phone, I don't recommend it since too many people have issues. Which is why I recommend just getting it from Amazon or eBay. You get what you ordered with a greatly slighter chance of shipping problems and you don't have to worry about automatic recurrent payments.

Now to talk about the product and my personal experience with it, the Pimsleur Approach is real deal. It does exactly what it says it does. When I began taking French in high school i quickly saw that it was not very effective when it actually being able to use and communicate in the language. At first I decided to take french since it was a language I needed to learn and was thrilled at the opportunity of being able to do so.
Being Congolese, I come from a french speaking family and culture. Unfortunately, my parents never really spoke to me in french or in any of the other languages they knew. A reason for that would be for some reason there are some American doctors that tell foreigners not to teach their children their native language, because this is America they must speak English and too many languages being spoken at home will delay a child's development. And being foreign and seeing that this is being said by an AMERICAN doctor, they must be right therefore some comply.
So within the first few months of class I could pick up the material a little better than the others because I was already accustomed to hearing french so some of the stuff just clicked. But, it still was not enough. So I began searching for language learning software and programs that could help me out. None of them seemed to be efficient. Finally I came across Pimsleur. After trying it I could actually start conversing with my dad in french. My classmates began to see that I was actually somewhat of a french speaker and my teacher even commented several times that I should be in French 2 not French 1. Also on my trip to visit family members in Congo, many of them were surprised on how well my french was for an American and with no accent. Here in the states I attend mass in french, and even the fellow french and french speaking church goers noticed how well I am able to speak in french. Pimsleur Approach is definitely a great program, and I would highly recommend it.

Peyton at Delphi
Dec 29, 2011

Misleading website

I agree. I fell for the same hidden "Free trial". I'm working with them now to return the items, but I'll also be watching my credit card bills like a hawk!

stosh33
Jan 4, 2012

Scam and lies

go to travis thydzik's blog and you can download these audio books for free. www.thydzik. why deal with the rip offs? F em

siagakoti
Jan 13, 2012

Scam and lies

Hahaha. After reading all of this I called the customer care line, and they tried pretty hard to keep me on the bandwagon.
I had purchased both the Q&S Italian and German, and I wanted to not even both getting the trial. But, the woman (who "seemed" nice [but everyone knows that that is a reps job]) kept trying to tell me that they can help me focus on a particular language, and that there were other options. She took about ten minutes.
I just continued to tell her that I didn't want to get involved in the scamming mess that most agencies have, as much as she denied that *their* company was like that (yeah right).
So...if you do happen to read this, I personally recommend not getting involved and just to cancel the trial once you get your Q&S package, and hold your ground about canceling. These people can be persuasive, thus their job.

Read_The_Fine_Print
Jan 29, 2012

Scam and lies

Most of you are complaining for no reason. The website clearly states that when you order the Quick & Simple you will start to receive next level Pimsleur Gold course in your selected language. This happens automatically . You can't claim that you didn't ask for the future shipments, because you do so by ordering the Quick & Simple. It also states that you have 30 days to cancel by calling 1-877-802-5283. It says If you decide to keep the course, simply do nothing and they will bill the same credit card provided 4 monthly payments of $64. They also state If you decide you do not want the course or any future courses, simply call 1-877-802-5283 to return it within the 30-day trial period and pay nothing except for the return shipping cost. It may be inconvenient for those that wish to cancel, but they are not tricking you or making fraudulent claims. (https://www.pimsleurapproach.com/about_the_program_acq026.html).
I can't believe some of the comments that deny ordering any future shipments. You need to grow up and be responsible for your actions. Not complain about everything that you don't get for free. Life is not like that. If you have trouble getting them to cancel, simply call your Credit Card Company and tell them to stop making payments. Better yet use a one time use credit card number that most credit cards offer on their websites.

teej42
Feb 9, 2012

shipped the 30-day trial "in error"

I am so glad I looked into this before ordering. Anytime something sounds too good to be true, it never fails to be exactly that...not true! Thanks for saving me that incredible anguish which obviously comes with the small loss of $10. I usually do the research first before I jump at an unbelievable offer, and this is a really good example of why that is such an important example to follow!

mdj1266
Feb 13, 2012

Scam and lies

Obviously a scam. I also recieved the "Gold" edition that I never was informed I was going to get, and they are supposedly going to start charging my card $64 per month. I attempted to contact them to ensure I was returning the CD's to the correct address, and the phone call would NEVER go though. Anyone out there have ANY luck returning the program and not getting charges to your account?

elementalcobalt
Feb 20, 2012

Scam and lies

I read this before even going to their site, but you guys trying to deal with them are just wasting time. Just file a credit card dispute with the credit card company to get the money back, keep their crappy gold program they sent you, change your credit card number, and move on with your lives. If they are this well known as scammers, trust me, your credit card company is aware of it and will bite the cost.

