[tgphelps]

Has anyone done business with bridgelesson.com? I'm starting to doubt that it's legitimate.

I had watched a number of Youtube videos by Rob Barrington, and thought he was an excellent teacher. So, I finally joined his site, bridgelesson.com, and bought a lesson package. It was reasonably priced and really good. So I bought another, and a couple more. All excellent videos. Then I accidentally bought one that I already owned, all my fault of course, but it should be easily fixed by the site people.

I emailed the contact address on the site, and explained the situation, and asked that they refund the money, or give me a credit toward a future lesson. No response. I waited a week, and nothing. I sent a follow-up email. No response again. It's been a month now.

Has this happened to anyone? Is there anyone 'home' at all back at that site? I really don't understand why this is happening.

Any ideas or advice?

[Zelandakh]

In Europe, if you buy something online you have (outside of certain exceptions such as custom products) an absolute right to cancel the purchase within 10 working days (2 weeks). You will have to check your local regulations as to whether you have such a right. Make sure you make the intention to return the product clear in a written form (ie email) within this "cooling off" period. If they continue to refuse the return, go and see a lawyer. When you cancel your membership, add a note explaining precisely why you were disappointed with their service.

[mikeh]

Zelandakh, on 2025-August-23, 15:57, said:

In Europe, if you buy something online you have (outside of certain exceptions such as custom products) an absolute right to cancel the purchase within 10 working days (2 weeks). You will have to check your local regulations as to whether you have such a right. Make sure you make the intention to return the product clear in a written form (ie email) within this "cooling off" period. If they continue to refuse the return, go and see a lawyer. When you cancel your membership, add a note explaining precisely why you were disappointed with their service.

I have no idea how much money is involved, but I suspect less than the hourly rate of any lawyer you might consult…..disclosure…I am a retired lawyer

Moreover, sometimes one has ‘rights’ but it makes no economic sense to pursue them. Different people have different tolerances for throwing money away or spending more than is at stake simply because they’re pissed off. So the OP needs to weigh his options in light of his tolerances and the sums involved.

Fwiw, and knowing nothing about the site/people in question, it sounds like a small business and maybe the operator simply hasn’t been working diligently at running his business.

[shyams]

mikeh, on 2025-August-23, 18:59, said:

Moreover, sometimes one has ‘rights’ but it makes no economic sense to pursue them. Different people have different tolerances for throwing money away or spending more than is at stake simply because they’re pissed off. So the OP needs to weigh his options in light of his tolerances and the sums involved.

In the UK (and very likely across all of EU), one can merely call one's credit card issuer and have the charge reversed. Then it's a matter between the seller of the service and their bank.

It turns the tables and makes the seller have to do the work to prove that you did not have the right to cancel.

[pilowsky]

It's no more than $20. Give it to your partner.

[smerriman]

It's definitely legitimate; Rob was hosting an ACBL stream of Spingold a month ago and live streaming and replying to YouTube comments 10 days ago. Might be something innocuous like the contact email not working; would suggest trying to contact him via other means, e.g. through YouTube.

[Zelandakh]

shyams, on 2025-August-23, 19:25, said:

In the UK (and very likely across all of EU), one can merely call one's credit card issuer and have the charge reversed. Then it's a matter between the seller of the service and their bank.

It turns the tables and makes the seller have to do the work to prove that you did not have the right to cancel.

The UK has something called the Small Claims Court, which allows for such cases to be brought directly, without requiring a lawyer's fee. There is also often some leverage one can use to put pressure back on the retailer, who have similar concerns about legal fees for an insignificant sum to consider. As someone who has personally won several cases against retailers abusing consumer rules, I can attest to the effectiveness of these possibilities. As one of the cases involved a purchase from America, I will mention that there is a government organisation where you report websites that use misleading methods such as hiding fees and there are plenty of places where one can call out such companies, often on their own forums. Combine such guerrilla tactics with withholding payment, as per shyams' comment, and you are putting the difficult decision onto the retailer. Even when companies do decide to file a case, as Zalando did when they lost a returns package, they tend to fold quickly when you make the simple act (no lawyer needed) of filing a defence stating the truth of the matter. And yes, Zalando is a bad company - don't use them!!!

[Huibertus]

shyams, on 2025-August-23, 19:25, said:

In the UK (and very likely across all of EU), one can merely call one's credit card issuer and have the charge reversed. Then it's a matter between the seller of the service and their bank.

It turns the tables and makes the seller have to do the work to prove that you did not have the right to cancel.

That is standard practise for credit card issuers everywhere. It is essential element of their business to keep earning the trust of credit card holders. Without that trust nobody will have credit cards.