Wounded warrior project. Why I'll never support them.

[Resnic]

After having to deal with the wounded warrior project for the past week I decided I'll never support them again and if anyone brings them up I'll recommend they stay away from it.

Last week my mother called me upset so I went to see her. Now she has more than one bank she uses with multiple accounts. And she has parkinson's disease which effects her memory as well some what and she hadn't checked her one bank account for a while and when she did she was upset.

Now it started with her using the card number associated with one bank account she doesn't really use where she donated 200 dollars to the wwp, she thought it was worth since I was in the army when I was younger. But it didn't stop there. After looking through her statements they kept taking out money in every growing frequency and dollar amounts. What started as a 200 dollar donation over 6 months became 3 withdrawals a month totalling about 3800 dollars a month, they ended up taking about 21,000 before we caught on.

I called them and got nowhere. Then I called her bank and ran it up the flagpole till I got to the regional vice president and I spent 3 days going back and fourth with her and she was talking to them. She was very understanding and she spent days calling them trying to fix it. In the end they agreed to stop taking money but refused to return any of the money, and as a final F you they made one last withdrawal before stopping payments. They argued "she gave us her credit card number so we used it". When asked if they did follow up calls asking for more donations or larger amounts they wouldn't answer and gave run around answers.

Of course the bank cancelled her card, closed her account and reopened it under a new number. But the damage was done.

I'll never, ever support the wounded warrior project again after this. And I recommend you do not either.

 

[Hellokitty]

Thanks for serving and sorry your mom had a bad experience. I have noticed a lot of donation services have IMO terms that can be confusing for elderly and people who don't pay close attention to the details.

 

[Resnic]

Thanks for serving and sorry your mom had a bad experience. I have noticed a lot of donation services have IMO terms that can be confusing for elderly and people who don't pay close attention to the details.

True, after exploring this I found that out. But there is a difference between having confusing terms and outright taking advantage of someone.

And while I appreciate the sentiment, there is no need to thank me. Like I tell everyone else, all I did was sign on for a job and I did it. I don't deserve any special attention for doing my job.

 

[odanny]

Do you remember when their CEO and a bunch of employees were caught taking donations and blowing the money on lavish vacations and other things? I do. That's when I quit sending anything to WWP, and that was probably 7-8 years ago. Does not surprise me to hear this. Call an attorney.

 

[DudleySmith]

This is why I never use my debit card or credit card on the internet or anywhere but my bank's ATM. As morals decline into the toilet in this country all companies are suspect now, especially their employees. You have to be an idiot to trust any of them. I never trusted that organization anyway, and this isn't the first problem I've heard with them. There are only two I currently trust, one is a local Christian charity where I can see exactly where my money goes anytime I want, and Habit For Humanity, the local chapter of that, also a group I've been dealing with for a long time and know them personally. I get a lot of help from them for my own local stuff in return.

If you need to do business online just buy a prepaid debit or credit card and use those, or send money orders.

 

[Resnic]

Do you remember when their CEO and a bunch of employees were caught taking donations and blowing the money on lavish vacations and other things? I do. That's when I quit sending anything to WWP, and that was probably 7-8 years ago. Does not surprise me to hear this. Call an attorney.

I didn't hear about that all.

I didn't even know she made a donation until this whole mess cropped up.

 

[Silent Warrior]

As an American Legion member the post I belong to used to give money every year to WWP. After a new member tipped us off we investigated how donations were used and stopped donating to them. Our only regret is we were too naive and trusting to investigate a so called veteran's organization sooner.

 

[whitehall]

Tunnels to Towers seems like a legitimate fund but I am hesitant to authorize anyone to tap my bank account on a regular basis.

 

[Resnic]

Tunnels to Towers seems like a legitimate fund but I am hesitant to authorize anyone to tap my bank account on a regular basis.

I wouldn't either.

I don't donate at all now after seeing this happen. What started out as a intended one time 200 dollar donation turned into over 20k of donations they just took without even asking if she wanted to or not. They ran on a "well they gave us a credit card so we can use it however we want" mentality which ruined the idea any charity is noble or decent.

Now I only occasionally donate to local stuff like the fire department, police department and the animal shelter on occasion and I only do it in cash and I don't give my info.

