Lumosity complaints

by Henry
(USA)

I was reading about Lumosity online brain training and found complaints related to subscription cancellation and customer service. Any input? Thanks.


NOTE: I no longer recommend Lumosity brain training. Unfortunately the Lumosity company has been plagued by numerous customer complaints. Worse yet, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Lumosity $2 million for deceptive practices.

I think Lumosity management is trying to turn the company around, but the scandals left a bad taste in my mouth.




Doug's Reply. UPDATE (April 2016). Lumosity is no longer accredited by the Better Business Bureau. In February, Lumosity's BBB accreditation was revoked (voided) by the BBB Board of Directors.
Lumosity

Lumosity's listing in the BBB database now includes this withering condemnation:

"On 02/16/2016 this company's accreditation in BBB was revoked by BBB's Board of Directors due to recent government action involving the business's customer relations which indicates a significant failure of the business to meet standards of conduct expected of a BBB member."

Lumosity should rightly be condemned for their history of deceptive billing and non-responsive customer service. As the FTC found, Lumosity also engaged in a pattern of secretly giving prizes in exchange for positive consumer testimonials. All of this is unacceptable.

With regard to the brain training itself, keep in mind the FTC judgement against them did not say their brain games DO NOT improve cognitive function; rather, Lumosity failed to prove their games DO what their marketing advertisements claimed.

Much research on cognitive training is underway, with conflicting opinions and disagreements among scientists regarding the extent and/or magnitude of its effectiveness.

UPDATE (Jan 2016). Based on the number of complaints I've heard about Lumosity customer service, I now hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend the Lumosity brain training service.

Lumosity
Lumosity's original BBB record was wiped
The brain games they've developed are advanced compared to others I've seen. I have enjoyed playing their games and believe doing so has boosted my brain power.

However, many users have complained of poor customer service from Lumosity. They've said they feel tricked into continued payments when they no longer want to use the Lumosity service.

Others claim it is very difficult to contact a Lumosity representative, whether by phone, email, or webform.

Also, in
my original review, I noted that Lumosity had an "A" rating with the U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB). However, I now see Lumosity's earlier BBB record has been deleted (see screen image above).

I suspect the BBB, perhaps having received numerous complaints about Lumosity customer service, wiped their original Lumosity review and list of customer complaints from their system. I don't know this for sure, but deleting the BBB record does not build confidence.

On the plus side, it does appear Lumosity is making attempts to update the Help Center on their website. I see new help articles posted recently.

How to Cancel Lumosity Auto-Renewal

Many complaints have been in reference to unwanted automatic renewal charges. To prevent your credit card from being automatically charged each year, Lumosity says to follow the steps on their Will I Be Charged? page.

To recap, I no longer recommend the Lumosity service. I might be willing to change my mind about this if they straighten out their act.

Note: I personally no longer maintain a paid Lumosity subscription.

Best regards,
Douglas
Memory-Improvement-Tips.com
This is information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.


-- Following was my original evaluation of Lumosity, which has changed, per above --

Any such problems most likely affect only a small minority of Lumosity users.

I have been using Lumosity myself and promoting it on my website for three years. In that time, I have never had a problem with my personal account. None of my visitors have reported any problems to me that I can recall.

For some objective data, take a look at Lumosity.com's Better Business Bureau (BBB) record.

Lumosity has an "A" rating from the BBB, almost the highest rating a business can have (only A+ is higher). Lumosity also enjoys "BBB Accredited" status.

According to the BBB record, in the last four years there have been only 37 complaints filed against them, out of millions of Lumosity users. About 10 complaints a year - and all the complaints were resolved.

In my experience Lumosity is a good, solid company. I wouldn't let some negative reviews stop you from trying it.

Douglas



Comments for Lumosity complaints

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Sep 21, 2017
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Game preferred.
by: Anonymous

I would like to play a particular game called Train of Thoughts more often. I am forced to play other games 3 or 4 times each and then I seldom get to play Train of Thoughts only once a month. Please help. I can't get anyone to respond. I don't have an I pad. I have a smart phone. Please please help.

