Shaw Academy

From a Facebook advert, Shaw Academy were offering free courses. Their terms beyond the free trial were not clear.
On 20th April 2020 Shaw Academy debited my Paypal account for Premium Membership which they stated I had agreed to when I had signed up for a free course a month earlier (via Facebook advert).

My complaint is that the advert was not clear that once the free trial was finished, the customer would be transferred to Premium Membership. I am sure that to cover themselves legally there would have been something on there in small insignificant print to look at their T&Cs. However, it wasn't clear to myself as a customer at the time of signing up for the free course.

Since having this experience, I have looked at Google, Facebook and Trustpilot reviews and they are littered with customers who have experienced the same issue as myself.

Are you able to investigate this company and request that they produce clear advertising?

I have contacted the company to request a refund but they refused stating that their T&Cs were available to view. I have also asked for Paypal to assist but they quickly closed down my first request for a refund and I have asked them to re-open the case. Apparently they need to give Shaw Academy 20 days to respond upon which I am waiting but not expecting a positive response.

I took ' free' course '. When I registered they said I need to pay £50 every month. I cancelled my membership immediately and they still charged me.
I took' free' course from Shaw Academy. When I finished my registration they informed me that only 4 weeks are free and after I need to pay £ 50. I immediately cancelled my membership. Today I saw my bank statement that Shaw Academy charged me £50 , when I did not even used their service and moreover I cancelled my account. So I went to their website and my account is still active.???
After I cancelled my membership I have never looked there again. They did not cancel my membership, they charged me despite the fact that I didnt even used their service plus I cancelled the membership. Now I had to cancel again and process was completely different.
Shaw Academy, please dont steal people money as it's disgusting! I am looking forward for my refund.

This academy is a scam
Fraud academy
Would not recommend to anyone
I registered for a course on 31st March for a 4 week free trial period .While registration it asked for a card number and states I will b charged only after the 4 week trial but I cancelled the membership the day I joined and it gave me a confirmation stating that I still can have an access of 4 week free trial and their will b no charge from your account once the trial over .But then on 28april I got charged for $69.99 and my membership status still showing active .Send an email to the support but they r not refunding my money .This is a fraud company .

Shaw Academy charged an unauthorised amount to my debit card, and has been completely impossible to contact in any effective way to discuss & resolve.
I unintentionally purchased the Toolkit and the E-certificate for the Photography course from the "My Courses" page. I accidentally clicked a misleading button and was not given the opportunity to review, authorise, or cancel the purchase before it went through. It also didn't say that it costs something. It was one click only in a very unexpected location, with no indication that it was a button for one click purchase. I immediately wrote to support via the website and received a confirmation that they had received my message (ID number #XXXXXXX). The reply I received later 100% missed the mark, as if they had not even read what I wrote. They made me an offer that they would add some "fancy name" tools to my account that I don't even want to use anymore. I was told this would show up in my account, and it never did. I wrote back again to their response, and did not receive a reply. The replied within minutes several times but when I started asking for a refund they never replied.

It says on the website
8.Single purchases. If a student purchases an E-cert or toolkit from the members area, by checkout page or single click purchase, refunds cannot be provided without just cause, as defined by incorrect content or pricing.
I believe that in my case it is a just cause becuse It didn't say that it costs 29.95. If it did I wouldn't had clicked on it. Also the only reason I clicked on it is because there was no price beside it and from the conversation I had I got offered the Toolkit and the E-certificate for free when I was trying to unsubscribe. Please help me out with this because it is not worth it if it won't be used.

Signed up for a free trail. I tried canceling courses before I get charged in 9 days. I was given fake number to call.
I went on their website to cancel my membership and had to go through 5 pages of them trying to stop me from canceling before being given a phone number with a PIN that I must call in order to confirm cancellation. The number was to a hotel in New Jersey who knows nothing of the school. These online courses are a scam. I fear for others who simply trying to improve their lives and instead be taken advantage of during these trying times.

I signed up to shaw academy in early April and now it's the 29th and I chose not to continue in their program. I don't want my card charged!
My name is *** and I signed up to shaw academy in early April. Upon subscription to the graphic design course I was told that cancel anytime before the end of the month. That is exactly what I wish to do but its easier said than done. There is no number to contact shaw academy and I highly doubt they'll respond to my 5 still unanswered emails.

