Primerica REAL FACTS ABOUT PRIMERICA INSIDE Good thing I found this website before throwing away $199 Thanks Ripoff Report South Amboy New Jersey

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*UPDATE: Primerica recognized by Rip-off Report a business opportunity well worth considering - it's 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.

The only reason a Primerica representative even comes to this site is out of guilt and shame. It's the rep's conscience continually haunting them, because they constantly have to convince themselves and others that they are doing the right thing.

Human nature generally knows right from wrong, so if you have any red flags sticking up and you ignore them......guess what?

Your going to end up here, with a guilty conscience, trying to convince the world that you didn't make a mistake yourself.

Someday a light WILL come that you won't beable to ignore.

Well IM a new agent in Primerica. It seems to me that most of the people who have been to an OPT meeting was mislead. Im sorry for that. I was introduced to Primerica by a collegue. He sat down with my wife and I and told us his purpose as well as Primerca's mission statement. He stated that he do right by people 100% of the time. He did just that.

His goal was to educate us on how money works and how we can start saving and also make some money if we choose to. Many reps as I have read are just money hungry people trying to get some sales.

Also at the Opt meeting, IT was stated that they were not looking for sales people. They were looking for people who were willing to help families. (so I guess it depends on which rep you come across).

What people dont understand is that this is an opportunity to make six figures, just like going to college is an opportunity to get you a decent job. or playing sports will get you 7 figures. Those things like Primerica provides you with the opportunity to succeed. Jobs offer you the opportunity to get a raise once in a while if you comply with about 50 guidelines. :)

I teach, so everyone knows Im overworked and underpaid. I look at Primerica as an opportunity to make some extra money, get some licenses that will help better my marketability(not sure if that is a word.) and who knows what will happen. Everyone owes it to themselves to try to make living a little bit more comfortable.

There is a better way and Ive found it! All the things they told you at PFS are half true, but the bottom line is still the bottom line,the only reason people get involved here is cuz they like helping others and or they like making $.

I love this business of educating and helping people but not for free. I now have made more $ in the last 6 months than the last 4 years at PFS, this helps my family.

I truly work for myself because I am free to use the best products in the market to help my clients. I am not captive and I can still recruit, and I have real financial training not just recruiting rah rah. If youd like more info please contact me.
Joe 914.403.1011

I'm specifically rebutting Paul of Brooklyn who'll
I'll refer to as Paul of B and Paul of Cape Coral
who'll I'll refer to as Paul of C.

The title for my response isn't a figment of my imagination (and I wish it were otherwise). This is based on an article dated 11/5/04 and the link for it is:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/11/01/daily54.html

The article is:

"Former Primerica exec convicted of bilking senior
A one-time regional vice president at Primerica Financial Services has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft following a California Department of Insurance investigation.

Herbert Amos Jones of Bethel Island was sentenced to the 44 days he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses.

'This case reflects the growing problem of financial elder abuse,' said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in a statement released to the media on Friday. 'California insurance agents and brokers are put on notice that preying on senior citizens' hard earned - and usually very necessary funds - will not be tolerated.'

Jones was arrested in Florida in September and extradited to California for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The department's investigation had found that Jones, who surrendered his insurance license when he fled California, convinced a 69-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter to invest $25,000 with him. Jones diverted the mother-daughter funds, failed to secure valid proof of the investments, then submitted incomplete, falsified documents to the daughter in an effort to hide the crime, the department said. The investigation also showed that the daughter's U.S Postal Service pension plan was cleaned out, causing her additional tax penalties. Primerica's restitution included reimbursement of those penalties.

The department said it believes there may other victims who had business dealings with Jones.

2004 American City Business Journals Inc."

I will now deal with Paul of B's comments, point
by point:

(1) "I believe you are from a rival insurance agency." More power to me if that were really true
(for the smarter public, it's JC from Wyoming who
I quoted and JC is the one who's with HBW).

(2) "I have asked the Webmaster to stop Stuart from posting. He has an agenda as an agent of a competing business. He is NOT A CONSUMER. He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt." Actually Paul if you check this
out, you don't have to be a consumer to post here.
And, as I already stated, I'm not with HBW nor
any other competing business (unless what Paul
means by competing is a business who can let an
employee earn a respectable, livable income which
Primerica hasn't been able to do for its
frontline agents).

(3) "I have always stated that I am a Primerica representative. Who the heck are you?" What is a
Primerica rep doing on Ripoff Report? Ripoff Report is designed to help the consumer get
treated fairly by companies through exposing the
scam practices of companies such as Primerica.
If you're interested in doing a real service Paul,
why not have Primerica contact the victims posting
on this website and elsewheres to resolve the
victim's problems who will let us know through
followup reports whether their problems were
resolved. Are you willing to do that, Paul of B?

(4) "I am really tired of your diatribes, your half truths, your name calling, your slander, your outright lies and your continuous posting. And we debunk what you say and you just start new threads to keep the hit count up."

I suppose by name calling, you mean the label
"shill." I'm assuming that like many agents, you
bought Primerica products which would make you a
Primerica consumer, technically speaking. And
trying to get others to join up through
participation (rah-rah meetings, etc.) are
chracteristic of a shill. I could also call you a
liar too, which you are, but for now I'll stick
with the term shill.

(5) "Do you have postings because someone was not promoted from clerk to Senior Vice President in 2 months? NO! Why? Because that is ridiculous. So it is also ridiculous to expect anyone to be earning 6 figures in Primerica in a couple of months!!"

So Paul how long does it take someone from
Primerica to go from frontline agent up to RVP and
beyond? (darn it I asked you another trick
question). What are the odds against someone from
Primerica making $100,000 a year from this company
(if you can't answer this one, maybe you can get
an actuary to figure this one out for you Paul).
How many people must a frontline agent recruit
to get up to the $100,000 level? My most important
question is what are the average earnings and the
top earnings of frontline Primerica slave agents?
Can you furnish documents to Ripoff Report
proving just that?

In regards to Paul of C, just one quote in this
report:

"And, yeah, you know what, 1000 is only, like 10% of the people in the company." No Paul of C, 1000
is only 1% of the people in Primerica, not 10%.
I would never trust you to be my agent as you
can't do simple arithmetic so how can you represent yourself as being a competent rep on
Primerica's behalf? In regards to the Primerica
executive ripping off a senior citizen in
California, I have my beliefs (just as Paul of
B has his) that even though one high-level
executive got caught with his hand in the cookie
jar, there are more at Primerica that will be
exposed.

Happy Holidays everyone.

I'm specifically rebutting Paul of Brooklyn who'll
I'll refer to as Paul of B and Paul of Cape Coral
who'll I'll refer to as Paul of C.

The title for my response isn't a figment of my imagination (and I wish it were otherwise). This is based on an article dated 11/5/04 and the link for it is:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/11/01/daily54.html

The article is:

"Former Primerica exec convicted of bilking senior
A one-time regional vice president at Primerica Financial Services has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft following a California Department of Insurance investigation.

Herbert Amos Jones of Bethel Island was sentenced to the 44 days he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses.

'This case reflects the growing problem of financial elder abuse,' said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in a statement released to the media on Friday. 'California insurance agents and brokers are put on notice that preying on senior citizens' hard earned - and usually very necessary funds - will not be tolerated.'

Jones was arrested in Florida in September and extradited to California for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The department's investigation had found that Jones, who surrendered his insurance license when he fled California, convinced a 69-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter to invest $25,000 with him. Jones diverted the mother-daughter funds, failed to secure valid proof of the investments, then submitted incomplete, falsified documents to the daughter in an effort to hide the crime, the department said. The investigation also showed that the daughter's U.S Postal Service pension plan was cleaned out, causing her additional tax penalties. Primerica's restitution included reimbursement of those penalties.

The department said it believes there may other victims who had business dealings with Jones.

2004 American City Business Journals Inc."

I will now deal with Paul of B's comments, point
by point:

(1) "I believe you are from a rival insurance agency." More power to me if that were really true
(for the smarter public, it's JC from Wyoming who
I quoted and JC is the one who's with HBW).

(2) "I have asked the Webmaster to stop Stuart from posting. He has an agenda as an agent of a competing business. He is NOT A CONSUMER. He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt." Actually Paul if you check this
out, you don't have to be a consumer to post here.
And, as I already stated, I'm not with HBW nor
any other competing business (unless what Paul
means by competing is a business who can let an
employee earn a respectable, livable income which
Primerica hasn't been able to do for its
frontline agents).

(3) "I have always stated that I am a Primerica representative. Who the heck are you?" What is a
Primerica rep doing on Ripoff Report? Ripoff Report is designed to help the consumer get
treated fairly by companies through exposing the
scam practices of companies such as Primerica.
If you're interested in doing a real service Paul,
why not have Primerica contact the victims posting
on this website and elsewheres to resolve the
victim's problems who will let us know through
followup reports whether their problems were
resolved. Are you willing to do that, Paul of B?

(4) "I am really tired of your diatribes, your half truths, your name calling, your slander, your outright lies and your continuous posting. And we debunk what you say and you just start new threads to keep the hit count up."

I suppose by name calling, you mean the label
"shill." I'm assuming that like many agents, you
bought Primerica products which would make you a
Primerica consumer, technically speaking. And
trying to get others to join up through
participation (rah-rah meetings, etc.) are
chracteristic of a shill. I could also call you a
liar too, which you are, but for now I'll stick
with the term shill.

(5) "Do you have postings because someone was not promoted from clerk to Senior Vice President in 2 months? NO! Why? Because that is ridiculous. So it is also ridiculous to expect anyone to be earning 6 figures in Primerica in a couple of months!!"

So Paul how long does it take someone from
Primerica to go from frontline agent up to RVP and
beyond? (darn it I asked you another trick
question). What are the odds against someone from
Primerica making $100,000 a year from this company
(if you can't answer this one, maybe you can get
an actuary to figure this one out for you Paul).
How many people must a frontline agent recruit
to get up to the $100,000 level? My most important
question is what are the average earnings and the
top earnings of frontline Primerica slave agents?
Can you furnish documents to Ripoff Report
proving just that?

In regards to Paul of C, just one quote in this
report:

"And, yeah, you know what, 1000 is only, like 10% of the people in the company." No Paul of C, 1000
is only 1% of the people in Primerica, not 10%.
I would never trust you to be my agent as you
can't do simple arithmetic so how can you represent yourself as being a competent rep on
Primerica's behalf? In regards to the Primerica
executive ripping off a senior citizen in
California, I have my beliefs (just as Paul of
B has his) that even though one high-level
executive got caught with his hand in the cookie
jar, there are more at Primerica that will be
exposed.

Happy Holidays everyone.

I'm specifically rebutting Paul of Brooklyn who'll
I'll refer to as Paul of B and Paul of Cape Coral
who'll I'll refer to as Paul of C.

The title for my response isn't a figment of my imagination (and I wish it were otherwise). This is based on an article dated 11/5/04 and the link for it is:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/11/01/daily54.html

The article is:

"Former Primerica exec convicted of bilking senior
A one-time regional vice president at Primerica Financial Services has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft following a California Department of Insurance investigation.

Herbert Amos Jones of Bethel Island was sentenced to the 44 days he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses.

'This case reflects the growing problem of financial elder abuse,' said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in a statement released to the media on Friday. 'California insurance agents and brokers are put on notice that preying on senior citizens' hard earned - and usually very necessary funds - will not be tolerated.'

Jones was arrested in Florida in September and extradited to California for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The department's investigation had found that Jones, who surrendered his insurance license when he fled California, convinced a 69-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter to invest $25,000 with him. Jones diverted the mother-daughter funds, failed to secure valid proof of the investments, then submitted incomplete, falsified documents to the daughter in an effort to hide the crime, the department said. The investigation also showed that the daughter's U.S Postal Service pension plan was cleaned out, causing her additional tax penalties. Primerica's restitution included reimbursement of those penalties.

The department said it believes there may other victims who had business dealings with Jones.

2004 American City Business Journals Inc."

I will now deal with Paul of B's comments, point
by point:

(1) "I believe you are from a rival insurance agency." More power to me if that were really true
(for the smarter public, it's JC from Wyoming who
I quoted and JC is the one who's with HBW).

