SCAMInternational Society of Female Professionals Reports & Reviews (100)
International Society of Female Professionals Contacts
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The ISFP emailed me (see photo), encouraging me to complete my enrollment. I must have started an application at some point and then stopped, though I don't remember.
The conversation with Samantha Smith was polite and, on her end, very well rehearsed. No real reaction to what I said, everything very mechanical. No human touch there, rather weird, but then again she's on the job and this is what a sales person is like on the phone, I suppose.
At one point I thought she said that once she had all the required info she'd take it to some committee which would then judge my suitability for the ISFP. I must have heard wrong because at the end of all the questions she said that based on the info she'd just gathered she was able to inform me that I had been accepted into the ISFP. She congratulated me with the tiniest bit of enthusiasm, which was nice, considering my new elevated status in society! I thought it was weird, though, especially in retrospect, because decent a persona as Ms Samantha probably is, she doesn't seem to be in any position to evaluate a person's "worth", as it were, as she's obviously reading as script and selling something.
I said wow and thanks for accepting me, because after all, what they promise isn't half-bad, though some things are unnecessary, like a certificate, via email, to print out, proving my status as a member of the ISFP. Where would I even display that, and why? :)
Then we got to the money part, and I feel so weak when I tell you that I aaaaaaaaalmost paid those $500+ - I was shocked at being hit with the question of *how* I'd like to pay, followed by a rapid reading of all the major credit cards in succession. Just like that, no warning, no "Do you accept this membership to the ISFP? Oh great, now, how would you like pay?"
They are very clever, they do this in such a sneakily forceful way, speaking fast, rattling off options, telling you all the good things in store for you... like an assault riffle, just shooting out info and options non-stop, with no time to ask questions or think about things. But I suppose that's what sales people do?
After being asked how I'd like to pay, and then being given the 2 options of 5 yr membership or lifetime one, with ridiculously similar price tags, I was thinking out loud for minute, trying to convert dollars into my currency, with no response from Ms Samantha as I did so, audibly. I mean, she was (presumably) sitting at a desk, she could have offered to check out some currency exchange for me :) I asked her a few times whether I could please pay online, through some mechanism there instead of over the phone, and she said that a) once I paid I would immediately get a transcript from their finance office or whatever, proving where my money had gone, and b) according to whatever rules the phone lines at the ISFP are secure. Neither of those things reassured me whatsoever. So what if I get an email from their office, that doesn't say anything, any scam organisation can set up an email and make up transcripts. I don't know them or trust them, so why should I trust it when she says the phone lines are secure? Also, secure phone lines? Isn't that just some spy stuff?
When Ms Samantha then so clearly and obviously *read* what I assume is the standard ISFP approved response to me, in her most robotic manner yet, about how it's safer to pay over the phone / give payment info over the phone than online, and that besides, my credit card is covered by insurance if anything happens, I suddenly realised and subsequently admired how seemlessly she answered one concern after another, like she'd received them before, or was following a script. It kinda finally dawned on me that I'd given up 15 minutes of my life to a woman with a script whose lack of response to my answers and general non-bothered attitude to anything substantial I had to say gave me the strong impression that all that talking was just for show: she who would probably, or so I suspect, have approved anyone into the organisation.
I don't know, I was in a good mood when Ms Samantha called and when it was so weirdly robotic from the beginning and then turned sinister in the end I was thankfully able to view it as a delightful experience.
Here's what I really wanted to write, and then ended up writing all of that stuff above ;)
Ms Samantha hung up on me when I finally made up my mind and told her I didn't feel good about giving her my credit card numbers over the phone. Just like that, my Membership Coordinator abandoned me!
And that's that, my very long account of my encounter with the ISFP. My advice: steer clear.
This is an organization that:
* has a very aggressive sales approach;
* charges for services they do not perform;
* keeps adding monthly fees and charges to their initial "ONE TIME ONLY" payment;
* makes unauthorized charges using the clients credit card information;
* does not resolve the claims even after countless emails and phone calls, unless the costumer reaches through an official channel (like BBB). All of the 27 complaints handled by BBB against WAFP ended in a membership cancellation and refund.
The situation is so serious that BBB issued an alert: "BBB files indicate a pattern concerning issues with the sales practices, billing and customer service of the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), now called International Association of Women (IAW). Consumers tell BBB that they feel misled by company representatives regarding membership prices, membership levels, and additional fees for processing and set-up. Some consumers also allege that they were subjected to high pressure sales tactics by company representatives even before they understood the costs or benefits of joining the organization. Other consumers that originally agreed to join the organization but later choose to cancel or not renew the membership say that they are charged for it anyway and must reach out to company representatives to seek a refund."
The NAPW was funded in 2007 and for obvious reasons the name was changed down the road to International Association of Women. However their business model did not change and after a new wave of online complaints they changed their name again and now operate under WAFP or ISFP.
What does it take for something to be done to solve this? I mean REALLY done, for good.