Complaint Review: Primerica - Monroeville Pennsylvania

TERRI, TERRI, TERRI, C'MON, DO YOU EXPECT US TO BELEIVE THAT YOU ARE SO SERIOUSLY INVOLVED WITH THE PURCHASE OF CITIGROUP SERVICES THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT YOUR NECK ON THE LINE FOR THEM. IT SEEMS TO ME AS IF YOU ARE IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER "EMPLOYED" BY PRIMAERICA CITIGROUP. HOW ELSE WOULD SOMEONE BE SOOO PATIONATE WITH SOOO MANY VALUABLE STATS DEFENDING SOMETHING THAT HAS NO MEANING OTHER THAN TO OFFER YOU SERVICES FOR YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS. THESE PEOPLE ABOVE ARE HONEST YOUNG AMERICANS LOOKING FOR JOBS TO PAY THEIR BILLS AND TO GET STARTED ON A BETTER PATH. WHO ARE YOU WITH YOUR 500,000 POLICY TO TELL THEM WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF FREEDOM OF SPEACH? THIS WEBSITE IS A FORUM FOR THOSE WHO FEEL AS IF THEY HAVE BEEN PERSONALLY ATTACKED BY SOMEONE WHO HAS THE POWER TO PURSUADE INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FUTURES. LET ME ASK YOU THIS, WHY ARE YOU VISITING THIS SITE? ARE YOU A CONSUMER WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE FINDING OUT A LITTLE ABOUT THE COMPANYTHAT YOU HAVE INVESTED SO MUCH MONEY IN? OR IS IT THAT YOU WERE TOLD BY YOUR BOSS TO GO DO A LITTLE DAMAGE CONTROL FOR THE COMPANY (CITIGROUP)? DON'T PULL THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES. TAKE YOUR STATS AND SHARE THEM AT THE NEXT EMPLOYMENT RALLY AT THE OFFICE ABOVE THE LOCAL MR. GOODSCENSE, JUST BE SURE TO TAKE IT EASY ON THOSE KIDS. I LOVE YOU TERRI, YOUR BOSS JEFF!

Dan, with all due respect, in regard to this comment "Didn't your mother teach you that you shouldn't say anything unless you had something good to say!" I can say only this: MAMMA DIDN'T RAISE NO FOOL. My facts are directly from my personal experience with no slander or embellishment. From a potential EMPLOYMENT standpoint, I found the entire process to be a deception. I have never, nor will I ever, PAY to be employed. If their practices of employee recruitment were a little more straightforward, I would have been made aware of the $199 fee during the initial phone conversation with Jeff, not hit with it after an hour or more lecture. I think people deserve to know going in, before any group meetings, that this fee is expected of them, period. Why not be up front about it, seriously? Because they want to give you a presentation and tell you how great everything is, how much $$ you can make, sky's the limit??? Hey, I'm sure many people can and will be a success at sales, but I am not one of those people. So save us BOTH the time beforehand. Ridiculous! Interesting how in my new job they have issued checks for me to get the management training seminars I need to be better in the position they hired me for, as well as the costs associated with getting a real estate license. It's my experience that when you are hired for a position, even that of sales, you don't pay for anything. The employer pays for your training to be a better asset to their company, period, end of story. Further, a more reputable situation would have called for the potential employer not brushing off my questions during the call about this "marketing/management" position with a generic "we're looking for hard working, honest people. Are you hard working and honest?" answer. The entire process is totally rehearsed and scripted, starting from the very first words spoken by the person in the initial phone conversation. They're glorified telemarketers, and the product they're hoping to sell is people on themselves. As if I need one more point, but a sincere potential employer would have returned my call when I left a voicemail stating my displeasure with the situation and would have wanted to discuss any misunderstandings and/or concerns in depth. I need not tell you that a return call was never placed to me. So I KNEW THE OPPORTUNITY WASN'T FOR ME. And I have the RIGHT to post my opinion and experiences in a forum such as this, for people to read it and take it for what it's worth. Further, Citigroup very well may be a great investment organization, but the manner in which they recruit people to sell these services is, again, NOT FOR ME. I did in no way "slander" Jeff, unless you call describing someone as "extremely personable" and "quite taken with his personable way of speaking" as slander. I stated the facts as I experienced them personally. So please, spend less time obsessing on my name in a rebuttal and actually READ what I wrote both times. I have in no way "defamed" Jeff Wicker or his office. I merely stated to anyone who was/is looking for EMPLOYMENT my experiences so if the manner in which Citigroup recruits associates wasn't for them, either, they would know in advance. And yes, I did editorialize in my second entry on this topic, only because I find their "shady" practices of recruitment very laughable after the fact, and it upsets me that Primerica preys on people who are looking for sincere employment by promising the moonafter you pay for a portion of it first, or course. And oh yeah, sell out x number of personal references too! So if living in the "real world" means staying away from not-so-forthright employers such as that, I'm quite happy to do so. As for not putting my last name, it is a non-issue. Guess that's ONE thing I learned from the Primerica experience - ambiguity.

