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Report: #151819

Complaint Review: National Benefits Consultants - Premier Benefits - Consumer Health Benefits Association - Coconut Creek Florida

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  • Reported By: Toledo Oregon
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  • National Benefits Consultants - Premier Benefits - Consumer Health Benefits Association 4875 Coconut Creek Pkwy Coconut Creek, Florida U.S.A.

National Benefits Consultants - Premier Benefits - Consumer Health Benefits Association - Vantage America Solutions RIPOFF This company scams you into believing they can provide you with a health insurance policy when in fact it is an unusable discount program. Coconut Creek Florida

*Consumer Suggestion: your all wrong

*Consumer Suggestion: Meveritt is wrong

*Consumer Comment: This report is useless

*REBUTTAL Individual responds: Taking in by this company!

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Following a completion of a marketing survey on the internet, we received a number of phone calls offering assistance with affordable health care insurance. On July 12, 2005, my husband purchased a Health Benefits Plan from CHBA over the phone through Lisa at extension 418.

The low-cost plan was presented as being available only a short time during OPEN ENROLLMENT, which was Friday of that week. All terms used to persuade consumers are frequent and familiar to insurance companies, so it makes you think this company is legitimate.

All phone calls placed to the company have only been answered by voice-mail. Everything they told us about this program has proved to be nothing but lies. We were told that there would not be a problem finding doctors who accept this program and that our current physicians could be added very easily.

Lisa even used personal information about her mother cancelling her health insurance to become a member of CHBA because it was so great. Lisa repeatedly stated that this plan IS health insurance and therefore replaces more expensive health insurance plans.

ALL calls to CHBA's information hot-line are only answered with a message to leave a message, which, have not been returned. The message basically says, "If you called during our business hours, leave your name and membership number and we will return your call as soon as possible. If you called after hours, your message will not be answered."

Providers cannot even get a response to verify a person's membership, as is purported on every page in the literature send to us. IF the consumer needed to get verification through their health providers, this becomes impossible, much less for a provider to be ADDED. For West Coast individuals, the schedule given for receiving calls are East Coast times and are therefore unaccessible.

Information at the web site states that marketing for the plan is done in Florida for an insurance company located in Illinois: Vantage America Solutions, Inc., 1275 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025, phone 847-904-5346. Bank drafts show the name is Consumer Health Benefits (NOT Vantage America Solutions) in Glenview, Illinois.

They are a company that definitely takes adVANTAGE, AMERICA!! BEWARE and run... Once access is given for a credit or debit card, then the door is wide open for them to funnel money to this BOGUS company. The program's packets arrived within 10 days and appeared professional and legitimate in every way, but results are definitely NOT.

Charles
Toledo, Oregon
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/30/2005 09:59 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/national-benefits-consultants-premier-benefits-consumer-health-benefits-association/coconut-creek-florida-33063/national-benefits-consultants-premier-benefits-consumer-health-benefits-association-151819. 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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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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3Consumer
1Employee/Owner

#4 Consumer Suggestion

your all wrong

AUTHOR: Charles - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, November 06, 2008

The reason your all wrong is because you should NEVER do business over the phone. If you do business online, you better thouroughly check on the companies credentials prior to giving personal info and/or credit card info.

Marketing is a great thing in America and supports many many people just like you. However, like any great thing, there are those who take advantage. It is not the person on the phone making 8 bucks an hour, it is the company.

So rule one, NEVER do business over the phone. While there are legitimate calls being made to people by Legitimate marketers, you just cant be sure. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. If the presentation given to you over the phone is Legitimate, there will be a way to do business through the mail so there is a paper trail and contract. If they tell you it has to be done NOW, you will be dissapointed and they will play on that, but I promise you its not real. Hang up, your about to get ripped off.

Rule no two, even if you are shown their "website" online while talking on the phone, DON'T count this as credibility. If its real, you can make your purchase through the mail.

Rule no 3, of course, NEVER give out your credit/debit card number over the phone. Just don't do it. You need to know all about this company, through LITERATURE, not websites or what they tell you, before you pay anything. Anybody can say they are lisenced, anybody can give you a lisence #, and anybody can get a license number and STILL rip you off and get away with it. Anybody can have a website, real or not. You need documentation, literature, paper in your hand, sent to you from a real address, not FAQ or policies on a website. And you need it BEFORE you pay, no exceptions. YOu need the cancellation policy in writing, sent to you in the mail.

