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.)
THANK YOU!
Wow!!!! I just got off the phone with them. I did not signup because I was expecting the free membership as advertised on the card that came in the mail. I was driving when she called and told her I would have to think about what I wanted to do and get back with her. The response was, well, you can pull over and we can sign up for the trial membership for $99.00. Needless to say, I was DONE after that, then I read your blog. I hope this helps other women from being scammed.
Oh my goodness, I am a new business owner and was very excited about the acceptance in the NAPW. I signed up online and I received “the call” today but I missed it. Before calling the odd number back, I researched it online and BOOM I see this post. I am so grateful for this information because now I am informed and ready for their sneaky tactics when they call back!!!!! THANK YOU a million times over!
I had a very similar experience with them. The woman who called me brought me down to the $99 membership price as well. I explained I would still not sign up without learning more about the organization. I just found and read your letter. I was starting to feel the whole thing was a scam and your letter confirmed my suspicion. Reading it was reliving my own phone call experience. They should be nailed for their misleading practices.
I just got off the phone with Kristen and boy, am I glad I stuck to my guns on not forking over my CC information without knowing what I was getting into.
I first told her I needed to clear a $989 Credit card charge with MH. A lie, yes, but I’m not paying that kind of money without more info. So she starts with the next level down, then the next. I thanked her but said I still needed to check with MH.
When she gets into a range that is semi-affordable, I thank her yet again and told her I had to attend a meeting and I would get back with her. She says “Unfortunately, we don’t go back and forth with membership and sign up has to occur upon approval.” So I said, “Well, if that’s what it comes down to, then I will have to decline.” Of course, she had one more level down to go at $99 Upgradeable Trial Membership.She pressed me further.
ANY ORGANIZATION WHO DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THAT A PROFESSIONAL WOMAN NEEDS TO GET OFF THE PHONE FOR A MEETING IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION FOR ME. I declined again, she said she’d call me back.
If she does, I will decline and ask to be removed from their lists, as I am sure they will stalk me.
I then searched for similar stories and here I am.
Thank you for your post! I just got off the phone with a lady from the organization. It seemed legitimate at first, but the more she “spoke” (definitely scripted) the more concerned I became. I feel silly speaking with her now, but when I started to get concerned I googled the organization and found your blog. THANK YOU. No credit card information was given and I politely bowed out. Ugh. I hate that feeling of getting swindled. Thank you again!
Well I signed up a year ago when I opened my hair salon and it did nothing for my business in that first year, infact i never even read post or emails because conferences were back East. So I seen a few days ago that it auto renewed, and boy i was upset. I never gave them purmission to charge my card again. So I called and their number was unavailble due to weather conditions…REALLY? So i called again today and the girl Jessica id# 6274 was so horrible to talk to. she said company policy is i needed to cancel 30 days in advance, I said i never saw that anywhere… she told me it was online when i changed my password. lol you know the thing i did a year ago when i first signed up. I told her if she could tell i did that then she could see i have not login since. I asked to talk to a manager, she yelled at me saying that I would only be told the same thing from them, and that they were not availabe. I was then placed on hold. when she returned she said they could refund me 99.00 of my 199.00 and i said no way, i have not even used the service and I would ot be losing half a years cost. I said i would like to talk to someone else please and she said ” no, even if you talk to the president of the company that the policy is the same” I said to her “Wow, for a company that stands to support other women, your sure not helping the cause” I need to talk to someone else your attitude id awful, she then told me that i had attitude… then put me on hold. When she returned she said that they would refund me 149.00 and i said that would not work, because on average its 16 a month for the membership and i would not be willing to budge more then that, after she yelled and put me on hold a final time she calmly said we will refun you the full amount, expect a email in 2-3 days… Now I dont know if ill see the money but man dont deal with these people.!!!
Hmmm, just got a call from them as well. I did not give my credit card info, but asked to think about it overnight. She was rather annoying and insincere. I’ll admit I played right into her game at first, but unfortunately for her, I work at a news station and this has scam written all over it!
