Rich Dad Software Scam

I don’t know if the Rich Dad Real Estate Software is any good or not, it is still wrapped in the original plastic wrap… That did not prevent a $60 charge from appearing on last month’s credit card statement.

During the 3-day, $495 Rich Dad Real Estate / Tigrent Learning sales pitch, the instructor demonstrates several features of the Rich Dad Software. When you go through the actual purchasing process of buying a package that includes software, you spend one-on-one time with one of their real estate counselors. These people discuss your plan, courses, getting started, etc. You initial a box that lets you know that the software come with an activation code and a $40/ month fee. Some packages, like ours, include a second activation code for an additional $20/month. Even though we don’t have any use for a second software site, we didn’t see any harm in having it, since is was included in the package… The counselor was clear that the charges would begin once we activated the software.

So, why the charge? I called the number on the statement for Rich Dad Software that was listed on the credit card statement and navigated to a person in billing. I asked about the reason for the charge, since I had not activated the software. I was told that I agreed to the charges and that “on the back of the contract, paragraph 5, it clearly states that, after the free 15-day trial period, I would receive a monthly charge for the software.”

Really? I told the billing person that the sales person at seminar told that the charges would begin once I activated the software. She then went on to tell me that, while she did not know what I was told, the contract is clear. She gave me a fax number to cancel my activation, but she would not refund the $60 charge. WOW, such arrogance. These sound like the strong-arm, under-handed tactics of a company with a lousy product.

In my business dealings, I make sure that the client is satisfied with the value received – it never occurred to me that you could build a business by bullying people, ripping them off, and hiding behind a contract.

I find it interesting that I never provided approval for a credit card to be billed – I look forward to seeing the ‘documentation’ that they provide the credit card company to resolve the disputed charge.

I have always believed that a contract is only as good as the person who signs it. Any contract can be misrepresented, inaccurately explained or interpreted. This is a case of clearly deceptive practices. I am seeing this company in a completely new light – these guys feel like a bunch of crooks.

One last comment. Upon signing up, you are given the number for your Program Coordinator. This is your ‘go-to’ person for the whole program. While you do receive an introductory email, this person (Angela, in my case), is not accessible. Her voicemail greeting tells you that she will get back to you within two business days and that leaving multiple messages will only delay the process. The irony is that leaving a single message must also delay the process. Of the multiple messages that I have left, only one was returned in the two day window. I have tried at least 5 times, and while I eventually receive a call back and sometimes an apology, we have yet to speak.

I will let you know how it turns out…

Rich Dad Real Estate Seminar

Having recently attended both a free 3-hour seminar on real estate investing and a 3-day, $495 seminar on real estate investing, I thought that it might be helpful to start a blog on this experience.

A quick disclosure – I am a real estate agent and investor. I am a fan of the Rich Dad book series. I have read most of the books and I am a believer in the concept of building a portfolio of income producing investments.

As a newly wed, I thought that the 3-day seminar would be a great way to share my world with my new wife, to help us communicate and discuss our financial plans, ideas, and goals. I think that this goal has been met. While I have always had my wife’s support, I feel like we are much better partners now that we have jointly created a plan to achieve our goals.

Back to the seminars…
Both of these events provided some interesting concepts, but were light on details. When details are discussed, most of the hard stuff was dismissed or minimized. As an example, the whole process of building a database of buyers for Lease Option clients was consistently made to sound trivial. The same can be said for building a database of investors for wholesale properties. As a real estate agent, my experience is that building a database requires year of hard work – not something to be minimized.

The financial examples consistently overstated profit outcomes (have you had a tenant move into a rental with an option to buy pay a 10% option fee – i.e. pay a $20,000 option fee to purchase a $200,000 home?).

The sales tactics were high pressure. Every effort was made to be dismissive of any real questions. When people asked about success rates of past students, the presentor was dismissive in stating that the question asker was looking for permission to fail. Networking was discouraged, as was any kind of critical group discussions.

For better or worse, my wife and I ‘invested’ $35k in 8 seminars, software, and a 3-day one-on-one visit from a real estate expert mentor.

I believe in education and, while the price was shockingly high, I expect to be able to make more money in future deals using ideas/techniques that I learn in this process. I also expect that this series of seminars will help me move to the next level of real estate investor. If these expectations are met, the $35k price tag will be a great investment.

Stay posted…