Complaint Review: Lucinda Bassett - Midwest Center For Stress And Anxiety - Oak Harbor Ohio

BarbourJohn:

There are hundreds, if not thousands of people, whose complaints I have personally read about the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety since 2004. That is the proof that the MWC business practices are unethical and a scam.  I don't know for certain, but it appears that Lucinda ia the head of the scam. But, the program itself is not a scam.

I used the program successfully from 1999 to 2003, before the shipment of viatmins began. I was on the old forum, getting help and helping others.  It was like a family to me.  I was very grateful this program existred and still am. 

Josh:

The MWC program's foundation is cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT.  This form of therapy has been proven in numerous clinical trials to be effective in treating a host of emotional disorders.   The program itself is NOT a scam.  It does work for many.  I wish I could post the links to articles verifying this, but for some reason thwi board doesn't allow me to post them.  I'll type in a couple.  There are tons of studies availabe on the net.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1237029/

http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20020523/therapy-as-good-as-drugs-for-depression

However, after seeing all the complaints against the MWC, I have concluded that Lucinda is only out for the money, otherwise this nonsense would not exist.  Those who don't agree with this have probably been helped by the program, like myself.  But, we have to face the ugly truth.  The person who runs this company is in charge of the business practices.  If they didn't approve of them, they would not exist.  It's time for the MWC to close shop and go out of business.  Too many innocent people are being hurt from the fraudulent practices. 

It's sad to read about the Midwest Center in a negative way.  I don't see too many complaints that the program doesn't work, just that they seem to have a problem with honoring their return policy and some who feel the program isn't worth the money.  My opinion is that the program is awesome.  These are the tools that we all should have been taught as children and should still be taught as adults.  When are we taught how to handle negative thinking, how to handle stress and to become more assertive in a real hands on step by step approach?  This program is by far the best, most inclusive program I've seen.  I've read self help books, been in therapy and even on medication and this program is better than all of it to overcome anxiety and depression.

Hey To the creator of this post: Your an idiot, people are different.  And this isnt a quick fix.

Everyone please read this!!!!

"never look at yourself through someone else's mirror"...- my mom told me to go by this and shes right...

I never post on comments or anything but I had to on this....

I used Lucindas program when I was a teenager, and a young adult.  At that young age dealing with anything "mental" is scary for a young kid.  I didnt know what was wrong with me, or why I had these panic attacks, all i knew was that it was scary...

I went through the program 1st as a kid, and got through tape 9 and stopped cause my panic attacks went away. I went through it again at 24 cause my anxiety was getting out of hand and it helped me out tremendously.. Going through the program again at 24, I got so muvh more out of the CD's than I did when I was young.  I understand know that it was me, and my way of thinking that got me into trouble. I basically learned to change some mental patterns and habits and free myslef of worry and anxiety.... ok so this is the positive side of the program...

I have 2 concerns about this program looking from the outside in... 1). I think people who have major depression, bi-polar disorder, a chemical imbalance or a combination of these things should not parade this program as a miracle drug... these people need a combo of Meds and Therapy and not a workbook program.  I think when the infomercial comes on it should be more precise as to whom it should be targeted to... this program should not be advertised as a secondary choice to therapy... They should make there infomercial tell people to please work this program in conjuction to their weekly treatments by a licensed therapist... In my case and a lot others, we are just suffering from excruciating panic attacks and mild depression.  The tapes seriously helped me and made my life so much better.  Im 28 now and whenever I get anxious I throw on the CD(which I uploaded to my iPod)that helps out the most and I feel better....

Second thing I disagree about the tapes is: $THE PRICE$

its expensive for most people.  And I cant stress enough, this should NOT be bought instead of professional help.  And this is what many people get pissd off at.  They think ,"Ill just spend 500 buks, and not 3G's on therapy".... you cant do that. And I think thats were they f**ked up.  Its the advertisings fault and the consumers.(But then again, if the consumer is not thinking clearly cause of their condition, the seller should be held at a higher responsibility).

