Distance learning: how to choose an online education platform

In 2023, there was more news about user complaints about online schools. What to do if you were provided with low-quality online education services: is it possible to get your money back in this case? What compensation options do online schools themselves offer? And how to initially choose an online education platform to avoid such problems? Market experts and lawyers answered these questions for Kommersant.

There are more cases with online schools

The Russian online education market in Russia is growing by tens of percent every year: in 2023 it grew by more than 30%, to approximately 120 billion rubles, according to estimates from the Smart Ranking agency. As the segment and audience of online schools grows, so does the number of cases where users are not satisfied with the quality of services. In 2023, the number of lawsuits against educational platforms increased. Among the most high-profile cases are claims related to the GeekBrains platform (part of the educational holding Skillbox Holding Limited, see “Kommersant” dated January 24).

GeekBrains was initially subject to class action lawsuits, which is quite rare in Russian judicial practice, notes Digital & Analogue Partners lawyer Alexander Shin. As part of this case, the plaintiffs managed to achieve satisfaction of claims in the amount of more than 20 million rubles. At the same time, most of the proceedings between users and online schools do not receive wide publicity, because the amounts for individual consumer claims are insignificant, says Alexander Shin.

The head of the atLegal department, Vadim Reznichenko, notes that even before 2023, claims against online educational platforms were filed frequently, but it was last year that “a turning point occurred” in terms of judicial practice. “Courts have begun to side with consumers more often. To a large extent, the turnaround in law enforcement was facilitated by high-profile criminal cases against famous bloggers and coaches, for example Ayaz Shabutdinov,” says the lawyer (see “Kommersant” dated January 2).

Depending on the circumstances of the case, clients may demand early termination of the contract for the provision of services, a refund, or a reduction in the cost of services, Vadim Reznichenko lists: “As a rule, the cause of disputes is misleading consumers regarding the content and final result of the services provided.”

There are also cases of abuse of rights by unscrupulous consumers who “successfully exploit gaps in legislation and established judicial practice for the purpose of personal enrichment,” says Vasily Khokhlov, senior lawyer at the Kosenkov and Suvorov law firm.

Figure it out before trial: what online schools say

If the claims are objective and justified, a good school will offer options and will be able to resolve the dispute out of court, says Anastasia Plastovets. At Netology, for example, if complaints arise about the quality of training in the first three classes, they can return the full cost, says Anastasia Plastovets. “If the client decides not to continue training after a longer period, the amount of the refund depends on the volume of the program completed. So, if you complete up to 10% of classes, 40% of the cost is returned. Then the amount decreases,” she said. “If during the course of training a student realized that the course does not meet his educational goals, we return the money or offer a replacement,” Natalya Vlodavskaya, director of client experience at Skillbox, also says.

Maximum Education has a guarantee according to which the client can cancel the services during the first week of attending classes and will receive a full refund. “It happens that customer questions are not related to the quality of the product, but to the client’s expectations and the child’s motivation. In such cases, a mentor can be involved, who in nine out of ten cases solves the client’s individual issues,” says Mikhail Myagkov, general director of the platform. Usually, the calculation of compensation comes from the calculation of the course, the actual costs incurred by the author and the expert for training a particular student, said Anton Sazhin, CEO of the CoreApp platform: “But for the most part, we recommend that our authors make a full refund and act as arbiters of negotiations in difficult situations.”

With the number of complaints on the rise, market participants are generally looking to better monitor feedback. The Development Resource Group of Companies (an ecosystem for online schools and experts) launched a feedback platform in the field of online education ProProfi.Online, which allows students to give feedback and resolve controversial situations. “We already have cases where an online school, receiving negative feedback, completely rewrote the course and improved the quality of service,” says the head of the Group of Companies, Alexey Derevyankin. At the same time, the return rate in the online education niche is still low and amounts to no more than 1.5%; this sample was made on the basis of 25 thousand sales, he noted.

How to prove damage in court: what lawyers say

If it is not possible to resolve the issue before the court, the consumer can use the opportunities provided for by the law on the protection of consumer rights, recalls Vadim Reznichenko: it establishes strict sanctions for violating the terms of service provision, failure to fulfill the legal requirements of consumers, etc. The main right of clients is the opportunity at any time refuse the services of the contractor (Article 32 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”). In this case, the money for training must be returned in full minus the expenses actually incurred by the contractor. The consumer only needs to write a written statement to the online platform, indicating the refusal of the contract and demanding a refund of the amount paid. “If the case goes to court, the executor must justify himself why he did not return all the money and what expenses he actually incurred,” the lawyer comments.

Marina Chastikina, lawyer for the contractual and legislative practice of the MGCA “Bureau of Lawyers “De Jure””, says that a student has the right to demand termination of the contract if the training turns out to be of poor quality. At the same time, the law also does not provide for the opportunity to refuse a course because you simply did not like it. To terminate the contract due to poor quality services provided, the student must provide evidence and justify his position.

According to Marina Chastikina, evidence of poor quality services can now be:

• reducing the number and volume of classes;
• conducting classes on topics different from those stated;
• conducting classes by other experts/teachers indicated in the program;
• low quality of performance of duties: outdated material, lack of promised support during the course, lack of checks of homework, requirement of documents from the student that are not related to the learning process.

Digital & Analogue Partners lawyer Alexander Shin adds that at the first stage it is important to document all significant circumstances in the event of a dispute resolution: terms of the contract, screenshots from the site, advertising, correspondence with the site, collect evidence of payment for services and confirmation of violations.

How to choose a platform to avoid problems

When choosing a course, future students usually study the website of the online school they like, sometimes get acquainted with the curriculum of the chosen course, and even less often read the public offer, which online schools usually post at the very bottom of the main page of the online school, says Marina Chastikina. “If the offer is not posted on the website, be sure to request the contract yourself. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 437 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a public offer is the same agreement that will regulate the relationship that has arisen between the school and the student who paid for the course.”

Alexey Derevyankin says that before purchasing, you should also always pay attention to whether the promise of the online school, which is posted on the website or on social networks, is included in the offer: “It happens that a school promises multimillion-dollar earnings, but there is not a word about it in the contract. As a result, the student is disappointed and wants to return the money, while the manager sends him to read the contract.”

Anastasia Plastovets also draws attention to the offer. “If it is important for a person to be able to return the money, it is worth looking at whether the proposed conditions are suitable and how comfortable they will be. A good indicator that a platform can be trusted is when the terms are transparent and understandable, and the information is easy to find,” she says, adding that you can also check for an educational license.

“I would not trust either an education license or sweet slogans about quick success and quick results. The student must clearly understand his responsibility for the effectiveness of his training,” added Anton Sazhin. Before choosing an online school, he advises going through the following steps:

• study the real experience of an expert/school confirmed in the media, and not by a website selling it. Experience in both educational and professional fields. View the expert’s social networks. “If there are 90% of sales and engaging live content, that’s a red flag. A solid expert will have cases not only of his students, but also of his own, where he manifests himself as a professional”;
• ask for contacts of students who have completed the training, talk to them. “How the educational process is really organized, what was good and what needs to be changed. Of course, there may be decoys, but you can ask for the contacts of several people. Playing detective is a good strategy. Especially on expensive programs. If such contacts are not provided, this is a red flag”;
• request a training program. “Not the one on the website in the form of general modules, but a detailed one. The very fact of the existence of such a document speaks of the methodological development of the course. You can also find out the name of the pedagogical designer or methodologist; these people, as a rule, monitor their reputation, and the absence of such a specialist is another red flag for the student.”

Valeria Lebedeva