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 for posting this. I just got off the phone with the NAPW representative. She invited me to check out their website, since I indicated I have never seen it. Lucky for me, I found your blog before I found their website. She is going to call me back later. I’ll make sure that I’m not home. I assume the reason she let me go without a high pressure sales job is because I indicated I probably wouldn’t use any of their services since I am out of the country most of the year. The agent’s opening line was a red flag for me, as I had no recollection of every applying for membership to NAPW. Thanks again.
I wished I seen this before my call with the NAPW yesterday. I was swindled out of more then I would care to admit. I filed a complaint with the credit card company, the BBB, and with the NAPW membership services and billing team. Hopefully I can get my money back. This is sad to think an organization like this prays on professional women who just want to network with others & further their careets. I am disappointed not in myself but their false advertisement and unprofessionalism
Thank you so much for this post! I found the NAPW group on LinkedIn (did not see their ad) which lead me to check out their website which lead me to fill out an online application. I got a call from them today and was just about to call them back when I decided to look into them a little more. Was odd to me that I couldn’t seem to find any membership dues information on their website and I wanted to research that before I got on the phone with them. I’m sure glad I did! Really upsetting that a women’s group is taking advantage of people like this. Luckily there are a few other local women’s groups in my area that are free and have lots of very good reviews. NAPW should be ashamed of themselves.
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OMG, I am so glad that came across this blog–This is exactly what happened to me, only I got a call, when I heard the $$$ for annual membership, I coyly turned it down saying, any membership will need to be discussed with family members first–I do feel bad about sounding very excited about the call, and giving her a complete run down of my career–and like you, I was so relieved when she said, I qualify and am approved!!, like I passed some test—Boy these guys are worse that used car salesman…Thanks so much for the post!
Santoshi
Bloomington-IN
I took a call from ‘Meika Thompson’ this evening. I had been waiting for this so called interview for two months. She was friendly, flattering and surprisingly very professional when I very firmly said I was not interested in buying credentials or letters to put after my name on a business card. Thank goodness my bullshit detector went off tonight. I hope they never call again.
I literallt just got off the phone with this person from the “NAPW”. As I was on the phone, I googled them and saw your warning. The sales rep. tried to convince me to give her my credit card information over the phone for an elite annual membership fee of $900. When I told her I was not comfortable with doing that she continued to try to hook me and reel me in, I was not buying it. I told her I was not interested and to remove me from their list of “approved candidates”. She told me that Star Jones was the new president of the orgainziation, as if that would sway my decision. Crazy!
I’m so glad I found this blog post! I was really skeptical of any organization that would be so pushy and demanding for credit card information, especially if they are truly interested in the goals they claim. ‘Joan’ was also very professional and flattering, as some others have noted, but if I am going to spend money to join a professional organization, it certainly won’t be NAPW.
Thank you for the insight! I almost went through with it but my gut feeling took over. And like you, I felt awkward on rejecting the membership because I was also excited about the membership. SO I pretended that the call was cutting off and that I couldn’t hear her and that was that! this is crazy how women are being targeted this way. Shame on them! “NAPW”
Argelia Perez
I received a call from Kimberly Bradford 424-284-1935. She almost got me. Luckily, I had to run the membership by my boss first so I told her I would call her back. My boss agreed to it but I decided to google the organization first. I thought it was a great concept. All I wanted was to network with other professional women and pick some brains. I’m grateful for this post. It saved my company some money!
I just had a call as well. Filled the app in because I recognized some of the names from my research work and thought it would be a nice networking tool.
Unhappy when I got the call – I thought it was a recruiter I had been dealing with (same no caller ID – I get those sometime) – and then realize I am getting a sales pitch…..listen to things and then the price zinger….said no way I can do it….they kept coming down in price and I kept saying no. Wasn’t ready to do although I saw the value. As someone who writes for a living the whole “it’s in the editorial calendar” didn’t make any sense….but I am a little doped up on cough syrup today — so my resolve is impaired.
Anyway, my being home sick today just made me a softie and I was like okay $99 is fine….but as soon as I hung up I decided that it wasn’t $100 I wanted to spend today. So I sent an email (as a written record and a reminder of the cooling off period as well as a mention that I would be contacting my cc company) and we’ll see what happens.
Another thought. There are plenty of good networking organizations that have associated membership fees and that aren’t open to just everyone. But they don’t do the hard sell…I guess because they don’t need to.
Thank you so much for this information. I have received three to four calls a day from this company and they started calling anonymous, I have told them I am not interested but they keep calling. Those are all bad signs and you just confirmed.
Ugh. I feel so silly. These people are scammers plain and simple. They just called me to tell me I was “hand selected” to be part of their “VIP Women of the Year Circle”. After listing all of the benefits, the representative then told me it would be only $900 more. Are you kidding me? When I told her I thought she was just trying to get more money out of me, she said she could cut me a deal and cut it down to $400. I said I simply cannot afford that. Thank goodness my husband recently lost his wallet and our credit card I initially provided will not work. I should have done my research before joining this organization and I warn others to do the same.
Thanks for your posts. I just received the “anonymous call” and said that I don’t speak to anonymous callers. The rep then called from a number associated with NAPW and then started her interview. In the midst of the discussion, I found this page online. Thank you all! I promptly informed her that I was not interested in a paid membership at any level. She again congratulated me on being accepted as a member and said that a membership kit was being shipped. We’ll see about that. At this point, I have contacted their customer service to request removing my information from their database – which they most likely sell.
HA! Just got off the phone with a “Dawn” who gave me the same verbatim run-down(was definitely scripted)! Any who, like you all said, I gave them my professional history, list of charities, what I’d be most interested in getting from the association…blah, blah, blah. Then she said it was her honor to accept me…I was giddy indeed! Then she dropped the whammy…the whole $900, $700, $400(and when she saw I wasn’t budging – $99). Well, needless to say, I told her to call me back next week. After researching and reading this post…you can best believe…I.won’t.be.available! Lol! Thanks for sharing!
Just want to say thank you so much for this post! I just got off the phone with “Pamela Beall” at 424-284-1937 and she did the whole interview and then offered me the 900, 700, 400 and then 199… I did not get all the way down to 99…. Thankfully after she asked me for a credit card, I hesitated and she went on to describe the lower levels, I hopped on Google for a little research and I saw this page. I told her I had to check with my boss before I spent the money. I will definitely not answer her call on Friday.
Thanks for this post!! It saved me from the scam. I, like most of you, was simply looking for a platform to Network with other professional women. I filled out the small application on LinkedIn yesterday and just received the first call back from them. Before I returned the call, I decided to check them out further and found this post. I think its safe to say that I will NOT be calling them back and will also be submitting a complaint with LinkedIn, as they should not allow scammers to post on a professional site if they want to maintain the integrity of what LinkedIn has grown to be. Isn’t it bad enough that LinkedIn has already become a fishing ground for sales reps to gain contact information for companies they are targeting, which means inundating those of us in decision making roles with messages and un-solicited phone calls, now we are the target of scammers when we are simply tying to grow and develop as professional women? Makes me really mad. Ok, my rant is over, thanks again for the post!!!
Thank you for posting this information. I went to the website and found that there was no information regarding membership. I am a member of AAPC ( I am a CPC) and they are a legitimate organization. I was disappointed to find that this was a scam. I temporarily felt honored and accomplished for receiving the letter in the mail stating my membership was confirmed. What a let down! Anyway…. I appreciate all of the information you have provided. It saved me a very uncomfortable phone call.
They almost got me as well ! I submitted an application to the NAPW found on LinkedIn about two to three weeks ago. Like many other professionals, I was looking for an outlet to network with professional women. Shortly after submission, I started receiving a call from a 202 area code but they would never leave a message. Finally, today I was able to intercept the call and it was a representative by the name of “Janine” following up on my application. She proceeded to run through a set of scripted interview questions and then announced that I was accepted. Like you, I was very excited until she started talking membership $$. When she asked which membership package I would like (989, 789, 489) and how would I like to process the order, I asked her to send me a comparison chart between the different levels. When “Janine” told me that payment could only be taken now because I was just approved (passed the interview), a HUGE red flag went up. I told her that I was driving to go pick up my children after school (which I really was) and my purse was way in the back. She then dropped the price of the membership by 100.00. My BS detector was humming like crazy. “Janine” then suggested that maybe I could pull over and get my purse! I asked for a number to call her back when I got to my children’s school and she gave me 1-866-540-6279 x 204. I never did call her back and have no plans in the future. Hopefully, they will just leave me alone. Total scam!
I received my membership form in the mail yesterday. First red flag: “Your membership has been approved!” Since I knew I had not applied for membership, I thought it best to do some snooping first to see if it was worthwhile to proceed. A google search brought up their website which I knew would not give me the truth I was looking for. Next BBB which showed they are not affiliated with this the NAPW. And lastly, your post which pretty much firmed up what I thought from the beginning.
I’m sorry that you had to go through the anxiety of this process but the number of women you’ve helped avoid the same has got to make you feel very empowered. Thank you. Thank you.
I too received a call, sounds so good, but you and I both know, if it sounds too good to be true… Shirley Brockman called and left a voice mail for me to call her back at 516-453-6241(Nassau, New York), but when she called me back it was a 972-476-0900 (Dallas, Texas) number.I did not let on that I had been a supervisor/manager in call centers and that I could tell she was reading from a script. She was a bit pushy when I would not supply her with credit card info, but I advised her that she had not let me know what I would be charged for, or how much the “complimentary” membership would cost. Of course, then she let me know the different packages, however, I was not buying what she was trying to sell, and said no every time she lowered the price. I could tell she was more interested in me, she googled me and was asking questions about one of the books I have written, she wanted my information, but thankfully between her original call and the one that I took, I had come across this blog. But I wanted to give more information to anyone else who may be contacted. Buyer BEWARE!
Wow. Am on the phone right now with Savina. Wished I would have searched them a bit more before I applied. Now I cannot get her off the phone with me!!! VERY PUSHY!!!!
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. I had a full call today (like yours) and managed to kick her off the phone without paying but was fulling planning on paying Monday. Like you, I was snookered into thinking I was receiving some grand honor. I am SO SO glad I looked into this!!!! You are a saint!
I really wish I had seen this post sooner! I got pressured into becoming a member of this organization earlier today, and boy do I regret it. I wasn’t expecting to receive the phone call and was caught in the middle of getting ready for class that I didn’t even think about doing any sort of research beforehand. I decided to do some snooping around AFTER I had already given the representative, whose name is Natalie, my card information. As a college senior, I figured being part of an association that would help me become a better professional woman in my field was great. I was so excited and felt like I was honored with something amazing by being part of this association. I am incredibly disappointed at them and mostly with myself. I should have realized that something fishy was going on BEFORE agreeing to pay the $99 membership fee.
I am going to attempt to get my money back and have already contacted my bank about any extra charges from that company as well as what I should do if I do not get my money back.
Thanks so much for this post. I got the hook through LInkedIn but the follow up phone call seemed suspect when she wouldn’t tell me what the dues were right away. What kind of legitimate org. won’t be upfront with that?
I received a call today from NAPW interviewing me for membership and I too was shocked when the options of cost were presented to me! $999 or $799 and then I lied and told her my wallet was I. My car and my BF had just gone to the store. She had called from a blocked number and I asked if I could call her right back on the phone number she gave me and she wouldn’t let me! She said she had papper work to finish and I could put her on hold!!! She asked if it was a financial issue and offered me the premium for $450! But she just said it was $799 I knew this was a scam. I told her I did not feel comfortable giving my information to her since she called from a blocked number and she kept trying to make it a financial issue and told me again she can hold. I put her on hold and immediately began researching this scam and just hung up on her! How horrible that they do this!
Thank you for this blog. As a president of a non-profit membership organization I was incredibly disturbed by NAPW’s tactics. Red flags kept popping up in my conversation today with the NAPW representative, I just didn’t have the full picture until I read your blog. At the end of the conversation I told her I wasn’t near my wallet (which was 100% true) and I would have to call her back. I will not be calling back. The free membership bait-and-switch is the foundation of a well crafted scam. It is sad that an organziation that claims to promote, develop and empower women is so very focused on doing the opposite.
I was filling out the online application after receiving an offer in the mail. Then I stopped and decided to do a little research first. Thank you so much for your post! You have saved me a lot of headache and aggravation.
Thank you so much for this very thorough posting! I received an invitation to join with a “free membership” in the mail last week. The free membership is for the year 2014 (we are now in December of 2014). I thought this was a little weird, so I googled NAPW and saw your posting – and read every bit of it. Thank you so very much for your warning!!! It is such a shame that a women-led organization, whose goal is supposed to be one of support for other women, is instead, a scam. What a shame. Begs the question…where is their professionalism?
Thank you! I just sat through the initial call after providing my email/number on linkedin. I was thinking to myself, “I am giving a lot of info about my professional life to a robotic stranger reading a script” and so, when she got to the ” $950 or $700 part of the schpiel, I told her to email the levels of membership and pricing to me. She said SHE COULDN’T…. so they only do this scam by phone. Clever. I’m supposed to get a call back from them at 1:30 today (I said I had a meeting but just wanted time to research them.) Now I have MY script for these people. I’ll let you know how it goes…
I’m glad I read this, as my experience was exactly the same as so many above. I didn’t buy anything from them, but the 20 minutes of high pressure sales was obnoxious. The rep on the phone make the huge mistake of giving a really rude sigh like, ‘you own a business and don’t even have enough funds to give us $99 on the spot, after I’m giving all this free stuff?!’ It pissed me off just enough to hang up. Also, when they asked what I do for a living with my business (plant based and raw food), the rep said ‘Oh I eat that way too.’ I was super suspicious, since it’s a very niche market; had I caught it as suspicious and b.s., I would have asked something like ‘Oh, what’s your favorite dish/ingredient/restaurant?’ at least something to get a real answer. I’m going to file a complaint with the BBB!
The women who work here feel just a swindled as all of you. It’s a terrible place to work and you’re not given much information on the benefits of membership either only drilled to dial the phone with sweat shop tactics. It’s a meager salary. And it becomes oh so terribly clear very quickly that while management feeds you a lot of crap about how great the organization your working for is-they really care nothing about the members and even less about the women working there. The only thing they care about is money. It’s a very sick place and the people in management are very diluted about what they do. Trust that most the women who call and interview you are praying you don’t pick up the phone and are trying their best to find a new job.
Thanks so much for this post! I came back from holiday vacation this morning to find a letter from NAPW indicating my “membership has been approved and I was considered for this honor based on my outstanding leadership, commitment within my profession and employment at” my company. Lots of flattery, with a “there is no cost or obligation to be included.” I perused their website and then found this info. Thanks for saving me the hassle of contacting them and getting the run around. I am saddened by the 12/26 post from Anonymous who works at the place….even she paints a dreary picture of the tactics they use to make money. With all the legitimate organizations out there who treat employees well, NAPW should be ashamed of themselves on both counts. Professional women, unite! We are too intelligent to fall for this.
I’m embarrassed, ashamed and disgusted: I was TOTALLY scammed. It feels like a punch to the gut. I wanted to join a women’s organization to help my business last year and what happened to me is exactly what you all write above.
I, too, tried to get my money back after initially joining – it just didn’t feel right for the money spent, but they stonewalled me. I lost nearly $1,000 but really thought I’d give it a try since I couldn’t get my money back. The last year was nothing but disappointing. I got NOTHING they bragged about.
I have been had.
To my HUGE surprise, I awoke this morning, January 2nd 2015, to a $789 unauthorized charge to my bank account. No warning, no heads-up, no phone call, no emails, no mail, NOTHING. Completely unauthorized, unwarranted.
I got “Pam” at 866-540-6279 on the line. She was terribly nasty, rude and interrupted me at every twist and turn. I thought I might have a heart attack as she gave me the runaround of “30 days in writing” “terms & conditions” “no refunds” blah blah blah but I stuck to my guns.
19 unrelenting, agonizing, stressful and mean/nasty minutes later, I was told that indeed my money could be refunded. (Why on earth would I want to join for another wasted year?) I called my bank with the reference number and let’s HOPE the charges are, indeed, reversed.
I want last year’s money back. Class action?
well I just got my “approval” this morning, I consider my self a very lucky person, but I am very skeptical also, so first thing I did was Google it ( thank God for Google) an I came across with your blog. Thanks, for saving me time
Thank you for this post!! I just started a non-profit, so I guess that’s how they got my information. I was about to sign up, but decided to do some research first. Thank you for saving me!
I wish I had thought to Google the organization BEFORE I sent in my application for my “free” membership. After several minutes of stroking my ego, the saleswoman dropped the gauntlet: I could choose between $989 or $700 memberships, even though the $989 one was “the most cost effective.” (In what universe?) I lied and said I didn’t have a business credit or debit card, so she asked if I would put it on my personal credit or debit card. Oh,wow, not just no….
Like it did for some of you, the price dramatically plummeted for me to $199, then $99, then “complimentary free trial,” which is what got me into this train wreck in the first place. I asked multiple times to withdraw my application to no avail, during which time I came across this post (thank you, Rachel, and all who have commented thus far). I’m too nice to hang up, and the lady I spoke with was incredibly sweet. Her customer service skills would be valued in a more forthcoming organization. However, she did call me by the wrong name for the entire 45-minute call…
I didn’t spend a penny, and I now know I really need to let “No Caller ID” calls go to voicemail. What really irritates me is that those are 45 minutes I’ll never get back. I really could’ve used that 45 minutes to promote my business in a more honest way than this organization does.
I feel like you’re a very negative and non productive person. You didn’t even take the time to experience the benefits of this organization, but rather freaked out when you had to pay for something and then just went and bashed it all over the Internet. I am a member and this organization is exatreamly helpful and the benefits are well worth what I pay.
