National Association of Professional Women

Review: An NAPW representative called me at home telling me that I had been nominated for a membership to the organization. After answering her questions about the businesses and non-profits I was involved in, she said I was approved for membership and went on to tell me about the fees. I asked if I could have time to think about it, and she insisted that payment had to be completed now as my invitation to become a member was only valid for a limited time. She gave a presentation which still left me unsure of membership advantages. She then asked for my credit card information to get the membership started. I didn't want to give her my card information, however after several minutes I was talked into purchasing the membership.

The next day I did extensive research on NAPW and found that multiple complaints had been filed against the organization concerning unethical business practices. I also went to the web site and discovered that the NAPW offered fewer services at a much higher price than other professional organizations I belong to. I immediately made an attempt to cancel my membership via their billing and membership departments. Oddly enough, I sent the first email cancellation request January **, 2014, but received an out of office reply from the billing department stating “Due to the inclement weather, our offices are closed. We do expect to reopen on Monday, January *, 2014”. Rather than cancelling my membership, I got a call back from both departments. I missed both calls, and got their voice mail when I called back. I haven’t received any more calls from the NAPW since leaving a message. I contacted my bank and blocked payment that same day and the bank has been trying to resolve the issue with no success to date.

I am unable to log into the NAPW web site without agreeing to their terms of service (which I refuse to do), so I cannot check my account settings to see if I can cancel through the website. Because of this, I cannot access any of the services the NAPW claims to provide.

I will not recommend this organization to others due to their business conduct and sales tactics, and I will also inform others in my professional organizations and social networks of the NAPW’s deceptive practices.Desired Settlement: Because of the NAPW’s high-pressure sales tactics and unwillingness to accommodate my request to cancel my membership, I would like the Revdex.com to investigate and, if possible, help to get this matter resolved. I would like a refund of any credit card payments made to NAPW and I would like my membership cancelled immediately. In addition, I would like confirmation from the NAPW via email stating that my membership has been cancelled and my credit card refunded.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by National Association of Professional Women regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

I have asked the organization multiple times to cancel my membership and refund my money, but they refuse to comply. They claim that they've tried to call me, but I cannot confirm this as I haven't received any voice mails. I have received multiple calls from a number that doesn't list the caller, but they never leave a message.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

- MEMBER FULLY REFUNDED either through card or by check

Review: I am very dissatisfied with membership in the National Association of Professional Women. I wrote to them (e-mail and USPS) for a full refund of all the charges that they have made to my credit card. The email is copied here below

"Please see attached letter which is also being sent by the Postal Service.

In summary, I am dissatisfied and displeased with membership in NAPW and am withdrawing from membership today.

I want all charges made to my Chase credit card (…[redacted]) during this brief membership be refunded by NAPW to that card immediately. The charges to this credit card were made on the dates and for the amounts detailed here:

November **, 2013 $ 789.00

November [redacted] 2013 99.00

January **, 2014 495.00

February **, 2014 249.00

TOTAL $ 1632.00"

As of this date, only the $249 amount was refunded to my credit card.

My letter contained the following statements:

I have been unemployed since November 2013. At that time I saw an advertisement for NAPW and inquired about the Association. Membership has been a great disappointment. The initial contact regaled me with all the benefits of membership, then asked for “nine ninety-nine” (which could be heard as $9.99 but clearly was $999.00). The caller was very persistent despite my response that I could not afford this because of my recent unemployment. Eventually she offered a lower membership price (seven ninety-five) and said I could put it on a charge card and “pay over time”. Another charge was made on November ** “to cover paperwork costs.”

The only contact continued to be telephone calls to badger me for more money… and I do mean BADGER. I have never received notification of newsletters from national or from my regional office. In fact, the only information from the regional office was that the regional meeting was on November **, 2013, the evening before Thanksgiving which shows very poor planning. I have never received any support or outreach or invitations to network until the recent email regarding the NAPW National Network Conference scheduled to April.

Overall, this experience has been a great disappointment which has the feel of a scam. Please refund the monies that were charged to my credit card immediately.Desired Settlement: I insist that the NAPW refund the balance of the charges that they made to my credit card in the amount of $1,383.00. (NAPW has the card number).

I would like them to be sanctioned for their high pressure tactics and badgering.

Also I expect that they will be more transparent, that is, they would never give me the name of any contact person to whom I could address my complaints.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by National Association of Professional Women regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

MEMBER FULLY REFUNDED - PARTLY TO HER CREDIT CARD AND THE BALANCE BY CHECK

Consumer

Response:

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]

Today is the sixth day after receiving the response from NAPW via your email. My credit card has not yet been credited nor have I received the balance by check as stated in NAPW response. Because of the weekend, I will continue to check my credit account and mail for the refund for two more days before I renew this complaint.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Check number [redacted] was sent to you this week. Please allow seven

business days for delivery.

Review: The NAPW is a scam. They target business women, many who are in the process of starting businesses and eager to network (thus vulnerable) and pressure them into purchasing a membership that is falsely represented. They are robotic sales people who prey on vulnerable women and pressure them into purchasing a membership. When I explored what the membership entailed and I tried to ask for a refund, they just kept repeating that I have until April 2015 to utilize their services. What they did not understand is that I do not want to utilize their services as it is not the right avenue for me at this point. Their purpose is to make money off of women - not promote women success. The NAPW is a complete hoax and it is infuriating that they can so easily steal from woman after woman by falsely representing their organization.

After speaking to Linda in the billing department - and engaging in an infuriating conversation where she had rehearsed responses that were not in response to my questions or complaints - she decided to refund me an arbitrary amount of 539.00 plus 99.00 for the set up fee. When I asked how she came to this number, she said she is giving me a "non-profit" price and I can still utilize the membership until April. Again, she did not understand that I do not want the membership. The difference I am left with is 250.00 -- I am paying this amount of a membership that I am not using.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded the 250.00. From their reviews online, they are scamming woman after woman.

Business

Response:

We are sorry that

[redacted]’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 memberships.

