Complaint Review: Pre-Paid Legal Services

Dave my parents walked the stage as one of the 25 newest $100,000 ring earners. Don't sit here and lie to people about what you "think" you know about Pre-Paid Legal. Look at the financials of the company. I personally know one of the guys that makes close to $500,000 a year, I grew up with him and his family.

Find another company to bash, you really have no idea what you are talking about. "Motivational Speaking Circuit" ... What are you talking about? My parents have not written a book or held a seminar yet.

Honestly you must be new to network marketing, business, and Pre-Paid Legal. Your lack of knowledge is showing. Any company that has made over 60 millionaires in 10 years is a good company. They haven't even reached 2% of the market yet.

You really need to educate yourself before you get on a website and spout off nonsense. So what "ONE" lady you knew had a team that failed...what does that mean? Do you realized that you just used "ONE" lady to generalize a whole company full of successful people.

Did you ever think that maybe this "ONE" lady wasn't following the system or doing the right things? If she worked closely with you, she obviously wasn't. Also there were only about 15000 associates in OKC and there is a phone book of Executive Directors.

Please stop lying to yourself and others and get informed. Business 101 before I get to bed....In most businesses there are a lot of people at the bottom...You know just starting out, new to the company, and usually a few succesful people(CEO,COO,CFO) top management.

I would suggest you take a business class so you understand the dynamics of a business. Then you should go get a book on the network marketing business model. Hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day for you.

PS...There are 1000s of group marketing associates that only sell the product and don't really recruit. Many of these associates have become six figure ring earners. That's in response to your "You have to recruit to make it" comment.

I have a membership and honestly try to use it for letters, phone calls, contract review and advice every month. I feel bad for people who don't do the same. If the service is taken for granted then I think people should cancel it as it does become a waste of money. Most people however, may simply be sold on the "pitch of peace of mind".

Not enough for me I need to get my money's worth every month or cancel the membership. I understand network marketing. It is largely independent a zero liability customer assured way of doing marketing and advertising for win-win for the company.

However, usually the "sales professionals" tend to not be those with a successful sales careers or qualified insurance agents and becomes more greed pressure driven sales for them to make a quick buck. Pre-Paid is ripe with these types of Associates.

I don't like that aspect of the company but Associates are virtually unmonitored from the company and often are doing because they are desperate for the dream. So what should one expect? Honestly, I deal with Associates of the company as little as possible now as I do find the majority of responses here to be true.

That said, the company itself seems to have utmost integrity itself and a great service if you are clear on what you want from it and use it. Don't trust Associates however as the voice for the company..unfortunately you can't. From the opportunity to the products it is still the best idea to verify the correct information with the company first.

If you have not been an Associate and are considering becoming one my biggest suggestionis to read the terms, understand the comp plan, and talk to Associate Services at their headquarters to find out the real answers first. Their system can work if you work the comp plan not the propaganda.

I was an Associate and I honestly can say, the company truly did follow through on everything IT said IT would in writing. If you know this first you won't be disappointed. I made decent money for a short times work but certainly it was not a retirement package as some Associates would have you believe.

Oh yeah, the company really will send you all the free stuff you need to work the business. The hawking of training and materials is just more of the corrupt Associates system trying desperately to motivate others beyond their means. I think it is shameful.

It might not even be so bad if someone really explained to them first that they don't need to buy anything or pay for training to make the system work for them for the extra cash the compensation plan was really designed for.

Walter says that the "ring-earners" are making six figures from sales of the products alone. Bull. One of these "earners" confided in me that the income can fade as quickly as it comes. Inside PPL as in other MLMs there are groups whose focus is on the "motivational speaking" circuit.

I was there in Oklahoma when these "success stories" were hawking everything from daytimers with specially applicable PPL pages to hood ornaments of the lady of justice for vehicles. Tapes, books, seminars, etc are all part of the income for these people, a large part of it.

This earner that told me this had a large organization and was at the top of the heap when her people started quitting because of the chargebacks experienced when their clients actually started using these services. She had the underlings necessary to get her promoted to Executive Director but all her directors quit making money and had to get real jobs. Seven years later she is still plugging away at it with little to show for her efforts, she makes no residual income.

For those of you not familiar with MLM lingo, that's the money you are supposed to make off of your victims...i mean recruits, when they sell a plan.

As for walter, hey, I had to start lying to people to about how much I made, too. It was beginning to be embarrassing that 5,000 people and 2 years later that I wasn't making squat. I had to defend PPL against all the accusations made by friends and family.

Look at it this way, when I was in Oklahoma City for the national convention of PPL, there were over 30,000 associates in attendence. less than 300 of them were down front as leaders. Less than that made their way across the stage as "ring earners".

That's 1%.
If the 30,000 were the only associates in the nation, I could even see that, but figures show closer to 100,000 associates. some ofthem couldn't make it. That still makes less that a third of a percent of associates that make it big. That may or may not include you walter. But don't sweat it, eventually you stop defending PPL and you begin to see it for yourself.

The misinformation in your "ripoff report" is incredible.

The earnings cited by the "ring earners" (people who have made $100,000 or more in a 12-month period) are solely their earnings from commissions and overrides on sale of the services. Except for occasional promotions there are no bonuses for recruiting. The gentleman cited in the complainer's rant will likely make in excess of $500,000 in 2004 - from commissions and overrides on product sales, not from training.

The company's SEC-filed annual report states that more than 90% of sales are made to real customers, unlike most MLMs where nearly all sales are to your downline. Is thee another MLM that comes even close to this figure?

Pre-Paid Legal has policies which specifically prohibit associates from creating significant income streams from trainings, sales of marketing tools, etc. Training fees cover expenses. The only fees paid to trainers are $20 for a four-hour classroom training (plus a $40 bonus if the trainee has some initial success). These fees cover room rental costs and materials. Most trainers donate their time or receive very minimal compensation.

The products speak for themselves. If the complainer had a high cancellation rate, it was because of his incompetence in selling the product. He either misexplained it to his customers, didn't provide post-sale servicing, didn't utilize the excellent Customer Care services, or a combination of those things.

I have personally sold 2,000 memberships generating hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in personal commissions. How many companies offer you the chance to make a six-figure annual income simply by selling their product (with no downline recruits)?

The fact that thousands of companies offer Pre-Paid Legal plans as employee benefits speaks volumes about the validity of the product. The client list includes major corporations, law enforcement agencies, governments, law schools and even state bar association. How many of them have a payroll deduction option for Amway/Quixtar?

As to the "outrageous" costs, I am a fulltime associate (have been for 5 years) and spend less than $50/month on meetings and trainings. Virtually all of that money is to help cover the cost of room rentals. I choose to go to the national events because I have fun, see friends, and enjoy the programs. They are not "required" in any way.