This started out as a post to the EFA members’ discussion list, where we’ve recently discussed a couple of scams, but it got a little long so I’m posting it here. I also gave out my URL and was promised it’d be linked to my member profile, so in case that actually does get published anywhere, I want to emphasize here that I am not affiliated with the National Association of Professional Women. Which should also be clear from the rest of the post.
I come with a word of warning about the National Association of Professional Women. They’re advertising heavily on LinkedIn, I hear, and targeting new business owners whose bullshit detectors might not be finely tuned yet. (That would include me, I’m sorry to say.) The organization seems reputable but they’ll use flattery and high-pressure tactics to upsell you on anything they can.
A week or two ago, I got a postcard in the mail offering membership and providing a preapproved membership code. I thought about it, went and checked out the org’s website, and decided it looked legitimate and possibly useful to me. The site said that every woman who applies (should have been red flag #0) gets a complimentary basic membership but that there were many membership levels. I entered the code from the mailing, filled out a form, and figured I’d check it out at the free level.
A few days later, I got a phone call from Savina (at a blocked number; red flag #1) wanting to interview me before my membership was approved and leaving the number 866-540-6279, extension 270. I called back today, and the given extension was Pamela Caldwell’s voice mailbox. I left a message anyway, and Savina called me back an hour or so later. (Red flag #2 — there was no mention of “oops, I gave you the wrong extension” or “Pamela gave me your message” or anything like that.)
Savina seemed friendly, but I could also tell she was reading from a script at points. I answered questions about my work experience, my education, my business, where I see myself in five years, what I hoped to get from the organization, what I was most looking forward to, etc. At the end of the interview she said she was pleased to offer me membership. I thanked her, thinking I’d passed some test or received some honor, and we proceeded with the paperwork process. She said there was the Elite membership level, which cost $900-something, or the Premium level, which cost $700-something but didn’t have quite so many benefits, so which did I want to sign up for?
WHOA THERE. I don’t want to sign up for either! However, we’d now spent about 15 minutes talking about me and what I wanted from the organization, so I didn’t want to feel foolish by saying “no thanks, never mind” at this point. (Red flag #3, in retrospect.) Savina said she could offer me a trial membership at $99. I said, didn’t I see something on the website about a free level? She said that was a listing only and didn’t include all the networking and seminars and other benefits I’d just said I wanted. So would that be American Express, Visa, Mastercard…?
At this point I felt trapped enough to give up my credit card information. I wish I’d come up with some other excuse: I wanted to review the welcome packet she promised to send; I wanted to run it by an accountant or a mentor; I wanted an invoice or an online form instead of giving my card info over the phone. (I later found out that others who’d said things like these were told the offer of membership was a now-or-never thing, or that welcome packets or requested invoices never came.)
So once Savina had my card info and enough information to create my member profile, she then offered to sell me a very nice plaque commemorating my acceptance into membership. She read off what the plaque would say and said that they only reserve two plaques for each member, so did I want to buy one or two for $99 each? That, I managed to turn down. To finish the signup process, Savina told me I’d get an email with my member ID and website login, told me I could download the organization’s logo and put it on my own site and business cards and wherever else, and described what would be in the welcome packet
When we ended the call, I felt swindled. I’d had no intention of spending a dime on membership, but because I’d been enthusiastic about membership for most of the call, I felt pressure not to backtrack. The more I thought about the whole thing, the more red flags started to appear, and I did what I should have done in the first place: researched the organization. My phone even offered “national association of professional women scam” when I started to type in the search box. Uh-oh.
I found blog posts and comments from 2007 through January of this year, all telling pretty much the same story, with some of the same names and phone numbers, though the exact dollar amounts changed from year to year. A post, Women Work Smart: Watch Out for Scams Attacking New Business Owners, and comments that echoed the experience I’d just had. An unfavorable article from 2009 that NAPW wanted taken down in 2012. A speaker who’d been offered a complimentary membership, then asked to pay for memberships and awards. A Ripoff Report article that had a fluffy, glowing “special update” at the top and a name removed from the original, critical report. Even negative Yelp reviews of the organization.
The more I read, the more infuriated I got. I called the number back and pressed 0 for “immediate assistance.” An operator transferred me to the Finance division, where I left a stern message saying I did not want membership, do not charge my card, and call me back to tell me there will be no charges. I read more stories of people getting the runaround and called the number again, this time dialing the extension Savina had given me, which again directed me to Pamela’s voice mailbox — only this time, her last name was something like Jean-Michel, not Caldwell (another red flag!). I left another stern message saying not to charge my card.
