Course Hero, Inc.

Hello, 
 
Please see the email that was sent after [redacted] spoke with one of our Representatives on the phone yesterday: 
 
Hi [redacted],Thank you for contacting us here at Course Hero about your recurring Monthly membership. I'm sorry to hear that you were having such troubles...

getting into your account. After reviewing your account, I see the email your account is registered under was actually [redacted]. Per our conversation, I have changed this to [redacted] so that you can now access your account. I also see that your account automatically renewed because we hadn't received a request to cancel your membership prior to the renewal date. As a one-time courtesy I would be happy to issue you a full refund for the last 2 transactions.As discussed, 2 refunds in the amount of $39.95 USD each will be issued to your original payment method and I have also confirmed your Monthly membership has been cancelled so you will not be charged again in the future. Your financial institution will now be able to credit the amount stated, which can take up to 2-3 business days for them to process. If you do not receive the refund within 7 business days, please let us know.If you sign up again for a Premier membership, you can avoid the automatic renewal by hovering over your username on the top right of the page and then clicking on Account Settings and then click on Stop Recurring Membership. Once you’ve finished that process, you will receive an email confirming that your membership has been cancelled successfully. [redacted].Please note: when you cancel your membership, you will still have Premier access until it expires.Your account will now revert to a free Basic membership and you can still upload documents for unlocks, upload documents for money, rate and review your unlocked content, give advice on a school course, and refer your friends.If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly by responding to this email. I would be more than happy to assist you with any questions you may have. Have a wonderful rest of your day, 
[redacted]
Course Hero Support

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/14) */
Hello,
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat...

all of our users equitably.
After further reviewing this account, our records show a follow up email was sent after your initial inquiry.
Please let us know if you did not receive this email resolving this request.
Sincerely,
Course Hero Customer Support.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/12/27) */
Hello [redacted],
Our records show your request was resolved on 12/07/15 by phone. Please confirm if you still need assistance with your request.
Regards,
Customer Support
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2016/01/04) */
(The...

consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
No it was not my refund is still not here
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2016/01/11) */
Hello [redacted],
Our records show that your refund was issued on 12/07/15. We suggest reviewing your Visa card account ending in 6443 to verify whether the refund posted to your account.
If you are still not seeing it, please contact your credit/bank account for further information on the refund.
Should you still have any further questions, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Course Hero Support

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/12) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
[redacted] subscribed to 1-year program ($119.40) on 11/24/15. Mr. [redacted] did not contact us but contacted the bank directly. Due to the activity, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a full refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has unlocked 6 documents and downloaded 8 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not unlocked/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Per our refund policy,we do not provide refunds when a user has unlocked at least one document. Additionally, since the charge has been disputed with the bank/credit card company directly the outcome will be handled directly with the bank.
Should you have any further questions, please let us know.
Course Hero Support
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/01/13) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept the response from course hero.
Course hero declined to refund my money through my bank and has blacklisted/locked the account.
Here is the problem with course hero business practice,
I'm a PhD Student, however course hero does not have adequate material for PhD level.
The reason I unlocked the documents was to verify whether they had the material content I was looking for or not. Course hero do not have adequate PhD level material.
The question is: Why should I pay a year in advance for a lousy service?? A service that the merchant has failed to provide?? and my course is time sensitive I can not wait for the merchant to look for alternative material otherwise I will be late in submitting my assignments.
Please help me understand if this a better business practice. I have not done anything wrong. I'm looking for a service that the merchant has failed to provide. I do not see any reason why the company can keep my money and lock my account too. This to me smell like a scam.
I know Revdex.com is a credible organization and you can see the problem with course hero approach to my case.
Finally, my pain and frustration is: I have paid a year in advance for a service that the company can not provide and I can not access even the lousy material too.
Offer: I would prefer a full refund since the merchant has no information I was looking for. If not they can keep 40% of my money and refund 60%.I do not see why they the company can keep my money and I have not service paid for. On top of that the account is locked. Is this a better business practice?
This is not a good business practice and please do not allow more students be cheated out the meager money we make while in school. I'm hopeful the Revdex.com will protect my interest and the interest of may students treated this way.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/26) */
Hello [redacted],
We appreciate your feedback and additional comments. Our support team has sent you an email to the email address
[redacted] further assist you with your request. Please let us know if you did not receive correspondence.
Best Regards,
[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/05) */
Hello,
We have resolved this issue with the user directly via personal email, ticket # XXXXX.
Please contact XXX-XXX-XXXX or email [redacted]@coursehero.com with any further questions.
Sincerely,
Course Hero Customer...

