Complaint Review: Primerica - GRAND RAPIDS Michigan

I only have one simple rebuttal, Primerica reps are neither Financial Analysts nor Financial Advisors. Financial analysts work in the capacity similar to that of a controller. Therefore, their work is mainly supporting the financial decisions of a company. Financial analysts also work for indices and companies that detect market trends. A financial advisor, on the other hand, supports decisions and makes recommendations to a consumer of financial products. Disclaimer: The information above was not meant to fully depict the entire role(s) of a financial advisor or analyst or the entire industry they work in. Look on www.primerica.com; go to their copious list of disclosures and you will find the following: Financial Needs Analysis The Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) is designed to assist you in identifying your financial needs and goals so that you can make better informed decisions in managing your money (blahblahblah) The Financial Needs Analysis is not a financial plan (blahblahblah) Representatives are not financial planners, investment advisors, financial consultants or other specialists who provide financial advice and whose compensation may be unrelated to sales. The Business Opportunity The Primerica business opportunity involves the SALE of term life insurance and other financial services products such as mutual funds, variable annuities and debt consolidation loans. Primerica representatives are independent contractors, not employees of Primerica or its parent company Citigroup. Personal Income Primerica has more than 100,000 Representatives. The cash flows stated are not intended to demonstrate earnings of typical RVPs/Representatives. Rather, the cash flows that have been cited reflect the potential that comes with building your business, and there is no guarantee that you will achieve any specific cash flow level. Most RVPs/ Representatives do not achieve the levels illustrated. Of course, actual GROSS cash flow is, among other factors, dependent upon actual organization size, the number of sales and the override spread on each sale, and the ability and efforts of you and your downlines. Commissions are subject to deferred compensation account withholding (they mean advance) and applicable taxes. RVPs are responsible for their own business expenses and pay for all office expenses for their base shop representatives. The Company may from time to time modify, supplement or terminate any compensation program in any manner. Further details are available from Primerica Financial Services, Inc. John; it's misrepresentations like yours that makes Primerica unethical, deceptive, etc., etc. YES, you are a registered representative with the NASD, but you should not be operating in the capacity of a financial advisor, analyst, or whatever, because you're neither. Also remember you ARE A MLM Company (see www.dsa.org)! Those disclosures are your company's OWN words, why do YOU speak differently?

I do not have problem with Primerica MLM style ( although they deny it is pyramid). But it will be nice if they disclose the avergage income of the Financial analyst. They might say that the number is low because there are many loosers who lower the avergage but even 10 times the average( meaning about top 10 % who all can not be losers) is not a good income for the type of work and hours and expertise needed. I will not trash them but they need to get better with disclosures and not try to hire everyone like MLM. Corporations do not hire anyone as they need to pay them. Primerica can take chances as they are not paying salary.

Geez Louise, I can't believe these guys are still around! I graudated from college in 1989, and I took a job as a ~gulp~ financial services advisor. Hey, the economy was bad and jobs were tough to find, even with a 4-year degree! No, I didn't work for AL Williams (now called Primerica), I went to work for New York Life. Yes, they were a very good company - probably the very best whole life products in the entire industry. But it was still selling a product that was a very tough sell. Even after getting my series 7 license to sell stocks and mutual funds, that helped quite a bit (I could actually sell stuff other than life insurance), but it was looong hours for not much money. And then you'd find these AL Williams (Primerica) creeps preaching the gospel of "BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE". What a load of garbage. Total bottom feeders. Their entire organization was pyramid-like, almost like multi-level marketing with Amway. A few guys at the top make some money. The new recruits are a dime a dozen. Get 'em in, sell term insurance to their family and close friends, and spit 'em out. I had more good quality, safe, whole life policies replaced by those guys than you could count. So a guy goes from paying $85/month for a whole life product that will actually give him a decent chunk of savings when he's retired. He replaces it with a $40/month term policy from AL Williams (oops, I mean Primerica) Wow, look at how much better that is, right? Wrongo. He's supposed to invest the difference. The only problem is, he never does. So he spends $40/month for term insurance, which only increases in premium as he gets older. And he never gets a dime out of it when he's retirement age. If he would have kept his New York Life whole life policy, he would have paid $85/month until he was 60, and then had a HUGE chunk of money in cash value when he retired. When you hear the word Primerica: RUN the other way.