OMG What a unprofessional scam of an operation this organization is. I was cold called a few months ago as I was going out the door – told her so – she ignored me and continued reading from her script. I ended up telling her she would have to call back and then hung up. Unfortunately, she did call back and again caught me at a bad time. Stupidly I was caught up in her double talk that the price was “nine, ninety nine”. Foolishly I was thinking $9.99. This is so embarrassing. A week or so later I was charged $999.00! Immediately called to cancel citing the runaround double talk. She brought me to tears with her refusal of any $. My Knight in shining armor said he would call.
He was appalled by their nastiness – but accepted the “deal” she gave him of $99, which he figured we would dispute with our bank. I immediately called the bank to open a case for resolution and was given a conditional credit. Several back and forth’s with the bank later over the next few months (they requested a virtual minute-by-minute recitation of the conversation with dates and all) resulted in the bank caving and taking back the credit. And it is a large national bank. I was startled. As I said, an embarrassing yet educating outcome. I certainly hope that everyone who receives the call – sees your blog and takes it to heart. If you do take them up on their Introductory deal – MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHECK IN AUTOMATIC RENEWAL or better still…… HANG UP!
What a joke. Just got off the phone with them! Can’t believe they tried to swindle me like that!!!!! Luckily I was googling while on the phone. I feel so violated.
My lady was “Phyllis Harrison.” Every one Beware!
I had this exact same experience today. I actually work for a professional association, so I knew this is NOT how one operates and finally had to hang up on the woman who was trying to drag my credit card number out of me any way she could after sweet-talking me for 10 minutes all about my professional experience and educational background. Unbelievable!
Ditto what Ann. L Etheridge said!
I just had a call come in from NAPW (blocked, of course). The lady offered me membership saying I had “contributed significantly to my field.” I’m a student, so no, I haven’t. When she started talking prices, I just hung up on her. Then, I wondered if I had just hung up on someone that could really help me, so I started doing research. I’m glad I found your post. Thank you for posting this! I will share this so other women see it, too!
thank you for this warning – I read this while on the phone with them. My person kept saying “oh I see that’s very interesting” in the same tone of voice so I knew she had no ideas what I was talking about. And then she finally hit me with the need for a credit card!
Thank you thank you thank you. My company is laying off thousands in the next two weeks, so I am hungry for networking opportunities, but something just didn’t seem right about this association. I googled it and your posting came up. You just saved me a ton of heartache and time and money. <3
I had the same experience as Korinne described in her 2/5/14 posting. Totally infuriating conversation with “Tonya” and then “Jennifer” (bet those aren’t even their real names). A year ago they offered me a “discount’ membership for $489. Desperate to make whatever connections I could after losing my job, I signed up without checking with the BBB or this blog.
Today I was told that they would be kind enough to offer me a $200 refund. After 20 minutes of arguing with them Jennifer finally gave me the phone # and extension for a manager, “Talia”, who wasn’t in today due to the snow storm. I’ll call back tomorrow to see what happens. Not very hopeful.
Just got off the phone with Trish – she tried to sell me a membership for $989 or one for $789. I told her that my professional training would not allow me to agree to any payment without first viewing the contractual details. Trish then offered a reduced fee for $489. When I still would not provide my cc, she offered $199, then $99. So, I told her that I was not in a secure location that would allow me to recite my cc information. She said an email would be sent to me regarding my ‘membership’. I have not given her any cc information and will definitely not do so.
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It is so good that you have decided to come public about this company. I received information via mail from them in December I incorporated in November. I have not had the pleasure of speaking with anyone from the company yet because I do not respond to 866 numbers that I do not know. I was curious about the number that has called a few times a day the NAPW came up. after reading this and all the other horrible experiences others have had I will definitely not deal with them period. I will add that my previous work experience before I went into business for myself was a Fraud Specialist for 2 of the largest banks in the country if I would have had contact with them I would have known SCAM. I am sorry for all the others that have lost money to this company but has anyone considered a Class Action Lawsuit agains the company to recoup the money?
