Complain about a product or service

Video Professor

Video Professor • Video Professor Drops Subpoena, Goes After Wikipedia Users • Video Professor Goes After Critics • A Visit to the Video Professor's 'Classroom' --- • Consumer complaints

It's hard to miss the Video Professor if you watch much cable TV. CEO John W. Scherer is everywhere -- promising to make you a computer whiz in no time ... and with no obligation!

But according to our readers, it doesn't always work out that way.

Clarice of seguin, TX November 7, 2009

hooray! finally got my refund after 61 business days!! did they actually get on the ball or was it because I filed a complaint with the Denver BBB??

Anzhelika of Parsippany, NJ November 4, 2009

On Video professor web site I paid S&H for trying 10 days their product Quick books software lessons. I am a self learner and wanted to see if it was advanced to improve my knowledge. When I received a product( good product) but it was not what I expected I returned it by USPS on time and with all delivery confirmation tracking number and receipts to prove their receiving.

More than month later I was charged for a full price. When I contacted the company representative first time he said they didn't receive it at all, and I faxed all proves to a supervisor Chasity and said that they will fix a mistake but they will refund my money in 30 business days( like 6 weeks! for wrong charge). I was not satisfied with this answer and contacted next day another representative,Dana said that it was their mistake and in 15 days I will get a refund. I was strongly unsatisfied with that charge and different information i got from different reps of one company.

I called to my bank to dispute a charge. They connected me on the conference call with Chris fro Video Professor. That was ridiculous just to listen to her, she said that they received my return but week later from my dates proved by USPS delivery confirmations and I violated their return policy, she didn't care about my USPS proves and receipts, she was extremely rude and interrupted me constantly.

In the end the said that she cannot help me with it, it is my fault and when I complete violation form, they might return my money back or might not. the bank representative hang up on us because of the screaming and unappropriated tone of voice from Video Professor Representative. I called second time to my bank and they issue a credit for this incorrect charge and processed a dispute.

I do not want anyone to have this experience and more, I think it is planned and that is the way they earn money. The product itself is great for beginners, but customer service, mixed ,confusing and conflicting information representatives provide in addition to incorrect billing and not easy to refund customer's money make this company strongly undesirable.

I was charged 190 (month later!) for returned on time free trial. I unsuccessfully spend lots of time arguing and disputing this wrong charge , proving with my receipts and confirmations. I still did not get my refund.

I am not ever going to sign any violation forms that they sent to me to sign because I didn't violate their rules and I have proves. It is exhausting, upsetting and nerve taking to deal with Video professor billing inquiries. I wouldn't recommend anyone to even try this product.

Charles of Glendive, MT November 4, 2009

I had in the past ordered a video professor CD for 4 bucks...we had gotten use of it and my middle son wanted one for him. I purchased an new one. This time it was about 7 bucks. In the fine print there was a purchase agreement for 189.00 that I did not see. I had read everything on the web page and it said nothing about a charge or any free trial like they have posted now.

The shopping cart had no charge but the 7 dollar CD. I did not read it closely because I had purchased from them before and I was happy with their service. And the my space page that I found them on said I received gamepionts for an Internet game we play as a family for a 7.00 purchase from video professor.

Consequently we never received the 7.00 CD that I purchased.About a month or so later the post office said I have a package, When I went to go see it it was a big box, I told them I never ordered anything that big so send it back to the sender. after some time I received a mailbox full of NSF charges...it wiped us out. 11 days after I purchased the 7.00 CD they took 189.00 out of my account.

This did not result in NSF right away because I kept a 200 running balance in case my car broke down so I didn't loose my job. But I had a short week and used 50.00 of my reserve to complete paying my obligations to the utility companies. I was making payments on an old bill. I tried to recover from the loss but it takes me two days to make 189.00 and then my household expenses were nearly a hundred dollars a day, with student loans and such. At this time the Video professor had cost me 500.00 or so and it was not over yet

When I first called them the day I recieved the NSF mail they said they would refund when my package got there. I said what package? Te then expalined what it was. I was furious and they said they cant help m without a return number inside the package. I told them I returned a package awhile back and it must have been thier stuff. She agian said I must have the return number inside the box. at the end of the call they were going to refund my money.