Was told my subscription had been cancelled, took payment then refused to refund the payment.
I signed up for a free trial and then cancelled by email, they confirmed my subscription was cancelled. Thebook moneybfrom my credit card and when I emailed they refused to give me back money even though I showed them the email confirmation. They did a similar thing to my partner.

I never received the services, but was charged after the free trial, even though I attempted to cancel 1 week into the 1-month period.
Shaw Academy, like many companies today, offers a 1-month free trial, which I subscribed to, on Tues. March 31st. The deal was one free 4-week class (which would be over on today 4/28/2020, though the full 30 days of the month would be at 4/30/2020) before a one year subscription, totaling $69.99.

Only a couple days later, on April 2, 2020, still well within the trial period, I realized that Shaw was not going to be a product that I wanted to continue with.... I had attempted to log into the account I created plenty of times, including a complete password *** but repeatedly got an error message explaining that my email was not registered, which was locking me out.

As far as the classes go, I was receiving text reminders almost every hour, and if I clicked the link in the text message, the classes did pop up, but still with no access I to the actual account. Consequently, I was also unable to change any of my settings , get more info about the email they did have lIsted in their database, or cancel the subscription once I decided that I no longer wanted it.

I emailed the folks at Shaw Academy, after a long search in their site to even figure out how I was supposed to get help. At this point, I let them know that I was having trouble getting into the account, and that I had tried a few different emails but nothing was working, and so, I wanted to cancel my membership immediately, internally with help from their support team.

There was no number to call that I could find, so unfortunately, this all had to happen through email. On April 3, I got an email back stating that I could not be found in their system so I needed to email from the email I used to register. This was an issue, considering I contacted them about having trouble with my email, in the first place. About an hour later, I got an email, marking my issue as resolved, even though it was nowhere near that.

I got a little busy this month, but did keep tryin the emails I had to get in, never with any success. On April 27, (Monday), a day earlier than collection was supposed to happen, Shaw Academy charged me the $69.99 for the yearly subscription, even though I had clearly stated my intent to cancel and asked for help to do so after I had absolutely no access to the account I was to use within the trial period to cancel.

I emailed Shaw again, inquiring about the charge to see if I could be refunded.... they again told me they did not recognize my email, and then asked my to send my full name, phone number, and receipt for payment, claiming that they could help that way. Immediately after though, my request was marked as resolved again, as if there were no issue. I still replied with the information requested, only to receive an email back asking for my name and just my phone number this time. Again, it was marked as resolved immediately after. It seems that no one is reading the information previous to whenever they respond to an email, nor has anyone actually addressed my concern about not being avale to get into the account/my reasons for wanting to cancel/now this charge that I would like refunded..... I have been compliant and sent all the information required of me. I have also tried to function within guidelines of when cancellation was permitted. However, I have not been able to get help or even really open up dialogue about the issues experienced.

It is disheartening and odd to me that Shaw could not access any of my information to help me, but had no problem accessing it to collect payment for a service I never received. Any help offered would be greatly appreciated.

This company's cancellation process prevented me from doing so in time before getting charged. They then refused too refund me afterward.
This company offers a month free and charges afterward. I had a reminder in my phone to cancel before I got charged, and on the last day of my membership I went to cancel and found I was unable to. I had to call the number, refer to my student number, and do so within business hours. I had called after business hours on a Friday evening. They charged me on Saturday. Monday morning I called to cancel, and after 15 minutes of confirming I want to cancel I never even got to speak to a person. I sent an email explaining the issue and kindly asking for a refund. They responded with what seems to be an impersonal email, explaining I agreed to the terms and can't get a refund. I let them know that seeing how their process isn't exactly fair, transparent, or respectful to their students it'd be in their best interest to have better customer service. I have not heard back from them and have moved forward filing a formal complaint, as well as posting reviews explaining the reality of the company's lack of concern for it's customers. I then found many other angry customers and bad reviews for similar reasons.