Our members are entitled to be

treated with utmost respect and empathy, and every person on the NAPW team is

trained to work with our members to resolve any issues; however, there are

protocols and policies which must be followed. These policies are companywide

and all of our team members are required to follow them.

completed an application for membership in NAPW. On April **, 2014, NAPW contacted her and

conducted its initial enrollment interview.

During this telephone call our representative explained the annual costs

and benefits associated with this level of membership, and that all membership

enrollments are final. Because NAPW is a

membership-based networking organization, the primary benefits at all levels

are found through our membership portal ([redacted]) as

well as through our face-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 business

partners. Because NAPW incurs costs upon

enrollment with those partners, we maintain a final sale policy. Please be aware that membership alone

includes no tangible product to be shipped to the member.

Our

representative explained that [redacted] would receive an email (within 24

hours) containing login information for our members’ portal through which she is

able access all of the online benefits and enroll in Local Chapters. Our representative further explained that [redacted] should review our Terms & Conditions. Subsequent to logging in but prior to

accessing her benefits, she was required to review and accept those Terms &

Conditions. Therein, [redacted] was

provided with the details of our final sale policy, along with all other

policies governing her relationship with NAPW.

NAPW’s Terms & Conditions are available at [redacted]. Within 10 days of enrollment, NAPW physically

mailed a welcome package to the member containing a paid statement, a

membership card and a welcome letter. [redacted] did change her login

information, which must be done by accessing the profile, thereby accepting the

terms and conditions.

NAPW

employs a comprehensive call recording and auditing function. Our staff reviews the recording of each

completed interview for multiple compliance points, including that the

representative explained the automatic renewal process as described above. As

part of our investigation into this case, we reviewed that call again and [redacted]

was made completely aware of these points at the time. This interview is

available for review if required.

Throughout

the year, NAPW made available to [redacted] 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. See [redacted]. 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.

[redacted] did contact us on June **, 2014,

almost two months after becoming a member. Our membership support

representative did explain to her all of the benefits which are available to

her, and offered to work with her on the fees and to have one of our

specialists contact her to determine how best to maximize her benefits. We have

already purchased several annual subscriptions for services which are part of

her member benefits, which are not refundable to us, so a full refund is not

possible.

As we were past the sixty day deadline for

issuing credits directly to the card billed, a check was requested to refund

[redacted] as agreed. Details on this

check and when it was mailed will be sent to [redacted] once we have received

a reply from our request for that information from our accounting department.

We take the claim that a member was "scammed" or

that a charge was unauthorized very seriously. NAPW provides an amazing value for the

membership fee. Included in ALL memberships levels are webinars,

seminars, discounts, perks, online networking access and in-person chapter

affiliation as well as a myriad of other benefits. Our organization is

growing, expanding and moving forward through numerous initiatives, strategic

alliances and corporate affiliations; offering members additional avenues to

ASPIRE, ACHIEVE and CONNECT.

Every member of NAPW's management team works diligently to

deliver maximum value to our members, and any claim that someone was

"scammed" is demonstrably false. We currently have almost

a half-million satisfied members, all of whom are free to use our online

networking portal, which gives our members more connectivity options

and far more ability to promote themselves than other networking sites.

We have over 300 local chapters across America, in which tens of thousands of

our members get together to take their online experience into the real world

and create incredible connections with other professional women. These local

chapters are constantly implementing new ways for the local members to

interact. We encourage of our members to

join all of the chapters in their area - this gives them more opportunities to

attend events that fit their busy schedules and widens the circle of local

women with whom to network.

Moreover, we host an annual National Networking Conference

where almost two thousand members where members from all over the country enjoy

an unforgettable day of networking, panel discussions, workshops and

presentations from extraordinary women like [redacted]. Click here for more information.

Additionally, we are constantly providing and working to

upgrade the secondary benefits such as free or discounted continuing

education through leading providers like [redacted] and [redacted]; shopping and other discounts through a number of partnerships,

including exclusive sponsors like [redacted], one of the world's largest computer

suppliers; and interesting topical content provided through our social media

and other outlets. Again, our entire team is working hard every single

day to build these partnerships, identify and create content, and make greater

benefits available to our members.

I clicked on the advertisement for NAPW on [redacted] and I applied to this group, I thought they would evaluate my accomplishments in order to accept my application to become a member. When they called me they did asked many questions and recorded all my accomplishments as a professional business owner. Then they subtlety added plaques and perks that mounted to over $1500 for a simple "preferred membership" I refused to most of it and what was left was still $1000. So I felt for it and paid, soon after I got emails requesting I fill out a questionnaire because I was going to be featured as a new member in their new letter (6 months later I never got the newsletter or my name anywhere near a feature selection). I also got access to virtual training, nothing I saw in the affiliate website they promote as NAPW was of interest to me. Then I got emails from my chapter group that invited me to conference calls in order to network with other women in my area, to my surprised when I signed up for the call I was charged, $15 to listen in for 1 hour. I thought it was petty that after all I had paid I still hadn't seen any benefit. I reported that to someone in sales and I requested to have my membership revoked, the lady refunded me most of my money and allowed me to stay for the year, soon after this happened I get another call from another sales person stating that I their higher up people selected a few members to become VIPs and I was luckily selected for the modest amount of $1200 to become a VIP. They review perks after perks and all I remember was being able to attend big conferences for free so I got my VIP membership reduced to $400. I went to sign up for the NYC summit and realized the most fun part where you meet Star Jones and participate in the luncheon is not free, all that is free is me roaming around for 2 hours listening to other members speak and buying stuff the association sells in the main hall. Now to make things worst I get a call to submit a picture for the book of VIPs they are printing and the lady is selling me my books for $450. I said I just want one book, I think I should be entitled to at least one book in which I appeared, she said $250 and then I said, no, no I should get one as courtesy and then she hanged up on me. Mow I am contacting the head quarters in order to remove myself from anything concerning this association, it is a scam, you basically have to buy your way into recognition, I have 2 glass plaques with my name on it that reads " for an outstanding and professional woman" they know nothing about me, I found out I paid for those plaques, $100 something each.

Review: To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to request a prompt refund of the $199.00 charged to my credit card by the "National Association of Professional Women." [redacted], a National Association of Professional Women representative, called me out of the blue on my cellphone and launched into a high pressure sale of membership. When I declined the $800 membership as well as the $500 one, she offered an "introductory" membership to NAPW for $199. From her description, it sounded like something I might be interested in. However, when I logged into the napw.com website after my discussion with [redacted], and because I am a full-time stay-at-home mother, membership to NAPW is not something that is right for me at all. I volunteer time to a community non-profit and am President of that non-profit, but it is unpaid and volunteer, servicing the needs of my immediate neighborhood. The whole NAPW pressure sell, and to people who don't need their service at such an expensive rate is an unethical business model.

Today, $99.00 was charged to my card by NAPW. I called my credit card, Captial One, and [redacted] with Capital One promptly contacted [redacted] at NAPW. [redacted] removed the $99 fee, explaining that [redacted] should have told me about this when she discussed membership, but due to "human error" she may have missed it. [redacted], like [redacted], appeared to be reading from a script. Again, I was being "sold" services I do not need, with high pressure, as [redacted] launched into an NAPW spiel on the phone and afterward the Capital One rep, [redacted], remarked what a hard sell NAPW was giving.

I realize that I accepted the terms of the membership when I "purchased" membership. However, I strongly feel that I was sold something that I do not need, under pressure, and without any trial period. [redacted] caught me when I was making dinner for my kids, scrambling at the end of the day, and I wanted to end my conversation with her. I was hopeful that I'd be able to cancel the membership, but NAPW has not been receptive to this as of yet. I am asking NAPW to kindly make an exception, as $199 is a lot of money to someone like me, who does not have an income and who cannot utilize their services. I spent time on their website and it's not something that I will use at all. I have called NAPW today and left a voicemail as well as emailed them these details to please consider refunding my membership as soon as possible. Their sales practices are predatory and misleading.

I have called their 888 numbers twice today, including the one that said it would provide immediate assistance, and reached voicemail boxes. I left a message and have not had any response.

I look forward to hearing from them as soon as possible, by either email or phone, with confirmation of my refund. Thank you Revdex.com for providing your service. I hope other women will be able to avoid this scam.

Thank you,

NAPW Member ID: [redacted]Desired Settlement: I'd like a full refund to my credit card, $199, that posted to my credit card on 11/**, and also removal of the $99 fee that posted on 11/**, as it is still showing. Thank you.

Business

Response:

To begin, some context is in order. [redacted] suggests that she was called "out of the blue." This is inaccurate. NAPW does not cold call consumers. Rather, NAPW only calls consumers who have taken the time to complete a questionnaire providing their contact information and expressing interest in membership. NAPW called [redacted] after she did so.

Review: I signed up for NAPW two years ago. I received a call from a very friendly representative who interviewed me for about 15-20 minutes about what I was looking for in my career and my accomplishments. They were incredibly complimentary. I unfortunately was having a gullible moment and signed up for a preferred membership for $500. I regretted it as I researched the organization afterwards and saw that it was not beneficial and others had been taken advantage of too in a similar situation. As I am going through the charges on my credit card statement earlier today, I see that there is a charge for $789 from NAPW. I was never notified about this charge or gave them authorization to charge my credit card. I hadn't even been on their website since maybe a month or two after joining because I found that their offerings were limited and not helpful. Additionally, the card they use recently had a new expiration date, and I was never asked to provide the updated date, so how are they able to charge my card. I did call them when I saw this and after having to try 5 different extensions I was finally able to get someone on the phone. She said I had been emailed new terms and conditions that stated this would be my new membership fee, however I went through all my emails, included deleted and spam and saw no such email. she said the best they could do was refund $580, so I said fine. She gave me a confirmation # and said I would receive a confirmation email immediately, but that was 3 hours ago and I have received nothing from them even though she confirmed my email address on the phone. I am concerned that I won't even get that money back. Additionally, she said she would make sure I was no longer in automatically renewal, however I never agreed to be automatically renewed in the first place. She gave me a user name and password for the website, and I did sign in as I wanted to make sure I was not signed up for automatic renewals and in order to do this I had to agree to terms and conditions, which I mistakenly checked, as I once again allowed myself to be too trusting. I have never been in a situation like this before. It is really distressing that an organization that is promoting a place for professional women to network with one another is trying to use these underhanded techniques to get your money.This is an inappropriate and negligent use of the credit card information I gave them two years ago for one transaction. If I had been warned this charge was coming I could have made sure to cancel the membership in advance but I wasn't even told. Please help.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the entire $789 of the membership fee.

Business

Response:

This member has been partially refunded, in the amount of $560 on 1/**/14. Due to the age of her account, it was not possible to credit her credit card, but a check requested for the remainder has been submitted in the amount of $199. This check should be issued within the next 7-10 days and will be sent directly to the member's address on file? (Queens Blvd. / Woodside, NY).

Consumer

Response:

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,

Review: Renewal Process for Membership: I started a membership with NAPW in 05/2013. I was unaware that I was setup for automatic renewal until which time a saw the charge in my bank account, 05/**/2014. I sent serveral emails requesting that I do not want to renew my membership and would like a credit bank into my bank account. ALso that my credit card number not be retained by this company.

Talking with representative, I was informed that the renewal policy was explained at the time I intially enrolled and they had sent several emails ( think they go to my junk folder) and a postcard to my home, I did not respond thus they auto renewed my membership.

I thought I responded timely when I saw the charge and requested to have my membership ened and money reimbursed the renewal amount deducted.

Company representative said they had already taken the time to setup me up for the new year and would only be willing to refund have of the renewal fee.Desired Settlement: I want a full refund and end date my membership.

Business

Response:

The balance of the renewal fee was refunded. Transaction #[redacted].