(2) "I have asked the Webmaster to stop Stuart from posting. He has an agenda as an agent of a competing business. He is NOT A CONSUMER. He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt." Actually Paul if you check this
out, you don't have to be a consumer to post here.
And, as I already stated, I'm not with HBW nor
any other competing business (unless what Paul
means by competing is a business who can let an
employee earn a respectable, livable income which
Primerica hasn't been able to do for its
frontline agents).

(3) "I have always stated that I am a Primerica representative. Who the heck are you?" What is a
Primerica rep doing on Ripoff Report? Ripoff Report is designed to help the consumer get
treated fairly by companies through exposing the
scam practices of companies such as Primerica.
If you're interested in doing a real service Paul,
why not have Primerica contact the victims posting
on this website and elsewheres to resolve the
victim's problems who will let us know through
followup reports whether their problems were
resolved. Are you willing to do that, Paul of B?

(4) "I am really tired of your diatribes, your half truths, your name calling, your slander, your outright lies and your continuous posting. And we debunk what you say and you just start new threads to keep the hit count up."

I suppose by name calling, you mean the label
"shill." I'm assuming that like many agents, you
bought Primerica products which would make you a
Primerica consumer, technically speaking. And
trying to get others to join up through
participation (rah-rah meetings, etc.) are
chracteristic of a shill. I could also call you a
liar too, which you are, but for now I'll stick
with the term shill.

(5) "Do you have postings because someone was not promoted from clerk to Senior Vice President in 2 months? NO! Why? Because that is ridiculous. So it is also ridiculous to expect anyone to be earning 6 figures in Primerica in a couple of months!!"

So Paul how long does it take someone from
Primerica to go from frontline agent up to RVP and
beyond? (darn it I asked you another trick
question). What are the odds against someone from
Primerica making $100,000 a year from this company
(if you can't answer this one, maybe you can get
an actuary to figure this one out for you Paul).
How many people must a frontline agent recruit
to get up to the $100,000 level? My most important
question is what are the average earnings and the
top earnings of frontline Primerica slave agents?
Can you furnish documents to Ripoff Report
proving just that?

In regards to Paul of C, just one quote in this
report:

"And, yeah, you know what, 1000 is only, like 10% of the people in the company." No Paul of C, 1000
is only 1% of the people in Primerica, not 10%.
I would never trust you to be my agent as you
can't do simple arithmetic so how can you represent yourself as being a competent rep on
Primerica's behalf? In regards to the Primerica
executive ripping off a senior citizen in
California, I have my beliefs (just as Paul of
B has his) that even though one high-level
executive got caught with his hand in the cookie
jar, there are more at Primerica that will be
exposed.

Happy Holidays everyone.

I'm specifically rebutting Paul of Brooklyn who'll
I'll refer to as Paul of B and Paul of Cape Coral
who'll I'll refer to as Paul of C.

The title for my response isn't a figment of my imagination (and I wish it were otherwise). This is based on an article dated 11/5/04 and the link for it is:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/11/01/daily54.html

The article is:

"Former Primerica exec convicted of bilking senior
A one-time regional vice president at Primerica Financial Services has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft following a California Department of Insurance investigation.

Herbert Amos Jones of Bethel Island was sentenced to the 44 days he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses.

'This case reflects the growing problem of financial elder abuse,' said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in a statement released to the media on Friday. 'California insurance agents and brokers are put on notice that preying on senior citizens' hard earned - and usually very necessary funds - will not be tolerated.'

Jones was arrested in Florida in September and extradited to California for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The department's investigation had found that Jones, who surrendered his insurance license when he fled California, convinced a 69-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter to invest $25,000 with him. Jones diverted the mother-daughter funds, failed to secure valid proof of the investments, then submitted incomplete, falsified documents to the daughter in an effort to hide the crime, the department said. The investigation also showed that the daughter's U.S Postal Service pension plan was cleaned out, causing her additional tax penalties. Primerica's restitution included reimbursement of those penalties.

The department said it believes there may other victims who had business dealings with Jones.

2004 American City Business Journals Inc."

I will now deal with Paul of B's comments, point
by point:

(1) "I believe you are from a rival insurance agency." More power to me if that were really true
(for the smarter public, it's JC from Wyoming who
I quoted and JC is the one who's with HBW).

(2) "I have asked the Webmaster to stop Stuart from posting. He has an agenda as an agent of a competing business. He is NOT A CONSUMER. He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt." Actually Paul if you check this
out, you don't have to be a consumer to post here.
And, as I already stated, I'm not with HBW nor
any other competing business (unless what Paul
means by competing is a business who can let an
employee earn a respectable, livable income which
Primerica hasn't been able to do for its
frontline agents).

(3) "I have always stated that I am a Primerica representative. Who the heck are you?" What is a
Primerica rep doing on Ripoff Report? Ripoff Report is designed to help the consumer get
treated fairly by companies through exposing the
scam practices of companies such as Primerica.
If you're interested in doing a real service Paul,
why not have Primerica contact the victims posting
on this website and elsewheres to resolve the
victim's problems who will let us know through
followup reports whether their problems were
resolved. Are you willing to do that, Paul of B?

(4) "I am really tired of your diatribes, your half truths, your name calling, your slander, your outright lies and your continuous posting. And we debunk what you say and you just start new threads to keep the hit count up."

I suppose by name calling, you mean the label
"shill." I'm assuming that like many agents, you
bought Primerica products which would make you a
Primerica consumer, technically speaking. And
trying to get others to join up through
participation (rah-rah meetings, etc.) are
chracteristic of a shill. I could also call you a
liar too, which you are, but for now I'll stick
with the term shill.

(5) "Do you have postings because someone was not promoted from clerk to Senior Vice President in 2 months? NO! Why? Because that is ridiculous. So it is also ridiculous to expect anyone to be earning 6 figures in Primerica in a couple of months!!"

So Paul how long does it take someone from
Primerica to go from frontline agent up to RVP and
beyond? (darn it I asked you another trick
question). What are the odds against someone from
Primerica making $100,000 a year from this company
(if you can't answer this one, maybe you can get
an actuary to figure this one out for you Paul).
How many people must a frontline agent recruit
to get up to the $100,000 level? My most important
question is what are the average earnings and the
top earnings of frontline Primerica slave agents?
Can you furnish documents to Ripoff Report
proving just that?

In regards to Paul of C, just one quote in this
report:

"And, yeah, you know what, 1000 is only, like 10% of the people in the company." No Paul of C, 1000
is only 1% of the people in Primerica, not 10%.
I would never trust you to be my agent as you
can't do simple arithmetic so how can you represent yourself as being a competent rep on
Primerica's behalf? In regards to the Primerica
executive ripping off a senior citizen in
California, I have my beliefs (just as Paul of
B has his) that even though one high-level
executive got caught with his hand in the cookie
jar, there are more at Primerica that will be
exposed.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Stuart, I don't have much time to answer your stuff as I am helping families with their future and teaching new associates how to do that and potentially earn 6 figures. Paul of FL gave you a very lucid retort and what did you do? You attacked him (and me) personally and posted the same garbage you tend to post over and over and over again. Let's look at your words:
* You stated: your shill (shrill?) statements I answer: You keep repeating this. I, and the other Paul, am not paid to shill (pose as consumers to get others to join). We are members of Primerica. We don't hide that. Who are you?

* You stated: before you run off your mouth again I answer: Very nice Stuart. What do you do as one of the most prolific posters here: run off your keyboard again and again??

* You stated: Then what are you Paul? I answer: This was in response to my comment that you don't appear to be a consumer (I believe you are a competing insurance agent). Instead of answering my retort (which you rarely do) you attack me (which you always do). I have always stated that I am a Primerica representative. Who the heck are you?

* You stated: Paul if you don't know how to read a simple report on Ripoff Report, why should we trust anything else you say? Reread the report I had posted. Which part of a quotation don't you understand, DUH? I answer: Well, I will let others judge you for themselves. This is what I read in your previous post: That is why I switched to HBW. Go to www.HBWinc.com and do a comparison. Their compensation and commission rate is much better than PFS. Moreover, HBW agents are non-captive (independent). The focus is truly on helping people out and not on recruiting." To me that strongly implies that Stuart is an agent of HBW. You decide, is Stuart a consumer; or a competitor trying to bash us unfairly??

You stated: Paul, I see you're giving out more lame advice and dribble. I answer: Why is it lame? You state hyperbole without backing it up. But that is your specialty.


You ask Submit hard evidence to Ripoff Report that Primerica has successful frontline agents. Put up or shut up. I answer: You have asked this same question on numerous threads. (I believe you are one of the most prolific posters on these threads.) This is what we call in political circles, a no win question. It cannot be answered because it is a trick question. Allow me to paraphrase it. Submit hard evidence to Ripoff Reports that Corporate America has successful clerks making 100,000 per year. Of course Corporate America doesn't and of course we don't. So we can't answer your trick question. Stuart, you can't choose the newbie's (frontline) and chastised us because new associates don't make 6 figures. That's the same as saying that GM is no good because clerks and first year assembly people don't make 6 figures. But that doesn't stop you from posting this garbage.

I am really tired of your diatribes, your half truths, your name calling, your slander, your outright lies and your continuous posting. And we debunk what you say and you just start new threads to keep the hit count up.

Your comments appear to be from a rival insurance agent. I have complained to Rip Off about you but they don't care about the truth, only activity. They stated I can retort, but when I do, you just start new threads. There is a very negative agenda here that goes well beyond a rip-off. I believe you are from a rival insurance agency. So everyone, keep that in mind. Stuart has posted in many of the threads. He has a virulent agenda against Primerica.

As for the large number of posts, the vast majority are from those who joined and didn't make it. You know, it is interesting that when someone fails a test for premed, or the bar, do you hear them debasing the legal or medial system. No! Why, it is because they failed. Do you have postings because someone was not promoted from clerk to Senior Vice President in 2 months? NO! Why? Because that is ridiculous. So it is also ridiculous to expect anyone to be earning 6 figures in Primerica in a couple of months!! And the vast majority of postings are from people who failed and quit after a short time. What did they expect? To make 6 figures in a few months? Maybe they did. But that is not reality and none of my associates believe that. They believe that if they work hard, they can make it (ummmm isn't that the American dream? work hard and make it????) But not for Stuart!!! In Stuart's world, new people should make a bundle or else it is a scam. Come on, enter the real world!

It seems that many feel that if you don't make that money right away and you fail in Primerica, it is because it is a scam. GET REAL. You were a failure in Primerica, not that Primerica failed you.

Stuart you posted Not a pyramid-scheme Paul? If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..., well I'm sure you can figure it out Paul. To help you along I'm going to excerpt from Primerica's own website (the link is http://ww3.primerica.com/public/what/opp/track_record.html): I answer: To anyone reading your stuff Stuart, one might think that Primerica's own web site states that it is a pyramid scheme. It does not, but your clever positioning of the pyramid line and the web site implies that. What does the web site actually state? The earnings listed accurately demonstrate the range of earnings achieved by top earners in our sales force of more than 100,000 representatives. Well, well, that must mean we state the truth. It continues so you should not consider these results any guarantee that you will achieve any specific earnings level. Let me see, that must mean we don't guarantee riches beyond belief!! Again, the truth. It further states Your earnings are dependent on your own efforts and abilities. Actual earnings also depend upon the organization size that you build, the number of sales and override commissions you earn and the efforts of your downlines. That must mean that if I build my business, I will have the potential of making good money. Well, that's the same as if I start a store-front business and build it, I will make money. Stuart WHERE'S THE PROBLEM??? The problem is with you.

To continue, you post numbers from our web site. First, they are old (2001) and there are more in those categories. However, I can't give you more updated numbers until Primerica releases them to the public. However, at a corporation with 10,000 employees, are you trying to tell us that the majority make the big bucks?? No, of course not. Only the top people make the big money and the majority of the workers make a little. But you take an ordinary fact and make it a Primerica negative. Please! Your arguments are baseless and misleading.

As to your comment about 59 CitiGroup reports. Hey, someone in a previous thread stated there were thousands of negative web sites for Coca-Cola. Anyone with a gripe can post anything, truthful or not, on web sites. So to everyone, be very careful and include the agenda of those posting.

And to debunk your constant posting about the case in California. You keep refusing to highlight the most important point. I quote from your post he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses. Let's look at that. He had to pay Primerica. Why? Because he was a rouge agent and the exception and not the rule. If we are such a scam outfit, why don't you list 100 or 1,000 cases??? Put up or Shut up (your words)! You can't because there aren't that many! But here is the most important part: which had already reimbursed victims for their losses. Primerica paid people back BEFORE THE JUDGMENT! I want to do business with a company that stands the moral ground and immediately took care of the customers. Not like the scam, corrupt company picture you paint Stuart.

