National Association of Professional Women

We are sorry that *** ***’s experience with the NAPW has been less than ideal ??" we do strive to provide our members with resources and benefits to enhance and improve their lives, both personal and professional.? We encourage and expect our members to avail themselves of those benefits and to
contact us with any questions or problems regarding their membershipsMembers who do take the time to explore and take advantage of the myriad resources available will find tremendous value in being a member of the NAPW? *** *** claims that she deserves a full refund because she was never told about the automatic renewal in her membership, and that she had contacted us last year when she was renewed for the first time and that she received a partial refund at that timeWe have conducted an extensive search of all of our logs and records and can find no evidence that she ever contacted us regarding her account, nor was a refund issued to her last year until her call of the other day ??" to which she refers in this complaint ? We keep logs of any and all contact with any member ??" events are noted in the member account profileAll refunds are automatically updated in that profile, as well as our transaction processing systemThere are no records of her contacting us, not in her profile nor in the transaction log, or in the daily register of any members who contact us about their membershipWe have reviewed these logs from the date of her enrollment and can find no record of *** *** contacting via email, our website or by phoneOur phone system logs every number from which an incoming call is received and to any number dialed out ??" we have searched those logs for all calls to and from the number *** *** shows here, as well as the phone number from which she called the other day ? *** *** authorized the June **, charge reflecting her annual membership dues.? During her initial enrollment interview on June **, 2015, our representative went over the membership, beginning with the most comprehensive package ??" part of the goal of the interview is to determine the best package to fit the member’s goals and budget in order to provide the maximum benefits for the money, which is why they offer the options in the order they do*** *** selected our Basic membership? Our representative also explained that NAPW uses an automatic renewal process, designed to protect *** ***’s enrollment in and uninterrupted access to the benefits provided by NAPW and its business partners.? Prior to concluding the interview, our representative specifically informed *** *** that her annual membership would automatically renew on the anniversary of her enrollment*** *** had the opportunity to opt out of our automatic renewal program at that timeShe was also advised to review the terms and conditions which were in place at the time and which are on our websiteA copy of those is attached here? During the initial enrollment interview, our representative explained that *** *** would receive an email containing login information for access to our members’ portal.? The next morning, as promised, our Membership Services Team called *** *** to welcome her to the organization, assist her with logging in and accessing her member benefits, creating her professional profile and answering any other questions or concerns she might haveShe was unavailable, so our representative left a detailed message for her and confirmed that she did in fact receive the email and also confirmed her mailing addressThis was followed up with a confirmation email with important links, requesting that *** *** contact her directly to go over her membership at any timeThe direct contact information for the Member Specialist was provided in this email as she was assigned to be *** ***’s representative for the duration of her membershipA copy of that email and the confirmation of delivery is attached *** *** could have contacted this representative at any time for assistance with her benefits, discussed the problem with her Local Chapter or change the status of her membershipA copy of that email, with its date stamp, is attached ? In addition to the Member Specialist who was assigned to her on June **, 2017, NAPW made available to *** *** a comprehensive membership services staff, which is qualified to field all inquiries and would have been able to work with her had she elected to opt out of her automatic renewal (or any other questions she may have had).? NAPW publicizes the availability of this staff through multiple dedicated pages ? Each of these pages publishes the contact telephone numbers and email addresses, and provides a convenient form which this member could have submitted at any time if she wished to engage our staff for any reason, including opting out of her automatic membership renewal? From day one of *** ***’s enrollment with NAPW, we communicated via email using the address she provided: ***??" this is the same address listed on this complaint.? Email was clearly the primary communication channel, by which ** *** received numerous organizational announcementsAll of these contain contact information for members who have questions or need assistanceWe also reach out several times throughout the yearOn September *, 2015, we reached out again and *** *** hung up on the representative but did not request any changes to her membershipWe called back and left her a message as we do not make any assumptions or take any actions without confirming with the member? We have reviewed all of our records*** *** did not contact us to cancel her scheduled renewal prior to processing, as required by our Terms & Conditions, so her renewal was processed as she previously authorized.? Had she done as she claims, we would most certainly have a record of her refund, if nothing else, and we would have been happy to discontinue her membershipHaving no knowledge of her desires, we made no changes to her account ? *** *** did contact us on July *, and spoke to one of our Member Services representatives, who explained all of the above to herShe was issued a refund of half her membership fee, less the costs we incurred for renewing her benefits with outside providers from whom refunds are not available? At the time of processing a renewal, immediate charges are incurred for renewing her benefits with outside providers from whom refunds are not availableShe also changed the status of her membership so that it does not renew in the future unless she requests to do soShe invited her to contact us so that we can assist her in maximizing the benefits which will be available to her until next JulyMembers who do take advantage of these resources find that they are of very real value in advancing their success ? As a courtesy, we have issued an additional credit to *** ***’s account, but we cannot allow her accusations and claims to stand unchallenged We also attached the terms and conditions in effect at the time or *** ***’s enrollment, which clearly state that members need to contact us BEFORE the scheduled renewal in order to cancel the pending transactionThis is why we send those reminder emails as a courtesy*** *** received the email according to our records; she contacted us after the renewal was processedWe are accountable to shareholders and must follow the specific criteria to issue refunds*** ***’s reasons did not meet these criteriaOur team are required to explain, in detail, why her card was charged and what may happen should disputes be filedAs we can undoubtedly demonstrate that the charge was indeed authorized, she would not win any dispute; therefore we try to work with members to resolve these issues and they often blame us, unfairly, because they have not used the membership and forgot that it was set to renew Any member who contacts our department is treated with courtesy and we try to resolve any issues within the parameters of our policies and protocolsHowever, people are often disappointed that we cannot grant their wishes without questionMembers who request refunds and whose situations meet the criteria are immediately refunded? ?

