Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromJoseph C

  Date: 06/16/2024

  1 star
  I've been a long term customer; purchased over a dozen ********************** over the years. What they do they do well. However, I sent them a package with 4 courses (unopened) to exchange for other courses (part of their policy, wasn't asking for anything extra). I filled out their form and followed their instructions exactly. Never heard from them. After several months and several phone calls I was told that they only received one of the courses and instead of exchanging it they sent me a check as a refund. I told them I had returned 4 courses (all in the same box, mind you) and they said that the package was damaged and only had one course in it. However, they seemed to have enough information to know that it was mine. Basically left me a couple hundred dollars in the hole. Will not deal with them again.

• Review fromDavid M

  Date: 04/21/2024

  3 stars
  I mailed back a course months ago and was given a return confirmation number. Months have gone by and no refund. I asked if they could apply refund to another purchase but they said no.

• Review fromDiana D

  Date: 01/28/2024

  2 stars
  My late husband purchased a lot of courses from this company over a number of years and enjoyed the instruction and most of the instructors. As far as I know he never encountered any billing problems. He constantly got catalogs in the mail, and when I received the first one after he died I looked to see how I could remove him from the mailing list. Instructions for someone who died were to actually write to the company with the particulars - name, customer #, etc. - and ask them to remove the name. I took the time to do that and thought that would be it. Unfortunately, not only was his name not removed, Great Courses started mailing catalogs to him at my new address, which they must have gotten from my correspondence. I then called the company to complain about the mistaken mailing and ask again that his name be removed. I was assured that would happen, but that it would take a couple of months because of mailings that were already in the pipeline. Several months passed and I continued to get catalogs and mail addressed to my dead husband, which was extremely upsetting. I wrote on one of the letters, in very emphatic language, that he had died and mailed it back, begging them to stop sending catalogs. After I got yet another one, I called again and was told by someone who actually listened to me that there were 2 accounts for my husband and that only one had been cancelled. She assured me that she would cancel the 2nd one and the mailings will stop. She also apologized. This was an extremely upsetting experience for me, and it never should have taken as much time, effort and stress as it did to get corrected. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

• Review fromMichael L

  Date: 11/29/2023

  5 stars
  It seems as if the reviews all deal with personal experiences having to do with billing. They say nothing as to the course content I have been buying courses for more than 10 years and have a personal library of over 100 courses. The courses are excellent and I for one have had no challenges with billing. I strongly recommend this company.

• Review fromJeffrey C

  Date: 06/20/2023

  1 star
  Their advertising sounds great. Supposedly, you can return a course within a year and get refunded. Well... just try. I did and would like to share my experience here. I ordered a course in February 2023 and returned it in May 2023 with USPS tracking which shows the item was delivered on May 22, 2023. Their website stated that refunds are processed in about 3 weeks. Four weeks after the confirmed delivery, I tried to call their 800 number. Again, good luck with that. Make sure to have 15 to over 30 minutes to wait on hold. On two of my three calls, I was disconnected after speaking to a live agent. So, I tried to send an email to the address on their website. I sent three. So far, more than a week has passed and I have not received a single reply, except for automated replies which state they should respond within 24 hours. To summarize, yes - theoretically - you have a full year to return a course. In practice, try calling and you'll be put on a very long hold. Try to send an email and you'll get no response. So, please be aware that returning an item isn't as smooth a process as they advertised it to be. Finally, my credit card company couldn't help because it's been more than 60 days since my purchase, even though I have a 365-day guarantee from The Great Courses. Lesson learned.

• Review fromWilliam F

  Date: 02/04/2023

  1 star
  My wife received catalog 206595. We discussed the courses and I ordered #7827, "master the fine art of painting" well before their cutoff of 02/02/23. Catalog price was $35.00 for the dvds and the 118 page "course synopsis". The on line ordering system would not accept their own catalog # and charged me $40.00 for the basic course PLUS the book. As my wife wanted to continue learning more on painting I placed the order, but included a memo about the price that they never replied to. BEWARE!

• Review fromHarry G

  Date: 12/16/2022

  1 star
  Company (Wondrium) advertises free trial but charges you with very little notification. The charges are basically in the fine print but you were on the webpage to begin with to get the free trial, which is misleading. I reached out to the company who offered no solutions. Very misleading!