Consumer

Response:

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 the balance of the refund amount has not been posted to my account as of today 05/**/2014. Still owing $394.50

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

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,

Review: The funds that they have taken without my authorization or permission and without proper notice to me involve my rent money and utility bills. These pilfered funds will cause me to be evicted and homeless and have my utilities turned off before then and I am on disability at this time due to health issues regarding [redacted] and recent surgery and I am also scheduled to go back for a post-op surgery. I cannot be rendered homeless and in the streets with my illnesses and I will have to file a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against them for damages to my health and mental state, which I prefer not to have to do if they will refund me the entire $199.00 that they stole from my checking account.Desired Settlement: They should refund the entire $199 before my rent is due on June 3 in order to avoid my being rendered homeless and out on the streets due to this theft and unauthorized charge to my account that is my disability payments and the only money I have.

I do not even have food money, so I would never have told them to go in an auto-renew or debit my account as I do not do that at any time ever and my account history will show that.

I never do {auto-renewals} for any reason and they never even notified me that they were going to do this, nor was it an authorized charge. I also want them never ever to contact me again under any circumstances whatsoever.

This will cause me to be rendered homeless and put me back in the hospital and I will hold them liable. I need that $199 back today because I have to pay my rent. It is due on the FIRST of every month and I need that money back immediately and for them to never contact me again for any reason whatsoever. I am not a personal ATM machine for rich people.

Business

Response:

Your credit card was refunded for $199.00 on 6/*/2014.

Transaction ID#

[redacted] & [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

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.

My card was refunded for $149 and another $50 for the total amount stolen of $199.00.

I want no further contact from this business or company or any of their affiliates or other organizations whatsoever.

They need to delete my name and email from their database, and their access to my bank account as well; and cease and desist all contact from now and forevermore.

Thank you for your help, Revdex.com!

Sincerely,

Review: I signed up for NAPW membership in April 2012 for an initial membership fee of $489.00. I was mislead to believe that the annual renewal rate was $99.00 a year. I have the paperwork sent to me welcoming me to NAPW that state "Auto Renewal Discounts allow members to renew at a special rate of only $99 on their one year anniversary". Just dawned on me I have an NAPW charge on 4/**/2013 for $199. $100 over the agreed upon renewal charge. This year they automatically charged my credit card $789. To their "credit", they did send along a couple of EMail messages. Only one (sent a week before the charges showed up on my credit card) stated the renewal was $789. I didn't open the EMail (I had planned to renew) and I didn't think twice about it until I found the $789 charged to my credit card. Their policy states you need to contact them at least 30 days in advance to cancel your auto renewal. Unfortunately they did not notify me of the spike in costs until March [redacted]......one week before they were going to charge my credit card. I notified Chase immediately to dispute the charge. I will continue to dispute the charge through Chase by providing them the EMail trail leading up to these unauthorized charges.Desired Settlement: NAPW needs to refund my credit card for the $100 they overcharged me in 2013 and the $789 they were unauthorized to charge me in 2014. I also plan to file a report with the Attorney General's office to investigate the ongoing deceiving business practices (that border on being illegal) of NAPW.

Business

Response:

As a courtesy, this member will be refunded via check as the transaction took place over sixty days ago and cannot be credited back to her card. We have been in contact with her to go over her complaint. The check will be delivered within ten business days.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], Once the check for $889.00 has been received, I'll find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I saw an ad on [redacted] for the National Association of Professional Women - Being an active member in a global company and interested in making a difference in the world of business for women, I thought that this opportunity would be great! I received a "acceptance" letter in the mail and proceeded to contact the organization - Mind you, on the letter it clearly states that "There is no cost or obligation to be included." A few days later, I received a phone call for an interview - callers name was [redacted] - She really knew how to make a woman, especially a woman in business, feel good about herself. I talked through about a 15 min interview where she wasn't even paying attention and had to bring her back from her side conversation multiple times. She then went on an obviously scripted note about how successful I am and that this organization can help be out tremendously. We then talked about a fee of $50 or $99 to set up a professional website - sure no problem. Then she went on to talk about membership fees...which was $789 for preferred or $995 for Elite. Sure, after you have my credit card information, go right ahead!! I don't know how many times I asked her about the other membership options, like the free one! She would not budge one bit. Turns out that there is a basic membership, a new college graduate membership (WHICH I AM!), and a retiree membership - no, she refused to tell me about any of these, even after I asked multiple times. All she said was, "well I usually start new members out on the preferred." I was so fed up, and what could I do, she already had my credit card information. The same day I called customer service and stated that I didn't want to be a part of this organization, I formally didn't agree to anything, and that I wanted a credit on my card. They wouldn't take no for an answer - oh, but they "credited" me $350 - which I have yet to see. I went home and thought about it - I called my credit card company and was hoping to put a stop to the transaction - however you need to wait until it has been posted. The next day I called the NAPW again, trying to get out of this. This woman - [redacted], was very nice, but again was saying everything that I thought I wanted to hear. She was going to again, "credit" my account so that the whole thing would cost $99 dollars. So okay, I thought maybe I could do this. However, I do not want to be a part of an organization who scams and manipulates their "members" into getting hundreds of dollars from them - even after I explained that I simply can't afford this - I'm fresh out of college and I have loans to pay, not an extra $800 to give to Star Jones! I have contacted my credit card company and we have disputed the charge. But I would hate to have anyone be manipulated into this "professional" organization.Desired Settlement: To be Credited the $789 that has now posted to my credit card.

Business

Response:

We are sorry that[redacted]’s experience with the NAPWhas been less than ideal – we do strive to provide our applicants withresources and benefits to enhance and improve their lives, both personal andprofessional. We encourage and expect our members to avail themselves ofthose benefits and to contact us with any questions or problems regarding theirmemberships. Members who do take the time to explore and take advantage of themyriad resources available will find tremendous value in being a member of theNAPW. 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 formembership in NAPW. On February *, 2015,NAPW contacted her and conducted its initial enrollment interview. During this telephone call our representativeexplained the annual costs and benefits associated with membership. One of thepurposes of these enrollment interviews is to determine what it is theapplicant hopes to gain from her membership. Our most comprehensive levels ofmembership, which include myriad benefits like unlimited live seminars andwebinars, discounts on courses for continuing education requirements,networking, conferences, discounts and other resources, are offered to each applicantand those who do wish to access these things can choose to purchase thatpackage. However, some applicants are not interested in the educationalbenefits – which are the most costly component of membership. Some of them areat different stages of life and have budgetary concerns. We work with theseapplicants to find a level of membership which provides them access to theresources they seek, while remaining within their budgets. 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, they willopt for full membership in the future. BecauseNAPW is a membership-based networking organization, the primary benefits at alllevels are found through our membership portal ([redacted]) 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. As [redacted] contacted us immediately after enrolling and themembership options were not explained as clearly as they could have been, afull refund was issues to her account. We have also addressed the issue withthe representative with whom she spoke so that she will be more accommodatingwith information she provides during enrollment interviews. [redacted]’s informationhas been removed from our active database.