 

[francoHFW]

After having to deal with the wounded warrior project for the past week I decided I'll never support them again and if anyone brings them up I'll recommend they stay away from it.

Last week my mother called me upset so I went to see her. Now she has more than one bank she uses with multiple accounts. And she has parkinson's disease which effects her memory as well some what and she hadn't checked her one bank account for a while and when she did she was upset.

Now it started with her using the card number associated with one bank account she doesn't really use where she donated 200 dollars to the wwp, she thought it was worth since I was in the army when I was younger. But it didn't stop there. After looking through her statements they kept taking out money in every growing frequency and dollar amounts. What started as a 200 dollar donation over 6 months became 3 withdrawals a month totalling about 3800 dollars a month, they ended up taking about 21,000 before we caught on.

I called them and got nowhere. Then I called her bank and ran it up the flagpole till I got to the regional vice president and I spent 3 days going back and fourth with her and she was talking to them. She was very understanding and she spent days calling them trying to fix it. In the end they agreed to stop taking money but refused to return any of the money, and as a final F you they made one last withdrawal before stopping payments. They argued "she gave us her credit card number so we used it". When asked if they did follow up calls asking for more donations or larger amounts they wouldn't answer and gave run around answers.

Of course the bank cancelled her card, closed her account and reopened it under a new number. But the damage was done.

I'll never, ever support the wounded warrior project again after this. And I recommend you do not either.

Charities are too often a scam and dry up when really needed. It's time to tax the rich again and invest in America again.

 

[Mushroom]

After having to deal with the wounded warrior project for the past week I decided I'll never support them again and if anyone brings them up I'll recommend they stay away from it.

I am not surprised.

The WWP started as a good organization with a good mission. But it quickly got lost under repeated scandals and actual failure to help those wounded in combat. There was a story several years ago of a guy that was wounded in combat, and was crippled. He asked them for help, and they sent him a t-shirt and backpack. And other than a handful of "high profile" cases that are paraded around, most seem to get the same backpacks. And that seems to be the extent of their assistance.

And each time they start to recover from something like the $25 million spent on executive retreats, then something like this pops up. Or they turn around and sue some other charity because they have a similar name.

Wounded Warrior Project Spends Lavishly on Itself, Insiders Say (Published 2016)

The charity, which raised $372 million in 2015, has embraced aggressive styles of fund-raising, marketing and management — and has spent a significant proportion on overhead.

www.nytimes.com

Plus, on their website their statement about person data is one of the most sketchy I have seen.

WWP may share your personal and non-personal information as discussed herein. We do not sell or rent the personal information of our general website users for profit. Additionally, we do not share mobile phone numbers unless you specifically authorize us to do so (or unless we are required to do so by applicable law or regulation).

Help put the mission in motion.

Take action for injured veterans at the Wounded Warrior Project Carry Forward 5K — one of the most unique and powerful events you’ll ever experience! #WWPCARRYFORWARD

carryforward.woundedwarriorproject.org

And yes, they have been accused in the past of selling data to other companies. And the wording is very specific, they do not sell personal information of "general website users for profit". Not that they do not sell data for a profit, but just not that of "general website users".

Most Veterans I know started to avoid them in around 2007, and they have lost a lot of support from them over the years.

 

[fncceo]

Organized charities are businesses. They are licensed as businesses and run as businesses.

Instead of giving them money for a car, an iPhone, or a Japanese sex pillow, you give them money for a feel-good, warm and fuzzy feeling.

Everyone will get a different customer experience from the businesses with whom they deal. But, if you want the best customer experience from dealing with an organized charity, and this goes for most other businesses as well, don't recommend looking too closely at the way they run their business.

 

[whitehall]

Organized charities are businesses. They are licensed as businesses and run as businesses.

Instead of giving them money for a car, an iPhone, or a Japanese sex pillow, you give them money for a feel-good, warm and fuzzy feeling.

Everyone will get a different customer experience from the businesses with whom they deal. But, if you want the best customer experience from dealing with an organized charity, and this goes for most other businesses as well, don't recommend looking too closely at the way they run their business.

A cynical viewpoint but not easily dismissed.