Complaints

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

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  Brilliant.org

  550 Montgomery Street Suite 800 San Francisco, CA 94111

• 

  Brilliant.org

  15 Butte Place San Francisco, CA 94103

• 

  Brilliant.org

  200 Pine St San Francisco, CA 94104-2704

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:01/03/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 emailed Brilliant support multiple times in December 2024 to get help with canceling my subscription - well before the renewal date - and have heard nothing from their company. There is no listed phone number to contact them - only an email address for customer support. Whenever I sent an email, I would get no-reply emails in return. Trying to cancel the subscription directly from their site always led to ERROR messages and a prompt to email "Brilliant support."I actually cancelled the subscription after the Dec. 2023 payment (a year ago), but I feared it may not have worked because I got error messages constantly from their site. So, a week before what would be the annual renewal date, I tried again to cancel the subscription on their site.Again, I received error messages and referrals to email them, which I did. I've been stuck in a endless loop.Despite multiple emails to Brilliant BEFORE the renewal date, they automatically charged me $194.16 during the time I was waiting for a response. I couldn't even access my billing information on their site to know which billing method to cancel.When ****** sent me the notification by email, then I knew. How can customers resolve issues with no phone number to the business or any contact from customer support?

  Business Response

  Date: 01/06/2025

  Hi *****,

  We sincerely apologize for the frustration you've experienced and for the delay in our response. We understand how stressful this situation must have been, especially when you were unable to get the help you needed in time.

  
  Upon reviewing your account, we found that your subscription was not properly canceled, which led to the charge you mentioned. As of January 3rd, we've gone ahead and canceled the plan for you, and weve also processed the refund you qualify for. We appreciate your patience as we worked through this issue.

  
  If you have any further questions or need additional support, please feel free to respond to the confirmation email weve sent. Were here to help and are committed to ensuring this is resolved for you.

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

   
  Complaint: 22761333
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

         While I appreciate the Better Business Bureaus help in securing my refund, I cannot agree that I am satisfied with this outcome to the point of closing this case. The symptom was resolved, but the p***lem largely remains:why did Brilliant.org as a company never contact me directly about my concerns?  I received only no-reply automated emails to my inquiries about my account; I was never supplied a phone number or contact person to assist with my p***lem.  I wrote five clearly-stated emails about my p***lem, but only ever received a real email from an actual person after I had filed a complaint with the BBB.

  
  The response Brilliant.org posted to the Better Business Bureau website is not the same response I received from Brilliant.org when it issued my refund. On the BBB site, ************ wrote apologetically about the stress and inconvenience of the situation, while its direct email to me simply thanked me for reaching out and confirmed that a refund had been issued.  There is still no explanation as to why I was given multiple error messages on the companys site during my attempts to cancel the subscription.  There has still been no explanation as to why no actual person from Brilliant.org responded to my five emails since December 2024.

  
  My pressing concern is the lack of transparency with this company and the dubious nature of its cancelation process and support team.  Customers do not appear to have the option for accessibility to a real person at Brilliant.org.  There are multiple sites on the internet with abundant complaints from people in various countries who experienced the same p***lems I did.  Unfortunately, many of them lost money because they could never reach someone to get a refund. These customers were automatically billed because they could not successfully cancel a freetrial offered on Brilliant.orgs site.  There are forums on Reddit about this, as well as a portion of the Better Business Bureau site itself where people have shared their negative experiences dealing with Brilliant.org.  Some customers have tried to warn others in their reviews of the troublesome, and seemingly dishonest promotion of Brilliant.orgs trial and its assurance of easy cancelation on their website.

  The graphics and modules displayed on the website, as well as the stance that Brilliant.org is an advanced educational platform created to ****** more in-depth learning in a number of areas, including mathematics, physical sciences and STEM experience, strongly suggest that the people behind this business are very adept at creating complex computer fundamentals needed to support such an interactive web program. However, it seems that more than a fair few customers have experienced needless confusion and hardship navigating their way to fixing their account p***lems.

  The following questions remain to be answered: Why are so many customers unable to cancel a subscription they no longer want or cancel what was advertised as a free trial? Why can customers use the learning portion of the site simply enough, but cant get past error messages when they try to manage their account information?  Why is there no customer service number provided to address account p***lems and customer concerns? Finally, why does ******************** contact certain customers to grant the services it says it provides only after a highly reputable dispute-resolution company gets involved?

