Complaint Review: Primerica - Burbank California

I was just recently approached by a Primerica rep, I am just doing my research. I read that you were a rep and got out. The way I understand it, is that you were doing well and decided to get out. What were your reasons for your departure?

First off Priamerica was previously A.L. Williams out of Georgia. They have had other names too. Now why are they a pyramid ? Well they only do bussiness by recruiting new employees whom purchase insurance and investing products. Yes they will sell to a individual but you spend 99% of your time looking for people to join your bussiness. I would not recomend anyone have any dealings with them at all !!! BEWARE !!!

In response to Eric who said In ALL sales you are taught "follow up, follow up, follow up, until they buy or die", that's the advice for those who are desperate or greedy for sales and is strictly unprofessional. No where in his rebuttal does Eric show concern for the customer's satisfaction. This attitude is directly responsible for the national register which is set to take effect next month and will cost between 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 jobs according to a report from a newspaper (overall this would mean a loss, conservatively speaking, of over $30 billion to the economy). The basis of a solid business is taking care of the business. When you take care of the customer correctly, then you get repeat business. Hounding customers or prospects is a waste of time and working on doing a proper presentation and answering questions in a responsible manner will build the business (objection rebuttals which result from the "follow up, follow up, follow up..." philosophy overall aren't effective. I've abandoned them seven years ago and I saw my sales improve to the point where I became the top seller and what's just as important to me is that I've been described as being honest). Saying that 75% of the population will retire in poverty is an incredible statement to make. How does one define poverty and which organization is putting out that bogus number? Is PFS a pyramid, which is synonymous with multi- level or network marketing, the answer is simply YES as it depends on layers of recruitment to make the big money, not selling products. What values does Primerica teach to turn you from a boy into a man? And what does it mean to be a man? Finally I'll repeat a question that's worth repeating. When you total the number of PFS front-line people (no downline, no income stream except through sale of product) and divide that number into the income paid out to the front-line PFS employees from their product sales, then what is the average commission during the course of the year. And what is the top commission made from product sales in a year on the same basis as just given?

I usually do not respond to these "reports". But I feel this one I must. This Rip-Off all started from the miscommunication between a rep and a potential recruit. What part did primerica play in that? In ALL sales you are taught "follow up, follow up, follow up, until they buy or die". I have been a part of Primerica for 4 years. This company and the people around me have taught me how to grow from a boy to a man. Primerica's products and suggested solutions to financial challenges, are no different then what is in ANY personal financial book or magazine. Someone prove me wrong. Is PFS a pyramid? Well yes I get compensated for my teams efforts. Isnt that how your boss and owner of your company get compensated? By your efforts. Here are some numbers ladies and gentlemen. 75% of the U.S. will retire in poverty. And 100% of families whom do not max out in retirement accounts and make under 100K a year will do so as well. Just look into your own pocket. How long could you survive if you lost your job, which you will. And you know it. How can those facts be better then the average income of the PFS RVP, which 101k, and 140K in Ca. Dont let someone who doesnt know how to explain PFS make decission for you, your an adult, arnt you?

My apologies to Kevin as my rebuttal was meant for Amy

In rebuttal to Kevin who said to try Primerica, would you gamble your time and money with a company that: (1) has many negative reports against them and their parent, Citigroup? (2) makes verbal promises, as I previously reported, that it never means to keep? (3) has you sign an IBA so that your "training list" of friends and relatives becomes the property of Primerica? (4) offers no salary and very low commission to start? (5) turns you into a recruiter to get others to join up before you start making a decent income instead of sticking with the basics and promoting and giving you solid product training? (6) refuses to answer tough questions directly and responsibly? Would you like to "GIVE IT A CHANCE" and ignore the advice of people you know and trust, i.e. your relatives and friends?

