Complaint Review: Ripoff Report | Trading Advantage Capital TRUSTED Business | Verified™ Safe …businesses you can trust. Dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. Trading Advantage Proprietary (TAP) Program provides opportunity for traders of all backgrounds, experience levels to potentially trade our money. TAP traders receive 60% of trading profits with Trading Advantage assuming all risks and losses. - Chicago Illinois
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- Trading Advantage Capital TRUSTED Business | Verified™ Safe …businesses you can trust. Dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. Trading Advantage Proprietary (TAP) Program provides opportunity for traders of all backgrounds, experience levels to potentially trade our money. TAP traders receive 60% of trading profits with Trading Advantage assuming all risks and losses. 100 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 1110 Chicago, Illinois USA
- Phone: (888)-755-3846
- Web: www.tradingadvantage.com
- Category: Financial Services
Trading Advantage Capital TRUSTED Business REVIEW: Customer Satisfaction Commitment: Trading Advantage Capital is committed to 100% customer satisfaction. Trading Advantage Capital implemented strategic changes ensuring client satisfaction and success by developing new ways helping clients search for new education opportunities effectively even in the sort of challenging market we face today.
*UPDATE: Trading Advantage Capital pledges to resolve customer issues to the best of their ability. Customers should feel safe, confident and secure when doing business with Trading Advantage Capital. Recognized by Ripoff Report Verifiedâ„¢ as a safe business service.
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REVIEW UPDATE: April 6 2018: Trading Advantage remains committed to increased customer satisfaction and has improved their business practices over the years to better serve their customers. Trading Advantage is truly dedicated to making sure their customers are satisfied and that any complaints which do arise are addressed promptly and fairly.
To date, Trading Advantage has made good faith efforts to resolve all complaints reported on Ripoff Report. Based on our experience, the member business has proven to be among the top members of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program as a Verified Safe Business™.
Over time and since becoming a member, Trading Advantage has remained actively engaged and improving the way they address customer service complaints. As an active and current member of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program we are happy to report that now more than ever Trading Advantage remains committed to improving customer satisfaction.
Remember, no company or individual can ever satisfy 100% of the people 100% of the time. There are no products or services that will always be perfect for everyone and even the best companies will receive complaints from time to time. However, by participating in the Corporate Advocacy Program, the member business has made a commitment to working with its customers to resolve complaints quickly and fairly whenever possible.
Please keep in mind that as a consumer you have some responsibilities as well. Success has many definitions that based on your past experiences, current situation and your perceived expectations. Success with any product or service is always based on the proper application and understanding. The fastest car will not run if you never turn the engine on. Look at how you used the product or service that was provided in relation with the instructions that you received. The Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program will help you get your voice heard but please be prepared with documentation and fair representation of your concern, also have an idea of how the company can fix your concern. Can they offer additional services, extend warranties, offer a fair refund or just get you talking with someone that can help. ..let them know and let us know!
*Any consumer not receiving satisfaction from a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program should email us at editor@ripoffreport.com
Ripoff Report Verified™ REVIEW:
EDitor’s UPDATE: Positive rating and recognition has been given to Trading Advantage Capital for its commitment to excellence in customer service.
Ripoff Report’s discussions with Trading Advantage Capital have uncovered an ongoing commitment by the company to total customer satisfaction. This means that customers can expect that the company will work towards finding a reasonable resolution to complaints or concerns. Trading Advantage Capital listens carefully to client concerns and sees them as an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and become more efficient as a company in the services offered and the support for those services.
Trading Advantage Capital's principal, Mr. Larry Levin, has informed us that even though he continues to trade the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board of Trade, his real passion lies in teaching people to trade the correct way.
Another top executive of the company told us that Mr. Levin's personal business philosophy is based on the premise that “Trading Advantage is dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. Empowering traders of all levels to achieve their financial goals. Mr. Levin believes success requires an education.”
