he will help me get lower car insurance, maybe life as well. I reluctantly agreed and was hired I went home that day and looked for primerica on the Internet and at how it is a scam. I stopped giving out leads once I realized that I wasnt getting paid at all. The call was so unclear and left me with wanting more information. Primerica, at the very least, sells a very mediocre policy, that is also over priced for what it does. It was an apartment looking complex with no name, nothing. I see this company hasnt changed much since my friends husband tried to recruit me 4 years ago. I did go to an interview with him his office was eerily empty, a dark, one-floor building that looked more like a conference center than an office space. I realized what it was after that meeting immediately. It is a horrible, horrible product for almost everyone, but that doesnt make it fraudulent. Do your research people dont fall for pyramid scams. It all seemed a little odd since they are a financial company and nowhere in my background is there anything pertaining to finance. I thought I had a job interview today where the man switched to trying to get me to be a Primerica rep. Am I applying for a job? She deflects quickly, This is the part when I get to know YOU. I joined Primerica in 1999 for about 5 minutes. Something was definitely off. If this issue was costing them money, they would change it. It was located on the northwest side of Chicago (also where the Primerica location is) in a building that was practically empty and only had a few rooms/offices one the 1st floor and a basement which is where we met and discussed this foolishness. Well, no touchdown today for you, Primerica! Another woman, in her mid to late 20s like me, walked in and was handed the same paperwork I had to fill out. I just received a call earlier today. Thats just the first of many. Its all true. You will lose the business and the friendship. Just got a call from a Primerica recruiter, who set up a alleged interview for tomorrow. He invited me to this thing some orientation and was like being your parents Im sure they could learn something and Im like did this man just insult my parents intelligence. Now, though, I felt different. I tell her about my jobs, what I used to do, etc. Now of course I realize that I was probably the only one who wanted to learn. Please advise if any lawyers or regulators read this ! Our Primerica life insurance review comprehensively analyzes the company's products, rates, potential drawbacks, and more. My friend lost his job and this what fell into his lap. 90% failurethat is high percentwhere did you get that number? Very few people want to do the hard work thats required to succeed. She gave me her number and asked to call claiming she was a hiring manager .. She never called me back or contacted me again. I called her back a couple days later and she scheduled an interview for this coming Monday. If you do find yourself mixed up in something like this, please dont let it effect your perception of yourself. I was not familiar with them, so I went in for the so-called interview. Luckily, I was sitting next to her so the moment she said it was from Primaerica I told her it was a scam. If someone approaches you with any opportunity of any sort, and they are not willing to divulge the name of the company, then run as fast as you can! He contacted me about a week ago about a possible part time job opportunity working for him in a company that he said earns him more money than his full time job at the funeral home. A manager? To start making money and sign up as a Transamerica distributor you will need to pay a processing fee of $100 and to start recruiting new members you will need to pay another $300. Multi-level marketing is a scheme by which people who are in first make money from those who come later. I was VERY unhappy in my job and I had been actively looking. You cannot fail if you do the work. After, he said I needed a state license to sell insurance and its a 32-hour course that costs $124 deposit. Just before the session started I looked at the guest book and noticed that John had put his name beside most of the new guests, though 4 were a result of my resumes. I worked HARD at the business, I have had success in other businesses in my life but making money at Primerica is a joke. A pyramid scheme is usually an illicit activity in which recruiters urge participants to invest money with a promise of high returns. Because if they tell you the truth, you wont come in. At this point, things seemed a bit odd. MLMs are legalized pyramid schemes. They have my info and address and all kinds of info will they use it against me if I dont work for them? The receptionist and her shared a vague facial resemblance. That is why the poor get poorer and the richer who work there ass off get richer! $99 fee was mentioned. Taller than me by a little, he had slightly bigger hand but no grip. He called me again and I ignored the call. If you want to sell insurance or investments, do it with a real company, not a scammy MLM. It seemed way too good to be true, i was literally thinking to myself If this is real, I can finally afford college. Said I might be a good fit for PFS ambitious expansion plans in the Charlotte area. ALL THEY WANT IS YOUR MONEY . Clearly if one can do that for another, one should be able to pocket a nice income Once she quit her little dissertation on the gap between the upper class and middle class and how the middle class can become upper class with our help, she told us to wait as she brought in the guy who had written the review for the company (5 stars. The next day I came in for the interview and something seemed a little off. I have been with Primerica for almost a year. He vaguely went over how after the financial health check, customers see how their asset/debt ratio looks and how he then will offer them up solutions to get out of debt and start investing towards retirement. same here. Nice to know people are exposing this company! Needless to say, Im glad I got out of that one. When he called me I was busy and asked him if i could call him later. He made me give him my SOC over a zoom call, he was filling out an application for ME! Representatives of PFS troll the internet for job seekers, harvesting resumes from job sites. 