Primerica, and Trek Alliance totally different companies blatanly lying to people insulting my intelligence and screwing themselves local office in Kalamazoo Michigan *EDitor's comment

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*UPDATE: Primerica recognized by Rip-off Report a business opportunity well worth considering - its not for everyone but many representatives make solid commission incomes. Primerica takes appropriate action against representatives conducting themselves improperly, pledges 100% commitment to customer service.!

Nelson, it's not THAT they recruit, it's HOW they recruit. Recruiting is fine, deceptive recruiting is not.



I had an awful lot of experience with military recruiters, and with police departments, and with law schools. The difference between what they did, and what Primerica does, is that they gave me an honest picture of what I would be doing and how I would be compensated. In fact, military recruitment materials, and recruitment materials for most of the police departments I was contacted by, state exactly what the compensation structure is, as well as what the job entails and what training would be necessary.



Primerica, on the other hand, puts an ad in the paper along the lines of: Expanding national business needs to fill local production positions, no experience necessary, $500 per week to start. Then, when you call that number and the active recruiting starts, you are not told that the average agent makes far less than minimum wage per year, or that the turnover rate is unreplicated outside of multi-level-marketing endeavors (A.K.A. pyramid schemes). Instead, you are led to believe that you are entering a lucrative field full of six-figure earners who "own their own business" and "set their own schedules" and are "just delighted to finally have the time and money to do what THEY want to do."



The recruiting rhetoric is a far cry from the reality. This goes beyond unorthodox. You, for instance, have been led to believe that your buddy is making 700k a year, and that you know "hundreds" of other Primerica agents who are making six figures. Let me tell you, I've known a few of these guys who claim to be raking it in. They're still renting crappy apartments, driving lousy cars, and most of them are working a regular job on top of the Primerica gig.

They have a vested interest in making you think that they've struck it rich, but the reality is that they haven't, and lying to you is just part of an attempt to recoup their own losses.



This is not to say that there aren't some success stories out there, because there are. But the person who walks into a casino today, with his last twenty dollar bill, thinking he's going to leave a millionaire, is far more likely to be filling out welfare forms than buying a mansion tomorrow.



You tell our readers not to restrict their research to what they find on this site. That is somewhat solid advice. The tales relayed here, however, are from people who no longer have a vested interest in the success or failure of Primerica (animous is not a vested interest).



These people would like to see you succeed, they just know that you won't. You should not so dismiss these tales so hastily. Your recruiter will tell you (or has told you) that everyone who fails was an "80 percenter," a member of the vast portion of our population that is too lazy to find success.



Never has a bigger line of pure bullshit been spewed. There is a greater than 95% chance that you will leave Primerica in less than six months. When that day comes, will you consider yourself an 80 percenter? No. You will, at that point, recognize that the system is designed for failure, and that, even with all the hard work you put into it, there is no money to be made in this program.



I've perused some of your suggested materials. These are not reliable, credible, or even relevant sources. Ambest and Forbes speak to the success of the company, not the minions of people it has exploited to become so successful. Motivational materials are never, ever, EVER a reliable source of information on a recruit's prospects.



Here's how effective, reliable research should be conducted on this "opportunity:"



1) If somebody makes a grandiose income declaration, ask to see their tax returns for last year. If they won't show you them, then you should assume that they are lying about how much money they make.



2) Ask for a percentile based breakdown of agent incomes.



3) Ask what the turnover rate is, and request documentation. Any business worth a d**n should be able to show you how many people worked there last year. Compare that to how many people work there now. You'll see that an awful lot of people come and go from this organization.



4) Note how many hours your fellow agents are putting in, see if they are really "setting their own schedules" and if they have the time and money to do the things they really want to do.



5) DO NOT listen to motivational materials. And especially, NEVER buy motivational materials. They are beyond worthless. The whole point of motivational materials is to make you ignore REAL evidence.



In sum, insist upon REAL evidence and REAL data. As a peace officer, you should be somewhat familiar with the legal process. If it wouldn't be allowed in a court of law, don't accept it as the truth.