This is my last post as I don't have time to be a shill (which I am not in spite of your person vitriol), but obviously you do have the time (are you paid to do this???? Or are you just so full of hate that you don't care about the harm you are causing???). Or in your own words, you are a SHRILL?

I am sure you will turn around my words as you appear to be a very good word-smith.
Goodbye Stuart. Hope you eventually see the damage you are doing. One day we may meet. I would like to find out what caused such hatred.

I have assembled a list of web sites that I passing out through Primerica as they put together the true story and not people's venom and hatred due to their not making it. We have to put an end to this garbage.

I now quote:

"Where are the rest of the people who are in trouble with the law because of their involvement with Primerica? Did they just buy their way out (wait, that would imply they made money, which is what you claim doesn't happen)."

Paul, you're doing Primerica a disservice with your shill (shrill?) statements. That 1 out of 100,000 isn't just your slave, frontline agent. We're talking about an executive for Primerica and how many of those do Primerica have?

Another quote:

"If Primerica is such a fraud and borderline illegal, why would Citigroup, the most respected financial company in the world (BusinessWorld, December 2, 2004), allow Primerica to be under its umbrella (no pun intended)? In fact, that report, cites also that, "Overall, Citigroup was ranked eighth among all companies, up from 31st place last year. It is Citigroup's highest ranking since the survey started seven years ago."

If Citigroup is so respected, why are there 59
Ripoff Reports filed against them?

Another quote:

"But you know, you're right. I imagine that PFS set up the over 1000 people making 100,000 or more a year, just to fool the little guy into adding his $199.00 to the mix. Then licensing more insurance salesmen than all of the other major firms combined, just so they could screw more people out of their hard-earned money (or is that the cash-value people?)" I couldn't put this any
better Paul. I can add comments from other posters
who saw these so-called achievers driving off in
cheap, low-quality cars.

Let's get to the nitty-gritty before you run off
your mouth again Paul. Submit hard evidence to
Ripoff Report that Primerica has successful
frontline agents. Put up or shut up.

Where are the rest of the people who are in trouble with the law because of their involvement with Primerica? Did they just buy their way out (wait, that would imply they made money, which is what you claim doesn't happen).

If Primerica is such a fraud and borderline illegal, why would Citigroup, the most respected financial company in the world (BusinessWorld, December 2, 2004), allow Primerica to be under its umbrella (no pun intended)? In fact, that report, cites also that, "Overall, Citigroup was ranked eighth among all companies, up from 31st place last year. It is Citigroup's highest ranking since the survey started seven years ago.

"The Financial Times summed up Citigroup's rise in the survey by stating that respondents found Citigroup's scale and financial success as the most impressive: [Citigroup is] the biggest bank the world, which has shown durability, stability and continuous growth over the decades, and is now the most global company in the world."

"Respondents highlighted Citigroup's "responsible" business practices, its "reliability" and its "reputation and quality." A large number also cited its "excellent customer services" with one CEO saying despite its globality, Citigroup continued to "stay in touch with local customers." It also scored highly for being a "pioneer" and having "innovative products."

"Citigroup also ranked 12th in the survey's categories of good corporate governance and corporate social responsibility."

I know, you're going to throw out the Enron/World Com card. But these companies were not rated high for their ethics and reputation, just for high profits and great stock performance.

Why would Smith Barney, the #2 investment firm in the country choose to do business with PFS, and even hold special update meetings between Primerica leaders and the fund managers who have 10-30 years of experience in the business?

Why would Direct Selling News, one of the top magazines for Network Marketers allow Co-CEO John Addison to write an article for them, if they're all crooks?

But you know, you're right. I imagine that PFS set up the over 1000 people making 100,000 or more a year, just to fool the little guy into adding his $199.00 to the mix. Then licensing more insurance salesmen than all of the other major firms combined, just so they could screw more people out of their hard-earned money (or is that the cash-value people?)

And, yeah, you know what, 1000 is only, like 10% of the people in the company. Of course, 53 of them are earning over $1-million. But I ask you, how many people at HBW or Nationwide, or State Farm, or Thrivent, or Guardian, or Prudential are making 6-figures, and have a guaranteed retirement? How many people at any major company are making 6-figures? I would wager to guess (since I don't have actual numbers in front of me), based on my experience in the corporate world, the percentage is far less than 10%. In fact, the companies I've personally worked for, the percentage is 1-3%, with only 2 people I know making more than $1-million - and only one of those cared about talking to people below him. I know, personally, 7 people making in excess of $100,000 a year, one of them making almost $2-million a year, and they're still willing to talk to me and help me make the same money, if I'm willing to work hard. What is so illegal about that?

Paul, I wish that HBW were my company LOL.

Paul if you don't know how to read a simple report on Ripoff Report, why should we trust anything else you say? Reread the report I had posted. Which part of a quotation don't you understand, DUH?

Now some quoting of Paul:

(1) "He is NOT A CONSUMER." Then what are you Paul?

(2) "He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt." Tsk tsk Paul, I'm
certainly am posting in the spirit of Ripoff Report doing an expose on Primerica. And keep in mind that I did a quotation which is easily verifiable as I said who I quoted and when he posted on Ripoff Report so they're not my words Paul. I'm sure that those who come to Ripoff Report to check out Primerica have the intelligence to disregard your lame advice.

(3) "WEBMASTER. WHY DID YOU ALLOW HIM TO ADVERTISE HIS COMPANY!!!!!! THAT IS SIMILAR TO US!!!!"
Rotflmao. Check out D & B or Hoovers. You won't
find me as an owner or a head of HBW. In fact I've
never been with the company. The only thing you have correct (to an extent) Paul is that HBW and
Primerica are in the same business. However Paul,
to contrast HBW with Primerica, HBW is an honest
company while Primerica is the biggest, fraudulent
insurance company around. I'm not going to ask the
intelligent people who come to Primerica to disregard what you say as I trust in their ability
to read through the rest of the ripoff reports
posted on this website about Primerica and other
websites (including Ken Young's) plus go to other
sources if they need to.

(4) "Stuart is simply -- in his own words about us -- a SHILL FOR HIS COMPANY!!!!" You missed the
mark again Paul as I have no involvement with HBW.
However you're deeply involved with Primerica
which still makes you a shill for Primerica.

(5) "All I am saying is STOP THE HATE BASHING and give people the facts (and no emotion)...." You
should follow your own advice about not being
emotional Paul as you're using allcaps in your
report. And I along with many other posters on
Ripoff Report have been giving the facts on that
fraudulent Primerica Paul which reminds me that I
need to do one more quote from an easily verifiable source Paul so enjoy this one too and
go ahead and blast away with another one of your
allcap shill reports. Here's the quote (the source
is dated 11/5/04 and the link is http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2004/11/01/daily54.html):

"Former Primerica exec convicted of bilking senior
A one-time regional vice president at Primerica Financial Services has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft following a California Department of Insurance investigation.

Herbert Amos Jones of Bethel Island was sentenced to the 44 days he served in county jail and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to Primerica, which had already reimbursed victims for their losses.

'This case reflects the growing problem of financial elder abuse,' said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in a statement released to the media on Friday. 'California insurance agents and brokers are put on notice that preying on senior citizens' hard earned - and usually very necessary funds - will not be tolerated.'

Jones was arrested in Florida in September and extradited to California for prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

The department's investigation had found that Jones, who surrendered his insurance license when he fled California, convinced a 69-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter to invest $25,000 with him. Jones diverted the mother-daughter funds, failed to secure valid proof of the investments, then submitted incomplete, falsified documents to the daughter in an effort to hide the crime, the department said. The investigation also showed that the daughter's U.S Postal Service pension plan was cleaned out, causing her additional tax penalties. Primerica's restitution included reimbursement of those penalties.

The department said it believes there may other victims who had business dealings with Jones.

2004 American City Business Journals Inc."

I have asked the Webmaster to stop Stuart from posting. He has an agenda as an agent of a competing business. He is NOT A CONSUMER. He is not posting in the spirit of this website. So to all who read his stuff; take it with a several grains of salt.

WEBMASTER. WHY DID YOU ALLOW HIM TO ADVERTISE HIS COMPANY!!!!!! THAT IS SIMILAR TO US!!!!

To Paul - Fort Meyers, Yes I can explain it. Stuart is simply -- in his own words about us -- a SHILL FOR HIS COMPANY!!!!

To Roger, thank you for the congratulations. Everything I post will be honest, without emotion, and I will even provide caveats where appropriate. Unfortunately, many who post negatively here will not do that.

Back to "own your own business. I have already explained captive agents versus the independent agent. Now for the bottom line, IF I CAN SELL MY PRIMERICA BUSINESS (AND I CAN) THEN I MUST OWN IT. So no matter what you post, you have the opportunity to be a business owner. Yes, you cannot keep your clients as an independent rep can do. But, if you decide to retire, you can sell it. So let's post complete information as opposed to just what agrees with your agenda. It the spirit of full disclosure, you have to reach a certain level to own the business, SO YOUR IBA, as you have pointed out, WILL NOT STATE THAT.

And, I have heard time and time again that the products are not competitive. And I have found on internet searches myself products that are similar being sold that are cheaper. So I will concede to Roger that he probably has some products that more competitive. More power to you. But that doesn't make Primerica a ripoff company. We offer service. We make house calls. We offer a large spectrum of products. We do not EVER charge the client directly. The FNA is complementary. We, as many do, have a moral corporate philosophy to do the best for the client. I HAVE TOLD SOME OF MY CLIENTS TO TAKE THE INSURANCE THEY SHOWED ME OVER MINE BECAUSE IT WAS A BETTER DEAL. (However, in any and all businesses, there are those who have lied at that point to make the commission. I can't do that.)

As for the SMART loans, again you are focused on rates only. We focus on total cost of the loan. And as for accelerated payments, most clients do not have the discipline to continue such a program on their own. We help with that discipline by doing a biweekly payment structure as an automatic withdrawal. A biweekly program is better than a simple yearly extra payment. So they never have to think about it. They never buy something instead of making that extra payment. THIS IS THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE. And that's why we are successful. Most clients will pay a little to get good service.

These postings are basically for the "ripoff" of the $199 or that we are not competitive. The competitive I have addressed above. As for the $199, it has been explained several times for those who want to hear it that that initial fee pays for your schooling and license. As with any business, you have many ways to get in. Some are better than others. I personally know several $100,000 plus earners and one 1 million dollar earner. So to say it can't happen is wrong. It is correct to say it is not easy and many do "wash out". But then what business exists where it is easy to earn six figures? How easy is it to get to the ivory tower in corporate America? THIS IS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SALES, IT IS HARD. DON'T BASH THE INDUSTRY IF YOU DIDN'T SUCCEED!

All I am saying is STOP THE HATE BASHING and give people the facts (and no emotion) and let them, for a very small cost (which can be reimbursed), enter into the business with their eyes open and not clouded by venomous statements. And then later (as Roger apparently did) they can decide on their own future. And that is what is appalling here. I have had potential new business associates not join due to this site. And that is horrible as that person was stopped from making up their own mind by the comments here.

So Roger, thank you for your counterpoint. You have found a line-of-business where you feel comfortable and I congratulate you on that. I have also found a business where I am comfortable. Success to both of us.

I was contacted by an agent of HBW. From what the guy sent me, they are nothing more than a slighly different variation on Primerica. That aside, what I was told about recruiting, is, that you are offering that person a chance to win, and you are building a sales force, similar to that of every other insurance, real estate, or auto sales company, and you get paid overrides based on the work they do and the training you give them. I guess I don't understand what is so wrong about that. HBW talks about it like recruiting is the plague, but if I really can earn money from other's work because I helped train them, why wouldn't I be interested in that? I can only sell Life Insurance for so long. Longer than a bricklayer can lay bricks, yes, but still for a limited time. Why wouldn't you want to be able to retire someday, debt-free? I guess I just don't get it, cause that made sense to me. Anyone want to explain it to me? Thanks.

First I quote Paul:

"Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example. Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money. Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year. Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank."

