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I am writing this letter to make known a dishonorable and deceptive business is operating out of California and targeting credit worthy innocent citizens wanting to better themselves. In order to detail the events of how I was taken advantage of and am now facing serious financial harm, I will detail the story of what has taken place over the past few months.
The company that I am filing a complaint against is Rich Dad Education LLC who I now know still wholly operates also as the Wealth Intelligence Academy. The total amount that I am disputing is $26, 125.52, which was to include four training classes and a mentor. This was upsold to me in a bait and switch scheme which included a free workshop, upsold to a three day weekend training course which taught people how to “raise their credit scores by increasing their credit card limits” (see the script attached) which was really to get people to be able to afford their outrageously over priced training courses which provided no guarantee of the satisfaction of their training.
There are a popular financial books like Rich Dad Poor Dad in which Robert Kiyosaki is the spokesperson for that I have been reading for years. I have been a follower of the teachings for a while and so I decided to want to know more. I went online to www.richdad.com and found that there were free seminars being given to teach people about investing. I signed my fiancé up for one and came as his guest. This was in August 2008. While at this free seminar we learned a little about real estate investing and was then up-sold to a three day weekend course which was$495 and advertised to teach you all about real estate investing. I signed up for the three day weekend course and was allowed to bring my fiancé as my guest. We were given a CD and workbook from Robert Kiyosaki’s Choose to Be Rich program as well as a real estate investing book that detailed strategies on Wholesaling, Lease Options, Foreclosures, and Negotiating, etc. They all had the Rich Dad Education branding on them (the purple and black wording) so I never thought there was any other company involved.
My fiancé and I attended the three day seminar on September 12-14th 2008 at the LAX Airport Hyatt. The first day of the training we were instructed by Scott Zuckman. We were taught some real estate investing strategies such as rehabbing and foreclosure. We were given books that all had the Rich Dad Education branding on them. We then went over a script that we were told to call our credit card companies with to increase our credit card limits so that we can increase our credit score. I have included a copy of that script.
The next day they gave us a booklet with courses in it showing that it teaches different strategies of real estate investing. None of them had prices. We were given a price sheet and then told to write in numbers that was written on the board. I have included that sheet as well. The prices ranged anywhere from $9, 000 to $60, 000. I was shocked at the cost, but I didn’t want to not continue the course that I paid for so we continued to go through the training. We were told to think about our financial future and if we wanted to change anything in our lives we were going to have to take action. Scott Zuckman kept repeating the number of $60, 000 and asked people to raise their hands who had access to that kind of cash this weekend. We were told if we signed up for this course we could become financially free within two years. We were told not to look on the internet because it has bad things on there (now I know why). That should have been a cue to leave and not go back, but I was really wanting to make a change in my life and I trusted the Rich Dad brand because Robert Kiyosaki is such a well known name.
The Wealth Intelligence Academy was told to us to be the people who do the training, but I assumed that was just what they called that section of the organization. I only realized much later after I got involved with the company that they have an awful reputation and a bad history of the exact thing I was conned into.
My fiancé and I almost did not attend the last day of training because we were so disgusted by how we were constantly being pressured to buy the program. We were told the only way to success was to at least learn 2-3 real estate investing strategies and have a mentor there to help you. That meant if we were going to sign up for any program at all it would at minimum have to be the four courses with the mentor which was $25, 997. I would have never signed up for the program prior because I did not have the means to pay for it, but now that I had increased my credit card limits and had the available credit I could purchase it. We were also taught about bad debt and good debt in this training. And good debt was an asset or anything that put money in your pocket as well as education. Everyone there that represented the company said that education was good debt and what you were going to learn you could pay off the credit cards in no time. I should not have believed anyone and stuck to what I always knew about how dangerous credit cards are. Another thing that didn’t occur to me at the time was, if they were such a good training program, why do they have to have all their money up front? Why don’t they have their own financing? Why don’t they have a money back guarantee? I was so new to anything like this at the time, that I never thought to question those things. Especially since I trusted the Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad brand.
My fiancé and I attended two trainings in October 2008. They were the Rich U (which was a mandatory class) and Wholesaling. We were sorely disappointed in the training and after the Wholesaling course we started to realize that I was ripped off and taken advantage of.
Upon taking the first advanced training course (of the charge I am disputing), called Rich U, the training material provided was the Rich Dad brand. The instructor, Jennifer Oliver, however, did not go over all the material in the training manual provided and did not deliver the promised service of learning how to set up your real estate investing business and develop a plan. The class was very general and repetitive of other information already stated in the $495 three-day course given by the Rich Dad program.
Upon taking a second course (of the charge I am disputing), an advanced training class calling Wholesale Buying, taught by Travis Howard, the manuals were now all Wealth Intelligence Academy branded material. On the last day of the three-day training, I was told by a facilitator there, Shar, that if you came in through the Rich Dad system you were now a Wealth Intelligence Academy student. The training given was said to be complete instruction, however once again, the instructor did not go over all of the course material in the manuals given. Not only that, but the training manual given did not have very much more information than the initial three-day $495 real estate investing training guidebook. What was promised was very detailed instruction that was not included in the $495 three-day initial training, and what was delivered was nothing more than a long-winded version of the initial training. For the cost of the advanced training course, the value was no where near worth it. Also, when students asked questions about the course materials, the instructor avoided the answers and phrased the questions to be asked to a licensed professional such as a lawyer or accountant. The training received was not complete enough to start successfully wholesaling real estate properties as promised. It was incomplete in that it was promised that we would be able to “create immediate profit by learning how to put properties under contract and quickly sell them – with no money out of pocket”, but the contract examples given and explained in class were not sufficient to do such activity. The training also was told by all of the instructors to be teaching things that were moral, ethical, and legal.