One of the other things Ripoff Report learned in the course of its review: typical customer feedback reads: “Trading Advantage Capital (and Mr. Levin) truly communicate all aspects of the job in a timely and effective manner. We are very pleased with the responsiveness that he and his employees show us. They are serious about meeting commitments, and deliver on all their promises.”
Ripoff Report Verified™ .. part of Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program.A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business..
The information provided in this report below is based on comments made by Gary Sinclair and Larry Levin during an on-site inspection held by a third party verification company with no biases toward Trading Advantage Capital.
Trading Advantage Capital (TAC) is a self-described educational company similar to an online based school which teaches clients how to trade in all financial markets. They conduct live web classes that they teach their clients proprietary technical trading techniques.
TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL / The New Client Process
TAC implements several forms of advertising and lead generation methods. The Company sends email advertisements and run radio ads. A potential client that replies to a radio advertisement will call an 800 number. This will allow a person to leave contact information to receive a follow-up call with more information. A commission based sales associate will call the “prospect” back with more information surrounding the services offered. The prospect and sales associate will discuss the product in detail, including pricing. If agreed, the prospect will purchase the product form the sales associate.
The new client will now be eligible to receive daily newsletters from Trading Advantage Capital. The client will attend online web classes led by an educational advisor. At any time during these sessions a client has the opportunity to ask questions and get involved with their learning experience.
TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL / Interntal Customer Service Improvement
To address recent complaints towards Trading Advantage, the company is constantly changing their customer service policies.
"That’s why they brought me in. I’ve been with this company for years, then they asked me to come downtown and work out of the office here. That is the major improvement we made.” ~ Gary Sinclair
"Part of the problem is we grew so fast and we have so many sales representatives here. A lot of times the customer service was left in their hands which wasn’t the right way to do it. They’re commission-based sales people so sometimes they are not in a big hurry to help the person after the sale is made. We switched that out of their hands and put people that are specific to customer service to step in and help the customers they also function as a technical support team.” ~ Owner, Larry Levin
Another area of improvement in an effort to address recent consumer complaints is the implementation of a compliance training program for new sales people. Trading Advantage Capital is evolving on a constant basis to improve process, policy, and procedure.
Trading Advantage Capital was asked about their refund policy in an effort to address specific complaints. The company has a clearly outlined policy within the “Trading Advantage Purchase Agreement”. There have been several extenuating circumstances in which the company has issued a refund to their client. Most of the time the company will offer another solution of transferring the active subscription to a new user (friend or family).
When asked about RipOff Report’s Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program, Mr. Larry Levin stated that he is in agreement with the principles surrounding any program that speaks for the individual consumer. He believes that overall the people at RipOff Report want to do the right thing by the consumer and he wants the same for his consumer.
TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL / THREE STEPS TO SUCCESS.
Step 1: A 30-DayTrader Apprenticeship:
In this live open forum training, you will receive customized trading education from our expert educators. There will be nightly webinars (M-TH 4:00pm CST) that provide advanced trading techniques and professional risk management strategies. You’ll be able to ask questions and prepare for your screening. You also will be able to develop your own personal trading plan.
Step 2: A 30-Day Performance Screening:
You will be given a simulated trading account with a $30,000 starting balance. To become a TAP trader, you will need to meet the specific criteria and hit the profit target during this time period.
Step 3; A Funded TAP Trader:
If you pass the performance screening, you will be financially backed with a $10,000 trading account. You don’t put up any of your personal capital, and you will retain 60% of net profits as long as you continue to follow the parameters of the program and meet the specific profit targets. You will have the potential to increase your account size to $50,000.
TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL / TAP PROGRAM INCLUDES:
TAP Trader Proprietary Platform: A professional trading platform with unlimited access to all of the TAP charts and tools. One-click chart access and customizable screens. No additional software or data fees.
Real-time Software Support: Live tech support and advanced software educations.
One-on-one Mentoring:Online and phone access to our team of professional trading educators.
TAP Trader Log Book: An easy to use, well-crafted tracking journal that allows you to competently and effectively analyze your trading performance. Log book includes a handy reference guide with trade abbreviations.
TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL / Statements from the owner.
"Every employee at Trading Advantage Capital is 100% committed to the goal of being the best trading education provider out there. Not a day goes by where we don't strive to understand and serve our customers better. Our customers are literally the center of our universe.”
I started in this industry over 20 years ago as a runner at the CME group, the world’s largest and most diverse futures exchange, I quickly climbed the ranks to become one of the most successful traders in the S&P 500 pit. At the height of my trading career, I averaged between 2500-3000 S&P contracts per day.
Drawing on my extensive experience and knowledge base, I wanted to share the secrets of my success with a larger audience, and I took time off from trading to write a comprehensive course. In 1998 I formed Trading Advantage™, a publishing company enabling me to distribute my trading course, The Secrets of Floor Traders. In 2000 I sold the rights to the course Secrets of Floor Traders to Secrets of Traders, LLC to market the products on my behalf.
I recognized early on the inevitable shift away from the open outcry pits to an electronic marketplace, so the foundation of the Trading Advantage education has been teaching students to trade online. I’m now a nationally recognized media figure, I've been interviewed hundreds of times on virtually every major financial media outlet including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business News. I continue to trade the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board of Trade but my real passion lies in teaching people to trade the correct way.
Every employee at Trading Advantage is 100% committed to the goal of being the best trading education provider out there. We work to give our customers cutting-edge technological and educational products and services and we are always working to refine, improve, and update our infrastructure and educational materials. Not a day goes by where we don't strive to understand and serve our customers better. Our customers are literally the center of our universe.”
STATED IMPROVEMENTS FROM TRADING ADVANTAGE CAPITAL.
Trading Advantage Capital is constantly working to improve the quality of our customer's trading education experience by making enhancements and upgrades to our already cutting-edge technological and educational products and services. And, we are always working to refine, improve and update our infrastructure and educational materials.
Trading Advantage is willing to go beyond the call of good customer service and do what it takes to make things right with their customers.
Trading Advantage Capital recognizes that complaints posted on Ripoff Report (whether true or not) are issues that need to be addressed, not ignored. If handled correctly, complaints can be valuable learning opportunities. With the feedback generated by Ripoff Report’s review, Trading Advantage Capital has made organizational changes allowing its customers and employees a more streamlined approach to problem resolution and a commitment to a great customer experience.
In summary, after our review, which included discussions with Mr. Levin, Ripoff Report is convinced that Trading Advantage Capital is committed to quality delivery of services resulting in total customer satisfaction.
Read more about why consumers should feel confident when doing business with a member of Rip-off Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. Yes, it’s a long name for a program that does a lot for both consumers and businesses alike.
Read about Ripoff Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program, a program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business. this program works.
As a matter of policy, when a business becomes a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program they agree to allow Ripoff Report to contact every client who filed a complaint so they can make things right with them. In order to confirm that the complaints were resolved, Ripoff Report is copied on all responses so we can insure that the member business did right by their customer.
NOW TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT THAT WAS FILED
-------------------------------------
Trading Advantage & Larry Levin AKA Secrets of Traders LLC AKA Trading Advantage AKA Kingsview Financial Chicago Illinois
I had the bad fortune of being hired as an employee of Trading Advantage approximately 4 months ago. The operation is run by Larry Levin who is by all accounts a questional character and outright egomaniac. The company recently underwent an expansion and I was brought on as an appointment setter by their Director of Recruitment who was demoted less than a month later.
I was tasked with qualifying leads and setting appointments for the other consultants with whom I worked. After 1 month of this work, I was tasked with pitching and closing 5 deals in order to gain promoted into a Senior Consultant role. An appointment setter is paid a $1500 draw every month which averages out to less than $8.25 per hour (below minimum wage) when you factor in the mandatory later hours and weekends one is required to work to reach their productivity target.