What will your recruiter have to say about my statements? "He is just someone that couldn't hack it and is now jealous of guys like us who can." Guess what, I have never been involved with Primerica, I am not a competitor, I have no personal stake either way. I hope you do well, and I even hope that your buddy isn't lying about his income.



Why do I care then? I care because I think that preying on other people's dreams for your own personal benefit is wrong. I have seen the damage that MLMs, and Primerica in particular, have done to the people who thought they had stumbled onto the opportunity of a lifetime. MLM is like crack, and MLMers are addicts. They ignore the damage they are doing to themselves and continue down a path of destruction that leads them to see their friends and loved ones as leads or potential recruits. The scheme consumes them until one day the wasted time and emotional distress becomes too great, then they see the light, and the process of recovery can begin.



Best of luck to you, check back with us in a year and let us know how things went. FYI, I've yet to see a new recruit take us up on that.

I have been reading a lot of these articles because I myself am thinking about getting involved with Primerica. I have known about Primerica for about 10 years now. I have a very close friend who I went to college with who joined the company in 1996. He worked in a warehouse and I began my career in law enforcement. Like many of you, when he came to me with the opportunity, I told him no. I called it a pyramid, scam, sales thing, etc.. Needless to say I didn't get involved because it sounded too good to be true. He did however, show me that I was getting ripped off with my insurance from a so called reputable company that was supposed to be a "good neighbor". He gave me over $500,000 MORE in life insurance for $300 less than what I was paying and showed me how to "invest the difference" into a ROTH IRA, which makes total since to me. He also put a financal plan together for me (all of this was done in 2000). With this financial plan, he put together a plan that shows me how to get completely out of debt in 11 years, house and all!. I have been following this plan for the last 4 years, and must say, I am right on track. The debt elimination process just makes sense. Now here it is, 9 years later, my friend is making well over $700K a year!! I am now asking myself how long am I going to keep watching him get wealthy all while I am saying what a lot of you are saying. I have done my research, and learned that whay Primerica does is right. For all of you considering working for Primerica and need more research DO NOT RELY ON THE PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE. Not even mine. Go to www.ambest.com, www.forbes.com, and read ANY book on life insurance, and any book on financial planning such as Suze Orman,or Young couples retire rich by David Bach. You will find Primerica does right by people. I think the thing that makes them a little unorthodox is their recruiting tactics.. But afterall think about it, what company does not recruit people. I was in the military, the police department, and have attended many job faires, and noticed that EVERYONE was recruiting.

To all who responded:

I have recently been apaproached by what you call a MLM agent for Primerica in Barrie, Ont. As you said the representatives were quite respectable and recognizable as company reps. My confusion comes from the types of meetings that you attended and their content. I was lead to believe that through actual financial planning (I have worked through some of the formulas) that it can change some people fortunes that are currently in trouble. There is also a 'Term-Life Insurance Exam' that has to be written. Did anyone encounter what courses were to be taken; at what cost; could any of this not apply to financial planning or was it just smoke?

I would love to hear from people as to how they interpretted their interactions with the company reps. Please post your comments below using the REBUTTAL Box.



Thank you,

Actually, my thoughts on Primerica have not changed. Were you trying to use the evidence that Primerica actually passes up some possibilities to show that they are not the scam we thought they were? (Sorry if I misinterpreted your comments). If anything, your experiences strengthen my beliefs.



First of all, everything your potential "upline" told you is the same load of bovine fecal matter spewed by all Primerica recruiters. They try to convince you that they're all millionares, then you see them driving around in a beat up 88 Escort and wonder "where did all the money go, does this guy have an expensive drug problem or what?" There are a few reasons why they decided you weren't "Primerica material."



First, you seem to be a bit too intelligent. The fact that you questioned the enterprise so thoroughly, and that you can spell, was probably rather intimidating to them.



Primerica doesn't want people to think for themselves. People who think for themselves will see the company for what it is and end up disgruntled, and then they'll be posting nasty messages on some consumer website.



Also, Primerica reps recognize that there is a very low chance of success for anyone who comes into the organization, and that means a lot of people that they won't make money off. They went with the odds on this one, and decided you were too big a risk to take on.

I think they were upset that you found out true information about the company, and decided they didn't want you to "poison" their flock with your information.