Scam companies suck!
Mar 9, 2012

sending unwanted CD sets

And they never will. I recommend you contacting the bbb or your attorney general as well as the Pennsylvania attorney general. This tactic is called bait and switch and is illegal. I would also recommend that you call Simon and Schuster who are the publishers of Pimsleur. They get your cc information and start charging you for things you did not order.

squalid
Mar 15, 2012

Scam

I ordered an introductory CD for $9.95 then they sent me a huge box of lesson CDs that I did not order and charged me $65.00 for them. I called them to resolve the matter and they refused to refund me. The rep on the phone kept trying to sell me more discs. I had to get a new banking card so they would stop charging me.

Irinairina
Mar 16, 2012

sending unwanted CD sets

Well, thank you so much for information, bcs., I thought about use their offer, but now I would like to ask everybody, did you expect something better for $9. What are you, people think about...?

drtx
Mar 18, 2012

Pimsleur Approach is a Scam! Don't Buy!

similar to my situation. I received the large box and did not want it, so it was marked return to sender and given to post office. my credit card was charged $65 twice a week apart and then a second package came and i took the same action. Again my card was charged twice for $65 each. My letter to them was not answered and my calls never got through. This is an inferior program to start with. When I went to Citi card, they refused to reverse the charges as the company insisted they had been ordered. The result is they had both the product and my $260. Stay away from them.

MarkBo
Mar 19, 2012

Scam and lies

Seems like we need to separate Pimsleur as a method of learning language from all these apparently crook re-sellers...

The Pimsleur method of learning another language is absolutely tried and true... Buying directly from Simion and Schuster for the full retail price allows you to know exactly what you are getting. The $9.95 bait-promo is a common way to "hook" unsuspecting customers who don't read the fine print... But all that "bait and switch" scamming has NOTHING TO DO WITH Pimsleur's materials or effectiveness in learning another language...

It is an EXCELLENT way to learn another language...

AblahH
Mar 24, 2012

Scam and lies

So, i heard about the Pinsleur method and used it once before and loved it. Then found the ad online about the "discount" and fell for the people in charge of this scam and their way of using the Pimsleur product. I've tried to cancel my order but received the Gold edition anyways, so now I need to know how to get out of this mouthly payment scam before things get really out of hand and i have to pay more then i need for something i dont want anything to do with anymore.

Lookinglass
Mar 26, 2012

sending unwanted CD sets

I have purchased from this company, and have recommended friends purchase also; the product I received was just as it was advertised, as were the three I recommended... Now that's not to say I was able to get those results, but as far as the company goes they were professorial and polite.

Emilio Vergne
Mar 28, 2012

Scam and lies

They got me too. I told them I did not want it that I did not have the time and most importantly, I want it to return my order. They never send the UPS return number and charged me for the whole amount.
BEWARE. They will get you too.

mpayne31
Apr 5, 2012

Pimsleur Approach is a Scam! Don't Buy!

I purchased the Introductory $10 version of the language lessons about a month ago and have not received anything else. I'll update this site if I do.

colinmeister
Apr 11, 2012

Scam and lies

First comment. I ordered the free package from the spam email. The package arrived fairly quickly, but it was the gold package. I read the instructions, and tried to download the booklet from the web address given, but it did not download. I listened to a couple of lessons, and realised that I'd have to pay installments to keep the course. I emailed the company for a RMA code as directed on the web site, but received no reply within 24 hours apart from an automatic answer.
I telephoned the company and asked for an RMA, and was eventually given one after efforts were made to encourage me to keep the product.
I will return the product tonight, well within the 30 days allowed and the 10 days allowed for the RMA. I will post again here when I receive my refund (Or not) and if I am still charged for the course which I will have returned.
I don't recommend anyone to get involved with this product.

vwbug405
Apr 11, 2012

sending unwanted CD sets

I purchased the introductory CDs about 3 years ago and had no issues with billing or unwanted product. I hate to hear that people have had issues. I used it before my trip to visit my foreign in-laws and it helped me to communicate on a basic level but don't think you'll be reading and understanding at a fluent level in 10 days. That is a ridiculous assumption. Otherwise, I've had no issues.

Miranda89
Jul 12, 2012

Have to send the CDs back!

I have purchased a course for $20.00. I received the CDs and have already watched them. But I have to send them back, otherwise I will be charged for $300. I don’t know how to return them. I have contacted the company, but they said to contact them again tomorrow. I hope it is not too late.

Ollo
Nov 22, 2012

no cd

I never received the CD I ordered. The seller was from Japan, however, I’ve been waiting for four months! It can not take so much time!

Barth
Dec 6, 2012

sent me the order I did not want

To sign up with them costs $10.00. However, they shipped me CD’s that I never ordered, and they charged the credit card for $450.00! Now they won’t return it, because they don’t’ take the items back! Such fraud! They even made up a conversation between them and me ordering the cd’s!

Kaizer
Jan 4, 2013

Signed me up even though I did not want to

When I have purchased some CDs to learn languages, they have offered me to sign up with them. however, I did not want that, and they still took money from my account. They have been charging my account each month, and I can’t make them stop! What do I do?

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