Shaw Academy

Shaw Academy drafted my account prior to the end of the agreed upon 30 day trial period. They refuse to refund my money.
Greetings:

My name is ***. On May 27, 2020, I signed up for a free trial of a digital marketing course with Shaw Academy with the understanding that at the end, I would be charged if I decided to continue the subscription. During registration (according to their site), I was informed that Shaw Academy would reach out to me and give me the opportunity to cancel or continue days prior to charging my account. However, they did not do this, but instead went into my account, and processed $34.99. Mind you, I had not even attended class due to illness and it was not even time for the trial to have ended as it was June 24, 2020, which is not 30 days. If anything that would have been the time to do as they claimed they would and reach out giving me the opportunity to decide whether to continue.

I went ahead and cancelled the subscription via telephone and asked for a refund via request ticket, bringing all of this to their attention. Their automated system did not allow me to speak with a representative nor did it give me the option. Then, when their representative, Hector, reached out to me by email, he had the audacity to say that because I had not cancelled in time, the charge was valid and I would not receive a refund. I emailed him back reiterating all that I have just stated and have not heard anything further. Additionally, I have filed a dispute with PayPal detailing all of this. Shaw Academy needs to refund my money PROMPTLY and stay out of my account in the future. It is my hope that a complaint with the Revdex.com will illustrate to them that I mean business and will also let others know that this company cannot be trusted to do what they claim. As well, I hope the public will not trust them with their account numbers because they robbed me of my money and tried to act like it was my fault. The 30 day trial was not up, so that had no business in my account. PERIOD.

Please help me reach as quick of a resolution as possible to this matter and receive my refund as soon as possible. That was all the money I had to pay a bill. Not to mention, what Shaw Academy has done to me is unjust, even if it was not all the money I had. They did not keep their word and tried to twist things to make this my fault when clearly they were in the wrong.

I was a day late to cancel my payment, and they refused to issue a refund because it was "inconvenient" for the finance department.
I signed up for a free trial, and a free course, and being 15 and kinda new at this game, I didn't realize my credit card would be automatically charged, and when it was it was all the money I had earned over the last few years doing odd jobs. I then contacted them to ask for a refund which any decent business would issue. Instead, they refused, stating exactly, "I have checked with our finance team for a possible refund; however, the refund is not at all convenient." That is simply unacceptable. I told them that, and they said, "We cannot issue the refund unfortunately as the service has been made available as per the terms and conditions". Being underage, I cannot enter into a legally binding agreement, so I still expect a full refund. The way they run their business all around is bad, and I will not be using their services again.

Signed up for a 4-week Free trial on May 25th. I emailed them to cancel the account a week later. They confirmed and then charged me on June 25th.
On May 25th I signed up for a free four week trial of Shaw Academy. On June 4th I emailed asking to cancel my account. On June 9th I received this response "Jun 9, 2020, 8:37:26 AM GMT+1

Hi ***,
Thank you for reaching out to us!
We are sorry to hear that you wish to terminate your account with us and we will be happy to help!"

On June 25th they charged me $69.99. When I emailed them asking for a refund as I cancelled my account, they said I never canceled.

Shaw Academy has not provided my refund even though my first request over the phone was two weeks, another in writing 7 days ago.
Shaw Academy uses less than ethical business practices and makes it incredibly difficult to cancel, request a refund then actually receive a refund. Numerous occasions over email I requested to cancel my account. Shaw Academy would not cancel my account. Shaw Academy then charged my card (unwillingly). I was told via email I had to go through my online membership to find the number to cancel. A cumbersome process that was unreasonably difficult to find on their website. That number held me on hold for extended periods of time, and every time I was about to be connected to a human the call mysteriously disconnected. As a Verizon customer, this is very abnormal. I called three times, each time disconnected once I was about to be connected after being on hold.

I complained via email the phone systems were not working. Then I tried calling again, and on my fourth attempt I was finally able to connect to a person to cancel and request my refund. I received confirmation that my account was cancelled and my refund issued. 7 days later, my refund has yet to be issued. I then tried calling that same number, but would not be connected to a human. I can only assume as my account no longer being active, Shaw Academy wouldn't speak to me.

Then, I followed up with another email requesting a refund. Now I have written confirmation of the refund being authorized. 7 days later, no refund still. I have followed up multiple times now via email asking for updates regarding my refund. I've also copied the CEO on these emails as well.

No updates have been given.