Every business when you draw it out on paper is a "Pyamid or MLM". Example: John works for a company. Rick is not only John's boss, but Jim's boss also. Stacy owns the company and is Ricks boss, therefore, Stacy makes money off of John, Jim and Rick. She pays Rick more than John and Jim based on his position. John and Jim have no chance to ever hold Stacy's position of ownership. Stacy pays Rick a certain figure, less than her's of course, Stacy pays John and Jim even less than that. Stacy makes the most of the 4 and does the least amount of work in a typical "legit business" Stacy | Rick / \ John Jim Looks like a pyramid to me, but here is where Primerica differs: The setup is similar but, John and Jim have the opportunity to have a position like Stacy's that they did not have above. Also, John and Jim will get compensated for training their downlines, through their work. Sound fair? They would not make any more money for training additional workers under Rick above. Does that sound fair?? My full time position is on an assembly line with Daimler Chyrsler. I do not enjoy not getting paid anymore than my base pay for training fellow coworkers at Chrylser. Also, I despise seeing those around me who do not do quality work, miss work and just be a pain in the a*s make the same that I do. That does not sound very fair. I will get paid what I put into my work with Primerica plain and simple. I will be compensated for training, if I train well based on the volume my downlines produce. The higher my position, the larger the compensation. That sounds fair. Like some above Rebuttals said, if you do not try it, or put in the amount of effort needed, I feel you deserve to work after retirement age. Primerica shows people ways to avoid working after retirement that most people do not stop to think about. FNA's are free with Primerica. Go to another Finance company and ask how much it would cost to come up with just a basic summary of your financial situation. (hint, it will not be free) Also, about the "lack of an actual postion", you begin as a representative. Most reports I have read on here, sound like everyone has talked to some very poor representatives, and hopefully you will consider talking to someone else within Primerica before making a final decision. At the very least I can help open families eyes to the financial situation they are in and give them some information towards the financial situation they want to be in.

I noticed that on most of the "rip offs" that I've read about, the majority of the people decided Primerica was a scam before even giving it a chance. A few people decided it wasn't for them before they even gave it some time. By some time, I mean 6 months to 1 year, and even that may not be long enough to see serious results that they talk about. If you actually listened to the RVP's and CEO's and anyone else who actually "works" for Primerica, they all have worked their butts off to get where they are. None of them got rich over night and they tell you that straight up. How can you decide that Primerica isn't for real because of reading other peoples opinions and unsure objections to it. If you take the time to read what people are saying, most of them haven't even been on an appointment or haven't given it a chance. It's like moving to a new place or starting any new job, you need to give it a chance and apply yourself before you can judge whether or not it's for you. I feel that I have the right to my opinion about Primerica and I back it up to the fullest. I, Myself had my doubts at first and I said things like "it's a scam" or "They just want me so they can make money". But after doing ACTUAL research and now becoming a part of Primerica I see that it does work if you GIVE IT A CHANCE and apply yourself. You can't expect to have a job and just sit around doing nothing, why do you think they call it going to WORK, because that's exactly what it is...WORK! SO before any of you choose to send a Rip Off report, try getting facts first hand and not take the word of your mothers, best friends, uncles, sisters, niece.

It has been a couple of weeks since I initially spoke with the Primerica rep. The primary and secondary appointments that we set up have since come and gone. I have returned home and as I suspected would happen, she is starting to call me again. I have received two messages since Friday the 4th of April. The latest message was somewhat disturbing because she sounded frustrated and angry. She asked if I had forgotten our appointment (sounded creepy, like a psycho girlfriend). She expressed her dissapointment and that she didn't understand what happened. But she recalled me saying that I would be back in town last week, which is true, so she still has a couple openings and needs for me to come in for a meeting. What started as a possible opportunity is starting to turn into her desperation. Of course, she left her number again and said I should call her as soon as I get the message. After hearing her voice on my machine a couple times, I'm starting to dislike this whole thing even more. Just the idea of someone using me as another potential "lead" with the intention of using my lack of knowledge in getting suckered out of time and money. I dislike this enough that I think I will give her a call after work today and tell her I'm still interested. We'll see what happens then. I just don't think it's fair for these people to take advantage of people like this. I think it's about time I waste their time as long as I have the opportunity to do so. We'll see how desperate she is in holding on to one "lead". If this is such a great opportunity for me, I wonder how long she will be patient for. One thing is for sure. They are persistent.