Support
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/05/06) */
5-6-15
Sent via email:
Yes it has been closed to my satisfaction thank you for your time.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/03) */
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We are a platform where students can...

connect academically via various means one of which is uploading notes originated by them to share with other members.
As stated within our Terms of Service (http://[redacted]), Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably. Our weblogs tied to the user's account indicate that she had accessed at least 3 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
Documents Viewed (Doc ID/Date/Name)
1 [redacted] Feb 22, 2014 // 05-CS107-Midterm
2 [redacted] Feb 22, 2014 // 06-CS107-Midterm-Solution
3 [redacted] Feb 22, 2014 // CS205A hw6_solutions
We have verified the three documents explicitly show questions and answers from Stanford CS 107 and 205A from Winter 2012.
Due to the sensitivity of the content accessed by the user, we had previously mentioned to the user, we were unable to provide a full refund. Our refund policy states we cannot issue refunds once study materials have been access since we have no control of how the information is used.
As a courtesy, we can provide a partial refund for the user. We offer a 3-month membership for $59.85 or a 1-month plan for $39.95. We can adjust the membership and process a refund for the remaining difference. Please contact us directly at [redacted] and in the subject provide the Revdex.com case number. Thank you.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2014/05/22) */
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment...

registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance. Per our refund policy, we do not provide refunds when a user has viewed at least one document.
[redacted] subscribed to 1-year program ($95.40) on 04/25/2014. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has accessed 1 document after upgrading to our premier membership.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time):
XXXXXXX Apr 25, 2014 // 4:07:08AM managerial accounting,(test bank)
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Due to the sensitivity of the documents on the site, we cannot provide refunds, however the account for Ms. [redacted] has been closed and refunded as of 04/25/2014.

Hello, 
 
We have spoken with [redacted]  and we have provided tutor credits which are available for his immediate use. He agreed with the resolution and I have followed up with my agents to provide go over some coaching opportunities on how to better explain our policies.
 
Best,

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/29) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
XXXX XXXXXXXX signed up for a 1-year program ($95.40) on 10/24/14. The user contacted us on 10/24/14 requesting we cancel the subscription for a full refund. We informed the user of the Terms of Service (as stated on the Sign-up page) that we would not be able to provide a full refund due to the activity on the account. On 10/24/14 we downgraded the membership to a 1-month membership at a rate of $39.95 and we issued a partial refund in the amount of $55.45.
As stated on the sign-up page and in the Terms of Service (http://www.coursehero.com/Terms_of_Use.php), the monthly membership and multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The user had signed up for a 1-year membership the monthly cost of which is $7.95 per month and since multi month subscriptions are charged fully in advance, the cost of a 1-year membership is $95.40 (https://www.coursehero.com/registration.php). The price of $95.40 is shown on coursehero.com sign-up page.
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero?s policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed 12 documents and downloaded 7 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time):
1 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 3:02:44PM
2 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 3:02:09PM
3 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 1:47:33PM
4 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 1:22:54PM
5 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 1:17:28PM
6 XXXXXXX Oct 24, 2014 // 1:16:16PM
= ==================
1 XXXXXXX Oct 10, 2014 // 12:32:23PM
2 XXXXXXX Oct 10, 2014 // 12:31:14PM
3 XXXXXXX Oct 10, 2014 // 10:53:57AM
= ==================
1 XXXXXXX Sep 26, 2014 // 11:31:53AM
2 XXXXXXX Sep 26, 2014 // 10:56:39AM
3 XXXXXXX Sep 26, 2014 // 10:03:15AM
Downloaded Documents (File Name Day & Time):
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 3:02PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:23PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:12PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:11PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:10PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:52PM
XXXXXXX - Oct 24, 2014 // 1:37PM
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Per our refund policy (please see our attached Terms of Use), we do not provide refunds when a user has viewed at least one document.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/10/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I think that this company needs to realize that they should have their billed in advanced as big as the so called monthly amount is. I also think that they should not adverise the monthly service if a customer is going to be billed for the whole year. I also think that they should have a better policy that if a customer does not understand the terms and conditions that they should receive a full refund, whether or not they downloaded anything. I simply thought I was only payng for a month not a whole year. Until I looked at my bank account.

