The Bureau of Consumer Protection recently filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia-based online education company based on allegations that its business model is deceptive and harms consumers.
Internet Order LLC, which operated under the names of Stroll, Pimsleur Approach and Pimsleurapproach.com, and Daniel Roitman, its chief executive officer and founder, are named in the suit. The company’s flagship product is an audio-based language-learning program using the “Pimsleur” method.
The Bureau of Consumer Protection alleges that after the company offered consumers a CD for an introductory price of $9.95 they then were deceptively enrolled in an auto-ship program charging $256 for each additional set of CDs. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that when attempting to cancel the membership consumers had to go through a strenuous process. They also had to pay return shipping on the CDs as part of the membership cancellation process.
Under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the state is seeking restitution, civil penalties and a permanent injunction against the company to prevent future violations.