Terri! Didn't your mother teach you that you shouldn't say anything unless you had something good to say! Seriously Terri, I would fight to my death for your right to say whatever you believe. But, you should get your facts straight before making statements. I am a very satisfied client of Citigroup, which purchased Primerica Financial Services, and a number of other companies owned by Primerica, including Traveler's Insurance and Smith, Barney. Citigroup also owns Citibank, Citifinancial, Citimortgage, Principal Financial, and on and on and on. In a recent issue of Forbes magazine, 2,000 of the top companies were evaluated. Citigroup was rated the #1 company in the W-O-R-L-D. Terri do you honestly believe that the largest company in the world (I've read Citigroup has 1.6 trillion dollars, not billion, in assets) would be involved with a subsidiary company (Primerica) that is trying to rip Joe Public off for $199. My family and I have nearly $500,000 invested with Citigroup / Traveler's / Primerica. This does not include $250,000 in life insurance policies, of which Primerica has the most competitive rates for the consumer. Why wouldn't these companies have tried to rip my family off? The $199 you mentioned is only 1 / 2,500th of $500,000. Terri, before doing business with Primerica, I researched the company, something I guess you didn't do before writing your complaint. I found that Primerica at one time bought Traveler's (an insurance company that has been in business for over 100 years & has an outstanding reputation). I found that Primerica bought Smith, Barney, one of the largest brokerage businesses in America. I located seven offices in the Pittsburgh area, including the Monroeville, PA office. I found that two offices in North Huntingdon, Pa., my home town, are located within a mile of each other and that those offices have been there for many years. Furthermore Terri, I found that Citigroup is a Dow 30 company. That they grossed $18 billion dollars in revenue last year. Your telling me they wanted to rip you off for $199. Are you living in the real world Terri? My research of Primerica / Citigroup included a visit to the Monroeville, PA office for an open house. An invitation extended to me by Primerica's Regional Vice President, Jeff Wicker. This one and one-half hour visit was the very best financially enlightening time I have ever spent listening or reading about personal finance. Terri, I have a bachelors degree in accounting, have passed the Uniform Public Accounting (CPA) Examination, and own my own accounting business. I learned a few things in the overview I had not heard of during my four years of college studying accounting and financial management. I was shown how the Rule of 72" works, how Dollar cost averaging works, and that by paying your mortgage payment semi-monthly instead of monthly, you can save thousands upon thousands of dollars over the course of the mortgage. This was an outstanding presentation by Mr. Wicker! Terri, just this presentation alone would have been worth $199. But Terri, it was F-R-E-E. Furthermore, don't students attending our Universities of say Pitt, Penn State, and Ohio State pay thousands of dollars for their education! Sure some receive scholarships. Guess what Terri! If you would have asked or looked into the matter of paying $199 to Primerica Financial Services (not payment to the Regional Vice Present as you have suggested) you would have found out that the $199 one pays is for the cost of licensing, books, CDs, and 24 hours of in-class training. The classes are taught by outstanding instructors. These instructors are in many cases better instructors than some full blown professors I've had teach me in accredited college classes. Guess what else Terri! If one follows through and obtains licensing with Primerica / Citigroup, your $199 is returned to you. In other words you receive a scholarship. The licensing and training would now have cost you N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Not one penny Terri! Now tell me Terri, who is scamming who here! Terri, before I would invest nearly $500,000 or even $199 in a financial contract I would definitely have researched the company and the person representing the company, which in this case was Jeff Wicker. Mr. Wicker is an outstanding investment advisor and individual. He is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and very successful. He didn't rise through the ranks of Primerica and enjoy twelve years of success by ripping Joe Public off for $199 per individual. Terri you should have gotten your facts straight before slandering the #1 rated company in the world (Citigroup) & a very fine person in Mr. Jeff Wicker. Isn't it ironic that you chose the Internet to slander a very fine company and individual. The internet is not know for a media where truthful facts are stated. The targets of your Rip Off report, on the other hand, work within the confines of the most highly regulated industry, the financial services industry. Individuals working in the financial services industry cannot speak untruths, give facts based on here say or be a party to deceitful acts. Terri, you didn't even reveal your last name. Perhaps that is the reason you carelessly & without knowing or attempting to the know the facts, spoke falsely of Primerica / Citigroup and Mr. Wicker.

