“hello this is my story how SHAWACADEMY scam me
I saw their ads on Facebook and try the free 4 week trial. In my last week of trail i want to cancel my subscription to them it has at 4 part to unsubscribe to them. In the last part of unsubscribing to them it will hang and be careful to not tap the lifetime subscription because i accidentally tap it. In just one tap the billing on my card appears on my notification saying that i pay for the lifetime subscription. I email them to tell that i want to refund and cancel my subscription. But they tell that they will not refund it. I don't things is fair because on that same day and time i email them and contact their support but noting happen they will just get your money.”
“Scam
This one of the apps that will scam you. Be careful. I saw their ads on facebook and try the free 4 week trial. In my last week of trail i want to cancel my subscription to them it has at 4 part to unsubscribe to them. In the las part of unsubscribing to them it will hang and be careful to not tap the lifetime subscription because i accidentally tap it. In just on tap the billing on my card appears on my notification saying that i pay for the lifetime subscription. I email them to tell that i want to refund and cancel my subscription. But they tell that they will not refund it. I dont things is fare because on that same day and time i email them and contact their support but noting happen they will just get your money. I really want my refund. This website is fvcking scam. Check shawacademyscam.com so many people are scam by this fvcking site.”
“I would give zero if I was able to.
This appears to be a huge scam. three days after signing up to a free months trial, that I would have upgraded after a couple lessons to check the quality, a charge for a 3 month subscription was taken from my account, without my authorization.
I can't really speak to the lessons, as I watched 2 that seem to have been recorded and because they're an introductory level, very,very basic.
But what I will say is the Shaw Company use pop ups for subscription upgrades that force misclicks when closing.
They bombard you with emails and text messages multiple times per day to tell you your "lesson is available to watch" or "you've missed your class" despite asking for a time you can schedule study on your free sign up.
People call and keep talking through their script, telling you they can "unlock learning materials for you" and do not listen to any refusals.
Support is non existent. Despite sending an email about being charged, no-one has gotten back to me. It's difficult to find a way to cancel the subscription so I had to contact my bank directly and block all requests from them.
I would definitely not advise anyone to take up study with them... Even if you think it's a free trial, it won't be.”
“This company is a total SCAM. Please AVOID if you value your own sanity.
I was charged for renewal of a course that I had already cancelled within the prescribed time. I was not sent an email of this cancellation so I was told by email (none of the phone numbers let you get through. 20 hours of emails and every time I wore one of them down another person took over and I had to start again and again.
I have just invoked GDPR to make them sit up and listen. I suggest that all "customers" of ShawAcademy do likewise.”
“Gimick company tricked me into an unauthorised payment - refusing a refund for the errors on their end.
To start off -when starting the course you are bombarded with text messages, emails, notifications and in app bots that keep offering and asking you to spend more money, purchase more subscriptions for every 2 seconds you spend with them. If you ask for help they respond saying you can spend more money to get those answers through another course. And on and on.
As time went on it all seemed VERY gimmicky with very basic entry level courses that offered nothing beyond what is already available for free on the internet. Because of this a month in I decided to cancel my subscription and not go through with the so called 'Digital Marketing' course I was doing.
Of course they do not make this cancelling process easy. You can only cancel within working hours, and so I did. I went onto the app and cancelled my subscription through there. Following the steps on the app I went ahead and cancelled - however it asked me to call a US number to confirm cancellation.
And so I did, I called the number and was greeted by an automated machine which asked me to select a number to get through to confirm my cancellation.
I was advised that no one is able to get to me but to confirm my cancelation by pressing a number. The automated machine let me know that my subscription was indeed cancelled and in classic shawacademy style, they asked me If I would like a month free to draw me in to all the lovely gimmicks they can sell to me. I of course refused the offer and confirmed I just simply wanted to cancel my subscription.
After the phonecall the app subscription stated it was due to expire and was cancelled - with no future payments - as I intended.
So after that tedious process I deleted the app and unsubscribed to all the crazy emails and messages they kept sending.
The funny thing - they didn't send any confirmation via email that my subscription was cancelled. The only forms of confirmation I was given were by the automated response on the phonecall as well as the red cancelled subscription on the app.
Then I didn't think to record or screen shot any of this. - to those thinking of cancelling I recommend you do record everything and anything.
A month and a bit later, my card notifies me that a £49.99 payment was taken by Shaw Academy. As I initially cancelled this you can imagine my surprise. I went onto the website and contacted support letting them know that a payment I have not authorised has been taken from my account.
A few days later at 8pm at night I get a phonecall from a US number. Straight away the customer support agent Veon who also claimed to be a manager - and the only person I could possibly talk to about this let me know he was calling regarding my email.
Immediately he let me know that he is not able to offer a refund as they do not offer refunds on subscriptions at any cost as 'it is not a product'. I then asked if it is possible to send over the Terms and Conditions that state it is not possible to offer a refund for an unauthorised payment taken from my account. He wasn't able to find this to send via email and laughed at me asking to have this in writing.
He then immediately offered 1 year free subscription covering all extra add ons. I said I did not want any subscription as I did not find any value in the course and cancelled it for a reason. I would like a refund for my unauthorised payment.
He went on to say this is not at all possible but can no offer me 2 years of free subscriptions and add ons.
I went on to ask why they do not have any recording of the phone call I made to cancel my subscription ,or why they conveniently chose to not follow through with courtesy confirming cancellation by email.
Though I wasn't aware then and didn't think I'd need email confirmation when I visually saw and heard my account was cancelled, he then used this to his advantage.
Veon let me know that as I do not have any proof via email from shaw academy stating the cancellation I cannot get a refund. Convenient for them I thought.
Very tactful company that exploits its customers to spend more and more money on things they don't necessary need and then trick them into falling back into payments by not confirming anything via email. Considering the amounts of emails they send to spend more money - it is disgusting how they slyly didn't send any to follow through with a cancellation. An error I couldn't possibly have fixed from my end.
So they sent no proof of cancellation, also no email stating the renewal of a subscription - one which would have allowed me to be aware that this was happening without my authorisation.
I tried to let the agent know I really wanted the refund back and nothing else from them as it was an unauthorised payment. He kept insisting they do not offer refunds at any cost - and kept throwing the 2 year free subscription in my face. I asked to speak to the legal team & was told Veon is the only person I can go through.”
“I assigned for free trail. Yesterday it was the last day of free trail and then I clicked pause for payment from 3/7 to3/12 . They were not supposed to charge me during pause period. I can only subscription cancellation on business days (Mon-Fri.). This morning, I checked my bank account, they charge me 69.99 dollars. Now I am dealing with my bank to file the claim. Then, I called for cancellation.”
“Be very careful of “free” courses, I signed up for a 4 week Python course and got stuck with a £49.99 charge and they would not refund me.
Once logged in to the course, they do not provide you with all the material needed for the course, there are lots of buttons to click that say things like “more course slides and material here”. But when you click these they automatically charge you.
I was unaware about this, I’m gutted as I signed up to the course because I wanted to better my life after losing my job and could have done with keeping the money.
Also the course layout is poor, fixed and just outright confusing!
There are much better courses to sign up for and also nicer, friendlier and competent companies.
Just google “Shaw Academy Scam” and see.
AVOID!”
“I was interested in the free 4 week trial and entered my contact details before being directed to another page where Shaw Academy asked for my card details, luckily I was suspicious and didn't proceed.
As soon as I left the page I received a call from a UK number at 11.50pm. I didn't answer.
I then received a message asking me to finish signing up with them (enter my bank/card details) I messaged that I would never enroll with them.
3 months later I am still receiving calls day and night. I was able to block their numbers but I just want them to leave me alone.
I still receive emails all the time and I have replied to a few stating that I would never enroll.
Nothing works, they are relentless.