Now I quote JC from Wyoming who posted 10/19/04"

"Moreover, PFS insurance is overpriced. There are better or comparable insurance out there that are a lot cheaper. The SMART loan is a joke. The interest rate is high and PFSers will say interest rate does not matter. YES, interest rates matter - even if the SMART loan is set up based on simple interest. I have a technical background so I compared compound interest vs. simple interest. Guess what? It is way better to have a 5% compound interest (current industry average) vs PFS simple interest of 9%.

The problem with PFS agents is that they DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO NOT KNOW. Some of them willingly rip people off, but most of them are uneducated in the field of finances that they actually believe they are helping people out.

If you want to be a financial advisor, it is better to be independent. PFS agents are captive. They can only sell Citi group products. Independent agents can truly look out for the best financial interest of their clients. I would not say PFS is a SCAM. What they do is legal, but like I said it borderlines unethical.

That is why I switched to HBW. Go to www.HBWinc.com and do a comparison. Their compensation and commission rate is much better than PFS. Moreover, HBW agents are non-captive (independent). The focus is truly on helping people out and not on recruiting."

Paul,

When are you going to stop justifying Primerica and own up to the fact that Primerica and its Reps are ripping people off.

I will respond to what you said in your last post and I don't need to TRY and justify what Primerica does. I was with Primerica long enough to know what really happens. So try as you may, but the public will judge for itself. One of two things will happen to those caught up in the Primerica Spider Web...they will either continue to deceive the public or they will realize that what they are doing is wrong on get out, as I did. As I've stated before, you and I, as well as countless others, joined Primerica thinking that it was the place to be. We could be wealthly through helping others etc. etc. etc. But I got out because that wasn't the case. Yes, I did provide some valuable advice...lke have an emergency fund, save for retirement and that the families do need insurance. BUT, Primerica reps kow without a doubt that few of you, and I stress 'FEW' rarely follow up with clients and that the whole scam behind the FNA is this...the FNA (Financial Needs Analysis) is a colorful, pleasing to the eye piece of garbage, that is generated to do two things, Fool the client into thinking they need you and to sell them insurance. So STOP the deception. It's time you own up to what you are doing.

TO THE DECENT, DESERVING, and UNKNOWING PUBLIC, DO NOT TAKE WHAT I AM SAYING LIGHTLY. DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET CAUGHT UP IN THIS WEB OF DECEIT. I DID AND I REGRET IT AS DO COUNTLESS OTHERS.

Pual you said

Ownership of clients: We are what is known as Captive Agents. Unlike the non-captive agent in a store front that sells more than one company's insurance, we provide only Insurance from Primerica. If we leave Primerica, the clients will not automatically follow us.

>>CAPTIVE AGENTS YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND THEREFORE YOU CAN'T SELL ANY OTHER PRODUCTS OTHER THAN THOSE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED BY PRIMERICA. THEREFORE YOUR COMPETITIVENESS IS LIMITED TO THOSE PRODUCTS YOU CAN SELL, IN WHICH CASE ARE ALL OVERPRICED. BUT, DON'T WORRY PUBLIC, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT SO PEOPLE LIKE PAUL WILL CONTINUE TO DECEIVE YOU AND RIP YOU OFF.

Ownership of recruits: As we don't pay them directly as in a standard employer/employee relationship, they don't follow us if we leave Primerica.

>>IT'S TRUE YOU DON'T OWN YOUR RECRUITS. NO ONE OWNS ANYONE NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS YOU ARE IN. IT'S NOT THAT THEY DON'T FOLLOW YOU, BECAUSE THEY CAN LEAVE AT ANY TIME AS WELL. IT'S JUST THEY ARE BRAINWASHED INTO THINKING IF THEY DO LEAVE THAT WILL BE SHUNNED AND DUBBED A LOSER AND A FAILURE BY EVERYONE ELSE.

Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example.

>>I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD EVEN STOOP TO MAKING THE ABOVE COMMENTS. THE INTEREST RATE ON A PRIMERICA REFINANCE ARE NOT, I REPEAT NOT COMPETITIVE. YOU ARE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY THAT INTEREST RATE SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY FACTOR IN DETERMINING IF A LOAN IS APPROPRIATE OR NOT, BUT CONSIDER THIS. LET'S SAY YOU HAVE GREAT CREDIT AND ARE OFFERED TWO LOANS.

LOAN #1: THE PFS LOAN FOR 203,000 (CLOSING COSTS ADDED)AT 6.8% (EVEN WITH GOOD CREDIT THE RATE IS TYPICALLY 1-3% HIGHER THAN OTHER LOAN AGENCIES OR BANKS), YOU'LL PAY $3000 IN CLOSING COSTS AT LEAST (MANY BANKS THESE DAYSA HAVE REQUIRE YOU TO PAY NO CLOSING COSTS AT ALL), AND YOU HAVE A 3 YEAR AGREEMENT NOT TO PAY THE LOAN OFF (REFI ELSEWHERE) IN THREE YEARS OR YOU'LL INCUR AN EARLY PAYMENT PENALTY FOR DOING SO (WHICH MANY OTHER BANKS DO NOT HAVE).

LOAN #2: A LOAN FROM ANOTHER COMPANY, BANK ETC. FOR $200,000 (NO CLOSING COSTS) 5.75%, MAYBE LOWER, NO CLOSING COSTS AND NO PRE-PAYMENT PENALTY.

BOTH LOANS OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO BI-WEEKLY PAYMENTS AT NO EXTRA COST, WHICH IS COMMON. PRIMERICA WILL SAY THAT OTHER BANKS CHARGE A FEE FOR THIS AND THEY DON'T. TRUST ME YOU WILL PAY PAY FOR IT IN THE END DUE TO THE OUTRAGEOUS INTEREST RATE, SO DON'T FALL FOR THE PLOY.

NOW LET'S SAY OPT TO TAKE A STRAIGHT 30 YEAR LOAN, NO BIWEEKLY PAYMENTS. IN THE PRIMERICA LOAN YOU'LL PAY $1323/MONTH AND WILL PAY 273,426 IN INTEREST OVER THE THIRTY YEARS. IN THE OTHER LOAN YOU'LL PAY $1167/MONTH AND 220,172 IN INTEREST OVER THE LIFE. THAT'S A SAVINGS OF OVER $150/ MONTH AND OVER 50,000 IN INTEREST. WHICH LOAN WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE.

I DIDN'T EVEN FACTOR IN IF YOU TAKE BIWEEKLY PAYMENTS WHICH REDUCES A 30 YEAR MORTGAGE DOWN TO ABOUT 22 YEARS. EITHER WAY, YOU WILL SAVE MORE BY GOING ELSEWHERE, GUARANTEED.

NOW LET ME ADDRESS THE OTHER COMMENTS. YOU SAID : Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money.

>>>ANY LOAN OFFICER OR AGENT IS REQUIRED TO LET A CLIENT KNOW IF THE RATE IS ADJUSTABLE AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN AN ADJUSTABLE LOAN MAKE ABSOLUTE SENSE. FOR INSTANCE IF YOU PLANNED ON MOVING PRIOR TO THE TIME FRAME BEFORE THE ADJUSTMENT TAKES PLACE. WHILE I DON'T AGREE WITH ADJUSTABLE RATES FOR THE MOST PART, YOUR ARGUMENT STILL MAKES NO SENSE. ALSO, I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN A PRIMERICA LOAN AT 5.5%. THAT'S AN EXTREMELY RARE CASE. MOST PFS RATES ARE BETWEEN 6-5% AND 8.5%. ALSO THE PART ABOUT A BALLOON PAYMENT IS ABSURD. AGAIN, LOAN AGENTS ARE REQUIRED TO TELL CLIENTS IF THIS IS THE CASE AND MANY AGENTS USE THESE ONLY IN VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

YOU ALSO SAID: Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year.

>>>PAUL ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSSED TO MENTION 'SIMPLE INTEREST' TO CLIENTS. CHECK YOUR SALES DIRECTOR IN YOUR AREA IN CHARGE OF TRAINING YOU ON S.M.A.R.T. TO THE PUBLIC: PFS REPS ARE TRAINED THAT PFS REFI'S CHARGE A SIMPLE INTEREST, WHICH I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO CONFIRM. IN RUNNING THE NUMBERS MYSELF, I'VE FOUND NO DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LOANS AND OTHER LOANS IN TERMS OF TYPE OF INTEREST USED. PFS REPS ARE UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT PFS REFI'S USE SIMPLE INTEREST AND THUS USE THIS AS ONE OF THEIR KEY SELLING FEATURES. YET WHEN I WAS A REP WE WERE TOLD NOT TO MENTION SIMPLE INTEREST TO THE CLIENTS, BUT OUR RVP STILL DID AND THUS WE THOUGHT IT WAS OK. IF A SIMPLE INTEREST RATE IS SUPPOSEDLY USED IN A SMART LOAN THEN WHY CAN'T WE MENTION IT? FOR TWO REASONS, IT'S EITHER NOT USED OR ISN'T SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO BE ALLOWED TO BE MENTIONED. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, AND I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE, THAT PFS REPS ARE TRAINED IN WAYS TO MAKE THE REFINANCE (ALSO KNOWN AS SMART) TO LOOK LIKE IT'S A GOOD PROGRAM. THEY ARE TRAINED IN HIGH PRESSURE SALES TECHNIQUES THAT INDUCE THE CLIENT TO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS.

YOU ALSO SAID:
Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank.

>>>AGAIN I ALREADY ANSWERED THAT. SOME BANKS DO CHARGE A FEE TO HAVE A CLIENT GET INTO BIWEEKLY PAYMENTS. SO WHAT. IT'S SURE AS HELL ALOT CHEAPER THAN TAKING A SMART LOAN. ANSWER ME THIS OF THE TWO LOANS ABOVE WHICH WOULD HONESTLY TAKE. I KNOW THE ANSWER. IF YOU WEREN'T BRAINWASHED BY PRIMERICA YOU'D TAKE THE OTHER OFFERED BY ANOTHER FIRM AND YOU WOULDN'T EVEN CONSIDER THE NOT SO 'SMART' LOAN. OH AND YOU DON'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO YOUR CLIENTS, YOU DECEIVE THEM. THE ONLY SUCKER I SEE IS YOU. TAKE IT LIKE A MAN PAUL AND OWN UP, YOU ARE BRAINWASHED AND THERE'S NO DENYING IT.

FOLKS: DON'T FALL IN TO THE TRAP CALLED 'PRIMERICA'. YOU WILL ONLY REGRET IT IF YOU DO. THERE ARE SOME, AND I STRESS SOME, IMPORTANT VALUES THAT I DID LEARN FROM PRIMERICA. THEY ARE BE SURE TO BUDGET, HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND, SAVE FOR RETIREMENT AND COLLEGE AND MAKE SURE YOUR FAMILY IS PROTECTED FINANCIALLY I CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ONE OF THE BREAD WINNERS. THESE ARE FINANCIIAL CONCEPTS YOU CAN LEARN FROM SUSI ORMAN OR FROM ANY OTHER FINANCIAL BOOK. PRIMERICA PREYS ON THE UNEDUCATED AND FINANCIALLY IGNORANT. THEY WILL HARASS YOU UNTIL YOU EITHER JOIN, DIE OR BUY.

YOU ALSO WROTE: The other Paul did a good job of trying to answer the points listed but the truth is that many just won't listen. This is especially true if you have been in Primerica and washed-out. Don't poison the environment because you didn't make it. Ordinary people do make it here. It is wrong of those who didn't make it to prevent anyone from trying and possibly doing very well.

>> OF COURSE PEOPLE WON'T LISTEN. THEY ARE AWARE THAT PRIMERICA IS NOT AS REPUTABLE AS YOU LEAD THEM TO BELIEVE. ALSO NOT EVERYONE GET'S WASHED OUT. I FOR INSTANCE LEARNED THAT THE PRODUCTS WERE FAR INFERIOR TO MANY OTHERS AND THAT THE TACTICS USED WERE VERY DECEPTIVE. PRIMERICA SHOLD BE INVESTIGATED FOR PREDATORY LENDING. YOU ARE RIGHT...ORDINARY PEOPLE DO MAKE IT IN PRIMERICA, BUT THEY DO IT THROUGH DECEPTION. THEY COME IN THINKING THEY ARE GOING TO HELP EVERYONE AND THEN LEARN THAT THE WAY TO GET AHEAD IS BY FEEDING OFF YOUR RECRUITS MARKET AND SO ON AND SO ON. RECRUITS REALIZE SOON AFTER JOINING BUT BY THEN THEY FEEL TRAPPED BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY ARE TOLD. IT'S UNFAIR AND UNETHICAL TO RUN BUSINESS THE WAY PRIMERICA DOES.