The free trial sign up is a scam, it's not easy to cancel and pop up claiming warning would be given when the trial was over was a false claim.
I signed up for a free trial on the 31st of March. When I tried to cancel on Sunday 26th April, before the expiry of the term, a pop up advised me that I still had 4 days left and that they would alert me that the time was up before payment was taken.

I received no such warning and when I tried to cancel on the day of the expiry of the term I discovered this could only be done on the phone.

Payment of £49.99 was taken, after sending repeated marketing emails of a discounted rate which it seems was not even applied here. I emailed to request a refund and I was advised you had no intention of doing so.

To then also find out online that this is a scam is really disturbing especially during these times.

I request a refund of my money and a revision of your practices as this is daylight robbery.

Refund required for accidental purchase of 'module toolkit' company response to cancel my membership.
On the 24th April I accidentally clicked on this 'module toolkit' whilst waiting for my lesson to load which immediately took £39.95 out of my bank account just because they had by card on file for the free membership. I did not want the toolkit, It is a pointless thing in my opinion. There was no security checks or 'please confirm this purchase.' I contacted Shaw Academy and did receive a response but they just wanted to give me more 'toolkits' and 'certificates' which I did not need or want, I just wanted to complete the lessons. I replied and asked again for the refund. Due to covid-19 I have had my hours cut at work and cannot afford to loose this money. I have sent them several emails and I have had no response. They have since cancelled my membership all together so now I have nothing, cannot use anything which furthers my case for a refund. I recieved an email saying 'from your phone call to cancel' which never happened, you cannot even call them? This is causing me a lot of stress and anxiety. The company is a scam. You can see this from the comments on social media from customers trying to contact them and the comments on complaints websites, they need to be stopped from taking money from people.

Was told I would receive a refund then was told I would not.. During covid when I need my money the most. This company just wants to sell you.
During quarantine, I decided to take advantage of a one month free trial Sprint was offering. I forgot to cancel it the same day they called me and was charged. I contacted shaw immediately, hoping that during a world wide pandemic and like most companies, they would be understanding and refund my needed money. I have not been able to keep track of all of which bills are not running auto pay, etc. The first response I received made it seem as though I would receive a refund since I reached out in request of one. (I had already cancelled my subscription ). I was told " Your membership with Shaw Academy has now been cancelled. It will be reflected within 24 hours in your account." then the next couple agents copy and paste a horribly long message in hopes you unsubscribe to one of the"AMAZING" offers they throw at you so you can repeat the dance with them all over again. They send you constant, incessant sales emails throughout the course trying to sell you certificates and tool boxes and all kinds of ***. The course was BORING to all H-E double hockey sticks. This company does not appear to truly care about your success or your wellbeing. They make their money off your hops, free trials and shady sales practices.

My paypal was charged 69.99 despite not being stated at time of free trial. Customer service via email is refusing me a refund, I didn't use service.
When I signed up for the free trial I was not informed that I would be charged 69.99 after my free trial ended. And I also wasn't informed on their refund policies at time of signing up. I also was not sent any reminders that my free trial was coming to an ens as most companies do when a free trial is in place. As it gives the consumer the best possible ability to cancel before they are charged. I noticed a day after my card was charged that the free trial had ended and my account was charged 69.99! Which I wasn't informed on upon signing up nor did I agree upon. I'm a 19 year old college student who doesn't have $70 to just throw around. I need that money to eat and live off of. I didn't use the service at all in the time I had it and the notifications to attend my classes stopped after a week. I emailed customer service to try and get a refund and they told me it was not possible at all. There's no way that a refund isn't possible, on top of that in order to cancel your membership you have to jump through hoops just to cancel and they shame you in their prerecorded cancelation recording. Saying if you wish to give up on your goals and trying to offer me free stuff (all service related despite me not even using the service) and made me go through several recordings just to cancel. As well as you cannot just simply cancel online like any other online service business. What really annoyed me is after telling their customer support I didn't use the service at all throughout our emails, they still offered me a year free to keep my money despite me not wanting the service at all. I do not like how this company handles payments or customer care. If I could afford it I'd bring a lawyer into it just to sue them for malpractice and failure to make terms and services clear at signing up. But unfortunately I don't have the money for that. I want my money back. And I don't want to hear that once again that it's "impossible" because I know that is completely false. As most services in the user is not happy with the service a full refund is typically guaranteed.