Once an appointment setter is promoted, they are paid a commission of 15% on sales made during that month. The reason I am writing this report is because I met the expectations which were laid out for me and was still terminated right before I was to receive a promotion. During my tenure there, the Director of Sales (my direct boss) was sent to county jail for approximately 3 months due to reasons unbeknownst to me.
There was NO oversight with regards to compliance, training and development, continuing education or instruction as to how to do one's job effectively. Questions or requests for support went unanswered or were ignored entirely. Senior consultants have a complete disregard for professionalism towards one another in the workplace and verbally accost one another and their customers as a way to silence criticism or generate greater sales. They are expected to act this way as it is deeply ingrained in the Trading Advantage culture. IT IS AN ALPHA MALE ENVIRONMENT which lacks decorum and respectability on all fronts.
The company does not abide by a national do not call database as they repeatedly call leads which have requested to be placed on a DNC list. The cost of the education is grossly overpriced and it is intentionally priced this way because Larry Levin cannot even justify the value attributed to his proprietary education. The truth is (to all that are considering purchasing this education), consultants will strike just about any deal with customers to get them to buy TODAY. There is NO REFUND policy regardless of whether you are told otherwise. Once you provide an electronic signature, you are locked in for the full purchase price.
Outside of work, I am sure that the employees are very nice, respectable people. They are simply motivated by money and they should not be mischaracterized due to that motivation. I hold no ill will towards them as they treated me with some degree of respect. Unfortunately, their employer LARRY LEVIN is skirting Consumer Protection Laws, Illinois Fair Wage Compensation Law and ofcourse, Financial Regulatory Laws which if discovered (and I hope they are) would mean Larry is going to be in alot of trouble very soon.
The co-owner of Trading Advantage is Josh Lewis who also owns Kingsview Financial. During my employment there, I fielded a call from an irrate gentlemen who said after he had purchased his education package (10K), he was referred to Kingsview Financial to trade his funds for him. As per his unverified account, He deposit 50K in a brokerage account and within 6 months, lost 30K of his funds without any documentation reflecting what trades had been executed or how the funds were managed. This call led me to believe that something unmistakeably deceitful was happening at Trading Advantage.
When I brought it up to management, I was castigated, told to not field customer service calls and that a representative would follow up with the customer and handle the situation. Truth be told, I know that no one did call that poor guy back. I am also certain that this awareness and unwillingness to play by their rules is what lead to my termination.
In the end, I was deducted 300 dollars from my final paycheck which supposedly accounts for 3 days of work. In all actualilty, 3 days of work at my rate of 1500 per month is equal to about $204 dollars. This means that the company also cooks their books and should be investigated with the full force of the FCC, SEC, and the State of Illinois.
I highly reccomend that consumers and employees educate themselves prior to beginning a relationship with this organization and its owner Larry Levin. I am not a jilted employee nor do I intend to file suit against them for their numerous violations of the law during my employment there. I just simply cannot sit idly by while people are TAKEN ADVANTAGE of unnecesarily. Any rebuttal to this factual and unbiased report by Trading Advantage or its cohorts will be met with a swift response on ripoffreport.com.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/03/2013 03:50 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/trading-advantage-capital-trusted-business-verified-safe-businesses-you-can-trust-dedicated-to-100-customer-satisfaction-trading-advantage-proprietary-tap-program-provides-opportunity-for-traders-of-all-backgrounds-experience-levels-to-potentially-trade-our-money-tap-traders-receive-60-of-trading-profits-with-trading-advantage-assuming-all-risks-and-losses/chicago-illinois-60604/trading-advantage-larry-levin-aka-secrets-of-traders-llc-aka-trading-advantage-aka-kings-1064264. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#2 Author of original report
Rebuttal to Trading Advantage Response
AUTHOR: AnonFire - ()
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, July 17, 2013
To expend additional time on Trading Advantage would serve no useful purpose. I dissagree with their well polished rebuttal as it does not reflect the true nature of their culture or work environment. The information laid out occured as previously stated. The owner of this company is a public figure who makes regular appearances on financial news networks. As a public figure, he is subject to criticism, both written and oral. As is the mission statement for this site, so to is my intent: to ensure consumers have an opportunity to make up their own minds and remain prudent in their business affairs. I wish Trading Advantage, its owners and its employees the best in this and all their future endeavors. So long as there is naivette and gray areas in business, their will be companies like Trading Advantage.