  
  I believe this p***lem will continue to plague other customers and *** many of them of their money if Brilliant.org does not reform its tendency for site crashes, error messages leading only to a circuitous email system, and its lack of real-person contact for its customer base. Subscriptions with ******************** are expensive and too difficult to cancel. I highly suggest that the founders and financial officers of Brilliant.org be further investigated to answer these questions and resolve the standing issues with its site.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

  Business Response

  Date: 01/20/2025

  Thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention. We understand how frustrating these experiences can be and truly appreciate your patience as we work to address them.
  

  Our team is diligently investigating issues related to subscription cancellations and trial management. If youve encountered errors managing your account, please rest assured were working to improve these processes for all users. We don't have many users that have this issue compared to the numbers of users we have, so reporting the issue for investigation will always be the best option!

  While we dont offer phone support, we aim to provide efficient assistance through email. Regarding disputes, we want to clarify that we didnt respond due to the dispute itself but because we had reached the date of your email in our queue. We sincerely apologize for the delay and assure you we were ready and willing to help regardless.
  

  Were transparent about our service levels, especially during busy periods, and recommend avoiding multiple follow-ups, as they can unintentionally push emails further back in our queue.
  

  Your feedback is invaluable, and were here to help resolve any ongoing concerns. Please dont hesitate to reach out to our team at ********************* for assistance.

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is likely the only one I will get without all parties going in a useless circle. Thank you, BBB, for helping me to secure a refund. I hope that the business will sincerely investigate and address the presented concerns as they have stated, though I fear these problems will persist for many other customers. I remain wary, but I am satisfied with this response to the point of closing this case.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/05/2024

  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 signed up for a free trial, very quickly realized it wasn't for me and thought I canceled. Looked at my bank account later and saw I was charged for a full year. It looks like this is a very common issue that many people report complaints for, and is a predatory practice to scam people out of money. I didn't use the service at all aside from the first day during the trial period and they refuse to refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/17/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thank you for sharing your experience, {{recipient.first_name}}. If a trial isnt canceled, the annual plan selected at checkout is charged, but we send a reminder email beforehand so users have time to cancel. We aim to be transparent during the purchase process and in our Terms of Use.

  We completely understand your frustration, and want to clarify that we processed your refund on December 5th after reviewing your case. Since we hadnt heard back from you, we're glad you followed up with us now. Let me know if theres anything else we can assist with!

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/17/2024

  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.

  On 11/12/2024 my son ordered a new year subscription using my email, despite him being confused, not having permission, and me already having a year subscription under a different email, they "declined" my attempt of a refund. This is me rightfully reporting them for shady business practices and I will be seeking a refund with my credit card company. For an education company, this is pathetic. I will also be covering this on my ******* channel to warn other buyers.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/19/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thank you for reaching out and sharing your thoughts with us! After reviewing your request, were unable to process the refund at this time, as it falls outside of our refund window and shows account usage. This is outlined in our Terms of Use, which apply before, during, and after the purchase.

  
  We completely understand this may be frustrating, and we truly apologize for the inconvenience. Were actively looking into other possible solutions that might work better for your situation. Please keep an eye out for a follow-up email from us soonwell be in touch!

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/19/2024

   
  Complaint: 22569428
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I already have a brilliant.org subscription under the email ************************** and now one under *************************** Both annual subscriptions for the same person. The business refusing to refund one account that was started a few days prior to my first refund request is just pure greed. I'm completely unsatisfied with the "resolution attempt" as nothing was even offered to remediate their utter greed. My credit card company will ensure my money is returned if they are unwilling to be decent human-beings. I will be recommending to my followers to not follow the hype, there are better more decent learning platforms that they can spend their time and money on.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. We completely understand your frustration and want to clarify the situation. When we reviewed your request, we aimed to make a one-time courtesy refund exception. However, since a chargeback dispute was already opened with your credit card company, we were unable to process the refund on our end, as chargebacks override our ability to act.

  We recommend resolving the dispute directly through your credit card provider, as they will handle the resolution process. Please know that our intention was to assist you, and we regret that we couldnt take further action in this case.

  If theres anything else we can do to assist, please dont hesitate to reach out.

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2024

  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.

