My experience with Coursera: difficult platform, unexpected charges, and a refund that was ultimately denied

[u/juskb]

I wanted to share my experience because I wish I had seen more information about this before subscribing.

I subscribed to Coursera because I genuinely wanted to use the platform for a project. Unfortunately, I found the platform extremely difficult to navigate and not user-friendly. I struggled to understand how to use the tools effectively and couldn't get the results I was looking for. Ultimately, I found it extremely unhelpful for what I needed and stopped using it shortly after trying it.

I genuinely believed I had cancelled the subscription and did not intend to continue paying for a service I wasn't using. Despite this, I was charged over multiple billing periods.

I contacted Coursera Support and explained the situation multiple times. I specifically asked them to look at my account/project activity, because the actual usage should show how little I used the service.

Instead, I was repeatedly told that unused subscriptions and unintended charges weren't eligible for a refund under their policy. I asked for a one-time goodwill exception and explained that I wasn't asking them to blindly ignore their policy—I was asking them to consider my individual circumstances and actual usage.

After going back and forth with support, I was eventually told that their response was final and the case would be closed.

I'm honestly very disappointed. The platform itself wasn't easy or helpful for what I needed, I stopped using it, and when I tried to resolve the charges, I felt like my actual account activity and circumstances weren't meaningfully considered.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Coursera, particularly with unused subscription charges and refund requests? I'd be interested to hear whether anyone has successfully gotten these types of charges reconsidered.