John Beck Mentoring Program Mentoring Of America - John Beck lowlifes that rip people off American Fork Utah 84003American Fork Utah

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*UPDATE Rip-off Report Investigation: John Beck Pledges To Resolve Complaints. - commitment to 100% customer satisfaction - Consumers can feel confident & secure when doing business with John Beck.

The scale of this fraud is unreal. When I called my bank a few weeks ago asking for documentation that I can use to prove to Mentoring of America that they could not credit a closed bank account, the bank representative said she too was ripped off by John Beck! She immediately knew who this guy was as soon as I said his name. She explained to me that this bank has countless people calling in all the time trying to block and reverse charges from John Beck. It's sickening.

OK - first off - we paid $7,485 and that is also what we got back.

On the credit card - we never carry a balance anyway - I agree with your advice but in our case we don't have to worry about that because actually the account number it was originally charged to no longer exists - because at the end of last year someone attempted to charge (online and by phone) several thousand dollars worth of things such as restaurant gift cards. At the time we thought that was quite strange since we had rarely used that account online or by phone and really not that much at all.

Other cards that I use constantly online have never had a problem. I am actually thinking that perhaps it was a Beck employee that attempted to use the number. At any rate the credit card company caught it and didn't let the unusual charges go through and the number was cancelled and a new card issued. When the credit came through it was simply transferred to our new account but they don't have it. The woman I spoke to at the credit card company even said "He SHOULD refund your money!" and I said "I take it you know about John Beck?" and she said "OH yes!"

Additionally, the refund was issued BEFORE they ever got even the marked up refund agreement back and of course I never returned the junk to them. I just didn't KNOW it had been credited because I hadn't checked, since I didn't expect it. I can say it was one wonderful surprise to find out!

Thanks for all the help - I hope everyone else has the same outcome!

Alexis,

CONGRADULATIONS! ANOTHER REFUND VICTORY AGAINST MENTORING OF AMERICA.

Like I said folks, Mentoring of America is just under way too much heat and pressure right now with these new active lawsuits against them and all these consumer complaints pouring in with the Utah Division.

Alexis, what was the exact dollar ammount that you paid and got back from Mentoring of America?

I ask because I am keeping tally of how much money in terms of refunds I have been able to help people get back so far from Mentoring of America. This is revenge for me even though I already got my money back. I'm basically keeping score to show other people on this site. Mentoring of America is loosing big time.

Wasting yout time and money seeking an attorney as was suggested on this page is unneccesary. I advise everyone to just stick with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection first, since they already got a handle on this issue, and not waste your time and money on attorneys at this point. An attorney should be a last resort when all else fails, because you're going to be paying a lot of money. Just for an attorney to write Mentoring of America a hand written letter will cost you hundreds. The Utah Division does that for free with everyone's complaint.

Everything people need to know about getting a refund is already on these Mentoring of America complaints. Just type "Mentoring of America in the seach box of this site and read them.

People, just follow the same steps and you too can expect to see a full refund from Mentoring of America.

MY FINAL ADVICE TO ALEXIS:

I recommend that you finalize and square away your credit card account and get everything paid off ect, now with the refund you just got.

I would completely close those credit card accounts, and even switch credit card companies entirely.

Mentoring of America still has your credit card info on file. They can go ahead and charge you for something else if they wanted to. Why take the chance of going throught this all over again? Just close everything and switch credit card companies and move on. By doing this, you cut the legs right out from under them, and they would have no way of charging you or trying to reverse the refund.

OK - Since the credit card that we originally used had been changed to a new number due to the fraudulent attempts on the card I called the credit card company to find out what would happen if they credited back to the old number and was told that our account WAS already credited - on August 20 - BEFORE I even sent back the marked up refund agreement! - the Full amount! This is such a relief. Other than to annoy us I have no idea why they sent the refund agreement and such.

I am so glad I found this site - wish I could let everyone else know about it that ever sent him money. The woman at the credit card company knew all about him too!

OK. I was going to drag it all to the post office today and send it back anyway at further expense. I will wait I guess - I believe after a year the materials are outdated anyway and if they received them they would just trash them and the whole thing about the clause in the contract was an attempt to get us to give up and think we had no recourse. Since I am suffering from quite bad back pain it was going to be a challenge dragging it back!

In reading the comments from the other person he does state that Mr. Pagua told him to send the materials back anyway but didn't say exactly what he did. I don't know why Mr. Pauga seemed to be more willing to tell him what to do and even called him. He doesn't call me and as I said he wouldn't suggest anything I should do. This is very frustrating.

The credit card originally charged was compromised by some attempt at fraudulent online use and since we don't use that card online or much at all and from what I've heard I wouldn't be surprised if it were one of their employees that made the attempt. We still have an account but it has a new number. I did mention it in the letter to them but will check with the credit card company to see what they would do if they received a charge-back. But do you think we would hear something as to whether or not they in fact ARE crediting it back? Waiting around to see if something shows up for two months could be quite nerve wrecking! I do thank you for all your help on this!

Alexis,

I have just learned that the above individual who just got his money back that I quoted actually did not even send back the materials either. I thought that he did and that's why I felt you might have made a mistake. But I guess you're ok still because he didn't either, and still got his money back.

He too modified the refund agreement and Mentoring of America still gave him a full refund. Infact, he never even signed the refund agreement. He just sent it back modified and unsigned, along with a hand signed letter demanding his refund and his concerns about the agreement clauses. You said you did the same thing. So you should be OK.

If your same credit/bank account is still open, you should expect a full refund credited back to it pretty soon from Mentoring of America. It might take two billing cycles, but I think you're well on your way. I would not bother sending back the materials yet. I would just sit back wait for a response/refund from Mentoring of America at this point.

Alexis,

I have just learned that the above individual who just got his money back that I quoted actually did not even send back the materials either. I thought that he did and that's why I felt you might have made a mistake. But I guess you're ok still because he didn't either, and still got his money back.

He too modified the refund agreement and Mentoring of America still gave him a full refund. Infact, he never even signed the refund agreement. He just sent it back modified and unsigned, along with a hand signed letter demanding his refund and his concerns about the agreement clauses. You said you did the same thing. So you should be OK.

If your same credit/bank account is still open, you should expect a full refund credited back to it pretty soon from Mentoring of America. It might take two billing cycles, but I think you're well on your way. I would not bother sending back the materials yet. I would just sit back wait for a response/refund from Mentoring of America at this point.

Alexis,

I have just learned that the above individual who just got his money back that I quoted actually did not even send back the materials either. I thought that he did and that's why I felt you might have made a mistake. But I guess you're ok still because he didn't either, and still got his money back.

He too modified the refund agreement and Mentoring of America still gave him a full refund. Infact, he never even signed the refund agreement. He just sent it back modified and unsigned, along with a hand signed letter demanding his refund and his concerns about the agreement clauses. You said you did the same thing. So you should be OK.

If your same credit/bank account is still open, you should expect a full refund credited back to it pretty soon from Mentoring of America. It might take two billing cycles, but I think you're well on your way. I would not bother sending back the materials yet. I would just sit back wait for a response/refund from Mentoring of America at this point.

Alexis,

I have just learned that the above individual who just got his money back that I quoted actually did not even send back the materials either. I thought that he did and that's why I felt you might have made a mistake. But I guess you're ok still because he didn't either, and still got his money back.

He too modified the refund agreement and Mentoring of America still gave him a full refund. Infact, he never even signed the refund agreement. He just sent it back modified and unsigned, along with a hand signed letter demanding his refund and his concerns about the agreement clauses. You said you did the same thing. So you should be OK.

If your same credit/bank account is still open, you should expect a full refund credited back to it pretty soon from Mentoring of America. It might take two billing cycles, but I think you're well on your way. I would not bother sending back the materials yet. I would just sit back wait for a response/refund from Mentoring of America at this point.

This is getting complicated. OK - when I spoke to Ao Pagua he didn't tell me what he told the other person - he told me he couldn't advise me what to do but if I sent him a letter stating what the problem was with the agreement he would contact them about that but couldn't make them do anything. Then you posted about sending back the changed agreement but I saw nothing about the materials. I only sent the agreement back Friday - I also have no idea if they would do anything since I crossed out things. Yes - I can send back the materials now. Which is an added expense that I would love to know will pay off so it's a gamble.

Then also Mr. Pauga sent me a letter reiterating what MOA had mailed him BEFORE I talked to him and stating they said I was getting a refund and it was like my conversation with him had never taken place. Tuesday I faxed him another letter and told him about sending the agreement back with changes and the fact that our conversation hadn't been addressed in the letter I got but I hear nothing. In my conversation he just seemed to not want to tell me anything I should do and it seemed to be because of the lawsuit.

Why did you not send back the materials? No one ever said to not send back the materials. It makes no sense to me why you would do that.

Now I don't know what's going to happen with your refund now.

I already posted the comments another person that just got his money back the other day made. He was in the exact same situation as you. He was told by Ao Pauga to just send back the unopened items anyway with an attached letter expressing your concerns about the agreement. Ao told him that by doing that, Mentoring of America would be obligated to refund him in full regardless of unopened items. Ao told him not to worry about the unopened items not being refunded because they would have to be.


The local attorney who informed me about crossing out on the contract, deals with contracts and contract agreements as part of his law practices. I told him about all the clauses on the agreement and that's what he told me one should do. He also told me it would be a waste of your money to seek an attorney and pay several hunder dollars when instead you can be dealing with Ao Pauga at the Utah Divison of Consumer Protection who's already got a handle on this.

OK - after the things I already posted and sending the agreement back to MOA with the parts crossed out and the note explaining why. I did both fax and mail a letter back to AO Paugua on Tuesday re-stating what I had told him on the phone and telling him that I had sent the agreement back signed but with parts crossed out. At this point I've not sent the materials back because I'm not sure since I've heard nothing more from MOA or anyone. But it has only been 5 days since I mailed the agreement back so I may hear from them - just don't know. Should I go to the trouble and expense of mailing the materials back without hearing further?

Alexis,

Don't get discouraged. The individual who's conversation with Mr. Ao Pauga I quoted above, has just received a full 100% refund credit back to his account. He too had to return unopened materials like yourself and still got the full refund. He also like you, had to included a hand written letter expressing to Mentoring of America your concerns about it's clauses on the agreement. You can read his story on the most recent complaint on Mentoring of America.

I'm confident you will be next. Just stay on top of it and contact Mr. Ao Pauga with anything that comes up. Mentoring of America is just under a lot of heat right now with these new active lawsuits Mr. Ao Pauga spoke about. With the massive ammount of daily traffic this website receives, I'm sure there are even more consumer complaint forms being received by the Utah Division against Mentoring of America that we are not aware of. Complaints form people who just read these pages and do not necessarily reply with comments or questions on this site.

Be sure to come back and let us know once you get your money back also.

Alexis,

Unfortunately, the AG's office can't give you any direct advice because, if they were to do so, they would be creating an "attorney-client relationship" in a situation where it is inappropriate to do so. It's complicated, and if I tried to explain it any further it would become even more complicated.

As I said above, by modifying their agreement and sending it back, you have made a counter-offer. In all reality, this probably was your best option per the agreement: you haven't signed off on a contract that is unfavorable to you, and you've left a window open for one that is.

However, what will likely happen is this: they will send you back the original agreement and reiterate that it cannot be modified. What they sent you was a form agreement, drafted by their own attorneys to ensure that it heavily favors them. They're not going to want to deviate from its terms.

If and when this happens, your best option, of course, is to consult with a local attorney to see what he thinks of the agreement (actually, you should do this ASAP), the likely outcome of signing off on it, and your alternative options.

The big lawsuit against JB kind of scares me. The likely outcome is a judgment against JB, followed by a bankruptcy filing by JB. After an extremely protracted series of legal proceedings, MOA's assets will be divied up among its creditors in a proportionate fashion, with certain creditors (government agencies, lawyers, accoutants, lien hiolders, etc.) receiving priority over others (creditors without liens, people with uncertain claims, etc.).

The route that you choose to take at this point will have a huge bearing on if, and how much, you will ever collect. If, upon a probable bankruptcy filing, you are merely someone with a "contingent" claim against JB (which is what you have at this point), you will be pretty far down the ladder of people who get paid off. Usually, by the time it gets down that far, there is no money left. And you may still have to litigate your claim, in federal court, probably against JB AND the U.S. Trustee's office.

On the other hand, if you are able to get an independent judgment (a judgment that JB owes YOU, personally, rather than a judgment that he owes "all defrauded victims") you will have a much higher priority in the distribution of assets.

So your best option may be to get yourself a judgment ASAP. Or it may be to include yourself in a class action suit, or to file a claim with the AG in his own action. I don't know enough about the particulars to effectively surmise either way. Again, your best option is to consult with a local attorney.

Best of luck!

Alexis,

Unfortunately, the AG's office can't give you any direct advice because, if they were to do so, they would be creating an "attorney-client relationship" in a situation where it is inappropriate to do so. It's complicated, and if I tried to explain it any further it would become even more complicated.

