Shaw Academy

This company purposefully uses unethical & unclear business practices to make money from unknowing customers.
Around mid-April, I received a Shaw Academy ad offering a free trial for one of their online courses. Having more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to try it out, and see if it was worthwhile. I signed up for the course, which was to start April 18.

Every day leading up the course, I received texts and emails telling me to "get my toolkit" for the class. It was a constant, continuous stream of messages telling me to do so making it seem as if it was obligatory and part of the course, but I don't have a printer. So having an online toolkit to use while I'm watching an online course really isn't helpful.

Anyway, it was a few minutes past the time for the class, and I pressed on the "join class" button and it didn't work. Pressed it again. Didn't work. Which then made me think ok, I guess I have to download that toolkit after all. So, I pressed on the link that said "get toolkit". NOT one word was ever mentioned neither via any text or email NOR in the actual button I pressed or anywhere on the page for that matter, that the said toolkit was an added purchase and not included in the course.

Additionally, there was no "review your purchase" page when I pressed the button. It immediately said "processing your payment", which of course was shocking. I tried calling them immediately to which they were closed of course as it was after work hours. So, I emailed them, and then I called my bank to dispute the charge. On top of that, THEN on the website did it show the option for "one click purchases". ONLY AFTER I had already made the initial purchase.

This is unethical as it was never stated that the toolkit was an additional purchase. And it wasn't until AFTER the first "purchase" (again never my intention to do so), that the company advertises one click purchases.

Why would anyone who signs up for a free trial and who hasn't even started the course, purchase anything, especially at $40. It makes no sense. Again, this is Shaw Academy using unethical business practices to make the consumer assume that they need something for the course, and then not advertise that there is a cost associated with it. There's a reason the "join class" button didn't work, and that there's no "review purchase" or "add to cart" moment when you click on the "get toolkit" button. It's all part of their scheme to get money out of an unknowing customer. And, I do believe this is probably their biggest money maker.

While trying to go back to a previous page on their site, a popup with a one click buy button appears right next to the back button.
While trying to go back to a previous page on their site, a popup with a one click buy button appears right next to the back button. It cost me $39.99 and have continued to email and message them, but said they will not refund the money that I feel they unjustly took. I had only even started the free trial about 10-15 minutes before that.

No answer when trying to cancel my subscription for the last 3 weeks!
I signed up for a free 4-week trial to Shaw academy at the end of April. I completely forgot to cancel my membership before the end of the trial period and on May 27 was charged $59.99. I completely understand this charge since I am the one who forgot. However I have been trying to call to cancel my membership for the past 3 weeks and I keep getting a busy signal. I have yet to reach anyone and now have only until April 21st to get ahold of someone. I would like to before my trial period ends again and I am charged $59.99 for a class I NEVER TOOK, AT ALL!!! They should give you a number that actually works. I appreciate your help!

Tried to cancel my free trial and couldn't get through to a live person or cancel online now they are refusing to refund my money.
started a 30 day free trial and only went through a fraction of the course. 2 days before the trial ended I tried to cancel online and when I hit cancel it prompted me to call their office to cancel. When I called I couldn't get through to a live person, I waited on the phone for an hour and finally hung up. I was only able to get through to a live person the day after the trial ended and they charged my account. I asked to cancel and for a refund. They told me to email ***@shawacademy.com to get my refund because they couldn't do it over the phone. I emailed them and got a response saying they won't refund my money because I didn't cancel in time. I find this to be very outrageous and now they rolled me over into a course that the customer service person told me she canceled. I keep emailing and now I'm getting no response.

I signed up for a free trial class for Marketing online with the Shaw Academy. it was for 4 weeks, they charged me 34.99 before my trial was up.
I signed up for a weekly class. I signed up on a Friday 5/15/2020 but received an email stating that my first class would be 5/14/2020. The course was supposed to be free for 4 weeks free. I went on the site to end my subscription and the site doesnt have an option to select it, you have to contact them directly to unsubscribe. On June 11th my Paypal account was charged 34.99 3 days early. I immediacy reached out to paypal to end subscription and file a claim. I also have been in a back and fourth email exchange with the company starting the day after I was charged.

In the last email they said "I have checked with our financial team and for a possible refund. the refund is not convenient and will not help us or you" I'm at a loss I dont understand how they can charge me early, and then say its not convenient for them to give me my money back. I dont want the free services they offered in order not to give me my money back. I just want a refund.

Billed for Service not Provided and After Cancellation
I signed up for the Diploma in Financial Trading and Investment which began on May 18th. During the third week of the class I realized that the tool they asked we download and use for the class was not accessible for persons living in the US and I also notice a charge to my account. I immediately attempted to cancel my account through their app and through their website however I got a message to call a number. I called the number for 2 straight days and advised the representative that I could not afford to pay the subscription and I would like to cancel my account she assured me I would not be charged but that she would allow me 30 days to finish with the lessons.
I later checked my account again and saw where my PayPal account was charged when I contacted them they are telling me that they are unable to provide me with a refund. I have sent them several emails and they have offered me additional resources to which I have told them I am not interested and would just like to have a refund.