I expected I’d have to fight a little harder to avoid charges, since Savina had said that all membership orders were final. But an hour after I left the first message, I got a call from Ben (blocked number) from the Finance division. He asked me to confirm that I’d purchased a membership today. I said instead that I’d done a little more research on the organization and decided not to proceed with membership. He said, “So you looked at the website?” I said that I’d looked at the website and some other recommendations online, and I no longer wanted to be a member of NAPW. Ben offered no other resistance and said that he’d reverse the charges, which could take up to 24 hours. And that was that.
My bank account doesn’t show a pending charge yet, so I can’t say what amount they charged or refunded. If anything does come through, I’ll update the post.
ETA, 3/29/13: I think it’s safe to say now that no charges came through at all. It looks like I changed my mind quickly enough that NAPW really didn’t charge my card, instead of completing the transaction and then reversing the charges.
Update, 2/4/14: There have been so many more comments on this post than I ever expected (almost 200 as of this morning)! If you did purchase a membership at any level in the National Association of Professional Women, I can’t offer specific advice beyond what I’d recommend for any other purchase: contact NAPW for a refund and to cancel your membership. Contact your bank or credit card company and ask to stop the charge if it hasn’t gone through yet, or if it has, ask the customer service rep what your options are. Several readers have mentioned automatic renewals without clear notice — commenter Kim Hales said in December 2013 that text authorizing the renewals is hidden in new/updated terms and conditions that NAPW members must accept in order to login to the members-only area of the website, where you’d need to uncheck a renewal option — so if you’re already on the phone with your bank or credit card issuer, ask if you can prevent that specific renewal charge. NAPW may also have a policy disallowing cancellation within 30 days of the membership’s renewal date.
Many readers have mentioned the misleading ads NAPW has placed on LinkedIn. Yesterday, commenter Karin posted the text of the support ticket she submitted to LinkedIn and the reply she received, in which an Ads Support Specialist promised to “investigate the advertiser in question.” LinkedIn’s advertising guidelines prohibit deception or lying. Since NAPW does have a free membership level, I don’t think advertising a free membership is lying per se, but I do think this tactic is deceptive. If you’re on LinkedIn, you can submit a support ticket here.
Other readers have mentioned NAPW’s Better Business Bureau rating, which seems to have tanked over time. Commenter Glenda said in August 2013 that the LinkedIn ads touted NAPW’s A rating but that, according to the BBB, NAPW was not an accredited business. As of October 2013, NAPW still had a high rating, but commenter Lil W. said in December 2013 that NAPW had an F rating then. Last week, commenter Gabby said that NAPW’s Wikipedia page had a “Controversy” section that mentioned a C rating from the BBB. Here’s the text of that Controversy section as it appears today:
As of January 2014, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reported 256 customer complaints against NAPW since 2011. Based on these complaints, the Bureau issued the company a C rating (on a scale of A+ to F) for its “failure to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints”, among other factors cited in their review of the company.[10] Dozens of consumer complaints were also filed against NAPW with other complaint bureaus, reporting fraudulent practices. In response to BBB’s inquiry regarding what measures the company was taking to resolve “underlying issues”, NAPW reported that the “trend” of complaints reported to BBB was heavily due to online “negative PR” rather than customer experience.[11]
My post here tends to rank highly in Google searches for the National Association of Professional Women, with or without the word “scam” included. NAPW has not contacted me about my experience (or for any other reason). I don’t think I or my blog really register with them.
The BBB gives NAPW a D rating today, for reasons that match my experience and those of almost all the commenters below: “Many consumers tell BBB that they are misled regarding membership prices, membership levels, and additional fees for processing and set-up. For example, consumers reported seeing an ad for free membership for NAPW on LinkedIn. However, these consumers claim that when they contact NAPW to take advantage of that offer, they find out that joining is not free. Some consumers also allege that they were subjected to high pressure sales tactics by company representatives to join the organization even before they understood the costs or benefits. Other consumers that originally agreed to join the organization but opted afterward to cancel the membership say that they have difficulty reaching any company representatives to seek a refund.”
I’ll continue to update this post with more news as it develops.
