Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Last week, when news broke that the Komen foundation would stop funding Planned Parenthood, I made a contribution to show my support. When they backtracked a couple of days later, I called my bank and asked them to stop payment on my donation. It had just gone through. They explained that I had to call Komen. I did that, speaking with a very nice woman who assured me the donation would be refunded but to give them a week to sort things out.
Early this afternoon, I received an email from Ivette Torres, Matching Gifts Coordinator, Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.
Hello Mollie,
We hope you are well today. We have received your request for a refund of your donation made on 2/1/12 to Susan G. Komen 3-Day™ walker [redacted]. We can appreciate your response to Komen’s recent change to grant-making policy and subsequent reversal. However, since your donation was made before the policy change was announced, it is subject to our policy that donations to the 3-Day® are not refundable or transferable.
I called Torres, leaving a voicemail asking her to return my call immediately. I also emailed her (a few times). I haven't heard back.
It's bad enough that they broke their word to me and are refusing to refund my gift that was made in good faith support of their initial policy change.
But does this note make any sense at all? Under what circumstances could I get a refund if not in the scenario that actually occurred? Can someone explain this to me?
UPDATE: My request for an explanation has not been answered but I did get another email where they're pushing the date of the promised refund back from Feb. 10 until Feb. 24. Needless to say, I'm once bitten, twice shy here. But I'll keep you updated.
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Comments:
Aug '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I guess we need to get the phone number and email address and do some requesting. Think of the storm they have created for themselves just to please PP.
Dec '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I wonder how many refund requests they received after the first decision and after the second.
Jul '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Mollie, depending on who your bank is, you could probably issue a complaint at this point. That's just wrong. I'm with flownover, time for an email and call barrage.
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Wow. I wondered how they were going to handle the inevitable refund requests.
Their handling of the situation just gets worse and worse.
May '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I need more soda and chips...this is getting good...
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Tell them that you are demanding a refund to protest the initial decision to withdraw support from Planned Parenthood. Maybe that'll work.
Aug '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I am astounded by how much goodwill toward Komen has been flushed down the drain in such a short time.
Mar '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I guess their refusal to issue a refund isn't surprising since issuing refunds is usually the action of a person or organization of honor and character.
Apr '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Go back to your bank. With a credit card you usually have at least 90 days to dispute a charge, even if this was a check or something the bank should be able to do something to reverse it if you lean on them hard enough.
Apr '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Honestly, could this just be the Komen believing the Mainsleaze media that most Americans consider planned parenthood some sacrosanct institution? This idea was bantied about on NRO I think, but if you were to just watch news coverage, you would assume that Komen had just slapped an elderly woman, not taken away 600k (which sadly, is laughably little considering its budget) from our friendly, federally subsidized abortion mill. Ugh, culture wars. They're baccccckkkk.
Jul '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Then demand the value of Yer contribution be returned in the form of pink ribbons. You could pass these out to people in return for cash. It appears to be very lucrative. You may even make a profit.
Jul '11
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Here is the 350,000 Peterbilt the son had the foundation buy for him for football games with the family. Maybe your money will help an upgrade.
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Ricochet gets results! They didn't explain to me what the heck was going on but I got a new email with yet an additional promise of a looming refund:
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.: Ricochet gets results! They didn't explain to me what the heck was going on but I got a new email with yet an additional promise of a looming refund:
0 minutes ago
Actually, considering that I was promised a refund by tomorrow, I have no idea why I'm referring to this as a positive result. Something tells me to be worried I won't get this refund by Feb. 24 (10 business days from today).
Jun '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I'm not certain you had a legal remedy, although you certainly made the donation in reliance on a specific action.
Komen is smart to make the refunds--refusal to do so would turn a disaster into a cataclysm (I think a cataclysm is worse than a mere disaster).
In an ideal world, Komen would tell the left to stick it (won't happen of course), but at the very least getting themselves out of the news would be good for it (and refusing to give refunds would keep it in the news).
Frankly, given that conservatives give far more than liberals, they should have stuck to their original decision, and conservatives would have made up the difference. My family participated last year in a Komen fundraiser. Never again.
Nov '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I wondered what would happen if, in your email to them, you mentioned that you are chronicling your correspondence with them on a prominent conversation website for conservatives because many conservatives are interested in this issue; include a link, and invite them to provide you with a reply addressed to this larger audience.
Conservatives need to get smart in asserting that they are still ... perhaps for a short time ... a majority, or at minimum, mainstream, world view and represent a lot of people. Progressives pull out this card all the time, mainly because they aren't a majority yet but believe that if they act as if it were so, it eventually will be. And they're probably right. If we act like a sheepish, marginalized group, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
May '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Working in the Travel Industry and dealing with refunds to credit cards quite frequently, I can tell you that 7-10 business days is normal. Most banks process refunds much slower than they do withdrawals (no clue why, though). We would release the funds to the bank on day one, and the customer would still be calling 3-5 days later wanting to know where the money was.
Dec '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Mollie,
As you know, I have been defending Komen and Nancy Brinker because I think they are the victim and PP is the perp. However, I am familiar with big time fund raising. Fund raising is a big industry right here where I live.
When you hear the phrase, Non-Profit Corporation, stop thinking about the word Non-Profit. Now, start concentrating on the word Corporation. The Non-Profits are covered under State Corporate Law. Fraud is essentially no different if committed by a For-Profit Corporation or a Non-Profit Corporation. To take donation money under false pretenses is Fraud.
Regards,
Jim
Oct '10
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
Mollie,
I sent a very respectful refund request via email on the day Komen reversed course. They confirmed my refund via email on Tuesday of this week. I even called to thank them for their very prompt and professional response, and assured them that I would donate again in the future once I am given assurances that my donation won't support abortion providers.
So I had a very different experience. Just wanted you to know.
Re: Komen Won't Refund My Donation
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it.
But I didn't want to get my refund because I have a bully pulpit. I want my refund because it's the right thing. In fact, I waited many hours before posting to give them a chance to get back to me and explain themselves.