@Barbara G. after toss and turning on whether getting a lawyer or not, I think I might skip on this one. Simply I DO NOT have more money to burn knowing I have to pay tons to lawyer before they can do a " serious" job for me.

I will definitely use those public services like what everyone was saying and definitely use my CC dispute service.

Originally posted by @Debbie Lee :

@Manolo D. I do understand chances of getting big portion of money back is slim, but at least I need to try all possible ways I can , if unfortunately fail, at least I know I have done my best.

 That is true, 41k is no joke, I could flip that twice in a year given I could get the job for it.

@Joe Moore this is a great tool to have- legal shield !

After the mistake, I was telling myself "don't think from now on, I will ever sign any contract again ! " LOL, of course I am not ready to give up on RE investment.

Yes Guy is right on, we all have made financial mistakes in our REI careers (or at least I have and it was a doozy that cost me more than 41k). Use this experience in a positive way and absolutely don't let it define your future in REI. Just move forward on any future REI plans with great care. This board is a fantastic place to get good advice. If you had posted what you were about to do with that company on this board a month ago, everyone would have screamed STOP!!!!!!! But hey live and learn!

I'm not sure why you won't post the name of the firm. I guess you don't want people contacting the firm and mentioning your name as you still are trying to recover funds?

Every one is trying to help you and you are refusing to tell us the name of the Company that scammed you??
Does that sound right?

Does that sound reasonable?

Some people don't know who their friends are!!!

@Debbie Lee  

As others have mentioned I would definitely dispute all of the CC charges with your CC company as fraudulent charges, based on the company not providing the promised service/product.  

And our legal society is actually very parental.  Meaning if they can prove a sophisticated party has essentially outsmarted a non-sohisticated party in order to sign a contract or do business with that person then they can void the contract or agreement.  It's much different than buying a piece of real estate.  However you would need to hire the right lawyer/firm and that unfortunately may not be worth the cost and hassle to recover the remainder of the funds.  However it still may be worth the initial call.  

Also you may want to check with your closest university (w/ the best law school).  Many good law schools offer legal help to local businesses.  You may qualify for help (you may not). 

And as others have mentioned the internet is probably the most powerful place. Let your experience be known.  Best of luck!   

Negative publicity won't change anything! You can google all the big ones & see that they are still giving "workshops" all over the country and in Canada & Australia.

Certified letter would probably help getting more money, but the contract you signed has a clear time table to ask for your refund. Your state may have a refund timetable ex) 30 days, that might overrule what you signed.

If you are over 18 and not mentally incapacitated, not knowing that you signed a piece of paper that was actually a contract, is something I don't think you can argue and win in court.

Those contracts are thoroughly reviewed by the gurus army of lawyers in the anticipation of refunds & lawsuits. 

IMO, get what you can, then take the free info & connections made on here to earn your money back & more. Don't let this expensive lesson sidetrack your REI success.

write to the attorney general below:

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/i...

Originally posted by @Chris Winterhalter :

@Debbie Lee 

As others have mentioned I would definitely dispute all of the CC charges with your CC company as fraudulent charges, based on the company not providing the promised service/product.  

-------------------------------------____________________________________

Everybody is telling you the same thing

#1

Get as many credit card companys that have billed  you on the phone and tell them this was a scam  

The company did not provide what they promised and they pressured you for hours to sign

Tell them this was a Bait and Switch.  It was supposed to be free

Tell them they told you to get over on credit card companys and walked you through the process that you did not want

Tell them you have NO MONEY TO PAY THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND WILL HAVE TO FILE BANKRUPCY IF YOU CAN"T GET IT OFF THE BILL   
TELL Them to Block the company from billing you again.

@Barbara G. I understand everyone here is trying to help me and asking me to reveal the name of the company, and BELIEVE me I do want to make a big alarm publicly to warn people don't fall in the trap.

Thinking if reveal the name, this might make whole things more complicated, maybe I still want to negotiate with the company myself ? and I know some member from this BP forum works for them, so there are just reasons holding me back. and believe me, I am not clear and certain right now after going through this lengthy forum with many many suggestion.

Please understand me here, I might consult some people first then I will go from there.

There are time limitations on refunds

Your time is running out

March is almost over

@Barbara G.

  if I did not mention it before.. most if not all guru refund policies clearly state that the person getting the refund shall not publicly bad mouth the company in any way.

they make a big ta do about the refundee signing this document and keeping quiet.

so this is why this lady is probably reluctant to name name's as she would like her money back first and foremost .

The fact is EVERY guru operates the exact same way.  these are all methodical sales practices handled by back end fulfillment companies.. the guru basically has no clue ... its the fulfillment companies that have the boiler rooms and personal that collect the dough etc.  and they are 3p vendors.

Subscribed.

Originally posted by @Chris Winterhalter :

@Debbie Lee 

And our legal society is actually very parental.  Meaning if they can prove a sophisticated party has essentially outsmarted a non-sohisticated party in order to sign a contract or do business with that person then they can void the contract or agreement.  It's much different than buying a piece of real estate.  However you would need to hire the right lawyer/firm and that unfortunately may not be worth the cost and hassle to recover the remainder of the funds.  However it still may be worth the initial call.  