Thank you for contacting Course Hero Support. Your email is very important to us so we will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible! Currently, we're experiencing a response time of 2-3 business days.
In the meantime, we suggest checking out our Customer Support Center for frequently asked...

questions and new tutorial videos!
Course Hero Support

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/13) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
The user signed up for a 1-year program ($95.40) on 07/29/14. The user contacted us on 08/06/14 requesting we cancel the subscription for a full refund. We informed the user of the Terms of Service (as stated on the Sign-up page) that we would not be able to provide a full refund due to the activity on the account. On 08/06/14 we downgraded the membership to a 1-month membership to a one-time courtesy rate which still allows the user to access the membership until 08/28/14.
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed 9 documents and downloaded 9 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
As stated on the sign-up page and in the Terms of Service (http://www.coursehero.com/Terms_of_Use.php), the monthly membership and multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The user had signed up for a 1-year membership the monthly cost of which is $7.95 per month and since multi month subscriptions are charged fully in advance, the cost of a 1-year membership is $95.40 (https://www.coursehero.com/registration.php). The price of $95.40 is shown on coursehero.com sign-up page.
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Should the user have any further questions, we can be reach directly at XXX-XXX-XXXX or [redacted]@coursehero.com.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/08/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
If a month charge is 7.95 month, why was I credited back on $75. They took 20.00. This is not fair and I wanted my money back.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/08/20) */
As stated on the sign-up page as well as in our Terms of Service, it is Course Hero's policy that multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The monthly breakdown cost for the 1-year plan is $7.95 per monthusers receive the discounted rate by selecting the longer plan which is billed in a single upfront installment of $95.40 for the entire year.
The price at $7.95 is not a membership plan that is offered to our users. The monthly membership on our registration page is listed at $39.95. The user contacted us on 8/06/14, due to the activity on the account we were unable to process a full refund on the account.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time):
1 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:44:48PM
2 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:42:45PM
3 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:41:39PM
4 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:38:27PM
5 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:34:37PM
6 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:31:49PM
7 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:30:56PM
8 XXXXXXX Aug 6, 2014 // 3:28:53PM
= ==================
1 XXXXXXX Jul 29, 2014 // 7:50:28AM
Downloaded Documents (File Name Day & Time):
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:45PM
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:38PM
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:34PM
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:33PM
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:32PM
XXXXXXX - Aug 6, 2014 // 3:31PM
XXXXXXX - Jul 29, 2014 // 7:50AM
XXXXXXX - Jul 29, 2014 // 7:36AM
On 8/06/14 we downgraded the user's account from our 1 year plan to the 1 month plan and issued a refund of $75.45.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/05/27) */
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials. We make it very clear on the payment...

registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
[redacted] subscribed to 1-year program ($95.40) on 04/13/2014. The user contacted us by email on 05/15/2014 requesting we cancel the account. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a full refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has accessing 3 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
We informed the user of the Terms of Service (as stated on the Sign-up page) and that due to the activity on the account we would not be able to provide a full refund. On 05/15/2014 we downgraded her membership to a 1- month membership at a rate of $39.95 and we issued a partial refund in the amount of $55.45 to the account ending in 2414.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time)
1 XXXXXXX Apr 26, 2014 // 7:14:48PM
2 XXXXXXX Apr 26, 2014 // 7:13:17PM
= ==================
1 XXXXXXX Apr 20, 2014 // 11:33:03AM
As stated on the sign-up page and in the Terms of Service (http://www.coursehero.com/Terms_of_Use.php), the monthly membership and multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The user had signed up for a 1-year membership the monthly cost of which is $7.95 per month and since multi month subscriptions are charged fully in advance, the cost of a 1-year membership is $95.40 (https://www.coursehero.com/registration.php). The price of $95.40 is shown on coursehero.com sign-up page.
All correspondences with the user have been responded to. Please see the attachment below.

Hello, 
Please find the below response we previously sent to this Tutor: 
 
Dear Tutor,After further investigation, we have confirmed activity on your account that’s in violation of at least Section 2 and Section 3 of our Terms of Use...

[redacted]Therefore, pursuant to Section 2 and Section 4 of our Terms of Use and the tutor guidelines regarding fraudulent activity we have terminated your account and no further payment obligations are required.This is a final decision and no further appeals will be made.Regards,Course Hero Moderation

Please see the email we sent to the customer on August 27, 2017 confirming that we processed three refunds for $34.95:
 
Hello [redacted] Thank you for getting back to me about this matter. I am so sorry for the confusion with our recurring payments.  Just so you know, all...

Course Hero memberships are auto renewed membership, unless you go in and stop the recurring payment.  I see that your account automatically renewed because we hadn't received a request to cancel your membership prior to the renewal date. Since there has not been any new activity on your account I would be happy to issue you a full refund for the last three transactions as a one-time courtesy.After speaking to my manager, I have been authorized to issue you 3 refunds in the amount of $34.95 USD the will be issued to your, original payment method and I have also confirmed your Monthly membership has been cancelled so you will not be charged again in the future. Your financial institution will now be able to credit the amount stated, which can take up to 2-3 business days for them to process. If you do not receive the refund within 7 business days, please let us know.If you sign up again for a Premier membership in the future, you can avoid the automatic renewal by hovering over your username on the top right of the page and then clicking on Account Settings and then click on Stop Recurring Membership. Once you’ve finished that process, you will receive an email confirming that your membership has been cancelled successfully. Here is a handy gif that shows how to cancel your membership.Please note: when you cancel your membership, you will still have Premier access until it expires.Your account will now revert to a free Basic membership and you can still upload documents for unlocks, upload documents for money, rate and review your unlocked content, give advice on a school course, and refer your friends.If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly by responding to this email.I hope you are having a wonderful day. Cheers, 
[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/19) */
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment...

registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
XXXXXX XXXXXXX subscribed to 1-month program ($39.95) on 06/29/14. The user contacted us on 08/12/14 to cancel the membership. Per our terms of use we advised the user that we could not issue a refund but on 08/12/14 we cancelled the recurring payment to ensure that the user will not be billed again in the future.
We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed 4 documents and downloaded 1 documents
throughout the duration of the membership. The cardholder did not cancel the recurring subscription through the account services or by contacting Customer Support. Therefore, the cardholder was charged again on 07/29/14.
Per our Terms of Use, all subscription packages are renewed and charged automatically for successive periods until the User discontinues. Users can terminate the recurring subscription at any time by logging into their account and click on the account settings button on the Dashboard. We provide a recurring cancellation button under the 'Change Membership' section of the account settings page.
Please view the cardholder's activity below:
Viewed Documents (File Name/Date & Time):
1 XXXXXXX Jul 10, 2014 // 8:55:04PM
= ==================
1 XXXXXXX Jun 29, 2014 // 6:41:34PM
2 XXXXXXX Jun 29, 2014 // 6:41:29PM
3 XXXXXXX Jun 29, 2014 // 6:41:12PM
Download Documents (File Name/Date & Time):
XXXXXXX - Jun 29, 2014 // 6:39PM

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/12/11) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials. Since the study material on the site is user generated, we cannot guarantee each specific or exact solution or information has been posted on the site. The educational materials or tutoring help should not be used for unethical purposes, such as plagiarism or other forms of cheating. The educational materials and homework solutions provided on Course Hero should be used to supplement current study efforts within the defined limits of each student's respective university code of academic integrity.
We have user logs that prove that this individual has accessed 3 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
XXXXXXXX Dec 5, 2014 // 12:49:06AM
XXXXXXXX Dec 4, 2014 // 6:13:07PM
XXXXXXXX Dec 4, 2014 // 6:12:39PM
As stated within our Terms of Service along with our FAQ support pages, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons in most cases is due to the sensitivity of information within the study material.
If the user has any other questions about our policy, we are more than happy to clarify. Thank you.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/03) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
[redacted] subscribed to 1-year program ($95.40) on 08/27/2014. The user contacted us on 08/29/2014 requesting to cancel the membership. Per our terms of use, we informed the user that we were unable to issue a full refund for the account due to the activity. On 08/29/2014 we downgraded the account to our 1 month plan and issued a partial refund for the remaining difference.
As stated on the sign-up page as well as in our Terms of Service, it is Course Hero's policy that multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The monthly breakdown cost for the 1-year plan is $7.95 per monthusers receives the discounted rate by selecting the longer plan which is billed in a single upfront installment of $95.40 for the entire year.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The very last thing I want is another description of your misleading policy for the fifth time. Was my complaint even read? This is the most impersonal, unhelpful response I have ever received. Taco Bell provides better service. I'm asking for $20, imagine how much more this company will lose if I convince other students not to invest. Just one student refusing the same membership will have cost you five times what I'm asking you to refund me. I am a student in the triangle area in [redacted], **, with friends and associates at every local community college, as well as ** State, U[redacted], and [redacted] University.I work for a major cell phone company, we activated 700 lines for students last month alone, over 100 of which are my own personal clients. Be assured, I will make positive not one of those students affiliates themselves with this company after the ridiculous refusal to use any understanding or better judgement to resolve what should have been a very simple, easy issue. At this point, I wouldn't mind if you agreed to donate the $20 I AM RIGHTFULLY OWED to charity; just some place that actually tries to help people and do the right thing. I look forward to hearing back from you with an effective solution. I do not need another copy and paste of your poorly explained policy. Thank you.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/09/12) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
As stated on the sign-up page and in the Terms of Service [redacted] the monthly membership and multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The user had signed up for a 1-year membership the monthly cost of which is $7.95 per month and since multi month subscriptions are charged fully in advance, the cost of a 1-year membership is $95.40 (https://www.coursehero.com/registration.php). The price of $95.40 is shown on coursehero.com sign-up page.
The user signed up for a 1-year program ($95.40) on 08/27/14. The user contacted us on 08/29/14 requesting we cancel the subscription for a full refund. We informed the user of the Terms of Service (as stated on the Sign-up page) that we would not be able to provide a full refund due to the activity on the account. On 08/29/14 we downgraded the membership to a 1-month membership. The subscription was also paused at the time for 3 months to be used at a later time but was advised Course Hero can be accessed at any time by logging in and selecting to resume the membership.
Per our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed 2 documents with solutions after upgrading to our premier membership.
tutors-problems/Accounting/XXXXXXX
tutors-problems/Physics/XXXXXXX
We are more than happy to work with the user and provide further assistance. Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX or email [redacted]@coursehero.com

