Pimsleur Approach Reviews
The Pimsleur Approach (PimsleurApproach.com) is a foreign language course that promises to teach you the basics of your chosen language within 10 days using proven methods created by Dr. Paul Pimsleur and used by the FBI.
When you order the Quick & Simple program, you will receive 4 audio CDs with 8 lessons, each 30 minutes in length, and you are scheduled to listen to only one lesson per day.
The entire program is 100% audio based so it can be listened to in the car, the home, or downloaded and played on an MP3 player. The Quick & Simple program is currently priced at $10.00, with free Shipping & Handling.
What is “The Pimsleur Approach”?
The Pimsleur Approach to learning a foreign language is to teach adults a language the same way babies learn language – orally. According to them, learning language begins with learning sounds and pronunciations, not with grammar rules or vocab lessons.
The Pimsleur Approach works on the idea that you should absorb grammar rules through understanding how conversation works orally, just like you did when you were learning your first language.
The website says that while there are over 1 million words and phrase in the English language, there are only 2500 that we use consistently and that we need in order to communicate with the average American.
The Pimsleur Approach identifies these same language building blocks for foreign languages and only concentrates on teaching you those, so that you can quickly be conversational in your chosen language.
The Cost
The Quick & Simple program does cost $10.00 and comes with a 30 day trial, where you can receive a refund if you return the program in excellent condition. However, you are automatically enrolled to get subsequent programs sent to you.
These subsequent programs, if not returned with 30 days, will cost you 4 payments of $64, or $256, and depending on the language you have chosen, you can receive up to 4 additional shipments.
With each additional shipment, you have 30 days to return those and cancel the charges. You can also call 1-877-802-5283 to cancel future shipments in advance at any time.
This is a scam.
I ordered their Quick and Simple German Discs for $9.95 and was very enthusiastic. But did not notice it enrolled me in a long-run program that was way more costly. And then I received other packages with extra CDs. The thing is THERE NEVER WAS ANY INVOICE ATTACHED TO THE SHIPMENTS and no written tracks of anything.
I paid it with a credit card I don't use often and did not check my account. This credit card was stolen and they could no longer take the money from my account.
6 months later and without any news in between they asked me to pay them $384 for something I did not order intentionally.
STAY AWAY FROM THAT SHIT!
As soon as you get the first one...call them and cancel the service.
I am reading all of these bad reviews.....WERE YOU ALL BORN YESTERDAY? Not reading the fine print or not listening to the rep on the phone is not the companies fault. Forgetting that you had it and ending up with a bunch more is not the fault of the company!!!!
DID YOU LEARN SPANISH?????? THATS WHAT A REVIEW OF A SPANISH CD IS SUPPOSED CONTAIN!!!!
There are millions of products that operate the same way...Wen shampoo..Vitamins...magazines...Coffee products...etc....
If you don't read the details.....you will end up with a million bits of something and a credit card bill!!!
I am waiting on my first shipment...the girl on the phone (I always call if there is a number) explained ..I have 30 days with the first and then the 2nd will ship. I can cancel anytime in the first 30 days.
If I space out and miss the 30 day mark...I will have some returning or learning to do.
Don't blame a company for your lack of paying attention....We have all done it...suck it up!!!
I completely agree!!! Only the people who did not pay attention to what they were buying are posting these negative comments. I saw the "fine print" on the order page and emailed them for more info and they were clear about all of the details, nothing was "hidden". Then when I placed my order I received an email confirmation explaining what the other packages were all about and how I could cancel. When I received my order all of the information was written in the package. Stop crying over spilled milk and learn that companies exist to make money and if you don't know how to protect yours no one will do it for you!!! Who would believe that $10 is all it takes, we live in America, it's called creative marketing! All of the companies have to compete for our attention and it's true that they are not the only ones who market this way. So from now on don't be a lazy consumer and do your homework!
