4 ms·

It seems that Udemy doesn't give automatic refunds to ripped off customers either. I unknowingly bought Troy's pirated course on Udemy (for between 10-20 money

It seems that Udemy doesn't give automatic refunds to ripped off customers either. I unknowingly bought Troy's pirated course on Udemy (for between 10-20 money units during a sale period) and hadn't yet got round to starting it. If you follow the link he gave :https://www.udemy.com/draft/671248/ https://www.udemy.com/draft/671248/ you find you have to do the work. This is what you get: 'The course: Learn Ethical Hacking: Hack Web Applications has been removed from the Udemy platform. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have already purchased this course, please log in to your Udemy account and contact Support.'

pauljaworski 10y ago
Wow. That honestly might be the most bothersome part of this whole thing. Udemy is essentially stealing from their customers at that point. That would be like buying a game on Steam, and then Steam deleting the game from your library and only refunding you if you email and complain about it.
- threepipeproblm 10y ago
  This sounds like a class action suit. There are sites for starting them, maybe the victims should start posting on them.
  - mathgeek 10y ago
    This is egregious and unnecessary, IMHO. If you're someone who wants a refund, request one and get one. The lack of automatic processing here is annoying, sure, but they have clearly provided a method to get your money back.
    - throwaway-hn123 10y ago
      > If you're someone who wants a refund This isn't about wanting a refund, this is about what is right and wrong. Udemy must not keep money where they know the money has been obtained by fraudulent means. It's not even slightly grey. It is clear what the correct course of action is.
    - DasIch 10y ago
      Udemy is profiting from piracy here in a way not unlike some Torrent sites. This is not some minor thing ethically or legally.
      - Dylan16807 10y ago
        This is much more serious than torrent sites. Udemy is selling and serving pirated content, albeit as a middleman. Torrent sites serve metadata and ads.
        DasIch 10y ago
        I agree but I think the comparison still makes sense in light of how torrent sites are treated. If you go by that, Udemy shouldn't really exist much longer unless they fundamentally change how they operate.
unreal37 10y ago
You probably got a free coupon. Nobody bought that pirated course, only free coupons.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Are you speaking as an insider here, can you confirm no copies of posted courses have been sold at all?
  - unreal37 10y ago
    It was part of the blog post Udemy posted.[0] "Many of you have asked about what happened to the money received from Troy’s course. There was none. As the fraudulent instructor had created coupon codes to allow students free access to the course, no money was exchanged in this process." [0] https://blog.udemy.com/maintaining-the-integrity-of-our-udemy-community/ https://blog.udemy.com/maintaining-the-integrity-of-our-udem...
    - triplesec 10y ago
      If true, this doesn't account for the other courses where fraud has been committed and money did exchange hands. I had no code, I paid real money for something. Maybe it was a v similar course; I've not been near my login password to verify this is the exact course I joined (was last winter), but I have a good memory for titles. I could be wrong and joined a different course, but I suspect Udemy might be lying about that, since the course was open to other registration!
      - unreal37 10y ago
        This supposed lie is so easy to disprove. If a single person brought forward their receipt, it'd be a lie. But in a year, no one has. So it's almost certainly not a lie.
        triplesec 10y ago
        When I get to the right machine, I'll have a look and come back to you. I'm certainly fallible. Yet... There are the other courses to consider in any case

pauljaworski 10y ago

Wow. That honestly might be the most bothersome part of this whole thing. Udemy is essentially stealing from their customers at that point. That would be like buying a game on Steam, and then Steam deleting the game from your library and only refunding you if you email and complain about it.

threepipeproblm 10y ago
This sounds like a class action suit. There are sites for starting them, maybe the victims should start posting on them.
- mathgeek 10y ago
  This is egregious and unnecessary, IMHO. If you're someone who wants a refund, request one and get one. The lack of automatic processing here is annoying, sure, but they have clearly provided a method to get your money back.
  - throwaway-hn123 10y ago
    > If you're someone who wants a refund This isn't about wanting a refund, this is about what is right and wrong. Udemy must not keep money where they know the money has been obtained by fraudulent means. It's not even slightly grey. It is clear what the correct course of action is.
  - DasIch 10y ago
    Udemy is profiting from piracy here in a way not unlike some Torrent sites. This is not some minor thing ethically or legally.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      This is much more serious than torrent sites. Udemy is selling and serving pirated content, albeit as a middleman. Torrent sites serve metadata and ads.
      - DasIch 10y ago
        I agree but I think the comparison still makes sense in light of how torrent sites are treated. If you go by that, Udemy shouldn't really exist much longer unless they fundamentally change how they operate.

unreal37 10y ago

You probably got a free coupon. Nobody bought that pirated course, only free coupons.

pbhjpbhj 10y ago
Are you speaking as an insider here, can you confirm no copies of posted courses have been sold at all?
- unreal37 10y ago
  It was part of the blog post Udemy posted.[0] "Many of you have asked about what happened to the money received from Troy’s course. There was none. As the fraudulent instructor had created coupon codes to allow students free access to the course, no money was exchanged in this process." [0] https://blog.udemy.com/maintaining-the-integrity-of-our-udemy-community/ https://blog.udemy.com/maintaining-the-integrity-of-our-udem...
  - triplesec 10y ago
    If true, this doesn't account for the other courses where fraud has been committed and money did exchange hands. I had no code, I paid real money for something. Maybe it was a v similar course; I've not been near my login password to verify this is the exact course I joined (was last winter), but I have a good memory for titles. I could be wrong and joined a different course, but I suspect Udemy might be lying about that, since the course was open to other registration!
    - unreal37 10y ago
      This supposed lie is so easy to disprove. If a single person brought forward their receipt, it'd be a lie. But in a year, no one has. So it's almost certainly not a lie.
      - triplesec 10y ago
        When I get to the right machine, I'll have a look and come back to you. I'm certainly fallible. Yet... There are the other courses to consider in any case