Please don't give them any details and block them if you have.
I am lucky that they were not able to get my card details. Even if they keep trying every day to get them.”
“When trying to cancel the free subscription on-line, the final step is a phone call to their service centre. The agent informs you that "account was scheduled to cancel and we enabled for 6-month access to improve the outcome". This means that your account is NOT cancelled and you will be charged after the free trial. Stay away!”
“Refuse to cancel the membership and don't issue refund.
PLEASE AVOID AT ALL COST. TERRIBLE SERVICE AND CURRICULUM. WON'T ISSUE REFUND EVEN IF YOU WISH TO CANCEL OR LET THE TRIAL EXTENDED BY ACCIDENT.
I signed up for a trial and after one login, I didn't even bother to comeback because I find the cirriculum isn't helpful at all. It required you to sign up for a trial with a payment and didn't notify about the membership activation. I emailed their support and asked for a cancelation and refund because
1. I barely or never use the platform
2. It is not helpful for my personal need
3. I completely forgot about the membership until I saw the charge of 60USD on my bank statement.
I've worked with other vendors about this issue in the past and have had no problem but Shaw Academy is a different story. They aren't in for education at all, they are in for your money. The cirriculum is not as good as any other free online course out there. They used examples of tv provider, mobile phone carrier, GYM membership (it basically tells me how low they are when you have to compare yourself with sketchy GYM membership....). After my explanation, a person named ROY decided to "offer solutions that greatly outweigh the cost of the refund requests: With the additional 06-months access". How does it outweight the cost if one never uses the platform? During the pandemic, I hope they show a sympathy as people are looking to learn new skills, but the company is the opposite. It offers no help, and take as much money as possible to what they call "students".”
“The worst company ever...what a scam in fact they are that bad I now think a new word needs to be thought of to explain how awfully corrupt they are...this is going on too long how they are scamming people every day... disgusting”
“Absolute SCAM. Do not give Credit Card details. You can't cancel. I resorted to asking my bank to cancel my credit card because they kept charging subscription fees. Does not matter if you complete cancellation form. Does no matter if you complain. Does not matter if you call their cancellation number. They keep charging.
Courses and also completely rubbish when compared to other providers. You have been warned.”
“One of the worst companies I've ever dealt with.
Signed up for a free trial, and before the end of the trial requested multiple times to cancel my subscription so it would not renew. Still ended up being charged a renewal after the first month. Also, the fact you have to ring during limited office hours to cancel, even though all it does is connect you to an automated response is appalling.
Almost impossible to get hold of due to limited customer service channels (no direct contact through phone or live chat) you're only able to request them to call you.
Once speaking to a member of their 'retention team' they refused to refund their mistake. After telling them that numerous people have had the same issue with them, they belittled their user base saying that it was people making mistakes, insulting their former members. I was told I was 'angry' despite remaining calm, again basically being insulted by the operative.
They have zero care for their customer base and just see each person as dollar signs. They make it difficult to contact them, and then when you do, the operative on the other line has zero genuine care for their issue.
Note they have been found to manipulate review scores in the past as more evidence of their shady behaviour.”
“This is the worst company ever. I found out they were not accredited and cancelled right away. Customer care said they cancelled my account and said I would never be charged because they didn't have a payment method for me. Then they charged me ANYWAY!! I have gone through months trying to cancel. They said they would refund me once paypal released the funds. They said they would cancel my account a second time and then tried to charge me AGAIN! Paypal has released the funds and now NO ONE will ever respond to me. I message them every 48 hours and I will continue to and write a ACCURATE reviews on every site possible because they are SCAMMERS!”
“I got charged without my authorization. I did not subscribe to any premium plan or membership plan. I only subscribe for the 4-week free trial that they offered and paid only for the e-certificate because they already asking me to pre-order it but I didn't subscribe further with anything that they are offering but still, I got charged automatically on my card without my permission or authorization.
I haven't even started the free trial course but they already charged me a bunch of money especially without my authorization.
I deeply regret signing up. Be careful signing up, transacting online, and giving your card info especially with companies like Shaw Academy. Definitely, let's help others and spread the word about this fraudulent act.”
“Bad website CX, customer service not sufficient. I would not recommend entering your details to take their online courses as it's very easy to be charged to your credit card with a single click if you miss fine print on a prompt. I will not be accessing the course or recommending Shaw Academy to anyone.”
“On the 24th February 2021 I received an email from Shawn academy that said:
"SAVE MONEY WITH UNLIMITED!
Did you know that with Unlimited Access you're actually saving money? You get 100% Cashback, learn a new skill or trade and boost your career!"
I then clicked a button that said GET UNLIMITED, as I was curious I opened the email and I immediately got charged £69!! I only found out because my credit card sent me a text message about the charges.
Shawn Academy charged me £69 the moment I have clicked on an offer email. No CVV requests, no questions or preview confirmation of the membership or card details required, before getting charged. I was not aware that by opening the email I would have got charged £69. NO information on the email states that I will get charged automatically just by opening the email.
I emailed Shawn academy straight away, which they got back to me on 27th February, saying that someone will give me a call back. The same evening a represenatice of Shaw Academy called me saying they have now deleted my card details, which I entered when I registered for a free trial back in November 2020. I used their website for few day but then realised I didn't like it so I never logged back in since the 24th February. The person on the phone said that I registered the card details in November so they don't have to ask permission to charge me. According to them, the moment I clicked on the email I was accepting the charges, and carried on explaining terms and conditions of the offer, and lying about the facts that the info where on the email, but they were not. He said the 100% cashback is actually an offer of over 90%off the value, it's a great deal and that Refund is not an option. There was no way for him to give option of refund of any kind, even if I sent a complaint. He suggested and kept interrupting me, saying that he was trying to get things clear quickly, that there was no way whatsoever that the company would ever give a refund back and that I should start using the Lifetime membership or give it to family or friends if I don't want to use it.
This company is a SCAM! Their messages are fake and misleaning. They stole my money withouth asking for permission! GO TO OTHER ONLINE SCHOOLS OR COMPANIES BUT DO NOT REGISTER WITH SHAW ACADEMY AS THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION!!
After giving a 1 star review of Trustpilot yesterday, I received a call back by the same rude person, which was trying to ask me whst was the problem..again ,like we didn't discuss it, and reminded me that REFUND IS NOT AN OPTION WITH SHAW ACADEMY!”
“Shaw Academy is nothing more but a SCAM. They have took £49.99 from my account without consent. Prior to that, they harassed me via email almost non-stop, which was a huge red flag. Also, I have noticed there is no invoice or confirmation payment once the money goes through. In other words, they have stolen my money directly. Please be careful of sending your personal details to companies. Luckily there is a solution to this problem. Shaw academy will not give your refund back but your bank will return your stolen cash. My bank has barred Shaw academy from stealing my money for future reference. As long as you have the evidence on, you bank will support you on this situation. The lesson we can learn from this is be mindful who you send your bank details to. You never know who may steal your money or not.”
“THIS COMPANY IS A TOTAL SCAM AND GARBAGE. 8 MONTHS AFTER CANCELLING MY ACCOUNT, THEY CHARGED MY CARD. THEY WOULD NOT REFUND MY MONEY AND INSTEAD OFFERED ME EXTRAS WHICH I HAD NO INTEREST IN. I HAD TO DISPUTE THE CHARGE WITH MY BANK. AFTER SENDING SHAW THE EMAIL FROM WHEN I CANCELLED MY ACCOUNT, THEY CHARGED MY CARD AGAIN IN TO SMALLER CHARGES, I GUESS TO BE SNEAKY. I HAD TO DISPUTE THOSE CHARGES AND THEN CANCEL MY CARD AND GET A NEW ONE. THEY ARE GARBAGE, STAY AWAY.”
