Complaint Review: Primerica

Hi, I've been reading a lot of the reports generated on this site about Primerica and their rebuttals as well.

I have to say I did get suckered into paying $199 for the application and then shelled out more dough to pass the "provincial licensing" test. I had just moved to this country and when I got this call from a "District Manager" saying he came across my resume I was pretty excited.

He went on to say that he was very impressed with my resume and would like me to come for an "informational session" (sic!!). Now, my alarm bells were going off just a wee bit as he didnt give me any more information but just asked me to come to the office. So I thought "What the heck! No harm in checking it out".

So I took the train and got to this place and it looked like a convention of hobos from around town, complete with their names taped to their dirty shirts. The guy who had invited me was dressed fine and I thought "maybe it ain't that bad". He gave me a long spiel about helping others, while being financially independent at the same time.

Remember, I was new to this country and knew,like, 4 people in all and that included the guy who runs the corner store!! So, when this District Manager says he'll need referrals from me, I looked at him and said "Didn't you just hear me say I just got here and I know no one"? He goes "Oh, no problem, you are a smart man, you can always strike up a conversation with people on the train, in the mall, etc and recruit/train them to be financial advisors". I looked at him like he'd suddenly acquired an extra head. What was going on?

But anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to go with the flow (WHY???) simply because I had no other job and the bills were mounting up at home. So, right enough I meet the other "Managers" and their lackeys and everyone looks like they're high on meth or something. There's a lot of clapping and cheering in meetings, some crying too!! I stayed with them for about 3 months, tried like hell to convince people to join me (here I must apologize to them for my behavor, what was I thinking then!!) and finally decided to give it up.

All the managers were like "Oh, you're a great guy. You can make over 6 figures in two years and and you can retire in five, blah, blah and more blah". While I was there, the average income of the guys working there was more like $10,000 a year. That wasn't exactly motivating for me.

I did burn my fingers pretty bad in trying to make it work. And if there's anyone (read Primerican) who tells me I didn't give it my best, he/she can have my phone number and try and talk to me. Be prepared to get an earful of profanity as I am convinced its nothing but a cheap gimmick, covered in lies and presented in deceipt. I was lied to right from first minute I was there till I (thankfully) opted out. I am embarrassed and ashamed to tell people I actually worked there for three months and lost more money than I ended up making.

Sunil
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada