Bruce Berman, 4freekit.com ripoff will send you unsolicited material and then charge your credit card Internet

This morning, I called back the Berman Investment Group to return the audio CD program as detailed above. I did listen to a few of the cd's, and determined that they are nothing more than long winded advertisements to start up a company peddling Bruce Bermans credit card machines. The audio CD program itself was of very little value to me.

The lady whom answered the phone was very pleasant, and did in fact offer me the CD package at a $25.00 ($74.90) discount, which I declined. Then she proceeded to give me a return authorization code. After receiving the return auth #, she offered me yet another $25.00 discount bringing the price to $49.90, to which I declined. She then informed me of some shipping recommendations (crush proof packaging, $100.00 insurance, trackable form of shipping), as well as the ship to address:

Berman Investment Company
Attn: Customer Care
12650 Westminster Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

Upon receiving this address, she then offered me yet another $25.00 discount, making the total price of the CD's $24.90. I thought about this for a moment, and determined that the cost of shipping, packaging and insurance (not to mention the hassle) would cost around the same price, so I accepted the offer. If for some reason I get charged a greater amount than what was agreed upon, I will certainly update this report. If not, we can consider this case closed.

I received my "free" ($3.95 shipping and handling) book and audio cd yesterday, along with the 8 cd set that I was unaware was going to be sent to me for a price of $99.90 if not returned within 30 days. I called the return number this morning, a nice middle eastern lady picked up almost immediately. I could not have been on hold for more than 30 seconds.

After verifying my account, she asked me as to whether or not I had listened to any of the cd's, to which I replied that I had in fact listened to the free cd which I had ordered, but none of the 8 that were included in the kit which I did not knowingly order. She went so far as to extend my 30 day trial period another 10 days to listen to the cd's, and told me in plain english that I can break the shrinkwrap on the cd's and listen to them, and if still not satisfied I can then call back and request a full refund with no penalty for breaking the shrinkwrap on the unsolicited cd kit. She even told me the date of the last day that I had to call back to request the refund.

In my estimation, so far, I would not consider this a scam. Yet. True, the bait and switch method of sending you something that you did not ask for is quite the unsavory sales tactic, but at least at this point it appears that they are being responsive to customer complaints; probably due to the multitudes of websites regarding this subject, as well as high call volume all involving negative feedback.

I plan on listening to the cd's as the operator instructed. At that point, I am quite confident that I will still want to return them before the deadline that was given to me. I will post again the details of how customer service handled this transaction.

After ordering the "free" materials I realized that I would be charged $99.90 if I failed to return the additional 8 cd's within 30 days of the ship date. When I called to cancel, I was put in touch with a gentleman who spoke very poor english and I had great difficulty understanding him. Eventually I gathered that he was offering me a reduced price of $74.90 (eventually reduced to $49.90, $24.90 and then $14.90). I made it clear that I didn't want the product at ANY price and hung up. I then emailed the compnay to express my dissatisfaction. I received a reply stating that I could keep the whole package, would be refunded the shipping charge and the account would be closed.

So I wound up paying nothing which is more than the materials are worth.

I have worked for this company for months now and I have never seen anything that would question the integrity, I know you are all saying I am bias, but if I thought it was a scam I would not be here. The Terms are set on the submit page prior to completing the order and sent with the product. We have always allowed customers that were not happy to return...Just call and it will get handled...don't use foul language, be an adult and be calm, otherwise its a lot harder for our customer service representatives to help you out. If you cannot use the product we dont want you to pay for something that you cant use.

Check Rip-off Report before buying anything. Even something "free."

Don't waste your time, energy and money.

Check Rip-off Report before buying anything. Even something "free."

Don't waste your time, energy and money.

Check Rip-off Report before buying anything. Even something "free."

Don't waste your time, energy and money.

Check Rip-off Report before buying anything. Even something "free."

Don't waste your time, energy and money.

The Berman Investment Group has a 100% return policy and we will accept any book or CD's in saleable condition for a full credit. In addition, we do not ship unordered products and our web site clearly indicates, in several places, our terms and conditions and return policy of our offers. An insert is also shipped with all of our products informing the consumer on how to return any materials if they desire a return. The Berman Investment Group Customer Care Center is open Monday Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST. After hours customer service is available 7-days a week. The Customer Care Center and after hours center can be reached toll free at (877) 237-6265.