You must have shown some real skepticism on those visits. Most of the time, they are more than eager to take your $200 and run.



The lady that was apparently "ready to open her own office" was probably a farce as well in my opinion. First, there are about 100,000 PFS agents, and a large number of them have been hired within one year (PFS enjoys a near 100% attrition rate meaning about 100,000 come and go each year). It is highly unlikely that you met one of the scant few that is actually able to open their own office. See, that takes money -- personal money from the agent -- and there are very, very few PFS agents that make even close to enough to support an office.



A friend of mine was recently suckered into joining. The RVP at his office told him that if he worked hard, he (the RVP) would pay for an office for my friend. He said he just knew my friend was special, and going to be the next "big producer." My friend was psyched about this, despite my warnings.



Well, after a while -- after his warm market dried up and he realized that he has a really tough sell with PFS products -- my friend wound up talking to some of the other dozens of recruits that joined when he did. Turns out the RVP told them all the same thing -- they were all working hard in order to get their own office. In the 20 years this RVP had been in business, he had not once opened a new office for anyone, despite telling everybody -- THOUSANDS! -- they were destined to become the next "big producer". MLM at its finest!!



I think that no matter what happened, you are in a better position now than with that MLM. If you are interested in their business model, it might be less risky, and involve less time, to send away for an envelope-stuffing "business kit" from the phone numbers you see tacked to telephone poles.

The week of 12/9/02, A friend of mine ran into a Primarica manager through the grapevine and learned that some financial company is looking to hire a number of people who have customer service background to promote financial services for their company. I called for an interview.



The interviewer-manager and I really related well, and after a few minutes into the interview, I soon learned that a six figure income was to be had from this position.



I stated that this information sounded really great, but seemed too good to be true. I was told that "it is true and it is a lot of hard work, but it soon pays off after 18 - 24 months of training. After that time most people are ready to go at it full-time and start working toward opening their own offices and training their very own staff.



I was told they are looking to hire people comfortable in training others, speaking before groups, and possess excellent customer service skills. Financial degrees or experience are not needed; we train.



I was told "we are looking to train and license people to open 52 new offices within the city." I asked, "but won't the market become saturated with all these offices?" I was told, "no", just look at all the insurance offices that number at over 500 in the city that have business." After grabbing my initial attention, a second interview was scheduled.



During the second interview, I was told that the owner out of this office had made $190,000 last year and that the office was now worth 3 million. You could either retire or eventually sell your own office. I was shown a typical monthly scenario on paper that explained how $167,000 could be made my first year. After getting licensed, you would go on 6 appointments with your manager; the $199.00 would be refunded less $40.00 for the background check. I asked several questions on the recruiting process, and the rep said that she herself had been a customer of Primarica and had been recruited by them two years ago. She was now ready to open her own office with already 30 people under her. It is Primarica's practise to always ask for referrals after every appointment and sometimes you will recruit those customers that you do the financial planning for.



I related that this seemed like a multi-level marketing setup, and the response was that "in MLM, they want to keep people at the bottom so a few people on top benefit, but not so with Primarica; we want to license, train, and promote you quickly to open your own office and train your own people. We don't want to hold you down. You can compare us to how Edina Realty operates."



After this second interview, I was enthused, but still sceptical. I went to the website at www:forprimarica.com and other sites such as this one to weigh the objectives.



I was torn, because Primarica is a subsidiary of the largest financial company in the world; Citigroup. That, in itself, should carry a lot of merit and credibility. I want more than "just a job with a boss looking over my shoulder" but, then why all this controversy and hesitation? In my mind, I already decided it better to opt out of a commitment to anything here at this time.



I soon received a call from the rep wanting to know what I thought of everything. I told her I was still concerned and had questions with recruiting people, etc. She wanted to set up another time to meet, which we did, but then she called back the next day and told me that she did not think that I would be a good fit for this position after all. With all the time spent during the previous two interviews, (only an hour each time), she felt that my hesitation in not wanting to tell people and spread the word about what I do was not going to work out. I was then told that she felt I did not fully realize and understand the "power" that this company has on

helping clients.



What do all of you think now?