Geez Louise, I can't believe these guys are still around! I graudated from college in 1989, and I took a job as a ~gulp~ financial services advisor. Hey, the economy was bad and jobs were tough to find, even with a 4-year degree! No, I didn't work for AL Williams (now called Primerica), I went to work for New York Life. Yes, they were a very good company - probably the very best whole life products in the entire industry. But it was still selling a product that was a very tough sell. Even after getting my series 7 license to sell stocks and mutual funds, that helped quite a bit (I could actually sell stuff other than life insurance), but it was looong hours for not much money. And then you'd find these AL Williams (Primerica) creeps preaching the gospel of "BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE". What a load of garbage. Total bottom feeders. Their entire organization was pyramid-like, almost like multi-level marketing with Amway. A few guys at the top make some money. The new recruits are a dime a dozen. Get 'em in, sell term insurance to their family and close friends, and spit 'em out. I had more good quality, safe, whole life policies replaced by those guys than you could count. So a guy goes from paying $85/month for a whole life product that will actually give him a decent chunk of savings when he's retired. He replaces it with a $40/month term policy from AL Williams (oops, I mean Primerica) Wow, look at how much better that is, right? Wrongo. He's supposed to invest the difference. The only problem is, he never does. So he spends $40/month for term insurance, which only increases in premium as he gets older. And he never gets a dime out of it when he's retirement age. If he would have kept his New York Life whole life policy, he would have paid $85/month until he was 60, and then had a HUGE chunk of money in cash value when he retired. When you hear the word Primerica: RUN the other way.

Geez Louise, I can't believe these guys are still around! I graudated from college in 1989, and I took a job as a ~gulp~ financial services advisor. Hey, the economy was bad and jobs were tough to find, even with a 4-year degree! No, I didn't work for AL Williams (now called Primerica), I went to work for New York Life. Yes, they were a very good company - probably the very best whole life products in the entire industry. But it was still selling a product that was a very tough sell. Even after getting my series 7 license to sell stocks and mutual funds, that helped quite a bit (I could actually sell stuff other than life insurance), but it was looong hours for not much money. And then you'd find these AL Williams (Primerica) creeps preaching the gospel of "BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE". What a load of garbage. Total bottom feeders. Their entire organization was pyramid-like, almost like multi-level marketing with Amway. A few guys at the top make some money. The new recruits are a dime a dozen. Get 'em in, sell term insurance to their family and close friends, and spit 'em out. I had more good quality, safe, whole life policies replaced by those guys than you could count. So a guy goes from paying $85/month for a whole life product that will actually give him a decent chunk of savings when he's retired. He replaces it with a $40/month term policy from AL Williams (oops, I mean Primerica) Wow, look at how much better that is, right? Wrongo. He's supposed to invest the difference. The only problem is, he never does. So he spends $40/month for term insurance, which only increases in premium as he gets older. And he never gets a dime out of it when he's retirement age. If he would have kept his New York Life whole life policy, he would have paid $85/month until he was 60, and then had a HUGE chunk of money in cash value when he retired. When you hear the word Primerica: RUN the other way.

