All you real estate investors charmed by conti and finkel, please take notice!
In January I purchased Mentor Financial's 2-day $69.00 real estate "teaser" investment seminar (R.E. Success Conference) over the Internet, about 7 weeks ahead of the date. Due to a scheduling conflict I had to cancel a few days later, and contacted Mentor Financial by e-mail to get a refund on my VISA. After no response I phoned them but, again, no one contacted me.
After my third e-mail, 3-4 weeks later, Emily from Customer Service finally responded that their company policy does not allow them to refund cash payments. How nice for them! She said -get this foolishness - that the only way I can get my money back is to attend the seminar and then complain that I was dissatisfied. My only other option was to let them transfer my money into purchasing a membership (which I didn't want) or to attend a future seminar.
Since there was no stated policy on their site or in the downloaded reservation confirmation relating to cancellations prior to the event, I think I deserve my money back. The site boasts that the conferences are always sold out and since I cancelled several weeks in advance, I can't imagine that they won't fill my seat.
I don't know about you but I smell the next big REAL ESTATE RIPOFF in-the-making. I know that I can contest the charge on my credit card, and $69 is not the end of the world, but everything else on their menu - the advanced seminars and mentor programs - are very pricey. It doesn't bode well that they have company policies that avoid giving fair refunds - a dead giveaway for a RIPOFF.
Since then I've done research on this group, who promote the latest fad in investing called "Purchase Option." It seems that the success of their system revolves around outsmarting lending institutions by subverting the Due-On-Sale-Clause. This is patently illegal, and can get innocent investors into big trouble with the Feds. Hopefully some unsuspecting people will read this complaint and do some research of their own before they end up losing much more that $69.
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