Update, 11/13/15: There are more than 550 comments on this post, which is about 500 more than I ever expected! I’m amazed that new people continue to comment that NAPW is doing the same old song and dance. Unfortunately, however, it appears to be working for them. This week, journalist Nikki Gloudemann published Anatomy of a Scam: National Association of Professional Women, a deep dive into the experiences of former members of NAPW, who’s running the organization, what it’s like to work in the call centers, and what the future looks like. (NB: This post is linked in the article and I was contacted for an interview. I wish I’d said yes.)
Don’t I feel sheepish. I too looked at the site filled in the online app but thankfully never gave any credit card info. Gee whiz now I’m feeling really really mad. We new business folks just want good organizations to help support and guide us. I will be watching closely for any more corespondance from this farce of an organization. .thanks for your honesty
Thanks for the warning!! It is such a shame that people take advantage of fellow women business owners… instead of supporting each other as the name of this fake organization make us believe.
This exact same thing happened to me. Exactly the same scenario. I felt scammed and taken advantage of. I would recommend not contacting this group to begin with and if you have already done so, proceed with caution.
I did the 99.00 membership but im not a business owner.so far i havent been hacked on my cc…they sent me a pin. Now im scared what should i do
Thank you so very much for posting your experience! This and all of the other comments made my decision easy. Thanks again!
Pingback: National Association of Professional Women | Let Me Just Say
I had an identical experience. Last year I was cajoled and pressured into getting the “lowest available membership” at $99 because I work for a non-profit. However, they upgraded that to include an “exclusive” VIP membership with an actual award on hardwood stating that I was “NAPW Woman of the Year.” That cost me $165 a month for 3 months, deducted from my credit card. I felt that I was scammed and could do nothing about it. When the ‘award’ came in the mail, I felt cheap and used, and that I had just paid for someone’s false recognition. This year, on July 1 2015, I was automatically charged $495 for renewal fee on my credit card. I called immediately to have this removed, as I never agreed to this. They just did it without my consent! They said that I should have read the fine print for terms and conditions better, as this is stated as their policy in there. I called them back and talked to the Finance Division again, explained that I have cancer and need every single dollar of my money to pay for medical bills, and can only work part-time for my non-profit. I stated that I did not want to EVER be part of NAPW again in the future, and please consider me OUT. They agreed to refund the entire amount of what they charged my credit card, the full $495.
Here is what I learned: I am good at my job as a psychotherapist for a non-profit organization; I do not need to pay anyone for a false award stating that I am anyone’s Woman of the Year; I did not use the NAPW’s networking meetings because I am too busy working for my clients and doing community service work for homeless and under-resourced families; I am not interested in false laurels to boost my ego or impress others; moreover, I have cancer and frankly, my priorities have changed considerably. WARNING: Don’t let this railroading, money-making enterprise make a fool of you–if you’re only interested in buying your commendations and pretending to have earned them, and networking to make more money in the company of other women interested in the same, then this organization is for you. Otherwise, beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing! This women’s organization in only interested in making money off of other gullible women.
I too received the call from an account rep who interviewed me then decided based on my responses that I was a worthy candidate. That in itself set off the red flag. But when she started talking about membership levels which are not referenced on their website, I felt this was a classic bait and switch. Thankfully, I said I’d research further and never gave my credit card info. Of course upon further investigating online, I found this. Thanks for posting and sharing your experience.
Thanks, I just got the same phone call and when the “solicitor” started getting upset because I refused to pay $489.00 for the Basic membership, I told her I changed my mind and hung up. She called back and I refused her call. Thanks for putting this information online.
Janice H
Oooh I’m glad my BS radar is now well on. I got sucked into a similar scheme years ago under the “Madison Who’s who”… they get you with their names, you think it’s the real deal until you realize that they only want to charge you money. I ended up pretty nastily, as they were calling every now and then for me to purchase plaques, directories and what nots. After I realized the scam (ie, paid for an intermediate membership level, that would supposedly be refunded thanks to free flight tickets that I never received), I refused to purchase anything, as small as it was. The last two sales reps just hung up on me and then they stopped calling. It’s good that people get those scams outed !! Linkedin won’t have me ;)
I am glad I found this. I also responded to the ad on LinkedIn. The woman called and was nice enough. The red flag is that she seems to have nothing but time on her hands and continues calling me, disregarding my request to do further research when i have a calm moment. so now I’m doing my research and can confirm my gut feeling.