However, when consulting three separate lawyers on the methods I was taught, one said it was illegal, while the other two said it was very risky and borderline ethical. They all three agreed that the contract examples given in the course were insufficient to conduct business and that they would require additional services to create substantial contracts.
This prompted me to question the legitimacy and the ethical standards of the Wealth Intelligence Academy a.k.a. Rich Dad Education. And when I further researched the company I found that they had been conducting unethical business practices and that the parent company, Whitney Leadership Group, Inc., had a lot of lawsuits brought against them for false advertising and aggressive marketing. Had I known that Rich Dad Education was actually in all completeness still the Wealth Intelligence Academy that was associated with the Whitney Leadership Group, Inc., I would not have purchased this program because of its bad reputation with the Better Business Bureau among other bad press about it’s aggressive pressure marketing techniques and unethical practices.
Not only that, but they were cited against for teaching a technique called “Bird Dogging” where a person collects a fee for referring distressed properties to an unlicensed investor. I questioned this technique to an attorney as well as I was taught it in their training and he stated that it was outright illegal since you must be a broker to engage in such activity. They are still teaching this technique in their training and it is documented in their written training material.
I read online a detailed incident publicized in another’s state local paper about a woman who attended a free seminar, which lead to another seminar for $500, and then told to call her credit cards to increase her credit lines and increase her credit and then told if she really wanting to be financially free she should purchase the over priced training and she did and was very unhappy, and the company was then found guilty of aggressive marketing and false advertising, except this was with the Whitney Education program who as I researched and found out is the affiliate company of the Wealth Intelligence Academy. When I read that story and found out the link between the Wealth Intelligence Academy and the Rich Dad Education as being the same company I was furious! How can a company who was found guilty of such practices still be allowed to do the same things under a difference name that people trust! The website /link removed/ has numerous complaints of people having the same issues that I am with the company. This needs to be addressed and the public has to become aware of this scheme to protect themselves and their good credit. My credit has now gone significantly down because of the balance I am carrying from this company who is in constant denial of my hardship situation.
I would also like to warn the Utah Attorney General’s Office against large charges made on the credit cards of people who may fall prey to the same aggressive marketing techniques, and misleading advertising to the Rich Dad brand. The way that they get people to purchase these programs is by offering a free seminar, which leads to a three-day weekend seminar for $495 where on the first day you are taught how to increase your credit card limits over the phone to supposedly increase your credit score. I have included a copy of the script they provide in the training material. All they are trying to do is have you have enough credit to purchase the largely overpriced education packages which range anywhere from $9, 000 to $60, 000. I believe most people are embarrassed, as I am myself, about what they were conned in to, to admit that the value of what they purchased was not at all what was promised.
I have been disputing the transactions with my credit card companies in an effort to seek resolution to the refund and they have provided the credit card companies with misleading information regarding correspondence between myself and Rich Dad Education as well as lying to the representatives. I have a letter from Chase Credit Cards stating that a representative from Rich Dad Education said I gave the reviews of their training as excellent, when I detailed in my reviews my dissatisfaction of their training. The Rich Dad Education representative stated that I also failed to provide information regarding a financial hardship I was having, when in fact I did provide follow up and sufficient evidence showing a 47% reduction in pay. When faxing information over to Discover card they submitted incomplete information regarding our correspondence which included only one of the four pay stubs I provided to show the difference of my financial hardship. The pay stub they submitted to Discover card was prior to my pay cut and the pay stubs that show the difference in my pay was never faxed to Discover card.
I would also to address how the company has lied and that the person your Chase representative spoke with at Wealth Intelligence Academy. The review that he stated that I said was excellent was not such as I specifically remember writing a detailed explanation of how I felt that the training was lacking. Also, I have information that was faxed by their corporate office to one of my credit card companies that forwarded it to me showing that I did in fact write in correspondence to my dismay of the company and their practices as well as not only respond to their asking for further information on my financial hardship, but I provided ample information showing my decrease in pay. Their response was that it was not enough to demonstrate a sufficient hardship. It is a 47% reduction in pay! I believe that to be more than sufficient of a financial hardship, but they have chosen to say that it is not. This company lied to Chase and is also predatory on their practices to people.
I would also like to address their three day cancellation policy. It is just another example of how this company operates their business as very borderline ethical. When I purchased this training program it was told I had to purchase it in the full amount on that day which was a Sunday. The three day cancellation policy expired on Wednesday and the first day to take any of their courses always begin at the earliest on a Friday. This doesn’t allow for anyone to ask for a refund after they have seen how bad their training is until well after the three day return policy period, but it allows them to tell the credit card companies that they had a return policy in place. The only way you would submit the cancellation notice in time would be if you had buyer’s remorse the next day since the cancellation notice must be received to their headquarters in writing by the third day.
