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LANWAN Professional

LANWAN Professional review: Training scam 44

T
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3:06 am EDT
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This company appears to be the same scam as tech pros but now using a new name - see the bbb and other complaints on this site for the tech pros details and you'll see the similarities and the same name.

Don't give them your hard earned money! No one gives away free training that is worth anything!

The emai below is what was sent to me after they got my info off of a job site :

My name is patrick pule and i am the director of client relations for lan / wan professional. I want to personally inform you that you have been conditionally approved to receive the $6, 995 training grant to be used for the ccna / ccnp certification focused training program.

The ccna / ccnp certification focused training program includes 2 weeks of remote ccna hands - on training (40 hours) that culminates in you attending a 3 day ccnp hands - on boot camp that is held in orange county, california (30 hours) . Upon camp completion, you will receive 6 week of ccna / ccnp remote certification training (120 hours) that is designed to get you fully certified as a ccna and ccnp.

The $6, 995 grant covers 100% of the cost of the training. Please note that you will be responsible for a $99 camp registration fee, cisco hands - on lab guide ($195) and dormitory style lodging / meals during the 3 day camp ($99 x 2) . Camp registration fee is due upon full confirmation and the cisco hands - on lab guide and lodging / meals fee is due on the first day of camp. If you are fully accepted in the ccie consultant training and placement program your camp registration and lodging / meals fees will be fully reimbursed.

To get full confirmation, please download and fully complete the $6, 995 grant confirmation form as instructed and return your confirmation form by the confirmation deadline stated below.

Confirmation deadline: 5:00pm (Pst) on friday, september 18, 2009.
Please return the form via fax or e - mail to me as listed on the confirmation form by the deadline mentioned above. If we do not receive your confirmation form by the deadline listed above, your grant will be given to the next qualified candidate on our list. Within 2 business days after receipt of your confirmation form, i will contact you to conduct a routine phone verification.

The purpose of the verification is to validate that you are a qualified and serious candidate and to confirm your camp date. During the phone call, i will be happy to answer any questions regarding the training and provide tips and suggestions on how to successfully prepare for the camp.

Candidates desiring to attend a 3 day camp listed as limited should turn in their confirmation form as soon as possible to ensure their spot.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by phone or e - mail. Thank you for considering lan / wan professional as your partner in your information technology success. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Patrick pule
Director of client relations
Tel: [protected]
Fax: [protected]
E - mail: [protected]@lanwanprofessional.com

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

44 comments
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BillL33
Cypress, US
Dec 14, 2009 11:36 am EST

Company history for these clowns (Eric & Ray Choi)

Urban Networks
ICTP
Hardcore Techies
Tech Pros
Lan Wan Professional

They change their name every two years.

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Steve 01234
US
Feb 24, 2010 2:08 pm EST

they promised *placement*, they have attempted to redefine placement, such that you place yourself and they provide the incentive via enforcement of a contract you are expected to sign when you arrive at camp, then provide training for placement, the most significant part being "lie on your resume to fill in gaps in employment" They even go so far as to offer their business as your employer.

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BFutrell
US
May 03, 2010 7:04 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Yeah, the scam becomes pretty obvious once they start asking you for your favorite music, movies, websites, etc. I' d like to hear from some actual people who made it all the way to Orange County for the "hands on" camp.

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RJ 4713
US
May 16, 2010 10:22 pm EDT

Well, I was a part of the 2004 incarnation of Hardcore Techies. I went to Irvine and took the week classroom labs and workshops and ended it at that. I had the exact same experience as Steve and did no more - it was all too slimy. We, too, were coached to lie on the resume. Our class was one of the last ones of the Hardcore Techies version of the company - a couple of people didn't have to pay for a lot of things because they were too busy going out of business.

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Tega
Brooklyn, US
Jun 19, 2010 7:36 am EDT

I am considering attending their training camp in CA though I have not make ant committment. From your experience, I need your advise.