Natalie, I'm glad that you found this website before you paid the money, and I'm glad I posted my story! Funny how this guy - these people - spend their working days giving this rap about how great their company is and trying to suck people in. HONESTY. Ha ha. What you said was EXACTLY the same thing I heard from him too. Incredible! I was very much looking forward to meeting with them too, despite my nagging bad feelings, because of how personable the guy was. I guess it all comes down to them getting the right people to sell candidates on themselves, essentially. They make you feel very worthy and wanted, but unfortunately, he did it just a bit too much with that almost 9:30 p.m. follow up call (guess he could just feel the $199 in his pocket when I retured his call that evening and left a voicemail that I appreciated his follow up and would see him the next day). Oh well. Don't let this experience get you down - for every scam like this there's a 100 legitimate opportunities that you don't have to pay for to be a part of. I'm 11 years older than you and been working for over 12 years and even I got sucked into the whole thing at first. They're that good. Now everytime I hear Citigroup I cringe. In fact, at my REAL job that I now have, I got a call from someone with Citi doing legitimate business. I want to say, "Could you please tell me the deal with Primerica???? How can you possibly have them affiliated with you???" Good luck!! p.s. - I about died when I realized their offices were above that Wild Birds place! If they're going to scam so strongly, shouldn't they have a more professional office??? Oy!

T, I was contacted by the same "scam artist" Jeff Wicker. My mother had taken a message for me from a woman named Susan, Jeff Wickers secretary, who reviewed my resume and was interested in interviewing me for a (full time, mon-fri, 9-5, no weekends)a managment or marketing position. They were expanding 30 more "offices". I called him back and he had a very unprofessional message, sounded like one of those old answering machines, stating he was the regional vice presidant, blah, blah. The VP part I have to say did impress me. I mean, since when does a Vice President hire? Anyways, he called me back around 6:45 that night and told me all about his Primerica company how it was a subsidary of citifinancial, bigger than U.S Airways, Walmart, McD, Home Depot, American Airlines, ......, blah blah. Told me he was hiring for managers and marketers, "wherever I fit into the company." He said "im the vp and I do the hiring, which is the good thing. He's the right guy." HAHAHA. So I proceeded to set up an interview, he said he had room for about 2 more people Thursday night, which was a "company overview". He said "bring your resume, dress buisness, and bring a notebook. Its a chance for you to get to know about the company and us to get to know you." So I drove out to Monroeville from Bethel Park, a little nervous cause it sounded like a great opportunity, I'm 20 and in school and am looking for a professional job, and boy did I think I hit the big one! So I get there and see the "office" on top of a buisness called "WILD BIRDS". (should of known then) I saw a few buisness dressed men outside and as soon as I came walking up they immediately introduced themselves, asked how I was doing....overly nice. A man escorted me up the steps to this empty office. Im thinking, what is this? So I sit through this "company overview" for 2 hours! What a waste of time!! He proceded in showing some bs statistics, t.v. commericals on citifinancial, (why werent there any on primerica??!)mutaul funds, RothRI's, how they make all this money, how he went to Las Vegas and the company paid for everything, including ALL meals....I mean he made it sound abolutly wonderful. He mentioned how he fell into this by accident by his buddy Carl and kept saying "Its about being in the right place at the right time". Jeff also said they have these group company overviews so they can weed out the garbage! He said he needed people who are HONEST, HARDWORKING, AND HAVE GREAT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. He also went as far as saying that "its unbelievable how many people say their these things and there not, cause a lot of people lie on their resumes and applications." The only liar here is you and Primerica. Everything was so unclear and vague. So after the presentation he interviewd everyone one by one. It was my turn and I was escorted to his office where he asked my what I thought and then set me up for another interview the next day. I was starting to get a little leary when he said he has to set up the next interview within 24-48 hours. Not to mention, he told me to bring my resume and he didnt even look at it!!OH! He also said we "had to pay $199 for an insurance and mortgage license," his exact words I s*it you not. He also said the company invests $2,500 in training you and that we will get that $199 back. Believeing this, I set up an interview for tommarow. Trusting my instincts I went on the computer and looked at the website. A legit website, but I could'nt find career or job opportunities anywhere, so I went to citifinancial and looked at the company division and did not see Priemerica. So I did a job search on Primerica and there was something on associate marketing manager. So I thought, ok this must be it, but I wanted to find out if your salary included commission and if the training was paid, which Jeff failed to mention...and 12 people, including I failed to ask. I did a yahoo search of Primerica Employees and came across this site and I am sooo thankful I did! I was going to go on this interview tommarow and dish out the $199 , which my mother offered to pay. That slimebag!!!! I honestly was gullible enough to fall for it. Jeff was very personable and I honestly thought I "was in the right place at the right time"!! He had me thinking I was going to make $100,000 a year. I am a young college student in debt and I was ready to quit school and pursue this "career". Thank you so much for everyone who has posted on this site, and thank you for this site! I almost made a horrific decesion. HA, maybe I will go on that interview and let him know what a peice of GARBAGE he is and drill him a bit about his unethical, disgrace of a buisness.