Finally, after you have that documentation, you can always investigate the company through better business bureau and your state attorneys office. Not sure how? Just google 'better business bureau' or your state and 'attorneys office'. Your state attorneys office will also have a link with suggestions to avoid getting ripped off on marketing calls.

Marketing over the phone put me through college, so I pretty much know what I am talking about. There are great deals out there that are legitamet, but you need to be careful.

I dont know who this maverik person is, but calling people idiots is just rude. It is natural to trust people who build a rapport with you. Its human nature. But a bad marketer is trained in how to take advantage of you doing this. YOu are not an idiot. If you have been ripped off, think of yourself now as informed. Sometimes learning things is not easy.
Blaming it on politics is pretty out there as well. Maverik, if you dont like how this country does business, move. Any educated person knows a dollar spent, no matter how it is done, is a dollar into another persons pocket, a real person, like the poor college kid marketing over the phone so he/she can become somebody or support their children or put their children through school. Any money spent in any way is spent this way. Its what makes the world go round.
So if you have been ripped off, take comfort the money is at least helping somebody else out. And now you know better. YOu are informed, and a better person for it, NOT an idiot...

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#3 Consumer Suggestion

Meveritt is wrong

AUTHOR: Patrick - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Charles you are correct in filing this report in spite of the rebuttal filed by Meveritt. I would be willing to be one month of my income that he is an employee of Vantage Solutions or Goodhealth or whatever of the many names they go by. These folks are like sharks and they have no conscious about who they hurt.

I have been contacted by two of their sales guys. And you can tell that they are all very young. They work in a call center for about 7 or 8.00 bucks an hour. They have to spend several days training by pros who know how to overcome every customers doubts and fears about being ripped off.

They tell you it is a PPO network making you think that what they are selling is really a bonafide health insurance plan. But it is not! I spent two whole days calling doctors offices in my area and almost none of them had heard of Vantage America Solutions. I did find two doctors offices that had heard of it and they each stated that it is a ripoff. They said the only discount you will get is a 15% discount. And that there is absolutely no negotiated discount worked out with some shadowy network such as Three Rivers Providers Network or any of the other providers network that Advantage Solutions claim to work with.

Also any sales company that contacts you about insurance in the disguise of a Health Discount Card. And all of their agents sound like 20 something year old kids and most of them with heavily urban accents just hang up and don't believe anything they say. They are all reading from a script.

If you need help with health care cost contact one of your local Insurance companies such as Farmers, All State, Mutual of Omaha. They may be able to tailor something to your needs. And you may be surprised at what they can offer. Nowadays they have a plan that covers prescriptions only and it is affordable.

If someone calls you from Good Health or Vantage Solutions of America, ask them to do this one thing. Ask them if they can give you a web site where you can enter the name of your prescription hit enter and have it tell you what your cost will be. If they cannot do that then run from them as fast as you can!

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#2 Consumer Comment

This report is useless

AUTHOR: Meverett - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, July 17, 2008

First off, you don't even know the difference between insurance and a discount plan.

In today's market, they are one in the same because LOOK AROUND and educate yourself, most insurance plans that will even bother taking people with pre-existing conditions have co-insurance, which is basically a discount plan.


Seems to me, a lot of people just go sign up and have NO IDEA what they are doing, and then get mad when their own ignorance leads them to believe they were getting something different.


THESE REPORTS ARE NOT USEFUL !!


So, your plan is different than you used to ? BUT, did you get denied coverage ? Do you have ANY grasp what-so-ever on what 100% insurance costs ?

Do you have any idea what your state insurance would cost to cover pre-existing conditions ?


If not, then your reports is about as useful as asking a child what insurance they prefer.


Sorry, but I'm trying to do REAL RESEARCH and that means things like details and facts MUST BE INCLUDED or you are just more misinformation.


You should be filling a ripoff report without detailed info on charged incurred, claims denied and such.

Just because you are not aware the days of 100% insurance are GONE, doesn't mean we should all read your whining.


Insurance and discount plans, many times work the same. The both have contracted discounts, and most insurance these days has co-insurance, which is the same thing as a discount plan.


So, what is your ACTUAL complaint. Your not happy because.. on paper.. you feel your insurance isn't as good as you thought it was.

These guys are selling insurance for $120 bucks a month... At 53.. what did you think you were getting ? Magical low cost 100% no deductible insurance ?

You're not helping to inform people when your real problem is a total lack of education.


Having had cancer at 19, I've experienced the ins and outs of insurance... AND... in America, this is how it works.

