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Report: #1018930

Complaint Review: Vanguard Institute - West Hollywood California

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  • Reported By: beenthere — Loudon Tennessee United States of America
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  • Vanguard Institute 8605 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, California United States of America

Vanguard Institute Affiliated companies in on the scam: Daeus Financial, Daeus Business Entity, Daeus Tax Services, Monterey Financial Unethical and DeceptiveBusiness Practices West Hollywood, California

*Author of original report: Vanguard INSTITUTE changed name to Vanguard ACADEMY!!!

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Vanguard Institute is indeed a scam

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BEWARE!!!  Although Vanguard is a legitimate institution...that doesn't make it an honorable one.  They are VERY unethical, deceiptful and mis-leading!  They prey on people trying to make their lives better in a horrible economy...in other words they are attempting to profit off the misery of others.  They mis-lead people into believing something that may not be true for that person and Im willing to bet that there are FAR more dissatisfied clients than there are satisfied.

They dont care if you feel its not right for you, or if you cant afford itif you have room on your credit card to take on the ridiculous charges theyll charge youthen THAT IS ALL they care about!  Its all about the moneytheyre not interested in helping you better your life!!!

So, dont listen to the hype they give you about how wonderful their program is and DON'T allow them to get YOU hyped up on it!  It's not so much what they tell you...it's mostly what they DON'T tell you that'll take you farther down the rabbit hole!

I'm disabled and was looking for something I could do in my home by myself that wouldn't consume my life like most jobs do, but still get me off of disability.  My story started when I came across a "different" internet website that goes by the name of RAPID FIRE COMMISSIONS.

It all started like all the rest do with them telling you how THEY could make your life better than ever before and that THEIR program worked.  After being led down THAT hole for a good hour and a half and some 1,000 dollars later, I realized it was just a bunch of BUNK and they would be the only ones getting anything out of their program - MY MONEY!!!  They are in the UK, BTW.  I backed out and immediately requested a full refund of everything, as they had a "money back guarantee" on their web builder program.

About a week later was when I got the phone call from the pushy sales rep from Vanguard Institute (apparently, they are affiliated in some way with Rapid Fire Commissions).  He spoke EXACTLY the same way to me as others on this forum that were talked to about Vanguard's internet program.  I became excited about the concept of having my own internet business so I got sucked into all their hype!

That's not the only place they'll get your money, though...they "refer" you to another organization - DAEUS FINANCIAL - (I'm pretty convinced theyre all connected under the same LLC umbrella) which is the NEXT place theyll take your money (DAEUS BUSINESS ENTITY)...to "help" you get your own LLC business started to the tune of nearly $4,000 (BEWARE of this because what theyre attempting to push on you is something you may NEVER need!).  If you find you CAN make a go of a business on the internet, be sure you've actually got business coming in BEFORE you set up your business entity...unless you know what you're doing and already know you have the skills and expertise to open and operate a business.  Be sure you look into ALL your business entity options first rather than just the limited 2 types (both LLCs) they'll push on you!

It doesn't stop there, though...you get "referred" once again to another department of the same organization which is the "tax management & advisory" side of Daeus Financial which is DAEUS TAX SERVICES.  BEWARE of these ones too...they'll try to convince you that you'll need their services to help you keep your business tax situation in order and "compliant" to the measly tune of nearly $3,000!  They always had one option a bit better than the last so you think the best deal is to pay the most up front and pay a small monthly charge after the first year.

Ohand if you cant afford to pay their upfront fees, dont worryTHEY PROVIDE FINANCING!!!  Heres where another of their affiliates (MONTEREY FINANCIAL) comes in!  How so very convenient and what a GREAT deal!!!  Be sure to stay clear of this onecause if your business fails within the first year and you stop making paymentstheyll come after you for whatever balance is left of the loan even though theyd done NOTHING for your business within that time (currently, Ive
paid $2,300 for 7 pieces of paper to track my expenses!!!)  Therefore, I suggest you wait on this, too!  You wont need a tax professional when youre just starting outand can find one easily when you do need them and for MUCH less!  I've got to say that...if you do go for their highest initial payment of $2990 with the $19.95 monthly charge after the first year it might be a good deal...IF your business lasts 10 years or longer!  But, you DON'T KNOW that up front!

Then, there's one more "helpful representative" from, yet another department within Daeus Financial that will call and try to convince you that you absolutely NEED someone to manage your business credit for the "piddly sum" of $6,000!!!  AND they all make it sound as if its part of the program and that these things need to be done IMMEDIATELY!  THEY DONT!!!

I'm telling you all of this so you know ahead of time what to watch and listen for.  It all sounds nice and easy...real clear cut and you'll have your business running in no time!  When in all actuality, if you don't have any prior knowledge or experience in internet marketing or otherwise, computers, web development, SEO optimization, social media, business operations...and more...OR if you dont have A LOT of money to pay others...OR if you dont have A LOT of friends and/or relatives in these areas I've mentioned above, that'll be willing to work for/with you for nothing or little until/unless you manage to get your business going well within the first 3 months then it'll be VERY hard to make it work!

There are MANY more things to learn in the program that they don't tell you about up front and you won't learn about them until it's too late.  If its just you theres far more things for one person to do on a daily basis than any one person can handle!  Dont let them tell you they started their own business ALL by themselvesits impossible for this to happen unless youre well educated and skilled in ALL the professional areas I spoke about above.