Then after time elapses more the reason changed to they did not recieve the package till after the agreed time for a free trial. I ask what free trial , why would I have a free trial when I work all the time, and I would never be able to purchase it. I explained we are in very desperate times and if they don't refund me the bank would not reverse the NSF charges.

Today they give me the return number from their computer and I found out that the first person I talked to could have gotten it from her screen knowing I did not have it and would never have it because they had the package. I have to stop writing it upsets me so bad my stomache hurts all night if I get involved again with trying to get my money back.

I know hat this will sound exaggerated but it is not, in reality what this has cost me is so great I will never recover, I can barley think about it anymore. I'm posting this to try and move on and hope I can save someone else from being hurt by this Internet scam. I was at the time paying back utility bill from the cold winter.

When they wiped me out I could only hold on until I was rained out a few days and I couldn't make the back payments per our agreement. hey disconnected my power and asses a fee for reconnect and a huge deposit. then the water was shut off, and so on. I then lost my home, because we could not live there with no utilities.

Clarice of seguin, TX November 3, 2009

I filled a complaint on Video Professor with BBB at this address: The BBB that will handle your complaint is: BBB of Denver / Boulder Colorado

Elizabeth of fayetteville, NC November 2, 2009

I am so discusted with this whole event. I ordered the Excel CD and called back within the appointed time. I was then asked by Mathew if I had an oppunity to view all the CD's and I told him no but I was calling with for the number to turn the CD's back in. He said I can extend you until 10/27/09. I asked him is there going to be any extra charges to me? he said no. I asked him abot these extr CD's that came with the package; and do I need to sent them back? he said no.

I asked him was he sure because I did not want any surprises. He said no keep them only send the one CD back. I asked for the retun code number so I could turn it in with no problems. Mathew said he could not give that to me but it sould be no problems and just call on 10/27/09. I did just that and was told that the money 189.95 was debit from my account that morning.

I called a little after 7:00am. Jay told me my money was taken 10/27/09 the same day. She apologized and said it was an repersentive error. So I just wanted it fixed. I was told I had to call back in 5 business days. I was told I could not call back any sooner and they were working to correct the problem becase it was there fault. Reluctantly I hung the phone up. Which leads me to today. I spoke to Ray who informed me that my information was not sent over to the "Refund Resulation Dept". He said that he was going to forward my information to corporate. I thought thats what going to happen on 10/27/09 so I asked to talked to the supervisor Wannetta. she said she would call me tomorrow 11/04/09 by the end of business. I hope I don't end up becoming a statistic.

I am a victim of this scam. However I think that all who read this and have been a victim should join me. I think the Attorney General needs to get involved in this whole mess that is ripping people off. I have only one income and cannot afford to just hand over 189.95 for something that I do not want. I don't even want the so called "free disc " I have now.

I have spoken to several different representatives from video professor. I just hope and pray to God that I get my money back. I need my money. I am one of the working poor, so I thought this was a inexpensive way for me to increase my computer knowledge. I had to borrow money from friends to try and cover this unexpected expense of this money coming out of my checking account so I would not incure additional charges because I didnot have the money in my account. I had no ideal that one phone call would lead to such a disaster.

Clarice of Seguin, TX October 31, 2009

I ordered Video Professor's free disk on QuickBooks in July '09, received 3 disks, decided not to keep any, called for return authorization number & sent it all back. Called 8/11 when bank acct. charged #189 so called that day to ask when I could get a refund, was told it takes 21-30 business days. Called again 9/15 & told it was not attached to my acct. yet may not have received it yet in warehouse, told to call back end of Sept.

Called 9/29 & told should get refund by 10/13. Called again 10/16 & guy just kept saying it takes 21-30 business days. Called back 10/21 & was told the refund had been escalated on 9/29 & should have had it and rep. apologized for it taking so long & that it was being processed that day (10/21) and should be in my bank in 5 days or 10/28. Still no refund. I check my bank on internet daily so see if it's there.

Linda of Wampum, PA October 29, 2009

Placed phone order,got it returned it within 15 dats (w/o even keeping the "FREE" cd!) I have been trying since July to have this matter resolved. They charged my account less than 30 days after receiving it. they confirmed they had gotten it and as YET I haven't been credited for this charge! I have been paying interest and finance charges on this for months, what DO I HAVE TO DO?