  On September 23, 2024, I intended to sign up for a month of Brilliant. Their website gave me a choice of a month-to-month or an annual subscription. I intended on selecting month-to-month, but this is where the problems began. Once I made my selection the site NEVER showed me which subscription (yearly or monthly) I had selected, nor how much I was about to pay (a clear example of dark patterns). I went through the ****** checkout and paid. Then I got an email telling me I had just paid $129.50 for a 1 year subscription, which was not what I wanted.I *immediately* requested a refund. I quickly received a message saying someone would review my account. Then- and this was my mistake, for thinking that customer support would be reasonable and they would simply switch me to a monthly subscription and refund the difference- I began a course.The next day I received an email saying that since my subscription was now "used" they could not change my subscription nor give me any kind of refund or credit. I explained what happened to support (I told them the same thing I just put here) but they refused multiple times to give me any kind of refund because I had soiled my pristine year-long subscription with 30 minutes of usage. That's just *****% of the total length of the subscription.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2024

  Hi ****,

  Thanks for sharing this feedback with us! When purchasing, the plan you select is shown in the pricing breakdown at checkout. This includes the full price you are paying at the time of purchase. We have reviewed the account and it doesn't qualify for a refund as all subscriptions are generally non-refundable and all information was presented at checkout. We apologize once again for not being able to provide the solution you were looking for, but hope you reach out any time during your learning journey should you need assistance.

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/05/2024

  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.

  My son signed up for a free trial on brilliant. My card was automatically charged after the trial ended. He wasnt aware that companies scam like this. I did t find the charge on my credit card until this last month. When I reached out to let them know that the charge was fraudulent. They said it was outside of their window of time. The service was never used and the original charge was never authorized by me, the card holder.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/08/2024

  Hi Chandi,

  Thanks for sharing your experience with us! We sincerely apologize for not being able to provide the solution you were looking for. Your charge date is outside our refund time frame per our Terms of Use that are displayed before, during and after checkout to our users. We send out trial end reminder emails to every trial user so they can cancel their trial before being charged. At this time, months have past since the start of the subscription with usage during the trial and after the charge.

  We appreciate you emailing us about this and if we didn't answer all of your questions, feel free to respond. You should also receive another response from our Customer Support Manager today.

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/02/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  Brilliant.org took an unauthorized $139.00 out of my account and now I cant afford to pay my rent. I tried calling them and they dont have a line where I can speak to anyone. I emailed them and am waiting to hear back. I just want my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/04/2024

  Hi *********,

  Thanks for reaching out about this! We're happy to see we were able to resolve your issue via email the same day you reached out! Looks like the subscription was not canceled before the trial rolled over into the paid subscription you selected at checkout. No worries - we were able to cancel and refund the plan after reviewing your account. Please let us know if there's anything else we can assist with by replying to our email - we're always happy to help!

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2024

  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.

  In mid-May of 2024, I signed up for a free trial of the Brilliant app. I was aware that after the free trial ended, I would begin incurring charges, but Brilliant did not make it clear at the time of sign-up that I would be charged an ANNUAL fee rather than a MONTHLY fee. When I discovered in August 2024 that I was being charged an annual plan, I contacted Brilliant and requested a partial refund (since I had had the app for June and July and did not expect reimbursement for those months). They refused. It is not standard practice for a free trial to opt-in to an annual plan. All other subscriptions I have used that feature both monthly and annual plans have opted me into a monthly plan. I have no issue with that. It is dishonest to not make it clear when someone signs up for a free trial (and specifically at that point in time) that they will be opted in to an annual plan rather than a monthly plan.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thanks for reaching out! We're sorry to hear you were confused on the charge for the annual plan you selected at checkout. The total cost is displayed at checkout as well as the purchase receipt you should've received via email in May. We're glad you emailed us so we could look into the options available to you. Should you need assistance in the future, be sure to reach us at ********************* as we're always happy to help!

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/24/2024

  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.

  On June 12, 2024, I began a 7-day trial subscription to brilliant.org. On the morning of the 7th day, I went into the account to cancel said subscription only to discover that brilliant.org changed Paypal for the subscription price of $142.91, well inside the 7-day trial period. I emailed brilliant.org and they agreed to a refund. As of 4 days ago my PayPal still showed a negative balance of $142.91. On June 27th brilliant.org dared to go around PayPal, violating their terms of service, and submitted DIRECTLY to my bank a debit on my account of $142.91. This has caused a huge problem for me. brilliant.org's previous agreement to refund the $142.91 has not been met and I ask that said amount be submitted directly back to B of A today!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/31/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thank you for reaching out to us via email so we could work through this with you! Your trial started on June 12th at 6:26 pm UTC and converted to the paid plan selected at checkout on June 19th at 7:27 pm UTC. This was a little over the 7-day trial period by an hour, but the payment begins processing on the 7th day as close to your renewal timestamp. As advertised when purchasing, we sent out an email reminder to cancel before the end of the trial so there would be no charge on June 16th at 12:07 PM PST. When you reached out on June 20th, we were able to provide a hassle-free refund on the spot and are happy we were able to take care of that for you!