Has failed to issue a refund for an unintentional one-click purchase via a cleverly-placed button that did not require any confirmation on their site.
I really wanted to like Shaw Academy.
My cellular service provider was offering a free trial to try out Shaw Academy and I took them up on their offer.
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, I had to cancel my trial, as it didn't take long before the Shaw Academy site seemed questionable at best.
As online educational platforms often do, the Shaw Academy pages can take a moment to load.
I was taken aback to discover that, while the page was loading for a lesson, an in-site pop-up popped up onto the screen urging the student to make a one-click "toolbox" purchase for $40 that doesn't require any confirmation.
This happened as my phone screen dimmed andan happened to tap my phone to keep the screen from going black, accidently hitting the one-click, no confirmation needed, purchase of forty dollars.
Making matters worse, the pop-up appeared to me to be strategically placed in a commonly high-touch area on the average phone. Though I cannot say for sure that this is intentional, I found this frustrating.
I then decided to withdraw from my trial course on Shaw Academy as I found this to be questionable conduct.

I emailed Shaw Academy's support team explaining the situation, and they notified be that they would NOT issue a refund.

As one can imagine, during a global pandemic where thousands are left jobless, hearing the news that this company WON'T issue refunds for situations such as this is both disheartening and disappointing, particularly when they won't issue refunds to individuals trying their services for the first time.

I would not recommend this company to anyone.

I cancelled my subscription for services 4 days prior to my trail ending however the company proceeded to debit my credit card on file.
I cancelled my subscription for services 4 days prior to my trail ending however the company proceeded to debit my credit card on file. I contacted the company via email. I received an email stating they could not process my cancellation. They also stated they would cancel my trail subscription and offered me a discount to another service. I responded I'd already cancelled, asked them to remove any card information they had on file, and that I didn't want any services from the company which, based on other complaints, seems like a fraudulent company.

Received free trial. Canceled two days before the ending of the free trial. They are refusing to refund per the agreement not to be charged.
Canceled trial two days before trial period ended. Started process online to cancel. When you get to the end they require to call this number to complete cancelation. After about 10 offers to remain and turning them down cancelation was finally confirmed while on the call. Then charges of 69.99 was applied to my credit card days later. This is a scam please help.

Takes money fraudulently with innocuous 'one click purchase' links all over the site.
Once you've entered your details for your 'free trial', there are one-click purchases (that don't look like purchases) all over the site and they will charge you thefor beforea subscription long before the subscription ends. They have also spontaneously re-activated accounts after cancellation and charged memberships according to reviews online (even 6 months after cancellation). The complaints about this company are all over the internet. I was incorrectly charged 3 times after accidentally clicking a harmless link labelled 'Module Toolkit' and charged $35 x3. They have refused refund and are now ignoring emails. They have charged people after memberships have been cancelled too. There's no way to remove your details on their site, so the only way to get rid of this company is to cancel your credit card through your bank and order a new one, which is what I have had to do.

Cancelled my membership but still was charged
I have been charged following a free trial period of a Social Media Marketing despite cancelling my membership on the first day if trial period. I ordered the course on 22nd March and the same day sent email indicated in the T&Cs to billing as I was unable
To cancel the membership on the Membership Zone. Still despite that I have been charged £49.95 at the end of the free trial on 19th April!

I signed up to Shaw Academy for a free trial. They then took money from my account unauthorised and refuse to refund me.
I signed up to a free course from Shaw Academy, they then kept asking for my bank details so I entered these into my account knowing that I would not have to pay anything. They then proceeded to take £50 from my account without authorisation at after calling and emailing them a various number of times, they refuse to give me my money back. This is very unacceptable.

Unauthorized payment taken when within period to cancel. I had checked yesterday and I had one day left to cancel but then charged the next day.
I can trialed the guitar class as an incentive given from my phone company and made sure to set reminders as to when to cancel. When I returned to site yesterday it said I had 1 day of trial left. I then returned that next day 4/28 to cancel account to find out I had been automatically charged without my consent despite having tried to cancel the day before and being told I had 1 more day to cancel. My student number is XXXXX.