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Interestingly, I myself signed up for and have gone to this seminar! Although there were individuals present that voiced their concerns- most seemed based on fear dominated thinking and each voiced concern WAS addressed by the presenter of the program. As a responsible adult- it is up to the individual to act in THEIR best interest and know what works for them...WIA is just the conduit (by education) to a system that is in place for those that would like the opportunity to learn and grow in Real Estate Investing. Most adults that know anything about Real Estate are aware that it takes effort and time as well as investment and knowledge.What you choose to do with the knowledge obtained is totally up to you! Most (like yourself) choose to base decisions on FEAR and NOT act! It is easier to blame someone or something else for that Fear than take the needed steps to individually learn and grow!
I too have taken this series of seminars (free 2 hour, followed by $495 3 day, followed by Rich U, which will be followed by 7 other advanced courses over the next several months). I didn't hesitate for a moment to sign up when the opportunity was presented. As a free thinking and free will adult, I fully recognized that the purpose of the first seminar was to sell the second, and the second was to sell the packages of advanced training. And I'm glad they did such a good job of presenting the opportunity!
I agree with "Learning to become..." It takes knowledge, courage and motivation to act to achieve one's desired goals in life. If you had a 47% pay cut, that alone should be motivation enough to change your life and learn to become financially free of the people that can arbitrarily subject you to that type of life-manipulation. If you are willing to learn from those that have done it before you, to accept the challenge to take action and improve your life, to be coachable and disciplined, you can be free. But you have to believe, and then you have to LISTEN! Financial freedom is NOT going to waltz up to you and tap you on the shoulder, then give you a free ride to paradise. If that were the case, everyone would be financially free!
I have trouble understanding how someone with such a broken mindset and attitude can justify blaming their misfortune on the actions of others when they were given all of the free-will choices they needed to act or disengage. You wouldn't have made it as a Successful Real Estate Investor anyway. There would be too many city buses trying to run you down all day long.
Yes you need to take action, control over your financial future, and responsibility... however.
The advanced training is crap, it offers vague and sketchy strategies. The best way to learn is by working with people in your area who have experience, the WIA classes do not offer the 'out of the box' solution that someone needs to be successful. I have not personally met anyone who has signed on with WIA and been successful at making a 30K deal within they're 18 months. In the training they said you could be making money in a matter of weeks, and the strategies work in any area and in any market, BS! After we signed on, the company stopped offering courses in our area, because of legislation that was being passed to stop scammers like WIA from teaching shady practices.
The sales techniques used are pushy, emotionally based, and not what is advertised when you spend your 500 bucks. Our 3-day event was about 4 hours of introductions, 4 hours playing cash flow, 4 hours learning vague strategies, and a 12 hour sales pitch.
Bottom line, save your money or credit for investing, don't buy their crappy training. Buy a book on a topic that you're interested in, do lots and lots and lots and lots of market research, find a mentor (not a paid regurgitation specialist), and get out there and do it!
Yea
I do agree with that. nice the get a basic knowledge than do your own work. my training was the same . they just pass you a part of the carrot if you want the rest you have to buy the next part.
If Robert want to help people to gain financial freedom why is He not offering a affordable price so any one can take the chance to better them self.
i Read most of his book . i believe in what he says but we still got to make our decision to better our self.
Has anyone had any luck getting a refund from Rich Dad? I spent $26K and agree that the material I learned was not what was promised. I would like to get at least some of the money back but after reading about their cancellation policy am worried that it is next to impossible.
Please help.
I am currently attending the 3 day $500 dollar seminar as well.
So far i am getting the same stuff..
First day they get you to increase your credit card " for homework",
Then the second day they get you to start doing the sign up sheet.
Then im guessing tommorow (the last day is the day you sign up)..
basically they are just using a formula to get you to sign up...for their incredibly ridicoulously overpriced courses.. im pretty sure you can find a better mentor for $[protected] rather than these scam artists.
I wonder if any of the students have actually seen what these people teaching the course are like outside the classroom.. (are they actually rich or not?)
i dont think i will be going back the final day... i think i have heard enough of their bs and sob stories...
I believe you need to take action. but we just need to find people that are more legit.
and for the people who actually think this course was not a waste of time.. have you become financially successful thus far? or are you still trying to pay off that credit card debt due to the tuition of WIA academy?
I am very confussed as to what to do? My husband and I have paid for the 3 day calss coming next month. And although we know we don't own a credit card to increase limit to, is the information given EVEN worth. I think I can place stop payment on our $500 check? Is any of this stuff real or not. I am knew to this whole realeste stuff and want to go far with it. I believe in Robert's message, but now a days how do you know what to believe? HELP
i am in the 3 day basic course right now and tomorrow is the last day. if you know nothing about investing and the different strategies then it is a good place to start. i have been investing for many years myself and go to these things to see if there is anything new i can pick up. there is some good ideas to get you started but i would take good notes and go home and do a lot of studying and readying books about what they talked about. be prepared they will try to sell you the advance training on day 2 and 3 and the costs are 12-50000. if you do your research you will be hard pressed to find good reports and these advance training courses. check out this web page. http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html#anchor529971
I am attending the 3 day basic course now. Yesterday was our first day and we haven't gotten anything I have not already read in Rich Dad books. Nothing new. After the class I spoke with our instructer and asked if the price of the avanced training was only available this weekend he said yes. If I did not buy this weekend the price would in some cases double. I look around the room at the other people in attendence and most are like myself just trying to better our lives to make life a bit easier. I am disappointed in Rich Dad. I will learning real estate my self with the help of mentors in my area. Not by some B.S. artist.
