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.)
Thanks for saving me the trouble of responding to the letter they sent me. From what I can tell, this is not your typical nonprofit membership organization. The founder and CEO is a man named Matthew Proman. I could not find any information about a board of directors that many membership organizations have. I did however find an Oct. 1, 2013, New York Times article about former NAPW employees complaining of sexual harassment and getting docked pay for not following the scripts. Definitely sheds light on their hard-sell tactics:
http://nyti.ms/1fywpCb
I SO badly wish that I would have read this post before impulsively signing up for the NAPW. I’m normally really good about detecting scams, but the woman who I spoke with suckered me in so good.. She could detect my hesitation about the membership prices so she specifically said “I honestly don’t think that you need one of the high level memberships.. the basic would be just fine for what you’re looking for”.. brilliant sales tactic. She made me think that she was looking out for my best interest but really just wanted me to pay up. Unbelievable..
It’s sad to think that a group such as this, which claims to focus on empowering women to change the world, is really just in it for the money…
Time to find a new country to call my home.
I am so happy I found this. Unfortunately for me, it was too late! I got suckered and pressured into the same $99 membership as you did. Luckily I read here that they would auto bill me for renewal of membership (mine is up in May). So I finally got the courage to call them and cancel. I had no real issues and the conversation was very short– which is more than I can say for any other conversation I’ve ever had with them.
I appreciate you posting this!
Thanks! I always Google things before I sign up. I had a feeling. Thanks for confirming it. I’m curious about those that did sign up for the $99 level and got out too late. Did they even do anything for you? If not how do they get away with it?
I just received a call from the phone number listed in this article. I don’t answer calls from people/companies who don’t register on my phone contacts. No message was left, so of course, I was curious about who may have called me — did I miss a bill or what?? So glad that your article popped up. I will now include their phone number in my contacts as “Do not answer – it’s a SCAM!” Maybe if I’m feeling feisty, I’ll answer and give ’em the run around, just for fun.
Thanks for the great info. It’s people like you who help protect others from nefarious/dubious companies looking for a quick buck. The owners of this organization must be sitting on a yacht in the Mediterranean, sipping Margaritas. Nice.
Thank you! I too submitted a request for a free membership and received several calls wanting to conduct an interview. Fortunately, requesting an interview put me off enough to get me to google NAPW. Thank you for providing the account of your experience. This is the only way too bring these companies down!
Thank you for writing this! Just received an “Approved Membership Invitation” today and your post came up about 4th on my Google search. I’ll admit my own bullshit detector could use some fine tuning, but I’m working on it. So thank you for saving me the time, money and aggravation of making that mistake!
THANK YOU….to all the lovely ladies who have commented above on the rockin’ blog post. And THANK YOU to Google in that a simple “napw.com reviews” brought this page up immediately as I was being given the ‘special LinkedIn’ hard sell…made my “no thank you” a lot more convincing to the poor woman tryin’ to sell me this bill of goods. Also noticed on the napw.com website the ‘complimentary membership’ which I mentioned to the lovely saleswoman on the phone who of course stated there are no benefits…though all the benefits she mentioned I didn’t want or need anyways…so all good and a big THANK YOU to all of you above!!! :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I received a call with basically the same script in your post. I was excited about an upcoming event and ready to sign on the bottom line until the membership costs were given. I actually asked if that was for a lifetime membership! As she continued explaining all the wonderful benefits I quickly googled the organization and came across your post. I was literally reading it as she tried all of the different sales tactics. I politely and repeatedly declined the offers and somehow still ended up with a complimentary mention in their directory. I hope that isn’t true as I want NO association with this group! At least they don’t have my credit card info! Thank you for being a Good Samaritan and passing along this valuable information.
Thank you for saving me the time of an interview and sales pitch, and possible financial loss. I reviewed the site and it looked good, but then I decided to conduct some research on the internet and your blog came up at the top of the list. You info was detailed and valuable. Rachel, you need to start a site for women who wish to network — think about it:) Again, thanks for taking the time to post your helpful comments.
I’m glad to have found your blog on this organization. I almost joined because I, too, got a card in the mail and thought, “Why not?” It cold be helpful (even though it never really states what they can actually DO for anyone. So…I’m not sure what it is they really do other than take your money so that you can say you belong to some “prestigious organization” which, in reality doesn’t seem to be the case. Thanks for this great, informative blog post, Rachael!
Thanks for the insight… they’ve been hounding me for months. You can’t block the number because it comes up unknown or blocked. They never leave messages anymore.. they used to. I’ve posted the link to your blog on twitter and multiple women’s groups I belong to on LinkedIn as a warning. I knew there was a catch to it but didn’t investigate far enough to know the details.
Great work Rachel!