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Yaw123
US
Aug 20, 2010 7:58 am EDT

I have been to one of the Grant Camps in Orange County California. I really enjoyed it. I can say that they do give the hands on trainings as promised. For me, they helped prepare me for the CCNA exam but can't find a job yet. So, out of desperation, I'm heading over there again to find out how they can get me placed. And when I say desperation, I mean that I have an impeccable resume with college degree, A+, Net+ and CCNA, including some hardcore freelance work experience. And yet, I can't even get interviews.

Well, I can't say their program is a scam but I can say that I had a lot of suspecions before I attended their camp. By the way, there will be no contract if they are going to fill my resume with lies that I can't backup on the job. As long as I can prove to my employer that the things on my resume are true and I'm able to perform, then I'm not worried about how I get in.

If they have to put themselves on my resume as my former employer, I have to let them know that they are not on my tax return and I don't have their W2. Unless they really employ and pay me. Good luck to myself and everyone!

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nunya bidnezz
Portland, US
Aug 26, 2010 12:16 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I attended ICTP in [protected]. Eric & Ray Choi were running that place. It looked legit, rooms full of routers, switches, etc... But the place went belly up before I was able to get one certification (I blamed myself - working a full time IT job, raising a family, everything else...) and was left on the hook for around $20K worth of student loans. I've actually just come across this new iteration of their 'school', and am supposed to take 'Remote Hands-On Training' starting on Monday. I'm glad I googled 'Lan/Wan Professionals Scams' and came across this page. Looks like it might have taken the wind right out of my sails with regards to getting into the networking trade. I'll keep you posted as to what happens next. I hope they don't read this page, and 'suddenly' decide I'm not serious enough about this training opportunity to attend their 4 day boot camp. I just KNEW this was probably too good to be true (I'm actually still hoping the posters in this forum are all just a bunch of 'Sour Grapes' type people, but the seed of doubt has been planted...

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NEWYORKERNATOR
New York, US
Sep 15, 2010 10:09 pm EDT

I had a scam recently. From the first moment that they send you a form that you have to fill with your credit card and some other stuff they are scamming you because, if you refuse to finish the course with them they are going to charge 450$ in addition of the amount that you already pay. So, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS FUC... COMPANY! Beware of this!

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jeanne021556
Canby, US
Sep 30, 2010 11:39 am EDT

They contacted me last night. I read what the percentage they want from your earnings to repay for the training. I'm so glad to find this website telling the truth. It will be a cold day in hell before I do anything with this scam company.

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lanwanprofessionalscam
Tustin, US
Oct 03, 2010 11:14 am EDT

check www.lanwanprofessional.info and lanwanprofessionalscam.com

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WHaynez
Waukegan, US
Jan 05, 2011 9:42 pm EST

I have accepted the request and spoken to two members of the company. So far the e-mail and phone numbers work and they are following up. As for the boot-camp, I was told it is free. I have to cover transportation. The company makes money because as a Cisco certified rep. there products and interests are being represented. In other words, they are hoping those who enroll have ethics and won't jump ship at the first sign of a fatter pay check.
I have a problem with landing entry-level work and internships. They do have a department that will educate you in using the correct terminology for the resume. I never agreed with the whole internet employment take over but it was destine to happen. The crawlers sort through resumes looking for keywords. If you do not know them, have enough of them, or place them in the right area the resume will never get selected.
I am pressing on toward the goal and I will check back and hopefully learn from some thoughtful insight.

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Earl Yoo
Fullerton, US
Jan 09, 2011 11:40 pm EST

I was one of the few who was part of lanwan professional engineering camp. It was basically a camp that was all about getting your certs. About the job placement they claim to provide, it isn't just handed over to you. You have to put your time and effort into it, but they give you specific directions on what you need and even create a professional resume for you. The payments are made after you find a job, but caution you have to exactly put in the amount of time they ask you to with finding a job. So they don't charge you for your services until you get a job, but you have to do exactly that they ask you to. You can also get a one-time settlement which is a lot cheaper than the taking a cut out of your salary. I took the settlement fee because I found a job.

There's some value in it with the money you pay, in that you also get a pretty sweet e-mail address that uses a virtual Microsoft Exchange server which ends in @lanwanprofessional.com for marketing yourself on your resume. You also get a lifetime membership where you get to read new tech books and get additional training that pros use. You get cert preps for the Cisco and Microsoft exams all the way up to CCNE which I easily obtained- the questions that prepare you for certs are pretty dead-on, so memorizing answers to those 500 multiple choice questions will definitely make you pass.

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nunya bidnezz
Portland, US
Jan 10, 2011 1:30 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I think the lanwanprofessional staff just found this page and decided to do damage control...

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Network Guy
US
Jan 23, 2011 3:31 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The thing that is "different" about LAN/WAN Professional is that they get paid on the back end. Sure there are some up front costs but I believe those are mainly to ensure you are serious about learning. I think a lot of the negative posts here are from people that didn't put in the time and effort (yes, you have to do it) to make themselves successful. LAN/WAN Professional, or anybody for that matter, is not going to help make somebody successful who doesn't put in the effort to make themselves successful. You get out of it what you put in! And, sad to say, some people don't want to put in the effort. They'd rather sit back and be reactive instead of proactive and then blame somebody else for their failures. In this case, LAN/WAN Professional is the target. The students get the training and then don't want to pay I'm sure.

I have gone through their program. I started out with little networking knowledge as I was changing careers. I busted my butt to learn Cisco and still am. I studied and practiced and studied some more. I excelled at the camp (btw, I had the least experience out of my entire camp) and received an internship. I now have a career that easily supports my family. Why did I succeed where others failed? I worked hard and didn't quit. Do I owe it all to LAN/WAN Professional? Not all of it but it would have been much harder without them. I do not believe all of these blogs to be fair and just. The only time somebody complains is when things don't go their way for whatever reason. Nobody ever says anything when they had a good experience. Well, I am. Thank you LAN/WAN Professional for assisting me with my CCNA/CCNP.

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Militint Punisher
US
Nov 11, 2017 12:22 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi network guy are you still working with them and what are your thoughts today about the company I just heard about them and im interested can you please respond thanks

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bers0003
US
Feb 26, 2011 2:53 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I went there and made a big mistake. You don't learn nothing new but pay or will pay a lot of money for it. From the practical standpoint you do one good lab and that's your "6 month experience". The rest of the camp are the lectures how to get a job but those are just the most general information that everybody already knew. Be on time for an interview, dress nicely, be confident, ..etc.. No inside info, nothing that will give you an advantage in getting a job. " Job placement" consists of telling you to apply on monster.com and similar sites. All in al, l you are exactly where you were before the camp, but now you owe them a lot of money...

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Want Refund Now
Delano, US
Mar 04, 2011 5:16 am EST

I also have been scammed by this company (LanWanProfessionals) I warn you not to go thru with this company, and their "to good to be true" promises; I reviewed this companies web site and it looked promising at first, with the first two weeks free, and a internship position within the first 30days of attending the camp. From the time i applied for LanWanProfessionals every other day was receiving phone calls, and alot of promises, about how much money i was going to make, and become pretty much pals with Rick Morales, a mentor. He even told me at one point and i quote "all expenses are paid, including limo, air fare, and transportation provided to camp" After applying for this company they do a Background check on you, which i find not to be true. But needless to say after the Background check they give you a call stating "I want to be sure that you are going to attend, so i need a deposit which goes towards your first certification of the CCNA Training" "and a hands on tutor will contact you" I sent the Credit Card info via email, and Rick soon calls and states and i quote " i need your hand signature" I sent a fax at 8pm Pacific time, and the people that sent the fax said it didn't go thru. i figured because of office hours their fax machine was off. The next day the $250 was taken out of my account. I received a email directly stating they wanted an additional $1000 plus dollars when i arrive at camp, i immediately called the company and asked for a refund, and that i cannot afford this training that i back out. The manager calls me and states and i quote, " you owe me $1400 additional dollars." I told him for what? he stated "for what you've taken already." I remind you that two weeks was a trial... numerous threatening phone calls followed by this LanWanProfessional manager stating "I'm turning you into the Credit Bureau, and destroy your credit."" unless you pay me now" "and the BBB is a Joke" I contacted the BBB immediately...and they are fighting me over this. I found out by the BBB they had an additional 260plus complaints against them, but look them up on the BBB website with a "A" rating. how is this possible.? BE WARE OF THIS COMPANY!