A dispute has been mailed as of today. However, the public need to be alerted to this SCAM! interest and finance charges since june! THIS IS real close to NOVEMBER! Plus the 189.95 chg. and there 6.00 donation charges that they cahrged me that I had no clue about!

Veronica of Columbia Heights, MN October 27, 2009

Mistakenly ordered from Video Proffessor. Was sent Windows XP, I have Vista. Returned it to them. Did delivery confirmation, so I know they received it back. They rec'd it on 9/16 at 10:44am. They did not scan it as returned until 9/17, the same day the charged my account 189.95. I called them, and was told the would return my money within 21-30 days, business days.

It has been 26 business days and still no money. I still call them every day and get the same thing. We have 21-30 business days to return your money. Why is business days to return money, but not to collect our money? I would never use this company again, and have advised everyone I know not to. I need to pay bills, and cannot get my money back from them.

GEORGE of MADISONVILLE, KY October 21, 2009

I ordered their free (6.95 shipping) for a computer program. They sent it to me but charged my credit card 189. On top of that they sent me 2 more prorams and they charged my credit card 189.00 for each program. I didn't accept these 2 and returned them but my credit card was stilled charged.

Jennifer of Comstock Park, MI October 13, 2009

It is no wonder John Scherer is successful; he set up a company that sends people old, out-dated 'learning' software; 'customer service reps' who are neither helpful nor knowledgeable; and a refund policy that is comparable to playing the lotto. I ordered the 'Learn HTML' cd's for my boyfriend. I did not look in the box and sadly, I didn't read all the terms and conditions when I placed the order. I thought I knew them well enough from all the commercials I'd seen. So, for whatever reason, I thought you were shipped the first lesson, tried it, did nothing if you liked it and wanted more or called and cancelled if you didn't. I called withing the alloted time to cancel as the product was for WINDOWS 98 (please, Windows 98?) and was very unimpressive according to my boyfriend. He said you could learn as much by searching Google. So, when I talked to the rep to cancel, he gave me a return authorization number. I said, "return authorization? Is that in case a shipment gets through before the cancellation is processed or something?" He said, "yes, make sure you write it on the address label." So, apparently the reps either don't know what they are supposed to be doing or this guy didn't or he just wasn't paying attention to what I was saying. He was not a good rep, there were stretches of silence while he was doing whatever it is he was doing that went on so long I had to keep asking if he was still there to make sure the call hadn't dropped. After saying this, he was silent again. When I asked if he was still there, I found the call was over. Not a fan of good-byes, I guess.

I week and a half later, I was charged the 189.49, of course. When I called to find out why, the rep was extremely condescending and actually said to my boyfriend (after it became obvious I was getting nowhere with her), "What, is she just pushing buttons on the computer?" I don't think it matters whether or not I read the terms - SOME have busy lives and forget details - some even have conditions that cause memory loss - the important thing is that I called within the time frame to cancel and the rep did not clarify that I needed to return the product. I thought it was the free one you keep. Well, I mailed the product back with shipping confirmation. They received it on 9-8-09, confirmed by a rep I called to see if they were processing it. On 10-2-09, my boyfriend called to see what the status of the return was and was told it had been approved and we should receive it by 10-7-09.

On 10-13-09, I called to see where the return was. I was told by a rep I could barely understand that it takes 21-30 BUSINESS days. I told him I understand that and explained, again, as patiently as I could that what we had been told before. He said, "It takes 21-30 BUSINESS days." I finally had to tell him he could stop saying BUSINESS days because I understood the difference and that I wanted to know why I the other rep was able to tell me a date and he couldn't tell me anything. He said, "I don't know. It takes 21-30 BUSINESS days." I said, "Fine, but you received it on the 8th of last month (this was confirmed to me by them and by USPS)." He said, "It was actually put into processing on the 15th, so that's when the 21-30 BUSINESS days start. You'll have by the end of the month." When I asked if there was someone I could talk to, someone who might have more information about the return process if not about my return, he said, "like who?" I said, "like someone in accounts receivable/payable or a supervisor or something." He said, "no." I said, "so there is NO ONE ELSE I can talk to?" He said, "no."

This is just ridiculous. John Scherer needs to be shut down. He is a scam artist, a crook, and in this tough economic time, someone with the power to do something needs to stand up for those who have to sit back and wait for companies who wrongfully took money to decide to return it. Anybody know how to get this on Dateline or something?

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |