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:12/18/2023

  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.

  Earlier this year, I believe in September/October - I set my Masterclass subscription not to auto-renew. Stupidly I didn't screenshot the confirmation thinking they weren't shady. Apparently they sent a renewal reminder in November, even though I cancelled the auto renew already, and I didn't see it because it landed in my spam folder.They renewed my subscription on the 10th, which I just noticed when reviewing charges on my credit card statement.I tried chatting with an agent who offered me a discount and refused a refund due to the email reminder in November that ended ** in my spam folder. Keep in mind, I haven't logged into the website since I thought I stopped the autorenewal months ago. Really shady behavior.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/18/2023

  We are very sorry to hear about ***************************** experience, and we appreciate that this has been brought to our attention. Our Member Support Team has reviewed the account and we can see that ******* chatted, and requested the full refund. We have gone ahead and issued a full refund for the charge, and ******* should see the fund back in the account charged within the next **** business days. We are very sorry for the inconveniences caused and are standing by if any further assistance is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2023

  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 paid for a Master Class subscription to gift to another person. They advertised a 2 for 1 offer with a 30 day satisfaction money back guarantee. The person I gifted to said in order to login and view the classes she had to submit a credit card. The minute she did this, she was said to have redeemed the subscription and no refund was allowed. In truth she only wanted to view the classes and upon doing so decided none of them were of interest and asked me to cancel her membership. When I attempted to do this, one day later after purchase, I was told in an email that this was not possible since she had redeemed the gift. I think this is deceptive marketing, asking for a credit card before the person even has a chance to look at the content and then refusing to honor a 30 day guaranted because the person logged in. This person never used any of the Master Class content or classes, only browsed for a few minutes. They also don't supply a phone number, just email. I'm very disappointed and disallusioned as I had planned to actually take a Master Class myself at some point. Now I will never subscribe to them again.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2023

  We are very sorry to hear about ************************* experience. Our customers can browse all of our content before purchase by clicking the "Browse" button at the top right corner of MasterClass.com. All of our content is organized by categories within the "Browse" menu. That said we have reviewed *****'s request and the MasterClass Support team has reached out to ***** to confirm that we will honor the refund request, and deactivate the redeemed gift. The refund has been processed and ***** can expect to see the funds back in the account charged within the next **** business days. ***** consented to this offer, and we are standing by if any further assistance is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/14/2023

  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.

  Masterclass billed my card this year for an account I cancelled years ago and I don't even have the email address it is tied to anymore. I would like to cancel and receive a refund as I have never used the service in years.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/15/2023

  We appreciate ***** for bring this to our attention, and are very sorry for the inconveniences caused with the renewal charge. The MasterClass Support Team has corresponded with ***** to verify information regarding his account, and we were able to locate the charge. We have issued a full refund for the charge and ***** should see the funds back in the account within the next **** business days. We are standing by and ready to assist if anything else is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/09/2023

  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.

  Last week my bank alerted me to suspicious activity when Masterclass repeatedly tried to charge my debit card. Since I did not approve the charges or want the service I reported the charge and it was refunded. I had to get a new debit card. Somehow Masterclass was able to charge my new debit card this week. The only thing I can think of that would allow the to complete this charge is that I may have been gifted the service at some point a year ago. When I visited the Masterclass site trying to find more information I was sent from browser to app, app to browser. An endless loop that resolved nothing. The only message I could find was a NO REFUND POLICY. These are extremely deceptive tactics. They obviously know they have created a system in which they can charge people for an unused services the consumer is unaware of and slip away with unearned money as they hide behind an unreasonable refund policy. Its disgusting.I have filed a complaint with my bank and put a stop on any charges from this company. I will have to fight to have my money the fraudulently stole.If you have experienced something similar please be sure to report Masterclass to your Bank. A pattern of deceptive billing tactics can affect their relationshipwithin the banking system.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  We are very sorry to hear about *************************************** experience. Our Member Support Team has followed up with *********, and honored a full refund request. The funds should be returned to the account charged within the next **** business days. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and are standing by if any further assistance is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/08/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  A coworker gifted me a free trial subscription to Masterclass in June 2022. Curious about the gift, I entered the platform using my ****** account. I was not interested in the content and didn't use it ever. One year later in July 2023, I was charged $190 from Masterclass. Ididn't detect the charge until the following month. It turns out that by signing in using my ****** account, it linked automatically to GPay. I attempted to try to cancel and get refunded but it was very challenging to find where to go to do so. I wrote to support and they informed me that I was outside their 30-day refund window according to their terms and conditions. I responded that I did not authorize the transaction and did not agree to their terms and conditions with informed consent. And further, it was clear that I had not utilized their services in any way shape or form to justify any incurred expenditure from me to their company.I did not authorize this charge at all and never participated in their program/product. I don't recall consenting to becoming a subscribed annual member on an auto renewable term. The email notification that succeeded the invoicing was fraudulent in that its language implies as if I am aware and made this purchase, which I did not. The generated emails from Masterclass tell me I'm a valued member even though I never took one Masterclass and the email then describes how your company forced me into a more expensive level of membership without my consent.This is predatory scamming and I request a full refund immediately.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/08/2023