Some people are simply sceptics from the get go. If you felt the pressure at the Intro seminar, why did you sign up? Don't people follow their gut anymore? My husband and I signed up because we felt that it was right. Whether it was a good investment or not, it was a decision we made, fully knowing what it is that we were willing to lose to GAIN in life. They have not let us down yet. We didn't have thousands of dollars to get the mentor program and all. But whatever it is that we learned so far, we are making good use of it. And it's only been 3 months.
It's really about what you'll do with the information. When we went to these classes, we met many people. We identified the ones who'll keep on taking courses and make no use of the knowledge. We identified the ones who will go to various websites like this to identify with other sceptics, and sabotage their own success by being so negative.
Come on people. It was a decision YOU made. Own up to your own mistakes and learn something from it, if you learned nothing from the courses you took.
Best of luck to everyone :)
While it is ultimately up to each individual make hie/her own decisons, promises should be kept and one shousld get what one pays for. Sounds like no one has gotten what they paid for...especially from the Advanced Trainings. I will be attending the last day of the 3-day seminar ($495) today...and I am glad to have read all of this info this morning. While I LOVE Robert Kiyosaki's way of thinking (and will continue to try to change my own thinking and take action), I will not spend such a ridiculous amount of money for the CHANCE that I MAY get what I paid for. Shame on Rich Dad Education...or W I Academy...or whoever...for trying merely to sell!
I attended a free intro session today and have decided to do extensive research on my own rather than pay for the $495 course today. This knowing full well that I can in fact decide at a later time to take the course at this price, select someone to bring along, etc. if it sems worthwhile in spite of the negative reviews. I'm puzzled, though, at being unable to find the "copy of the script" for raising your credit limit that was to be attached to your text. Where is it?
People, COME ON! You do not have to sign up for any classes or advanced training, it is voluntary. You can get any JOB out there for free, without paying a penny.
It's only a choice, you make it.
Just tell me: who will you learn from how the Rich think? From your broke friends? Good luck!
I have read many of the comments posted above and although we only stayed for 7 hours of the first day I can tell you I was utterly disappointed with the product (or lack thereof). We attended the August 21st, 2009 session in Atlanta, Georgia with Scott Zuckman only to be shaking our heads and looking at each other in a puzzling manner as to what we were being pitched. Having been to a few of these seminars we knew there would be a sales pitch somewhere along the way. What we did not expect was for the WHOLE 1st day to be a sales pitch. After paying that much money we were willing to listen to the pitch, but expected some type of meat to be able to take away from the weekend. We are by no means sophisticated investors, but we do have 7 rental properties in our portfolio. Our goal was to learn new ways to acquire properties and investment capital, but the only thing we learned was that Mr. Zuckman has an affinity for his Masserati and Hawaii condo. Every time it appeared he would get to something of substance he would follow it up by a "we will get to that later." We were not willing to wait through 3 days of getting to it in hopes of getting to something we could actually use. The kindergarten-like hand raising and group chants were laughable. I'm sure this course is for some people, but anyone with real estate experience will be severely disappointed in the product. I applaud Mr. Zuckman for his real estate wealth building, but I didn't pay to hear about everything he has. I came to hear how to do it. That's what this course boiled down to...much more of WHY you should invest in real estate rather than HOW you can invest. If you need a course of WHY you should invest than by all means sign up for a great RA RA session, although you can usually get these much cheaper elsewhere. But if you need the HOW...well then I wish you well.
For those who got something from the course or the additional products they sell I think that’s great. I just question paying a faceless person thousands of dollars to supposedly help you. I guess I just have a huge beef with paying an unknown person thousands of dollars when I have no idea how they are, what their skills/capabilities are and most importantly if they actually give a %^&* about anything that happens to me. The high pressure sales tactic of dolling out half of your annual income in one weekend is very repulsive to me for a company I have followed and enjoyed their reading materials. I think Robert Kiyosaki is a brilliant individual, but I do question these seminars and their merits. I do hope that Mr. Kiyosaki has not gotten so big that he has lost touch with the products under his name.
For those who have called those who raised concerns about these products skeptics with fear dominated concerns and broken mindsets I would point out that Kiyosaki preaches not being Lemmings. By buying a product without proper due diligence because someone tells you it’s great...hmmm...sounds like that giant cliff is coming soon for you. I hope you find your "knowledge" from that faceless "mentor".
By the way everyone in our group contacted the company during the presentation on the first day and told them we wanted a full refund of the $499. The phone rep was very nice and first offered us a different training course. We informed her that we did not feel the course was worth it and we wanted the refund. She asked to speak to the presenter Mr. Zuckman, but he was presenting so she then asked for one of the 3 "helpers". She spoke with helper Jim and we were told we would receive our refund. I have heard if you don't ask for the refund prior to the second session you won't get it. I would highly discourage anyone from attending this event, but if you do be prepared for the never-ending sales pitch.
Good Luck!
I'm sitting in the training class today, Sat August 22. It's crazy they want a reduculous amount of money. Threwout the first day they reiterate to you that you can't be a succesful realistate investor without further training in their courses that are thousands of dollars. I don't think they incourage you unless you buy their product.the teacher gives you homework in which, they ask you to up your credit limit wich later you find out it's to invest into their classes. Wow! That was a great way to make sure people had the money. They also say you invest into your future, so with a package for around 50, 000 on credit how in he'll will you make those payments. The words a mentor is key is also repeated and not provided unless you pay around 16, 000 yes 16, 000. Don't fall into that rat trap. They also tell you not to read the comments on the Internet, this is why. I don't think that the classes don't work but the price, sales pitch, bait and switch, and misleading is a reason I would not attend the courses. If you want to know any further info send me an email @ phillypeanut84@yaho.com
They have started conducting the same seminars / courses in the UK now. Has anyone attended these and gone for the advanced training?