1.) Talking on the phone isnt my strong suit so I just kept agreeing to everything and she was very busy but still managed to schedule an interview for later this week. An hour and a half already? I left indicating this was not for me, but wasted valuable time for something, from the on-set, which I indicated was not at all of interest, on her pretense it was a support job. I am not unemployed and actually own my own legitimate business. Instead my thoughts were screaming through my mind.. really, what was John doing in there?! Still, no alarms. I thought an in-person cash payment would be appropriate for the funds but i guess not. Unlimited income potential. This deceptive practices should be reported. I AM a great manager and I have been offered legitimate opportunities in the past, so yes, we exchanged numbers. Probably found out that my family is not exactly poor. Thanks for all the information. (applied for this position on Craigslistthe number I received the call from was 347-753-3377). The agent kept calling me for a congratulatory luncheon at a local Chinese buffet. They went through my Finances and sorted them all out and gave me a plan to pay everything off in a pretty cool schedule/plan. The following day, the ex-financial advisor disconnected with me on LinkedIn and I have not heard from him since. I wouldnt say I was victimized. All pyramid schemes eventually collapse, and most investors lose their money. So me and my friend were at the store when a guy randomly came up to us to talk about his wifes company. What these agents wont tell you is that another bear market is looming ahead, along with the upcoming changes in Washington. It's a fucking scam. Important Mutual Fund Disclosures Mind you Im sick w/a bronchial cough sure not looking or sounding my best. One of my classmates from a dispute resolution class I had this past winter called me one night about a business opportunity she wanted me to check out. Its an exhausting way to make a living. . I got a phone call today for an interview and reading all this is really got me thinking twice, PLEASE READ, HOPE YOU SEE THIS! As shes leaving, she stops and says, You know, I never do this because its disrespectful to approach people at their jobs. I was in Primerica back in the early 90s when it was called PFS (Primerica Financial Services). The lead asked me for $99 upfront, which I did not have. Multi-level marketing is not entrepreneurship. Later found out this company had sold my sister, whos a single mom, a massive EXPENSIVE insurance policy. Answer (1 of 24): From my recent exploration of their compensation plan, they are very similar to the traditional broker/dealer -> agent model of insurance, real estate, and mortgage brokers. I know my story sounds the same as many others go figure, right, these guys seem to work from the same playbook but I figured Id add mine. Its not bad advice. Money / Side Gigs. I express admiration and order another coke and a sandwich. Will do anything to hire people. I dont know why i get that feeling when a job has to take more than 30 minutes to explain itself to a group of people, they told us to hold our questions until the end of the presentation. Mary clings onto it for dear life. And they didnt really seem to give a sh&* that I was cancelling. Needless to say I WILL NOT be going back. At that point, I hung up and laughed. I wonder if the experiences shared here are indicative of the company as a whole or just unchecked human behavior that isnt managed from senior corporate leadership. Everyone gets invited to stay for the informational session, and everyone will be strong-armed into signing up as a representative. I also knew what John would say if I asked him about that one. You dum assess are just to lazy to change the direction your lives are going so you stay working for toll plazas or write articles like this fat bitch. Its neither a retirement fund, nor life insurance. I gave him my actual SOC. I am unemployed and the guy on the phone made it sound so good and easy to earn some extra cash. So glad I ran into this, a man at a store who was very charming said they were looking for employees, I have had a bad feeling about him for about 2 years now and he has called like 3 times since, every time he gives me a little more information, it all seemed very fishy, finally said I would meet up this week but would google them first. Cons. I was so flattered! it takes 1 minute to call or text. He set me an interview for 3:30 PM, but by 1:30 I had already read these reviews I decide I wasnt going to go to the interview after reading all these reviews. There seems to be a way to make money but you have to be highly deceptive and cut-throat, oh, and pretty desperate to make money in MLM. He said either way hed be expecting me tomorrow at 3:30pm. Why? When I read posts in defense of Primerica they seem like they all read from a script stating the same propaganda (Jonestown immediately comes to mind). A full 84% left prior to obtaining their insurance license. After reading these comments I can say I will not be showing up Wednesday at 6:15 for my interview. Why not. Most of the posters defending also seem very unprofessional and lack a certain level of education. Now that I have read the previous comments I will not be wasting my Saturday morning to interview with PFS. Overall sounded ok but things started to not add up. At this point, I had a chance to become aware of the atmosphere in this building. As cool as this possibility sounded, it just seemed way off, I had many red flags that popped up and wanted to inquire on them, one of which I did, but figured Id investigate a bit first. My friends husband was at least honest and up front about me in terms of selling insurance, which I appreciated. It looks like even the Better Business Bureau has a number of complaints lodged, about this company. 