Thank you for this blog. I only wish I had read it sooner. They totally suckered me and I am feeling used and abused at this point. Yes I fell hooked, lined, and sinked. They totally scammed me for the highest amount. I feel so awful. Next call is to my credit card and to get fully out of this useless organization. Live and learn!
Thank you for you information. I recieved an offer letter today and found it interesting. But as i always do when i receive unsolicited information of interest i Googled them and tour blog came up. I will not bothering signing up with this organization.
Thank you for the blog. i went to the website, saw that nothing on the website explained anything about the organization. I then googled the company and this blog came up first. thank you for confirmiing my suspicions that it is a bogus organization.
Thanks to everyone for their comments. Unfortunately, I did not find this information until it was too late. I paid out almost 1,000 dollars for the membership and the plaque which has not come yet (200.00) which was charged to my credit card which I have already paid. I did contact them regarding the plaque – a Marilyn- which she stated they were about 2 months or more behind in getting. I just tried to get onto their website – they gave me a username and password, but have not been unable to do so. So yes I agree, a major rip off. But now from seeing this blog I will watch for the automatic renewal on my charge card to cancel immediately. Why would people want to prey off the vulnerable, especially professional women who need the support from each other?
Thank you for writing this! I got an unsolicited letter approving my “membership” in the mail today and I’m so glad I googled NAPW (and found your story) before I did anything with it.
Thank you for this. I received a letter in the mail to my personal home address associating my full legal name with a company that I have a separate registration for. The refused to tell me how they combined the two entities to establish that I was the owner. My home address and my company address and registered owner name are separate and kept separate through a legal court order which protects me because of the work I do. The customer service rep was rude and refused to transfer me to her manager. Do not do business with these shady people.
The have many complaints online and in hard copy print.
Thanks for this! It seems that they target more than just business owners. I’ve received invitations in the mail twice, at two different addresses, a year apart. I’m currently unemployed as I finish my Master’s, I don’t own a business, and I’ve never made a substantial amount of money when I was working. I wonder how they found my name. I would have been absolutely unable to pay hundreds of dollars for a membership so I’m concerned that there are other women with a disposition similar to my own who are being scammed.
I’m sorry you had such a rotten experience, but ever-grateful that you took the time to write about it to keep others out of harm’s way here. Got a letter from these jokers today, hit google and yours was one of the first items that popped up. Thank you for your words of wisdom!
I JUST got a letter from these folks and decided research was needed before anything was done. This isn’t my first Rodeo, and starting my own business from the ground up with one income is NOT easy. Thanks for saving me the time and hastle of dealing with these creeps!
Wow…thats all I can think to say! Oh and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this experience. I was contemplating doing this offer and decided to google just to see if there were any reviews and low and behold I found this gem of wisdom. In the trash this “Acceptance Letter ” will go!
Glad to have found this. A letter from this association arrived at our company post office box which I immediately thought to be suspicious. They have obviously been phishing for information, which is readily apparent since the letter was addressed to a fictitious person. The name created is a composite an employee’s name and the name of the company CEO. Offering a free membership and then demanding payment before processing is a classic example of ‘bait and switch’ advertising which is 100% illegal. Everyone who has either received a solicitation to join or been duped into doing so should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. http://www.ftc.gov
I can’t believe these people are still in business. I think it was 2007 that they tried to rope me into their scam. What does it take to get this type of scam stopped? Perhaps they are flying just under the “legal radar”.
THANK YOU for writing this article. I am 23 years old and am trying to do my own genetics research and start a scientific clothing line. Paying any money to a company that takes advantage of you would ruin my chances of development this year. THANK YOU
I just got off the phone with this NAPW representative that was tooooo pushy and adamant that I give her my credit card information. While she tapped her gums lol, I googled them and up popped your page. Thanks so much for the heads up…. I kindly declined the membership, her tone changed and I hung up. SMH!!!
The exact same thing happened to me yesterday. Thanks for letting us know!