All I can say is the tapes helped me out tremendously.  Thats all I have to day pretty much..... Oh, and I recommend you read " Paramahnsa Yogananda: autobiography of a Yogi"... amazing book...

Sorry for the long post but I felt I had to comment..... This whole society is consumer based and capitalistic. Everyone wants the almighty dollar, and I guess Lucinda was no different... I think she's a great women, and GOD BLESS her and her family. 

All education costs money.  We forget this sometimes because the public education system spreads costs around. Midwest offers an educational service.  They provide education and coping skills for those suffering from anxiety disorders.  If you try their product and do not like it for some reason; they will refund your money.  They refunded mine after I called them up and said that I did not want their product.  Not only that, but they let me keep the product.

You say that it "is nothing but a con". You need to demonstrate proof of this.  Otherwise you are guilty of libel and slander.  You say that Lucinda needs to be "jailed for fraud and deceptive business practices" but you offer no proof of this.  The consequence for bearing false witness in the Bible was that that person should suffer the same punishment they wanted meted out.  Do you want to be jailed?

All businesses offer either products or services.  What makes this company any different? You say they are "heartless".  How do you know?  You say they "care about nothing else but conning people out of money". Yes, businesses exist to make money.  Is this new? If you value the education and coping skills offered by Midwest Center more than your $400; then where is the con?  Where is the rip off?  That's what a good business does.  If you don't like the service; send it back and they will refund your money.  This is more than you can expect from the doctors and health care business.

Oh... she has handicapped people working in the warehouse?  Maybe she should test them for competency if that is why all of the returns get lost. You know who else hires handicapped people and rips people off regularly? Wal-Mart!

If Lucinda Bassett cared one iota for her customers, she would make it much easier for the one's who realized their strength in advance of their 30 day trial to get their money back. I sent the product back when I weighed $500 vs happiness in a DVD box set and decided porn was money better spent. Anyways, what kind company doesn't pay attention to account numbers, return merchendise numbers, address labels and invoices when taking returns on items. What kind of company states that their customers should get order tracking, shipping insurance and call to verify that their package has been returned?  One that is ripping people off.

In March of 2009 I received a box via UPS. We signed for it at our office and opened it up. Inside was a bunch of VHS tapes for stress relief and some other material. I quickly realized this was not something we had ordered and phoned Midwest Center. They advised me that someone purchased it at 1am with my credit card not long ago. I let her know I did not order this and to remove us from any future bills. The representative advised that I mail it back via UPS and that I need to pay to return it. Now since I didn't order it, I'm surely not paying to ship it back. I then phoned my bank and advised them of the fraudulent charge. The bank looked into it and removed the shipping fee I was charged for the initial box. A month later we received an invoice from Midwest for $479.92. I phoned and advised them once again, I did not order this, my bank has already taken your charge off of my credit card, I mailed your box back via USPS as "return to sender", so stop trying to collect money from me. They advised me to get a police report. I called our local police and they informed me that if my bank has already acknowledged it's a fraudulent charge, that's suffice enough and Midwest Center is just harassing me to collect money. Today (June 15th) we receive another invoice. We phoned to learn our faux account has been turned over to a collection agency. I then reported Midwest to our NC Department of Justice, the Better Business Bureau, and a few scam related websites. I also asked our bank once again to notify these guys that it was a fraud charge. For some reason they keep insisting that I *need* to provide a police report to have the account dismissed. After speaking with the police, that is not true and it's just a strong arm tactic to collect money. At this point I'm considering legal action against this company for far more than the $479 they are trying to collect from me. Aside from this issue, I find it quite amusing that all of the links to their Privacy Policy, About, Contact, etc in the site footer, all go nowhere but the page to sell you their crap product at www.midwestcenter.com

