Complaints

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:02/05/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  1) Restricted Access to New Enrollments:In a recent communication from your company, I was informed of the restricted access to new enrollments, as indicated in the attached document. This news was disheartening as it limits the opportunities for new members to join *** charging when I am already paying $99.75 per month, impacting the growth of the community and the benefits it brings to its members. I could enroll before January without additional charges. 2) Delay in Billing and Account Status:I have noticed that my credit card has not been billed as expected, leaving my account in arrears. Despite updating the payment method so that my account remains current, the Udacity's apparent negligence in billing has caused confusion and financial uncertainty.3) Inability to Apply Credits via the "Join Up" Affiliate Link:Furthermore, it has come to my attention that the company does not allow customers to apply credits earned through its "Join Up" affiliate program. This restriction not only affects my ability to utilize these credits but also casts doubt on the fairness of the program.Thank you for your attention to this matter.Sincerely,*****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 took a Design Sprint course that was very relevant at the time. Staff seemed to be helpful. I started noticing a political bias in the presentation as far as featuring a political funding website. I keep my profession and politics separate and immediately asked for a refund. Instead they continued to bill me on a payment program. I continued to pay while asking for a refund. They employed an online agent to contact me regularly about continued payments. I could never reach a human and my emails went unanswered. Fast forward to ********************************************************* I was able to speak to debt collector and change status to disputing. I pride myself in having an exemplary credit report and Udacity is the first time I have had to deal with a credit score reversal and a unforgivable brand that would not take into consideration my complaint and continue to harass me. Credit reversal is requested as well as partial refund as noted at the time of the course. Kind regards

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/03/2023

  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 the iOS Developer Nanodegree because I believed their advertising that I would receive personal mentoring along my learning path, right on through to a ************** to App Store" capstone project. Instead, I find Udacity is simply continuing to sell a stale and outdated course while scaling way-way down on the mentoring resources devoted to it.When I submitted my first project (call that Day 1) I got a message that I would hear back in 24 hours. Maybe that was the standard, once upon a time. Day 3 arrived without any feedback, so I tried using the "ask a mentor" box. A tech reviewer told me he knew nothing about the promise of 24 hours, but don't worry, reviewers work every day and someone will pick it up. Day 5 arrived and nobody picked it up yet. I then asked Student Support if they could please reassure me that my project did not somehow get lost. I immediately received a prefab email saying they were forwarding my message to the "Mentor and Reviewer Operations team" and I would hear from them soon. That took until Day 7, when I got another prefab email saying they were trying really hard, but please don't send any more emails because it just slows things down.It's now Day 9, and I'm still waiting. I saw another complaint filed here that someone received a similar "please don't send emails" message, and it took 25 days (!!) for him to finally hear back on his first question. If that's their standard of service for my initial project, how in the world can I believe I'll receive good and timely feedback for the capstone project? Meanwhile, they want me to sit quietly while continuing to bill me monthly? Clearly, that would be a mistake.As for being outdated: In the course itself I saw some old posts where, 3 YEARS AGO, students were a bit miffed that the content was already "so old." The course may be useful for someone who wants to learn the old ways, but for the sake of honesty in advertising, that should be stated up front.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/13/2023

  Hi,

  
  Thanks for the feedback. We're so sorry that it took some time for our team to get back to your queries in the classroom. We will be sure to let them know of this so they can improve moving forward. We can see that you've chatted with our Support Team in the past and they've tried to rectify the situation. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please follow up with them so they can look into and best help out.

  Thanks,

  The Udacity Team

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 19520888
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was billed for two months.  I'd like one of those months refunded, since all I did in the second month was wait for a response.

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

  Business Response

  Date: 05/04/2023

  Hi ********, 

  Greeting from Udacity!

  We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. We completely understand how dissatisfactory the experience must have been and for the same, we would like to compensate for the monthly renewal charge that you had to pay. Please note that we have refunded back the amount and it should reflect in the next **** business days in your bank account. 