My boyfriend and I attended 2 days of the stock/options training class. Do you think we can get our money back? I wonder if I can still cancel the payment on my credit card? We each paid for half. We did learn some information, but I'm not sure whether to trust any of it as these people are obviously big time con artists and scammers. Fortunately we didn't sign up for any more of this bull. I'm considering making a report to SEC.
I just completed the 3-day How to Start or Expand Your Business. What a pressure cooker. The presenter was a car salesman and he was great. I mean he had everyone in the room fired up and ready to be reprogrammed for success. He went into different areas of real-estate investing but not into too much details and kept saying the Advanced Training had more details. We would need to have about 7-11 courses to really go out and in two years have a net worth of $1M. I mean the guy was really good and I applaud him for doing a great job.
He did the credt card trick on telling us to call our bank and get an increase and how to increase our score by 20-30 point. Now, I know why the presenter was mentioning it would require about $50k to start your business. The real kicker came on Saturday at 4 PM when he "dropped the BOMB on us". Wow, I was expecting the price to be around $10-15K for the entire thing. I damn near fell out of the chair. Still, I was excited about the courses and had a long talk with GOD that night to provide me with some clarity because I was excited and could not sleep.
Sunday, I still wasn't clear so I left my CC at home just in case. Driving down there I knew if this was something I had to do, I could sign up for it later. Wrong. That price was only good today and that's it. I could not call a few days later and get it. I mentioned my displeasure about there was no pricing for a single person and they proceeded to tell me there was another person I could team up with to share the cost which I did not care about. I did not discuss this with my financee and I would choose her to attend with me anyway. She is out of the country but they wanted me to sign up for a cheaper package and I could then change it later. Realizing there is no refund I declined. Ironically, out of 70 people about 6 signed up. I also learned that the presenter and hire associates were well paid by the organization. I was turned off to learn they had little experience in real-estate investing.
As I look back now these things come to my mind. First, I think God provided me with the clarity. Second, I am glad I didn't do it because I found a lot of valuable information on the Internet and am thinking about paying a local mentor $5K-10K to help me. Their mentor was $12K-14K which was half of the pasckage price. Essentially you are paying for a consultant for only 3-days. Also, seeking advice from real-estate CPA and legal personnel would allow allow me to sleep better.
Their objective was to give us enough information to make us hungry and they did that. They are selling specialized education at a price that some people are willing to pay. They made us feel we needed this stuff to be wealthy and if we didn't we would be no better and stuck in "the rat race" forever. I don't believe that and I will find a way with GOD's help.
Here is my opinion RK has clearly moved into the world of big-time marketing. He has figured out by teaming up with other people and companies, he can increase his wealth faster. TRUE. They are selling information that has been floating around by the same people that invented real-estate investing decades ago, i.e., Tom Vu, Ron LeGran, Carlton Sheets and a host of others. RK and Wealth Intelligence Academy has put all that into a educational package and is marketing it as the equivalent to a college education but cost less. Hooray.
Look folks that was my experience and my opinion.
My husband and I attended the three day seminar at the beginning of the year and yes, we ended up buying one of the packages. It was a lot of money and in retrospect we could have received the same training for a lot less (our local REIA club has presenters every week that sell their things and we are affiliated with Jeff Kaller, Dave Lindahl and Fortune Builders) however it was something that we wanted to do. We didn't just whip out our credit cards without thinking about it. We discussed it, picked what we wanted to do and decided together to take the classes. To us it wasn't a mistake. We've been to Rich U and the Foreclosure training where I learned a ton.
I'd also like to comment on the person who said that the instructors aren't out there doing the business that they're teaching because they are. Our instructor this past weekend was talking about the deals he did and the deals he is currently doing and he was a really nice guy. He also knew a good deal about our own market and he lived down south and he was up-to-date on the current market information.
Every course that we have taken thus far -- the ones offered through WIA and the others I mentioned -- have helped us out knowledge-wise tremendously. There were also several real estate agents in the class who are doing the business and investing and they seemed to take a great deal out of the teaching.
I don't care if you get your education through WIA or someone else however the important thing -- which I think is the basis for most of the presenters and marketing they're doing to get you to buy -- is that you have to educate yourself. I knew nothing about investing and my husband only knew what he's read from the Rich Dad books as well as other books from other authors and on the education that we have received in the past 6 months. I am more confident when speaking to realtors and others about what we are doing than I was 6 months ago and I want this to be my full time job.
This is not a "Get Rich Quick" type of thing. Yes, you will make a lot of money investing (if you invest correctly) and yes, you can also lose a lot of money but I think that the good far out weighs the bad. If you're skeptical about spending money -- even a couple thousand dollars -- on your education so that you don't make mistakes and lose your shirt then perhaps investing isn't the place for you because you will be spending thousands more on properties. If you think this is a "Get Rich Quick" type deal then investing is definitely not the place for you because you will not become rich over night.