Review: Received a high pressured phone call about my "acceptance" into this organization. As a newly listed woman business owner, I was duped. There is an offer for free membership. They use high pressure sales tactics offering a membership at any price they can get someone to pay. Their membership fees are not stated anywhere, nor is there any clear statement of what one gets for any membership fee. I have received no goods or services from this organization and want a full refund.

Was charged $469 for membership-which should have been free, I immediately called them back and complained-was told they have a "Final Sale" clause, but would make an exception.

and issue me $239 credit. Net charge of $250 from this highly deceptive organization for a useless (free) membership.

I have received nothing from this organization and want a full refund and a clear statement in writing that my credit card will not be charged for automatic renewal. This organization has no services of any value for free or any amount of moneyDesired Settlement: $250 REFUND to my [redacted] Account which they have on file or a $250 REFUND CHECK from NAPW.

A Letter stating there will be no automatic renewal of this bogus membership.

Business

Response:

We are sorry that[redacted]’s experience with the NAPW has been less than ideal – we do striveto provide our members with resources and benefits to enhance and improve theirlives, 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. Our members are entitled to betreated with utmost respect and empathy, and every person on the NAPW team istrained to work with our members 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. As our material states, there is no fee to applyfor membership. However, a password is required to access benefits like seminars,local chapter meetings, other events and resources. This is issued when anapplicant purchases a membership. Weassume that anyone who submits an application for membership has explored theNAPW to see what we are about and they are ready to make a decision aboutjoining the organization. With thousandsof applicants to interview and consider, we do require that applicants maketheir decisions at the time of the interview. We prefer to allocate ourresources to providing better benefits and services to our members. Applicants are then required to go through aninitial enrollment interview, during which they are informed that we require animmediate decision. If the applicantdoes not wish to make a commitment at that time, we provide her with an InitialMembership, which is free and allows them to have a listing on our website,attend a local meeting, undergo a resumé review and analysis and receipt of ourmonthly newsletter. It is our hope that by getting a chance to experience someof the benefits, they will opt for full membership in the future. OnOctober *, 2014, NAPW contacted her and conducted its initial enrollmentinterview. During this telephone callour representative explained the annual costs and benefits associated with thislevel of membership. One of the purposes of these enrollment interviews is todetermine what it is the applicant hopes to gain from her membership. Our mostcomprehensive levels of membership, which include myriad benefits likeunlimited live seminars and webinars, discounts on courses for continuingeducation requirements, networking, conferences, discounts and other resources,are offered to each applicant and those who do wish to access these things canchoose to purchase that package. However, some applicants are not interested inthe educational benefits – which are the most costly component of membership.Some of them are at different stages of life and have budgetary concerns. Wework with these applicants to find a level of membership which provides themaccess to the resources they seek, while remaining within their budgets. She wasalso advised that all membership enrollments are final. Because NAPW is a membership-based networkingorganization, the primary benefits at all levels are found through ourmembership portal (www.napw.com) aswell as through our face-to-face networking at our over 300 Local Chaptersnationwide. Additionally, through ouronline portal, members are able to access ancillary benefits provided by ourbusiness partners. Because NAPW incurscosts upon enrollment with those partners, we maintain a final salepolicy. Please be aware that membershipalone includes no tangible product to be shipped to the member. Ourrepresentative explained that [redacted] would receive an email (within 24hours) containing login information for our members’ portal through which she isable access all of the online benefits and enroll in Local Chapters. Our representative further explained that [redacted] should review our Terms & Conditions. Subsequent to logging in but prior toaccessing her benefits, she was required to review and accept those Terms &Conditions. Therein, [redacted] wasprovided with the details of our final sale policy, along with all otherpolicies governing her relationship with NAPW. NAPW’s Terms & Conditions are available at http://www.napw.com/Terms-Conditions.cfm. Within 10 days of enrollment, NAPW physicallymailed a welcome package to the member containing a paid statement, amembership card and a welcome letter. [redacted] did contact us on October *, 2014and said that she wanted only a basic membership. However, our representativedid explain to her that with the basic membership, her benefits were limited andwe worked out a resolution. As per her conversation with our membershipservices representative, we have issued a credit to [redacted]’s account andwe have also deactivated the automatic renewal function of hermembership, so that it will not renew. We have also left all of her membership benefits intact. We take the claim that a member was "scammed" or we area bogus organization veryseriously. We are also deeply angered by the claims that NAPWtakes advantage of women. NAPWprovides an amazing value for the membership fee. Included in ALLmemberships levels are webinars, seminars, discounts, perks, online networkingaccess and in-person chapter affiliation as well as a myriad of other benefits. Our organization is growing, expanding and moving forward throughnumerous initiatives, strategic alliances and corporate affiliations; offeringmembers additional avenues to ASPIRE, 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 almosta half-million satisfied members, all of whom are free to use our onlinenetworking portal, which gives our members more connectivity optionsand far more ability to promote themselves than other networking sites. We have over 150 local chapters across America, in which tens of thousands ofour members get together to take their online experience into the real worldand create 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 [redacted] and [redacted]; shopping and other discounts through a number of partnerships,including exclusive sponsors like [redacted], 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 [redacted]2013. 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. [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] – 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]seems unwilling to even attempt to use the benefits that come with hermembership. We have a membership services team, which works very closely withour members to ensure that each woman is able to utilize those benefits andresources which will best help her to succeed. She was invited to contact us at herconvenience to go through all of the details when she spoke to ourrepresentative earlier. We do invite herto contact us to resolve this matter.

