Thrive Learning LLC and all of their affiliated sales companies are scam artists and are committing fraud. Please do not sign up for their products or services. My story is posted below for your reference. The first is a short version and the second is a letter that I wrote to file complaints about these companies that includes much more detail.
Please also see
http://thrivelearninginstitutefraud.blogspot.com/ for more information about Thrive and their affiliated sales companies. Please also
Google Thrive Learning and/or whatever sales company has contacted you before signing with them so that you learn what hardships they've caused for others.
SHORT VERSION:
Thrive Learning LLC and one of their affiliated companies have scammed me. _________ is a sales company that sells Thrive Learning’s services and products. Representatives of _________ called me and sold me a package that included 6 Weeks Mind Movies, 20 weeks Unilimited Coaching, LIghtwave Web Builder, Thrive Research Software, Gold Marketing Package, and Product Sourcing Directory. I was told that this was what I needed to start my own online business and that I would be making between $100,000 and $250,000 per year with this business. They also told me that I would recoup my initial investment within three to five months. They told me that the cost of my package was $17,000 but that I would be awarded a scholarship of $4,500, so my cost was $12,500.
I later found out that I was lied to and manipulated during that call in several ways. There was no scholarship. This was a lie that the salesman told me. I never recouped my initial investment of $12,500. I never made any money. I did not receive all of the services in my package. It has been over a year since I began the program and I have lost $12,500 plus the interest that my credit card companies have charged me.
I have done everything I was supposed to do, followed my coaches instructions, spent over five hours each week on my assignments, and did not miss any coaching appointments without notification and rescheduling within an appropriate amount of time.
At many times the process/coaching was extremely frustrating and a waste of time. There were many times throughout my “training” when my coach was late by more than an hour or no-showed for our phone appointments. I was also dissatisfied with the live chat function of the program as many times I would ask a question about my homework assignments and wait for over 30 minutes to receive a response or an answer. On many occasions, the coach that was responding to the live chat was incompetent, mistaken, or not able to help me. On at least a few occasions these issues would cost me several hours (3-8 hours) of wasted time working on an assigned task.
These are only a few examples of the mishaps, deceptions, and fraudulent practices that I have been a victim of as a result of signing up with ___________ and Thrive Learning.
COMPLAINT LETTER:
On Saturday January 30th, 2010 I received high-pressure sales calls from representatives of ___________. The first person I spoke to was named Ulysses. He said he was calling on behalf of Mind Movies, a company whose product I had purchased in the past and been satisfied with. He presented the different wealth building programs that were available and asked which one I would be interested in. We discussed a website or online business utilizing drop ship services. He then handed the call over to a different representative whose name I don’t recall. After talking with him, he handed the call over to Dean Stroud. I told them that I did not have any funds to purchase what they were selling. Mr. Stroud asked about the balances and limits on my credit cards. He then said the program would cost around $17,000, but that he would go and talk to Ryan and Natalie (of Mind Movies) to see if they could give me a discount. (I later found out that this was a lie, he was not really in direct contact with Natalie and Ryan.) He then called me back and said that they would give me a scholarship (because they liked that I was a grad school student) and that the cost would be $12,500. I suggested that he came up with that number based on the information I’d given him about my credit card balances and he said not to be a skeptic. I said that was too much money and I would not be able to afford the monthly payments that would be required from my credit card companies because my monthly budget was already at a minimum for my survival. Mr. Stroud and the others told me that if I purchased their program, I would recoup my initial investment within three to five months, which was the ‘proactive training phase’. In the mean time I could transfer my balances to cards with lower APRs and that he would supply me with contact information for such companies. (I looked into this later and was not able to find lower rates.) Mr. Stroud also said that he would be calling me in three months to tell me ‘I told you so’ because at that point I would have made back at least my initial investment of $12,500. He also said that in four to six months I would need to send him my testimonial of my success, and that in six to twelve months I should come to Utah for a visit to ___________ to meet the team. They also told me that I should definitely expect to make between $100,000 and $250,000 per year with my website, or online store, utilizing drop shipping services. This was one of the main reasons that I made the decision to accept their offer. I wrote all of this down as they told me to take notes during the call.
I told them that I did not have a lot of time to spend on another project as I was in grad school as well as working at my teaching job. They assured me that all I needed to spend was a minimum of five hours each week and that would be sufficient. I agreed that I could dedicate five hours per week.
I asked for a list or menu of the services and products of exactly what the $12,500 was for. Mr. Stroud said he didn’t have anything like that and I would get a receipt once my credit cards had been charged. All he told me was that within the first five months I would recoup my investment, would receive the proactive training phase which included a personal coach, unlimited access to coaches (via live chat, phone, email), webinars, and marketing education. Beyond the first five months I would receive lifetime tech support. And that I would be making between $100,000 and $250,000 per year.
Once I paid, I received the “Welcome Letter” which included a list, what Mr. Stroud had told me would be my receipt. It did not include a price breakdown of what I had purchased.
It is now over a year later. I have done everything I was supposed to do, followed my coaches instructions, spent over five hours each week on my assignments, did not miss any coaching appointments without notification and rescheduling within an appropriate amount of time and have not made any money. I also continue to pay interest on the $12,500 I charged to ______________ on my credit cards.
When I began to become dissatisfied with my experience and results with the program I had purchased from Thrive Learning LLC, I tried to contact Dean Stroud of __________ on June 14th 2010 via phone and email. I could not get through to him and was contacted by Jon Preston who told me that Mr. Stroud no longer worked there and that he would be helping me instead. I asked him for a breakdown of what I’d paid for, since the “receipt” I had been given when I signed up was quite vague and I was concerned about not making any money yet and exactly what was included in my marketing package. He said he would look into it and get back to me. It took quite some time to finally get that information, but I received a brief breakdown via email on July 20th. What he gave me added up to the $12,500 that I had paid to sign up. This was not directly clear from the email and required a phone conversation for further and exact numbers. This means that Mr. Stroud’s original quote of $17,000 was not correct. The breakdown that Jon Preston gave me did not include any documentation of my “scholarship” from Ryan and Natalie of Mind Movies. I asked Mr. Preston about this. I asked if Mr. Stroud had really gone to talk to Ryan and Natalie and if they really shared offices in the same building (as Mr. Stroud had told me during that first conversation). Mr. Preston said that was not true and the Mr. Stroud had lied to me. He also said that he never really liked Mr. Stroud personally or professionally. The fact that Mr. Stroud had told me that he spoke directly to Natalie and Ryan about my account was a major selling point for me. Mind Movies was a company that I knew and trusted. Mr. Stroud used that trust to help manipulate me into purchasing these services. This is fraudulent and deceptive.
Eventually I was given an extension on my coaching services and on the website builder services at no extra charge, but ultimately it was not enough to help me begin to make any of my money back.
Around this same time, the end of July, I received a call from someone named Marc Pelissie who said he was calling from Thrive about my success story. Actually, he kept getting mixed up about where he was calling from. First he said he was calling from Focus, then corrected himself and said from Thrive. He did this several times over several different phone calls. I told him I did not have a success story yet, and that I was quite disturbed about the lack of results. He then offered me a marketing package that he said had a retail value of $2000, but that he would give to me for $500, and that I shouldn’t tell anyone about this large discount. He assured me that this marketing package would get me the results I needed and if it didn’t he had an even bigger package that we could discuss. I soon realized that he was trying to sell me the same package I had already purchased in my original package, a product that I had not even received yet. This is fraudulent and deceptive. Furthermore, I would not have known that he was being deceptive, had I not asked for my package breakdown previously from Mr. Preston. Also, I told my coach, Chris about this and he told me not to talk to that guy.
Another of my concerns and frustrations was regarding part of my marketing package, the 100 directory submissions that were included. When I finally received the email on October 26th, including what work had been done, I saw that the marketing department had “completed” work that I had already done and turned into them, work that I had done as assigned to me by my coach, Chris. More specifically, 52 of the 100 submissions had already been completed by me. This means that they did not really do completely new work. They were supposed to submit my site information to directories that I had not already submitted to. Again, this is fraudulent and deceptive. Also, this marketing package took over two months to be completed. I submitted my request on August 23rd and did not receive notification that it was finished until October 26th. This notification did not include everything I was told that it would include as I was given a list of sites but no screen shots.
There were also many times throughout my “training” when my coach, Chris, was late by more than an hour or no-showed for our phone appointments. This was very unprofessional and frustrating as I was busy with grad school and my teaching job and scheduled my day around those appointments. I don’t believe however that this was the fault of my coach, but rather the result of faulty planning by Thrive’s management. I was also dissatisfied with the live chat function of the program as many times I would ask a question about my homework assignments and wait for over 30 minutes to receive a response or an answer. Also, on many occasions, the coach that was responding to the live chat was incompetent, mistaken, or not able to help me. When I would later talk to my coach, Chris, about the issue he would apologize for the other coach’s lack of knowledge. On at least a few occasions these issues would cost me several hours (3-8 hours) of wasted time working on an assigned task.
When I contacted Mr. Preston at ___________ to communicate my complete dissatisfaction and request a refund I was told that he no longer worked there and was put in contact with Zach Bradshaw of Thrive Learning LLC. Mr. Bradshaw then told me a refund was not possible, so I am writing to file complaints against ____________ and Thrive Learning LLC for practicing fraudulent and deceptive business practices and to ask that my $12,500 be returned to me. I also think that it is important that someone put a stop to these companies as they are scamming many others out of thousands of dollars, subsequently causing many hardships. I’m also quite upset that I continue to pay interest on the $12,500.
I have documentation of much of this account in the form of emails and notes I took during conversations if further evidence is required.
I continue to get calls from Thrives affiliated sales floors, Focus, Stores Online, A Champion Vision, The Tax Club, etc. asking me for my success story, knowing full well that I don’t have one, and then try to sell me more services that they say I need in order to turn my situation into a success. I continue to decline these offerings.
