Complaint Review: Fortune Builders

Fortune Builders sells dreams. it was a dream I bought that dream hook line and sinker. They tell you how so many people have pulled themselves up by their boot straps and made fortunes and at the same time they continually warn you that they can't promise anything. I should have listened to to the disclaimers and run but I wanted it to be true, I needed it to be true. I took the 3 day seminar and it was pretty awesome. For my $200.00 dollar investment I got three wonderful days, I learned a lot and got pretty fired up. I suspected the whole time there was a catch, that they would drop the bomb, that there was sales pitch coming and I was right. By the time the pitch came came I wanted to be in the program but I didn't invest initially.

I submitted an interest card and after the seminar I received a call from Patrick and I told him I couldn't afford the $15,000.00 investment at all and that I had no spare cash. I told him about my mother who was disabled that I supported and how hard I worked just to make to ends meet and keep us both in our homes. I told him I was in debt and just couldn't afford it. Patrick told me they wanted to help me, that it was what they do, help people. It was the whole premise behind their program afterall. I remember driving home that day and being so impacted by the young guy on the phone and his truly heart warming words that I cried to think a big company like that was willing to reach out to someone like me and help me become successful even though I couldn't afford it.

For the next month I spoke to Patrick pretty regularly and he helped me apply for another credit card, gave me the script to use with my bank to increase my limits and guided me to websites that could help me increase my credit score. He got me a free 2 month subscription to their website that was normally $100.00 a month. It wasn't just that I had to pay the $15,000.00 fee I had to be accepted into the Mastery Program and he helped me prepare for the acceptance interview too and when Patrick felt I was ready he referred me and I passed the interview. It took 3 credit cards for me pay the $15,000.00. The whole time I kept thinking about the payments I would have to make but I was assured it was an investment in my furture. I should have listened to all those warnings running through my head.

The program is all on-line and it is a lot of work, hours of seminars and self led training classes and videos. I was to receive 6 coaching lessons with my paid tuition to the Mastery Program and as I studied and watched video after video my first coach gave me a reading assignment of two books to read (I had to go and buy those at the book store) and more training classes to take. I started getting phone calls about setting up my business, busniness name, etc.. and I took a class about buying bandit signs, buying business cards, hiring employees, and signing up for another Fortune Builders website (another $100.00 a month.). Within just a couple weeks I had to start making payments, the interest on $15,000.00 isn't cheap and those minimum payments from three cards had to be made along with food, gas, water, and electricity, helping my mom financially and there was that new credit card payment asw ell. The hundred dollars a month for the website started being added to my credit card. I realized pretty quickly I had made a big mistake that I couldn't afford. I had to get another job to keep up with the payments but I fell behind and was late a couple times. My credit score plummeted, the banks started calling and freezing my credit cards and lowering my limits. 6 months later and I am on the verge of losing my house and am aproaching $30,000.00 doallars of credit card debt.

I contacted Fortune Builders and they refunded the website charges since I had never used the website I was being charged for but the 14 days had long since elapsed on the $15,000.00 investment I had made. Fortune Builders didn't build anything but my disappointment, it has destroyed my credit worthiness and sunk me deep into dept. I never did finish the program or take another coaching session because it interferred with working to pay my bills and pay off my debts. What I've  learned is don't invest unless you have extra cash to make investments with. I wish I had never attended that 3 day seminar because it has ruined my life.