Complaint Review: Priamerica - Colorado Springs Colorado

Aug 8, 2005 - I just left a Primemerica orienting session. Was not told it was Primerica until I got there, just that it was City Group and they were expanding and need qualified managers to run 30 new offices in the greater Chicago area. The presentation degenerated into a illustration of how much money you could make as a Regional VP and how much even more as a Regional VP with an over-ride coming from the people you recruit to be a District Leader who "sell" the bi-weekly mortgage, term life, and mutual funds of City Group subsidiaries. The bi-weekly mortgage involves the customer refinancing his loan, the term life means the customer selling any whole life insurance they have and buying a term policy from a City Group subsidiary and buying load funds from City Group subsidiaries. None of these are a good sound financial choice for a customer, just an opportunity for the Primemerica people to make large commisions. Everyone is an independent contractor representing Primemerica but not employed by them. They also wanted at least 6 "references" which would turn into sales leads for the Primemerica person who contacted you no matter what you decide to do. I passed on everything and did not fill out the references nor give them $199 nor sign the "job" application which is a binding legal contract. Of the nine people at the session, 5 of us walked out before proceeding any further. I held my hand on my wallet as I walked out and regard the whole thing as a waste of 45 minutes! The whole thing rather smacks as a form of a pyramid scheme.

Hi Edwin, I was being too kind in my rebuttal with Violeta. Grammar (and spelling) is very important in business as businesses lose money every year due to this. Can you trust someone to draw up a policy, for example, who can screw it up and cost a client and the company money? Aside from that I want to know that I'm dealing with a professional, not someone who can't even get the basics right so your point is well made Edwin. This is one of the main reasons why Primerica isn't right for everybody. Primerica needs serious reformation as it can be changed so that even frontline agents can make a living, but Primerica does need to be changed.

I would like to address this rebuttal to Violeta. What do you mean by "if this was a MLM scheme"? Primerica may not be an illegal pyramid scheme, but it is still an MLM company. By the way, don't you mean "an MLM scheme" instead of "a MLM scheme" (MLM is pronounced as "EM-EL-EM", so the indefinite article "an" needs to be used)? Nobody's spelling or grammar is perfect, but you want to insult the victim's inability to pay attention to detail based only on his/her spelling mistakes, you should pay attention to your own grammar first. Speaking of grammar, your statement "everyone wants to have someone working for them" is also incorrect. "Them" is not the correct antecedent for "everyone". You can either say "all people want to have someone working of them", or "everyone wants to have someone working for him/her". Despite your mistakes, I am not going to attack your inability to pay attention to details. Whether you can write English flawlessly doesn't tell me anything about how much you or other Primerica agents make. Unless you know more about Francine, you have no rights of telling us that she isn't making 500K, nor do you have the rights to say she is not willing to work hard enough to succeed. Many Primerica agents have accused their competitors of being jealous. By the same logic, please don't be jealous of Francine just she is successful without relying on Primerica. Some can be successful in Primerica, but many other people too can be successful outside of Primerica. One last thing Violeta, did you too read the contract in detail? I believe there is a section on the contract which prohibits agents from posting on the Internet. Why aren't you following the contract? Did you also understand what exactly is expected of you before you signed the contract?

Violeta, There's a long distance between believing and knowing. You've failed to document how Francine from Denver is making less than $500K a year. All you said is that you don't believe. OTOH I know that Primerica is on average a failing company based on the fact that turnover is over 90,000 a year. I don't consider the ones who left to be failures or losers as they learned it's not worth their time to peddle the trash at malls or job fairs. But on balance to be fair about it, only the gutless fat cats all the way at the top of this pyramid-schemed company make out like bandits. You've also contradicted yourself. First you're saying that Primerica doesn't have employees. I quote: "You are in business for yourself, not an employee,...." OTOH you are saying they do have employees. I quote: "As a business owner, you know very well that you cannot run a company without employees." (in actuality even RVPs don't own a business - check the contract). "Bill Gates, Ray Kroc, Primerica and others have built a system." How dare you compare Primerica with Microsoft and McDonalds. Primerica makes it only by taking advantage of desperate people through lies and deceptions. "Your spelling mistakes tell me that your attention to detail is below average." Violeta you're not doing so hot yourself. If you're so confident about Primerica, then why do you come trolling to Ripoff Report doing shilling for them. As far as your intelligence goes, time to put on your dunce cap and recite 100 times: "Victim of a consumer Rip-off? Want justice? Rip-off Report is a worldwide consumer reporting Website & Publication, by consumers, for consumers, to file & document complaints about companies or individuals who ripoff consumers." PS Give my regards to Paul from Brooklyn.

I do not believe that Francine is making well over $500K a year. As a business professional, the first thing one must do is come across as an intelligent individual. Your spelling mistakes tell me that your attention to detail is below average. I say that because when you qualify to represent Primerica, you should read the contract that you are signing, in detail. Before you sign anything, you must understand exactly what is expected of you. You failed at making this company work for you. You should not blame Primerica for your inadequacies. Anyone who is in business for themselves knows that they must build or follow a system that will work consistently. You are in business for yourself, not an employee, when you qualify to represent Primerica. As a business owner, you know very well that you cannot run a company without employees. Or as you like to call it, recurting. Most people who fail run to place the blame on someone else. That's human nature. If this was a MLM scheme, then Primerica, who happens to be part of the world's largest corporation-Citigroup, has managed to fool the federal government. They are one of the 30 companies listed on the Dow and are also listed on the NYSE. Bill Gates, Ray Kroc, Primerica and others have built a system. Whenever someone buys any Microsoft products, Bill Gates gets paid. Everyone wants to have someone working for them, just like you claim you are doing now. Stop placing the blame on others and admit that you were not willing to work hard enough to succeed.