i read reviews of people who seem very dumb and not not willing to follow the return rules so they complain about the program

Listen to other reviewers and stay away from this company! It is avail order scam, they are all about being able to repeatedly charge your credit card for a crap product and their 'customer service' departments sole purpose is to make it impossible for you to get your money back and difficult to stop the endless charges.

This product and company is such a scam. I am a high school student, I purchased this for myself with Birthday/Christmas money, hoping like all seniors to win the SAT jackpot and get a four year scholarship to Ivy league. This software was aweful, I couldn't stand it, it was like the software was mocking me, the math section just asked you a question and told you you were wrong until you got it right or quit. The vocabulary was simplistic and boring, also very slow and frustrating, I didn't learn anything because it doesn't teach you anything. It just asks you questions so you know what you don't know. Returning the software is a joke, I was told be one rep that I would be refunded the shipping and return shipping, only received a partial refund, half a month after they received the return package. I haggled with customer service, but was only called a liar and hung up on. I WOULD NEVER SUGGEST THIS WASTE OF MONEY TO ANYONE, I READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE I BOUGHT IT AND IGNORED THEM, now I am writing my first review for anything, cautioning you to not make my mistake.

We bought the software. However, I should have known better from Day 1, it was a hard sell on the phone. But I'm a nice guy and gave it a try. Daughter hated it boring and did not want to participate. This is where they have you. They will keep the S&H (which is a lot for a very small package) and you get your money back. Do that a few million times to suckers and you have your money.

The proverbial used car dealership is the best way to describe them. Hard sell and horrible customer service. Stay away, stay away, stay away!

Please, be careful with this co. they are reap off and will not tell you the details of what you are getting. I called for one product and I ended up tons of other product. Requested for my name to be removed from all the subscription initially when I talked with them but they never did. Unknow to me my credit card on their file was being charged monthly and there have been about 4 charges before I noticed it. I called to complain and they told me that I agreed to it that the charges were ligitmate and unrefundable when I never used any of the services. The person I talked to told me that they have a recorded conversation and I asked for the second conversation to be played and she told me it was not possible. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she told me that i was speaking to her. I am left with no choice at this point to eat the charges on the services I never used. Please, dont fall for their sweet tongue when they try to get your credit card.

If you are dissatisfied with the product and cannot resolve the problem with the company, go to your state's Attorney General and fill out forms explaining your complaint and how you tried to resolve it. They will take care of companies that don't do what they claim...in this case return your money, minus shipping and handling.

I learned years ago the hard way that you cannot purchase shown on TV products without them selling your information to third parties, charging your card for subscriptions that you never knowingly signed up for, or tricking you on the returns policy. As a result it had been 8 years since I bought another made on TV product. Then I discovered pre-paid credit cards and with one I decided to purchase the WordSmart Program for Adults. At the time they were doing a pay with installments sort of thing and I paid my first installment (which I think was $50 or something) and made sure only $55 was on the card. That way they couldn't charge more than they said they would and if they tried it would instantly be declined. I gave them a friend's # instead of my own to prevent them from selling my information- In retrospect I should've just given them a completely fake # because the result was they called my friend 3 times a day for about 3 weeks trying to sell her other word smart programs! She was so angry with me for giving them her # & pretending it was mine, but I was glad they didn't have mine. The only thing if you want to give a fake # you have to remember it because the support staff saves your records under the phone # you originally gave. Since they didn't have my real credit card I was pretty safe in terms of them not charging me more than I wanted and since you can choose the name you put on the pre-paid cards (I didn't give them my real one) I wouldn't have to worry about them doing a collections on me if I tried returning the product and they refused. These people are sneaky for sure and if it weren't for the pre-paid credit card I would never have purchased this product. The amount of spam- especially via phone that they apply is horrible and the worst part is that some of the TV commercials for the product are not honest about how much the product really costs and is not honest about the fact that you don't HAVE to buy the whole program. You can buy just one of the levels if you want like I did. I had to go to the website to find that out. Because I was able to dodge having my information sold and having to deal with tricky things I was much more able to just focus on the product which is not perfect, but definitely the best thing out there right now. I got only the adult volumes G-H along with the progressive Speed Reader CD. Pros: My vocabulary has undoubtedly been enhanced and test scores have improved greatly. I can spend as little as 3 minutes or as much as an hour learning vocabulary. It's entertaining enough that I easily open up the program on my computer whenever I want to procrastinate doing chores or something else. (Never would have thought I'd procrastinate with vocabulary!)
Cons: Though it's somewhat entertaining enough for adults I can't see a child not getting completely bored by it. (Though keep in mind I do have the adult version.) The arcade game part of the came where you shoot down word meanings for points is not very exciting at all & in fact rather boring and that arcade section is exactly the same exact game on every level just different words. Also the program would've been a lot better if there was more utilization of using these words in sentences. Partial sentences are used, BUT the same exact sentence is used throughout the series for the same word. For example: for the word Supposititious they use the partial sentence, "supposititious remedies" If you count the challenge CD, there are 6 games or excercises where you can click the answer as to it's meaning and in EVERY SINGLE one of those excercises the sentence used for supposititious is: "suppositious remedies" It would've been much more practicable & effective if we could see the words used in different sentences. Though it is not perfect I've tried other programs & can honestly say this is the best out there right now. The results speak for themselves. When I realized I wanted to keep the program, I went out & bought another pre-paid credit card and paid the remaining balance. Altogether I got 8 CDs for about $200. If I had to deal with the customer service issues everyone else had to deal with I would've given it one star... but keeping in mind I didn't have to deal with that, the program was so very worth the money.

