Complaint Review: Primerica - Near Quakertown Pennsylvania

After perusing this site, I found that the skepticism I had originally for my particular encounter with Primerica was strengthened for a few particular reasons.

These reasons only reflect the recruitment and job opportunity aspects of Primerica, as these are the only fields I've had any dealings with. I won't say Primerica, as a whole, is a lying, cheating, unethical company due to the limited experience I have had with them. However, my experience with a particular facet operating under the name of this company is worthy of some critical inquiry. Without further ado, I found the following aspects to be troubling in my own eyes with my particular circumstances dealing with them. (It was around February of 2004, the Hampton Inn around the PA Turnpike Exit near Quakertown):

1). I was first offered the opportunity by some close friends of mine to do this, but after an extensive chat with one friend, I found my relatively intelligent friend unable to answer very important questions about the company. However, since he was my friend, I decided to at least check out the meeting eventually. I, however, was first introduced to it by a woman I met at the grocery store. She said that I was a sharp chap and that I should call her for more information about a potential job after viewing a particular website. Of course, I viewed the website. What I found disturbing then and now, in retrospect, is that the site contained a few strange things about it:

A). It required me to enter a password that was provided on a business card, my name, my phone number, and my e-mail address. For the sake of curiosity, I did. Which leads me to my second point:

B). The site I found told me that I had an amazing opportunity to be an IBO (independent business owner), but after viewing every single facet of the site, it did not provide a single fact supporting how I would accomplish this. It involved Quixtar. How that involved Primerica, I did not know at the time, and I'm not sure I do now either.

Since the password was on a business card and not private, I encourage everyone to visit it and draw their own conclusions. The link is ((REDACTED)) I'm sure they won't mind the extra traffic if their site is worthy. The password is XXXXXX

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

2). Well, I was called back after viewing their site to come to an orientation. Since (by some strange stroke of fate) my parents knew the people working for the company that called as old friends, I was willing to take the chance that my life wasn't being compromised. So, I decided to go with them to a place for orientation. Along the way, I found it interesting that they've been with the company for a good two years and were successful (according to them) despite the fact that their car was giving them all kinds of problems. I was assured it was going to go to the shop very soon, and the whole explanation sounded forced. That raised a red flag for me, personally.

3). So, after arriving at the place, I sign in, and I'm given an entire packet to read about the company. In the meantime, I read the entire packet and realize that I still don't know how they're going to use me in their company. They assure me I'm sharp-- as if they needed to remind me-- and that everything will be answered by the end of the night.

4). So, after a few testimonials of how great the company is, I decide I've had enough. (It all seemed rather suspicious to me, considering the company's results should speak for themselves. Why do I need these people in front of me?)

5). I didn't have any negative criticisms from outside sources before going into the meeting, and yet, my intuition was screaming at me that something wasn't right.

6). After presenting me with an entire crap load of information, the person in charge at the end of it tried to get me to write down six references. I couldn't think of six off of the top of my head, so I said I'd get him the information later. The person was persistent about me giving those references. I refused, and I'm glad that I did.

7). At the end of the meeting during the car ride home, I asked some more pertinent questions that I felt were addressed inadequately (or not addressed at all) during the meeting, being the sharp chap that I am. A few questions were danced around deftly, such as:

A). What exactly is my role in this company?

B). How much can I be expected to make, given the amount of money the lowest ranked employee brings in? (Since I'm, surely, more motivated than that person.)

C). Is it necessary that I recruit people to do well?

D). Why do I need to put money up front to buy what you're offering?

8). The final thing that made me very suspicious was the fact that they wanted me to listen to tapes and read more material. After listening to their mind-numbing tape, I realized it was the same stuff repeated over and over again in a different way. The strange thing was that they wanted all of their materials back if I wasn't going to join them. They were quite adamant about setting up a follow-up appointment. After telling them that I wanted to review the materials and not necessarily make any further appointments, they all but demanded their materials back. What could be so expensive about a burned CD and a few pamphlets that they would demand their resources back from a potential employee?

So, that was my first experience with Primerica. Then, at the request of a friend who had done a favor for me earlier that week, I attended yet another meeting with the same results. Again, I found myself asking the same questions and yet again, the results were the same. I found it interesting that when I asked about where they would get the interest rates they spoke of, their reply was a basic, don't worry about it. Well, of course I'm going to worry about it. Don't tell me I'm sharp and then decide that I'm too stupid for certain facets of The Plan you mentioned over and over again without explaining what it is.

To sum things up, don't argue with me that I'm presenting a biased perspective because I already know that. Rather, take this as what it is-- a testimonial that says to be careful when dealing with anybody that uses these tactics. If they have a Primerica shirt on, I'm just a little more cautious because of my dealings with them. Maybe I had a bad experience with particularly corrupt employees of Primerica or perhaps people posing as Primerica employees, but I felt it important to note that these people exist and probably will not go away if they make money from it. The first ideal in solving a problem is to recognize that one exists, and thus, if anything, all should be able to agree that there are particularly corrupt people under the guise of Primerica who are out to take your time and money.

As a further note, I had my own friends and my parent's former friends telling me that I should try this, and without an ounce of skepticism from the very first interaction with the lady in the supermarket line, it developed into skepticism that has only been confirmed, for me, through this site and other sources. To go against peer pressure completely without any particular reason required a strong intuitive reaction, which I had. Later, a logical reaction developed. I hold such responses in the highest esteem, and I hope this helps others do so as well.

Thank you for your time.

And as a little side note, I found it amusing that the lady who first got me interested in Primerica who has lots of experience in the business has to use a Foodstamps' card to purchase her groceries. You can tell an awful lot about people by what people buy at the grocery store, and I can say that I see her quite often (since I work often), and I've never seen her use anything else to pay for her groceries other than the one time she used her debit card when she offered me her business card. Isn't that a funny coincidence?

Submitted Anonymously

Near Quakertown, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.

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