I foolishly became involved in Shaw Academy from an Instagram Ad for a free trial offer. Had I had the foresight to first check online and see many more reviews like mine, I could have avoided the incredible hassle, hours of time wasted, migraine, and effectively free loan I've given Shaw. Further, the lack of transparency, slow-dragging of the feet, and complete lack of communication, this company clearly embodies less than ethical business practices at the expense of it's customers under the guise of providing "an education".

Took payment when I cancelled within the policy period of the free trial AFTER I requested it to be cancelled.
I signed up for a free trial. At the sign up- it said that I will receive a reminder text message so I do not forget to cancel or continue on. I did not receive a text message or an email. I had tried to cancel, however it requires you to call in within hours that I was at work. I did try to email them, and cancel online but it would not let me. I logged onto my account and it said I still had a day to cancel- the reason I was able to call that day is because I took the day off to take my boyfriend to Emergency.
My first day was May 26th- 4 weeks later was June 23rd (the day I was at the hopsital). I called to cancel it, and while I was on hold I was charged the $69.99 that day! I requested a refund and was told that they can not refund me as the 4 week period is over! However, my account said that I still had the one day remaining and I happened to be able to call. If I was late on calling, I can understand being charged. However, I find it extremely unprofessional that they decided they can not refund me even though it said I still had a day left to cancel within the policy, and due to the circumstances of them making it very difficult to cancel I thought they would be a bit understanding.
I do not recommend this company, as it is a scam to take your money even if you are within the cancellation policy.

I got charged unknowingly then shaw academy disappeared.
I got a call for a subscription that was supposed to be "free of charge" for me and with "no hidden cost". as soon as I hang up the phone I got charged $99.95 then I called back once and they said they would call me back. I called again 20 minutes later and can't reach them anymore. I want a full refund and that membership cancelled immediately.

Billed after canceling free trial,
I signed up for a free trial for Shaw Academy. I immediately tried to cancel the membership after seeing the pricing options and finding out the the classes were during set times and not self-paced. The number on the website (after clicking through about five different pages trying to prevent you from canceling) was for some random hotel who said they frequently get calls from people trying to cancel Shaw. I messaged support through their website and was told my membership was canceled. Today I was billed $69.99 for a membership that I was told got canceled and I have no interest in keeping.

I was double charged for something I accidentally bought. No refund given. Called for refund and got charged another $100 out of no where. No reply.
I signed up for Shaw Academy free trial on 5/31/2020. I began courses the week before the trial ended. I was given multiple texts, emails and notifications per day about the course and offers to win a year, get a free toolkit and certificate and the like. The constant sales pitches were annoying, but I ignored them. Then I got a message on my phone offering a free toolkit for connecting with Facebook. I clicked it and it took me to there site where it said the toolkit is $39.95. Thinking this was the retail value it was showing me and I needed to click through to see the final details I clicked it. Only after clicking did I realized the button said "one click purchase". Now even on my iPhone when I make a purchase it gives me a second page warning. Even on Amazon I have to authorize one click purchase. These companies work this way because they are reputable, but Shaw Academy is not. Immediately after clicking the 39.95 button I was charged, not 39.95, but 39.95 twice! Apparently this happens a lot because even their FAQ has a question "what if I am double charged?" They tell you to email for a refund. I sent an email on June 20th asking for a refund for both charges. They replied the same day saying they won't refund either, but they will give me a year of service for free. I replied saying fine, but at least refund me the second charge which I did not authorize. They replied ignoring my request and repeating that I get a year for free. Then on June 24th a representative from Shaw called me to ask how my courses were going. I said fine, but I need a refund for my double charge. He said "yes I will expedite the process of that refund and make sure they email you" next he said " I also will give you the toolkit for module 2,3 and 4 of your class" . I said "cool, thanks." These are exact quotes with nothing left out. Nothing was ever mentioned about cost, price, purchase or agreement to pay anything. Immediately after hanging up the phone I saw they had charged my PayPal $99.99. I tried calling back and got a strange message that said they are unable to answer the phone. I emailed them for a refund. They replied and said they listened to my call and the associate informed me about some quarterly plan and I agreed to it! Complete lies! I did research and there are countless stories on facebook, Reddit, quota, Truepilot and more with similar situations. This company needs to be shut down and brought to justice. It's taking advantage of people and stealing from them.

I was charged for a subscription service after cancellation. This has been an issue for 2 months.
I signed up for a class in guitar instruction through Shaw Academy. I thought to take advantage of the free trial, and afterward I agreed to be charged for further instruction. As my schedule was not allowing me to use the service as I would have liked to, I opted to cancel the subscription. I attempted to cancel the service in April, but was surprised to see a charge for May on my credit card. I then was directed by the website to go through an automated phone service to cancel the subscription. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with this automated system to cancel. I eventually got through the automated system (the system will repeatedly ask if you are "sure" you want to cancel) and confirmed that I wanted my subscription canceled. On 6/25, I was AGAIN charged $69 by Shaw Academy. I am currently making efforts to get in touch with Shaw regarding a refund, but historically the company makes it very difficult to be refunded or cancel your subscription. There are numerous complaints about this company's lack of clear communication and fraudulent practices.