YOU KNOW SOMETHING PAUL, I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST. MAYBE SOMEDAY YOU WILL SNAP OUT OF THE TRANCE YOU ARE IN AND STEP OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD. ONLY THEN CAN YOU FACE THE REALITY THAT WHAT PRIMERICA IS DOING IS WRONG.

STEVE - DOVER, DE

Good luck to all

Paul - Brooklyn, New York
U.S.A.

This is for Paul from Brooklyn:

The fact of the matter is many PFS agents (even on this site) claim they own their own business when it reality they don't. If one owns their own business which consists of your 1) clients 2) team, then they would go where ever the owner went. However, you admitted (congratulations) that this not the case. As far as interest rates are concern for the SMART loan. I'm talking about an apple-to-apple comparison with someone with excellent credit. Straight APR to APR, fees to fees. I would not say that Citifinancial is remotely competitive, but prove me wrong. Give us an example of a person with excellent credit , I'm talking FICO score of over 700. And tell us what Citifinancial's APR would be and the interest rate. Also, with regard to accelerated payment, the answer is simple (mail an extra payment to your mortgage company, earmark it to be applied to principal only, done! What setup fees?) The mutual fund loads are still a major, issue, the term insurance is not competitive. My point is simply this, if one truly wants to do what is best for the client then PFS is not always the best venue. Also, obviously I don't have the power to prevent anyone from joining PFS but I feel I do have the obligation if not the duty to warn those contemplating about the pitfalls. And there are plenty of other issues I could go into but many are already covered on this site. Ignorance comes from the root word ignore, you can continue to ignore these warnings, or you can learn from them, that choice is yours. There are plenty of warning on this site from people who do know what they're talking about. By the way I did not wash out, I had the watch, I was an RVP with an office etc. I simply could not do what was best for the public while representing this company. You apparently don't have that problem, but for how long?

Regards

I will answer your other points.

Ownership of clients: We are what is known as Captive Agents. Unlike the non-captive agent in a store front that sells more than one company's insurance, we provide only Insurance from Primerica. If we leave Primerica, the clients will not automatically follow us.

Ownership of recruits: As we don't pay them directly as in a standard employer/employee relationship, they don't follow us if we leave Primerica.

Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example. Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money. Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year. Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank.

The other Paul did a good job of trying to answer the points listed but the truth is that many just won't listen. This is especially true if you have been in Primerica and washed-out. Don't poison the environment because you didn't make it. Ordinary people do make it here. It is wrong of those who didn't make it to prevent anyone from trying and possibly doing very well.

Good luck to all

I will answer your other points.

Ownership of clients: We are what is known as Captive Agents. Unlike the non-captive agent in a store front that sells more than one company's insurance, we provide only Insurance from Primerica. If we leave Primerica, the clients will not automatically follow us.

Ownership of recruits: As we don't pay them directly as in a standard employer/employee relationship, they don't follow us if we leave Primerica.

Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example. Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money. Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year. Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank.

The other Paul did a good job of trying to answer the points listed but the truth is that many just won't listen. This is especially true if you have been in Primerica and washed-out. Don't poison the environment because you didn't make it. Ordinary people do make it here. It is wrong of those who didn't make it to prevent anyone from trying and possibly doing very well.

Good luck to all

I will answer your other points.

Ownership of clients: We are what is known as Captive Agents. Unlike the non-captive agent in a store front that sells more than one company's insurance, we provide only Insurance from Primerica. If we leave Primerica, the clients will not automatically follow us.

Ownership of recruits: As we don't pay them directly as in a standard employer/employee relationship, they don't follow us if we leave Primerica.

Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example. Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money. Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year. Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank.

The other Paul did a good job of trying to answer the points listed but the truth is that many just won't listen. This is especially true if you have been in Primerica and washed-out. Don't poison the environment because you didn't make it. Ordinary people do make it here. It is wrong of those who didn't make it to prevent anyone from trying and possibly doing very well.

Good luck to all

I will answer your other points.

Ownership of clients: We are what is known as Captive Agents. Unlike the non-captive agent in a store front that sells more than one company's insurance, we provide only Insurance from Primerica. If we leave Primerica, the clients will not automatically follow us.

Ownership of recruits: As we don't pay them directly as in a standard employer/employee relationship, they don't follow us if we leave Primerica.

Interest Rates: The interest rates are not the lowest but they are competitive. Unfortunately, lending institutions now use interest rate as a false indicator of which loan is the best. The interest rate should never be the only criteria. Let me use an example. Compare a 2.5% loan to a 5.5% loan. If you took the 2.5% you could lose. Most of these are adjustable rate and the rate can jump up year after year. There could also be a very large payment (known as a balloon) at a time when you don't have that kind of money. Another factor to consider is how the interest is computed. Is it scheduled or simple? That makes a big difference especially if you like to make an extra payment each year. Speaking of accelerated payments, we do that free of charge as opposed to others who charge a set up fee and possibly a monthly stipend. The correct way to look at a loan is to check out how much it costs, not just the interest rate. This is how we explain financing to our clients. Anyone who shops via interest rate only is a ripe sucker waiting to be fleeced by the bank.

The other Paul did a good job of trying to answer the points listed but the truth is that many just won't listen. This is especially true if you have been in Primerica and washed-out. Don't poison the environment because you didn't make it. Ordinary people do make it here. It is wrong of those who didn't make it to prevent anyone from trying and possibly doing very well.

Good luck to all

Congratulations, Paul, you're the first to respond ever to the concerns put forth. Although you did not address the issue of ownership of clients and recruits, nor the fact that Citifinancial interest rates are not competitive.

And most of your response were anecdotal, meaning you are trying ideally to do what is right, but this is not what is actually happening in the field. So I predict you're too smart and honest to stay with PFS for the long term, if you truly want to to what is right for the consumer 100% of the time. But only time will tell.

Good luck either way.

Regards,

Where to start...

"The nice little figures you quoted that your RVP makes, did you subtract business expense, like office lease, utilities, stationary, computers, award etc? Or did you just forget that minor detail?"

Nope, I am aware of this. One of the people in my office just got his RVP and he's dealing with that now. He also lost his top performer to our current RVP, as is standard for all PFS RVP's. It forces him to work harder to keep making the money he was making.

"When the FNA shows them how to buy term and invest the difference, are you upfront with the client and say that there are a lot of cheaper term products on the market"

Actually, yes, my RVP is very clear to the clients I have sat down with him for my field training, that there are often cheaper policies and other insurance products that they could buy through other agencies. But then there is the question of comparison. Often times these polices seem cheaper on the head, but the fees increase radically as you age, especially if you have to renew, while PFS policies are automatically renewable at the current rate, and we reduce the fees paid to acquire the insurance initially, allowing more of the consumer's money to go to insurance, rather than excess fees that are often built into other policies. Of course, I don't expect you to take my word for it, so I probably just wasted my tiome typing the paragraph, but judge for yourself.

"Do you tell you client that your investments all have loads and that they can go on the internet and get top mutual funds for themselves with no-loads?"

Yep, I try to keep my clients aware of whatever is best for them. I personally believe that no-load funds, for which you pay fees on the backside, are not the best option for most of my clients, but that's my personal opinion, based on what I learned through my secrurities licensing process, and you have yours.

"Or do you use some trick you learned at a fast start school to overcome that objection, and invest their money in your limited funds?"

1. Haven't yet been to a fast-start school. 2. We offer the same mutual funds as everyone else in the world - Smith Barney, Van Kampen, etc., we just choose to focus on A shares and front-loaded funds, rather than some of the other alternatives.

"Do you tell the client, hey everything I just proposed you can do through your present mortgage company and do for a lot less?"

Actually, it was my experience long before I joined PFS that you could take advantage of these options, but many (if not most) banks set it up for you for a fee and charged a monthly fee to continue the program. CitiTrust does not charge a fee, and lowers your interest rate if you choose to participate in the program. And I notice when you mention the interest rates, you don't make a distinction between scheduled and simple interest rates. What 95% of banks offer is scheduled, in which case, extra payments only go so far in paying off the interest. CitiTrust offers simple interest, whereby every payment that is made is immediately applied to the mortgage, lowering the interest costs every day.

"Another point, you're not a mortgage broker, because you can only offer CitiFinancial (not even Citigroup or CitiBank mortgages). A broker can represent many companies. Sorry."

Funny, the state of Florida issued me my mortgage broker license, not PFS. I am free to go and broker mortgages for anyone, if I wanted to. I freely choose to hang my license with PFS and operate by their rules. That doesn't stop me from being a mortgage broker. And if you really looked into it, most brokerage firms (at least down here in the Sunshine State) only deal with certain banks and clients that they choose to. And big changes are coming to what PFS people can offer as well, but that's something I can't really go into right now. (and wouldn't affect you anyways, since you obviously have no desire to work with PFS as a recruit or client).

"Finally, as a typical PFS person you're stretching the truth (and I'm trying to be nice), about the 10 hours worth of work and making $1200. Doest his include prospecting time, setting the appointments, driving, Licensing, etc? Will this happen every time every month?"

Actually, I'm not. All I was talking about was the actual work to sit down with the family and do their FNA. I didn't have to get a recruit to do that, since they were my friends. The drive time was included. I didn't count the licensing either, since I choose to see that as an investment on my part to improve myself. I did say earlier in my post that the licensing (life, health, mortgage, and securities) cost me $800.00. Does that qualify? I also didn't mention the 2 hours on Tuesday nights or the 3 hours on Saturday mornings that I sacrifice to attend voluntary training with PFS - but that's my investment as well. I suppose I could just watch TV.

"Can you deny that PFS can change your business at any time for any reason? That certainly sounds like you're in business for yourself."

Nope - just like many contract situations, PFS can change the business at any time. Just like when I freelance produce for local TV stations. They make the terms of the deal, I accept them or I don't. My choice, but they only pay when I accept the deal. I still am an independent contractor. As far as PFS, every change I've seen appears to be for the better for the client and the representative. If the changes turn the other way, I'll quickly re-examine my decisions, but I don't think they will. Again, that's my opinion, subject to outside influences, so take it for what it is.

"This is a response to Paul who is clueless, or better yet unethical."

Better yet, unethical? Gee, thanks.

"$40 of it or so goes to the company to pay for processing fees."

Well, I wasn't aware exactly how much was taken for processing fees, but I was aware of them. There's no need for me to concern myself personally with that now, since I have my license, but I have catalogued it to discuss with my new recruits, should they ask (and they usually do).

"I sat with my trainer in the beginning during and he focused 90% of his energy manipulating the numbers to make it possible to get an insurance sale from the client."

Sounds like your trainer needs some remedial training. The goal at my office is to do the best thing for the client period. At the appointment I mentioned in my last post, my RVP recommended that we NOT sell the couple insurance, because of their age and financial situation. The clients themselves insisted on it, believe it or not (the wife was well-indoctrinated by the insurance companies). Of course, you probably don't believe me. That's okay. We still gave them twice the coverage they had, for 1/2 the price they were paying. That counts for something.

"but when an unlicensed rep starts spewing 12% ROR(which is illegal to tlak about MF's when not licensed)"

This shows YOUR lack of knowledge in the area. It is illegal to talk about specific Mutual Funds when not licensed and without a prospectus. Talking about MF in general, and stating that some of them have a historical rate of return in double digits is not.

"The RVP's never mention chargebacks to you until you are blind sided by one then you get the explanation. ? - Did u know what a chargeback was or did u get blind sided as well?"

I haven't yet had any CB's, but yes, my RVP explained them to me. I also know what you're not saying, that PFS also encourages their reps to save a good portion of their income in a money market account, so that they can survive the ups and downs that come with every market. At least they're not like my old insurance agent, who switched my policy to a new employee of his, right before my replacement became final, so that person absorbed the chargeback. (yeah, EVERY insurance company has CB's)

"Again they recruit anyone with a pulse."

Not true. My first recruit was rejected for a criminal background, from something she did 20 years ago. There is a qualification process, and not everyone gets in. We're in a highly regulated industry - the states make the rules, not PFS.

"People looking to get into a real firm are willing to pay higher licensing fees because they know the return is better."