May 23, 2017
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Another dishonest marketeer with no phone nuber
by: Anonymous

Another one of these things where you take out a 30 day free trial and then notice charges years later - not small charges, min you, but $80 and up. They have no telephone. Their games were amusing for two days, but they are mostly interested in scamming you into years of payments

Feb 03, 2017
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Unwanted Neuro Nation upgrade con
by: J wheway

I used luminosity for around a year and I paid an advance fee. I stopped using the service due to, frankly, boredom with the games but I've suddenly been charged £60 for a premium service with Neuro Nation which I neither wanted or knew I'd signed up for. They eventually responded after four messages and, of course, this was all in the T&C's. I'm trying to get a refund but I don't hold out much hope. Be very careful when you purchase from these people.

Doug's reply. Thanks for your feedback about that. I hope they give you the refund!

Jan 30, 2017
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Highway Hazard Game
by: Anonymous

Although I enjoy Lumosity's games, I DO NOT like the game called "Highway Hazard". In 2008 I was seriously injured in a multiple car crash when a driver fell asleep. Every time, I play the Highway Hazard game, I actually feel the force of the cars when they collide. Can you substitute another game?

Thanks!

JK

Doug's Reply. Hi JK. Yes, you can substitute a different game and never see that one again. The next time the Highway Hazards game comes up, look for a "Change Game" link to the lower right of the game, before you start playing it.

When you click the Change Game link, a pop-up window appears where you can pick a different game. There is also a "Never Show Highway Hazards Again in Training" checkbox on that window. Place a checkmark in that checkbox, and you shouldn't see that game again.

May 06, 2016
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Contact Difficult
by: Jack Eads

Lumosity has very poor customer service. It takes multiple inquiries to get a response that is often condecending. No sense of customer service. Do not answer web inquiries. Explanations are vague and shallow.

Doug's reply. I think their brain games are good, but Lumosity has earned a very bad reputation for customer service. The concept of brain training is still valid, however. So if you are looking for a different, more reliable company, consider NeuroNation. They're based out of Germany and won Google Best Apps award for 2015. Also I've posted a couple hundred free brain games on my website, although those don't have performance tracking, etc. and weren't specifically designed by scientists.

Apr 08, 2016
Rating
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Unapproved Charges
by: K

I signed up for this service back in 2014. I bought a single-year subscription. They continue to try to charge me an annual $79.95 fee. I didn't sign up for any auto-renewal payment plan. I didn't even like their service that much, yet they assume I wanted to grant them a lifetime backdoor to my bank account. As another person here mentioned, they are extremely difficult to contact. They hide behind a wall of automated answering services, both for email and phone. It is not possible to reach an actual human operator by telephone. Very livid with this company.

Jan 20, 2016
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Sneaky payment
by: Bob

Although we have not been subscribers for several years we went on the web site to look and a week later we had the fee deducted from our account. It is then an extremely difficult process to make contact with this organisation and so far this is the only forum I have found to register my complaint.

Dec 31, 2015
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Lumosity web design problem still not fixed
by: Anonymous

The site when accessed from non-Apple systems (eg Windows) looks broken (and has been this way for several weeks). This is because the "new design" CSS they've implemented. Is being served as a MIME type text and not type CSS. I.E. Is rejecting it entirely. I tried to call them to complain but there is no number. Tried to send in a complaint on their site but the complaint/inquiry portion of the site fails in the middle of completing the complaint.

Doug's Reply. How very odd. Makes one wonder what's going on with them. Lumosity has begun to earn a reputation for poor customer service, unfortunately. Thanks for pointing this out.

Oct 23, 2015
Rating
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Don't Trust This Company with your credit card!
by: Veronica Fall

Does Lumosity train brains or think you are stupid? This company auto-renewed my membership even though I had auto-renew turned off.