The week of 12/9/02, A friend of mine ran into a Primarica manager through the grapevine and learned that some financial company is looking to hire a number of people who have customer service background to promote financial services for their company. I called for an interview.



The interviewer-manager and I really related well, and after a few minutes into the interview, I soon learned that a six figure income was to be had from this position.



I stated that this information sounded really great, but seemed too good to be true. I was told that "it is true and it is a lot of hard work, but it soon pays off after 18 - 24 months of training. After that time most people are ready to go at it full-time and start working toward opening their own offices and training their very own staff.



I was told they are looking to hire people comfortable in training others, speaking before groups, and possess excellent customer service skills. Financial degrees or experience are not needed; we train.



I was told "we are looking to train and license people to open 52 new offices within the city." I asked, "but won't the market become saturated with all these offices?" I was told, "no", just look at all the insurance offices that number at over 500 in the city that have business." After grabbing my initial attention, a second interview was scheduled.



During the second interview, I was told that the owner out of this office had made $190,000 last year and that the office was now worth 3 million. You could either retire or eventually sell your own office. I was shown a typical monthly scenario on paper that explained how $167,000 could be made my first year. After getting licensed, you would go on 6 appointments with your manager; the $199.00 would be refunded less $40.00 for the background check. I asked several questions on the recruiting process, and the rep said that she herself had been a customer of Primarica and had been recruited by them two years ago. She was now ready to open her own office with already 30 people under her. It is Primarica's practise to always ask for referrals after every appointment and sometimes you will recruit those customers that you do the financial planning for.



I related that this seemed like a multi-level marketing setup, and the response was that "in MLM, they want to keep people at the bottom so a few people on top benefit, but not so with Primarica; we want to license, train, and promote you quickly to open your own office and train your own people. We don't want to hold you down. You can compare us to how Edina Realty operates."



After this second interview, I was enthused, but still sceptical. I went to the website at www:forprimarica.com and other sites such as this one to weigh the objectives.



I was torn, because Primarica is a subsidiary of the largest financial company in the world; Citigroup. That, in itself, should carry a lot of merit and credibility. I want more than "just a job with a boss looking over my shoulder" but, then why all this controversy and hesitation? In my mind, I already decided it better to opt out of a commitment to anything here at this time.



I soon received a call from the rep wanting to know what I thought of everything. I told her I was still concerned and had questions with recruiting people, etc. She wanted to set up another time to meet, which we did, but then she called back the next day and told me that she did not think that I would be a good fit for this position after all. With all the time spent during the previous two interviews, (only an hour each time), she felt that my hesitation in not wanting to tell people and spread the word about what I do was not going to work out. I was then told that she felt I did not fully realize and understand the "power" that this company has on

helping clients.



What do all of you think now?

The week of 12/9/02, A friend of mine ran into a Primarica manager through the grapevine and learned that some financial company is looking to hire a number of people who have customer service background to promote financial services for their company. I called for an interview.



The interviewer-manager and I really related well, and after a few minutes into the interview, I soon learned that a six figure income was to be had from this position.



I stated that this information sounded really great, but seemed too good to be true. I was told that "it is true and it is a lot of hard work, but it soon pays off after 18 - 24 months of training. After that time most people are ready to go at it full-time and start working toward opening their own offices and training their very own staff.



I was told they are looking to hire people comfortable in training others, speaking before groups, and possess excellent customer service skills. Financial degrees or experience are not needed; we train.



I was told "we are looking to train and license people to open 52 new offices within the city." I asked, "but won't the market become saturated with all these offices?" I was told, "no", just look at all the insurance offices that number at over 500 in the city that have business." After grabbing my initial attention, a second interview was scheduled.



During the second interview, I was told that the owner out of this office had made $190,000 last year and that the office was now worth 3 million. You could either retire or eventually sell your own office. I was shown a typical monthly scenario on paper that explained how $167,000 could be made my first year. After getting licensed, you would go on 6 appointments with your manager; the $199.00 would be refunded less $40.00 for the background check. I asked several questions on the recruiting process, and the rep said that she herself had been a customer of Primarica and had been recruited by them two years ago. She was now ready to open her own office with already 30 people under her. It is Primarica's practise to always ask for referrals after every appointment and sometimes you will recruit those customers that you do the financial planning for.



I related that this seemed like a multi-level marketing setup, and the response was that "in MLM, they want to keep people at the bottom so a few people on top benefit, but not so with Primarica; we want to license, train, and promote you quickly to open your own office and train your own people. We don't want to hold you down. You can compare us to how Edina Realty operates."



After this second interview, I was enthused, but still sceptical. I went to the website at www:forprimarica.com and other sites such as this one to weigh the objectives.



I was torn, because Primarica is a subsidiary of the largest financial company in the world; Citigroup. That, in itself, should carry a lot of merit and credibility. I want more than "just a job with a boss looking over my shoulder" but, then why all this controversy and hesitation? In my mind, I already decided it better to opt out of a commitment to anything here at this time.



I soon received a call from the rep wanting to know what I thought of everything. I told her I was still concerned and had questions with recruiting people, etc. She wanted to set up another time to meet, which we did, but then she called back the next day and told me that she did not think that I would be a good fit for this position after all. With all the time spent during the previous two interviews, (only an hour each time), she felt that my hesitation in not wanting to tell people and spread the word about what I do was not going to work out. I was then told that she felt I did not fully realize and understand the "power" that this company has on

helping clients.



What do all of you think now?

The week of 12/9/02, A friend of mine ran into a Primarica manager through the grapevine and learned that some financial company is looking to hire a number of people who have customer service background to promote financial services for their company. I called for an interview.



The interviewer-manager and I really related well, and after a few minutes into the interview, I soon learned that a six figure income was to be had from this position.



I stated that this information sounded really great, but seemed too good to be true. I was told that "it is true and it is a lot of hard work, but it soon pays off after 18 - 24 months of training. After that time most people are ready to go at it full-time and start working toward opening their own offices and training their very own staff.



I was told they are looking to hire people comfortable in training others, speaking before groups, and possess excellent customer service skills. Financial degrees or experience are not needed; we train.



I was told "we are looking to train and license people to open 52 new offices within the city." I asked, "but won't the market become saturated with all these offices?" I was told, "no", just look at all the insurance offices that number at over 500 in the city that have business." After grabbing my initial attention, a second interview was scheduled.



During the second interview, I was told that the owner out of this office had made $190,000 last year and that the office was now worth 3 million. You could either retire or eventually sell your own office. I was shown a typical monthly scenario on paper that explained how $167,000 could be made my first year. After getting licensed, you would go on 6 appointments with your manager; the $199.00 would be refunded less $40.00 for the background check. I asked several questions on the recruiting process, and the rep said that she herself had been a customer of Primarica and had been recruited by them two years ago. She was now ready to open her own office with already 30 people under her. It is Primarica's practise to always ask for referrals after every appointment and sometimes you will recruit those customers that you do the financial planning for.



I related that this seemed like a multi-level marketing setup, and the response was that "in MLM, they want to keep people at the bottom so a few people on top benefit, but not so with Primarica; we want to license, train, and promote you quickly to open your own office and train your own people. We don't want to hold you down. You can compare us to how Edina Realty operates."



After this second interview, I was enthused, but still sceptical. I went to the website at www:forprimarica.com and other sites such as this one to weigh the objectives.



I was torn, because Primarica is a subsidiary of the largest financial company in the world; Citigroup. That, in itself, should carry a lot of merit and credibility. I want more than "just a job with a boss looking over my shoulder" but, then why all this controversy and hesitation? In my mind, I already decided it better to opt out of a commitment to anything here at this time.



I soon received a call from the rep wanting to know what I thought of everything. I told her I was still concerned and had questions with recruiting people, etc. She wanted to set up another time to meet, which we did, but then she called back the next day and told me that she did not think that I would be a good fit for this position after all. With all the time spent during the previous two interviews, (only an hour each time), she felt that my hesitation in not wanting to tell people and spread the word about what I do was not going to work out. I was then told that she felt I did not fully realize and understand the "power" that this company has on

helping clients.



What do all of you think now?

andrea shows her intelligence level with the no one left to recruit comment. billions of people on the planet and that's the best she has. the funny part is, she thinks that is a stumper question to the MLM people. yet she keeps ending up in them. sad