This is just my own opinion based on my own experience. I truly believe that education is very important if you want to be a successful real estate investor. Do you need to do your homework? Absolutely however be aware that almost every person out there who is not only doing this stuff but teaching it will have negative marks associated with them by people who didn't 'get rich quick'. There will always be those people who think that real estate investing is a huge scam. Then there will always be those people out there who are doing it and making a lot of money.
I intend to be one of those people.
for those who signed up for the advanced courses - I wish you well. I would, however, love to hear from some of you to see how it's going and if you have made any money based on this advanced knowledge and how did the mentorship go? In my 3 day seminar, similar to others, they instantly talked about "calling to raise limits on multiple credit cards". Come on, it's obvious the room was not full of the richest people. The world loves to prey on the elderly and the poor. They even advocated charging the course even if the spouse was not on board as it's ok to make the "right" decision for the f-a-m-i-l-y. It was weird that they did not want us to "network" (or actually get close) to one another. I believe it was so we would not talk each other out of the classes. We even had to change tables twice a day! Supposedly there might be some in the room who worked for a competing company blah blah. Oh, and they do get paid well for the classes over a 3 day weekend (can we say commission), thus the need for the hard sell. Otherwise, why aren't they out there buying property and spending quality time with their own families? I know the choice is up to each individual but history has shown that some folks are weaker than others. I would say, do not sign up for the course, if you then can't find anything better locally, sign up for the $500/weekend, as it "will" come around again, and then sign up for the advanced courses - if you must.
I, too, am thorughly disappointed with my WIA (Rich Dad) experience, or lack thereof. It is the ultimate bait and switch, playing on the emotions and gullibility of not knowing and unsuspected attendees. They are trained and experienced marketers and sales people. After spending more that $50000, I am yet to attend any training beyond Rich U. Even if there is any value in their training, with the training classes scattered all over the country, it's virtually impossible to attend the training without ending up in the poor house from transportation and accommodation cost. I'm ashamed and sicken by the financial mess I have allow myself to fall into with these ripoff scammers.
They don't call him Rich Dad for nothing, making himself rich from the misfortune of others is the ultimate shame. I too was caught by this lie and am battling now to make the payments on the credit cards, effectively taking food off the table. When will they be taken to court to stop fleecing good citizens and put a stop to their crimes. I am about to lose my house as as result. Shame on you Rich Dad!
Why would anyone spend this kind of money on any training that is not an accredited college where they would get a degree or something? They complain because the people sold them something and they bought it then don't like it. I have been to all sorts of things like that over the years where they try to sell you courses, time shares, MLM sign ups, whatever. And yes they tell you to charge it, etc. Because someone tells you to buy something doesn't mean you have to. The only people to blame for credit card debt is the person who charged it, myself included. I can't blame anyone but myself for the times I said "ok, charge it" and nor should these people, unless of course the people selling the product had a gun to their head. Otherwise wake up people!
carriesue ---
Below is a quote from your post:
" It was weird that they did not want us to "network" (or actually get close) to one another. I believe it was so we would not talk each other out of the classes. We even had to change tables twice a day!"
I'm confused. Networking IS the reason why they had us move tables and sit with different people. They wanted you to meet people rather than get comfortable with just the original people at your table. Duh... They even tell you to exchange numbers/emails after the class.
As for them telling you to charge your card even if your spouse is against it, I don't recall that being said in my class...
when i went through training two years ago they specifically told us to not get the numbers or emails of anyone in the class. anybody have any luck with a refund? i saw that they just changed their name again...3rd time in 3 years. no longer wealth intelligence academy. possible name/lawsuit issues?
Caligal88 said: Why would anyone spend this kind of money on any training that is not an accredited college where they would get a degree or something?
My thought: whether an accredited college or not, why spend more money than you will ever make; period? Essentially, an accredited college isn't the answer or an argument really? I have a BBA & MBA and financial certifications, and I still don't make the amount of money it took taking 6 or 7 years of college and thousands of dollars of so called investing my future. I got more accredited college debt than any 10, 000 on a credit card from a WIA training course, and still don't make enough to pay all those accredited college courses that teach me how to keep other people wealthy. The bottom line...do your homework people! If you have bought into all that American Society tells you about just go to school and work for somebody the rest of your life; guess what you've already been SCAMMED!
Guess what, there is a group in society that is laughing at you. You bought into there scam and they have done an excellent job of hearding you into working to make money for someone else! True success comes from acting and thinking independantly of a mindset that is geared to subject you in making money for someone else! Whether, it's WIA or someone else it doesn't really matter. Get what you need methodically gather all the pieces, don't ever depend on anyone to tell you the whole truth. Truth always comes at price (hard work & research).
BE SMART!
got a masters and you can't spell herding correctly...nice
I read in one of the posts that they haven't seen anyone make 30k on a deal yet...well now you have! I do agree, after knowing I could have received similar training through various other means, that the price was high. Although, if I hadn't started with this course I wouldn't be where I am at today. I have wholesaled and rehabbed over 10 homes to date in 2009. I have cleared over 150k and I currently have 5 homes that I'm rehabbing, all of these will be done berfore the end of the year and there's still 2 months left in the year.
Can't people take personal responsibility for their actions? The reason I invested in the 25k level was so that it would motivate me, and it did. I was nervous as hell paying for the courses, but I put in action and haven't stopped since. I have 2 other good friends that I have met through the WI/Rich Dad courses that are doing as much as me...out of at least 100 I've met... so very few do actually ever commit and they let fear and the "I can't do it" attitude set in, then they blame somebody else for taking advantage of them. One of the main reasons this country is going down hill...is lack of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Yes, some things are legal in some states and illegal in others...so...consult w/ an attorney and find out what works in your state, and do it! This business can be built in all states by anybody that chooses to do it.