I was fraudulently charged for a cancelled subscription on Shaw Academy.
I signed up for free 4 weeks trial on Shaw Academy website and within 1 - 2 days cancelled it on 24 April, I received email confirming the same.
On 16 of June I was charged for 69.99 USD.

On my attempt to contact company for explanations I received a rather entertaining answer that I " re-enrolled myself " right after cancelling my subscribtion because I checked some toolkit and certificate information. On which,btw, I have no email or any sort of information sent to me.. as if they tried to keep quiet so that I won't notice until my money are gone...??? Oh, they also proposed to give me access for 6 month "free of charge" for their courses... But who on Earth will trust them after what happened?!

I understood that I was a fool not to double check the background of this company before checking anything on their website.
Don't go for it, it's a total scam.
Extremely disappointed that I was so silly to trust my PP details to some unknown company, but than again.. a fraud is a fraud.

Very angry and frustrated.

PFA a subscription cancellation email received from Shaw Academy on 24 April.

They charged $69.99 without notice and refused to refund the money.
This ticket #XXXXXXX

I signed up for the free trial and found no value in their contents. They charged me $69.99 on it later without any notification. They don't even send a receipt after taking my money. I realized three days later that it was charged. They intentionally make the cancellation process complex and it took three days to just hear back from Renny in the billing department saying he refused to refund the money.

I'd like to add receipt below but there is NO receipt that I got from them. I don't think that's how a seller should work.

It's unfortunate that you cannot leave a ZERO star review. Shaw Academy is a SCAM.

Shaw Academy uses deceptive practices in regards to "Free Trials" and one-click purchases. After signing up for the 4 week "Free Trial", I have lost $39.95 to a deceptive once-click purchase for their toolkit or certificate via a pop-up that completely blocked the course information page. You cannot simply exit out of the pop-ups. They employ the fault and deceptive practice of making it so that the "X" to exit out of the pop-up is the same as clicking on the ad itself. After clicking on the "X" to exit out of the pop-up, I found that it did not actually close out but that I ended up automatically losing $39.95 for a "toolkit". That in and of itself is worthless. I have also been inundated with text messages and emails to purchase more courses and the "diploma/certificate" for the course that I originally signed up for.

I have demanded a refund as well as canceling my membership. Only the cancellation of my membership has been addressed so far. I have filed a dispute with PayPal over the fraudulent one-click purchase, but so far that has been denied. I am now filing an appeal for that purchase. I am also contacting the credit card company through which the charge was done through PayPal to see if they can help with a refund due to fraudulent practice or at the very least, put Shaw Academy on notice for their fraudulent practices. I left a review on TrustPilot as well and only received an "automatic" reply from Shaw, where I then have to contact them yet again but through a different email address just so I can demand the refund that they owe me. Shaw Academy recruits a bunch of people from India to write fake 5 star reviews for them to try to cover up the actual bad reviews they get, and many of those reviews clearly are fake and make no sense. There are a bunch of 4 and 5 star reviews here as well, that I guarantee are fake as well.

As I type this, I have received 2 more text messages from Shaw Academy trying to get me to pick a plan and get "free" course material with it. This company is nothing but a SCAM. I will be blocking them via text and email, but not until after I get my refund back.

Shaw academy refused to give me a refund of an unauthorized charge made to my credit card. I expressed that I'd never used this service before.
The fee assessed was $69.99 and caused my checking account to go into overdraft, costing me over $100 dollars. Upon contacting Shaw they told me I would not get a refund

I signed up for a free 1 month trial and cancelled one day late. I reached out to the company for a refund and they denied the refund.
I signed up for a free trial period that was promoted through T-Mobile on 4/7/2020. When signing up, the website says that it will send you a reminder email 3 days before your free trial period expires. Well, they never sent that reminder email. I was charged $69.99 on 5/5/2020. I only saw the charge because my credit card sent me a notification, I never received an invoice/receipt. I reached out to Shaw Academy on 5/5/2020 (id number #XXXXXXX) and asked for a refund and explained that I could not afford this charge with the lockdown going on. I received an email back saying they would not issue a refund but will make sure that my membership is cancelled. I asked them to reconsider giving a refund because I really couldn't afford it with everything going on. Instead, they offered me 12 month access worth $699 and one complete course toolkit and e-certificates worth $199. It is very disappointing that they will not issue a refund of $69.99 after cancelling 1 day late as I cannot afford this.