We apologize? for the error in spelling *** ***'s name, but we do investigate every single claim and follow parameters and protocols to resolve themWe regret that *** *** is unhappy with th resolution we offered, but we have clearly demonstrated that we made every effort to engage her and advise her of her benefits, the fact that her membership was set up to renew and how to contact? us since the start of her membershipShe chose to not take advantage of this, and we have refunded her the maximum amount of her renewal fee, based on the facts of her case, all of which we presented in our original? responseWE consider this matter to be resolved

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***
?
I have been in touch with the NAPW and they
have taken care of the issue? Thank you so very much for your prompt and efficient response? Have a nice day*** ***?

We have deactivated *** ***'s profile and removed her from our listsThere may be some residual emails which she receives as they were already scheduled for transmission and could not be deletedThere may also be emails sent from our partners, and it may take time to get those updated** *** may scroll down to the bottom of any email she receives, select UNSUBSCRIBE or MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION and follow the instructions to ensure that all NAPW related emails cease.Any searches of *** *** will bring up a page that states NO RESULTS FOUND; it will take some time for her NAPW link to disappear from the search enginesShe may view the policies on the help pages of each search engine to determine if any steps may be taken to expedite this as it is beyond our control

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID#? ***, and have determined that my complaint has
NOT been resolved because:
I have already received two partial refunds ($ and $ payments), I am still waiting for the pending amount ($ 261.50) to be credited in my banking accountThe business sent an email stating that they will do the full reimbursement so now I am waiting to receive that pending amount
Sincerely,
*** ***
?
?

This event happened almost a year agoWe left several messages last September and October for *** *** to contact us to resolve this issue and she never replied to usHer membership has expired and nothing has been billed to her card

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.? I just want to clarify the "business" response.1.? Said business did not contact me the following Monday, I contacted them directly after having left several messages.2.? I was not angered nor "less than polite"; however, after being asked different times in different ways why I was cancelling, one less than seasoned sales retention associate may feel that a stern no is "less than polite"As far as not paying attention to the availability of the profile, I received an email withing an hour of my initial phone call stating my profile was ready to be updated.3.? The statement "refusing to accept that she bore any responsibility for not researching the NAPW before joining because she wanted something for nothing"? Obviously, I didn't want "something" for nothing, because I gave my credit card.? However, they are correct in saying that I may not have thoroughly researched the organization, initially since they had a only at this time offerHOWEVER, buyers remorse and an uncomfortable feeling made me research moments laterAfter researching, this organization has less than stellar reviews on more than different websites.? All negative reviews cannot be wrong, not to mention the probability that countless others did not post reviews as many others have
Sincerely,
*** ***
?

[redacted] authorized her renewal at the time of her initial enrollment. We also sent a reminder of her upcoming renewal via [redacted] at the end of October 2015. She did not contact us until two weeks after her membership renewed, and our preliminary investigation has confirmed that this...

charge was indeed authorized and not fraudulent as she claims.We have attempted several times to reach out to [redacted] to work on a resolution, but she has not returned our calls. We are further reviewing her accounts and all correspondence between  to determine if [redacted]'s claims meet the criteria for a full refund. We invite her to contact us directly to discuss a  resolution.