You can't get a plan for less than 400 bucks a month and in plenty of cases discount plans are quite better deals than a company offering 80% coverage with a 1000 dollar deductable.

Look around and get an idea of what insurance means. It NEVER means everything is covered without a deductible and with low monthly payments.


It seems to me, you got what you paid for and you made no effort what-so-ever to educate yourself about modern insurance.


If you aren't on a group policy with state protection against pre-existing conditions... what do you expect for 200 bucks or so a month ?

With a low income option my state insurance for qualifying pre-existing conditions is still $235, with a 200 deductible and 20% co-insurance.

If you don't know what co-insurance is.... DON'T BUY INSURANCE without a personal broker.

I mean, would you buy stocks and then blame Ameritrade for you investing blindly into random companies ?

When making a rip off report.. We are looking for exact cases of what the company did wrong. Not that your own ignorance led to a potential dissatisfaction and you couldn't cancel fast enough.

You likely did ZERO research and you likely have no real idea how much insurance costs these days and at your age.

I am not an insurance agent... just a citizen who has done my homework. When used properly many discount plans work.

However, I can't know if this one works... because people like you file superficial rip off reports that have ZERO details and 100% opinion.

I'm not interested in if you FEEL safe with this plan... I'm interesting in exact details, such as .. I filed and then didn't pay or the discount plan was much less than they said... or I can't find doctors anywhere that take this plan.

Those are RIP OFFS.... not knowing the difference between a discount plan and insurance or not knowing that these day they are one in the same is YOUR OWN PERSONAL IGNORANCE.

sorry, but that's the reality of things. Most plans have coinsurance these days and will drop you for bad health or pre-existing conditions at their will. Along with that most plans cost 400 dollars a month and have deductibles, copays, and other restrictions.

Now I will continue to look for VALID information about this company. They offered me a 80/20 plan for 120 a month with coverage in 24-48 hours.

Like mega life, they probably drop people who have big bills, but like mega life, many people go rarely and space out their visits and effectively get ok coverage for $120 a month.

If you think at 53 you'll get full fledged 100% coverage for 120 or even 220 a month.. you're living in a fantasy land.

This is America... where we pay twice as much for 37th ranked health care.

If you don't like it... become active in your nations politics and stop handing your government over to super wealth corporations.

What doesn't help.. is uninformed whining , where you project your opinion based on fears and lack of education.

Read, get quotes, contact a real insurance broker. Then you'll see that you likely were actually getting your monies worth.. OR post about how they denied your discount.

Opinions not based on understanding and factual details are hurtful to the peer review process.

Like a democracy of idiots... every voice is not truly equal.

Many wealthy people opt for discount programs which lets them save quite a lot on standard health care, but DOES NOT protect against the BIG BILLS. It's just a compromise that many people are willing to make and it's becoming more and more popular in a time of horribly high medical costs.

If you don't like that... stop voting republican and pandering to corporate values instead of the people's values. Pay attention to current events and educate yourself before a purchase.

There is no excuse for not knowing this company is a discount plan and being in the market for insurance. If you are that unaware, you should have a broker.

Many states offer very fair rates for people with pre-existing conditions.

Those without can go to sites like ehealthinsurance.com and get quotes from the major insurance providers..

However, many plans have co-insurance and will still want you to pay for 20% or pay down a high deductible.

If you are healthy, a high deductible plan is likely the best idea and HSA MIGHT be useful if your income is high enough since you will deduct medical expenses from taxable income.

If you'd read up first, you'd know all that, and you'd know what a discount plan is, and you'd know there is NO WAY .. that you were being sold 100% insurance.

It's like you went to the used car lot... bought the cheapest thing they had... and then acted all surprised when it wasn't the top of the line.

The reason health insurance is so high.. is because so many people just don't pay attention to the details or current events of their own nation. Ignorance is NOT an excuse.. and you DO have an obligation in a democracy to educate yourself and be an informed consumer.

Sorry, but it's sad to see so many people who are entirely clueless to how insurance works and then have to spend my time sorting through their supposed testimonials, when most of them have no clue what they are talking about.

There is no excuse to be so uninformed or to expect 100% coverage for 200 bucks or so a month. That's just ridiculous.

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#1 REBUTTAL Individual responds

Taking in by this company!

AUTHOR: Suzanne - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, April 03, 2008

I have been taking in by this company and they didn't tell me when they billed me. I have paid over $600.00 for a few discounts. This company is not an insurance and the fees don't merit the service.

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