Shaw Academy

Shaw Academy took £49.99 out of my account without permission. I was assured that this would not happen before starting my 4 week free course
My Shaw Academy ID: XXXXXXX - Enrolled on free 4 week course 23 April 2020

To join the 4 week free course I had to give Shaw Academy my debit card details. I was assured no money would be taken out of my account without my permission. I enrolled on the photoshop course 23 April. During this time I was inundated with emails to buy various products. Nearing the end of the 4 weeks, I tried to cancel the subscription on 19th May but was informed I had another week to go and the site would not let me opt out. Then received three payment monthly membership options by email and on their which I ignored as I could not afford any subscriptions.

I finally managed to get their number : XXXXX XXXXXX and to quote Ref no: XXXXX and on 24 May I called this number which was an automated call and said I wanted to opt out altogether. I was given about 5 options urging me to stay. I got to the end of call and finally it was acknowledged that I wanted out.

I just found out that they took £49.99 out of my account on 21 May 2020.
I am very angry that they have done this. I am a pensioner struggling financially.
I was told that they would not do this and that they would talk to me about all my options first.

My complaints have gone unanswered. Complaint sent 3 June 2020.
A Complaint Ref: XXXXXXX and XXXXXXX was sent to me via email, saying they would get back to me. I had sent two complaints, one to customer help line and one to a student teacher.

On the Student Profile page and under Account Info, it states
Premium Membership - 4- week Plan
Membership Status - Non-renewing

I want a refund. This is bad business practice. The company has made it very difficult to opt out. I am so worried that they will keep taking money out of my account which I cannot afford. I cannot sleep and not physically well.

Please help me get a refund and any data they have about me removed.

Thank you

The wont refund me
I was signed up for a free trial, in the free trial it said they will notify me when it is almost over, I never was notified and yesterday 6/3/20 they took out $70 from my debit card and ending in *** and I emailed them the same night asking for a refund and they told me no

Fraudulent company, I have email confirmation of cancellation yet was still charged.
I cancelled my account with the business named above on May 12th, 2020. They apparently did not actually cancel my account and continued to charge me 69.99 on today's date June 4th 2020. I spoke with Jade E, the Student Guidance Manager on May 12th and throughout the whole cancellation process was trying to get me to stay signed up. It was like jumping through hoops. The payment method was my debit card, which needed to be given in order to activate my free trial. It is clearly stated on the website you will not be charged if you cancel before your one month free trial ends, which I was sure to cancel before then.

I canceled my subscription during free trial period, hours after signing up, and was still charged $69, automatically deducted from my account.
I signed up for the free course offering during the pandemic to enhance my skills in graphic design. I signed up and entered my information. I looked over to see what the cancellation policy was before submitting my information. After registering and I was about to take the class they mentioned that the class was free but the materials needed for the class and other stuff was not free. So I decided to cancel my subscription before the trial ended so my card would not be charged. I tried contacting them but they were unable to reach during that time. So I sent an email. Days later I saw a charge on my card from Shaw Academy. They had taken $69 out of my account. More than what was advertised as the fee if I don't cancel subscription. It has been 3 weeks and I still have not received my refund and now I have incurred over draft charges.

I called several times and the staff was rude and would never give me direct answers.
I asked for a physical address and they asked me why several times. I asked to speak to a manager, they put me on hold several times and came back without a manager then asked me why did I need to speak with one when I can handle my problems with a regular customer service agent. Manager was then put in the phone and asked me why did I need to get a physical address? He then stated that the address was in Cape Town Africa and I didn't need the address because I had a phone number from the US. Very disappointing and disrespectful. I'm wondering how is this even an institution?

Shaw Academy processed an unauthorized charge on my bank account against their cancellation policy. I did not purchase their services.
On 1st May 2020, I subscribed to a 4week free trial with them. Soon after, I started receiving many emails, text messages from them. I was not happy with their services, hence cancelled my membership on the same day. I did this via my account profile and phone call. During the call, the robot tried to convince me to reactivate my account to which I declined. I noticed they did not acknowledge my cancellation by email however the phone call and profile confirmed the cancellation. I continued to receive spam messages from them after this. On 3rd May I wrote to them requesting them to unsubscribe me from their end. This includes an email to the Head of Education. On emailing their general support, they did so and confirmed this by email.
On 29th May they proceeded to deduct unauthorized 49.99 pounds from my account. This was shocking as I had cancelled my membership during the free trial period as per their cancellation policy. On contacting them, they claim that they have no record of such a transaction and requested evidence. I have provided them with all the evidence but they are ignoring my request.

I was billed 06/01/20 for $69.99 US dollars on my PayPal for a 4 week free trial but yet billed same exact day. Never signed in.
I was billed 06/01/20 for $69.99 and .50 on my PayPal for something I did not sign up to pay for. I was offered a free 4 weeks but was billed For that trial the same day. I asked to be refunded. I have been attempting to contact them. I spoke with one person who stated it was not right and I should not have been billed. But received email that I would not be refunded. It's not right.