Geez Louise, I can't believe these guys are still around! I graudated from college in 1989, and I took a job as a ~gulp~ financial services advisor. Hey, the economy was bad and jobs were tough to find, even with a 4-year degree! No, I didn't work for AL Williams (now called Primerica), I went to work for New York Life. Yes, they were a very good company - probably the very best whole life products in the entire industry. But it was still selling a product that was a very tough sell. Even after getting my series 7 license to sell stocks and mutual funds, that helped quite a bit (I could actually sell stuff other than life insurance), but it was looong hours for not much money. And then you'd find these AL Williams (Primerica) creeps preaching the gospel of "BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE". What a load of garbage. Total bottom feeders. Their entire organization was pyramid-like, almost like multi-level marketing with Amway. A few guys at the top make some money. The new recruits are a dime a dozen. Get 'em in, sell term insurance to their family and close friends, and spit 'em out. I had more good quality, safe, whole life policies replaced by those guys than you could count. So a guy goes from paying $85/month for a whole life product that will actually give him a decent chunk of savings when he's retired. He replaces it with a $40/month term policy from AL Williams (oops, I mean Primerica) Wow, look at how much better that is, right? Wrongo. He's supposed to invest the difference. The only problem is, he never does. So he spends $40/month for term insurance, which only increases in premium as he gets older. And he never gets a dime out of it when he's retirement age. If he would have kept his New York Life whole life policy, he would have paid $85/month until he was 60, and then had a HUGE chunk of money in cash value when he retired. When you hear the word Primerica: RUN the other way.

"You'll are quoting that Brett was wrong in mentioning that people all need licenses to work with a financial company." To keep things in context, I try to quote all the relevant information as I was concerned with the financial advisor portion. There's no way of excluding the portion regarding licensing. Besides that, when I said "Financial advisor Brett?" that should have made it clear what my focus was which even you aknowledge in part and you're just using a shiller's trick to try to fool some visitors to Ripoff Report. I find the following statement curious "The reason that Primerica's Financial Analysts are different than Financial Advisors, is merely because they do not do estate planning (which is mostly a need only of high end consumers)." Does this mean that Crimerica only goes after renters? What about people who live in houses and pay on mortgages? How can you properly service them? Also what about people who own stocks and bonds (or participate in company plans)? How do you define a "high-end consumer." I do agree in part with the statement,""you shouldn't use all caps in emails, or postings such as this or anything else, simply to make it easier to read."" as you're shouting and it's hard to read. Besides there are a number of far more effective ways to get your point across. "It seems that all of the complaints are about getting licensed." Are you kidding John? There are numerous complaints about the recruitment process, the term policy being overpriced since there's no compensating return, the fact that the average income for all Primerican agents is less than $6,000 a year (before business expenses which leaves a ridiculous amount of money to try to live off of), the fact that Crimerica isn't saving consumers money when you factor in all the hidden costs, etc. I've issued a challenge to the fat cats which I'll repeat. Name 12 officers or executives of Crimerica (Primerica if you insist) that started off as agents at the bottom of the ladder. Surely there must be one in the past 20 years. Finally to John. Why are you also posing as Brett?

