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:08/25/2025

  Type:Order 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.

  Complaint Against: [Interview Kickstart *****************************************]Nature of Complaint: Misleading Sales Practices / Non-Cancellable Contract Details:I enrolled in Interview Kickstarts program after being convinced by their sales representatives who made very persuasive and urgent claims. During the sales process, I was rushed to sign up under the impression that I could cancel if I was dissatisfied.There was no clear mention of a trial period in writing, but the sales conversation and marketing emphasized fully refundable programs. This led me to reasonably assume I could withdraw if the program did not meet my expectations. However, once I signed the lengthy contract, I discovered that it explicitly stated there were no cancellations or refunds allowed.I feel this was misleading and predatory sales behavior:I was rushed into signing without adequate opportunity to fully review the contract.Sales representatives and marketing created the impression of flexibility by referencing fully refundable programs, but the actual contract offered no such protection.Once I signed, I was effectively locked into a $7,250 non-cancellable contract despite being unable to use the service.This has left me stuck with an expensive purchase for a program I cannot use and would not have signed up for had I been fully informed. I believe this is deceptive and unfair to consumers.Resolution Sought:I am requesting that Interview Kickstart either:Provide a full refund of the $7,250, or At minimum, a fair partial refund to release me from a service I cannot and will not use.Summary:I was misled into believing that there were refundable options and cancellation flexibility. In reality, the contract was non-cancellable and contradicted the impression given during sales. This is a case of deceptive sales practices, and I am seeking a fair resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/20/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  On August 5, 2025, I purchased a Data Structures and Algorithms coding interview preparation course from Interview Kickstart (IK) for $1,800, financed through Affirm. I was explicitly told by *** representative that if I completed payment immediately, I would be enrolled in their August 2025 cohort.After completing the payment, IK instead enrolled me in the Mid-September 2025 cohort, which was not what was promised. The September start date was more than 30 days later and never agreed upon. This amounts to false advertising and misrepresentation.On August 6, 2025 (within 24 hours of purchase), I contacted IK to cancel my order and request a refund. At that point, I had not attended any live sessions and not received any services. Despite this, IK denied my refund request, citing a blanket no refund policy for their Pathway program.The nature of the dispute is that I paid for a course based on specific representations (August cohort enrollment), which IK failed to honor. I acted in good faith and canceled immediately after discovering the misrepresentation, yet they refused to refund me.IK has not made any genuine attempt to resolve the problem and continues to insist on keeping the payment for services not delivered. I have since filed a fraud complaint with the ************************ (***) via ******************* (copy attached).This is a bait-and-switch tactic and a violation of fair business practices. I am seeking a full refund of $1,800 and accountability for their deceptive enrollment practices.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Interview Kickstart agreed in writing on August 3, 2025, to refund me $6,650 after I canceled my enrollment just three days after purchase. I never accessed the course or received any services. Despite this, they are refusing to process the refund unless I first withdraw my active dispute with ******, the financing service I used for payment.Withdrawing the dispute before receiving the refund would remove my protection and leave me vulnerable to non-payment. Klarnas process allows merchants to issue refunds during active disputes, so their claim that they are technically unable to process it appears misleading. This tactic delays my refund and pressures me to give up my rights, which I believe is an unfair business practice. I am requesting the *** investigate and require Interview Kickstart to process the refund without forcing dispute withdrawal.**

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Interview Kickstart indicated I was allowed to cancel before July ************************************************************** to apply for. I canceled July 12, again on the 13th and also told Affirm on the 14th that I canceled. Affirm indicated they received no response from Interview Kickstart and did not acknowledge my cancelation. They then distributed the money to Interview Kickstart on the 16th. Interview Kickstart would not let me cancel after over a dozen attempts via email and when they called. They don't have a way to reach them via phone directly so there were only two calls in which I communicated very clearly that I do not want to proceed. They tried selling me more services and continued to stall the cancelation past their deadline when they received the money from Affirm. I disputed a with Affirm a second time and Affirm sided with their partner Interview Kickstart. Now ****** is holding a loan balance in my name and will likely report me to the credit bureau as I refuse to pay for a loan I declined before the money was distributed to Interview Kickstart. Interview Kickstart won't return the money to Affirm and I am getting charged interest on it.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/07/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  7/24/2025 I was misled into buying something that is not going to result in a job for me at $180k to $250k per year like they went back and forth to say it would and then it wouldn't. They never provided a working link to log into their course platform. I emailed them about that and that issue was not result, all the while asking them for the full refund as well. I was conned by ****** into paying $7400.00 for a course that is not advanced enough, according to their other employee, for me to get a job at all. Also, ****** told me that I would have to be a data analyst first, which does not pay $180k to $250k for new data analysts (or most experienced ones). The ML engineer role is what the course is supposed to prepare me for, but due to my age being a problem according to the man they had me meet with today, I need a refund, since this course alone will not help me to get a job. I would need to take a more extensive and expensive course and have not been quoted on how much that would be. He also talked a lot about stuff that had no relevance to me getting my refund but was filling time. He seemed nice but did not hook me up with the person I need to speak with about the refund. I signed up at night, after their evening webinar, and then the next day tried to reach them to get the refund and was told false promises that I would make $180k to $250k per year if I do the course by ******, and initially by *******, and I am shocked that a refund is not being offered to me right away since this course is not going to serve me. That was confirmed by their career expert who worked at *********. I had to research that night was data analysts make--and they have a course for that, so why the expensive ML course to do something that pays so much lower?Fraud, inconsistent communications, and misrepresentations and just not willing to give my money back even though that is the right thing and I started requesting in less than 24 hours & for valid reason.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/01/2025

