I am ashamed to say I have been a member of AARP for 18 years. They say 13, but it’s just one more thing they can’t keep track of. Over the years, many warning bells have rung, but I pushed them aside because, after all, they are AARP, the org. watching out for seniors and supporting them in multiple ways. Huh!
1. It always irked me that they sent membership renewal notices to me every year, in spite of the fact that I had auto renewal and paid years in advance. But every year I got the notice, I checked my records, saw I was not about to expire, threw it away and grumbled.
This year they sent a renewal notice as usual and I paid. When my new card came exp. March 2026, I put it in my wallet and pulled out my old card exp. March 2025. I had over 4 years of membership left! I had renewed unnecessarily and they took my $12 without a word. Then the light went on.
AARP sends unnecessary renewal notices to everyone, every year, to line their pockets with our money. They count on us old folks to pay without question. It worked on me this time, but how many seniors are they cheating who don’t question, who forgot they are paid up for years? This is a criminal marketing practice.
2. When I called to complain about this practice, and to get my $12 back, both employees I spoke to said they had no last name and no employee number. Clearly a lie. But they lied because they didn’t want anything to come back at them. This is not a good business practice.
A few minutes later, I called AARP again to cancel my membership altogether and have my $50 + refunded. The employee I talked to volunteered her employee number and told me all AARP employees have them. Of course they do. I knew that but this solidified my knowledge.
3. Upon reflection, I also realized that in 18 years, AARP had done nothing for me. Zero! Their travel discounts are minuscule and I always got much bigger savings with my credit card, auto club, or on my own.
I went on their site once to get help with a resume and was astonished at the amount they wanted to charge me. I got great free advice on my own.
I throw their magazine in the trash because it has no substance, but is filled with ads targeting seniors. So why pay them every year?
AARP is one of the biggest scams in the US. They are also one of the original sources of misinformation. They need to be investigated and their practices need to be cleaned up. They purposely prey on the elderly and have been getting away with it for 60 years.