#1 REBUTTAL Owner of company
Trading Advantage's response to AnonFire
AUTHOR: Trading Advantage - ()
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, July 16, 2013
As with any company, the overall culture and work environment will not be a fit for every person. While this complaint was written by someone who says they are not a jilted employee, the tone and content of their post leads us to believe otherwise. Currently, we have over 30 employees, many of whom have been with the company for years. With master’s degrees, military honors, corporate experience and more, our pedigrees and backgrounds are diverse and varied. While we all strive for excellence, we are inclusive, accepting, and value every employee’s opinion. Yes, we are passionate, competitive, even loud and boastful at times, but with roots on the trading floor, we believe our culture reflects that of the entire industry.
As a respected media commentator on the major financial networks, Larry Levin serves as the face of Trading Advantage. Often described as “humble” and “self-effacing,” Larry’s personal trading struggles are well documented in the Trading Advantage educational materials. He credits a large part of his trading success to his mentor on the trading floor and founded the company to “pay it forward.” Our founders are hands on managers who are willing to roll-up their sleeves.
The Trading Advantage management team cares about every employee, including the Director of Sales mentioned in the complaint. Out of respect for his privacy, they chose not to share his personal issues with company at the time of his absence. This issue had nothing to do with Trading Advantage, and they felt it was not pertinent to share this information. He has now finished his 45 day sentence for a suspended drivers license issue that happened over 20 year ago.
While Trading Advantage is not required to be a registered entity with regulators because we fall under an educator’s exemption pertaining to the industry, we still adhere to the strictest regulatory standards. We have an internal Do Not Call List of over 46,000 numbers which is revised and updated daily. Our marketing materials, course materials, and sales presentations are all reviewed by our external legal counsel. We employ a structured compliance system modeled on those of regulated entities whereby all communications with the public are reviewed and signed off on by the legal team. Our legal counsel has the ability to listen to any live phone correspondence to monitor outside communications for the purposes of critiquing staff. We are always watching cases brought by regulators including the FCC, CFTC, SEC, FINRA, and NFA to stay abreast of the regulatory climate so we can adapt our internal policies accordingly.
Regarding Kingsview Financial, they are one of the many brokerage houses (including E*Trade, Charles Schwab, Think or Swim, Fidelity and others) our students use to execute their trades. Kingsview Financial is a registered entity that is required to be a member of the NFA. Trading Advantage is an education firm. While we strive to give our students information pertaining to all facets of their trading, they sometimes fail to distinguish the roles and functions each company serves. We are not sure how the ex-employee “knew” that the client was not called back, nor do we comprehend how he intuited something deceitful was happening, but we believe these claims to be baseless and false.
Finally, we’d like to address the quality of the Trading Advantage education. We have thousands of students from across the globe. From stay-at-home mothers to pilots to doctors to truck drivers, the success of our students is the best testament to the superior nature of our product. You can read some of them here. http://tradingadvantage.com/how-to-trade/index.php/testimonials.These testimonials were not solicited or paid, just genuine feedback from our student.
Compared to the rest of the industry, our pricing is very competitive, and considering the comprehensive nature of our education, we believe there is no better value. Our multi-pronged comprehensive learning approach combines written materials, a virtual signal classroom, an interactive on demand learning center, user friendly technology and one-on-one mentoring.
We are sorry that this employee was not successful at Trading Advantage. This employee had asked for a promotion and was in fact turned down by management. However, we take the reputation of our company very seriously –from the integrity of its owners, to the character of the employees, and most of all the quality of our education. This post is defamatory and we would hope that this person would exercise prudence and write factual material about Trading Advantage in the future.
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