INVESTIGATION: IPA commitment to 100% customer satisfaction, IPA - International Profit Associates implemented strategic changes to insure clients business success, focusing on finding ways to help small & medium size companies make improvements to both their short-term and longer-term profitability & creating a secure future. Buffalo Grove Illinois

---

*UPDATE: Rip-off Report Investigation - International Profit Associates recognized by Rip-off Report Corporate Advocacy Program as a safe business service - IPA pledges to always resolve any issues, feel safe, confident & secure when doing business with IPA

I read your lengthy response within the last hour. At least one response. How Many have you submitted?

I also added my own story about IPA. I also went to the lawsuit site & reviewed some of IPA's training materials. Funny how it was so deja vu.
I am happy for you that you have found a satisfying job you enjoy. I am not at all happy for IPA's clients.

For those who may have missed it or wish to join in the suit, ipalawsuit.com

I am a current, fairly new (just over 3 months) employee of IPA. Shortly after starting work with IPA, I lost some business due to the business owners reading the Ripoff Report. One business owner pulled out a .45 handgun and threatened to use it on me as soon as I introduced myself and told him I was from IPA.

One of the business owners was kind enough to give me printouts of what they had read that caused them to pull away from doing business with IPA. What I read was quite disturbing, and I determined to find out the truth and conducted my own investigation. If what I read on the Ripoff Report web site was in fact true, I planned to quit immediately, for my reputation in my community is important to me, and I want my children to be proud of their Dad.

I still work for IPA and feel great about what we do.

Matter of fact, I posted a lengthy response early yesterday afternoon describing the excellent ethical standards, professionalism, and compassion of the IPA people that I know.

Guess what? That post can not be found this afternoon, even though a message told me it would be posted just after Midnight Pacific Time last night. Matter of fact, when one posts comments on this site, the text next to the checkbox states that the post ..."will not be removed...."

Who's being honest here, and who's covering their own backsides?

John, why are you defending IPA if you aren't affiliated with them? I simply logged on to this website trying to find out of IPA is a legitimate company and I find all these rip off reports about IPA...I thought I would share my story which is not too far off from what I have read that has happened to hundreds of other companies. We have a right to warn others in the hopes that IPA will be stopped soon. If you work for them, hopefully you will be stopped soon as well!

John, why are you defending IPA if you aren't affiliated with them? I simply logged on to this website trying to find out of IPA is a legitimate company and I find all these rip off reports about IPA...I thought I would share my story which is not too far off from what I have read that has happened to hundreds of other companies. We have a right to warn others in the hopes that IPA will be stopped soon. If you work for them, hopefully you will be stopped soon as well!

John, why are you defending IPA if you aren't affiliated with them? I simply logged on to this website trying to find out of IPA is a legitimate company and I find all these rip off reports about IPA...I thought I would share my story which is not too far off from what I have read that has happened to hundreds of other companies. We have a right to warn others in the hopes that IPA will be stopped soon. If you work for them, hopefully you will be stopped soon as well!

John, why are you defending IPA if you aren't affiliated with them? I simply logged on to this website trying to find out of IPA is a legitimate company and I find all these rip off reports about IPA...I thought I would share my story which is not too far off from what I have read that has happened to hundreds of other companies. We have a right to warn others in the hopes that IPA will be stopped soon. If you work for them, hopefully you will be stopped soon as well!

Hi John,

There is NO reason for you to be so interested in the dealings of IPA if you aren't involved in some way. I've already let everyone that reads this know that my ex-boss told me you ARE an employee because they (IPA) told him your are.

Why are you so insistent in telling everyone (anyone) how stupid they are for falling into IPA's trap if you aren't involved?

Why are you so against letting others know the dangers of this company?

Why are you so hell bent on telling others how stupid they are?

If you're not involved....MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Hi John,

There is NO reason for you to be so interested in the dealings of IPA if you aren't involved in some way. I've already let everyone that reads this know that my ex-boss told me you ARE an employee because they (IPA) told him your are.

Why are you so insistent in telling everyone (anyone) how stupid they are for falling into IPA's trap if you aren't involved?

Why are you so against letting others know the dangers of this company?

Why are you so hell bent on telling others how stupid they are?

If you're not involved....MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Hi John,

There is NO reason for you to be so interested in the dealings of IPA if you aren't involved in some way. I've already let everyone that reads this know that my ex-boss told me you ARE an employee because they (IPA) told him your are.