You'll are quoting that Brett was wrong in mentioning that people all need licenses to work with a financial company. Guess what you do. But lets not take my word for it, call your state's Department of Insurance and ask them if what all companies have to have a licence through them to operate in any agent type capacity. The only thing that Brett was wrong about was using the term Financial Advisor. Stuart, congratulations about this one thing. Primerica/CitiGroup Registered Representatives are Properly titled Personal Financial Analysts, and Registered Representatives, which is the Legal term as distributed by the NASD (The National Association of Securities Dealers). The reason that Primerica's Financial Analysts are different than Financial Advisors, is merely because they do not do estate planning (which is mostly a need only of high end consumers). By taking the estate planning segment out of how they help families, that is what allows Primerica/Citigroup to help families at NO cost. Each and every analysis that is prepared for a client/family is totally free of charge. Read further on the main website Stuart. www.primerica.com Also I encourage you to do this; go to www.citigroup.com and then click on "Our Businesses" and read that entire page there, it answers everything that you keep talking about. Then I encourage you to do one more thing. Walk into any bank branch, and Talk to the Financial Assistants (not the tellers, the folks over at the desks on the side) and ask them what kind of licenses they have and how they paid for them, and how much. You will have your answer right there. I'll tell you, I got my License in two different states when i was working for Bank One and I paid out of my pocket a lot more than what Primerica/Citigroup Supplements for people ($589). As for the "mis-spelling" in Brett's statement; "Netiquette" is not officially a word, but I do believe he was referring to "you shouldn't use all caps in emails, or postings such as this or anything else, simply to make it easier to read." David Bach a former employee of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley wrote a book called "Start Late Finish Rich" which references Primerica/Citigroup. Robert Kiyosaki wrote a book called "Rich dad, Poor dad" which references all of the things that Primerica/Citigroup teaches people. George Boelcke wrote a book called "It's Your Money! Tools, Tips and Trick to Borrow Smarter and Pay it Off Quicker" which references the good things that Primerica/Citigroup does. Dr. Dennis Cauvier, and Alan Lysaught wrote a book called "The ABC's of Making Money" which reference the good things about Primerica/Citigroup. Bruce Sankin wrote a book "What All Stock And Mutual Fund Investors Should Know" which references Primerica and how they help bring that knowledge to everyone. I think everyone should pick up the July 2005 Issue of Success Magazine. The entire Issue discusses and goes on and on about how good the things are that Primerica does for people. It seems that all of the complaints are about getting licensed. Hey it's not for everybody, but at the same time, anyone that is working at any kind of professional capacity has to have a license of some sort. With Financial Services being the most highly regulated industry in the world, of course you have to obtain licensing.

You ask how is Brett wrong? To clarify, Brett is saying that Crimerica employs financial advisors which contradicts corporate Crimerica's website. As I stated I expect a professional to be well versed in grammar and spelling which Brett clearly isn't. Why is this important? Because when you're dealing with contracts, you don't want mistakes to crop up. And when you're dealing with the serious subject of financials, you want to know you're dealing with someone who's reliable. Was Craig from Kentwood a victim? He could have been if he didn't walk out. Anyways Pete I used the plural "victims." To let you know Pete (I have the EDitorial staff to back me up), Brett used the name "John" on another thread and he may have used other aliases as well to do some shilling for Crimerica and it has backfired on him and Crimerica who sent him over.

If Craig put a 'chew' in his mouth and spit on the floor, I'd say it was 'birds of a feather', IF in fact his tirade is correct, which I highly doubt. '(also remember that the main reason for Ripoff Report is to help out the victims Brett).' How exactly was Craig a 'victim.' A victim of what? Was he hog-tied (language with which I'm certain Craig is familiar) and dragged into the meeting? Did this cost him any money? No. I believe Craig wanted to see his name on this board so went through certain posts, picked up bits and pieces from real losers, and put them together for this fairy tale.

You need to get YOUR story straight, Brett. Quoting: "I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life." Financial advisor Brett? Let me excerpt from corporate Crimerica's website: "Representatives are compensated through commissions or referral fees on the sale of financial products offered by the financial product companies they represent. Representatives are not financial planners, investment advisors, financial consultants or other specialists who provide financial advice and whose compensation may be unrelated to sales." (the link is http://ww3.primerica.com/public/primerica_disclosures.html). You complain about not following the rules of etiquette (which you misspelled badly and I can easily point out other spelling and grammatical mistakes you made - not simply picking on you, but I do expect a great deal from a professional that you hold yourself out to be). "...you must be motivated and positive." Does this mean to be ignorant of reality? (I'm fond of the saying that when you walk with your head in the clouds, to keep your feet on the ground). "Primerca helps middle- to low-income families." This is disputed by other posters on Ripoff Report. "Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online." Practice what you preach shiller (also remember that the main reason for Ripoff Report is to help out the victims Brett).