  Type:Order 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 signed up for Interview Kickstart program with their promise of guaranteed job after my graduation. I diligently followed their program and it did not help me. The contract I signed promises refund when their program does not help me with the goals. They are not responding to my request for refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/21/2025

  Type:Order 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.

  After Speaking with ******* **** with Interview Kickstart, I signed a contract for their AgentUp Fullstack (LevelUp) course with a total cost of $8,500 and a transaction date of 5/16/2025. I was careful about the "Trial Period" because in some places they said it was three weeks, but the contract I signed states "It is refundable, if and only if you decide to discontinue the program and notify *********** in writing (email okay) on or before the last day of the first week of your cohort."During the first week of my cohort, I sent an email to the address noted for cancellation requests on the Interview Kickstart FAQs webpage. My email stated in part "Today is June 3rd, and I wish to exercise my right to drop the course as the first live class was on Sunday, June 1st and my first Thursday review session is this Thursday June 5th. There are a number of reasons for my request."The company did not honor my cancellation request. They tried several times to convince me to continue the program instead. I had chosen to pay through their payment plan with ****** and upon appeal, Klarna said the purchase was nonrefundable per the store's policies. ****** has now resumed sending me billing emails as they have marked the appeal as closed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/13/2025

  Type:Product 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 joined Interview Kickstarts program in August 2024, fully committed to improving my career and learning the skills needed for a better job. I was aware of the 2-week refund policy, but in reality, two weeks is simply not enough time to know if a program is the right fitespecially for someone in a fragile life situation.I wasnt sure if I could continue, but I was hopeful. I thought Id get a job, work Monday to Friday, and learn on weekends. But life had other plans. By November 2024, I had no job, no money, and mounting pressure. Thats when I first reached out asking to withdraw and stop the payments.Since then, Ive contacted them multiple times explaining my situation. At one point, they did cancel some future payments, but they refused to cancel the Klarna loan balance, which still hangs over me like a weight I cannot ******** make things worse, the person who contacted me multiple times before I enrolled stopped responding as soon as I shared my hardship. Ive since been redirected to the operations team, who continue to say the refund period has passed and offer no real support. Ive tried to explain that this is not just about policyits about survival.This past year has been one of the worst in my life. I have no income, unable to find a job, and Im struggling to even pay rent. No one on their end seems to truly understand the pressure and hopelessness I feel. I could not continue the program under these conditions, and Ive received no benefit from it. My first and latest email are attached below. I also attached my initial message to the recruiter explaining my difficulty but received no proper response. Desired Outcome:I am not asking for special treatmentIm asking for humanity. I respectfully request that Interview Kickstart formally cancel my remaining Klarna loan balance and confirm that I do not owe anything further. It would bring me and my family significant relief during this extremely difficult time.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Sold me a interview product and then didnt have the product Sold me mocks then didnt have the right interviewers Said 7 day trail and created fake enrollments beyond day 5

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2024

  Type:Product 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 am writing to formally file a complaint against Interview Kickstart (IK) for failing to deliver the promised services despite full payment, and for not issuing a refund despite multiple requests.Key details of the situation:The transaction - October 5, 2024.The first payment of $6,100 was made on December 3, 2024 as they suggested through Climb Credit.Under consumer protection laws regarding failure to deliver paid services, I am entitled to a refund for services not rendered.5. Denial of Refund:IK has refused to issue a refund or address the issues satisfactorily. Initially, I reached out to IK to enroll in the basic service. However, I was subsequently persuaded to upgrade to a more expensive program based on misleading and false assurances. I was explicitly promised immediate support for interviews, a 100% money-back guarantee, resume building, LinkedIn optimization, and clarification of technical terms. Unfortunately, none of these services were delivered as promised. ******** times have been unreasonably delayed, and I have not received the support I was led to believe I would. This has left me feeling stressed and unsupported, especially as I prepare for important interviews. In hindsight, I regret my decision to enroll in this program, given the misleading information and unfulfilled promises.Therefore, I am requesting a full refund. I trust that you will honor this request promptly, as I do not believe the current situation is fair or acceptable.I am requesting that the Better Business Bureau assist in mediating this issue and ensuring that IK honors my refund request as they have clearly failed to provide the services promised. I have also attached the email from the agent outlining the services that were promised. At no point was I informed that this program is non-refundable, nor did I sign any agreement acknowledging such terms.Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.