Did you read what I was responding to? The gentleman was upset because they charged ANY licensing fee, when "a reputable firm" would have paid for it for them. At least you and I know that isn't true.

"Are you making six figures yet."

No.

"If not why not?"

I've only been in the business a short time, and I'm still learning. I'm also still working a full-time job.


"How long realistically will it be before you make that. Do you know? I'll bet you think next year or something right? Reality says you're the 98-99% who will never make six figures or even come close."

Honestly, I don't know how long. I am hopeful that I can do it in a short amount of time, but I am also realistic. My RVP took 6 years. My National Sales Director took 9 years. My Senior National Sales Director took 8 years (of course, now that he earns about $2-million a year, it seems worth it to him). On the other hand, the RVP we just promoted in my office did it in 10 months. My goal is to get there in another 6 to 12 months. Will I? I'll be happy to let the people on this site know. Right now, I'm happy just supplementing my income. And, for the record, if you are with PFS, you have access to video and audio recordings of the major players in the company speaking. I have not yet heard one of them say that they got there without hard work, or that they got there quickly. Dreams are fine when you come in the door, but if you don't ground those dreams with actual work, you aren't going to make the six and seven figure incomes.

"Primerica reps are told not to look for people with experience."

Actually, we are told experience isn't necc., not to seek out unexperienced people.

"Try paying 400-600 per month on your benefits and see how long you last making what 98-99% (average Primerica rep makes.) trust me not long"

That's why I keep my full-time job, until I'm making enough to afford to self-insure health-wise, or until I decide that I won't be able to make it, at which point, I'll stay at my FT job.

"It's not the information that recruits them, its the lack of information. You know thats true"

Actually, I don't. It sounds like your lack of information is what is the problem, not mine.

"WHAT????? Hire your own staff. Check with compliance Paul, you don't hire anyone, unless you hire an office secretary or office staff."

What did you think I was talking about? Of course I meant the secretary, etc.... Everyone else is an independent contractor, as we've mentioned before.

"Most RVP's can't hire their own staff because its cost money."

Every office I know of here in my area and in Indiana and Ohio employ office staff. If an RVP chooses not to because of the cost, that's not PFS's fault, nor are they lying by saying you can hire them.

"Yes the world does need people to bag the groceries and mow lawns. What's wrong with that?"

I never said there was anything wrong with that - it's just not what I want to do - or be doing when I'm in my 60's.

"It doesn't matter what you say Paul. Someday you'll see the truth and get out. I guarantee it."

Want to place money on that wager? I promise to post here when I either 1. make six figures, or 2. quit the business and why I quit. Of course, since it doesn't matter what I say, you're not going to believe me, but there it is. Until then, I'm going to focus on growing "my business" and not worry about any more comments posted here. You can only argue so long, and I, personally get wearied of it. So I'll be back when I get the money or I take the door.

Thanks for all of your insights - I'll see you in 6 to 12 months.

This is a response to Paul who is clueless, or better yet unethical. You responded to Lorena and Kevin. I've been there and have seen what goes on...the lies, the backstabbing etc.

I'll try and break each ? down so you can understand. Listen, I don't want to bash you. You're probably a decent guy, but you're way off base and will some day understand what I have come to realize. Primerica preys on the weak and uneducated.

1. The $199.00 goes to pay for your classes and licensing fees for your particular state to sell life insurance. Most states require that you take a course and a state exam to be licensed to sell life insurance in that state. Classes cost anywhere from $200-$500. Licensing fees vary by state, but are also considerable.

>>Response - Yes it does cost $199, but not all goes to licensingor classes. $40 of it or so goes to the company to pay for processing fees. Try getting your full 199 back once you've signed the infamous IBA, which by the way only protects Primerica. You'll find out that Primerica keeps about $40 for which they call processing fees. Once the IBA gets sent in the mail you'll only get back about 160. I do agree that it costs for licenses do I have no problem with them charging the 199 because you do have to get your license.

2. PFS offers a Financial Needs Analysis. If you read the disclaimers that appear on any and all Primerica literature, sales presentations (even power points), they say that the FNA should not be construed as a Financial Planning document, and PFA's are NOT allowed to refer to themselves as Financial Planners. The FNA gives you a snapshot of what your current financial situation is, as well as looking at what you need to have to accomplish your goals and dreams, along with retiring comfortably, paying for your kids eductation and getting out of debt. In my state of Florida, to implement all of the solutions for a typical family, you need to be licensed to sell insurance (life and health), as a mortgage broker, and as a Securities Representative. Here, that whole process costs about $800.00. That cost would be significantly higher if it wasn't for having to only pay $199.00 for the insurance licensing.

>>Response - The FNA is a colorful, pleasing to the eye piece of crap. It is generated primarily to do one thing. GET AN INSURANCE SALE. I sat with my trainer in the beginning during and he focused 90% of his energy manipulating the numbers to make it possible to get an insurance sale from the client. Face the truth, Primerica was built on selling insurance and recruiting. They came up with the idea of the FNA when the industry started changing, to enhance there boring overused sales pitches. In a perfect world the FNA would be an ethical and good tool to use, but when an unlicensed rep starts spewing 12% ROR(which is illegal to tlak about MF's when not licensed), huge emergency funds, college education costs and etc.etc. they are just setting up the client for an insurance sale.

3. An average deal can net the PFA somewhere between $500 - 1100, depending on what solutions are implemented. It just depends.

>>Response - Did you pick those #'s out of a hat. You fail to mention that a certain percentage of the business always charges back and when that occurs you are more than likely always going to have a chargeback balance of some sort. Fot those of you who don't know what a chargeback is, it's when you sell a product and the client cancels. Primerica requires repayment of the money they advanced you. That usually comes off the next check you are to receive So if you sell a policy and make 300 and the client cancels you are charged back. If your next check is supposed to be for 400 then you get a check for 100. $400-$300 = a $100 check. I knew reps including myself who's chargebacks were costing them big time. The RVP's never mention chargebacks to you until you are blind sided by one then you get the explanation. ? - Did u know what a chargeback was or did u get blind sided as well?

And Back to Kevin's "points"...

1. No resume required? I didn't need a resume to get my current position in law enforcement. I just filled out an application - same as you do at McDonalds.

>>Response - Even if you brought a resume in, the recruiter would pretend to look at it and then would toss it aside. Again they recruit anyone with a pulse.

2. The $199. cost when your company paid to train you? Sir, you are coming from the wrong perspective. Ask just about any insurance agent or mortgage broker. They had to pay to get their licensing before anyone would even consider hiring them. PFS is the same, except that they try to make things easier on the person just coming in by offering them a discount on licensing fees and a chance to learn from others in the business while they're getting licensed.

>>Response - Primerica knows they can't charge any higher than that because that's the threshhold. Suckers will buy into Primerica for 199 but not much more. People looking to get into a real firm are willing to pay higher licensing fees because they know the return is better.

3. Every speaker talked about their 6 figure income very loosely? I can look up my RVP's, NSD's, and fellow lecensees earnings online, anytime. They are very open with how much is made for each part of every solution you implement. (and for the record, my RVP earns between $130,000 and $160,000 every year, depending on how many families he helps, my NSD will earn almost $500,000 this year, and my SNSD earned $1.2-million last year, and I know all of them personally).

>>Great so you know them personally. The problem is that when one speaks of a six figure + income the uninformed prospect immediately bites and begins to think I can make that. Are you making six figures yet. If not why not? How long realistically will it be before you make that. Do you know? I'll bet you think next year or something right? Reality says you're the 98-99% who will never make six figures or even come close.

4. No experience necessary? You're actally complaining about this? It's nice to find a job that doesn't require experience from the get-go.

>>Response - Again, Primerica reps are told not to look for people with experience. They claim it's so they won't have to retrain them, but I know different. It's so they won't have to explain why what Primerica is doing is wrong.

5. No salary, only commission? Again, you're coming from the wrong perspective. Why do you think the salesmen mob you when you go into a car dealership or furniture store? They earn commisions only. Very few earn salaries. The downside is you get paid based on how hard you work. The upside is, you get paid based on how hard you work.

>>Response - Commision in itself is good. But it must be coupled with a good service. What Primerica does is sell insurance and that is good I think. But it is overpriced and I don't want to even mention the not so 'Smart' Loan. Thats the worst product on the market.

6. No benefits? How many jobs offer true benefits these days? Salespeople are far less likely to get them than average workers.

>> Response - Try paying 400-600 per month on your benefits and see how long you last making what 98-99% (average Primerica rep makes.) trust me not long

7. Didn't explained how I will make money, I have to come to their next meeting? I'm not sure about this one. Someone isn't doing a very good job with their Opportunity Meeting, if they didn;t go over compensation and concepts. How you make the money is a central part of the meetings we do.

>>Response - It doesn't matter what you do and do not cover at the opp meeting. You still don't divulge everything. You are trained primarily to get the recruit to meeting to let the environment recruit them. It's not the information that recruits them, its the lack of information. You know thats true

8. You can hire your own staff, they can make you money while you sit back and relax and you can even sell your business? I'm confused. What's the question or complaint here? It's true, once you earn a certain level of promotion, you open your own office and continue the process.

>>Response - WHAT????? Hire your own staff. Check with compliance Paul, you don't hire anyone, unless you hire an office secretary or office staff. Most RVP's can't hire their own staff because its cost money. Recruits are not hired and you are not allowed to ever use that term 'hire'. You recruit people to be independent contractors, not employees. You can sell your business once you are designated by Primerica to do so, but only then. And only RVP'S and up can get this designation.


9. They need people to convince you to work for them Mcdonald's doesn't even have to do that? What do you mean by that? Any shmoe off the street can work for McDonalds. Some of them have probably waited on you and you know the result. I don't know exactly what you're saying or what the confusion is here.

>>Repsonse - NOT TRUE. Any Shmoe cannot work at McDonalds and you do need to convince others to work at Primerica. Or should I say deceive people into thinking they are the next best thing.

10. "at least that's what I was told." By whom, may I ask? A reputable competitor to Primerica? Some idiot off the street? Someone who didn't make $1200.00 last month for sitting down with a family for a total of 10 hours. I'm telling you all of this, and I did earn that money. I have a life insurance license, a mortgage broker license and a securities license. All of which earned me money last month and will continue to earn me money. You obviously have no concept of what being an independent business person is, but that's okay. The world needs people like you to mow our lawns, bag our groceries and ask us if we want fries with that. Have fun, and enjoy those benefits!!

>>Response - Yes the world does need people to bag the groceries and mow lawns. What's wrong with that? What we do not need are people like Primerica Reps harassing everyone to join a company that is deceitful and wrong.

I can say one good thing about Primerica and that is that I learned self improvement and that I need to be careful with my money. Everything else was unbelievably wrong.

It doesn't matter what you say Paul. Someday you'll see the truth and get out. I guarantee it. For now just continue to harass your friends and family and sell unethical/expensive products.

To Paul of Cape Coral, FL

Address the following issues for the good people of this site please. And please don't
respond with Fast Start School brainwashed drivel. We're expecting more.

You don't have a business PFS home office has the business. All the clients, all the recruits belong to PFS!!!(Read your IBA), not your imaginary business, yet you will bear all the burden of running an imaginary business, sweet deal for PFS, not you. As
for selling your business, get real. A transfer of the clients and recruits go to someone within PFS. Wow an even better deal for PFS, since they still make money, and someone who is tired can leave. Guest what PFS still owns the clients and the recruits. The nice little figures you quoted that your RVP makes, did you subtract business expense, like office lease, utilities, stationary, computers, award etc? Or did you just forget that minor detail?

When the FNA shows them how to buy term and invest the difference, are you upfront with the client and say that there are a lot of cheaper term products on the market and if you invest with ours that there won't be as much left to go into the investment? BTW the FNA is just a rouse to push the over-priced term insurance as the #1 objective.

Do you tell you client that your investments all have loads and that they can go on the internet and get top mutual funds for themselves with no-loads? Or do you use some trick you learned at a fast start school to overcome that objection, and invest their money in your limited funds?

SMART? loans offered by from PFS from its sister company CitiFinanicial (aka Commerical Credit) with ridiculously high interest rates. And a debt acceleration program that the average client can do through their own mortgage company. Do you tell the client, hey everything I just proposed you can do through your present mortgage company and do for a lot less? Or will the brainwashed smoke and mirror dance take place to get this client to accept a higher interest rate? Another point, you're not a mortgage broker, because you can only offer CitiFinancial (not even Citigroup or CitiBank mortgages). A broker can represent many companies. Sorry.