I was on Linked in last night and saw the ad for Free registration. I got the call today and the young lady told me that the call was being recorded for training purposes. She asked me the same questions you mentioned and I gave her vague answers because she called me at work and my boss was right there. Regardless to what I said, she said, “yes, you meet our requirements”. She told me about all of the benefits and asked me what I liked, I of course said everything :)
Then she told me about the levels at $700 something and $900 something, I said I wanted the free membership and she said, “of course it’s not free” and proceeded to keep talking. After I told her twice that I wasn’t paying for a membership I hung up because she was still talking. It’s unfortunate for this type of company to portray themselves as professional on Linked In, it’s really misleading
Just got off the phone with this group. What a joke. Any organization that won’t send you the details on membership to review first and forces a decision on the phone call screams SCAM!!! Glad I said no thanks and hung up.
I just got off the phone with one of the reps as well. Was haphazardly listening to this while trying to get other work done, due to the fact they called in the middle of the work day, and got sucked in. Upon looking into it further, I promptly called back and proceeded to cancel membership. What transpired during that second conversation is nothing short of disgusting and shameful on their part. I’m not interested in wasting half an hour of my time listening to this billing representative tell me that the ultra discounted dues “shouldn’t be a financial constraint” for me. Who the ACTUAL **** does this woman think she is telling me what is or isn’t a financial constraint??? To make matters worse, when I cited the fact that they had poor BBB ratings, I received a lecture about how I shouldn’t believe everything I read on the internet and how the women who give bad reviews are doing a DISSERVICE TO ALL PROFESSIONAL WOMEN EVERYWHERE. I swear, I’ve never heard anything so ironically absurd in my entire life. Unreal. This organization is doing the biggest disservice to women everywhere. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t recognize this as being a scam until after I gave up my CC info.
I should have researched this organization before falling into the same high pressure tactics you mentioned. I was driving at the time, listening to the spiel, and trying to concentrate on rush hour traffic (not a good combination). And like you, I felt pressured to pull over and pull out my credit card. If that wasn’t bad enough, two days later I got an additional $99 taken out of my credit card by them. That was enough for me! I finally had the time to email – I told them I had to block the number because I was receiving daily call on my cell phone during work hours – but the truth was more to the fact that I wanted written communication between us that I could use if necessary.
The billing department finally agreed to email communication and one VERY long phone call trying to offer me “substantial” discounts on lesser levels of membership plus a 6 month extension on my membership, just to stay with them. I got the confirmation email today promising to return the entire amount that they took out. Whew! Wish I had found this site earlier – and just glad that I pushed to get my money back! NEVER again!
I am having a different problem with NAPW. I am getting daily calls from a blocked number and also a local number that leaves a musical recording on my answering machine. It doesn’t cut off, so it takes up all the digital space so no one else can leave a message. When I have called the local number back (214-238-9870) the prompts do not work so I cannot reach an actual person. Only one time did this organization leave a name and number to call back. It wasn’t the local number and it wasn’t the national number. It was from a Stephanie Braeland who identified herself as the membership coordinator at 424-329-1901, I can never reach her when I call the number she left. I only get a voice mail and then another call showing the local number and music playing. I don’t know how to get them to stop calling. It is like getting a daily robo-call.
Sherry, are you able to block the number so they can’t even leave you a message? Is this voicemail on a cell phone or an answering machine. If you can’t block it on the phone itself (if it’s a landline) you may want to contact your phone company and explain what it happening and they may be able to block this number from calling your line, since you haven’t been able to get them to stop any other way. Good luck!
The reason they are so far behind on the plaques is because I use to make them. The owner Matt Proman stiffed me for 60k for your plaques.
So he had to find another company he can screw as well. If you want a NAPW PLAQUE we can sell them to you for $29….. The same price we sold them to them….. They sold them to the members for $200….
How about filing a class action lawsuit against NAPW for mail fraud and deceptive money practices?
Yeah, I got suckered into the $99 membership and they tried to “upgrade” me, NO WAY. Then they tried to get me with “you’ll be featured in our next newsletter and be nominated for Professional Women of the Year”! Oh the hell can that happen, they don’t even know me. Rip Off all the way.
Thank you for this. I too saw the LinkedIn ad and they called me today, saying the exact same things you wrote (like, verbatim). When it came to the payment options, I was confused but I didn’t even have cards with me so I told them I’d call later. Research was the obvious next step and your post just elucidated me on the whole scam. Thank you!
I actually found this post while I was on the phone with the woman from NAPW. Thank you so much. Initially when I got the call I thought it was from a certification organization that certifies women owned businesses that is why I spoke to her in the first place! When she started talking membership fees $900+ I almost laughed. I am trying to figure out how to finance inventory and I should give her my credit card number? No, Thanks!