It is very ironic that the 4 reviews that didn't like the product were complete sentences with specific details and the reviews that liked the program were basic one word answers. I am seriously evaluating a tool for my family's increased knowledge. WordSmart is not likely my final answer...thanks Alex.

I recently bought the Wordsmart program to study for my upcoming ACT/SAT. Please, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. Although I have heard many great things about Wordsmart, after I bought it, I was thoroughly disgusted with such little material presented in each of the CD's.
What really ticked me off was that when I tried to call to return the discs (before 30 days), the lady who was helping me was arguing with me and would not let me return them!! She asked me all kinds of irrelevant questions and argued that I was not correctly using the discs and that I should try some more and not return them!!!
This product is such a joke.. do not waste your precious money and time on it.

I bought this product knowing that if it did not work for my kids I could return it in 30 days. I called to return it and they insisted that I try it for 30 more days. When I called a second time to return it, they said I missed the cutoff date by one day. They are not concerned about customer satisfaction, only how they can confuse you on the number of days, so they don't violate their policy but yet do not return your money.

The software was marginal at best. It might be helpful for older kids (mine are 7 and 8). But, my kids found it boring and wouldn't use it.

I would strongly recommend NOT buying this.

I have a mac and when I tried to return it because its not compatible with my mac. they wouldn't even take it back. Beware of this scam...

My experience with them was not positive. When I ordered the product, I asked about the trial period, the salesman said i would have 35 days to review the material but would have to call in for a return authorization when the time came. I asked does the 35 days run from the date of the order or the date of the arrival. He assured me it would be from arrival which they document. When the product arrived, I read the invoice carefully for a return date, there was none listed on the invoice. So..I called them to return their package 3 days before the expiration of the return period as described, but their recorded message instructed me to call back during business hours. When I did so, they wouldnt issue a return authorization since they were measuring the trial period from the order date, and as such I was 2 days too late. Try as I might to reason this through with them, they would not accept a return on the product. The conversation ended with a WordSmart promise to turn my account over to the Collections Agents. They would not give me any return information. Without commenting on the value of the product, I can say their deceptive business practices have taught me a lesson: "Do not pay to demo a product." I am so disappointed in my decision to try this and in my relying on the appearance of someone I admire, Alex Trebeck,to guarantee the integrity of the company.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what further action I can take to get the word out about this? No other company on this website uses this approach to marketing that I am aware. I think the consumer should be warned what WordSmart is willing to do to make a sale.

so I used it during highschool for SATs and really, I noticed a huge improvement in not just my vocabulary, but also my reading comprehension. There is something about doing the program that improves your reading and thinking skills. You have to try it to know what I mean, but trust me, it happens.

This software is amazing! My son's english mark went from a 70 to an 80!

excellent work