National Association of Professional Women

Review: National Association for Professional Women (NAPW) charged me a membership fee of $199.00 on October *, 2015. I didn't choose to renew my membership and it was not communicated to me that auto renew was in effect. When I called their Customer Service department when I noticed the charge on my credit card on October **, 2015 at3:18 pm CDT. The representative I spoke with refused to refund the full amount of the charge, was rude and aggressive when I insisted that this was the only acceptable resolution and refused to escalate my complaint to a supervisor or other customer service agent. She gave me a partial refund but I feel that is not an acceptable solution.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund of the $199.00 billed to my card on October *, 2015 and a termination of my membership with this association.

Business

Response:

We are sorry that

[redacted] 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.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 every call between NAPW staff and Ms.

Hadden. Her version of events is vastly different than what she describes. These calls are available for review if

required. [redacted]

authorized the October *, 2015 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 Basic membership. Our

representative also explained that NAPW uses an automatic renewal process,

designed to protect [redacted] 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 unless she contacted us to decline the renewal. [redacted] had the opportunity to opt out of

our automatic renewal program at that time. She was also advised to review the detailed terms and conditions on the

member website, which explain everything in detail. Her login information was

emailed to her immediately following the enrollment confirmation, and her

membership card, paid statement and login information was mailed to her the

next day.On February

**,2015, [redacted] was invited to upgrade her membership to a VIP level. [redacted], who said that she was pressed for

time, declined the invitation, stating that her current level of membership was

fine. Our representative reminded her to log into the portal as we had a new

website. [redacted] thanked her for the information. 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. 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. Members also receive regular emails, all of which

include contact information. A postcard

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

time of enrollment, which is the same as the one provided here. 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. [redacted] did

contact us on October **, 2015, which is the conversation to which she refers.

Contrary to her claims, our representative was polite and professional,

explaining to [redacted] that as she had not contacted us prior to her renewal

being processed, we could not issue a full refund. When a membership renews, we

in turn, automatically renew all of the services which are provided by our

partners, fees for which are not refundable to us. This is why we send the

postcard well in advance to give members the opportunity to change the status

of renewal before it processes. As a

public company, we are answerable to shareholders and our policy is that full

refunds are issued only if they were not authorized or under other specific

circumstances justifying the absorption of those fees without reimbursement.

Simply refunding because a member forgot that she was renewing, or ignored her

reminder does not meet those criteria. As our review of all contact with [redacted] clearly demonstrates, her case does not justify a refund. Our representatives

are fully empowered to issue full refunds when justified. We will concede that our representative could

have been clearer in her response to the escalation question – but she was

correct. [redacted] would not have been

satisfied because any supervisor would have explained the same thing.As per her

conversation with our membership services representative, we have issued a

credit to [redacted] account and we have also deactivated the automatic

renewal function of her membership, so that it will not renew.We take the claim

that a member was "scammed" or that a charge was unauthorized very seriously

and we thoroughly investigate them. We are also deeply angered by

the claims that NAPW takes advantage of women whenever someone forgot about the

terms to which she agreed or failed to use her membership and wants us to bear

the financial burden of her oversight. 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 150 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.Additionally,

we are constantly providing and working to upgrade the secondary benefits

such as free or discounted continuing education through leading

providers like Lorman Education and National Seminars Group; shopping and

other discounts through a number of partnerships, including exclusive sponsors

like Lenovo, 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. 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],

[redacted], and Disney. Internationally prominent women, like [redacted] and [redacted] have been featured speakers at our

conferences – each sharing her journey in building her reputation as a

prominent business figure. Star Jones is

our President and National Spokeswoman. These are women to whom integrity

matters 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 local restaurants – receive

complaints and criticism from customers who were not happy with a product or

service. However, despite those opinions, millions of us continue to shop at

[redacted], buy [redacted] cars and purchase [redacted] products again and again. As

professionals, if we all believed everything we see on the Internet was true,

rather than informing ourselves and making our own judgments, we would all view

the business world very negatively.

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 was contacted by the National Association of Professional Women after creating a [redacted] Account. I am the owner of a non-profit organization who's trying to take my organization to the next level. I'm also considering a career change. I received a letter saying I was nominated and would I like to set up an interview? I was then contacted about doing an interview (several times). Finally I gave up my lunch hour because a my "customer rep" [redacted] (no last name given), wouldn't stop bothering me. After a very lengthy interview I was asked if I would like to be a member and informed of the benefits. [redacted] informed me that if I created a member profile, the NAPW would highlight my non-profit in order to help me promote that and take it to the next level. [redacted] told me she had received traveled to Haiti and many details about her time near where I worked, all public information that could be accessed on [redacted] or via my website. When I said yes to becoming a member, I was then informed that membership comes with a very high price tag. It went from $989 for elite, to $789 preferred. I said what?.. She said how wonderful it'll be for me professionally and networking classes etc and the membership fee was then dropped to $489 for "standard."

I felt very bullied and led on because I was told previously that if I was nominated and accepted after my interview I could be a member. Never was I told I would have to pay such hefty membership fees. I told [redacted] I had forgotten my credit card because I was uncomfortable and wanted to get off the phone. She said she could wait at the office until 5:45pm to receive my payment. If I did not pay that day I would not have an active profile (which I currently did after my interview). I had to pay today or I would have to do the entire process today. Didn't I want to do it today so that I could help the children at my orphanage?