As I said above, by modifying their agreement and sending it back, you have made a counter-offer. In all reality, this probably was your best option per the agreement: you haven't signed off on a contract that is unfavorable to you, and you've left a window open for one that is.

However, what will likely happen is this: they will send you back the original agreement and reiterate that it cannot be modified. What they sent you was a form agreement, drafted by their own attorneys to ensure that it heavily favors them. They're not going to want to deviate from its terms.

If and when this happens, your best option, of course, is to consult with a local attorney to see what he thinks of the agreement (actually, you should do this ASAP), the likely outcome of signing off on it, and your alternative options.

The big lawsuit against JB kind of scares me. The likely outcome is a judgment against JB, followed by a bankruptcy filing by JB. After an extremely protracted series of legal proceedings, MOA's assets will be divied up among its creditors in a proportionate fashion, with certain creditors (government agencies, lawyers, accoutants, lien hiolders, etc.) receiving priority over others (creditors without liens, people with uncertain claims, etc.).

The route that you choose to take at this point will have a huge bearing on if, and how much, you will ever collect. If, upon a probable bankruptcy filing, you are merely someone with a "contingent" claim against JB (which is what you have at this point), you will be pretty far down the ladder of people who get paid off. Usually, by the time it gets down that far, there is no money left. And you may still have to litigate your claim, in federal court, probably against JB AND the U.S. Trustee's office.

On the other hand, if you are able to get an independent judgment (a judgment that JB owes YOU, personally, rather than a judgment that he owes "all defrauded victims") you will have a much higher priority in the distribution of assets.

So your best option may be to get yourself a judgment ASAP. Or it may be to include yourself in a class action suit, or to file a claim with the AG in his own action. I don't know enough about the particulars to effectively surmise either way. Again, your best option is to consult with a local attorney.

Best of luck!

Today I received a letter in the mail from Ao Pauga with attachments of a letter that he received from Mentoring of America BEFORE I had called him about the problem with the clause stating materials must be unopened. The letter attaches also the copy MOA sent him of the same refund agreement and in his letter he simply states that they say they have authorized a refund and if there is a problem I should contact Mr. Pauga within ten days of the case will be closed.

It doesn't address the conversation and letter I sent after the conversation where I talk of the problem with the clause. Since I've already marked up the refund agreement and sent it to MOA with a note explaining why it's unacceptable I truly have no idea what to do next. When I had talked to Mr. Pagua he didn't say to just do it the way it was - he said he couldn't advise me whether to sign it and send it back or not. Everything is totally confused!

I went ahead and crossed out the items as suggested and mailed it. As I said before I also sent a copy to Ao asking him to contact them and point out why it wasn't acceptable. Now it is stated that crossing out items makes the agreement null and void which is probably true - however, it was useless as worded - at least in my case, anyway. If I had signed it as it was I would have been agreeing to something that was impossible because it was vague and couldn't be fullfilled. Also I would not go to the expense of sending back the materials without knowing I would get a refund.

I'm starting to think that at best if the lawsuit finds against them they could be ordered to pay the rest of us - but - whether they can then say they don't have enough to refund the rest (because they won't be continuing to take more in as they have been) would we actually GET the refund - or maybe some small token portion after legal fees and such. Often "receivers" are appointed in these cases and they confiscate the money but eat up a good bit of it in the process and those involved get small percentages. We need this money for medical bills and others have gotten it but I'm starting to feel we will be the ones that lose out because we didn't know we could do this soon enough. I've not heard a thing from anyone since sending the copies to the complaint agency after the phone conversatino with them.

Fist, the attorney who I spoke to is an attorney who's practice includes contacts.

Now,

Here is a recent response from another individual on this site that I have been assising in getting his money back from Mentoring of America, like I was able to.

Here are his comments from today: He is in the same situation in regards to his refund agreement from Mentoring of America as well. This should help in regards to this whole refund agreement situation once and for all.


He says:

I got a call the other day from Al from the Utah Division of Conusmer Protection asking if I had received a refund agreement. I had in fact already received the packet. I too saw that there were discrepancies with the agreement. The trademark comment about Mentoring of America basically saying that by giving the refund in no way are they admitting they did not provide the services and blah blah blah.