Shaw Academy processed an unauthorized charge on my card. I'd cancelled my membership and provided proof. They stopped responding when I did so.
Shaw Academy processed an unauthorized and arbitrary charge on my credit card on June 19th. They initially stated they had no record of it, but when pressed, said I had "payment due" and a refund would not be provided. I had cancelled my account months earlier, and had an explicit statement from them that I had done so. I presented evidence to this, at which point they stopped responding. They clearly have no intentions of refunding my money, as they run a business based on fraudulent charges en masse.

False Information: 'Cancel Subscription Anytime', Unable to Unsubscribe.
Hello,

I signed up with Shaw Academy via their website, for a free trial. The free trial required that I enter my credit card information. I was informed that I will be able to cancel this free trial at any time. This is false. I am unable to unsubscribe and will therefore be charged indefinitely by this company that refuses to delete my personal information.

The website took me through six web pages, upon which I had to click 'I want to cancel my subscription' on every single page in order to proceed. The final page then stated that they were: "...sorry that I am *thinkingof leaving Shaw Academy" and made it mandatory that I call their call centre during office hours in order to FIRST explain why I am leaving BEFORE being allowed to leave.

This is unacceptable. I want my information removed from their system. I want my information deleted from their system. I do not want to be a part of Shaw Academy. They lied about the ability to cancel my subscription at anytime. I am only able to unsubscribe if I have access to a phone, credit on that phone, and if I FIRST call them and explain myself. This was not stipulated anywhere on their information pages.

Please help me. I have been tricked into giving my information to a company that plans on holding onto that information and continually charging me until I jump through certain technical 'hoops' first.

Sincerely,
***.

I was charged without my approval
I was charged $69.99 for a course before my 4 week trial was up. They called me the day before to remind me that my course trial would be up in 5 days but proceeded to charge me anyway. I looked for a number to call and all are disconnected. They only have a robot to speak to or email. RED FLAG when you don't have an active working phone number to speak to an actual human.

I did not use the service after signing up on 6/22/20, requested a requested refund next day and was told I could not have a refund.
I signed up on 6/22/20 and the next day I finished the registration for the life time membership for $125. After registration on 6/23/20, I saw that you had to schedule the online classes and this is not what I wanted. I wanted the ability to attend when I can at anytime. I sent the request to cancel and requested refund on next day 6/23/20. I never accessed a class, did not see any of the material. 6/24/20 I was told I could not receive a refund.
After this complaint, I am calling my attorney today, as part of my consumer, I have a right to a refund.

Shaw Academy didn't cancel/suspend my subscription when they told me they did, and still billed me
I signed up for the month long free trial of Shaw Academy back in April, but never actually used any of their content. I called them on May 22, 2020 with the intent of cancelling my free trial before I was billed. I spoke with Tamryn F who assured me that I would not be charged and that I could "restart" my free trial at a future time of my choosing because I never had the chance to try their content. I accepted this. However, on Monday June 22 2020, I was charged 69.99 on my Dsicvoer credit card. I called Shaw Academy again to see if they would give me a refund, since I was under the impression that I already cancelled. I spoke with Monica R, who referred me to the email I should contact to request a refund. I emailed ***@shawacademy.com. On Wednesday, June 24, 2020, Issac responded but he basically gave me the run around. He said that because my trial wasn't cancelled "during the free trial" nothing could be done. I emailed him back, also on Wednesday, but he hasn't respond yet.

The company need to provide accurate information on how to cancel trial memberships or respond to the emails that they provide for cancellation.
I signed up for a trial class for 4 weeks and they stated to cancel within that time or you will be charged. On the first day; I realized that the course was not better than the one I was already paying for and I cancelled the member by emailing them at ***@shawacademy.com. They never responded. I sent them several other emails and no response. However, they took funds from my account and I want my money refunded.

charged my credit card , never signed up for course,cnt reach anybody by phone, electronic voice
went on website may 27, 2020,,didnt sign up for anything,because it wasnt what I thought it was. they dont allow you to see courses until after you put in your info (payment). they kept sending me emails to come back and finish enrollment. I didnt see the need in trying to reach out to them because I wasnt interested. then they charged my card for $69.99, on 06/24 at 4:59 am, tried to call to get this straighten out.the phone just keeps going around and around trying to get you to stay. could not get a person on the phone. the whole thing was very deceptive and sketchy. eventually, it allowed me to cancel. have docs to prove everything