When you order the ONE CD for 9.95 you unknowingly 'have given approval' for them to ship a 20 CD set to you and proceed to charge you $265.00 on the credit card you gave them for the single CD. I called them, sent back the complete set according to THEIR directions in January 2013! I just received a letter stating that my credit card was denied and that I owed $265.00. According to them, they didn't receive my shipment and just proceeded to charge my card. Now, after nearly SIX MONTHS, I need to supply them with the tracking code or they will just charge my credit card! I'm so furious I can hardly SEE because I'm not a believer that they didn't get my shipment. What a racket! Suck them in with a 9.95 charge and just send the 20 cd set, even though it was NOT asked for, and when it gets sent back, just deny that you received it and charge the total amount anyway!
I'm also calling the Better Business Bureau!
They did the same exact thing to my husband
First off, I only gave this company 1 star because I was forced to in order to post this comment. It was a source of comfort that 1 star means "Hated it", but still one star is to many.
Never in my life have I seen so many bad reviews on one product. I stumbled across the cartoon ad and was very intrigued until it got to the cost of only $10.00. That's when my antennae went up.
In addition, it always gets me when they say "but you must act now". That's because they don't want you to do what I did, which is check the reviews before you buy it.
I'm so glad I did because I was very tempted. It's a measly $10, so who cares, right? Wrong!!!!!
These reviews are very helpful and saved me a lot headaches and money that I would not have been willing to spend on the addition products, so I thank you all!
I'm so sorry that you all went through what you did with this product and company, but I truly appreciate your taking the time to post your reviews in an attempt to save others from going throught the same turmoil.
if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck then it's a SCAM. My friend tried this -any company that does this to get your business is not worth doing business with.
they would have been smarter to give you a CD for $9.99 with some very helpful instruction which would cause you to buy more...but to trick you into a program can only mean one thing...it's not legit....there are dozens of these types of scammers out there....and now they have your name for a sucker list they will sell to other scammers....be sure to complain to your credit card company..this will help to shut them down...
I watched the rather charming video and figured WTH for $9.95 if I learn anything it's worth it. So I ordered.
Then I thought I would review some of the comments people had made re: the program... (note to self, next time do that first).
The next day before recieving anything I cancelled my credit card. I subsequently got a package in the mail I didn't recognize so I opened it. Much to my horror was a neated packaged box of CDs from some company called Internet Order LLC, Philladelphia, PA. I returned it by mail the next saying cancel order, return to sender etc. Of course since it was opened I had to pay the postage. On my next CC statement (my old card) I sayw a credit for $9.95 and thought, whew! dodged the bullet.
Since then I have recieved another package even though they don't have a valid CC to bill.
I'll send it back too but am afraid they may threaten collection cuz they can't tap my CC.
Don't do it and tell your friends and anybody who will listen not to do it.
The language approach may be good but I'll never know because i will never do business with a company that uses such slimey marketing methods!!!
Tell them you are going to contact the attorney general in your state and file a 93A action against them unless they credit you appropriately. That's what we did and they took care of it
The video is very clear that you will only be billed $9.95 instead of the more than $400 for that program in the yellow box. Now that the box of CD's arrived, I see that I will be sent another box of CD's which I only pay 4 payments of $64 and then there will be three more sets at the 4 payments of $64. If my math is right, the total cost of the program is $1,024. Had I known that, I would not have ordered the program. No where in there marketing does it say the total charge is $1,024. I call this unethical. I have no problem with the word Scam. I'm not talking about the quality of the product. That's not even in question at this point.
Word to the wise, NEVER buy ANYTHING from the little sped up wipey board videos. I have seen countless videos just like this one, and they are ALL nothing but a scam. From this one to the survivalist ones, to the free energy, free food ones, etc etc. If you see some idiot drawing on a wipey board, it's a scam. This crap is all over facebook and popular news sites.
I too was drawn in. Stupid, I know. After I received the first "installment" I completely misplaced the package and forgot about it. Well I received the second and after digging found the first. Called and they will refund the second but not the first. So now I'll have to pay the $256 because they won't take the second. Wish I had read the fine print a little closer before trying out this "neat" program. :(
Seriously upset at myself and the company.