I’m so glad I found this! I registered via LinkedIn yesterday thinking it would be a great resource. As I received the blocked call and then the 866 number call immediately afterwards, I decided to look the number up as I figured it was probably someone trying to sell something as I don’t have any collectors and the like calling me. This has saved me the time, money, and frustration! Thank you so much for the information. I will not return the call and I will definitely spread the word as well. Thanks again for your post and for everyone’s response- this is truly helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to post on this organization’s recruitment techniques. It made my decision easy. I hate stuff like this, but was about to be suckered by the offer of free membership.
I just received “the letter” in the mail and decided to google the company. I came across your post and you’re right, my “BS” meter was going off. Thank you for sharing your experience. I tossed the letter and will stick with the organizations directly affiliated with my line of work that I know are reputable.
Thank you for this information. The letter that was sent to me was already a red flag. First off, the content of the letter said “I was considered for this honor because of…….and employment at _____________. (which they filled in my first and last name, not my business name) Furthermore, what honor? Therefore, already tells me this was a peculiar scam. Thanks for the information. I too did a Google search and found this.
I received a call from this organization and was very disappointed with their sales tactics for memberships. By the way, I still haven’t received my “free” membership package. Disappointing!
Paid $99 last week and today I call them and demanded a refund. They said that sales are final. I told her i would call my cc and put in dispute. She offered for $49. I said no, thank you. I want my money back. Finally, she agreed and refunded the money (at least that what she said). Will check my cc tomorrow.
Thank you for all your comments!
Wow! I just got a card in the mail this week and applied online. Yesterday, the woman called but I was at the grocery store, so I asked to be called back today. I guess I lucked out because just after she said I was accepted, one of my coworkers knocked on my door, and I had to get off the phone. I told her I had to go and just to email me any more details. I guess I just missed the part where she was going to ask for money! Just now I decided to search NAPW and found this site luckily! Now I know not to answer any calls from Private Numbers! Thanks!
I received an invitation to join NAPW a few days ago and just got around to searching the internet some more on them. What got me curious was why so many different membership levels? The legit organizations usually list their membership levels, if any on their website so you can make an informed decision. But these people, they say you have to call to find out. Glad I came across your blog article in my online search on more info on this group.
So I did the 99 dollar thing a few months ago and felt weird but went with it. Lady just called me and told me I’m the 2014 Young Woman Professional of the Year, and that I get sent to the upcoming conference this month for free. What does this mean??? Has anyone suckered in utilized any of the benefits or gained ANYTHING from this organization?? What should I be worried about???
Amen sister, you got off cheap! After joining I regularly get calls congratulating me on this and than, then hitting me up for an addition $200 (at least)–to which I say no. Actually after the last call I told the woman I was extremely disappointed that they only contact I had from these people was to get me to drop more money.
I just tried to cancel. They said I couldn’t get a full refund. So I’m getting back $49 and I am still a member with benefits for a year. Good grief. Thanks for the information.
I joined the NAPW earlier in the year so will have to go through the year’s membership. Who knows what will happen when it comes time to renew. My question is much like Leslie, this week I was told because I had such a wonder interview I was awarded 2014 Woman of the Year. She said she would send me a certificate and because of my status all classes, webinars and the conference would be free. I finally asked if there was a charge for this privilege and she said no, but it is very strange. Any ideas where this will lead to. I’m somewhat spooked by the whole thing. I wish I would have see this blog before I joined
Thank you so much!!! I got a call from Savina the other day while the installers were putting in my new granite counter tops….during the day I could only answer a couple of questions Savina had, but told her to call me back. After 4 calls that day I decided not to pick it up. She has called my office, my cell phone, keeps leaving messages with the people I work with too. She called me again today while at work so I looked up the number and found this on Google…THANK YOU!!! [Savina] won’t get anything from me that’s for sure! Karma has to come back and visit these people sometime wouldn’t you think? If it sounds to good to be true…it ALWAYS IS!!! :)
FOLLOW-UP — Well lo and behold, Savina called me again this morning on my cell phone and again at out office. I told her I had done some research and have decided not to join the Women’s Association and she asked me if it was about the blogs on the internet. I said “why yes!”. She said, that it was only a small percentage of disgruntled people, however the association is great! I told her no thanks and hung up. Hopefully she won’t be calling me anymore. Thanks again!!! :)
My sister just received the NAPW VIP woman of the year 2014-2015 plaque and boasted about it on her FB page! Then again, she is one who likes to stroke her own ego, so I can see how paying for a plaque like that would look impressive to the world…This NAPW is such a joke. I got approached by them a couple years ago and I was not even working at the time..red light? I think so.
Ahhh. I’m so disgusted. I, too, was sucked in by this organization. The woman was such a great sales person. Wish I could learn their tactic so I could get more clients to sign up for my business (just kidding ;) I paid $200 when I had no intention of paying anything at all. I thought it was a free membership. And now that I paid the $200, it hasn’t gotten me ANYWHERE. The website isn’t user-friendly. I’ve tried using the job search engine and it never works. The live events they advertise sound great but are ridiculously overpriced. I’ve reached out to them to ask what the heck my $200 gets me and a woman emailed me saying to call her so she can tell me. I’d love a refund. Anyone know how to go about doing this? The site says memberships aren’t refundable. I want to make sure they don’t have my credit card on file and charge me again next year. So disappointing.
I’m so glad I looked up NAPW and found these (bad) reviews. I actually responded to a job posting of theirs and am scheduled for an interview next week… As I’m sure you are all relieved… I AM CANCELLING that interview. Thank you for your blog!!!
Thank You and Thank You again!! I was the same way when I got the postcard but sent it in. Got the call today and said I was accepted and when I told her I was on disability, she continue to offer me the next membership level. I finally had to hang up because she was focus on the sale and getting my CC info than listening to me.
Thank you so much for this post! I was feeling odd about the conversation I had with my member representative, and wasn’t sure if I should see if the group would be useful for me anyway.
Upon further research, I learned about the membership fees and didn’t understand not having a month to month or option to cancel. I certainly feel duped and felt I was pressured into joining immediately, which is very unlike me.
My representative was very pleasant and made me feel very special indeed, until I learned all women were accepted.
I was looking up contact information to see about reversing the fees and canceling my membership when I came across this post, which put me at ease with my decision even more. I am waiting to hear back from the billing department: fingers crossed!
All I have to say is THANK GOD, I came across before calling that 866 number back. I received a postcard stating that I was chosen for a free basic membership to the NAPW, so naturally I got all excited completed the card, mailed it off and now the phone calls. Well I have not spoken to anyone nor have I paid anything. I am so glad that I read this before calling the number back. As I am writing this, they called back. I am listening to my voice mail, and all I hear is paper shuffling in the background and no one is saying anything. This just confirms the lack of professionalism. If you are a legit company, wouldn’t you leave a message? Anyway, will have this number blocked and ignore it. Thanks or writing this Rachel! :-) You have save me time and money!
I just got off a call with them having applied for membership via their Linked In ad. I managed to end the call without buying anything. Their practice of not putting membership levels online anywhere or make them available via email or mail was just ludicrous to me. How is anyone supposed to make an educated decision based on a quickly listed bunch of things? Probably the same list for all levels that I was described come to think of it. Professional women of the world, we don’t need this organization to network – that’s what Linked-In and local groups are for. What a pity though- it did sound promising…
I had the same experience the other day . . . Same sales pressure for me to buy a $989 membership, but when I told “Kelli” that I was not going to make an immediate decision, she got nasty and ugly then she hung up the phone on me. Then another person called me today from the blocked number. I told her the story and she said she had no record of an employee by the name of Kelli and no record of the phone conversation two days prior. Crazy. Total scammers. Very sad!!! :-(
Just received my “approval letter”. BS detector went off and I googled; you were right there t the top of the list, thank goodness! And thank you to all the women who were willing to be so honest about their experiences. One of my favorite area of sales/business is “sales psychology” and how it taps into the fundamental desire we all have to feel “special”… sad to know that some folks use that to manipulate and take advantage of people.
Thank you so much for this post, I am sure that you have saved a lot of women money, time and sanity! I received something from this yesterday and decided to do some research especially since I have no clue who they are, something just didn’t seem right. I am glad that I trusted my gut feeling. Again thank you for this.
Reading this makes me feel so much better! Thanks for posting!
My experience was almost identical to yours except I spoke with Marcia (5164536273) – who I ended up hanging up on! When she also congratulated me into the society after the interview, she also offered me two membership options. One for 780 and another for 980, or so. When I told her I was not willing to pay that much, she then offered me some other membership for 199. After I declined that, Marcia then offered me a 6 month trial membership for 99 that she said she would extend to a year and a half.
Since I felt something was off regarding her “wheeling and dealing”, I asked her if I could think about joining and call her back. She then told me that I had to decide now since my application was already in process. She then asked me how I was going to pay: MasterCard or VISA? I then said again that I would like to do additional research and would like to think about it. Marcia again told me that there was no way she could start the membership process over at another time since I had already completed the interview. She told me that many other women were in finically tight situations when they first joined but the benefits of this membership helped them to get where the are now.
I was so annoyed that I hung up on her. Basically the only thing the NAPW got from me was wasting twenty minutes of my time :)
Unfortunately, I was a sucker and joined, only to cancel after attending one of their local chapter meetings. I was unable to get a refund, and they tried to auto-bill me to renew the membership I had cancelled. When I called to complain the rep on the phone Claire (no last name) was no help. I had to call my credit card company, file a fraud report, and a BBB report to get the charge removed.