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/14) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
The user subscribed to 1-month program ($39.95) on 3/21/2015. Due to the activity on the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a full refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed and downloaded 5 documents after upgrading to our premier membership.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time):
XXXXXXXX Mar 22, 2015 // 6:14:24AM
XXXXXXX Mar 22, 2015 // 6:16:27AM
XXXXXXX Mar 21, 2015 // 2:00:54PM
XXXXXXX Mar 21, 2015 // 2:00:16PM
XXXXXXX Mar 21, 2015 // 1:59:14PM
Downloaded Documents (File Name Day & Time):
XXXXXXXX - Mar 22, 2015 // 6:14AM
XXXXXXX - Mar 22, 2015 // 6:16AM
XXXXXXX - Mar 21, 2015 // 2:11PM
XXXXXXX - Mar 21, 2015 // 2:01PM
XXXXXXX - Mar 21, 2015 // 1:59PM
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Per our refund policy (please see our attached Terms of Use), we do not provide refunds when a user has viewed at least one document. Additionally, the user has already disputed this charge directly with their bank. All requests regarding this account must be handled through the bank directly or the user can contact [redacted]@coursehero.com for further questions.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
4/5 documents were the same "answer". It is obvious that course hero is designed to defraud students by providing false answers That are hidden behind an expensive fee. This is clear from the many, many complaints that are extremely similar to mine. I demand a refund because I only sought one answer, I did not use any tutoring credits and I did not download a series of documents for different questions as course hero alleges. They are obviously using a broken terms of service to take innocent students money.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/05/25) */
Hello Yvette,
We were able to find your account. Our records show we have received a disputed request for payment from Paypal on 3/26/15. Since you have already disputed the charge directly with your bank/credit card company. Please contact your bank/credit company directly to determine the outcome of this dispute. Unfortunately, once you dispute the charge with your payment provider, we cannot make any further changes on your account.
Please contact Paypal fort the final outcome.
Sincerely,
Customer Support
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 16, 2015/05/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Paypal denied my claim by stating that their buyer guarantee does not cover "intangible goods" such as media or text content. I disagree that everything is out of your power in terms of providing a refund and that your hands are tied, as I can plainly see that your company uses a series of technicalities, such as terms of service, arbitration, etc. to deny an honest refund for a clear-cut failure in customer service and quality of product. I am sincerely disappointed with this behavior.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/11) */
Course Hero provides online study resources that supplement college courses and help students study more effectively. Course Hero provides an open platform where students and teachers of all ages can share and access high quality learning...

resources regarding a wide variety of subjects.
Course Hero offers an array of learning resources including customizable Flashcards and quizzes, online access to expert tutors, video lectures and a database of user-submitted study materials.
We make it very clear on the payment registration page that the 1-month, 3-month and 12-month subscriptions are billed in advance.
The user signed up for a 1-year program ($119.40) on 02/21/15. The user contacted us on 02/22/15 requesting we cancel the subscription for a full refund. We informed the user of the Terms of Service (as stated on the Sign-up page) that we would not be able to provide a full refund due to the activity on the account. On 03/1/15 we downgraded the membership to a 1-month membership and confirmed this change with the user.
As stated on the sign-up page and in the Terms of Service (http://www.coursehero.com/Terms_of_Use.php), the monthly membership and multi-month subscriptions are charged fully in advance. The user had signed up for a 1-year membership the monthly cost of which is $7.95 per month and since multi month subscriptions are charged fully in advance, the cost of a 1-year membership is $95.40 (https://www.coursehero.com/registration.php). The price of $95.40 is shown on coursehero.com sign-up page.
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero?s policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably. Due to the activity within the account, we were unable to provide the cardholder with a refund. We have user logs (see below) that prove that this individual has viewed 7 document after upgrading to our premier membership.
Viewed Documents (File Name Day & Time):
1 XXXXXXX Feb 21, 2015 // 2:17:58PM
2 XXXXXXX Feb 21, 2015 // 2:08:32PM
3 XXXXXXX Feb 21, 2015 // 2:08:11PM
4 XXXXXXX Feb 21, 2015 // 2:07:38PM
5 XXXXXXX Feb 21, 2015 // 2:06:51PM
As stated within our Terms of Service, Course Hero's policy is that we only consider issuing refunds when the user has not viewed/downloaded any Course Hero documents. We do this for a number of reasons not least of which is to treat all of our users equitably.
Per our refund policy (please see our attached Terms of Use), we do not provide refunds when a user has viewed at least one document.