I wish I had done my research before spending $99 for the basic membership! I just got a call for being accepted as “woman of the year” and was asked to pay $900 to accept the award! Excuse me???? It’s supposed to be an award! Not a sales pitch!!! Ugh!!!
I just got called by them as well, same interview process, then they kept lowering the price. I said no thanks, and that I may want to join the future (to get them off my back). So glad I found your blog, won’t be calling them back! Thank you!
I received an email today informing me a renewal membership would be charged to my credit card. I am one of those women suckered into purchasing a professional membership at the cost of $989 last year. I have not had any benefits from the membership and as a small business owner, so decided it was not worthwhile to renew. That’s when the fun began today. I contacted at least 4 different (on the website) departments via telephone to cancel. At first the numbers would ring and then I got a rather odd recording stating my call was blocked by the site. After re-dialling all the numbers several times and experiencing the same message or just a complete call drop I called my cell phone carrier who in turn tried calling the numbers. I was told they were not authentic and that various complaints had been registered regarding these numbers…. “scam” is the term the cell phone representative used.
At this stage I got very nervous I was about to lose another $900 dollars so contacted my bank, and took the very inconvenient step of cancelling the credit card that was used to charge my membership a year ago. I was also told nothing could be done to refute the first charge it was too long ago. So not only did I learn a very expensive lesson but it has made me aware of the very tenacious ways these scammer’s use. They should be investigated at the highest level. I think the Attorney Generals office in New York would be interested to hear of these fraudulent high pressure techniques. I have received no benefit by belonging to this organization and regret ever having anything to do with them. Any women who belongs to LinkedIn as I do should post warnings on LI about this unscrupulous band of thieves!
I was very excited about my “acceptance” into NAPW. I signed up online and received a call this morning. The lady wasted 10 minutes of my time asking me numerous questions about my professional life, my short term and long term professional goals. She asked me to pay various sums for the membership starting from $999 (elite membership) she then continued to decrease the amount to $199 until I decided to hang up on her. I later got a voicemail telling me that I was “extremely lucky” to get a $99 deal (6 months trial membership extended to annual membership.) It sounded scripted and the lady was extremely pushy. She insisted that I give her my CC information. I am relieved that I did not part with my CC information before looking them up on the internet
Since posting my story on February 18 (day I cancelled my membership) I have received numerous phone calls from various women claiming to be from this organization. The first ‘Jennifer’ called to confirm she had received my email about the cancellation and wanted to know why. I did not go into the story knowing the innocent questions were what got me into this trouble a year ago. She assured me the membership was cancelled and apologized none of the phone lines to their head offices were working. Snow storm in NY! The second call later in the day from a ‘Margaret’ proclaimed her sorrow I was leaving such a good organization supported by Star Jones! She claimed that a “handful of women” were posting nasty comments on the internet which did not reflect the organization’s believes or practices. I responded over 200 complaints is more than just a handful. Not wanting to waste more time I hung up. Later the same day several blocked numbers attempted to reach me.
Today I received a call from a very polite Kimberley – again a blocked number, and when I asked why her number was blocked she offered to let me call her back! I promptly told her I had no intention of calling anyone back since the organization is running a scam. I hung up. Very interesting that cancelling my membership via email has produced a flurry of phone calls – but try calling any of the listed NAPW numbers yesterday to do same produced no results. LADIES BEWARE!
Thank YOU, Rachel! Linkedin should vet such advertisers, as scammers such as the NAPW threaten their credibility. I just got off the phone with the NAPW rep, having Googled them while on the call (sparked as a result of their Linkedin Ad). Upon reading your post, while on that call, I begged out of further discussion and now have decided NOT to waste any more time with them. THANKS to all who have bothered to take time to comment on this very important blog post, as well. Saved many of us from being royally….SCAMMED!
Best of luck to everyone in your business!