I handle 90% of the marketing for the firm I work for. My boss got an "email" invitation to join for free and asked me to look into it. Their website provides absolutely no helpful information. No information about membership benefits (other than sales blurbs), who their directors are, what levels of membership are available, where they have local chapters or any upcoming events. Professional associations provide all of this information on their website. Everything was a sales pitch on their website leading back to the free registration form. A sales person called back, and quite rudely explained that she would need to conduct an interview with my boss and it could ONLY be my boss as she would be asking "very personal information" that I wouldn't have. She left her number, my boss called it and got her voicemail and told her... talk to [redacted]. This person did call me back. The oh so very personal information was not very personal at all. It was the standard information you put on your public profile on [redacted] which is where I get the feeling they cull their leads from. After this interview, I start getting a sales pitch for $900 and $700. Then it starts going down there from there. I ask about their benefits which frankly don't seem that impressive. Local chapter meetings, webinars, discounts? I asked for topic names and she gave me a few about HR and public speaking. Nothing that would be interesting to my boss. We can get these benefits from a lot of other organizations without paying $900.00. I did not commit to anything, even after they offered a $99 membership. When she called back the next week, we declined the offer. We still ended up with the "free" membership. Thankfully, no payment information was ever given. So I have no worries about getting charged for anything.

Here are my qualms. 1) The email says free membership. And yes, we ended up with a free membership. However, at no time during my conversations was a free membership ever offered, even when I asked about it. Never. Only after I declined their lowest option did they offer the free one. The "free" part was to register to get a sales call. It is deceptive to put "Free Registration when you complete this form" and then be called with sales pitch that doesn't offer a free membership. I certainly felt "free" to decline it. 2) The "interview" was a farce. My red flag warning went up as soon as they said that they needed personal information that I wouldn't have as the marketing person for my boss. Really? I wouldn't know what organizations she belongs to or her educational background? Its a ruse to pretend there are qualifications to join. There are not which was clear when she wasn't really interested in hearing about more than two professional organizations she belongs to. 3) Their website offers no useful information. I've sat on boards for professional organizations. Information about benefits, membership, directors, events, products, and basically everything was always public. None of this is available on NAPW. Why? Because they want to pressure you into a $900 membership. Everything on their website is designed to give you the false impression that any of the "benefits" are free to get you to "register" to get a high pressure sales call 4) Instant commitment. They want an immediate response now. Professional organizations want you to join when you are ready. They don't require an immediate commitment. Immediate commitment requests are what you get at the car dealership of the wedding dress shop. 5) Finally, my last issue is that they treat gatekeepers very rudely, as if they are little peons to be stepped upon. This peon steps back. I told this sales person that I handle the marketing for my boss and the firm and her attitude was rude and condescending because I wasn't high enough up the food chain to give her what she wanted. My boss supported me when I explained what happened. But the initial rudeness really got to me. Professional women, business owners, partners, managers, or anyone with a pretty busy schedule has a gatekeeper answering and filtering out the garbage calls. Being rude doesn't get you past the gatekeeper. For a "professional association", that's not very professional

Review: I purchased a 1 year membership from NAPW in August 2012. By February 2013, I realized that I was not using their service and did not wish to extend my membership beyond its original 12-month term. I contacted NAPW on the following dates at the following email addresses to notify them that I did not want to extend my membership and requested its cancellation:

Feb ** - [redacted]

Mar ** - [redacted]

Aug * - Renewal ([redacted])

Sep ** - Renewal ([redacted]) and [redacted]

Sep ** - [redacted]

In exchange for my requests I have been charged three times for a renewal: August **, 2013; September 1*, 2013; and September **, 2013. Each time my credit card company (Amex) was kind enough to reverse the disputed charges. I have no confidence that these jokers won't continue to try to charge my credit card again. This kind of practice is ridiculous and unacceptable.Desired Settlement: I want them to stop charging my credit card and to never contact me again.

Business

Response:

We regret this misunderstanding. This member was enrolled in automatic billing for her membership renewal. NAPW Membership Services policy is to return any communication from a member with a telephone call within 48 hours; for our members' protection and privacy, Membership Specialists are unable to make any change to the status of a membership without a members' verbal consent. On September **, 2013, this member spoke with one of our Membership Specialist; at this time, the member was removed from any future billing, deactivated, and was issued a credit in the amount of $199.00 for the renewal fee. NAPW promotes open and effective communication with members, and we work diligently to come to a swift resolution in any member request. Despite this, we ask that our members contact Membership Services directly.

I trust that this resolves this matter. Should you have any further questions, you may contact me at ###-###-####.

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

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,

Review: I was charged $199.00 on transaction date 10/**/2013 on my credit card and did not authorize nor receive notice from this organization that I would be so charged for membership in their organization which membership I do not wish to continue into 2014.Desired Settlement: Credit on my Bank of America credit card ending in [redacted] for $199.00.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, my complaint, ID [redacted] regarding National Association of Professional Women has been resolved.

(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)

Sincerely,

Received a credit on my Bank of America account for the full charges, however, was never contacted by the company and you all might want to note their business practices. Thank you for your help and happy holidays to you all...

Sincerely,

Review: I have tried emailing [redacted] and [redacted], as well as calling the two main numbers provided: [redacted]) and ###-###-####. I have sent 2 emails and tried calling each number above over a dozen times each. I would like to cancel my membership as I have received several phone calls asking for personal information that they would like to publish. I would like to cancel my membership and remove all of my contact information from this company immediately.Desired Settlement: I would like the company to cancel my membership and acknowledge to me that they have done so, and agree that they will not charge me any additional expenses. Additionally, I would like the company to refrain from contacting me further after my membership is cancelled.

Business

Response:

[redacted]'s membership was cancelled per her request on 2/**/2014, and an email confirmation was sent (please see below for copy of correspondence sent) to the addresses she listed with us. Since [redacted] has also requested no further contact, her info has been removed from our email contact list, and she will no longer receive calls in reference to her membership.