Good Lord Have Mercy! It’s people like you that we need more of in this world. INFORMED & ARTICULATE consumers who have the patience to share their experience. An unrecognized number called me and I sent them to voice mail so I can research the phone number. I stumbled upon this site. I am soooo blessed for coming to this page. Saved me headache.
I can vouch for everything you have said. I got a call from NAPW today. They gave me the interview and tried to sell me a membership, which I refused. I told them I wanted more information and that I didn’t give my payment info over the phone. The woman kept reading script after script to me to pressure me into giving her my credit card number. She said that was the only way they were set up to take payments and that you had to be a member to see the information about the organization online. I finally had to hang up because she was relentless. I’m glad I trusted my instincts. This is the 5th time someone has tried to scam our new business! When in doubt, do your research.
Thanks for all the info. They have been trying to reach me, but with my hectic schedule I kept putting them off. I decided to research them and found your postings.
So much for that, they surely won’t have my time or money.
Many thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for posting, I received a letter in the mail at my work and was weirded out by it. I asked a coworker about it and she said to google them. So weird to received something from New York and that the wording on the letter said my job referred me to them. Which is false. Thank you for posting.
OMG thank you for posting this. I JUST went through the exact same thing that you detailed in your experince with this company. From the phone call and the questions, basically in order to how honored I felt to have been bestowed this great privilidege of making it on the team!
The woman on the phone was VERY nice and overly supportive. When she started complimenting me on some REALLY STUPID items I was noting during my “interview” all of a sudden the alarm bells started going off in my head. Then WHAM, the membership fee’s came into play with ZERO mention of the free or reduced membership. I was only offered the “Elite” and “Preferred” memberships of over $900 and $700 each per year.
That’s 15 minutes of my life I’ll never get back!
Gah I got this call and was so excited and swept away and gave her my card info and then googled while on the phone and your post popped up. I told her I wanted to rescind and not do it at this time. She had already run the card and said she could not back it out. She said to call CS and they would call me back. I called CS – got an answering service so left a VM and am currently on the phone with the bank. Thankfully they are working to reverse the charge and I have an active claim against this business. Ridiculous. Thank you so much for posting this.
I talked to someone today. Here is the email I sent to the company afterwards…
I received a letter in the mail recently regarding membership with your association and sent in my application. I was contacted by a woman named Joyce and spoke with her in depth regarding the benefits of membership. I am disappointed to learn that she offered me membership before telling me how much it would cost. The excitement I felt being a part of the organization quickly faded as she educated me on the different membership packages you offer.
While I understand her job is sales, there comes a point when a person needs to remember that basic membership is complimentary.
From your website: “Every woman who applies receives a complimentary basic membership.”
I was made to feel like I had to choose a reduced membership package at $199 in order for me to be a member. Furthermore, I was pressured into having an answer back to her today to move forward. These tactics from a professional organization are disrespectful at best and dishonest at it’s worst. I am a new business owner and do not appreciate feeling pressured into something when I was very clear with her about making all financial decisions with my husband. I had to tell her three times.
Please make it a point to review sales tactics and customer service standards with your membership staff. I wouldn’t want someone else to feel harassed.
Thank you so much for this. I received a mailing from NAPW today, and I am so glad that I decided to check them out before responding!
Thank you so much for providing the detailed feedback regarding this association. I just received a mailing from NAPW yesterday and was about to sign up just now, but had a feeling I had to Google search them first. Just threw the paper in the trash! THANK YOU (i’m sorry you had to go through what you went through.)
I’m so happy I read this. I had recently applied online through linkedin, and when they started calling me three or four times a day, i decided something was fishy about this organization. I received my follow-up letter in the mail today about my “free” membership, and it’s officially in the shredder. We should create a facebook page where women business leaders can get together and discuss our successes and struggles in our work environment. If anyone wants to work on something like this, please let me know!
Thanks for your post, I just received this “invitation” to accept the free membership in the mail yesterday and was researching before acting on it. So rather than going through any conversation with them, I think I’ll stick to my AIGA Cleveland (Real Networking Association) Now, while the organization is mainly geared towards the arts and Graphics, there are many folks from outside the design world that attend functions and network within their own “sector” yet everyone has the opportunity to network with people from all industries… IF you take the opportunity and use it well you can quite easily grow your clientele, have access to valuable marketing and business practices that have succeeded and failed, and further assist you in those areas of business along with others. It’s not women geared but it is a vital aspect of business relations, networking, and business growth. http://www.aiga.org/
I too got the same unidentified caller and while I was on the phone I Googled and found your blog. All I can say is thank you. I hung up during her “we have other levels you may join:. Consumer beware!