Mike Baker of Independent Producers of America ABBA Contract Terminated Without Warning Denver, Colorado

I wished I had done my homework before I accepted the America's Business Benefit Association scam. I was young and naive and had just graduated from college. I was a very trustful person and saw honesty and good in everyone. I was willing to accept any company that would accept me. A not-for-profit health insurance company found my resume on CareerBuilder.com. I should have known better, any email that does not address you by your name and looks like a general email that could be sent to multitple people is shady. After weeks of searching for jobs, they seem to be the only company willing to accept me eventhough I had no prior work experience at all.

On my second interview, I had to pay $250 upfront for their paperwork and had to pay for my own health and life insurance licenses which costs me around $800 for the cousework and testings. I also had to pay for my own advertising efforts, business cards, computer ink, gas, etc. The phone leads they gave me were a year old, leads other senior producers don't want. I called every single person on the list but nobody was interested. These were not phone leads, these were cold calls disguise as leads. Thier weekly training/classes was repetitive and a complete waste of time but I did everyting they told me to do to be successful because I am not the type of person who gives up easily. Just coming out of school, I was completely inexperience in any industry yet alone the insurance industry. They did not expect me to be an expert but they expected me to sell health insurance. Sounds pretty odd and uncomfortable for those who are looking to buy health insurance.

After three months of giving this company free advertising and personal leads by door-to-door walking and talking, they terminated my contract without any warnings. My contract terminated because I failed to provide them with any sales, which sounds reasonable but what pisses me off is they didn't seem to have a problem with me up to that point. I felt passive aggression from the people I trusted in the profession and it hurts to be stabbed in the back. It's difficult selling as it is in this tough economy. My team leader told me that selling isn't for me and it takes somebody with a thick skin to sell. I guess it does take a special type of person to sell expensive health insurance and association benefits people don't need and stabbing team members in the back without any warning. America's Business Benefit Association doesn't think twice about taking your money and dumping you like trash if you are not useful to them. What I learned from my experience is not to trust people so eagerly. Just like a smart consumer, do your homework before you accept a job offer. Beware of scammers on legitimate job boards.