Oh my God, I just got off the phone with someone name Rondee from NAPW and she also tried to get me pay $900 for an elite membership or an $789.00 preferred membership. I am so glad that my partners and I have decided that in our support group. in order for one of us to withdraw money from the business account all have to be in agree and must be present at the same time. This Rondee woman tried to convince me to withdraw the money from my personal account, which was no good, since I would have to go through my husband to okay it. Wow, what a scam
This is completely true! Just came across your post because I had a missed call from them… like others I signed up for the free trial and was hounded for the interview and before I knew it they were pushing the 900.00 membership on me… I kept refusing until I got to the 99.00 one and like a sucker bought it but I’ve been so busy with other organizations that I’ve never been involved at all… However – I did call today and get straight to a live person who turned my automatic renewal off without any questions and assured me I would get an email stating this… so here’s hoping that’s taken care of… what a sad scam to run on women who are busy trying to further themselves!
OMG. I just got suckered. Same exact circumstances as you described. I felt embarrassed and pressured for $798 membership declined the $99 plaque and then she started talking about another cost at which point I said “the more you talk the more $$ you keep asking me for. She then said she was waiving some other mandatory charge. I was sick when hung up. Stupid of meto fall for that. Called back left message to cancel and am calling credit card co now. Hopefully not too late. Thank you
I just got a call from Deb. I had to state many of times that I would not make the decision over the initial call. She went from 989 elite to half to 199 trial and then finally the 99 trial. Again, after many times stating the fact of waiting until I invest further research, she rudely stated that “I get it” and hung up on me. Not the type of organization I would ever want to be affiliated with!
Thank you. I signed up yesterday on Linkedin … very deceptive…but now I’ll be prepared when the call comes. Will have them take my name off their list immediately.
Thank you so much for the information you provided!!!! I just received a another call from NAPW and was seriously thinking about joining them. I had second thoughts when I got halfway through the call because I could not get a price. I will have my name removed from their listing immediately since I have done quite well for myself without their organization.
So glad I found your post! It saved me too and I had to hang up on the woman!
Feel like I need a shower after the phone call I just had with them. I was astonished at how transparently bad they were, but I actually had ‘fun’ sharing my disgusted POV with the woman on the line. Sadly, I am sure she is just an low-ranking, just-doing-my-job person representing this organization, but they are horrible and should be banned.
Thank you!!!! they called me and after that interview and acceptance which made me feel so honored, they continued with the membership cost. I was suprprised, I understood it was a free membership when you reach them from linkldin.I told them I was going to call them back with my credit card information and the lady named Demitra insisted to wait on hold.
I told her I was going to call back.I immediately google more info about membership cost and I found this post. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She called back and I was able to tell her my findings about NPWA and she just said ” Have a good afternoon”.
hello all,
my profile and interaction with napw fits perfectly with the 99.99% of all posting here and i am appalled and ashamed at the same time to be one of the ones suckered in…
it happened last year, the offer, the interview, the membership levels starting at $900 to $99 for the trial (where i gave in)…
had been wanting to cancel since right after the day i got sucked in, but gave it some time anyway to see what my 99 bucks would turn into…. not much, apart from a lot of invitations to product presentations, usually cosmetics. but really not my world, not even for ‘business’ and no use to me.
a missed call today from napw prompted a quick search and here i landed!
so very interesting, i am grateful for your posting.
i have emailed napw my membership cancellation request today and received an automated email back that says they will get back to me within 1-2 business days.
will see. i certainly do not have the time to chat on the phone debating membership, so hope this will be resolved soon.
thank you again for everyone’s contribution here and to rachel for posting!
I just got off the phone with Nicole Davidson; she said she was my membership coordinator. I told her to call me back on Monday as I didn’t have my credit card on me at the moment. After she asked me where my card is and why I cannot go to get it, or is it that I don’t have $ in my budget …after all those questions I became suspicious. She was definitely reading a script and she kept offering lower and lower membership levels to the point that she gave me a free membership with no benefits until Monday. I cannot wait for her to call on Monday. Thank you so much for this!!!
well…. no sweat at all. emailed cancellation, called ta couple of days later just to make sure… was confirmed cancelled on the spot, they had received my email and the next day i had their official cancellation email confirmation. mainly for me, just not a fit.
:-)
Thank you, for preventing me in making a huge mistake!