Investigator Al didn't seem concerned about this and actually advised me to return the materials to them right away opened or unopened, and that if Mentoring of America didn't give me the full refund or tried coming after me with a collection agency, that they would be in more jeopardy than they already are. In fact, he said it would be easier for his agency to take action against Mentoring of America if that happened. Bottom line is he told me not to worry about what they say in the Refund AGreement letter. He didn't say whether or not I should sign it but suggested I simply write Mentoring of America a letter explaining my concerns along with the returned materials, and that Mentoring of America would be obligated to refund me in full.

That Al guy over at the Utah Division of Consumer Protection is a pretty good guy! Thanx to all those who have been responding to my posting and giving me advice along the way, I wouldn't have known what to do if it wasnt' for all of the people that have posted on this website and others. Thanx especially to "anonymous" from Southern California. Good work! J.R.

I wanted to make a couple of points regarding the refund agreement mentioned above. Please don't take this as competent legal advice; only a locally licensed attorney can provide you with that.

First, regarding the two seemingly conflicting clauses:

The first clause reads to the effect that a return of all unopened and unused items will result in a full refund. The second clause reads that a pro rata refund will be given for unopened items.

In my opinion, these two clauses clearly conflict (as they set forth two different results for the same performance on your end).

There is a basic principle of contract law holding that ambiguities in a written contract must be resolved against the party that drafted the agreement.

In other words, if a judge can't figure out what is supposed to happen under the terms of a contract (usually because of conflicting clauses, as are present here), the law tells him to side with the interpretation that favors the person that did NOT write the contract. In this case, were this principle to apply, the law would favor the "full refund for the return of any unopened items" interpretation.

But proving that a contract is ambiguous can be a tough battle.

The other thing I wanted to address was the comment by Anonymous regarding a conversation with a local attorney. The attorney advised that the consumer should just cross out those portions of the agreement that are not favorable to him/her. Unfortunately, doing so WOULD NOT have the legal effect that you may think.

Two basic elements to the formation of a contract are the "offer" and the "acceptance." Without an offer or an acceptance, there is no contract.

The fault with the attorney's comments lie in the fact that he failed to address the application of the "mirror image rule." This rule holds that, for an acceptance to meet the standard necessary to the formation of a contract, it must be the "mirror image" of the offer. If the terms of the offer are modified at all, there is no acceptance and no contract has been formed.

Rather, when the terms of an offer are modified, even in the form of an acceptance (i.e. "I accept your offer to sell me your bike for $15, but I will only pay you $13"), the "acceptance" is actually a "counter-offer." The process begins anew, and it is now up to the original offeror to accept or reject the counter-offer.

So, were you to merely cross out portions of the Refund Agreement, JB would then have the option of accepting or rejecting your modified agreement, and their original offer would be off the table.

On a final note, the act of crossing out a "null and void if modified" clause would most certainly render most contracts null and void.

I know I may have some detractors to these comments because a different standard applies to the "battle of the forms" in certain situations. But not in this one!

Best of luck!

The information I just posted is for what to do with a closed BANK account.

I don't know if a closed credit card account is any different. Make ABSOLUTELY sure that what that credit card representative told about Mentoring of America still being able to credit back your closed account is true.

Call again and speak to a supervior to be absolutely sure of it.

If it's true, just go ahead and sign the contract, and send it back with a tracking number on it. Once Mentoring of America credits back that account fully, close it immediately and move on.

Mike,

Mentoring of America is full of it. I was in your exact same situation. Why do you think they sent me a hand signed check afterall? Because they CAN.

They told me the same thing, because remember I too got a refund agreement wanting to credit back my already closed bank account.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET A REFUND CHECK

You need to prove to Mentoring of America that they CANNOT credit back your already closed account. You need to provide they with documentation from your bank saying this.

You need to call our former bank and speak to a customer service manager.

You need to explain to this person that you need someone from that bank to write a short hand written or typed statement for you on a COMPANY LETTERHEAD with the bank's logo on it, and fax it to you. You need someone in the bank to sign and date this for your also.

THE WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE BANK NEEDS TO COVER THESES THREE KEY POINTS:

1. Mentoring of America (Make sure the bank uses Mentoring of America by name on the statement) CANNOT credit back your already closed and non existing bank account because it no longer exists. Period.

2. If Mentoring of America does try to go ahead and credit back that account like they are wanting to, the credit will only be bounced right back to Mentoring of America, and you will get nothing.

3. The bank CANNNOT and WILL NOT write you out a check for that credit and mail it directly to you in the mail. (This is what "Alissa" told me and it was a complete LIE I caught on tape). The bank has no authorization or any ways of doing this. And, if you have already changed to a different bank and have moved, this bank has absolutely no way of knowing where you live to send you a check anyway.