Unable to cancel trial.
A few weeks my wife an I thought it would be fun to attend Shaw's online classes together while in 'quarantine'. I signed up for an account for myself and one account for her. We attended some classes, but it wasn't really for us and we'd like to cancel.

While it's very easy to sign up and spend money via one click purchases (without any confirmation or giving a description of what it is that is purchased), it turns out you cannot cancel the trial at 'any time' as advertised by the business.

After an email, they managed to cancel one of the accounts via email, but not the one for my wife they demanded that I need to call (which only can be done during their business hours making it difficult for people who work those hours). The account under '***@yahoo.com' (student number XXXXX )was not canceled, instead of following my request they extended the trial by another 30 days.Once I called, they said that even though the credit card is in my name, I was not going to be able to cancel, my wife would have to be calling. She doesn't want to deal with these high pressure sales tactics and asked me to take care of it. We transferred the account XXXXX into my name.

When I called again to try and cancel the account that is now in my name, the person answering wasn't able to find any information at all for the account, my name, phone or email. She suggested we wait a couple days and try again then.

Everything seems to be designed to run the clock out until the trial automatically renews. There does not seem to be a way to remove credit card information.

I do not wish that either account renews. I wish to close them and have no further business with Shaw Academy.

Shaw Academy processed an unauthorized charge on my credit card and refused to refund the money even though I'd previously cancelled my account.
I signed up for a free trial of Shaw Academy and on May 8, called to cancel (prior to being charged anything for a monthly membership). I received an email (copy of email attached) that stated they had cancelled and were giving me 2 free months because of my loyalty (even though I'd only done the trial). Since the email states my membership had been cancelled, I assumed I wouldn't have to cancel again. Then on June 8 a charge went to my credit card for a monthly membership. When I reached out to them they stated that due to their terms and conditions, they couldn't give me a refund and that I hadn't cancelled my trial in time (even though I have an email stating it was cancelled on May 8 and I had 2 months free to use). The email below clearly states that the membership was cancelled and later states I would not be charged thereafter. I'm severely disappointed and frustrated with the situation. All I want is a refund but they keep offering me 6 months free or a year free service. I know if I accept it, I'll have to go through this again to cancel and possibly be charged even more money.

After having this happen, I started looking online and saw many negative reviews stating that a similar thing had happened to other people who'd used this company's services.

Shaw academy has charged me for 69.99 CAD 3 times under different account name, while sending me emails asking me to come back and get a plan.
I joined a free trial, two days before the end of the trial I canceled it, I know this is correct because the day I signed up I put the requirement into my calendar to do so. After I canceled my account I then began getting emails about coming back and purchasing a plan, I ignored these.

Today I saw a charge for 69.99 CAD. I tried to find a phone number for them and the only one I found was disconnected. I then double checked my bank account, I have have Shaw take 69.99 from me three times, all under different names. Then, as I was looking into this I got another email asking me to come back and choose a plan.

Following this I log into my Shaw account for the first time in over a month and see that I am still listed as an active premium member, even after I have canceled and have been receiving emails asking me to come back.

Shut this place down.

After following the instructions on the website to cancel during my free trial period, they didn't process it and charged me. Refuse to refund.
I signed up for a 4 week class on sports nutrition. After 2 weeks, I decided I wasn't learning anything new and followed the instructions to cancel that were provided online. I called at 1117 AM on 5/29/2020 and was disconnected after 4 minutes. I called back at 1122 AM and was able to complete the cancellation according to the recorded prompts. The company didn't process it until after charging when the free trial ended and I reported it again because it became a case of fraud and theft. Instead of returning my money, they tried to say that there was nothing they could do because I didn't cancel within the window even though my phone records prove that I called the number provided to cancel and the calls are recorded. They've since refused to listen to me and have tried to bribe me even though I told them that I wanted me money returned. I've also reported it to PayPal because I was charged through them and they refused to help me.

Refund for services not provided
Ref # XXXXX, ticket #XXXXXXX. I signed up with Shaw Academy on June 11th via PayPal, they charged me $69.95 for the subscription. I proceeded to check it out and noticed I had to purchase additional items for example an online "toolkit" amongst other charges that I was not expecting. I tried to close out the window for the purchase of the toolkit and it automatically charged me $39.99 via my PayPal account. I did not agree to purchase the toolkit, nor did it prompt me if I was certain to purchase as most websites do. I canceled my subscription to Shaw Academy with 12 hours of purchase as I was not happy. I never viewed any of the courses or took advantage of their services. I reached out to their support team and all they tried to do was offer me additional "savings" and offers to keep me as a subscriber. I reached out to them again Samuel responded stating they were not able to offer me a refund with no explanation, but again offering me more savings and offers more of a scam than anything else. reiterating, I never watched any courses or videos. After realizing the extra fees from observing the website for 5 minutes, the only areas I explored on their website was to find out about cancellation and refunds. I did not take "advantage" of any of their services. I am appalled they were not willing to offer a refund for either of the subscription charge of $69.95 or the unwanted charge of the toolkit of $39.99.