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Mike0110in
Pompano Beach, US
May 12, 2023 1:48 am EDT

How ?

I just checked them out

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/irvine/profile/professional-services/lan-wan-professional-1126-100102804

there are A+ according to BBB

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Rob Miely.
US
Mar 13, 2011 12:37 am EST

I recently signed up for training and finished the CCNA bootcamp last week.
I found the training to be very useful and relevant.
I've not been asked to lie on my resume nor anywhere.
I am very satisified with the services I'm receiving and I look forward to their further services.

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nunya bidnezz
Portland, US
Mar 13, 2011 12:49 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

They just keep sending their minions to this board to try and offset the amount of dissatisfied customers they have created. Nice try, but we're on to you, dipwads!

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Network Guy
US
Mar 14, 2011 6:04 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I'm not downplaying your experience with them. I understand the frustration involved when you have a bad business experience as I have one with another company (CBT Direct to be precise). All I'm saying is MY LAN/WAN Professional experience was positive. CBT Direct, on the other hand, can KMA.

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gfunk7771
Newport Beach, US
Mar 16, 2011 4:42 am EDT

I am currently a client of LANWAN Professional. I attended a camp back in Sept. 2009 and loved every minute of it. I learned so much at that camp and fell in love with the hands-on training. I'm a career changer with over 13 years of professional graphic design experience. I did go to college as a computer science major but never completed my bachelors. Because of that I found it extremely difficult to get into the IT industry. LANWAN Professional was the answer and the way for me to break into this industry. Unfortunantly, back in 2009, it was not the right time for me to join the program. I got a job offer in my graphic design career which looked extremely promising so I went back to it. Almost one year later, I got laid-off and was back on the market hunting for a new job. That's when I decide to change careers and I contacted LANWAN Professional and re-applied for the placement program.

I attended another camp in Dec. 2010, extremely excited to get some more hands-on training, but was pleasantly surprised with the changes they had made with the program, especially the placement training. I was able to get my CCNA certification 2 weeks after attending camp, and was also able to pass my CCNA Voice, CCNA Security, and CCNA Wireless all within 2 months. I'm now currently working as a Network Engineer and I am able to support my family the way I have always wanted to, comfortably. I am currently in Stage 4 of the placement program and have a goal to attain my CCNP by end of April.

I read alot of these negative blogs, and laugh at how ridiculous they sound. Most of them are based on half-truth and opinion. True IT Professionals are smart enough to tell what is real and based on facts. Do some real research for yourself, I did. I went to the BBB website and looked up LANWAN Professional and found that they actually have a great rating. I also visited the www.lanwanprofessional.info and www.lanwanprofessionalscam.com, what a joke. Are you kidding me? Those sites look like scams themself. My 10 year-old could build a better website, with the cheesy graphics and false claims. I clicked on the BBB link on one of the websites claiming an 'F' rating and I found that not to be true. I also watched the video hosted by youtube on the same site which was supposed convince me that LANWAN Professional was a bunch of scammers, I guess with Facts, and what I found was whole lot of animated graphics (no facts). What is funny though, is that if you watch the video all the way to the end, Youtube automatically lists "related" videos, and quess what videos pop up? Actual videos of past candidates that have gone through the camp. I was expecting the see a bunch of candidate that were not happy with the program, but to my surprise, they had nothing but good things to say about LANWAN Professional!

Based on my research and my personal experience with the company, I would have to say the true scammers are those individuals that did not have what it takes to be successful in this program. And instead of owning up to their own failures they have decide to blame someone else for it, and in the process have devoted way too much time trying to lead away those people who could really benefit from the program.