  We appreciate *********************************** bringing this to our attention, It appears that the gift automatically renewed in July 2023. We are incredibly sorry to hear that the renewal charge was unexpected. The MasterClass Support Team has reached out to ******** to confirm that we have issued a full refund for the July charge. The account is now cancelled and ******** should see the funds reflected back in the account charged within the next **** business days. We're standing by in case any further assistance is needed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Masterclass is not providing me with a refund of $240 for a service I cancelled. I subscribed to a family membership ********************* ticket numbers: *******, *******) with Masterclass on 7/30, 2022 for $270. My family only used the subscription a few times, therefore, I canceled my membership on 7/30, 2023. Masterclass confirmed via email (the same day!) the cancelation and mentioned that I would not have any access to the membership anymore due to the cancelation. The same day, Masterclass charged my credit card for $240 for another year of the membership. I was expecting a refund that never came. I am a teacher with young children, so $240 is a significant amount of money to my family, so I find it difficult to understand how Masterclass wants to keep my hard earned money for a service I canceled and they did not provide. I had hoped that Masterclass would do the right thing but after talking several times to their customer support team, they are not going to give me a refund. I wonder if all the celebrities that have provided material for Masterclass are aware of how the company treats their customers. Maybe someone should contact them one by one and tell them that their image is being used by Masterclass to take money from honest hard working Americans without providing any services and just before Christmas!

  Business Response

  Date: 12/04/2023

  We are incredibly sorry to hear about the unexpected and unintended renewal charge that *************************** experienced. The MasterClass Member Support Team has reviewed this issue and followed up with ****** to issue a full refund for the renewal charge. The fund should be reflected back to the customer's account within the next **** business days. We are standing by to assist if anything else is needed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/05/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/01/2023

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  This company, like many subscription-based online services relies on predatory and complicated procedures to make it difficult for consumers to track and manage subscriptions. (Much like AOL.com who has people paying for services they dont use decades later.)I want a full refund, as requested and cancellation of my account. They are badgering and inflexible in their attempts to prevent people from being refunded. As seen in these many complaints here, they still havent learned how to treat customers respectfully and to earnestly avoid charging for unneeded subscriptions. They bury the subscription management tools, have circular loops to confuse the users (go on the app, go on the browser, go to another location), and slow customer service responses.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  We appreciate ******************************* flagging her concerns to us as we are always looking for ways to improve our member experience. We allow our members to manage their subscription within their account settings where they have the option to cancel, and remove their payment information. I have reviewed ********'s account and it appears that our Support Team issued a full refund for the renewal charge on 12/1/23. The funds should be returned to the customer within **** business days of that date. We apologize for the inconveniences caused and are standing by to assist if anything else is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/30/2023

  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.

  On November 30th I attempted to cancel an auto renewing membership that I did not sign up for (it was a gift from my spouse) only to discover they processed the payment the day before the cancellation deadline. Furthermore, I wasnt made aware that this gift membership was set up for auto-renewal in the first place and the card used for the auto renewal was my spouses credit card (who also did not agree to this charge. I hereby demand an immediate cancellation and a full refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/01/2023

  We have reviewed the complaint from *******************, and were able to find the renewal charge for the gift membership. We are incredibly sorry for the inconvenience caused with the unexpected charge. The MasterClass Support Team has followed up with **** to initiate a full refund for the renewal charge and the funds should be returned to the customer's account within the next **** business days. We are standing by if any further assistance is needed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/21/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 have twice cancelled my renewal with this website and am still being charged. Masterclass recently charged me 270 dollars for a ceramics class that I have no interest in and have never interacted with in any way. This after I cancelled my renewal two years ago, was charged again, and cancelled it again.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/04/2023

  We appreciate *********************** raising the concern related to the renewal charge. The MasterClass Member Support Team has been in touch with ***** to get a bit more detail about the charge being referenced. We have been unable to find any charge linked to *****'s inactive account. We are standing by to assist ***** and hope to hear back from him regarding the charge in reference. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/05/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  They have issued a refund and their customer service has been more than satisfactory.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/19/2023

  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.

  On November 16, 2023 I looked at my bank account and saw an unauthorized charge for $950. I suspect Masterclass had a record of my card from a 2020 subscription that I cancelled after 1 year. Their subscription for 1 year is typically in the neighborhood of $150 so not only was this an unauthorized charge using information they should no longer have on file, they cannot even tell me why this charge was taken or what its for. Their excuse is that they dont have a record of it through my email address. Yet my bank has clear evidence that this company pulled the money from my account. ********************** is saying I should take this up with my bank, which I have done but the offending action was initiated by Masterclass. Not my bank. They dont even seem to sell anything that costs $950 so something is very wrong here and the company has said they cant do anything about it. But of course thats not true. Thats just what they are claiming. How can it be legal that they reach into my account and take $950 and dont know why they did it or what its for? I want a full refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/22/2023

  The MasterClass Member Support Team and thoroughly reviewed ***************** complaint, and was able to confirm that ***** membership was cancelled April 07, 2021 and there have been no charges processed by our business in the recent years. We have suggested that *** work directly with the bank to investigate the charge further. There has been no charge on our side that we could refund. We are incredibly sorry for the confusion and inconvenience, and are standing by if any further assistance is needed.