In short, yes the classes are expensive and the instruction, in some cases, lacks a bit. Although, if you spent that kind of money on one of these courses, and aren't making it work...it's your own fault. I'm sorry, but I will tell you first hand that it works...I'm working my tail off, but I didn't expect that if I spent that money it would come easy. Work hard and do what they tell you and you will be successful!
You admitted, above, that there was no guarantee of any kind for the program and people your complaint is against. Like other "positive thinking" and similar wealth-building programs, you paid money to sit under gurus to learn what they wanted to teach you. Since there was no guarantee, what they taught you has nothing to do with their sales pitch.
Just finished my third day of training today in San Jose, CA. The trainer's first name was Bonita. She was enthusiastic and seemed approachable. She told us her story of how her son went through a terrible accident and she overcame those struggles to now become independently wealthy.
I was excited the first day (Friday) when we were told we were going to be taught to raise $50, 000 in capital by Sunday. I thought to myself if that was possible then the $500 I paid for the class would be worth it. I cannot explain the disgust I felt when I saw the call script to call our credit card companies to increase our credit limits. Are you kidding me…I knew I could do this…anybody can!
Specific instructions were written such as:
What’s my credit limit? Wait for response…
Hmmmmmmmm….I would like to increase it….Don’t say anything else.
How much is my interest rate? Wait for response…
Hmmmmmmmm…I would like to lower it…Don’t say anything else…ask for a supervisor if you don’t get what you want.
After seeing this and hearing the “Ra Ra…I will become a millionaire!” chant, I really felt like an ###. I can’t believe I spent this much to hear this stuff I could learn in books and from a library.
Still, I decided to attend all three days. To be fair, 0n the second day I did learn some interesting new items about real estate investing and protecting assets I never knew before. This opened my eyes to follow up with some additional training (on my own). Did I get my money’s worth? That’s debatable. I feel bad for those that bought the $25K “Advanced Training”.
Overall I was very disappointed. I can’t believe Robert is affiliated with this type of training. I don’t believe his mission statement anymore after attending this class. Does he really want to “Improve the financial literacy of humanity” by charging thousands of dollars at a time to do it?
The best thing I got from this class was the new friends I made at my table. All of them smart, enthusiastic entrepreneurs looking to better themselves. I hope that friendship lasts longer than the knowledge I obtained this weekend.
For those that bought into Russ Whitney's course and actually worked at it like me, I'm sure I speak for all of us - Thank you Russ for the "Knowledge" I'll always "Know what I know". For those that sit back back and gripe all day long and whine about them thinking they got scammed, you're never going to amount to anything else but a JOB (Just Over Broke), so go back and get one and stop sucking up the unemployed benefits that I'm pulling out of my well earned WIA buying houses money. I paid the same thing, $26, 000+ dollars and paid it right back off in about 6 months because I put theory into practice and bought ugly houses and assigned them out. Easy! just keep being lazy people and sit down on the couch and wait to see if money will fall in your lap.
go straight up and look for this guy - Mnhousebuyer
That is one smart guy! I'm glad your kicking ### dude. They will never know bro. I got to get in on that rehabbing though. I just keep with the finders fee assignment contract on ugly houses. Little $5000 dollar jobs in 3-4 days is easy to me. I'm not sure if I want to bother rehabbing but I guess I'll start now seeing how I like this house we just got a call on. Might even move into it when were done.
Just attended the free stock and options seminar and thought it was great. After being in the education field for 18 years, I understand that knowledge is power and gaining new knowledge costs time and money. There was no hard sell at the seminar. I signed up for the 3 day training seminar because I want to learn and gain more knowledge. I also understand that applying the knowledge at these seminars is a personal choice. We are free to do as we will to do. Bottom line, if getting wealthy were easy, everyone would be wealthy! I think Robert Kiyosaki and his organization is at least trying to get more people in America to learn more about their finances and future.
I too participated in the three day seminar and signed up for classes and mentorship, or so I thought. After the 3 day seminar, I only heard from their finance person trying to get more money, no mentoring at al, and the clases I want to take have been cancelled more than onced. In additon, now there's a new company that hasn't tried to contact me with any info on classes. It is a rip off company and I am going to try to get my money back too!
If you're thinking about attending their classes, don't do it!
I attended the 3 day training and enjoyed it very much. While going through the training I read a lot of these complaints and I determined that the company must have improved since they were written. I, therefore, purchased a smaller package of online training courses because that was all I could afford. I wish that I could refund the rest of my courses because they are cheaply made with elementary and repetitive information.
When I called and talked to someone to complain I was told to write a formal complaint. Two weeks later I received a form letter full of information that didn't apply to me. My assessment is this is a company sells overpriced courses to individuals by using emotional manipulation. They then do not care about their customers because they already have their money.
By the way I think Rich Dad Education / Wealth Intelligence Academy has changed its name to Tigrent Learning. Whatever the name, I would strongly suggest that you find another place to purchase your training.
I agree with the compliant.
But not for the reasons you think, If you have read any of the rich dad poor dad books - he explicitly says "good debt is debt that pays for it's self"... To ask people to pay on credit for information is wrong. Information "good or bad" does not pay for itself, it rellies on you using that info to a succesful means - which 1- can not be garrauntteed 2-depends on person, situation and time 3-if the correct info is not given as promised is misleading and bad.