They don't care, as "customer service" pointed out today, they have my credit card info and they feel they have the right to use it as I would.

Of course I'll time spending time and money to fight this. You trust Lumosity to help you brain train and they screw you. Shame on you Lumosity!

Aug 03, 2015
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Luminosity Deceptive Practices
by: Anonymous

1. They say they improve cognition. It does not. Cardio and active volunteering/continuous learning is what improved my brain health.

2. They never prompt you to opt out on their auto-renewal, so you keep getting billed if you miss the 60 day opt out period.

3. Due to my volunteer work, I work with over 2,000 retirees. You bet that I will never recommend Lumosity to them or any of my friends.

Doug's Reply. Thanks for the feedback about Lumosity. You are not the first to complain about their business practices.

I am curious about your experience with cardio. Would you mind elaborating?

I'm experimenting with cardio's effect on the brain myself. Coincidentally I just finished 30 minutes of HIIT on my stationary bike before seeing your post.

In your observation, did your cardio program improve alertness, focus, or concentration, short or long-term memory, mental energy, or something else? Or have you simply noticed a general cognitive boost that you believe can be attributed to your cardio exercise program?

Jun 04, 2015
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Lumosity unethical billing practices
by: Anonymous

They have many many complaints about their billing and "automatic renewal" process, which is very deceptive. Just google "Lumosity complaints" and you will see--their business practices are highly unethical.

Feb 20, 2014
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Contacting lumosity
by: Anonymous

I was unable to start or change my games over 6/52 ago. I was unable to receive any assistance, or even response despite emailing, using their "help centre". This appeared to be non functioning and useless!

I have at last been able to subscribe. But now the original problem has recurred. Again, I am unable to contact them via their "help centre" which is useless. It did receive one of my many emails earlier this month, but none since. Where do I go from here?

Doug's Reply. Their customer service has been less than stellar lately. I'm not sure what the problem is.

Other than the online help center, you may be able to reach them through the Lumosity direct customer service phone numbers. But based on the negative reviews, I wouldn't be too hopeful taking that route.

Jul 27, 2012
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Improve my memory
by: Andy

I have face the problem of memory loss and my memory is really very week. Some body suggest me take Pramiracetam drugs to improve our brain memory. I want to know Is pramiracetam drugs is safe and really effective for improve memory. I took this drug from http://www.antiaging-systems.com/154-pramiracetam. suggest me

Jan 17, 2012
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Lumosity complaints - another question
by: Henry

Thank you so much Doug. That really helped.

I have one more question though. I am buying this program primarily for my high school son. He is an A grade student in a reputed high school, but I feel he needs to improve his focus and concentration.

So between Dual N-Back and the paid version of Lumosity, which one would you recommend. Your input will really help.

Doug's Reply.
If you want to save money, at least for now, just have your son play the free Dual N-Back game on my website.

He will probably get bored of that quickly, to be honest. But it might be a good test to see if such games help him.

If the money is not an object, Lumosity is far better, because all their games were developed by scientists (most of the games on my site were not), plus you would be able to measure his progress.

The Lumosity "Brain Profile" and "History" features would track his scores in different areas (attention, speed, memory, etc.) and show it on bar charts and graphs. It would also give you a comparison between his scores and other Lumosity users his age.

Also, the included Lumosity "Courses" would allow him to intensely focus on specific brain training. For example - the Speed Boost course and Attention Boost course. They've got 15 games in their Speed Games section and 7 games in their Attention Games section.

So - in the end, Lumosity would show you quantifiably that his attention (i.e., focus/concentration) was improving and by how much. Playing the games on my website will also help but you won't have any quantifiable measurements.

Lumosity has Dual N-Back too, by the way, in their Peak Performance section. Of course, I think everyone should play Dual N-Back. Who couldn't use a better working memory and higher IQ?

No matter what you choose, your son needs to play the games at least 15-20 minutes several days a week to make good progress.

Douglas
Memory-Improvement-Tips.com

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