I signed-up for the free trial yesterday through Linkedin, and thought great! They did not call my cell but rather my business line, twice; however, no message was left on either call. It was by chance that I googled the number and your blog was the first of many that I clicked on.
Yesterday I had three “unknown” calls to my private cell. On the third call, I picked up and didn’t say anything. The line was silent, never even hung up when I took another call.
Well, once again, thank you! I need every dollar I have to grow my business, not to be scammed.
Hi,
Thanks for your posting. I wish I had googled the NAPW prior to giving them my name and phone number.
They have called me 4 times since my expressing interest in a membership with them via LinkedIn. One of their phone numbers is what brought me to your blog.
I believe considering what type of website LinkedIn is our claims to be, they should be ashamed to accept NAPW as a advertiser. I also think that the BBB has to do a better job of asking disreputable companies and organizations to remove the BBB badge if they have a low rating. I’m glad to hear your charges never went through. Still it’s anxiety inducing when you’ve given someone personal information. After receiving 4 calls from them, I returned the only NAPW rep who was courteous enough to leave a vm message. I requested that I be removed from their call list. I’ll have to just wait and see what happens.
Thanks again for your blog!
Thank you! =0)
Can anyone help me cancel my membership?? I just got off the phone with a very pushy sales women and gave in. I’m not very good at putting my foot down.
Can anyone help me figure out how to get a refund?
Thanks for the info! I started searching when the sales pitch kept getting more and more exciting… The BBB now lists NAPW with a rating of F.
I wish I would have known before I signed up a few months ago. NAPW originally offered me a $700 package which I declined and then brought it down to $99 which I accepted. I received a phone call today where the caller said I was chosen as 2014 Woman of the Year in mt field with all the perks the highest membership can offer. They chose me based on my initial interview when I signed up. It struck me as odd because I only gave them basic information. What criteria did they have to judge that I am a leader in my field where they chose me out of 1,000 women? After mentioning the perks , the caller went on to say I could have all these things for a $900 fee. Uh, no thank you! I won’t be renewing my membership.
I just received a call from the blocked number for NAPW. I was excited to become a part of the NAPW, until the ‘red flags’ started popping up during the phone interview. I was given the entire sales pitch described above and started googling while on the phone with the interviewer. I came across this posting, so I made up a story about how I couldn’t find my credit card in my purse and I would need to call back. She absolutely did not want to let me go and actually wanted me to put her on hold and have me call my house to see if anyone at home could find it. At that point, I was done and hung up. Thanks for the posting!!!
I had the exact same experience as the author, this is a total scam.
Wow! I sent in an “interest” form online last night because I thought the organization looked good. Then early this morning I received a phone call from a rep who, as happened for many of the commenters, gave me the spiel and eventually offered me the trial membership for $99, etc. I was so close to getting it and even gave my CC number–but I couldn’t remember the three-digit code and couldn’t go back upstairs to get it immediately (I’m recovering from surgery and need to limit my stair-climbing–long story). So she said she’d wait a few minutes for me, and while she did I started Googling the NAPW because I’d begun to have a bad feeling about it.
Your post was the first one that popped up, and when I saw it was written by a fellow EFA member, I was convinced. I told the NAPW rep that I wanted the complimentary membership for now, and when she tried to interrupt I rather rudely spoke right over her and assured her that no, I was going to be checking out the site as a free member and she could call back in a month.
I’ll leave a note in my planner to avoid any unlisted calls a month from now, and I’m contacting my CC company just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the post, and hello from editor to editor! :)
Thanks for keeping this blog current as they (NAPW) are still singing the same song. Glad I came about this before I went any further with ‘Gloria’. I have several missed calls from them – leaving no messages – which is sooo professional. Thanks again all!
I was contacted by Joanne Riccardi at NAPW today. I did not give her any credit card information thankfully, only the basic info on my “application” and 10 minutes of my day that I will never get back. Has anyone had an issue in the past with NAPW calling, emailing, or mailing things repetitively? She has my office line and my home address and though it could be much worse, I am weary.
Thank you!!! Your informative article was VERY helpful!