Also you may want to check with your closest university (w/ the best law school).  Many good law schools offer legal help to local businesses.  You may qualify for help (you may not). 

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you ask all the credit card companies to reverse charges back to the credit card company ask them for new cards with new credit card numbers  DO NOT cancel your credit cards

THEN do what CHRIS SAYS and see if you can talk to a local law school and see of they have anyone  to help you there.

Hi Debbie,

So sorry you're going through this. Your biggest argument is not that they charged you $40k but that they didn't deliver what they promised for that money. I would file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, stating the reason for your complaint in detail on all the things they did not deliver to you, it will lower their rating with the BBB which no one wants. I would also dispute the charge if you put it on a CC and your CC company will reverse it. They would then have to take legal action to collect from you. Lastly, I would call them back and ask to speak with a manager. Explain why you are upset, tell them you have nothing but time to bash them on every social media outlet around if they do not refund your money. Assure them that the money they will lose from your bad PR on sites like BP would far exceed your $40k and that you WON'T STOP doing it until you receive a refund, even if it is YEARS. Let us know how it goes!!

Originally posted by @Heather Thompson :

Hi Debbie,

 I would also dispute the charge if you put it on a CC and your CC company will reverse it. They would then have to take legal action to collect from you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Everyone agrees

Your best shot is to call all the credit card companies and ask them all to reverse the charges Back to the Guru company.  See if you can get them ALL to do it.  See if you can get some to do it, or even one.  That is the first and most important step and let us know asap what the Credit card companies did for you so you can go on to the next step

BG

$41k?! My heart went out to you reading that number when I thought about what it could have done when invested by your own hand with some guidance from members of a local REIA and the deal analysis community here on BP. Even in the Naperville area that is enough to get going with buy-and-hold or fix-and-flip, where you could learn by doing with knowledgeable advice along the way. I don't know what it is about real estate, and maybe it's not confined to RE investing, but the generosity of successful investors who share their knowledge at local REIA meetings or here on BP is just amazing.

New update: i just received a email from the guru company as below:

I will submit your request a second time and try to get you a little bit more of a refund. Please allow me until Wednesday to get back with you.

Are they trying to hold me back on doing any actions?

I should still go ahead to file a dispute from my CC companies.

Debbie just do it instead of saying you are going to do it like you have been doing the last couple days. File a dispute with your CC as of today.

The Geru company  is trying to run the clock against you

They know your chances of getting a refund are slimmer and slimmer as time goes on

March is almost over

Do not believe one word that GURU group is  telling you

They don't know if you are talking to the credit card companys.  They know they have talked you into spending all that money and they figure they can out talk you NOW.  

They are trying to get you to lose all your valuable time. Don't let April get here.   Your ONLY chances are fading fast, do it TODAY and do it NOW or you will be so sorry you did not listen to people who have your interest at heart.  This GURU Company is one Big Scam and every body knows it, including the credit card company, and the Attorney Generals 's office and just everybody.

Call the credit company right now

BY the way Debbie

Wednesday is April 1, 2015 and that's what they want you to do.  They want to get you out of March into April so your chance of getting your money back from the credit card company will be down to zero

@Debbie Lee

 Sometimes in real estate you've just got to pull the trigger.   This is one of those times, file that dispute NOW. 

Why why why are you being so understanding to a company who is ripping you off? 

What do you think it will accomplish by waiting on their terms? have their terms been favorable to you at any point?

The longer you wait, the more of a chance you will lose out.   

Originally posted by @Debbie Lee :

Hi to all investors out there, hope you have any advise or resource to help me out.

About 3 weeks ago I paid about $41,000 to a real estate investing company. After I have paid, their attitude and responsibility promised to me changed totally. Slowly I lost my trust on them, so decided to go ahead and ask for a refund.

after a couple of phone calls they only agreed and only refunded me $14,500 and will further refund my $4,500 if I sign their refund agreement ( I guess they are trying to get me sign and agree those are the amount I agree to be refunded and I can't take any other further action to ask more refund), I said I have to call you back. The only reason they holding strongly to argue with me for not willing to refund the most of the amount paid is that I have signed the contract ! They have so smoothly get me to sign a piece of agreement paper, without making it clear that was a " contract" I signed.

Please, do you have any advise or resource that can help me get most portion of the money back?

any suggestion or advise is greatly appreciated !

Okay, didn't read all the post, you need an attorney, sue them! Be very careful in taking any refund as they usually have sties attached.

At 41K, you need to get an attorney!

41K.....REALLY? My question is.......how can you have that kind of money and be sooooo naïve?

Anyway, that is a significant amount, any new  attorney admitted to the state bar should be able to take care of that, collecting is another matter. But, get an attorney, their offer will probably go up! :)

You don't need a lawyer, you can do it your self. Write a letter to the company stating why the promises they made were false and you are unsatisfied. Then create a list of radio stations, tv stations, BBB, government agencies and such that you will be delivering the grievance letter if they do not refund your money. I did this very thing and it worked!