2. I wasted a month of my busy life and thankfully, I already maintain a good internship at a wealth management firm and did not leave it for such stupidity. No, Mercedes is not the same thing as multi-level marketing. And also when he would say how much money people would make he would wait for me to respond and I just gave him a blank stare. The first level is the office or team level, the second level is the agents who work for the office/team. Its too bad that a few bad experiences have been compiled in one area and deterred people from seeing if this career was really for them. Out of curiosity, why not expend the same energy to become successful at something you love and be at the top of YOUR pyramid and opposed to being at the bottom of Primericas? I believe the only way to get ahead in America is by entrepreneurship, MLM and/or Franchise if you can afford it truth be told, if you think about a PYRAMID, you could look at your job as one. Question: Does anyone feel ripped off in their current situation? My husband got upset since he was at work and called her back and said no thanks and she said that she could put her husband on the phone to talk to him and try to convince him, my husband heard him out and said no thanks again to which he tells me the man was not happy and cut him off and hung up on him. I wasnt really looking forward to more training in the morning, but figured with the scared-looking new teenage recruit coming, John would at least be in his jovial, upbeat mood. 2018 Sequence Inc. All rights reserved. When I looked at the girls job title, I googled it and found this site. and is refundable but most people dont know that, You can get your own credit check and if not hired, you can get a refund. These MLM ventures seem to prey on the 9-5-ers making minimum wage with the promise of making a six-figure income. I have an interview on Monday but I will not be going afternoon randomly reading all of these comments. This morning I received a message saying he was looking for 7-10 people to fill various roles in his office and wanted me to let him know of candidates. And where, exactly, are you going to file that complaint? Funny thing is, the first 20 times I heard this same spiel I was envious of his life and attracted to the lifestyle he proclaimed was not only possible, but a given if one followed his leadership. John said no.. yet I knew that wasnt true. etc. Yes, Orlando, pyramids are illegal and MLMs have very carefully crafted their companies to APPEAR not to be pyramids. SCAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Its dead quiet, and a woman Ill call Mary comes in, telling me she is waiting for someone she had met there the night before. Im so stressed out now because I couldnt come up with a lie to excuse me from that call. He told me to come in for an interview, and, sensing some possible sketchiness, I had my boyfriend come with me in case someone tried to rob me of an organ. Tracy says this is about recruitment and getting people to pay the initial and monthly fees. Tameka All insurance agencies are NOT pyramids. I want to shake my head at me too. A legitimate company looking for new employees is not going to waste more time calling a candidate who did not call them back, particularly considering they had no information on me or my job experience or training. I wasnt about to put my plans aside for something as ambiguous as that, and seeing other people talk about their experiences, Im glad I didnt. I will be calling them in the morning to say that I will not be participating in this ridiculously insidious scam after all. I am sick thinking that I signed something that I didnt read, gave her my social security and address. I actually had to call my friend to ask what the position was and he said its something to do with sales.. I could barely understand the guy. Obviously the other side of this coin is that reps/and recruits dont benefit, and dont find enough value to stay. She talks about them like they are real. I start to feel under-dressed in my khaki pants, short-sleeved button-down shirt and silk tie. So glad everything that I was concerned about has been confirmed. I saw the company 15 years ago and I am SO sorry I didnt jump at that time! I got referred to Primerica by a fellow friend of mine. I was about to have an interview tomorrow but I cancelled it. My advice would be to at lease go in for the fake interview, gather informatican about the company for yourself, then decide if its for you or not. The red flags popped up when she mentioned what the massive amounts of money people save, from paying 14 years of loans in 5 years is mathematically impossible for the average middle class consumer. I had really lost interest by the time he had gotten to the bottom of the first page. (The clients DONT save money on services as compared to other companies.). good looking into this before going to my interview today. As of this morning, the morning after, I wrote an appology text to my 5 references and also a warning that they may be hearing back from this company asking them to get involved as well. I think not! Apparently she works at the bar we are sitting in, but is not in that day. Its funny how quickly he wrapped everything up with me once he got that call. As I could see in some windows and noticed these people were sitting and waiting, I figured a lot of interviews must be happening around here. For only $99 you can be licensed to sell insurance to others with us. Need to find a different location? MLM is not a business. They didnt get my credit card info but they have my social security number and my other info. Water, food, ever other necessity you can think of should not have to be provided to people at a cost. That fact in itself should be an embarrassment to any organization, requiring immediate action. The crazy part it that this PYRAMIDS are legal. In Primerica, the goal is to recruit. I told them I didnt had the money so the lady told me Icould go some other day and its been two days already and Im scare they use my social security # for a bad purposei want to go and get the paper and ripped off so i could feel safe but idk what to do Can anyone tell me what should I do. I then told him Im not interested. MLM is not a business. How in the world they got my resume in a snail mail environment is still a mystery. Long story short, I sensed and saw scammers written all over their faces. I can see where some think the avenue of