THIS POST IS FOR PEOPLE WHO PAID FOR THE SECRETS OF THE ELITE WOMAN COURSE AND WANT TO KNOW HOW TO GET A REFUND
10 elegant steps to getting your money back from this awful scam
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Phone a friend (possibly in tears feeling ashamed and stupid) (your close friends and support network will be more compassionate and easy on you than yourself).
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STOP ACCESSING COURSE CONTENT
a. Stop using any content (otherwise the appeal will you used the course content and just don’t want to pay).
b. Do not download content, if you haven’t already done so, e.g. handouts (someone on one of these threads said they will say you shared content which is against TOU)
c. Keep an eye on the student forum but seeing as sharing content is breaking TOU and also many people on the course are still delusional and happy, and TOU imply no negatively, I’m not sure how useful the student forum will be in this instance.
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Gather your evidence (largely thanks to Tattle Life!). You may not wish to use all this evidence in the first instance of contacting the course but having it on hand for any appeal they may make will be useful – you can give it to your bank etc.
a. Evidence 1 –At the end of the free workshop, there are testimonials that may have been the reason you signed up, including ‘Patrizia from the UK’ who looks like her levelling up experience had helped her transform into the woman you want to be. If you look back at Tattle threads you will see that the image used for Patrizia is actually from a Guatamalen ballet shoe company. There are also stock images used for facebook profiles of some of the admin team e.g.Victoria SOA (again, look back through the Tattle Life Anna Bey threads). This is clear evidence of fraud
b. Evidence 2 – There are some other forums/threads e.g. Reddit where you can find people who, even though they aren’t being particularly negative, say the course is just the same as her videos, which contradicts the sales spiel that the course is different. Clear evidence of fraud.
c. Evidence 3 – On the same forums/threads you can find reviews (not many – someone on here pointed out they are removed quickly) saying the course isn’t worth it. This cannot be used in a Fraud action but can be used if it moves to the disputes stage (see point 6).
d. Evidence 4 – She advertises her own unique formula but all the content and concepts are rehashed from other books (you can use examples). She openly talks about The Secret so you can’t really use that one. Fraud.
e. Evidence 5 – The fake YouTube post about reaching 1m subscribes (there are photos etc. in one of these Tattle threads. The photos are of a supposed letter from YouTube and a YouTube plate. Fraud. EDIT - I tried to edit before it was posted. This piece of evidence is an opinion not fact. I have looked up Anna Bey YouTube today and there are 1.08m subscribers BUT I don't know if many of these are bought subscribers which seems to be a thing you can do. The thread on tattle with image close ups of her YouTube letter and award show different fonts. I don't think this can be used as evidence but it should something to think about anyway.
f. Evidence 6 – The article from a German newspaper saying that the course/Anna is a scammer. This is in a post by Less is More.
g. Evidence 7 – In a post on Tattle Life on 31 October by Baustine de Beaumanoir, the poster says you can contact the Swiss Internet Security Alliance, Ministere Public (www.ibarry.ch) and she includes a postal address. You can file a complaint (can be anonymous) and this can be used by your bank in retrieving the money. You can post a report or file online
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Contact the course. Before contacting your bank contact the course as your credit card/bank would advise resolving the issue with the company in the first instance.
a. The company has 15 days to reply to you (I don’t know if this is work days or general days) and if they haven’t responded to your query about the refund by then, then get back in contact with the bank and ask them to issue a charge back.
b. Keep it polite and factual (don’t give them excuse to say you are violating TOU or being rude/harassing.)
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Phone your Bank and asked to be put through to the Fraud Team. Explain your situation and how it was a fraud because the woman running the course isn’t who she says she is and the sales spiel says you should pay for it because it is different to the YouTube videos (which it isn’t). The person you speak to should give you an option for a ‘charge back’ which mean they charge the money back to the company and the company then has 45 days to appeal the decision. Tell the bank you have already contacted the course in the first instance and are waiting the requisite 15 days for them to reply. You are also gathering evidence (or have gathered evidence) of fraud.
Without a lot of evidence the banks action is called a ‘Weak charge back’ but can still be issued anyway and you can then gather evidence in the event they appeal. Tell the fraud team you want them to make the notes now but you understand you need to wait until the 15 days to see if the course responds before the bank can action anything and you will contact them again on XXX date to either action or to let them know the course has responded and you have resolved the issue with them. (TBH this is my personal view to contact the bank as soon as possible, rather than wait for 15 days from contacting the course as I believe it would strengthen the case to say you first notified the bank of your concern, while waiting for a reply from the course etc.) HOWEVER, if the course doesn’t reply and the company does appeal the bank charge back and you lose the appeal, there is another option:
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You can progress to the DISPUTES team at the bank who, under Section 75, can use information such as reviews of the course (e.g. Trust Pilot/other comment and reviews) in order to claim the money back. The fraud team cannot use reviews but the disputes team can under Section 75 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/getting-your-money-back-if-you-paid-by-card-or-paypal/
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Once the bank confirms they have actioned the charge back you have to wait 45 days (this is the length of time the company has to appeal). You should have a temporary credit placed in you account (so you are not getting charged interest etc.)
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Once 45 days has passed – Phone the bank and check no appeal has been made and that the temporary credit they have put back into your account has been made permanent.
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Share the good news and try and spread the word to help other vulnerable people
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Pat yourself on the back for getting your money from a scam – elegant ladies stand up for themselves and others and do not judge lapses in common sense.