Once you get this hand written statement from the bank faxed to you, call Mentoring of America for their fax number.

Now you fax to Mentoring of America this statement and a copy of your unsigned refund agreement form. Follow up with the exact same Mentoring of America person you spoke with as soon as the fax goes thorough.

Mentoring of America MUST now either send you a hand signed refund check or a different refund agreement for a refund check instead of a credit back to a closed account.

I tape recorded my conversatios with "Alissa" a supervisor just to be sure she would not try to change her story or lie to me when I followed up with her the same day. She ended up flat out lying to me about my bank beeing able to send me a check for a credit on my closed account.

My credit card has been closed.

John Beck Mentoring refuses to give me hand signed refund check. They said that, legally they have to credit back to the same credit card the original charge came off of.

I'm getting mixed information about credit card refunds. I called my credit card company, and the woman said they could still issue a refund to a closed credit card account. Is this true or just an incompetent employee?

I spoke with a local attorney about this refund agreement deal. I explained the situation to him and what it said in these refund agreements.

He told me that since it's impossible for you to have NOT opened the materials, to just go ahead and cross out the word "Unopened" where it mentions returning "Unopened" Items, so that it reads just "Items".

He also told me to cross out the clause that states "Any changes to this form render it null and void".

Since the refund agreement has already been signed by HENRY BRAZIL and KASI MINTER (Mentoring of America) just sign it also.

Also include a hand written letter from yourself stating that it's obvious that you had to open the materials to view them and what the program was about. Therefore it's impossible for you to return any "Unopened" items, and that the refund agreement as it was, was of no use to you.

I forgot to ask him if you should also cross out the clause that says "By issuing this refund, Mentoring of America is in no way stating that these monies are not owed nor that the services were not rendered as promised".

I am assuming you can also just cross that out too.

Remeber, make copies and put a tracking/confirmation number when you mail it back to Mentoring of America.

I hope this helps.

That's just it - they didn't specify anything about a partial refund - they state they will refund the entire amount after we send back the materials but then in the next paragraph it says they must be unopened and opened materials won't be refunded. Since Ao said he can't make them do anything because of the law suits pending he wouldn't even advise me - said he couldn't. Everything is vague. I do appreciate your continuing to supply info and respond. I hope you are right for the sake of us and everyone else that is still waiting. He needs to be stopped!

Alexis,

How much are they wanting to refund you for the course and how much for the returned materials? Does it specify this? The refund agreement I got did not ask me to send back anything.

Do not get discouraged. I am confident that you will receive a full refund. Just keep on top of it, don't give up, and stay on top of the new incoming lawsuits against them. The new lawsuits and court settlements that come out of that are actually going to be in all of our favor. Mentoring of America does and can send you a refund in the form of a hand signed check instead. I got them to send me a check instead, after I proved to them that they could not credit back my now closed bank account like the refund agreement wanted to do.

The unreadable hand signatures on the refund agreement form are:

HENRY BRAZIL (Customer Service Manager) and
KASI MINTER (Supervior)

Yesterday I called and talked to Ao - I told him exactly what is in the refund agreement - he said he couldn't advise me but could contact them again if I sent him a letter stating what my concerns were and he could tell them. I faxed it and also am mailing it, along with a copy of the refund agreement. But the call was a bit discouraging because he stated that because Beck has continued to keep doing this and he has gotten new complaints lawsuits were filed and that limits any action he can take until after the lawsuit. He did tell me most had gotten refunds but that we may end up NOT getting one. He seemed to think the agreement was an attempt to pay a partial refund based on what we "used" - but I told him of course we had opened it and they knew that and the agreement didn't state this - it was simply "send the unused and unopened materials back and we will send a full refund". The entire situation is vague. They can keep a few hundred of the $7435 for their useless calls if they want and I'll gladly send the materials IF I know I will receive a refund. He was very disgusted that he is continuing to get reports from people that have gotten ripped off in the same way - even in the past week - and I agree. At this point I know of nothing else I can do except wait.

Mike,

Just call the Utah investigator who handled your complaint, and they will be able to assist you with your concern. Don't sit around on this. You already got this far in getting Mentoring of America to agree to give you a refund. That right there was the biggest obstacle. Call the Utah invetigator. Tell him about the clause on the refund agreement and your concern about EPN. Remember, I got Mentoting of America to send me a hand signed refund check instead. So this proves that Mentoring of America does and can send people refunds in the form of a check. Both of you are just one step away from having your money back in your possesion. Just follow thorough with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection about your concerns regarding the clause in the refund agreements.