Unauthorized automatic payment taken from my credit card
After signing up for a free 4-wk course on their website, there were two links to purchase course material each for $45. I did not need them, so I ignored the offers. On the Intro page of my free course there was another link which said "get your toolkit here" it did not say 'purchase here', it did not say 'buy now', it did not give a price; I thought this was free course material as the course was free and there was no indication that this was a purchase. So I clicked the link and I got a message that an automatic payment was being taken from my account(the free course expires July18 and after that they would charge you,so you had to give them a credit card to secure your registration in the free course). I had to go to my Paylpal account to find out how much they took, it was $45. there was no indication that this link was a purchase beforehand. The first 2 links I saw, that I ignored, did say PURCHASE you tool kit and gave a price and said automatic payment will be taken, so it was CLEAR. this link simply said "get your toolkit' so I would never had thought they would be taking money from me in such a manner.I never agreed to this. They told Paypal this was in my contract with them and this makes no sense because no business should be setting customers up to click on web page links without any indication that they are about to make purchases they were unaware of!This is unethical and a sneaky way of taking peoples' money. after this transaction I immediately emailed them and they are refusing to refund me stating ' I made a purchase' but never focusing on the fact that the means they used to get my money was unethical, they have offered my credits for things I do not want and said they money has already be realized in their GLs, so they cannot refund it!. I filed a complaint with TrustPilot and they asked me to email them and they just repeated the same thing to me,they're not refunding me any money. This seems to be my last resort. I just want a refund and to not have anything to do with this company ever again.

I took out a trail period for 28 days, but decided it was not for me, so cancelled. I was then billed $69.99 despite canceling online and in app.
I started a trial period of 28 days but early into the period I decided this was not a course I was prepared to pay for. Way too many emails, and not enough time to devote to the learning. I went into my account and proceeded through the cancel procedure (despite several guilt-trip messages) and was told that to cancel I would need to phone #XXX-XXX-XXXX and quote reference #XXXXX and this would complete my cancellation. I continuously tried calling this number several times a day for a week and was never able to leave a voicemail or speak to a customer service associate. I then tried cancelling through my app and received the same phone# and the same reference number, but again, no reply from the phone number.

I then decided to Google "Shaw academy - scam" and it was evident from the amount of similar problems that the company was not being exactly truthful about their cancellation policies. Then on June 18th, I noticed a charge in my bank account under "course, Shaw" for 69.99. Once again I tried calling the number several times but no answer. I left a poor review about their service on the App Store and asked my bank to not authorise any further charges from this company but in the meantime I seek assistance in getting my 69.99 back as I'm out of work due to COVID-19. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

This online class is a scam. Nothing other than watching a pre-recorded video (No different than YouTube) yet they charge you during trial period.
Trial period is obviously a test drive. I cancel the trail before it's expiration date. They charged it anyways and no way of getting money back for service and product that was free from YouTube.

I signed up for a trial membership. I cancelled after first session. I was charged 34.99 the following month. I contacted them and they refused.
On May 28 I scheduled a class from a trial membership with Shaw Academy. I found this strange as I have never had to schedule a class for online platforms of this type. I did not like the class and knew I would not be taking anymore and immediately cancelled within the hour. I received a message from the website that I needed to call a number with a code to cancel. Which I found very unusual since there was no calls required or codes when signing up. Everything was electronic and web based. I followed the instructions and got a recording that I was repeatedly asked to not cancel. I entered the cancel code and assumed all was finished. I was again very uncomfortable with their being no real person for cancellation and a multiple step process to cancel a trial membership. On June 24 my paypal account was charged 34.99. I immediately contacted them and manually deleted them from my paypal account. When I contacted them I was given some policy list and told that they would give me free classes. I explained I have no desire to utilize their classes and provided them with the screen shot of the cancel code which I took as a precaution for this situation as I found the cancellation process to be a bit suspicious. I was again told that they could not refund my money and offered even more classes which I do not want. I have not utilized one full class even during the trial period as after the first 20 minutes I was completely sure this was not the type of learning platform that I would benefit from.
I have reviewed your site and researched complaints and just as I suspected there are MANY of the same situations. I believe this company is a SCAM. I have utilized many other online platforms similar and never had any of them access your account to take money out and refund it to check the account during the trial period. I also am aware that they can provide refunds as the initial test charge was refunded to my account. I have not and will never utilize this platform.