recruiting equates to MLM but Id argue thats simply due to lack of knowledge. I was making nothing doing work that was not only boring, but physically painful. I was bugged to come to those meetings that were a complete waste of my time. This is how Primerica works. Youre good people and will, no doubt, save other people from being duped. Pyramid scheme type set up. I have worked with recruiters and hiring managers long enough to know that is poor phone etiquette at best. We talk for a second longer, she makes a point of showing me her expensive car and vanity plates (I realize now how often she was trying to make displays of wealth from the moment I met her). I was the first one there so I put the lights on and tidied up a bit. Then once the first lady satrted talking all I could see in my head was Wolfe of Wall Street. I will be posting this to all of my social media, explaining what a scam this company really is. There were about 20 other people sitting in the chairs. I had an interview yesterday with the regional Vice President. Thank you for the information. I didnt want to be rude to him with my best friend trying to work there but it just didnt sit right with me. Its EXACTLY as described. Known as a co-founder of EarthLink, the internet service provider that . http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2013/02/is-multi-level-marketing-a-legitimate-business-method/. MLM jobs are not jobs at all. How to spot a pyramid scheme - Stacie Bosley TED-Ed 18.2M subscribers Subscribe 169K 5.4M views 3 years ago Learn the techniques and tricks that pyramid schemes use to recruit new members and. she never asked for a resume or any back round on me never told me the name of the company until I asked her today . THIS IS A BUSINESS, and youre too lazy to work for yourself or want to educate people on their finances. I, pretended was interested, really put on an academy award performance. Youre building a team of individuals to get them to the top, too. To all those who think youll make money from this, it is mathematically and logically IMPOSSIBLE for EVERYONE to make money in a business like this. MLM is not a company, but a form of generating income. Had he invested his 30 years with any number of other companies, he could be retiring with tons to show for it. Later I learned that they do whatever it takes to lure someone out, then rely on the hyped-up emotions stirred up by the Opportunity Night presentation to get them to sign the agreement and pay to join. He spoke and I listened. However, it does not mean that because it is legal that the company' structure is not shape like a pyramid. Often in a pyramid scheme, you'll be encouraged or even required to buy a certain amount of product at regular intervals, even if you already have more inventory than you can use or sell. Google what youd like but do you really think Google, a company who makes money by sponsors is more accurate than the companies that investigate for the NYSE? It is not a traditional job. They use your friends and contacts to start you 'business.' To get more percentage you have to get more people into the company. One speaker, the VP/Owner clearly had been doing this for a while and was all about the potential money that could be earned, though was vague on the details and it seemed to me that anyone with a salary job is a sucker in their eyes. Duluth, GA 30099-4000 Visit Website Email this Business (770) 381-1000 Primary hours 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM BBB Rating & Accreditation A+ Accredited Since: 1/1/1980 Years in Business: 46 Customer. I will go but the moment I feel like Im being pitched, Im graciously declining and peacing out. B . People have no consideration!!! I would suggest insurance agencies and companies like Edward Jones. It is a pyramid scheme in which 99% lose money. Financial Educator (Current Employee) - United States - March 12, 2019. . No, I am not very angry with the company. I do, however, believe it is very important to inform people about the truth behind multi-level marketing. 2023, International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, Inc. All rights reserved. He kept messaging me even if i wouldnt give him a reply and somehow found my number and keeps contacting me. Very glad I googled this company and found this blog. They have to recruit their own people. I think this is so sad if shes not realizing what she has gotten herself into. It was nice how they fooled some people but I was ready to go after 5 minutes, it reminded me too much of cutco knives sales pitch. life insurance pyramid scheme companies. I would STAY AWAY from Primerica. Promptly at six a man walked in and introduced himself and said he was there for an interview with John. After hanging up with him, I found this wonderfully put together article and took the time to go through most of the comments as well and found pretty much everybody in agreement that this is a scam. Of course it was muffled so I asked who is this and she repeated I told her I received a missed called from this number and was curious who was trying to reach me, so she put me on hold. Not a fan of recruiters that will give great compliments, offer big promises with no details & make unemployed people pay 100.00 to get started. I thought Im supposed to be learning here? She gave very vague answers, told me her secretary referred me and that she worked for a financial firm looking to hire about 20 people to work as trainers. I walked in and saw chairs set up like there was going to be a lecture. BTW, a presentation is not an interview. I actually figured out it was Primerica a few minutes later when I actually sat to think about it. A review of their Company of Destiny report big earners chart, once applying the fine print written below it, reveals that only 1% at best, of all the reps in their entire history since 1977, ever broke the $50k level, once or more, during any best 12 month rolling window. Therefore, before joining Primerica, you might pose and ask yourself if it is a pyramid scheme. Hope fully this site Tracy set up will eventually catch the eye of the better business or someone who will make this kind of shady business tactics disappear .