Why are you so insistent in telling everyone (anyone) how stupid they are for falling into IPA's trap if you aren't involved?

Why are you so against letting others know the dangers of this company?

Why are you so hell bent on telling others how stupid they are?

If you're not involved....MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Hi John,

There is NO reason for you to be so interested in the dealings of IPA if you aren't involved in some way. I've already let everyone that reads this know that my ex-boss told me you ARE an employee because they (IPA) told him your are.

Why are you so insistent in telling everyone (anyone) how stupid they are for falling into IPA's trap if you aren't involved?

Why are you so against letting others know the dangers of this company?

Why are you so hell bent on telling others how stupid they are?

If you're not involved....MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

I'm not an employee of the company. Not sure there is even any point in typing that because you will believe what you want anyway. Yes I have posted about IPA before but I have also posted in many other non-IPA related threads as well. The reason being is that I like this site and think it can be an asset if used correctly. Warning of actual rip-offs is one thing, people whining or crying because they had a bad day, or uncontrollable things went wrong or they had unrealistic expecations is quite another and unfortunatly it happens often on ripoffreport.com. You want to vent, fine start a blog. I just think that this board should be for actual complaints. I've read other posts on IPA and based on those I certainly wouldn't decide to do business with them, however this post just wasn't helpful. I mean they write that a company agreed to come in and do a free assessment and then asked for $500 and THEY PAID. Thats what I don't understand. I mean if I'm quoted one price and then a different one is on the bill I tell the person and 9 times out of 10 they correct the bill. I don't just pay it and then scream fraud. Same with when they posted that they were told it would be more then they could afford and yet they wrote out post-dated checks. I've had plenty of sales people in front of me with an item I wanted telling me I couldn't live without it and that we could figure out a way that I could afford it (usually a loan you pay off for life) I mean its not really ethically right but its sales. At some point in any sales process the consumer needs to take responsibility for their actions.

Again I'm not an IPA shill or employee from most of the posts here without ever dealing with them I have a very unfavorable opinion of them. But thats part of the problem, multiple bad reviews would lead me to not do business with a company, but a dumb review like this would make me question if its not just a bunch of undereducated fools that have the problem.

Amazing how one can sound so interested the day after a posting...... but absolutely no ongoing concerned dialogue afterwards. Do you really think that every small business owner is that stupid.... oh wait, you trained us to belive that they are. Can't wait to see you guys in court!
If you are a business owner and you are reading this..... disassociate yourself with IPA IMMEDIATELY!!!!!
I am a real business analyst for a real consulting firm and after a few months at IPA (years ago), they are a cheap imitation of consultants (and analysts too).
Don't pay any of them a dime, they didn't do 10 cents worth of real work anyway. Read other rebuttals about the legal department.
And as far as John goes on this posting....... He is definetly a current employee!

Don't believe "John" when he tells you he isn't an employee of IPA. He blasted me after I posted my story. Why would someone be so interested in IPA if they weren't part of it or a company that had been ripped off by them?

At the same time "John" was telling me off, IPA was calling my boss to tell him about my post. IPA has all kinds of watchdogs that do nothing but attack the stories on sites such as this. My boss told me that of course "John" was an employee and that IPA had told him they responded to my post.

Unfortunatly for me, I lost my job for trying to save my bosses from these vultures, and they had enough of a foothold to convince the company I was the enemy.

You are right to share your story, and if he is asking you to be more specific, I'm sure it's because IPA wants to use the issues to try to weasle their way back into your business.

To John in New Jersey - If you'd ever had IPA in your company you would not have to ask why IPA is a scam. Seems to me that when specific promises are made and the client agrees to help based on those promises, and there are no results accomplished, that is a scam.

While IPA is not the only company who scams good trusting people, they are one of the worst in history. Their very refined tactics are to induce fear, feelings of stupidity, and making the client believe they are lucky IPA will help them. IPA moves quickly from sales person to analyst to consultants to keep the client from checking IPA out. They refuse to provide references, qualifications of the 'experts', and specific reports in writing for the client to keep and review. To call IPA high pressure is an under-statement.

Even if IPA consultants only work 1 hour with the client before the client kicks them out, IPA bills for the full 10 hour day, plus travel, accomodations, rental car, and a per diem. Additionally, IPA now insists the client sign a two-way confidentiality agreement that prevents the client from ever disclosing IPA's ruthless tactics. Kicking out IPA is seldom a simple matter and most clients have to call the police and have IPA escorted off the property before they will leave.