Payment sent to Shaw Academy UK
June 1, 2020 at 5:43:30 AM PDT
Transaction ID: ***
Payment Status: COMPLETED
Gross amount
-$69.99 USD
We have no postal address on file
Order details
Quantity
Price
Subtotal
1
$69.99 USD
$69.99 USD
Purchase Total
$69.99 USD
Your Payment
Purchase Total
-$69.99 USD
Sales Tax
$0.00 USD
Shipping Amount
$0.00 USD
Handling Amount
$0.00 USD
Insurance Amount
$0.00 USD
Gross Amount
-$69.99 USD
PayPal Fee
$0.00 USD
Net Amount
-$69.99 USD
Invoice ID

Reason
Subscription
Contact info
Shaw Academy UK
The receiver of this payment is Non-US - Verified
***@shawacademy.com
+***
Funding details
Funding Type: Bank Account
Funding Source: -$69.99 USD - ASCEND FEDERAL CREDIT UNION ending in x-***

Backup Funding Source: VISA ending in x-***

Regards

Hi team-

Req assistance to cancel my subscription te free trial and be sure not to charge my card, and removed on their system. Thanks
I tried to contact them already via email and tried to call the phone number provided to me however the phone number is not working..

Shaw Academy have charged me £69.99 following a 4 week free trial even though I had no access to an account and wasn't able to cancel.
I signed up to the free 4 week trial. I then attempted to log in and was told that I didn't have an account, I assumed that the registration hadn't gone through and didn't bother to sign up again. 4 weeks later I then noticed that £69.99 had been taken out of my account. I emailed Shaw Academy to ask why this had been taken out when I was still being told I don't even have an account. Eventually they told me that the email address they had was invalid so I wouldn't have been able to sign in or cancel the subscription. I asked them to refund this amount as I have clearly never used the free trial or any of the services and would expect some goodwill from the merchant. They have outright refused to process a refund and even refused to raise a formal complaint for me and cancel this subscription. This is terrible practice from the company and coming from a background of customer service and regularly handling complaints I'm appalled at their lack of service skills and empathy for customers.

I went to cancel my subscription and ask for a refund. They are refusing, even though I did not attend classes.
I had signed up for a class during Covid-19, during this time I was unable to attend this class. When I would go to look for a way to get a hold of them on their app I found no way of getting in contact with them to cancel. I was finally able to get an email address and asked for a refund explaining that I didn't take these classes and that during this crisis it had financially upset me with them $69.99 it took from me. They refused to refund me due to it being outside of my cancellation time by one day. I've asked for a phone number to call to get this resolved fast they refused that as well. It's taken days to respond to each email. I'm very sad that a company is taking advantage of a global crisis and refusing to refund due to a one day discrepancy.

Offers a free trial, requires your credit card information and states in the "fine print" that you will continue to be charged. Deceptive in nature.
I received a free trial via T-Mobile's Tuesday rewards program. I signed up, and received a "free trial". I was never able to utilize the free trial, and it fell to the wayside as during COVID-19 I was an essential employee and worked constantly. With any kind of subscription service, an e-mail reminder of being charged is typical, so that the return/cancellation/refund process is avoided (as this can be costly and time consuming for both parties). I interestingly never received notification that I was being charged a membership or that my subscription was renewing. This information, along with their "non-refundable policy" is hidden in the fine print, and is deceptive and misleading. I was offered a free trial, that I wasn't even able to use, and was told to enter my credit card information before I could have even utilized said "free" trial. I received two charges (69.99 EACH!) without my consent, without my knowledge, all the while I am only being sent e-mails offering me a variety of different e-mails to purchase more "add-ons" or more "premium features". I have received numerous advertisements, but no information of my membership or current status or receipt of "purchase". What in the world am I paying 70$ a month for, if I'm still being told to buy more "deals" and "Packages" for "full access"? This company is deceptive and takes advantage of free trials to lock people into something they do not want, and without the ability to get out of it. I am absolutely disparaged as I cannot afford to just lose 140$ for no reason at all. I have not even opened the program ONCE to utilize this service and the fact that they offer these kinds of trials and seemingly "steal" money from customers during such a critical time is very disheartening.

Stole $69.99 from me for bills!
I canceled before the free 4 week trial was over. I contacted them about attempting to bill me anyway. They said not once but twice that my email was not on file. So I sent a Screenshot of my email under my accout section the next day they charged me 69.99 after contacting them about the issue! Now they say I never canceled even though when I signed in after that it said I had to make a password It is such a shame to do this during a pandemic . I am un employed and homeless with a 1.5 yo baby living in a trailer with no running water. On a family members property. I'm barley trying to save up to get my own place. Yet they steal money out of our pockets .. what a scan im ashamed of "tmobile" for offering this as a free trial

I'm trying to cancel my trial subscription before it ends but on your procedure it's asks me to call a number that nobody answer.
I cancelled my membership 6/3/20, before the trial period ends. The number the website asks me to call put me on hold greater than 30 minutes, no responses. I called within the hours of service. If they can't accommodate calls, they shhoffer email as an alternative.