You need to get YOUR story straight, Brett. Quoting: "I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life." Financial advisor Brett? Let me excerpt from corporate Crimerica's website: "Representatives are compensated through commissions or referral fees on the sale of financial products offered by the financial product companies they represent. Representatives are not financial planners, investment advisors, financial consultants or other specialists who provide financial advice and whose compensation may be unrelated to sales." (the link is http://ww3.primerica.com/public/primerica_disclosures.html). You complain about not following the rules of etiquette (which you misspelled badly and I can easily point out other spelling and grammatical mistakes you made - not simply picking on you, but I do expect a great deal from a professional that you hold yourself out to be). "...you must be motivated and positive." Does this mean to be ignorant of reality? (I'm fond of the saying that when you walk with your head in the clouds, to keep your feet on the ground). "Primerca helps middle- to low-income families." This is disputed by other posters on Ripoff Report. "Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online." Practice what you preach shiller (also remember that the main reason for Ripoff Report is to help out the victims Brett).

You need to get YOUR story straight, Brett. Quoting: "I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life." Financial advisor Brett? Let me excerpt from corporate Crimerica's website: "Representatives are compensated through commissions or referral fees on the sale of financial products offered by the financial product companies they represent. Representatives are not financial planners, investment advisors, financial consultants or other specialists who provide financial advice and whose compensation may be unrelated to sales." (the link is http://ww3.primerica.com/public/primerica_disclosures.html). You complain about not following the rules of etiquette (which you misspelled badly and I can easily point out other spelling and grammatical mistakes you made - not simply picking on you, but I do expect a great deal from a professional that you hold yourself out to be). "...you must be motivated and positive." Does this mean to be ignorant of reality? (I'm fond of the saying that when you walk with your head in the clouds, to keep your feet on the ground). "Primerca helps middle- to low-income families." This is disputed by other posters on Ripoff Report. "Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online." Practice what you preach shiller (also remember that the main reason for Ripoff Report is to help out the victims Brett).

You need to get YOUR story straight, Brett. Quoting: "I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life." Financial advisor Brett? Let me excerpt from corporate Crimerica's website: "Representatives are compensated through commissions or referral fees on the sale of financial products offered by the financial product companies they represent. Representatives are not financial planners, investment advisors, financial consultants or other specialists who provide financial advice and whose compensation may be unrelated to sales." (the link is http://ww3.primerica.com/public/primerica_disclosures.html). You complain about not following the rules of etiquette (which you misspelled badly and I can easily point out other spelling and grammatical mistakes you made - not simply picking on you, but I do expect a great deal from a professional that you hold yourself out to be). "...you must be motivated and positive." Does this mean to be ignorant of reality? (I'm fond of the saying that when you walk with your head in the clouds, to keep your feet on the ground). "Primerca helps middle- to low-income families." This is disputed by other posters on Ripoff Report. "Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online." Practice what you preach shiller (also remember that the main reason for Ripoff Report is to help out the victims Brett).

First off, please follow basic rules of netiqutte and take off your caps lock when you write someone, either email or posting on a site such as this. It sounds to me that you had a pretty negative attitude from the get go. Convincing you of a business opportunity would be quite difficult. Referring to fellow persons as scum and white trash and spitting on their floor is just plain disgusting not to mention plain human decency. You said you were shocked to find out about the $199 and why you had to "pay for a job." You obviously did not ask what the $199 was for, did you? I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life. How do you think they pay for their licenses? They pay for it out of their own pocket. How much, you ask? Usually between $500 and $600. So Primerica/Citigroup actually subsidizes your licencing class, giving you a leg up over their competitors. Also, you have the ability to have the reimbursed to you, and I don't know of any other company that allows you to do that. You were upset there was no base pay. Most folks start off supplementing their income part time, then move to full time once their part time at Primerica exceeds their full time elsewhere. Is this for everyone? No, you must be motivated and positive. Is this you? I'll leave that for you to answer. Keep in mind another thing. Those companies you mentioned, who do you think they help? They typically help those more fortunate than the average American, and generally will not talk to you unless you have $10,000 $50,000 or even as much as $100,000 available to invest. Primerca helps middle- to low-income families. Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online.

