Complaint Review: Primerica

Same pattern as the other reports on this Primerica scam. I am currently a coach/supervisor for a telecom call center (incoming calls only, no cold calling) in a legitimate line of business (home/landline telephone svc). I earn in the mid $50k and doing fine as of now. Still, I recently completed an MBA program and was ambitious to test the market for better opportunities. So I posted my resume on Yahoo, Monster, and other sites.

One day this guy called & left some vague message about an opportunity with Primerica, a subsidiary of Citigroup. That sounded good because everyone knows Citigroup. I scheduled an "interview" with him, all the while wary of scams operating every where. Because I was leery of wasting time on scams, I asked for info upfront about the "position," but he was evaded it, saying he needed to "screen" me first before discussing further.

Today (actually yesterday because now it's 1AM) I met him for about 15 minutes. He asked me legitimate career/qualification questions and congratulated me on passing it based on my answers. Then I went to a presentation, joined by 10 other candidates from all walks of like. Most looked like they just came off the street, with little or no formal education.

The slide show itself was very convincing with its stats and MOST seemed accurate. The "Regional VP" (see the other reports) was an immigrant who spoke no English when he joined in 1990. Now he figures to beat $500K next year! All he did was get trained to "help people."

I came home excited as ever. After all, I only pay $199 so they can train and license me. Knowing that Prudential and other companies charge more, plus the fees from the state. I got the false impression that all that can be had for $199. I told my wife about this and even overcame her objections. I was so happy to have an opportunity to earn enough so she can stay at home with our 1 year old son and coming daughter.

Then I remembered a scam with WMA (World Marketing Alliance) several years ago that I attended and also spent $100 to join, which I never completed training because I got sick and tired of attending these cult meetings where people boast about their prior credentials and how much they now make with WMA. I spent 3 hours surfing the web for WMA, which was indeed a fraud. Subsequently, I researched Primerica and, thank God, discovered it too is a scam, albeit hiding by a well-recognized name in Citigroup (which makes it even more dangerous).

I went on to this site and the accounts about Primerica eerily rang my bell from earlier in the evening and the WMA experience. I checked Primerica's website disclaimer and YES, U R NOT A LICENSED AGENT BY THE STATE OR FED, JUST A CONSULTANT. So that $199 GETS U NOTHING!

It made me both glad and sad: glad for myself but very sad for the hundreds or thousands of victims scammed by this thing. Tragically, many of them (the ones that looked like they just came off the street) can ill afford to lose even that $199.

Thank you Ripoff.com! I am praying that others will find your website.

Vinh
Lawndale, California
U.S.A.