  Since you paid with PayPal, we do not have access to your banking details and have shared that we have no further retries showing on our end. We've also called PayPal to confirm this and they've shared the same - as shared in our emails, it's best to reach out to PayPal for your account inquiry. Our Customer Support Manager was able to reach back out to you via email yesterday. Feel free to respond to that email which contains the PayPal refund receipt for your records. We pride ourselves in going the extra mile to assist our users and are always happy to help in any way we can!

  Warm Regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 22039106
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  There was an agreement for the refund so the part of Brilliant.org is merely an attempt at subterfuge and misrepresentation of the truth. On June 20 2024 a payment was attempted and rejected on June 21 2024 due to insufficient funds. Our agreement to the refund notwithstanding, Brilliant.org on June 27th requested that payment be tried again directly with **** of America cutting PayPal out of the transaction. The money, $142.91 was debited from my account by Brilliant which they refuse to admit. 

  This was unauthorized, unethical, and violates PayPal policy and privacy laws as I have no idea how Brilliant knew the paying bank was B of A.

  Brilliant.org refuses produce an actual ledger accounting that disputes account activitiy I have provided to Brilliant.org from both PayPal and B of A.

   

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2024

  Hi *****,

  Thanks for getting back to us! We're unsure if you've spoken with PayPal at this point, but have shared that this would be the best time to reach out to them. They have confirmed the following:
  - the payment initiation and charge date
  - the refund date
  - they see no further attempts on our behalf
  - Brilliant.org has no access to your banking details.

  We have shared these in our communication with you. PayPal has confirmed that they are not at liberty to speak with us about what they see on your account due to privacy. We strongly recommend reaching out to them with the refund receipt we've provided to obtain more information. You may also dispute the charges you're seeing as these have not been retried by us. We hope your banking institution and PayPal are able to resolve this and thanks for allowing us the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the issue for you.

  Warmest regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/24/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  April 21st 2024 I decided to try Brilliant app. Started 30 day trial. I immediately started working again and never even tried it; i never even opened the app.I had a reminder flag in my calendar and after about two weeks I believed that I had cancelled it by clicking on an unsubscribe link in one of their emails... Now I open my **** bill and see I'm being charged for a Premium subscription! 1 year @ CAD$ ****** I've never even used the app I would like a refund

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2024

  Hi *******,

  Thanks for sharing this with us! We're sorry to hear you didn't want to continue your subscription plan. While we hope our learning platform is fit for all users, we understand when it is not. Users decide how often they'd like to use their subscriptions, so we do not proactively cancel and refund plans based on usage. Instead, we send out a trial end reminder email so users have time to jump in and cancel before being charged. We sent this reminder to you on May 18th at 8:09 pm PST and it looks like there was no cancellation before or after that period.

  No worries - you definitely qualify for a refund exception which has been processed today. You should receive your refund within 10 business days or less and this has automatically canceled your subscription. You will not be charged again unless you repurchase in the future. Please feel free to reach us at ********************* if you have any questions or concerns - we're always happy to help and generally respond within 24 to 48 hours.

  Thanks for giving Brilliant a try!

  Warm regards,

  The Brilliant Support Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/26/2024

  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Date of the transaction: 14/06/2024 Amount of money paid: £100.80 What the business committed to provide: Access to Brilliant.org's premium subscription Nature of the dispute: I signed up for a free trial and intended to cancel it before the trial period ended. Unfortunately, I forgot to cancel in time, and my subscription was renewed unexpectedly. Attempts to resolve: I have already contacted Brilliant.org support and received an acknowledgment email. Transaction ID: *****************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2024

  Hello, 
  
   
  
  Please cancel my complaint as it has been resolved. 
  
   
  
   
  
  Many thanks,
  
   
  
   
  
  Syed I***** ***