I've recieved a refund agreement in the mail, but am reluctant to sign it, based on the clauses put into it.

Has anyone signed this agreement and gotten a refund to their credit card?

What kind of BS does Mentoring of America put people through once they have returned the materials?

Has anyone been contacted by this EPN collection agency?

Did they hurt your credit, and so forth?

If EPN is another struggle how does one get around it?

Thanks for your comments - I would not sign the agreement they sent and will definitely call Ao Pauga. I can tell from the agreement that it's written to try to trip us up! The credit card they want to credit back to was cancelled and a new number issued because of fraudulent activity someone tried to charge to it (can't help but wonder if it was a Beck Employee!)

John Beck and Mentoring of America LLC has a bad reputation for telling customers that their returned materials where never received when they infact where.

I advise everyone to put a tracking or confirmation number on everything you send, go to the shipping company's website, and print out the confirmation or tracking page that shows your item was delivered and received. This way you have solid proof that what you sent was received in the likely event that John Beck or Mentoring of America LLC try do deny it.

Mike,

I had given you the same advice on another complaint on this site. Did you end up getting your money back Mike? How much? You never came back and told us anything. We would like to hear about it and it will also demostrate to other readers that they too can get their money back. It will give me some personal satisfaction seeing people like you getting their money back from my personal suggestions, because Mentoring of America has pissed me off. I want to be personally responsible for contributing as many people as possible in getting their money back from this fraud company as I can, for ripping me off.

I agree with Mike, the Refund Agreement has a clause that says "By issuing this refund, Mentoring of America is in no way stating that these monies are not owed nor that the services were not rendered as promised."

This BS is indeed probably set up to enable them to follow up with their fraud collection agency called EPN out of Utah to try and collect the money back. If you get collection letters from EPN after you get your money back, I'd suggest you contact the Utah Investivators (801-530-6601) and tell them what they are doing. In fact, I'd call the Utah investigators now and tell them about that clause in the agreement, and about their EPN collection agency.

Since the Refund Agreement they sent me at first wanted to credit my old closed bank account, and one of their supervisors lied to me in an attempt to get me to sign it anyway, I made Mentoring of America send me a hand signed refund check without signing any of their stupid Refund Agreements. They just straight out sent me a hand signed check overnight delivery. If I get anything from EPN in the mail, I'm going to the Utah investigators with it.

Again, just call the investigators at the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and explain to them the stupid little clause that's on the Refund Agreement, just so the investigators know what Mentoring of America is putting on the refund agreements. They will be able to tell you what to do.

Just DON'T call Mentoring of America about it because they will lie to you to get you to sign something you probably should not.

Also, for anyone else about to file the consumer complaint form against Mentoring of America with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, be advised:

On the bottom box of the complaint form that asks you what type of assitance you are seeking, you need to state that you want help in getting a refund, and you can also specify that you want that refund from Mentoring of America in the form of a hand signed check in the mail.

Alexis, keep up posted on your outcome.

Consumer Complaint Form:

consumerprotection.utah.gov
/downloads/complaintform.pdf

If your refund agreement was anything like the one i've seen it reads sketchy at best. First, it says used or opened materials are non-refundable. Well define opened. The materials are pretty much just thrown into the Fed Ex box. Do they mean an opened Fed Ex box? Plus, what is to prevent them from saying that not all of the materials were returned, when in fact they were.

Also, it says that Mentoring of America is in no way stating that these monies are not owed nor that the services were not rendered as promised.

That's basically saying that you still owe them your money. Then they can unleash their collection agency (EPN) on you. Just another scam!

Alexis,

Congradulations on getting signed refund agreement. That's a huge step foward. Perhaps the biggest obstacle of all, and you have just surpassed it. You're in the home stretch now.

Very important. Please read before signing or doing anything with that Refund Agreement.

Alexis, in the refund agreement, is Mentoring of America wanting to give you a refund in the form of a credit back to your bank/credit card account, or in the form of a check in the mail?

My refund agreement never asked me to return any materials of any type back to them. I had tossed all that junk in the garbage a while back anyway, where it belongs.

Do not call Mentoring of America about the refund agreement. Call the investigator who is handling "Mentoring of America" at the Utah Divison of Consumer Protection about it instead (801-530-6601)and explain it to him.