_____________________________________________________________________

Review: I was contacted for membership and was hard pressed to joing immediately. I told them I couldn't afford the fee, they gave me a basic membership, but didn't tell me there was a free membership option. I've since been contacted about upselling my membership. You can only get ahold of them to buy services, not to modify or cancel.Desired Settlement: I used one month of member time, I'd like to be refunded 11/12 of my enrollment fee.

Consumer

Response:

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.

I was contacted and refunded the requested money.

Sincerely,

Review: NAPW auto renewed my membership through my credit card. I DID NOT want my membership renewed, especially NOT automatically through a credit card they kept on file. I have retired and have no interest in this organization. It DID NOT meet my needs. NO RENEWAL NOTIFICATION WAS SENT.I would like for them to refund the $199.00 annual fee that was NOT authorized.Desired Settlement: REFUND the TOTAL amount of $199.00 NOT AUTHORIZED.

Business

Response:

This member was fully-refunded on January **, 2014.

Review: Approximately a year ago I joined this organization to see if there would be any value in a membership. I quickly realized there was no value; lesson learned and out $99. About a month ago I received a phone call about my upcoming renewal and asked that my membership be cancelled. The person I talked to said she would take care of that. On May *, 2014 my credit card was charged $199 without authorization. I called the finance department and was quickly transferred to membership. I explained the situation and was told there was nothing they could do since I did not have a confirmation number from the original phone call a month ago. They did, however, have a note that they talked to me a month ago but no indication that I had requested a membership cancellation. "[redacted]" did say she could refund $99.00 of the $199.00 I was charged. I said I wanted the entire membership cancelled and all my money returned as I would not be using anything the Association had to offer. She said she couldn’t do that. She asked if I still had access to their website and I said “no”. I tried to log-in and my access was denied. She asked me to confirm the username and password, of which I did, and she said my account was still active, but it wasn’t.

I told [redacted] that I would be filing a dispute with my credit card company and hung up. [redacted] then called my work phone and my cell phone and left a message that she would be crediting my credit card $99, cancel my membership and remove my access to their website.

I want the entire amount they fraudulently took from me totaling $199.00Desired Settlement: This company needs to quite defrauding people.

Business

Response:

The balance of the fee was refunded. Transaction references are [redacted] and [redacted].

Review: When I received a free membership invitation to join the NAPW, I signed up to see what was offered. I was then deceived and up-sold a ridiculous amount of over $500. to join. After several complaints and requests to cancel my membership I was told the membership is non-refundable and was issued a credit and my bank account was charged $199. on 4/**/2013, with my understanding that after the year, I can cancel my account. Today, 4/*/2014, my account was again billed for $199., which I did not authorize. I immediately contacted their customer service (by email and telephone) , asking for a credit to be immediately back to my account, as I did wish to renew/or was notified of this renewal. Of course, I was told that my renewal was automatic and again, non-refundable! After several unsuccessful attempts to explain to the the customer service rep that I haven't used any of their services, did not wish to renew, and did not authorize this transaction, I was only offered a credit back to my account of on $99. and not the full amount of $100.

I received no communication of this automatic renewal, even though the CSR said it was emailed to me. I wnet even further to show her that this/these email(s) were not in my account and should not be held responsible for this renewal. I then told them of their unethical practices and vowed to have all of my monies returned to me and promised to file a complaint with the Revdex.com. I now see that I am not alone and several women have already filed complaints with the Revdex.com! Even with their rating being lowered to an "F" the NAPW still continues to pressure women into signing up for their membership with false advertising and unethical sales tactics. It's embarrassing to know that I am now a victim of their "free membership" pretext.

What can we do to shut this organization down?!?!?Desired Settlement: I would like to have the total amount of $199. credited back to my account and not $99. as I was informed.

Consumer

Response:

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

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

The balance was refunded through her credit card

Business

Response:

[redacted] was issued a partial refund of her enrollment fee a few weeks after she became a member in April 2013. We did not reduce the level of her membership as a courtesy to her. At that time, she was advised that her membership would renew at the reduced rate in 2014, to which she agreed. Moreover, we did remind her of the upcoming renewal, sending a postcard in late February, followed by two email reminders in March. [redacted] did not contact us to cancel her renewal. She contacted us to question the renewal after it processed and was abusive and screaming at our representative, who offered her a partial refund. She refused to work with us and went directly to her bank to dispute it. When her bank contacted our disputes department, we presented our case explaining the reasons why [redacted] was renewed - and the bank agreed with us that the charge had been authorized.

We then received another notice that [redacted] was continuing to dispute this charge, that the renewal fee was deducted from our merchant account. We chose not to challenge this second dispute as clearly, [redacted] refused to accept the fact that she had indeed, authorized this renewal. At that point, we considered the matter closed - according to the paperwork presented by our merchant services account, [redacted]'s fee had been returned to her.

Subsequently, we heard nothing further from [redacted] until she filed this complaint, making unfair and untrue claims about her experience with the NAPW, and we did respond advising her that according to our records, her fee had been refunded through the dispute process. We cannot and will not issue a refund for a fee which according to our records, has already been refunded.

As a courtesy to [redacted], we did make a request to our merchant services processor to investigate the status of this dispute as we are still showing the funds as deducted from our account and not yet returned. [redacted] is upset because this is taking time, but again, we are not going to issue a refund until we determine that the refund has not been issued already.

As soon as the status has been confirmed, we will contact [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

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 appreciate my character being slandered by the NAPW. I have already explained what transpired when I called to inquire about the renewal that I was unaware of and I in no way abusive or screamed at your representative. I received no reminder notifications by email nor mail and I have proven this. Again, I never used your service and had I know there was an automatic renewal, I would have cancelled it immediately!

From the various complaints received to the [redacted] (298 and counting) and not being accredited by the Revdex.com, I know that I am not alone in my feeling of being misled regarding your membership fees and renewals. I'm not the one on scrutiny here, so don't try to make it seem like I am the problem.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: Requires 30 days notification of cancellation automatic charge to the credit card.

