Matthew Johnson

We are thoroughly discontented with the

We are thoroughly discontented with the French Institute of Luxembourg (IFL)! Upon our first encounter with the IFL, while perusing their internet site and pamphlets, we observed an intriguing detail. They consistently marketed themselves as possessing “superior quality” with an exceptionally skilled pedagogical team. However, our actual experience told a contrasting story! We signed up for an in-person course and were appointed an inexperienced novice who had just earned her degree and lacked any form of interpersonal skills in dealing with the course attendees. There was scarcely any grammar knowledge to speak of. Whenever we queried why a particular phrase was structured or penned in a certain way, the instructor was devoid of any response. She had to resort to internet searches during the session multiple times to provide explanations. Moreover, we frequently noticed her preoccupied with her mobile device, either playing games or responding to personal messages during the course. Is this the epitome of “superior quality”? From our perspective, the IFL is purposely projecting a level of quality to the public, which, in fact, is non-existent. To us, this constitutes a deliberate act of consumer deception! Additionally, you're required to pay for the entire course upfront without any knowledge of the instructor you will be allocated. When we voiced our dissatisfaction to the IFL regarding the instructor, we were assigned a new one. However, the IFL explicitly confessed in writing that they had indeed assigned us a novice. We believe they knowingly took advantage of our predicament. We had already settled the full course fee in advance and only came to the realization during the course that the instructor was incompetent. After being assigned another instructor, we requested a refund for the first one or extra complimentary lessons. However, this request was denied, leading us to decide to discontinue the course. We were refunded for the untaken lessons, but the fact that we overpaid for the first instructor's lessons was intentionally overlooked by the IFL. Despite the fact that the IFL acknowledged in writing that they assigned us a beginner who fell short of the IFL standard as per the "Superior Quality" website, we were still billed at an hourly rate of €64. As such, we paid for a high-level teacher but received average-level instruction. This creates the perception that the IFL is more concerned about their financial gain rather than the customer satisfaction and quality of the lessons! This is unacceptable and must not be tolerated! In our view, the IFL should have issued a proportional refund, considering their outward portrayal of services did not match their advertised standards. We also intend to lodge a complaint with consumer protection agencies regarding the IFL's practices.

Date of experience: March 24, 2024