Jon Styf  |  March 14, 2024

Category: Legal News
Coursera logo displayed on a smartphone screen, representing the Coursera class action.
(Photo Credit: monticello/Shutterstock)

Coursera subscription lawsuit overview: 

  • Who: Plaintiffs Karena Feng, Tammy Mo and Candice Henthorn filed a class action lawsuit against Coursera Inc.
  • Why: The class action claims Coursera duped customers into signing up for a subscription that automatically renews without full disclosure and withdraws payments without prior consent.
  • Where: The Coursera class action was filed in federal court in California.

Educational technology company Coursera faces a class action lawsuit claiming it automatically renewed customer subscriptions and withdrew funds from customer accounts without prior consent.

Coursera’s automatic subscription renewal violates requirements of California’s Automatic Renewal Law and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the lawsuit claims.

Coursera allows subscribers access to online courses and degrees from leading universities and companies. Coursera has free access, charges by course or has monthly or annual subscriptions.

“At the check-out screen, plaintiff and customers were misled into believing that they signed up for a free service only to incur a charge,” the class action says.

Coursera charges hundreds in fees, refuses to refund once charged, lawsuit says

Customers believe they are signing up to pay $49 for a single course or a seven-day trial before the Coursera automatic subscription renewal kicks in, at which time the company charges several hundred dollars in fees, the lawsuit says. 

Once it charges the fees, Coursera refuses to refund them, according to the class action.

There are 333 reviews of Coursera on Trustpilot, with many complaining about the same automatic subscription renewal issues. The lawsuit says 68% of the reviews as of Nov. 12, 2022, were 1-star reviews and 9% were 2-star reviews, with Coursera’s average rating at 1.7 stars.

“The checkout page does not state that a subscriber who cancels after the 7-day free trial will not be eligible for a refund after his or her payment method is charged,” the class action lawsuit says.

Coursera faces another class action lawsuit claiming it disclosed records of its customers’ video viewing history and personally identifiable information to Facebook owner Meta Platforms without its users knowledge or consent.

Has Coursera automatically renewed your subscription? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by John J. Nelson of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC.

The Coursera subscription class action lawsuit is Feng, et al. v. Coursera Inc., Case No.  3:23-cv-00449, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.


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13 thoughts onCoursera class action lawsuit alleges company conducts automatic subscription renewal scheme

  1. Gustave Olson says:

    I Kept getting charged.And it was very difficult to cancel.I had to change my Card number

  2. Justen Newton says:

    I just recieved the same alleged recurring charge. When searching for “coursera” in my email to request a refund, I saw your email regarding the case. I’m in CO, and do well in depos.

  3. PRAKASH C SHAH says:

    Add me

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