Re. The meetings, it’s mostly rich housewives who want to sell items no one who actually works needs. The online newsletters are mainly advertising, and training material they email is 5-10 years old, plus requires a PC.
Wish I had been less stressed and rushed when they called me to sign up, I would have taken more time to do research.
I too was curious about the posting on LinkedIn and did receive a call today from Laura Park I believe (424) 284-1961 (Los Angeles area) who ran through the same interview, fluffy compliments, and same request for payment at the end of the call. At that point I made it very clear that I was under the impression that membership registration was free and that I was not prepared to share my credit card information without doing more research on the organization. She pressed HARD until it was extraordinarily obvious that this is a blatant sales pitch. Any benefits that would have come from membership are skewed in my mind now by the pushy tactics of an organization that claims to be the top of the top leaders in the world of professional women. I know in my industry I would never win a pitch by being pushy. Tact, grace, and subtlety go much further. I am thankful that I did not agree to any sort of payment, especially after seeing so many others were taken for the same ride.
whew glad I googled, and found this I was about to respond back to the card i received in the mail thanks for saving me the hassle. God bless.
I am so glad that I found this post before signing up. After hearing that Star Jones was president of this association I was very interested in joining and begin searching the web on how to join and then found your post (hallelujah). Thank you for your honest and complete review of NAPW.
I signed up today and started surfing their website & was quickly disappointed. I then did a search on Google, read all the comments and your review, and they are now history!
I called my credit card company, they set up a three way call with NAPW & after they tried to keep me by offering all kinds of price reductions, I stayed firm & said No. I was refunded the almost $900 I was going to pay them!!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the article. They are just in the process to call me and ask me some questions to complete my membership. I found them as well in Linkelin.
So glad you wrote this! I filled out the linked in info collector and just got 2 calls from them. I never answer 866# as I figure a message will be left if it’s important. Thank goodness I googled the Number! Why hasn’t this been reported
To linkedin???
Pushy sales tactics:
I got a call this morning from NAPW. I didn’t contact them They must have got my work phone number from LinkedIn. First the pre qualification interview and then congratulations you are selected for a membership which is only $ 980 which credit card would you like to use. I told her I don’t want a membership and that my company doesn’t reimburse non professional organizations’ memberships. She went on for another 20 min coming down each time in $$ and the membership benefits. When I told her I don’t want any membership not even complimentary she became annoyed and said she cannot reverse the membership process. i tried to be polite throughout but towards the end I had to practically scream to let this lady know I am not falling for this and I don’t want any membership. She was still talking while I hung up…
I got suckered, too … was looking to cancel my membership and then got a call out of the blue this morning saying I had been selected as a Woman of the Year!!! With this honor you get free access to upgraded membership benefits, but they really cost $1800 and the selection division will pay for 50% so what’s my Visa card to pay for the remaining $900? Oh that’s too expensive? We can knock down to $500. But no you can’t have any time to contemplate this great honor and see if it’s worth the cash.
Very very slick these people are.
Wow! I just received my “no cost” membership invitation today. I’ve been active on LinkedIn and assumed they found me there. I’ve also seen a great deal of advertising for NAPW on LinkedIn. But I didn’t know anything about them. When I did a Google search for NAPW, your post was also in the search results.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! With all the comments I am reading here, I don’t even want any information about the NAPW. You saved me and I greatly appreciate all the posts you continue to provide.
Wow I just got off the phone with a lady from NAPW, she’s asked me to look them up online and she will call me tomorrow. Thank you so much for this info., you just saved me a hole lot of aggravation!
Thanks for writing this article. Luckily found it before I signed up or did anything. Saved me some trouble during a very busy time — thanks.
Thanks so much for this article. NAPW popped up on my LinkedIn. I’m not a “joiner,” by nature; read: I never join things — but now that I’m self-employed, I’d better get better at networking, right? I have a pretty well-honed bullshit detector but, today, in the interests of “building new business relationships” and being “more professional,” I ignored my usual on-the-money super power to detect bullshit. I’ve already sent NAPW them my contact info but, thanks to your article and others I’ve seen (after the fact ~ I can only attribute this to “pre-morning coffee”), I’ll now avoid them like the plague. As I rule, I don’t answer “blocked” calls, so I’ve got that covered. I keep a pre-paid debit card that I use for internet purchases only; unless I’m going to make an immediate purchase, I keep the balance below $10. This won’t stop me from making a bad buying decision, BUT it does take care of “automatic renewals,” internet fraud, and the like. Super powers returned to full operations. Thanks, again.