They talk as if they can take any regular "Joe" off the street and turn them into an entrepreneur within the first 3 - 6 months.  When you get your materials, one of the first things they tell you is:  YOU NEED TO HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM!!!  These are the family and friends I discussed above.  If you're on your own like I am and WANT to be on your own in a little business, like I did...DON"T let them waste YOUR time or money...because this program wasn't designed for you!

They'll try to reel you in, also, by telling you that you need to have only 10-15 available hours per week...but, I can tell you from MY experience...I was on my computer from the time I got up in the morning to the time I went to bed (sometimes up to 16 hours) trying to figure out how to fix things within my website that I had paid others to do that were messed up because they didn't know what they said they did, or trying to figure out how to market with social media when you've NEVER been on social media on a fun level, or how to advertise when you dont have any more money to advertise with.

That's just a small sampling of the many issues you're likely to run into.  Everything is MUCH more complex than they make it out to be!  There'll be SO many things that creep up thatll consume more time and money than you actually have!

I was an idiot...I listened to these jokers and now am $16,000 in the hole!  I had to refinance my house to pay off the credit cards I used to pay these 3 organizations for their "help and expertise" when I was all but totally convinced I'd have buyers flocking to my website and would make enough money to pay off my debt BEFORE the bills came in!  HA!  Here I am, 6 months later and haven't received ONE single order from my website!

I did the market analysis to find out whether I could make a profit with my product and if I could compete with others.  I wasnt the lowest, nor was I the highest (by far)...but, to be the lowest would be to sell much of my product at a loss!  Now, because I can't afford to keep the business going...I have to shut everything down soon and take the loss!

I'm sorry this is so long...but, I wanted to stress to you the things to look for when someone calls you out of the blue and starts trying to sell you on "an internet business of your very own". Remember, you have a 3-day buyer's remorse period if you get caught up in this or something like it and want out...but, you'll have to be forceful with them to get your money back!  I wasn't and allowed them to con me into believing it could be done on my own.

I'm sure some people have graduated and are doing GREAT...they wouldn't give me their percentage of successes compared to the amount of failures, however.  Gee...I wonder why not?  But, it's definitely NOT for everybody and that's what they do is try to get EVERYBODY they can signed on.

If they start talking to you about your debt and credit limits on your credit card(s)...WATCH OUT!!!  If they ask you if its all right if they RECORD their conversation with you ask them why thats necessaryor, better yet, hang up if you haven't already given paid them!!!  If you have...do EVERYTHING you can to get out of it!!!

If theyre such a great training institute with such a great programwhy do they have to telemarket for students???  Why do they have to record your side of the conversation with them???  Or if they tell you they have a number of successful internet businesses, ask them why then are they working a 9 - 5 desk job!  Ohand watch out for this statement:  You know it TAKES money to MAKE moneydont you?  Thats when you KNOW to get out if you still can!

If you talk to them about my comment, I'm sure they'll know who I am and they'll probably try to tell you that I'm some lazy, bitter old woman that wouldn't work hard enough to make a go of it...but, think about this...What do I have to gain by spending all this time telling you about my experience with them? and WHO are the ones trying to talk you out of your money and into this venture that YOU didnt even initiate?  Who would YOU think is the deceiver?

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/22/2013 11:04 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/vanguard-institute/west-hollywood-california-90069/vanguard-institute-affiliated-companies-in-on-the-scam-daeus-financial-daeus-business-e-1018930. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#2 Author of original report

Vanguard INSTITUTE changed name to Vanguard ACADEMY!!!

AUTHOR: beenthere - ()

POSTED: Friday, April 26, 2013

This is an added footnote that, due to the amount of complaints, Vanguard Institute has against it on the internet, they are attempting to hide their identity by changing a part of their name.  They are now Vanguard ACADEMY from Vanguard INSTITUTE!!!  So you know they are still one in the same, their website address of:  www.vanguardinstitute.net  remains the same.  They have just substituted ACADEMY for INSTITUTE in their name and it is reflected this way on their website!

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#1 UPDATE EX-employee responds

Vanguard Institute is indeed a scam

AUTHOR: vginstscam - (United States of America)

POSTED: Saturday, February 23, 2013

Known fruadsters, scam artists, marketing scam, internet coaching scam, these guys will hard sell you
hopes and dreams of building a business along side you every step of the way.  Then they sell you a DVD
set for 2,000 - 12,000 or more dollars.  Avoid Vanguard Institute at all costs.  Warn your family and friends.

Below is included information and other stories from people these guys have ripped off.


http://www.ripoffreport.com/vanguard-institute/e-trade/west-hollywood-california-13218.htm

http://www.ripoffreport.com/corrupt-companies/advertiser-360/advertiser-360-advertiser-360-85010.htm

Vanguard Institute, Vanguard Institute marketing, advertiser 360, 877-835-5844, 207-358-3106, Vanguard Institute Scam Steve Lucas, jordan williams, eren soydink, aaron soydink, erin soydink, desmond sullivan, justin smith
Richard generro, richard thomas, steve gunn, sega LLC, sega associates, imperial, sterling LLC, sterling, Daeus Financial, daeus

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