I received an email notification on July ** that my membership would automatically renew, the person on the phone claimed that they had sent me a post card also which was never received by me. Contacted them on Aug * to tell them to cancel my membership. I was told that was not an option as it automatically renewed and payment was processed on Aug *. I would have had to cancel 30 days prior to the renewal. This means that even the reminder email, had I acted immediately, was within the automatic renewal window and that this would renew automatically as this was within the window of disallowed cancellations.

I told them I would give them 30 days notice to cancel and that it would be effective 30 days from now but I was told that this is not their "Policy"and that I would be charged for the year and could partake of their benefits. I asked to speak to a [redacted] and was told no. I was told that the person I was speaking with was in full authority of the corporate policy .

I told them I will dispute the charges on my credit card and was warned that would do me no good as they have documented that email and postcard were sent (not received). They would as a courtesy give me a partial credit on my credit card.Desired Settlement: I would like my "benefits" cancelled and my credit card refunded the ENTIRE amount of the membership and any subsequent billings from NAPW beginning Aug *, 2014 forward

Business

Response:

We are sorry that

[redacted]’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 memberships. Members 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.

Our members are entitled to be

treated with utmost respect and empathy, and every person on the NAPW team is

trained to work with our members to resolve any issues; however, there are

protocols and policies which must be followed. These policies are companywide

and all of our team members are required to follow them. A [redacted] would

have explained the same things to [redacted] and had the same resolution as

speaking to the representative with whom she dealt.

authorized the August *, 2014 charge reflecting her annual membership

dues. During her initial enrollment

interview, 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. We want them to get the

maximum benefits for the money, which is why they offer the options in the

order they do. [redacted] selected the Preferred membership.

Our

representative also explained that NAPW uses an automatic renewal process,

designed to protect [redacted]’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 [redacted] that her annual membership would

automatically renew. [redacted] had the

opportunity to opt out of our automatic renewal program at that time.

A

postcard reminder was mailed at the end of June to the address provided by her

at the time of enrollment, which is the same as the one provided here. Those postcards arrive within a few days. Additionally,

well before it was processed, NAPW sent [redacted] a courtesy reminder of her

upcoming renewal transaction via email, and another reminder a week later. We do work with our members who contact us

prior to the actual processing of the renewal – however, once it is processed,

our options are reduced. We have already

submitted subscriptions for outside services for the upcoming year, and those

fees are not refundable to us. This is why we do ask our members the courtesy

of advising us that they do not plan to renew. [redacted] states that she received that email

on July **, 2014 and had she contacted us at that time, we would have been able

to prevent her renewal from processing. She chose not to do so, and so her

renewal proceeded as she had previously authorized.

NAPW

employs a comprehensive call recording and auditing function. Our staff reviews the recording of each

completed interview for multiple compliance points, including that the

representative explained the automatic renewal process as described above. As

part of our investigation into this case, we reviewed that call again and [redacted] was made completely aware of these points at the time.

During

the initial enrollment interview, our representative explained that [redacted]

would receive an email (within 24 hours) containing login information for

access to our members’ portal. Our

representative further explained that [redacted] should review our Terms &

Conditions. Subsequent to logging in but

prior to accessing her benefits, she was required to review and accept those

Terms & Conditions. Therein, she was provided with the details of our automatic

renewal policy, which was previously explained during the initial enrollment

interview. . She changed her login

information, which is also suggested when the member chooses to accept those

terms and conditions, so we know that she was aware of the renewal policy. NAPW’s

Terms & Conditions are available at [redacted]

Throughout

the year, NAPW made available to [redacted] 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. See [redacted]. 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 [redacted]’s enrollment with NAPW, we communicated via email using the

address she provided: [redacted], which

is the same one she provides in this complaint.

Email was clearly the primary communication channel, by which [redacted]

received her monthly newsletters and numerous other organizational

announcements.

We have

reviewed all of our records. [redacted]

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. In fact, our

membership services department had made several attempts to reach out to [redacted] to explain her benefits and assist her in accessing them, leaving voice

mail messages which were not returned.

[redacted] did contact us on August *, 2014, and

was extremely rude to the representative to whom she spoke and initially did

not want to listen to anything. However, once given the opportunity to explain

why her membership was renewed and the value of the benefits that she has, our

representative did issue a partial refund to her.

As per that conversation, we have issued a credit

to [redacted]’s account and we have also deactivated the automatic renewal function

of her membership, so that it will not renew.

Consumer

Response:

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:

This company is unreal. As stated to them they can claim that they sent something through the mail to me however as I explained to them nothing was ever received, I could forge a log book that would state that I sent them a letter also and they would say it was never received , however unlike this company I have integrity. As for the email dated July **. This is still within the window that they claim is required for cancellation however they also claim that had I contacted them at this time they would have not charged me. On July **, 2014 I was on vacation with my family and had no access to email. I seriously doubt that Had I replied I would have been allowed to cancel as they seem to say only what benefits them. Also please note that there was a calendar entry for July ** that I had created last August to cancel the membership had I not seen any value, so what they are claiming to be clearly stated and understood was apparently not the case. They claim I required 30 days notice and when I stated that I was giving them the notice they refused to accept it. I was informed this is also 30 days from the beginning of the month in which renewal begins, not 30 days from the date of the renewal.

I offered to pay for the membership from 30 days from the date that I contacted them however this was refused and the company has "conceded" to refund 6 or the 12 months. How is this in anyway fair to the consumer?

For them to claim that I was rude to their representative is astonishing. There is nothing professional about this organization in the slightest. Throughout the membership they repeatedly contacted me during business hours and when I asked them to schedule an appointment to contact me they repeatedly missed these appointments. I did ultimately become rude with the representative when my requests to speak to someone else were ignored repeatedly and when the representative was rude and speaking over top of me repeatedly. This is a predatory company who has no respect for any member or individual. I regret ever having been associated with them.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

*

Business

Response:

Despite the fact that [redacted] agreed to this renewal charge, accepted the terms and conditions of her membership and has made false and defaming statements about the NAPW; we have no desire to force people to remain members. Her fee has been completely refunded, her membership deactivated.

We trust that she will find this satisfactory.