John from New Jersey, I hope some of this information helps you understand why IPA is a very sophisticated scam and it has been going on since 1991. Longevity does not equal honesty and credibility. Why has IPA not been stopped?

I don't know how many hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against IPA since their inception, but it is a huge number. The owner of IPA, John Burgess, (he calls himself the managing director) has an army of attorneys working for him in the Consulting Department, whether licensed or not (and many have been disbarred like John Burgess has been) they have the knowledge. John's tactic is either settle or delay, delay, delay.

In the meantime, the client's business and life have been put in further crisis due to attorney fees, disruption of normal business activities, and probably sleepless nights worrying about what is going to happen in court.

Burgess will settle by writing off the debt and make you think he is doing you a favor to do so. Many clients settle just so they can get on with their life. Then John manages to have the court records sealed.

Is this a scam, John from New Jersey? Absolutely. You're smart to question all this, many don't question situations they should. That's what IPA hopes for and seeks out those clients who are in often desparate need. When the IPA Analyst asks "How long do you think you have?", and the client answers 'less than a year' the Analyst knows he found a sucker and starts counting his commission.

I hope this helps you understand more of how IPA works. Diane, file a complaint with your local Better Business Bureau and the BBB in Chicago, a complaint with your state Attorney General and the Illinois Attorney General, and contact your local newspaper to be interviewed for a story. Then when IPA threatens you again inform them you have taken these actions. You'll probably never hear from them again.

One more thing, IPA will probably call you and try to get back into your business based on a Quality Control check, "the people we sent obviously did not do a good job for you", etc. JUST HANG UP!

I don't know how much more specific you want, but here goes. An IPA rep called our office and spoke to my husband. He wanted to come by our office tomorrow since he was "going to be in our area. He wanted to do an analysis of our business. "He stated that it would take about 45 minutes of our time and it would be a FREE analysis. My husband agreed to the meeting.

The IPA "analyst" showed up promptly the next morning and began to ask us questions about what we felt we wanted improve about our business. He was here most of the day, not the 45 minutes that he said he would take. At the end of the day, he asked us for $500 (which we paid) and said it was a survey fee which we never were told about.

He stated that we were severely in need of help from IPA to get our business back on track, and that we would go bankrupt without their help. All we had to do was agree to let two more "analysts" come and spend two days with us to show us how to get our business back on track and increase our profits. We agreed to have the two men come back.

The next day, the two "analysts", Matt and Brett, came bright and early in the morning. They talked to us for about an hour and told us that normally they don't help businesses like ours, but they would make an exception and help us out! They immediately wanted to see our books.
They explained to us that we were in desperate need of their help.They called us a "911 Business", meaning that it was an emeegency that we got help. When we asked them how much it would be to help us out, they said about $40,000. We knew we could not afford that, but they said if we commited to them, they would let us make post dated checks for payment. We were very hesitant, but were convinced that we would go out of business without their help, so we agreed.

Their suggestion was to have Brett come back and spend 4 weeks with us to go over our accounting system, employee accountability, purchasing management,etc. We agreed and at the end of the two days, they asked for two of the post dated checks which we gave them. We were told that if we couldn't pay them when they were due, we could call their office and they would "push them back for us". We called the office that next day, and were promised that the checks would not be deposited unitl we called and said the funds were ready.

Brett came back for two more weeks. He began to go over my accounting program and made corrections for me as needed. For the first two days, i really felt like we made the right choice in having IPA help our company. After that first two days, Brett did NOTHING but sit on his computer. He told us that he was making reports to send back to the corporate office for review. I told my husband i was beginning to feel like we were being scammed.

My husband talked to Brett and explained that we wouldn't be needing their services any longer. Brett made a call to his office, and came to me about 15 minutes later asking me for two more post dated checks. I explainded to him that we could not afford to pay nor did we feel like we should have to pay, when he did nothing for our company after promising to TRIPLE our profits for us. He refused to leave until he got the two checks. I wrote them to get him to leave, then called my bank to put a stop payment on them.

I know all comments that don't rail against IPA are ignored and instantly assumed to be from a member of the company and I'm not I'm just confused. How did they rip you off? Was it really just they came in and said they had the perfect solution to all your problems just write us a check and you did? I talk with salesmen all the time and everyone one of them has "just what I need", and yet I don't blindly write them all checks, I'm just confused how this could happen.