Ms deBrito is incorrect. She was billed WITH AUTHORIZATION, for her initial membership fee of $489.00 on December **, 2014. She was also advised of and approved of the Profile set up fee of $99.00, which was billed on December **, 2014.We billed [redacted]'s renewal fee of $489.00 on December *, 2015, which we refunded. There were no other charges billed to her card. [redacted] is entitled to her own opinion, but not her own facts.  This issue is resolved.  We cannot refund fees which were billed over a year ago and which were authorized.

"">we cannot find this person in our databases from the name, telephone number or email addressWe will gladly comply with her request to remove her information once we know who she is in our database
[redacted]

We apologize to [redacted] for this incident. Upon further investigation, we discovered that her membership renewal had indeed been authorized at the time of her enrollment. However, when she upgraded to a VIP membership, the renewal rate was changed. Subsequently, we converted to a new system, and...

that system did not reflect the correct rate for her membership renewal. We have refunded her fee for this year - this should post to her account within two to ten business days, depending on the policies of her card issuer.  We have also extended her membership through August 2018, when it is set to expired. We do hope that she chooses to participate in membership - we have added many new features and benefits since her initial enrollment. We invite her to contact us at ###-###-####  to set up an appointment to review these resources.

Revdex.com:At this time, I have not been contacted by National Association of Professional Women regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

We are sorry that[redacted] experience with the NAPW has been less than ideal – we do striveto provide our applicants with resources and benefits to enhance and improvetheir lives, both personal and professional.  We encourage and expect ourmembers to avail themselves of those benefits and to...