Shaw academy has been charging me AGAIN without permission, after telling me a month before that my subscription was cancelled.
They're not answering
Shaw acdemy has been really shady.
After I tried a first time last month to get a refund from them, I have been told a refund wasn't possible, but instead they were cancelling my subscription and offering me 6months free.
I have been charged again this month (june 11th 2020), the 6months free aren't existing, there's even trouble to access classes and they're not answering emails now. I have sent 5 emails so far, contacted Paypal, contacted them through social media, so far no answer has been given.
Just sounds like a bunch of lies and scam. I have seen literrally dozens of complaints for the same issue everywhere.
I lost my job 3 months ago due to covid 19, so my income has been affected too.

I cancelled my free trial, received a cancellation confirmation email, but was still billed for the first month. Now they won't refund me.
I started a 4-week free trial with Shaw Academy on May 12, 2020. I decided on May 14 that the course wasn't worth my time. To cancel my free trial, I called the phone number they provided me and spoke with a representative. Before we got off the call, she sent me a cancellation confirmation email. My account was cancelled, and I wasn't going to be charged.

On June 9, I was charged for 4 weeks of using Shaw Academy services. When I tried to get in contact with someone, a phone number was no longer provided on their website. I sent in a form to their support email address explaining what happened. They responded 6 hours later saying that my account wasn't cancelled and they couldn't reverse the charge.

I sent a response. I also emailed their billing department. It's been over 24 hours and neither have responded to me. I just called my credit card company to dispute the charge. I sent them the cancellation confirmation, and they are going to deal with Shaw Academy directly. (Thank goodness for their customer service.)

I feel embarrassed that I got sucked into their scam. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I am.

I started the free trial of 4 wks with them which I cancelled 2 days later. I received confirmation and they still charged me $69.99 they wont refund.
I started the free trial of 4 weeks. I didn't like it so I cancelled 1-2 days later. I took a screenshot of what it told me to do which it was to call and confirm which I did and then couple weeks later they charged me $69.99 and when I email them to refund because I had cancelled they said I didn't and they couldn't do any refund.
Trial started May 15, 2020
I cancelled on May 16, 2020 called on Monday because they only work Mon-Fri
I got charged June 11, 2020
I called them on June 11, 2020 the number that was on the screenshot was no longer working so it provided a different one I spoke with JP he stated that I needed to email them so I did at ***@shawacademy.com which I was email back by Renny and this is what it was in the email:

Renny (Shaw Academy)

Jun 15, 2020, 3:55:15 PM GMT+1

Hi ***,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

I have personally reviewed your account and found the following details:

The subscription has been initiated as 4-week free trial.
It was not cancelled during the trial period, so the payment was processed.
These terms are stated and accepted before account creation.T&C please see section 4 and 5.
We are unable to process subscription refunds unfortunately after the trial expiry, as per the terms and conditions.

However, we can confirm your membership is cancelled thus ensuring no further payments will be processed.

We are also providing you with 12-months access totally free of charge worth of $699, the least we can do is ensure you benefit from our professional certifications, so we can turn this unfortunate event in to a neutral, if not positive immediately. You will be able to complete the courses you initially joined and many other courses.

To log into your account and update your schedule with the days and times you prefer, visit here.

Thank you very much for your time and happy studying.

Kind Regards,
Renny

The payment was taken out of my paypal account
Transaction ID: XXXXXXXXHUXXXXXXU
Invoice ID: XXXXXXXX
This is the claim I opened with Paypal:
Case ID: PP-D-XXXXXXXX
Disputed amount: $69.99 USD
Transaction ID: XXXXXXXXHUXXXXXXU
Transaction amount: $69.99 USD
Transaction date: June 12, 2020
Seller name: Shaw Academy UK

Shaw Academy processed an unauthorized charge on my card and refused to refund the money, even though I did not purchase any services.
I signed up for a free 4 week trial and read under their policy agreement that if I unsubscribe and cancel my membership within those four weeks, I will not be charged a thing. They made it extremely difficult to cancel my free trial! I cancelled one day after signing up because I had this gut feeling that something was fishy.
I went through the cancellation process online and then had to call a phone number to cancel. Everyone I spoke to was so rude, unprofessional, and acted like I was bothering them. I made it clear that I wanted to cancel my membership, and the person on the phone confirmed that I would not be charged. I never received an email stating that my membership was cancelled and that I was unsubscribed.

A month went by and I saw a charge for $69.99 on my account! I have tried contacting them and all they have done is say that they do not recognize my account and that according to their policy I will not receive a refund.