I agree with the comments about the books being good yet vague, I gree with learning and finding local mentors and most of all - if anyone is pressuring you to raise your credit and then ask you to pay upfront for a short not credited school course - - run...
I have read many books and they always offer one or two good tips that I could use, weather it is outdated or new - I use them. But why would I pay so much for a mentor who wont show me thier books or bank account [ like robert says - you need some one who is succesful at doing what they teach ].
I started writing a blog [ Money-and-kids.blogspot.com ] it's for parents who really need to change the way they think and teach thier children about money - even though I make mention of books I've read and things I've personally done - but I always offer this advice: check your local government laws and rules and find someone local that is succesful at what you want to do.
CBC's consumer TV show Marketplace is doing a story about Whitney's Rich Dad seminars on Friday Jan 29. The video is here: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/road_to_rich_dad/main.html
I can agree that I did sign up for an agreement to training, then I left and started looking into it, trying to make sense of it, etc. I eventually spoke to an old friend who also wasted $30K on their training:
Long story short is I know many people who ALL claim that WIA offered poor training, and also incorrect or illegal advice - which can only come from people who have been trained to be "Trainers" and NOT experienced Real Estate Investors.
They are full of false hope and scam, obert Kiyosaki only endorses their training with his name: He is not the creator or designer of it. That's how we are all fooled.
As the saying goes, "there is a sucker born every second"! You must know the difference between advanced educational courses and advanced 'sales/promo" courses. The challenge for Robert Kiyosaki in the future will be to see How can he move away from only Real Estate and have more focus on entrepreneurial or business education. I'm assuming that nobody with this group is very formally educated, so I'm expecting that there will be a lot of sales and marketing spin with the objective of getting your money.
The best idea that I learned from Robert Kiyosaki is you need to know where the money is flowing between the buyer and the seller. In the case of selling'advanced courses' the money flow is from your pocket to the pockets of course presenters. And, you need to have money flowing into your pocket to be richer, so that if it isn't then your on the wrong side of the money street.
By the way, I will have a book coming our hopefully this year about Seniors (50 Plus) empowered to become entrepreneurs and have the opportunity to Build a Legacy. Originally, I wanted to title the book Rich Senior/Poor Senior however; my book will be non-fiction and this will not be the title.
Joe Wasylyk
Seniorpreneur
Rich Dad Education
I am so glad that we did not take the plunge into this scam. We just completed the 3-day Rich Dad seminar. While we did walk away with some information, it was not more than we could have learned in an hour. Here's what we got:
Day 1: Basically an introduction and overview of the speaker, Alan Swails, who told us details about his life, family and how he got "rich", and things that his wealth allows him to be able to do for himself and his family. By the time that was over, it was time for lunch. So, from 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM, that is all we got. I thought he was just trying to get us in the right mind set to receive all of this information we were supposed to be learning over the weekend, but we would soon see it was a tactic to just wear us down.
Throughout the day, he kept mentioning all of the wonderful bonus information we would get on day 2 and day 3. Of course, in our minds, we were more interested in seeing all we could absorb on the first day. We started to hear sprinkles of information about the Advanced Training courses at this point. We spent about an hours playing "Cashflow 101: How to Get Out of the Rat Race" game. This was supposed to help us practice our skills in investing, finding the right deal and getting out of the "Rat Race" by becoming debt free.
At the end of the day, we were given a homework assignment to call our credit card companies to make sure that our credit limits hadn't been lowered due to lack of use or spending well below our limits, and to lower interest rates. We were also given a script to do this. Soon we would learn why a higher credit card limit was so important.
Day 2: We pretty much spent the first two hours rehashing what we did the day before, and began to hear more and more about what the advanced training could do for us. After lunch, we then went into the Advanced Training information and what it would cost. At that point, after we picked our jaws off the table, we quickly realized we had been duped, and that the $495 3-day seminar was no more than high-powered sales pitch to get us to spend 10K-70K dollars on these advanced courses. All we could think was, "ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR COTTON PICKING MINDS?"
Mr. Swails continued on by saying that what was spent on "getting the knowledge" was just a drop in the bucket compared to what we would be able to do with that knowledge once we attained it. The problem is, we were supposed to be getting the knowledge for the $495. He also said that he was sure that many of us would not return the following day because of fear. I felt he became a bit condescending to those who seemed a little disgruntled at the fact that they'd been had. This guy was good! I mean tears and all when discussing his family and what wealth was able to do for them. He made everything very enticing. We were given a meaningless homework assignment and dismissed for the day.
Day 3: Begrudgingly, we returned for the final day in hopes that there was possibly something that could be learned from this experience. I must say that I remained unsatisfied, and very disappointed at the outcome. As the day went on, I became empathetic towards those who chose to throw those thousands of dollars away on an education that could be gotten at a fraction of the cost. I am sure many of them are feeling buyer's remorse by now.
While I did not get what I had anticipated out of the seminar, I can't say that I am disappoint that I spent $495 for this lesson. It certainly has opened my eyes to how well these scammers play on the heart-strings of the weak-minded, or those who feel like anything that is worth having comes without hard work and time. If there is one person that becomes debt free and is able to quit his job after one year, as promised, than good for them. However, if that happens, I highly doubt it will have anything to do with what they will be learning (or not) with the advanced training for which they paid.