WA State AG Sues Pimsleur Langauge Program Company for Fraud

You've probably seen their ads on TV or on radio.  Now, they're getting sued for fraud.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has opened two lawsuits against the well known Pimsleur Approach foreign language company for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, and federal online shopping laws.

Ferguson says some 38,000 Washington residents were part of hundreds of thousands nationwide who fell victim to deceptive business practices by the widely-used foreign language tutor program.

The Pimsleur Approach offers a variety of courses in how to learn Spanish, French, German and other languages.  Ferguson said Monday in a brief:

"According to the lawsuit, consumers who purchased the introductory set for $9.95 were unknowingly and automatically enrolled in a “negative option” purchase plan, which obligated them to receive up to four advanced-level additional courses at a cost of $256 each."

To avoid charges, consumers were required to ship the tutoring materials back to the company within 30 days at their own expense, and if they failed, a $256 dollar charge was made on the card they used to order the course.  Consumer liability in many cases ended up being as high as $1,024 if they used the company's "Rapid Fluency Program."

 “The company hid the terms of the negative option program in its advertising, and misled consumers into thinking they’d only ordered the inexpensive introductory course for $9.95,” said Ferguson."

While the company said they offered a 30-day money back guarantee,  Ferguson said consumers had to receive "special authorization" before they could return unused or unwanted materials,  were charged $64 restocking fees, and often were exposed to sales pressure and strong-arm tactics by customer service representatives when trying to cancel.

  The company is facing at least five counts of deceptive practices in the lawsuit.