Complaint Review: Primerica - Oakdale New York

If you are such a great researcher, why don't you do some research on financial planning? If you did, you would see that the theory of decreasing responsibility is a poor premise on which to base one's financial future. Why don't you look into how a SMART loan when compared to any other mortgage is more expensive than you have been told? Why don't you research the fact that PFS insurance is one of the most expensive and has the worst conversion option? You say that many people who are unqualified are drawn to PFS, then why do you let them pay the money to join? The PFS philosophy is that if you throw enough crap at a wall, some of it will stick. You use the term financial advisor, well a PFS rep is not a financial advisor, he is a term insurance salesman, period. A financial advisor is a professional who puts together a customized plan and does not use a one size fits all approach. I especially like the line,financial gimmicks intended to draw capital away from the masses Do you realize that if someone followed the PFS plan and actually managed to save a substantial sum of money and then passed away suddenly, since you advised him that he would not need insurance later in life and you didn't properly plan for the protection of that money his heirs would possibly lose almost half of it to estate taxes. That's a gimmick that is intended to take capital away from your customers and give it to the government. The more I hear PFS reps talk about financial planning, the more I am convinced that PFS is full of well intentioned people who are woefully under informed by the company. All the good intentions in the world will not make up for the fact that the PFS FNA is a poor planning tool and that PFS reps don't know much about insurance, or financial planning. Is it any wonder people complain that the information they receive from PFS reps is misleading? It is because most of them don't even understand their own business model well enough to explain it. If they did, they would see that a PFS rep is not a business owner and that the company has total control over your customers and sales team. Frankly, I am surprised that an excellent researcher such as yourself did not mention this in your post. Here are some questions for you to research: Can a PFS rep show someone how to get 30% more money out of a 401K by having the right kind of term insurance in the right amount? Can a PFS rep show someone how to get a guaranteed minimum return of 7% ? Can a PFS rep show someone how to participate in market upturns and never market downturns? Can a PFS rep show a client how to establish a multigenerational legacy? Until you can do all these things, please don't use the term financial advisor in conjunction with a PFS rep.

Dear M*~ from Northport, NY: Being a 20 year old college student does not make you a perfect target to prey upon. This associate, "Mike," did not approach you because you were twenty. He did not approach you because you were female. Nor did he approach you because you were a college student. The associate extended an invitation to you to join Primerica only after you called upon him to repair your tire. The associate is just that: He is associated with Primerica; but he is not a representative. If the associate talked about such a great company for which he worked, why did you not ask him what made the repair shop such a great place to work? Point of fact - the associate spoke of a great company that he recently became associated with; and he extended you an offer to explore the same possibilities that he envisioned. Too often under-qualified individuals are drawn into Primerica. These uneducated persons tend to search out get-rich-quick schemes. Primerica, however, takes a lot of hard work to succeed. And, the majority of people who fail in Primerica lack the self-discipline to assert any reasonable amount of effort. They just want money given to them. They attend meetings; but they do not work at building their business. What is seen among this unqualified class of associates is an effort to only recruit new associates. If you join and earn money then the recruiter obtains an override - this is the get-rich-guick scheme. With enough recruits doing enough work, money comes in with little or no effort. That thinking, however, is wrong. If a get-rich-quick schemer is recruiting you; he is selling you on the possibility of getting rich quickly. An entire hierarchy of recruits is developed within which no one is producing; they are only recruiting. No commissions or overrides are made; they become disillusioned. All of them leave believing they were ripped off. But, they were not. They only suffered from their own collective lack of ambition. Consider your case: You paid the $199 fee, $40.00 oif which did go towards your background check. But, you made excuses not to attend your Life licensing course to obtain your insurance license. That was a personal decision on your part not to follow through on your commitment to your own future in the financial services industry. If you were not committed to a career in financial services, then why pay the $199 in the first place? In other words, you are flip-flopping in your decision process; you are waffling in your commitments. If you go half way through you college education before changing your mind over the major you want to pursue, it does not follow that the college ripped you off because it allowed you the opportunity to pursue the major you originally said you would pursue. Primerica did not rip you off because you changed your mind. Nor did anyone prey on you because you are some sort of gullible young female; that kind of thinking simply shows a lack of self-respect for yourself. You signed a contract without thinking it through; you signed a contract without reading it through too. That, again, was a personal choice you made; it was not some secret conspiracy on the part of a new Primerica associate and his manager to rip you off. Since Primerica operates like Tupperware or Avon, that is - networking through friends and colleagues, obviously you were encouraged to invite people to the corporate overview. Networking is how Primerica markets its financial products. If a friend encouraged you to invite people to her Tupperware party, you would not argue that you were involved in brainwashing those invitees because they would be told that they, too, could conduct Tupperware parties. Similarly, to say you are new at Primerica, simply come and see what makes you excited, and someone more knowledgable will be able to answer questions that you cannot answer because you are too new at this; is simply being honest. It is not intentional deception. To avoid accusations of discrimination, everyone who wants an opportunity is extended that opportunity. I am not sure why you would want to pressure someone into doing something they did not want to do? In that case you were thinking about your own promotion, not about the person's best interest. Pressuring is a selfish act, which Primerica does not condone. Since no money is involved in recruiting, pressuring is self-defeating. You gain nothing from it, except possibly a title change. The earnings comes from selling the financial products, which you refused to do. Pressure in recruiting only hurts your reputation when you recruit unqualified persons in pursuit of get-rich-quick schemes. They blame you when they have not effortlessly become wealthy in three months. Being honest and forthright with recruits bring in qualified recruits that are willing to work hard towards a secure future. That is that 15% that you talk about. They are the entrepreneurial group who accept responsibility for their own efforts. The other 85% are the cowish employee sect that want to be told what to do, and to avoid responsibility for what does not go right. In otherwords, 15% make good Primerica associates; whereas the other 85% make good clients in need of assistance - they are not responsible enough to manage their own finances. They need financial advisors to impose discipline upon them; they need sound advice to avoid the numerous financial gimmicks intended to draw capital away from the masses. Finally, I doubt the wisdom of your much older friend. Searching tabloid based search engines, such as - yahoo or googles, is not sound research. Ebsco Host or Lexis-Nexis are academic search engines that lead researchers to verified information, not to rumor and inuendo. Had you done a legitimate search, you would have discovered the reputable company recognised by Wall Street and government.

"And the question that has bothered me since the day I got a flat tire was, why was Mike still fixing flats when Primerica makes you millions???" As soon as I read he was changing your flat while telling you about this great company - that was exactly what I wondered.