Apparently the Pimsleur Approach is based on sending multiple CD sets that cost $64/mo for four months per set--this occurred to me and although I was able to return them, it was a terrible hassle. Buyer Beware!!
Just buy it on iTunes. Who seriously listens to CD's thesedays - especially if you're walking around, etc.. oh let me just dig out my old portable discman relic!
iTunes is a few £'s more ($'s to those not in the UK), but you choose when to by your next set of lessons.. not when they dictate!
oops typo.. *buy your next set of lessons...
I just ordered it two days ago. Now I'm scared about what's going to happen!
yeah just ordered it this morning....crap.... here i was so hopeful, i could afford 10 bucks...but 64 a month,, i think NOT. scam is right.
Just send back the gold course as soon as you get it. Wish I did.
This program is not a scam. The only bad reviews are on here because people don't know how to read anything. It says very simply that you will get more shipments and will be charged $XX.XX for them. I don't know how anyone could miss that!
The only reason I didn't rate the program with 5 stars is because I really just wanted to download the program for my iPad/iPod/Phone, and I still can't figure out how to do that. I guess I could just burn the CD's onto my computer and copy them onto my devise, but it seems they could update their system to include a more downloadable system.
I am just started the Spanish program, and I really feel like its already useful! I feel smarter every time I get out of my car! So far I recommend it, just read things before you give your credit card!
Deal with the official folks (Pimsleur.com) = avoid the hassle of fine print and get the courses much cheaper. Pimsleur.com sale the MP3 format for more than half what these "PimsleurApproach.com" guys will charge you. You're paying a middleman for nuthing.
Spell Check
It's not about not reading correctly. The invoice that comes with the additional shipments shows an amount due at the bottom of $0. That's right, ZERO dollars due. What they mean is, zero dollars due if you return it immediately. If not, then you owe not just $64, which might be kind of okay as a price for this set, but four payments of $64, which is outrageous. This would be like getting Rosetta Stone content, but at 3 times the price without the visuals! This is not to say that Rosetta Stone is better, just that they are considered expensive and this course is three times their cost! And they tell you up front it will be $399, and don't try to sneak it by you. This is absolutely not about not reading what is clearly stated, but about not reading what is purposely hidden. I know it must be in the materials somewhere, but in the sent materials I still can't find it after figuring out what they were doing!!!! So, I bet to differ with Renee Q, who probably shills for the website.
I expect the writer of this post works for Stroll/Pimsleur and was paid to post.
This is a push sales scam. I read extremely carefully everything when looking into this and was in shock at having to hassle through the returns process.
I literally had to call and get verbal verification because the website was really unclear on the charges. There is no way that a language company cannot understand how to properly disclose the cost of their product, unless its intentional.
I just got the "GOLD Edition" in the mail. It says in the 30-day trial offer insert that after 30 days, you'll be billed 4-monthly installments of 64 dollars. I think that is what he was referring to. So far, everyone is complaining about the money but I haven't hear anyone say that they didn't learn their language... I'm more interested in that. It may be shady how they go about it, but if it works than it doesn't negate that it's worth the doe.
THanks Sam, that's my question as well, does it work?
First of all, the *TRUE* PImsleur is a "Method", not an "Approach". If you were to go to the *right* website (http://www.pimsleur.com/) you will find the actual Pimsleur Method instruction system. That has been aorund for 50 years and is in use by DoD, FBI, and DoS among others.
I have used this, and will say that as old fashioned as listening to language lessons on CDs might seem, I was able to quickly learn and be conversational in a foreign language, and have retained the ability for over 10 years. It was not this $10 introductory kit, but the real $50 program (you get what you pay for). If they had more advanced lessons in my language of choice, I would have gladly paid the $150 that most of their full Level 1 lessons costs.