Finally, as a typical PFS person you're stretching the truth (and I'm trying to be nice), about the 10 hours worth of work and making $1200. Doest his include prospecting time, setting the appointments, driving, Licensing, etc? Will this happen every time every month? And how about all negativity responses on this site, is everybody just out to get poor PFS, or are they just honestly conveying their experiences unlike most PFS responses I've seen.

Can you deny that PFS can change your business at any time for any reason? That certainly sounds like you're in business for yourself. I asked these questions on this site numerous times in attempt to warn those who are thinking about getting involved and those who are involved, there has never been a reply much less a satisfactory one. So now its your turn, we are all waiting.

Lorena - your questions first...

1. The $199.00 goes to pay for your classes and licensing fees for your particular state to sell life insurance. Most states require that you take a course and a state exam to be licensed to sell life insurance in that state. Classes cost anywhere from $200-$500. Licensing fees vary by state, but are also considerable.

2. PFS offers a Financial Needs Analysis. If you read the disclaimers that appear on any and all Primerica literature, sales presentations (even power points), they say that the FNA should not be construed as a Financial Planning document, and PFA's are NOT allowed to refer to themselves as Financial Planners. The FNA gives you a snapshot of what your current financial situation is, as well as looking at what you need to have to accomplish your goals and dreams, along with retiring comfortably, paying for your kids eductation and getting out of debt. In my state of Florida, to implement all of the solutions for a typical family, you need to be licensed to sell insurance (life and health), as a mortgage broker, and as a Securities Representative. Here, that whole process costs about $800.00. That cost would be significantly higher if it wasn't for having to only pay $199.00 for the insurance licensing.

3. An average deal can net the PFA somewhere between $500 - 1100, depending on what solutions are implemented. It just depends.

And Back to Kevin's "points"...

1. No resume required? I didn't need a resume to get my current position in law enforcement. I just filled out an application - same as you do at McDonalds.

2. The $199. cost when your company paid to train you? Sir, you are coming from the wrong perspective. Ask just about any insurance agent or mortgage broker. They had to pay to get their licensing before anyone would even consider hiring them. PFS is the same, except that they try to make things easier on the person just coming in by offering them a discount on licensing fees and a chance to learn from others in the business while they're getting licensed.

3. Every speaker talked about their 6 figure income very loosely? I can look up my RVP's, NSD's, and fellow lecensees earnings online, anytime. They are very open with how much is made for each part of every solution you implement. (and for the record, my RVP earns between $130,000 and $160,000 every year, depending on how many families he helps, my NSD will earn almost $500,000 this year, and my SNSD earned $1.2-million last year, and I know all of them personally).

4. No experience necessary? You're actally complaining about this? It's nice to find a job that doesn't require experience from the get-go.

5. No salary, only commission? Again, you're coming from the wrong perspective. Why do you think the salesmen mob you when you go into a car dealership or furniture store? They earn commisions only. Very few earn salaries. The downside is you get paid based on how hard you work. The upside is, you get paid based on how hard you work.

6. No benefits? How many jobs offer true benefits these days? Salespeople are far less likely to get them than average workers.

7. Didn't explained how I will make money, I have to come to their next meeting? I'm not sure about this one. Someone isn't doing a very good job with their Opportunity Meeting, if they didn;t go over compensation and concepts. How you make the money is a central part of the meetings we do.

8. You can hire your own staff, they can make you money while you sit back and relax and you can even sell your business? I'm confused. What's the question or complaint here? It's true, once you earn a certain level of promotion, you open your own office and continue the process.

9. They need people to convince you to work for them Mcdonald's doesn't even have to do that? What do you mean by that? Any shmoe off the street can work for McDonalds. Some of them have probably waited on you and you know the result. I don't know exactly what you're saying or what the confusion is here.

10. "at least that's what I was told." By whom, may I ask? A reputable competitor to Primerica? Some idiot off the street? Someone who didn't make $1200.00 last month for sitting down with a family for a total of 10 hours. I'm telling you all of this, and I did earn that money. I have a life insurance license, a mortgage broker license and a securities license. All of which earned me money last month and will continue to earn me money. You obviously have no concept of what being an independent business person is, but that's okay. The world needs people like you to mow our lawns, bag our groceries and ask us if we want fries with that. Have fun, and enjoy those benefits!!

Primerica... whats so great about it. Leadership schools, i paid money out of my own pocket just to be there.. and i got nothing in return. If people were making as much as they say why cant they afford more hotel rooms, or at least give us a ride. Dammit I had to share a room with at least 6 ppl for a night in a room made for 2 or 3. I joined for a about 2 months and so much stuff happened that pissed me off... I guess they are only nice for a while until u pay. my leaders never contacted me again after they drained my money. I asked the RVP a question. "What is the dropoup rate/percentage?" and he gave me no response. in fact he tried to avoid answering by BSING. DAM I CAN SWEAR all the RVP in Primerica says the same thing. JOIN THE COMPAnY AnD DONT GIVE UP BLA BLA BLA... the trainings they give are all repititions... they said that we have to do that one day. why would i want to talk bs or repeat the same thing to others over and over. C'mon this is suppose to be a well organized company. not day care.

I am also looking for a job and recvd. a call from a recruiter for primerica. I have read and reviewed many comments, both good and bad. But does primerica really charge 200.00? For what? And dont they help people with thier debts? Or are they only financial advisors? For every deal they close, how much do they make on an average?

I am also looking for a job and recvd. a call from a recruiter for primerica. I have read and reviewed many comments, both good and bad. But does primerica really charge 200.00? For what? And dont they help people with thier debts? Or are they only financial advisors? For every deal they close, how much do they make on an average?

I am also looking for a job and recvd. a call from a recruiter for primerica. I have read and reviewed many comments, both good and bad. But does primerica really charge 200.00? For what? And dont they help people with thier debts? Or are they only financial advisors? For every deal they close, how much do they make on an average?

So I'm an engineer, recently laid off, and between 1995 and 2003 I was working so much I had never heard of Primerica.

To make a long story short...
I go to this interview expecting it to be for a senior high tech position. Instead I get NO answers to my questions (only evasive replies), and their only questions for me are about my work ethics, and willingness to work hard.
Then they have me sit through some presentation about their connections to Citigroup and how everybody in America should put their money into a mutual fund with 12% returns, that is after you pay a fee to join Primerica as a self-employed contractor.

Still, I was curious about the 12% returns (so I had to ask about it after the show) and the office manager said that there exists a fund that has an avg. 12% annual return over the life of the fund, after fees, and has done so since the 1920's; but I would need to return for the next meeting to get more details on it.

Boy, did they ever waste my time.

I have an account with Sol. Smith Barney, that I've had for nearly 20 years (long before they were a part of AM EX and Citi).
I'm going to call them in the morning and tell them that if they don't get rid of all ties with these bunch of scammers that I will close my acct.

I'm figuring that since a lot of profit can be made with these 'on the fringe of legal' scams, that I WILL end up simply closing my Citi account.

I just wanted to reply since I have just started working with Primerica about a month ago, however, I know other people who were in the business before me for some time.

First off, all of the opinions on this site are valid for one reason or another. When one of my friends got involved, first thing I thought was pyramid scheme. However, when you actually sit down and go through it, it isn't any different then any other business. For example, I am a sales rep/account manager at one of the leading data vendors in industry. Whenever we make sales, the sales managers get paid a percentage of that.... so that is the same as when you hire new business associates and get an override on them. To go a step further, if we help hire and employee (talking about my F/T job here), we get a check for doing so... so this idea of recruiting who you know is not new. Companies actually prefer that you bring in people you know, this way they know a little bit about them. Most corporation have incentives to bring in new hires to fill existing positions. Again, nothing new here.

The other general thing I'd like to address is the money. Yes, when you go to the overview meeting, they mention how many people may six figures, blah, blah, blah. They are there to hire new employees... so they're there to give you an idea of the opportunity. The key word here is opportunity.... you CAN make that much money if you work hard... but it's not guaranteed. You get out of it what you put into it... simple as that. I sat through only one of the overview's before I signed up. Now, would I like to make $100k+ doing this... hell yeah... but realistically, I'm going to be happy making an extra $1k-$2k per month. You have to be realistic here people.... of course they're going to flaunt the big money in your face... but you have to realize that only a percentage of the people who sign up make that much money. If you know this and go in with this mindset, you'll do pretty well. I mean think about it... I'm keeping my full-time job, I run an internet business, and now I can make an extra $1k or so per month working around 10 hours per week. Sure, I won't be a millionaire right away.... but that's OK... as long as I'm making money.. .my $199 investement was well worth it.

Now, this reply is for Kevin in PA... I'll answer your concerns as best I can (from what I know):

-No resume: Well, I'll actually lump the no experience in here as well. All they are looking for are people who want to work. From there, they'll train you. The $199 is for the STATE license. In NYS, the license is around $800-$900, so they're covering the rest. When I signed on.. I actually sat with someone one on one a few days after to the overview and talked to them. He told me that there are times they've turned people away b/c they did not meet certain requirements. You have to remember that for each person that joins the business, Citigroup is laying out a bunch of money... so the risk is greater on their side then on yours. So while no resume is required, they don't just hire anyone.

-Pay $199 to be an agent: As mentioned above... this is for the state fees. Primerica covers the rest. In addition, when you take the state tests for insurance, they reimburse you. They've even started reimbursing you for the cost of the Series 6 and 63 licenses if you complete them within a certain time frame... so they are really covering a lot. In addition, when you sign an IBA you become an independant agent. What this means is that certain items may be deducted as business expenses... so if you do decide to buy a book or something on your own.. you can write off a part of that. If you've ever owned your own business, you know how this works.

-No Salary or Benefits: This is easy.. you're not a full-time employee of Primerica, so they don't have to give you either. You are a consultant.... and sales consultants get paid on commission only. This is not just a Primerica thing... this happens everywhere.

-How do you make money: Another easy one... get clients. Seriously, when you start meeting with clients you will make money assuming they become a Primerica customer. Just like any sales job anywhere, you'll get paid when you start signing up clients... same thing here. You can also make money when hiring new business associates. Just like any business owner, when they make money, you make money.

-Make money doing nothing while your staff works: I kind of touched on this above... you make money when they make money. I think that at the meetings they kind of dumb it down and make it look very easy... but it's not. If you want to sit back and do nothing and make good money on a monthly basis... you will have to work your a*s off for a couple of years to get to that point. I'm more realistic.. I realize that while it's possible, it may not happen for a while...so every dollar I make I earn. One of my friends has been there 2 months, and he's only made a few hundred dollars from his Senior Rep from a few joint FNA's. I also know another guy who graduated a year before me... he's been in the business for 2 1/2 years, and he was just promoted to Regional Vice President this past weekend... and he makes about $250k-$300k per year. He worked his a*s off to get there, but he did it.. in under 3 years. So again, the opportunity is there.... but to make that money you have to work hard.

-They need to convince you to work there: I'm not sure how many of you have sat in a franchise meeting before... but every franchise, from Subway, to McDonalds, etc. has a similar type of overview meeting when you apply to become a franchise owner. It's a way to introduce you to the company and/or the industry, to make you comfortable with what they do, and to give you enough info to make a decision on whether you'd like to join the business or not.

I think that pretty much answers everything. From what I've been reading on this site, 98% of the complaints are from people who signed up. What that leads me to believe is that the person who invited you to this opportunity did not set your expectations properly. That's the fault of that person, and they should brush up on their skills. The first thing I tell someone when they ask about the money is that they most likely will NOT make any money for the first 30-60 days since they will be taking care of their licenses. As for the business itself... if you've ever been in the corporate world, you'd realize it's no different then any other company. All of the companies that Primerica does business with opperate on their own as well... so they have hundreds of thousands of customers on their own, without Primerica's help. All Primerica is doing is offering access to each company Citigroup owns in one place. That's it... and again.. that's nothing new.

I'll close with this.... I know those of you who took the time to read this probably think it's a much of marketing BS. That's not what it's meant to be. I've done a decent amount of research and come to the conclusion that Primerica is not much different than other businesses out there. They are more aggressive in their recruiting style.. I'll give you that... but if you are half-way grounded, you'll realize they're throwing all of the success stories in your face to entice you into the business. When a business is expanding, they hire many new employees. Some do it at a job fair, others online, Primerica uses it's agents. Primerica isn't for everyone... so if you expect to sign up and get rich.. think again, you'll have to work for your money. Who knows... a few months down the road I may decide this isn't for me either... but I'll have a few grand more in my pocket, and I won't be out anything... so there's really no downside.