contact us with anyquestions or problems regarding their memberships. Members who do take the timeto explore and take advantage of the myriad resources available will findtremendous value in being a member of the NAPW. Invitations to apply formembership are sent to select professional women who are referred to us throughprofessional associations, industry and charity events, subscriptions toprofessional publications and services and other members.  Invitees are free to respond with anapplication or not – we do not make cold calls to potential members.  As our material states, there is no fee to applyfor membership. However, a password is required to access benefits likeseminars, local chapter meetings, other events and resources, which is issuedwhen an applicant purchases a membership. We assume that anyone who submits an application for membership hasexplored the NAPW to see what we are about and they are ready to make adecision about joining the organization. With thousands of applicants tointerview and consider, we do require that applicants make their decisions atthe time of the interview. We prefer to allocate our resources to providingbetter benefits and services to our members. Applicants are then required togo through an initial enrollment interview.  Applicants for membership areentitled to be treated with utmost respect and empathy, and every person on theNAPW team is trained to work with applicants to explain the benefits and costsassociated with membership and to resolve any issues; however, there areprotocols and policies which must be followed.  These policies are companywideand all of our team members are required to follow them. [redacted] completed an application for membership in NAPW.  On September **, 2015, NAPW contacted her andconducted its initial enrollment interview. During this telephone call our representative explained the annual costsand benefits associated with membership. One of the purposes of these enrollmentinterviews is to determine what it is the applicant hopes to gain from hermembership. Our most comprehensive levels of membership, which include myriadbenefits like unlimited live seminars and webinars, discounts on courses forcontinuing education requirements, networking, conferences, discounts and otherresources, are offered to each applicant and those who do wish to access thesethings can choose to purchase that package. However, some applicants are notinterested in the educational benefits – which are the most costly component ofmembership. Some of them are at different stages of life and have budgetaryconcerns. We work with these applicants to find a level of membership whichprovides them access to the resources they seek, while remaining within theirbudgets.  Applicantswho choose not to join as paid members are provided with an Initial Membership,which allows them to have a listing on our website, attend a local meeting,undergo a resumé review and analysis and receipt of our monthly newsletter. Itis our hope that by getting a chance to experience some of the benefits, theywill opt for full membership in the future.  BecauseNAPW is a membership-based networking organization, the primary benefits at alllevels are found through our membership portal (www.napw.com) as well as through ourface-to-face networking at our over 300 Local Chapters nationwide.  Additionally, through our online portal,members are able to access ancillary benefits provided by our businesspartners.   [redacted] was also advised that it might take 24 to 48 businesshours for her profile to be available on our website. She joined on aFriday.   Our business hours are between9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday ET, so if she called during theweekend, of course she would not reach anyone. Our phone greeting makes thisclear. [redacted] was contacted on Monday, and as she was less thanpolite, refusing to accept that she bore any responsibility for not researchingthe NAPW before joining because she wanted something for nothing, that she didnot pay attention to the information which was provided to her regarding theavailability of her profile and that she was angry because we were not availableoutside of business hours. We take the claim that a member was "scammed" or that acharge was unauthorized very seriously.   We are also deeplyangered by the claims that NAPW takes advantage of women. NAPW provides an amazing value for themembership fee.  Included in ALL memberships levels are webinars,seminars, discounts, perks, online networking access and in-person chapteraffiliation as well as a myriad of other benefits.  Our organization isgrowing, expanding and moving forward through numerous initiatives, strategicalliances and corporate affiliations; offering members additional avenues toASPIRE, ACHIEVE and CONNECT.   Every member of NAPW's management team works diligently todeliver maximum value to our members, and any claim that someone was "scammed"is demonstrably false.  We currently have almost a half-millionsatisfied members, all of whom are free to use our online networkingportal, which gives our members more connectivity options and farmore ability to promote themselves than other networking sites.  We haveover 150 local chapters across America, in which tens of thousands of ourmembers get together to take their online experience into the real world andcreate incredible connections with other professional women. These localchapters are constantly implementing new ways for the local members tointeract.  We encourage of our members tojoin all of the chapters in their area - this gives them more opportunities toattend events that fit their busy schedules and widens the circle of localwomen with whom to network. Additionally, we are constantly providing and working toupgrade the secondary benefits such as free or discounted continuingeducation through leading providers like Lorman Education and NationalSeminars Group; shopping and other discounts through a number of partnerships,including exclusive sponsors like Lenovo, one of the world's largest computersuppliers; and interesting topical content provided through our social mediaand other outlets.  Again, our entire team is working hard every singleday to build these partnerships, identify and create content, and make greaterbenefits available to our members.  We were rated within the top 100 Best Websites for Women in Forbes2013. Our corporate partners include prestigious and well-known brands like[redacted], and [redacted].  Internationally prominent women, like [redacted] and [redacted] have been featured speakers at ourconferences – each sharing her journey in building her reputation as aprominent business figure.  Star J[redacted] isour President and National Spokeswoman. These are women to whom integritymatters and they would have no part of the NAPW if we were any kind of scam. Quite frankly, there are negative comments on any and everything.Iconic brands such as [redacted] [redacted] – even localrestaurants – receive complaints and criticism from customers who were nothappy with a product or service. However, despite those opinions, millions ofus continue to shop at [redacted], buy [redacted] cars and purchase [redacted] productsagain and again. As professionals, if we all believed everything we see on theInternet was true, rather than informing ourselves and making our ownjudgments, we would all view the business world very negatively.   [redacted] fee was refunded to her as she changed her mind and contactedus within three days of becoming a member.  We consider this issue to be resolved.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I do not wish to be associated with this organization in anyway. An additional year extension is not requested by me or accepted. I prefer to have my account closed and all future correpondenced ceased immediately. The services are excessive to my needs and the constant email is harassment. Close my account and put me on a do not call or email list. Thank you.In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

This matter was resolved directly with [redacted] on February **, 2017.

We apologize for the error in spelling [redacted]'s name, but we do investigate every single claim and follow parameters and protocols to resolve them. We regret that [redacted] is unhappy with th resolution we offered, but we have clearly demonstrated that we made every effort to engage her and advise her of her benefits, the fact that her membership was set up to renew and how to contact us since the start of her membership. She chose to not take advantage of this, and we have refunded her the maximum amount of her renewal fee, based on the facts of her case, all of which we presented in our original response. WE consider this matter to be resolved.

This has been resolved. The member has been fully refunded and her information archived in our database for record-keeping purposes only.

Our initial investigation of this claim indicates that we received one call  from [redacted], on December *, 2015, after her membership renewed. She authorized the renewal during her enrollment interview. We sent her a reminder as a courtesy at the end of October via [redacted] Service.We did...

speak to [redacted] on December *, 2015, explained why her card was charged and issued a partial refund.  We are undergoing further reviews of all correspondence between NAPW and [redacted] and if her claim meets the criteria for a complete refund, it will be issued. If not we will advise her of the outcome within ten business days.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
"">
[Your Answer Here]
This check was not a full refund like it was supposed to be
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
[redacted]