  Our support has already reached out to you mentioning the details and you can follow ticket id #******* for reference.

  Thank you for your valuable feedback!

  Best,

  Udacity 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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 had signed up Udacity's "Reinforcement learning nanodegree" and paid 899 dollars in 2018-19. I felt the course and material were good. However in subsequent years it seemed like they have stopped my access to the material and apparently I have to take the course again to get access to the material. Apparently it "auto unenrolled" me in April 2019. I am stunned with this development, as my 10-30$ udemy courses, I have lifetime access.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/10/2023

  Hi,

  Thanks for the feedback. Students who enroll and graduate from a subscription-based Nanodegree program, single paid course, or Executive Program will have indefinite static access to their programs post graduation. Please also note that access to classroom content may not be available for some types of registrations for Nanodegree programs. For instance, if you are an Enterprise student or part of a Scholarship program, you will not get extended access beyond the express terms of the registration and/or your registration is managed by the party who contracted for Udacitys services.
  
  Our team took a look and can see that you still do have static access to your program. If you are having trouble viewing this in the classroom, please email ********************************** so someone can help out.

  Thanks,

  The Udacity Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Udacity is misleading customers about their classroom programs. Also it is absolutely impossible to speak to a representative. They will purpose ignore your concern, will not address your concern, and take no accountability when there is an error in their program. There lack of professionalism and communication goes against website statements and interfered with my enrollment. I submitted my project on time and followed directions. There website stated unlimited feedback. In my feedback they never advised a cut off. Also their instructions stated send a zip file. Then the reviewer said to send a pdf. This error of proper instruction hindered my time in the course. Its been a week and no representative has talked to me. There website is misleading and their support can not be trusted.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/09/2023

  Hi,

  Thanks for the feedback. We aim to provide a great Udacity experience and apologize if you haven't had that so far. We can see that you've communicated with one of our support agents about these issues and they've offered a coupon to re-enroll for free and an extension. If there are further issues, please follow up in that email chain so our team can look into more and help out.
  

  Thanks,
  The Udacity Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/24/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 Udacity's Intermediate JavaScript Nanodegree on August 26, 2022. I had had a good experience with their Data Analysis Nanodegree the previous year. My primary motivation for signing up for the JavaScript Nanodegree was because they have mentors that help you when you get stuck. I went through the material of the first section pretty quickly and there was not anything too challenging until the first project. I posted my first question about that project on September 4. I was surprised no one got back to me within a day or so (as they had when I asked questions for the Data Analysis program last year). But I kept working on the problem myself, and I posted updates to that question thread on September 7 and September 8. I still hadn't gotten an answer on September 10, so I emailed Udacity Support for help. I got a generic email about how my concern was being forwarded to the "concern team". My original programming question still wasn't answered, and I'd not received any personal answer to my support ticket by September 14, so I wrote to Support again on September 14, this time requesting a refund. On September 19 I got an email saying I could not get a refund, with a link to the refund policies. My original programming question had still not been answered, and I still had not received a reply that addressed this issue (or even acknowledged it). On September 29 (25 days after I had posted it) my original programming question was answered. The reason I purchased this course was to have the mentors help me through the programming challenges. But to get my first question answered, it took 25 days and several attempts to contact Support. And Support never wrote me anything except the generic type of responses I've outlined above. And mostly the response was a completely generic letter about how sending further questions can delay getting an answer. I paid for tutors and had to fight and wait 25 days to get my first question answered.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/22) */
  Hi********
  
  Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We're so sorry for the delayed responses and confusion. We always want our learners to feel supported and heard and apologize if that didn't happen. We can see that your course is set to expire 11/26/2022 and that our team offered a discount for your next enrollment since this is outside of the refund window. If this is something that you'd be interested in, please get in touch.
  
  Best,
  The Udacity Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2022

  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 am writing today with several complaints against Udacity, Inc., an online learning platform in which I was enrolled from May 16, 2022 through August 26, 2022. I experienced multiple issues while attempting to complete my studies in the User Experience Nanodegree Program. These issues included outdated information in the course website pages and broken web links. The most concerning issue, however, occurred as I was attempting to complete the final project. The project requirements specified that I had to find 10 participants willing to download an app that would allow them to complete a usability test on a prototype of a separate app I had designed using their iOS device, and grant the testing app access to their camera and microphone. Understandably, a number of my prospective participants balked at this because of privacy concerns, and I was unable to get the required 10 participants in time to finish the class before the next payment installment was due (which I was not able to afford). Personally, I strongly feel that requiring ******** to recruit 10 participants who are actually willing to download an app that is a potential security risk is an extremely unfair requirement for graduating from this program. Had I known that these unreasonable expectations would in fact be a requirement, I never would have signed up for this program. Additionally, I ran into a number of procedures for downloading course assignments which were poorly explained and took extra time and effort (frustration!) to figure out as a result. I am therefore asking for a full refund of my tuition in the amount of *******. Thank you for your time and assistance with this matter.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/10/17) */
  Hi *********,
  
  Thanks for sharing your feedback. We apologize for any trouble that you've had in our program and will be sure to send your comments over to our team to look into for the future.
  
  In a hands-on ** course like ours, usability testing is a foundational skill that will be required in real life for this role, which is why we think it's important to include it in this program. The devices on which usability testing is done, can be customized on ********. From there, it's a choice to work with one or more of the following options: ********************* - so no app downloads are mandatory for 10 participants. If you ever have questions or concerns in a program in the future, we'd recommend posting them on Knowledge so our team of experts can respond and help out.
  
  Thanks,
  The Udacity Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/31/2022

  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 agreed to pay **** per month for access to expert, friendly mentors who ignored the majority of my questions. I did not ask questions until I had exhausted my other resources. Those questions were vital to my project. They responded only to the easy ones. I waited more than one month for assistance on a critical issue, but I never heard back. I lost a lot of time and money as a result. I operated under good faith, believing they were flooded with questions; and I should wait for my turn. Then, I noticed other students had received answers to their questions as soon as 30 minutes after posting them, complete with snippets of code. I was professional in my relations with the mentors. I heard only from customer support who - on several occasions - promised I would hear from a "top" mentor immediately. But I never heard from anyone. This happened several times. It happened again when I asked for a refund. I received an email stating my complaint was forwarded to the mentorship team. Yet again, I never heard from anyone. I told Udacity I would file a complaint with BBB. No response. They owe me one month's refund ******* Thanks to Apple Card, the second month was refunded immediately and they opened an investigation. Unfortunately, I paid for the first month in cash. I have screenshots of all my account activity (see attached). I received answers to less than half the of the 23 questions I asked over nine weeks. Some were unhelpful comments, some were partial answers. I have all my communications with customer service. I did not want the experience to end badly, but the constant runarond proved I could not trust Udacity. I have a neurological disorder that makes me incredibly sensitive to strong emotions. In other words, that much frustration literally hurts. It causes physical pain. As a result, I avoid conflict, but I had to put my foot down. Bottom line, Udacity charges a premium for mentor services that I did not receive, and I never heard back about the refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/28) */
  Hi*******,
  
  Firstly, we deeply apologize for your Udacity experience. Our number one priority at Udacity is to create the best student experience possible, and we understand this wasn't the experience in your case.
  
  We know it can be stressful to submit questions for Mentors and be eagerly awaiting feedback. Please know we have documented your feedback and we will be sure to pass it along to the concerned team for review.
  
  We are more than happy to correct this issue as we can see you experienced delays in communication on our end. We've gone ahead and issued a refund for your payment.
  
  In the interest of protecting your privacy, we will provide more details in a follow-up ticket.
  
  Thanks,
  The Udacity Team