Shaw Academy ********s and Spammers

On or about 3 July 2020 I saw an advert on Facebook advertising a course offered by Shaw Academy and decided to enrol. After completing part of the process I abandoned the setup. I received two or three SMS messages on my cell phone complete the registration process or opt out. I followed the internet link on my cell phone provided by Shaw and completed the opt out procedure. I can distinctly recall going through the process since it entails locking into their site, then attempting to cancel then one is required to confirm that you wish to cancel, then you are taken to another page where again they try to stop you from cancelling, again you are taken to another page. This goes on for about 5 or 6 pages. To my mind this is a ploy by them to ensure that any person who wishes to cancel loses patience with the continuous badgering and eventually give up on the process of cancelling. Be it as it may I went through the whole process and since it can only be done via their website I do not have proof that I did so. Any other organisation would accept an email from my email address. On 31 July 2020 I noticed that Shaw had debited my credit card in the amount of R 399,00 plus my bank charged a fee of R 7,98. On 2 August 2020 I sent an email to the Shaw student support stating: I received SMS messages from you with regards to a course that I expressed interest in, however I did not complete the registration process and after replying to your SMS via the opt out option I assumed that you will not bill me in any way since the SMS message from you left me with the impression that by opting out I would not be billed. I now demand that since I completed the opt out process and did not receive any service from you that you will immediately refund the money you took from my account and refrain from billing me for a non-existent contract. On 2 August I sent the following email to billing at Shaw Academy.com I had expressed interest in, however I did not complete the registration process and after replying to your SMS via the opt out option I assumed that you will not bill me since the SMS message from you left me with the impression that by opting out I would not be billed. I notice that I have been billed R 399.00 plus bank charge of R 7.98 in respect of your service which I cancelled by opting out. I now demand that, since I completed the opt out process and you did not acknowledge the opt out or advise me that the opt out process was not successful and I did not receive any service from you, you immediately refund the money and the bank charges taken from my account. Furthermore you must forthwith refrain from billing me for a non-existent contract. I also once again went to the Shaw website and again processed an opt out / termination process or what ever fancy name they have for that process. As stated before it was an elaborate opt out process. I feel very strongly about this since I abandoned the process, I did not want to proceed, I also did not receive any value for money in fact I received absolutely nothing in return for my money that they *******ly debited to my account. Shaw’s response to my email was from a certain Varney: Thank you for reaching out to us.

I have personally reviewed your account and found the following details:

• The subscription has been initiated as 4-week free trial. • It was not cancelled during the trial period, so the payment was processed. • These terms are stated and accepted before account creation.T&C please see section 4 and 5.

We are unable to process subscription refunds unfortunately after the trial expiry, as per the terms and conditions.

However, we can confirm your membership is cancelled thus ensuring no further payments will be processed.

We are also providing you with 6-months access totally free, the least we can do is ensure you benefit from our professional certifications, so we can turn this unfortunate event in to a neutral, if not positive immediately. You will be able to complete the courses you initially joined and many other courses.

To log into your account and update your schedule with the days and times you prefer, visit here.

Thank you very much for your time and happy studying.

Shaw Academy Support Team. King Regards, Varney On 6 August 2020 I rep**** to the email: This reply is simply not the truth. I attempted to join Shaw to do a course on or about 3 July 2020. After I attempted to do so I stopped the process and opted out before the end of July. On receipt of the SMS referred to in my previous email which was on 4 July 2020 and again on 5 July 2020 I rep**** to the link provided in the SMS to opt out. In my opinion opt out means I cancelled. Secondly I started the process on 3 July 2020 and on 31 July 2020 you debited my account against my instruction. since when is 3 July to 31 July 30 DAYS., Because one has to go through your system which consists of page through at least six 6 pages to cancel opt out or terminate whatever fancy word you want to use I can clearly recall that I went through that process twice.

In any event my email to you regarding the ******* debiting of my account was on 31 July 2020. Well within the 30 day period which you are now attempting to hide behind.

I reiterate that I want the full sum of R 399,00 plus the bank charges in respect thereof being R 7,98 refunded to me.

Your prompt repayment is awaited.

Needless to say Shaw has simply ignored my last email. To add insult to injury Shaw is spamming my email inbox with 2 emails per day. Surely they can’t be so obtuse as to understand that I want my money refunded and absolutely nothing more to do with them.