A Detailed Rationale for Avoiding Shaw Academy AT ALL COSTS

If I could give Shaw Academy a zero rating, I absolutely would. This company is absolutely despicable and I implore you to save your energy, time and money. DO NOT sign up with these people (even for a free trial). They will dig their claws into you and never let you go. Here is my story:

In July 2020, I came across an advert on Facebook promoting a social media marketing course on Shaw Academy. I was interested in this and saw that some of my Facebook friends had liked their page (which made it feel more legit to me). I checked out the website and read through the terms and conditions when signing up. The terms and conditions appear bulletproof and risk-free for you as the customer so I was convinced and signed up for the four-week trial. Your credit card details are required as part of this sign-up to proceed and since the terms and conditions stated I could cancel before the four weeks ended without being charged, I was happy with this (plenty of websites have this in place and I've never had issues with it).

After two weeks of trying out Shaw Academy, I realised it was definitely not worth the money. I received up to 12 emails and SMSes a day (which was frustrating) and felt that the courses were poor quality (I've tried courses on another educational website for just R100 that were infinitely better than what Shaw Academy has to offer). As such, I went through the long and difficult process of cancelling my membership. By the end of it, I received confirmation from Thomas that my membership was indeed cancelled and I would not be charged any further. This was on 29 July.

Now, nearly two months later, I've been charged for a premium membership. Unfortunately, you cannot remove your credit card details from your profile and Shaw Academy claims that they cannot do that either (since I received confirmation that I wouldn't be charged, I just left it). I am beyond irritated that I was charged, especially since I went through August not being charged at all and thus given the impression that all was in order.

After sending a few emails, the only response Shaw Academy has given is that they cannot refund me since I did not cancel before the free trial ended (I did and IN JULY) and offered me six free months, which I will absolutely not use since the quality of the courses is so poor and add zero value to my life. I have now had to cancel my credit card and will be taking action alongside my bank to dispute the charges made on my card.

If you value your money, time, energy, peace of mind and just overall wellbeing, do not waste any of it on this pathetic company. If you've already signed up for a free trial and/or been offered free months, I hate to break it to you - there is no way out and you will regret ever giving this company the privilege of even having your information.