Why hasn't anyone addressed any of the points I made in my original post?

-No resume required

-You have to pay $199 to be their agent(my current job sent me to school, paid for it, books, tests, and even paid me full time salary while I was going to school)

-Every speaker talked about their 6 figure income very loosely

-No experience necessary

-No salary, only commission

-No benefits

-Didn't explained how I will make money, I have to come to their next meeting

-You can hire your own staff, they can make you money while you sit back and relax and you can even sell your business

-They need people to convince you to work for them Mcdonald's doesn't even have to do that

Looking at these points and the fact that 95% of primerica emplyees make under $50k with an average being $15,000 a year working 60 hours a week, it doesn't seem that great after all.

The fact that the speakers tell you how much they make, how much everyone else makes the first day, but can't tell you exactly what your job will consist of until you come to their next meeting sounds like a scam alone.

In response to Bernies comment, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I DON'T believe they send you to school for your realestate license, insurance license, security license or any other license besides your life license, at least that's what I was told.

I know that most big reputable places that deal with insurance send you to school for any licenses you may need to work for them and pay pretty much everything and don't charge you for anything and write it off as an expense on their books. I think they hire some under qualified and underpaid individual to teach the class, pay him squat and probably keep the rest.

Primerica being a part of Citicorp, which the biggest financial institution in the world or whatever they said in the presentation, shouldn't have any problems sending their students to school so that they can work for them.

Bernie,

The $199 does not cover your securities license and security exam. Depending on your State, this
cost will vary, but typically add at least another $200. The $150 of the $199 basically covers your life insurance license only and depending again on your State more could be required. The securities license obtained is a Series 6 and Series 26, which basically allows you to market only mutual funds and variable annuities. You need a series 7 to market individual stocks. You will not be broker and you can only market securites that Primerica OKs. As far as a real-estate license is concerned I'm sure the $199 does not cover that. That may run you another $500 or more. And I'm not sure if Primerica is in the real-estate business. But if it is, its something new.

Regards,

I was in a prime america meeting and I must say that I have been around the block once or twice to say that I felt that I was in an AMWAY presentation. In the group of maybe 10 to 15 people I realized that my wife and I and another person were the target of recruitment. Everybody else in the room acted like this was their first time and asking questions as first timers, but in reality it was a stage work, if I may put it that way. It is what it is, but I did like the security part. If I invest $199, I would get the insurance license, real estate license and security license, allowing me to work these areas. My inquiry is as follows: Are these licenses valid? Are you able to trade securities as one would do with a broker,but with out the commsion fee? Or are you forced to work with Prime America? Just one more thing I would like to add, during the presentation, this group did not pressure me in any way. Although they "stage worked" the meeting, I was not pressured to comit to anything. A little sly, but in the world of sales, how isn't?

Let me start by saying I was a part-time Primerica agent from 2/26/96 to 7/31/03 and resigned at the Division leader level.

Reading the complaints about the costs of being an independent rep at Primerica seems pretty much beside the point. If you start any business of your own you will have costs. In many cases much more than getting a license via PFS University. In many states it's cheaper to do it through PFS than a third party. All the complaints of what it costs to be a rep are NOT the real consumer issue here. The REAL issue is the overpriced term life insurance and the high closing costs on the SMART loans. Are they less expensive for clients in some cases - yes. In most cases, no.

What I was trained to do at PFS was sell the dream of making a six figure income. What I realized is you have to recruit several hundred people personally and consistenly over a period of several years to get there. The thing that saddens me is that the Opportunity is there even as expensive as the products are, but the reps don't really tell the whole story while recruiting people. Many times the reps are so new they don't know what to say anyway. Most reps last 3-18 months. The other thing I learned after 7 years of part time experience and looking into other financial services companies is that the captive contracts PFS offers are extremely low on the commissions side.

All I can say is if you are looking at a way to have your own business you are not going to have someone give it to you. That's known as a job where you work for someone else. There is going to be an investment on your part in money and work. I can also say through experience that PFS is probably not the best opportunity out there in financial services becuase of the limited product line and captive nature of the contracts. In my experience the people who made it to the 50K level and up went full time soon and recruited a bunch of people while personally producing sales. PFS people need to STOP telling people they are coming to an interview and tell people the truth before they show up at the group opportunity presentation. That would cut down a lot of disgruntled people who feel they were misled. But some things never change and this probably won't either.

There are some good things at PFS - the FNA program, the marketing materials, the sales and leadership training, and for the most part the people are decent. In financial services, it really boils down to how honest and sincere the rep is. The products at PFS are more expensive than others which hinders even the best reps in this competitive market place. PFS was a good learning experience for me and I can tell you the financial services business is not for people looking to make an easy living. It's going to be tough until you get several million dollars under management.

Your rebuttal is rehearsed mumbo jumbo garbage.

You didn't respond to some valid questions in the above post.

If you are saying you quit a 100k+ /year job to work for PFS then you are a total idiot. You know very well most PFS reps do not even make 10k a year let alone 100k.

Yes people quit many things at life but even using your example of college, a good % get a degree. I read somewhere that PFS have had almost 100k sales rep over the years. Again you failed to mention than 90% of PFS reps make little or no money. PFS's turnover has got to be pretty close to 90% since they are constantly hiring. The turnover at my sales job is about 30% but I can honestly say that the average sales rep at my job makes anywhere from 40-60k a year with a few making over 100k. This is a sales job with corporate america where you might not be your own boss but you get a paycheck with benefits.

Roger, I'm with you on this one. No one in their right mind that was already making six figures would leave to work for a company with such an infinitessimal success rate (unless you're a minimalist or something). If you were such a successful professional before, being in a room with a bunch of obviosly unqualified individuals should have tipped you off that this wasn't a good bet. It seems to me like you would have gone for something like Smith Barney, the financial services arm Citigroup uses for the clients it actually gives a d**n about.

There's nothing I like more than when MLMers try to use analogies to higher education. Look at the statistics. About one out of every twenty college students will withdraw during a given year, and most of them complete their education at some point. Primerica has a turnover rate exceeding 100% annually, more than twenty times the college dropout rate. The Primerica system is designed for failure. If you never make it past your training stage they never have to pay you a commission, but they hope you'll make a couple deals before you get wise to that fact.
Colleges, on the other hand, want you to succeed while you're there, and the good ones help you succeed when you graduate. Primerica doesn't give a rats a*s what happens to you, they deal in volume, not quality.

This is in reponse to Michael of Richmond Hill,



I find it hard to believe that you would quit a six figure job to do Primerica full-time. I hope you are not misleading the readers of this site. Be that as it may, you are either brain-washed or were going to lose your job anyway. Judging by your response I would say brain-washed since you replied with the typical PFS drivel. It does not concern you that most of the people who responded on this site had bad experiences. Each negative response probably speaks for about 100 people who have experienced the same thing, or with PFS it could be 1 response represents 1000 people. In any event that alone should tell you something is wrong.



But lets examine what you're proposing:



1) Join a company this is what you describe as a franchise but you take 95% of the risk.



2)Offer a term product that is over-priced at best.



3)Offer "debt reduction" using non-competive interest rates. PFS agents are taught to use an Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) to basically convince the client he needs to do this. What this really is,is a smoke and mirror trick with high pressure.



4) If you're security licensed, which you have to be in Canada, all the Mutual Funds and annuties have substantial loads to pay for yours and PFS commission.



5) Family HQ calls all the shots. They can change anything at anytime with out your permission. Nothing like being in business for yourself, huh?



Primerica is nothing more than a business to make Primerica profits with very little concern to the foot soldier. If you don't make money PFS HQ could care less, they simply move on. I suggest you keep your eyes open and your mind free. Then you may be able to get out before its too late. If you do not, you can never say you were not warned.

'tis a shame that people are so quick to blame others for the obstacles that they place before themselves. It seems to me that in University or College, thousands of people are admitted each year, and thousands drop out or fail each year, yet we are not under the impression that the education system is a complete flop - it's just hard work, and a part time effort will not return full-time results. Why is it then that the entire PFS system is judged based on the failure of some, or the incomes of all are judged now based on the part time incomes of some? Not every PFS agent is good....neither is every college grad...but the system still works - it provides the opportunity to do good things for our clients, work in a potentially positive environment, and get paid well for your efforts...I don't know many people that are as fulfilled with their work as I am - I left a 6 figure income to join PFS and I'd never turn back. While it is unusual to pay $199 for a job application, PFS's IBA is no such thing...it's a lot more like a franchise - you have the opportunity to be trained to work for yourself, but with the resources of the largest financial services organization in the world (if you think CitiGroup needs your $199, you're nuts!). The real bonus is that this franchise doesn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars - perhaps if it cost $1000 to file an IBA, people would take it more seriously and realize that they aren't applying for a job, but are indeed applying for an opportunity. Don't forget - only $50 is the app. fee - the rest pays for your insurance courses, and is fully refundable if you change your mind within 30 days. In the mean time, you can train while still working at your old job - another amazing part of the opportunity...there's no need to 'jump ship' until you are qualified to earn a living here. Anyone that badmouths the system simply doesn't understand it - it's a shame it was explained to you so poorly. As far as the comment on PFS's ad locations, you have to remember - PFS doesn't employ agents...they are independant contractors, and you are judging a system based on the behaviour of a few individuals.

It's about Primerica's recruiting practices and the high number of ruthless, lying recruiters that are working for you.



Primerica does not advertise in any legitimate job service. No newspaper, no job fair, instead they send people to shopping malls, grocery stores, wherever to recruit their "highly skilled and qualified individuals." They won't spend a minimum investment on asking people to come to them, instead, they hound you off of job sites and talk to potentially vulnerable, unemployed people that need a job. Monster, jobing, and hotjobs are flooded with complaints on Primerica and it's only a matter of time that Primerica reps will be blocked from using these sites to recuit their victims.



The recruiters tell you you can make 100k a year. this is a HUGE exaggeration over the truth and maybe 1% of their reps do this, but if you ask a recruiter to prove what he/she calims they make, you get attitude.



People also have a problem with having to provide references. NOBODY wants their friends and family called and hard sold on non competitive life insurance. Again, this is not mentioned during any interview process, but only after you have taken the job and you hand over the $199 "processing fee."



Yes, people have a problem with Primerica and for good reason. I hope people really research the internet before they accept a position with them. The bottom line is, most PFS reps make little or no money and wind up quitting.

I just don't understand why alot of people bash Primerica. Okay someone you know may have had joined Primerica ad did not make any money. Is it Primerica's fault? No! It is up to the individual to make his or her own money through what is know as "work".



Now I am into Primerica as a Representative, soon I will be a district leader. I love helping out my clients. I previously wrote a life policy for a young lady, and save her money and at the same time she gained $50k more in life insurance, than what she previously had. We help families out, rather it's a home loan, refinancing a home loan, life insuarance, or investing. It's about the customer all the time.



If you dislike Primerica and think it's a scam, well I can understand how you can get that ideal. If someone you know tried Primerica, and for some reason had a bad experience and tell you how bad it is, then ofcourse you are going to instantly dislike it. I am in Primerica, and thank God that I found this "opportunity". I've always wanted to be a business owner, and now with Primerica I am.



In closing. I just say have a open mind. We care about people, and we care about helping people. Primerica unfortuanately is being bashed by disgruntle ex employees, and skeptics simply because "they don't want to work to build a business". Ex employees couldn't handle the work that they needed to do inorder to build their business, so they get frustrated and bad mouth Primerica. It is not Primerica's fault they failed, it's the employees fault. Every business recruit.. It's as simple as that! Your company recruits, and everybody else's company recruits.



How can you build a business without people. You can't! American Express Financial Advisors for example. That company you have to cold call, and call leads to generate business. So is that terrible. If you do not generate clients for Amex Financial Advisors, you are going to be "BROKE".



PFS is just like Amex Financial Advisors. The only major difference is that in Primerica you can have as many offices as you like, as long as you are willing to work, work, and work. That is me. I am willing to work, and stay focused while doing it. I love this, and I pray that those of you that are bad mouthing Primerica, some how realize just how great it really is.



May God bless you all over and over.