I was on a free trial with Shaw Academy. I went to cancel and was offered a 2 month extension. I agreed. After month one I was charged 70$ for service
I started on a free trial with Shaw Academy about 2 months ago. A month ago before my trial was about to cancel, I was offered an additional 2 month free trial by Shaw's automated cancellation service. I agreed to the 2 month extension. After 1 month one I was charged $69.99 US dollars for service on May 31, 2020. I contacted billing and they stated that they didn't see such things in my account. It upsets me because after researching online, I see that others have experienced these terrible thing. It's upsetting that in a time like this pandemic, people are so greedy to take money from others. I would not recommend ShawAcademy to anyone. Stay far away.

Company is not responding to my emails asking for a refund that was never authorized
I signed up for a free Excel class on April 23, 2020 and never attended it. I was never made aware that I would be automatically charged, but on May 21, 2020 I was questionably charged $69.99 through paypal. Transaction IDXXXXXXXXXXX*. Invoice # XXXXXXXX. I followed instructions for contacting the company, and emailed them at paypal@shawacademy on May 22 and May 26 and have not received a response, nor am I able to get in touch with paypal.

***
My emails to the company read:
Hello!
I'm writing to request a refund for the purchase that was made yesterday for $70. I never used this service onceI signed up for a single class, realized I didn't want to do it, and never used it. I never received information about being charged automatically, especially for a service I'm not using and did not authorize.

Thank you for your help with this!
Have a lovely day and thanks again,
***
And again, 4 days later:

***
May 26, 2020, 2:09 PM (8 days ago)
to paypal
Hi,

Can you please update me with this status, or let me know if I can provide anything else? Thanks so much!!

***
Invoice # XXXXXXXXX
***
It is now June 3 and I have not heard a response, and paypal I guess doesn't provide customer service any more.

I'm not sure what else to do. If I would have known they were going to charge me money that I don't have, I would not have signed up for the class I never used anyway. It seems like theft to subject consumers to this and then ignore their own consumers.

Thank you very dearly for any help you can provide!

Thanks again and take care

I signed up for a free trial of an online class and was never able to even log in to access the account to use or cancel.
I was required to give my credit card number in order to sign up and when I went to access my free trial class I couldn't even log in to access the course. Since I couldn't log in at all to access the course I also couldnt cancel. There was no customer service number to call and I had to email. Which I did and I still wasnt able to get in. Today my account was charged $69.99 and the number on my bank charge was not even a working number and it was what was associated with the charge.

I cancelled my membership before the allotted trial time, TWICE! They still charged my account! They scam you and don't respond back.
I cancelled my membership on April 15th 2020. On May 4th 2020 I called with the confirmation number to cancel. (I have supporting documentation printed as well as making the call through my phone provided details.) I was still charged $34.99 (CAD) for the service on June 1st 2020. Which put us in an extremely difficult position in paying rent. My contact through them is ***@gmail.com. I would appreciate being refunded. I went to try out their course to try and better the livelihood of my family and children but found the content to not be beneficial. Then my money was withdrawn after their claims of the course being free, then being charged afterwards? My husband will be filing a separate claim as this happened with the same Shaw in our joint account as well. My account was charged through PayPal (same associated email as above) and my joint account through CIBC via our visa debit. (I can again provide proof via screenshots and bank statements as needed.) I was only able to submit one image, I don't know how to upload the rest of the images. I've contacted them repeatedly via email, through PayPal, by phone, only to be ignored.

Being unable to cancel before the end of a free trial and being billed
Hi,

I signed up for a 4 week free trial which expires today. I have gone to cancel the membership and followed everything online but have been directed to a phone number as the only way to cancel. The phone lines are closed.

There was no mention of having to call a phone number to cancel when I initially took up the trial option. It is not very customer friendly to be able to join online but not be able to cancel online. I have now been billed for £49.99 for a further month's membership now which I shall be contesting with paypal if this is not refunded within 48 hours. I had until the end of today to cancel which I want to do, and today isn't over but you're not allowing me to do this.

Thanks for your assistance in the matter

I was charged $69.99, I have been reading and it says if you want full access to Shaw Academy you can opt to get charged for all classes. Took one
I was charged $69.99 on May 14th. I signed up for one free course, took one class. I have been reading SHaw Academy and it says if you can opt in to pay $69.99 to unlimited access for all classes. Never signed up for all classes..

They Have Deducted money on my account without my concern involving one email address I really don't know whose the owner.
I was checking my bank statement and I saw the company has deducted some money on my banks without my concern and the email involved on that I have no idea whose the owner when I tried to get in touch on that and how the user was able to deduct using my card I was told they'll help me by giving me more months on the sites as free subscription which I personal don't feel like joining and spending my time knowing on their courses, and when I use my original email I realized that again another money was deducted double the initial on the foreign subscription. When I emailed them they said no refund they'll give me more benefits.