The program works... just go to the right place!
When I tried to go to that website, Firefox put up an error message that said, "This connection is untrusted," and that their security certificate expired on 7/27/12 9:16 PM.
Does it work? That's what I want to know, and the title of the site seemed to say there was an answer here; but there's not. Cost is only a part of the value. Does it work? That's the important issue. Everybody bitched about the price, but if it works then I might find it worth the cost.
Well ask yourself does a baby learn language in ten days, of course not!
it takes years of immersion in the language to become fluid. Learning a language uses both visual and audio cues the word Vastere means nothing unless you can picture the image of the object,or idea.
I have just started it, and feel like it is working so far, I am doing the Spanish program. I like it. I am only on day 4, but I feel like I know much more than I did before I started! I actually feel myself thinking of the words in my day to day when they come up!
Of course but buy direct from Pimsleur.com. Avoid the trouble of these middleman.
I have been teaching myself Russian for 9 years. It is extremely complicated and the grammatical approach is nearly impossible. A did a 3 level course called Learn Russian in your car, Took nearly 3 years, but I can get by with many errors and it takes a long time to think the changes through. The Pimsleur course is similar, but has you repeat more in many ways with interchanging the words into various already learned sentence structures. I found after the course (I listened to it quickly in about 5 days) I could use a very complicated grammatical concept and say it very quickly in many ways. I found this very helpful, as the other courses taught more concepts much faster, but only put it into one or two sentences which were not as repetitive.. I like both and am appreciating learning fewer things mjuch more perfectly. One is not better than the other, just different. Obviously, you can't be fluent like a native speaker without a LOT of work, practice and dedication. I will hope the later courses will continue contain other very difficult concepts and make them easy by the smae learning pattern.
As a native Russian speaker I couldn't help but smile when I read your comment about Russian being extremely difficult. It's true. Russian is incredibly complicated - a language with seemingly no rules about word endings and word order, but at the same time with more rules that could be put in any textbook. I commend you for your effort to learn Russian! I also have to agree with your last point - it takes time and dedication to learn a language well. English, being much easier than Russian to learn to speak, still took me years to master. Good luck!
The tapes are fine. What is highly objectionable is that you automatically get more CDs that you did NOT order and they bill your debit/credit card.
As I viewed the marketing video for the Pimsleur Approach, I thought it might be a good idea to look at some reviews. That lead me here. I have read almost all of these reviews. Dozens of people claim that this is a scam. Well I couldn't say one way or the other, so I looked. I went through the process and all but submitted my payment information. Not just once, but four times it states that by doing nothing you submit to further courses and the accompanying charges. This company has a legal obligation to disclose that information. They are not required to seek out permission each time they charge you. They clearly disclose this information to you, effectively satisfying their legal obligations.
My conclusion: Most of you are lazy morons who are either compulsive buyers that cares not for finely printed details or you just simply didn't know any better. Either way, the joke is on you. Reporting them to the BBB is not going to get you anywhere. I wouldn't consider myself wealthy according our societal standards for that status, but I have been quite successful. I didn't reach success by overlooking details that seem insignificant. I would advise each of you to take a strong look at your business habits.
While I agree with the general conclusion here that this company is not suggestible, do not mistake it, unethical and illegal do not go hand in hand. They satisfy their legal obligation and feed off of consumers who either are in such a hurry to obtain the product that they overlook details or they are simply lazy and incoherent.
Let the bashing of my post begin.
First of all I have already admitted that I felt foolish so I don't find your insults helpful! Did you do this on their website? My understanding is that it is more straightforward on their website, maybe legal concerns? I watched a video from a link on Facebook and I am pretty certain that the Rapid Fluency Program was never mentioned. I was taken to 3 or 4 screens during the purchase process, but that was after my CC had been charged and I said "no thanks" to all of those offers. It was not until I received the email of my transaction that the Rapid Fluency Program was mentioned.