Pingback: We’re Moving On Up? | Think Existence
I had the same experience when dealing with them. I also just found out that they work closely with the professional diversity network company, based out of Chicago, I guess. Maybe out of a garage.
I did a little home work since I feel I got scammed. Speaking of scams, they have someone that works at the diversity network “corporate office” that got in trouble for running a large scam in Orlando. Do your homework before “buying” into these type of Companies.
I decided to use a different org, free, and found a wonderful job. 3 months and I love it.
Best of luck
Thank you. You just saved me from wasting my time!
Thank you for providing this information. Saved me a lot of headache and heartache. So sorry you had to go through it.
Thank you so much for writing this up. I was literally just on the phone with them and ducked out to talk over finances with the husband ($99 is still serious money when you’re a bootstrap start-up!). We both thought it might be worth the risk if it meant getting better networking opportunities and exposure for the business. I would absolutely have handed them the money tomorrow if I hadn’t found your post.
This ALL just happened to me too. I just hung up on them when I started reading this…I thought it was a free membership and that they would get money out of me for the things I wanted to participate in..not some HUGE annual fee. Thank you so much for this post. I should have known with all the flattery, that it was too good to be true. I wanted to believe it was an honor to be a member, now I’m thankful not to be! :( It’s a shame, we do need a legit organization HELPING women, not scamming them! Grrr.
WOW, so thankful for this site! My BS radar starting going off as I was talking to the rep on the phone, and I quickly googled the organization and found this post. I politely asserted myself and was able to get off the phone with this very pushy woman who kept dropping her prices so low she finally offered me a “free” 6 month membership (No, thank you!) Thanks so much for this post! You helped save another professional woman!
They are still at it — they’ve been pulling the same scam for going on 8 years now. Today, I got the same phone call too after seeing the free membership ad through LinkedIn. I got the same BS verbatim of this post. I think I was offered 6 different membership levels before I asked if I could see these options in writing. When she refused that, I said that I would have to look into it further another time and could I call back. She did give me her name — Deidre at 866-540-6279. I have yet to call back.
Thank you for posting your experience. I will list for free and appreciate the warning for the up-sell.
I signed up yesterday for their $199 basic subscription, but had a feeling something was not right. Just called my credit card company and they are considering it a scam and will not pay. I can not thank you all more.
Thanks for posting!
Just had the same experience, I didn’t give up CC info, thankfully!
Such a shame looking to take advantage of young professional women, looks like we’re all doing a pretty good job of networking by ourselves via this post, jokes on you NAPW!
Last year I was convinced to join the NAPW based upon their high pressure to become a member and their raves about how much it would benefit my career. Even though I was clear in stating that I am not the type of person to go to meetings and things they still convinced me to join. Unbeknownst to me it turns that there was a hidden clause on their website about auto-renewal. I never used the membership and already felt I had been a bit swindled with the first $199 they talked me out of, but come Sept 1st, 2015 they charged me another $199. I started trying to call them as soon as the fee posted, but was unable to speak to a human being until Sep 7th, less than a week after this supposed auto-renewal. I did not authorize this charge, was never told about it, and did not receive any notification whatsoever about it. I would not have even known except from the fact that I checked my credit card. I assumed that when I called them I would have no issues getting the charge removed since I still thought it was a reputable organization. To my surprise I got the run around about fees they had already paid out to “other” organizations, and that they would only return $99 of my membership. I after insisted that they return the full amount and told them I was unaware of any auto-renewal and never got a notice they told me I had verified my address, so as far as they were concerned I was notified because they had sent a “letter”. I again stated that I had never received any notification and that I had no time to deal with things like this due to serious family health issue I was put on hold for a bit. When the lady came back she said that her management had said that I got notification because I verified my email address and received notification to my email, so I was still responsible for providing them notice before the renewal, but that she was going to waive another $50 from the fee. I insisted this was unacceptable and told her I would be reporting them. I cannot believe that an organization that is supposed to be an advocate of women and there to support them using business practices of this nature.
Rachel, even though you posted your original message in 2013, I wanted to let you know that it is still doing good! I almost fell for it….signing up through Linked In. However, as one commenter said, my BS radar was on and I immediately went to Google and did a search. Thankfully, your post came up and now I have no intention of hitting the “sign up now” button. Thanks again!