The program itself is not a scam. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the best solutions to problems with anxiety and depression. Lucinda Bassett is a genuine person BUT I feel she needs to take an honest look at how some of her employees are treating the people she wants to help. NAMELY Darla VanHorn and the "specialists" who take calls about the personal coaching program they offer. Simply put, if a customer isn't satisfied, you help satisfy them. You DON"T trick people into purchasing a program that costs over two THOUSAND dollars and then hold it over their heads when they call saying they can't afford their medications for bipolar disorder, or a therapist, or FOOD for their kids. That's what I called about and there was absolutly NO mercy. This woman (Darla) is out for the money and is unrelenting. I think LUCINDA should rework her system and purge it of people who would trick people with anxiety and depression into financial disrepair. Again...GOOD product (at least the original program is...I'm not so sure about the personal coaching anymore), VERY BAD business methods. LUCINDA, Do you see what's going on here?

I followed the program exactly and it was extremely helpful for me.

I followed the program exactly and it was extremely helpful for me.

I followed the program exactly and it was extremely helpful for me.

I followed the program exactly and it was extremely helpful for me.

You say that only 7 videos. She has filmed over 1300 videos to choose from and has used over 1000 of them. She has had 39000 offers for people wanting to give testimonials. She cares so much about these people, that she doesnt just go to a studio and film, she does them in her family room. And she is making around 20 dollars a program after paying her employees. She has given 300 handicap people jobs in oak harbor packaging and giving them the job they wouldnt normally have. So I think that you need to get your facts straight. And oh ya, when you say that you would rather have a doctor, she pays 50 doctors year round for all of this so feel comforted by that, your not getting on MD you are getting 50. Congratulations.

Given that Lucinda Bassett's program may work for some people - The fact is that such claims of success are nothing more than anecdotal at best. Here's Why: Face it, if her program was in the book store it would be in the New Age / Self Help section. That's the best, highest mental health standard she can ever hope to achieve. Is it bad? Not necessarily. Keep in mind she does provide an uneducated guided opinion on how she can help. Some would say life experience is her education which is fine, it's still not a study of the behavioral sciences and given the choice when I have a surgery that needs to be done I'm going with the guy who has an M.D. after their name, not the one with "life experience." Real psychologists document and evaluate various treatments of patents so they can produce data of what works and what doesn't. They have hard data. Until Bassett can present a formal report based on the scientific method on the percentage of success SHE'S ANECDOTAL. To her success means the number of people who haven't returned her product for a refund. How many anxious and depressed people are going to be assertive enough to return something like that for a refund? Less than the average "mentally balanced" person I'm guessing. Individuals suffering from anxiety or depression are more easily influenced and thus make excellent prey. That's probably why she wants $400. Clearly Bassett isn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart. The product has no endorsements from any legitimate mental health professionals or institutions. Go to the 'Midwest Center......' website. Its a picture of Bassett's mug of her endorsing her own program. Ya, that's credible. She has Real Life Testimonials! Yes, on the website there are 7 video testimonials of success. I'm sure all 7 people are quite impressed. I congratulate them and those like them for shelling out $400 and using infomercial psychiatric help. If none of that sounds even remotely wrong to you, find a real therapist and discuss it with him/her. $400. This humanitarian is offering her system full of miracles for a mere $400. She wants to help those in need and sure therapy is costly, that makes sense. Just try not paying for the program once you get it. She's got a collection agency just waiting to find you and go after your credit score, and take you to court. You know, like any other good humanitarian.

First of all i would like to say that you are very much mistaken. This is not a scam. This family started out with nothing and built up an empire that is apparently doing well enough to end up here. If you think it is a scam then maybe you should talk to the thousands it has helped. I would like to say that Lucinda Bassett is one of the kindest people i have ever met. If you are going to try and say she is ripping you off then you are the one who deserves to be imprisoned. It offends me that you could say anything about her without even knowing her, and then to have the nerve to call her company a scam. I know people who work there and they are also the kindest people i have ever met. So unless you have some good facts get over it and get over yourself!