Now as I said on an earlier post I called and spoke to a CSR, explained that I was not interested in the Rapid Fluency Program or any additional CDs. The guy I spoke to was very courteous and told me that he would stop any future shipments and assured me there would be no additional charges. So far so good, but it is still less than 2 weeks. I agree that people that ignore the emails, miss deadlines, and refuse to follow up are partially at fault, but those of us that request to stop further shipments and charges should be able to expect them to keep their word!
bashing of your post? what post? you haven't tried and reviewed the program, all you did was insult other people. you are an assclown at best, STOP TROLLING!!!
Well you did not say if you were able to speak fluently a language after 10 days. I'll bet not
RYB, Couldn't have said it any better myself!! Thank you!
I would have to partially disagree with you. On the one hand, the fine print is there; on the other hand, they imply it will only cost $10, and that it's not nearly as expensive as Rosetta Stone (which they claim will cost $700), and they then put the "we'll charge you a lot more" information off to the side, which is difficult to see, when you are thinking "bold claims, but for only $10, I think it's worth a try". Perhaps it's not illegal, but it's rather sleazy, and I'm annoyed that, except for reviews, I would have fallen into the trap at a time that I could not have paid much more than $10.
Having said that, as far as my research on the technique goes, the Pimsleur technique seems to be a valid one. I just wish their marketing didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth!
Ive taken years of spanish and have learned more with this product then I have in a class room. Yes they are a bit sneaky with there prices, but now you know that up front. So if you want to learn a language this is a good choice. Just make the payments and be glad you did. I play my CDs when i am driving in my car. So i basically learned spanish as I drove to and from work, i didnt have to set aside time to do it. it was perfect! We a ll have to drive places so I just utilized my time wisely.
I ordered a language learning CD set from The Pimsleur approach for 10 dollars. I received it and all was well until I started to receive more CD sets in the mail. I assumed it was just a part of the one I signed up for initially since the invoice attached to it said "order total $0.00" I never actually got around to using the disks but didn't think anything of it. Yesterday April 29th, I received a letter dated April 1st saying that my account has been sent to collection for a past due amount of $448.00. I called the number and waited for 40 minutes... no one answered the phone. the next day I called again and spoke to someone who told me that I had to pay since my trial period was up. I told him that I wasn't award I was even being charged he informed me that the payment information was inside with the disks. At which point I told him I haven't even used the disks yet but I did look at the INVOICE that was not hidden inside with the disks and that said I didn't owe anything. Needless to say he did not have an answer as to why the billing costs were not in the place where it should be instead he told me that I can either keep the disks and pay or have my account stay in collection because they will not take them back. I knew it couldn't just be me that this had happened to so I researched only to find pages upon pages of online complaints about the same issue. Some people actually figure it out before the 30 day deadline and was still scammed. Many reported that the company claimed that they were sending out return labels for the products but not one of these customers actually received a return label. After a month or two passed, these same customers were then told that they still had to pay for the product because now it was too late and that the company is not responsible for the return label not arriving.
Stroll- Pimsleur Approach needs to be stopped from scamming poor unsuspecting customers. At this point I would rather pay money to have a lawyer provide me with legal advice on how to handle them than to pay for a product that they are attempting to trick me into paying for.
I have begun a petition at change.org
feel free to sign it the link is below
https://www.change.org/petitions/stroll-pimsleur-approach-accept-their-products-back-and-remove-the-bogus-charges#share
I think this company needs a class action suit
If you weren't aware of the charges then you didn't take the time to read the large paragraph on the left side of the page where you order the product.
"RAPID LEARNING PROGRAM: One month after you get started with your Quick & Simple you'll
continue by receiving 30 day trial copies of advanced Pimsleur courses in the language you
selected. Each course is yours to try for 30 days. You'll receive a new course once every 60 days.
For each course you keep we'll bill you in four monthly payments of $64. Simply pay the return
shipping cost for any course you return. Remember, there's never an immediate obligation to buy
any course because of the 30-day trial period provided with each shipment. And you may cancel
future shipments at any time by calling 1-877-802-5283. See Key Details"
It is pretty clear when you pay your $10.00 up front that you will be sent more CD's and charged for each shipment, I just ordered the system, and like it, and it was clear as a window what will happen in the future, I don't think you should start a class action law suit because you can't read!! Your "review" doesn't even mention that you tried the program, I'm sure you were to lazy to bother, since you were to ignorant to read what you were buying.... Hopefully you don't sue me for my comments!
Rennquinn, If you plan on paying over a $1,000.00 for lessons that you could likely get for free at your local library.....who is really the ignorant one?
Let me me add to the others who have been ripped off by their bait and switch tactics. They use very deceptive marketing techniques making you think that you are getting and fair value but then slamming you with un-ordered product at a high price. Good luck trying to return it. Best advise is to stay far away from these thieves.
is 10 dollars fair market value for learning another language??... i havent bought it yet but id pay $1000 if it worked
They draw you in by promising that you will learn how to speak another language in 10 days for only $9.99
But what they don't tell you is a few weeks later they will send you an unauthorized shipment of more disc. If you fail to return these disc in 30 days they will charge your card 5 payments of $64.00!
Now I, unlike most people victims returned my package back within the 30 allotted days, and they claimed they never received it, so they charged me anyway. It's been months later and I'm still fighting these charges. My advice for anyone is to request that your credit card # be changed and if that doesn't work, close your account and report Pimsleur to the Better Business Bureau.
If I could give this company no stars , I would. I wasn't able to try the program before discovering that the sales pitch was deceptive and a scam to keep as much of your money as they could get away with. Luckily the credit card I used for the innocent $10 "trial" introduction was lost and I had to replace it--otherwise I would be out more money than I am (I was charged an additional $128.) They are still harassing me for the balance, even though I returned the CDs unused, which they said I couldn't do even though I called within the 30 day period to say I didn't want them. What happened next is that they told me they would send shipping labels that they never sent and so on and so on until the 30 day period was passed and then billed me for $512. Steer clear! They are not an honest company! If their product was so great, they wouldn't have to use the "Pimsler Approach" to get money out of people.
I am very happy I came to this site as early as I did. I also signed up for the 9.95 CD a week ago, and just looked at my receipt again, and noticed what all of you are saying - I am also enrolled in the expanded $256 course. I just called the company, and you are all correct - it is a high pressure sales job! The rep tried to get me to still accept the $10 cd (hadn.t shipped, so nothing on my charge yet). She said she would cancel my account, and I hope that is the end of it.
THEY WILL ROB YOU BLIND. After you make a little $10, they will automatically deduct money from your account. I wasn't even aware that i was enrolling in a course that i would be charged hundreds of dollars for. It is extremely difficult to contact them. They are still trying to charge me $512 for something that I was led to believe would only cost $10. Thankfully, my bank is reversing all their insidious attempts to steal my hard-earned money. If you used a debit card to buy from them, then god help you. No mediocre product is worth dealing with such an evil company.
Take a piece of advice. P.T. Barnam said" There is a sucker born every minute". A sucker is a gullible person looking for the easiest way to do something and will believe anything told to them in order to achieve that goal with little or no effort. All companies to some degree prey on the get it done with ease philosophy to one degree or another. The advice..If it sounds to good to be true, it isn't true. Something an eight year old has learned.
I see a lot of posts like this....I think most of these complaints are not from people who thought they were going to get a complete foreign language course for $10. They are from people who did not want to be automatically enrolled in a $1000 language course without their permission! I consider myself to be above average intelligence and I was not aware of the "Rapid Fluency Program" I was being automatically enrolled in until after I had given them my CC info.
There are also several customers complaining that even after they contacted the company and requested no more shipments or charges....they still received them and were even turned over to a collections agency for not paying for a product they requested they didn't want! If those complaints are true....surely you would not consider them to be suckers, they woukld be victims!