It's probably Mr. Ao Pauga, the same person who received my complaint and go me my money back. If you call Mentoring of America, their people will lie to you and try to get you to sign the form and return the items as they are, and that they will still give you a refund, rendering the agreement useless to you. Don't sign it without speaking with Mr. Ao Pauga or which ever investigator has your complaint. Explain to him your refund agreement situation. You don't want to screw it up now that you got this far.

I got a refund agreement from Mentoring of America that wanted to credit my already closed bank account. Mentoring of America can also give a refund agreement that agrees to send you a refund in the form of a hand signed check in the mail instead. I got them to send me a check instead. Call the Utah ivestigator about it, not Mentoring of America because they will lie to you.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY CLOSED YOUR BANK/CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT THAT YOU USED WHEN YOU BOUGHT THIS PROGRAM

If you have already closed and cancelled that bank/credit card account that you used to purchase this garbage program, and the Mentoring of America refund agreement wants to refund you with a credit back to that closed account, DONT sign it. DON'T call Mentoring of America either, unless the Utah investigator tells you to.

One of Mentoring of America's supervisors "Alissa" lied to me and tried to get me to sign the agreement that wanted to credit a closed account. She told me to sign the agreement and sent it back anyway, and that the bank will just write me out a check and mail it to me directly, because the account is closed. This is a complete F'n LIE. I called the bank immediately and asked them. The bank told me that if I had signed the agreement anyway, the bank would only bounce that refund back to Mentoring of America because the account is already closed. The bank cannot, and will not, send anyone a check in the mail for a closed account, period. Also, the bank will have no way of knowing where you live anyway if you have moved since you closed the account.

I recored this whole deal on tape, as well as the bank telling me that what "Alissa" told me was completely false.

We got the refund agreement by Fedex today - however it is stating that we must return all materials, which is fine - BUT - it is saying that if they have been opened or used they can't be refunded. We have had this thing over a year and did the useless calls - they KNOW we have opened the materials - we opened them as soon as we got them! We didn't realize until after that, that this was a total ripoff! If we sign this agreement we are agreeing to it, including the part about the materials needing to be unopened! Has anyone else had this problem?

Alexis,

You said you still have that "Enrollment Confirmation" page they sent you that has the price you paid for the course. Do not sign it it it's still blank, and most definately do not lose it. Weather it's signed or not, make a copy of it and send it in together with the consumer complaint form mentioned. It does not matter that you do not have tape recorded calls. It's a plus to have them, but not necessary. You can always just call them back yourself, and ask an employee for a refund and record that conversation. These people are nasty on the phone when you demand a refund.

Because Mentoring of America got sued for the third time very recently and is under legal action from the Utah Divison of Consumer Protection, they will want to give you your money back after they are contacted by the state about your complaint due to legal pressure. So fill out the form now.

I'm the one who just filed the report yesterday. The response said to record the weekly sessions - that's just it - we had about 6 sessions and then they didn't call anymore. So we haven't had any sessions in about a year. We have no recordings of anything. All we have is the initial documents and proof we paid the $7000. Other than the call the other night who hung up on us and an email from them asking how successful we had been - last year - which I then responded to and told them I felt they were a rip-off (it was ignored) - there has been no other communication with them. Will it still work to file a claim?

Everything that you need to know on how to get your money back from Mentoring of America LLC has already been posted by myself and others who have gotten refunds. Just type "John Beck Mentoring of America" in the search bar of this website and read the most recent complaints all the way through. There you will find information about the very recent lawsuit againts Mentoring of America, what complaint form to fill out, who to contact and sent it to, and a link with a news report video on their lawsuit, and more.

They cheated me out of more than $7,000, and very recently after filing a consumer complaint form againts them, they sent me overnight delivery a hand signed refund agreement form for 100% of the price by doing what I have already posted on the most recent complaints. Just read the most recent complaints on Mentoring of America on this site and you'll have everything you need to get your money back.

I HIGHLY advice that you get yourself a tape recorder, hook it up to your phone, and call Mentoring of America and ask for a refund. They are going to turn you down no question about it, but just record their conversation on tape. Also begin to tape record your weekly 30 minute coaching sessions, then turn those tapes into the Utah investigators along with your complaint form. And if you still have that "Enrollment Agreement" form they sent you to sign and return to them, don't sign it. Keep it and make a copy of it to send in with your complaint form. If you do this, you can most definately expect to see your money back real soon.