[redacted] called back asking if I wanted to do it, reminding me of the benefits I could enjoy. Feeling trapped, I gave her my credit card information for the $489 membership. I then decided to research the company only to find that this has happened to thousands of women and the entire thing is a scam. Most of the benefits they describe do not exist and most customers do not receive anything from the outcome except lose money and follow up sales calls until they're removed from their database.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund from the NAPW, I would like to be removed from their database so I can never be bothered by them again, and I believe the company should be shut down so no one else falls victim to this scam.

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 toapply for membership, and we do offer a free listing for those applicants whochoose not to purchase a full membership, as well as email delivery of ourmonthly newsletter. However, a password is required to access benefits likeseminars, local chapter meetings, other events and resources, which is issuedwhen an applicant purchases a membership. It is not a scam – we do offer a verybasic no-cost membership, and we promote the benefits available at the highestlevel of paid membership. We have thousands of applicants, all of whom are required to go through theinterview process before becoming active members. We do expect the applicant to be ready tomake a decision at the time of her enrollment interview, assuming that as she hasdone at least some research about the NAPW before choosing to become a memberand submitting her application for membership. On January*, 2015, NAPW contacted her and conducted its initial enrollmentinterview. During this telephone callour representative explained the annual costs and benefits associated with membership.We do begin by offering the most comprehensive packages and work with theapplicant to provide as many of the resources she seeks while staying withinher budget. Our representatives also try to engage ourmembers in conversations in order to enhance the profile, which goes liveimmediately upon enrollment. 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.

[redacted] did contact us on January *, 2015and explained that she had second thoughts about her membership. Ourrepresentative did go over the benefits again, but [redacted] was adamant. Asit was within twenty-four hours of her enrollment, we did fully refund her fee. We take the claim that a member was "scammed" orthat a charge was unauthorized very seriously. 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 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 300 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. Moreover, we host an annual National Networking Conferencewhere almost two thousand members where members from all over the country enjoyan unforgettable day of networking, panel discussions, workshops andpresentations from extraordinary women like Sara Blakeley, Arianna Huffington,Star Jones, Martha Stewart, Ivanka Trump, Randy Zuckerburg, Barbara Corcoranand Robin Roberts. 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.

Review: I was recently contacted and promoted to be a part of NAPW. The initial contact I received from the company was a letter sent to me that stated there was no cost or obligation to join the organization. After submitting my application I was asked to join the organization. During the first telephone call I was told the initial membership dues were over $700.00. I was thrown off because that initial contact had stated there was no fee to join. I questioned the salesperson and she tried to explain why. I agreed to the initial payment/fee for membership at $789.00. I had hoped that this organization would help in my career. I was unaware and never told there was also $99.00 added to that for reasons unknown to me. I had just paid $789.00 for membership. I was asked if I wanted to be a VIP member and pay over $1000.00 in membership dues which I could not afford and still cannot. I said no and the salesperson agreed and did not push me. I thought this was done and I would not be contacted again. I had thought this was a one time fee.

I received another telephone call from a new salesperson less than a month later asking me for ANOTHER membership fee totaling $995.00. I was completely stunned. I had just paid &789.00. I felt that this was very odd and was concerned. This salesperson was extremely pushed and refused to listen to my concerns. She asked very personal questions and refused to let me finish my sentences. Before I even spoke to her, she called me 4 different times while I was at work and could not speak. She left repeat voicemails on my telephone saying that this was an urgent matter. Upon returning her telephone call, I asked the woman if I could stop and think about this large sum and she insisted that this was the only time I could ever do this. I was never told what this included for such a large price other than webinars which I know do not cost $995.00. I called my bank immediately to cancel my card because I do not have enough money for such a charge. This company has now taken over $1000.00 from me with nothing in return. I have gained nothing from their services. They promoted as a free professional organization and have now taken 3 different charges from me with no explanation or warning other than the first $789.00. I have asked in writing on 3 different occasions for a refund for the $995.00 because I felt coerced to pay that and the fact that they had kept my debit card information without my knowledge.

This company is a complete scam. They have made repeated attempts to contact me and have been extremely pushy about their organization and how spectacular the services are. They have kept my debit card information without my knowledge and have now charged repeated amounts to it without previous authorization.Desired Settlement: I would like to have the last payment returned to me in the amount of $995.00. I was not aware of what I was receiving and on the very first telephone call I communicated to the salesperson that I did not want to be a VIP member. I also voiced that to the second salesperson. I was very clear about my financial concerns. At the very least I want to be removed as a member of this organization and never be contacted again.

Business

Response:

[redacted] contacted our offices after normal business hours on January [redacted] and left a voice mail message; the next morning, we left messages on both of her numbers to call us back to resolve the matter. We included information about our business hours, which are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET, Monday-Friday. [redacted] called our offices on Saturday, January [redacted] leaving another voice mail message; we reached out immediately on Monday morning, again leaving messages on both of her numbers. We will be happy to resolve this matter with [redacted] when we are able to contact her during our normal business hours.