First off, please follow basic rules of netiqutte and take off your caps lock when you write someone, either email or posting on a site such as this. It sounds to me that you had a pretty negative attitude from the get go. Convincing you of a business opportunity would be quite difficult. Referring to fellow persons as scum and white trash and spitting on their floor is just plain disgusting not to mention plain human decency. You said you were shocked to find out about the $199 and why you had to "pay for a job." You obviously did not ask what the $199 was for, did you? I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life. How do you think they pay for their licenses? They pay for it out of their own pocket. How much, you ask? Usually between $500 and $600. So Primerica/Citigroup actually subsidizes your licencing class, giving you a leg up over their competitors. Also, you have the ability to have the reimbursed to you, and I don't know of any other company that allows you to do that. You were upset there was no base pay. Most folks start off supplementing their income part time, then move to full time once their part time at Primerica exceeds their full time elsewhere. Is this for everyone? No, you must be motivated and positive. Is this you? I'll leave that for you to answer. Keep in mind another thing. Those companies you mentioned, who do you think they help? They typically help those more fortunate than the average American, and generally will not talk to you unless you have $10,000 $50,000 or even as much as $100,000 available to invest. Primerca helps middle- to low-income families. Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online.

First off, please follow basic rules of netiqutte and take off your caps lock when you write someone, either email or posting on a site such as this. It sounds to me that you had a pretty negative attitude from the get go. Convincing you of a business opportunity would be quite difficult. Referring to fellow persons as scum and white trash and spitting on their floor is just plain disgusting not to mention plain human decency. You said you were shocked to find out about the $199 and why you had to "pay for a job." You obviously did not ask what the $199 was for, did you? I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life. How do you think they pay for their licenses? They pay for it out of their own pocket. How much, you ask? Usually between $500 and $600. So Primerica/Citigroup actually subsidizes your licencing class, giving you a leg up over their competitors. Also, you have the ability to have the reimbursed to you, and I don't know of any other company that allows you to do that. You were upset there was no base pay. Most folks start off supplementing their income part time, then move to full time once their part time at Primerica exceeds their full time elsewhere. Is this for everyone? No, you must be motivated and positive. Is this you? I'll leave that for you to answer. Keep in mind another thing. Those companies you mentioned, who do you think they help? They typically help those more fortunate than the average American, and generally will not talk to you unless you have $10,000 $50,000 or even as much as $100,000 available to invest. Primerca helps middle- to low-income families. Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online.

First off, please follow basic rules of netiqutte and take off your caps lock when you write someone, either email or posting on a site such as this. It sounds to me that you had a pretty negative attitude from the get go. Convincing you of a business opportunity would be quite difficult. Referring to fellow persons as scum and white trash and spitting on their floor is just plain disgusting not to mention plain human decency. You said you were shocked to find out about the $199 and why you had to "pay for a job." You obviously did not ask what the $199 was for, did you? I can tell you: that pays for the state licensing education needed to be employed as a financial advisor. All financial advisors need such a license, even those from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual or New York Life. How do you think they pay for their licenses? They pay for it out of their own pocket. How much, you ask? Usually between $500 and $600. So Primerica/Citigroup actually subsidizes your licencing class, giving you a leg up over their competitors. Also, you have the ability to have the reimbursed to you, and I don't know of any other company that allows you to do that. You were upset there was no base pay. Most folks start off supplementing their income part time, then move to full time once their part time at Primerica exceeds their full time elsewhere. Is this for everyone? No, you must be motivated and positive. Is this you? I'll leave that for you to answer. Keep in mind another thing. Those companies you mentioned, who do you think they help? They typically help those more fortunate than the average American, and generally will not talk to you unless you have $10,000 $50,000 or even as much as $100,000 available to invest. Primerca helps middle- to low-income families. Think about who you are talking about, and actually do some researching and thinking before you spout negative and incorrect information online.