Here are the facts:
- LANWAN Professional helped me to get the training and certifications to be a successful IT Professional.
- Nothing they told me was false.
- I was able to get my certifications with the training they provided.
- I was able to begin my career using their placement training.

If LANWAN Professional was truly a scam, then they wouldn't be in business right now. Plus if anyone has experienced Stage 1 of their program you would be able to see that there is just way to much work involved for it to be a scam to get what? a measely $1, 900 for exam fees? Give me a break. I paid my $1, 900 and so far have used up $1, 000 of it by taking my 1st four exams and passing them. Did LANWAN steal that money from me? NO. 3 more certs and I will have succeeded where I guess everyone should have failed (because it's a scam!) Sarcasm fully intended.

To all those who are researching LANWAN Professional, don't believe what you read on the blogs and a couple obviously non-legit websites. Do some real research based on fact from legitimate websites like the BBB, etc.

If you still think the blogs are true then I've got some tabloids you may be interested in reading.

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LaGirl62
Lancaster, US
Mar 16, 2011 11:55 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Only If I would have found all this complaints before I signed with them...I wouldn't be owning them any money. At least is not that much but still, getting scam is not funny at all. The way they advertise things its wrong, they don't tell you that It has to be you finding your job, being in the computer for 40 hours online uploading your resume on every job search webpage. Believe me when i say YOU DON'T NEED THEM. You can invest your own money in a better way, you can buy the books to prepare you for the CCNA for about $75.00, you can also pay for preparation test to make sure you'll pass it...and then the Test itself its $250. Sum all that and it's not even close to the $1, 795 that they ask for their "Training", that you are doing with the Lab guide that they send to you and at least in my case, when i actually had a question to my mentor, instead of explaining me or troubleshooting he just gave me the answers for the Lab...The word professionals is too big for them, just take the courage to read the books and your set...This company doesn't do anything for you but take your money! After you pay the first amount the calls and emails stop till you go to the camp and they take the rest... Once again DON'T TRUST THEM!
I wouldn't be surprise that the good comments for this company...specially that last one would be from one of the owners of the company, you can not even trust BBB, how is it that this company has a A raiting,

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AlmostCCIE
Danbury, US
May 05, 2011 6:33 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

1. was working in some dinky help desk position after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Security & Information Assurance (paying as much as i did for college and all of that leading me to working in a help desk position... this was such a bummer)
2. nearing the end of 2009, i saw the ads that LANWANProfessional posted either on gmail or on a job site (can't exactly recall)... and I applied
3. i had a bad credit score (student loans and credit cards that i couldn't really afford to pay after graduation) so I had to pay a security deposit prior to coming to camp since i posed as a liability to their company... it was tough to come up with the money... but once i did, i was psyched about attending camp and was able to get the necessary days off from my company where i was working in the help desk position.
4. went to camp (it was 10 days at the time). Left camp having a ridiculous amount of hands on training along with a CCNA certification. They took us to a local testing center to take the exam and I had finally passed my CCNA! (the reason i say finally is because i took the ICND1 exam twice before this with the training that i received from New Horizons Computer Learning Center, which alone cost me $5000 and i failed both of those attempts... ) so yea... when i left camp i was definitely happy because along with getting my CCNA, i also took a lot of hands on exams while at camp that really proved my hands on proficiency with the CLI of the Cisco IOS.
5. once i returned to work, within a couple of months i ended up being promoted from help desk into a LAN Analyst position and received a $10, 000 jump in my salary. there's no way in hell i could've gotten this promotion without having attended camp and getting both the hands on training along with my CCNA certification. Plus my company also was aware that i was continuing to work on getting additional Cisco certifications remotely with LAN WAN Professional.
6. today... a year and half since i first started as a client with this company, i'm CCIE written certified and on track to take my lab exam by August of this year.
7. there is only one person from the camp that i attended that is in a similar situation as I am but he might actually get his full CCIE certification even sooner than me. the rest of the people that attended my camp basically just didn't last and got washed out. Getting this far took A LOT of hard work and sacrifice, but I never imagined that at the age of 25, I'd be so close to attaining the most prestigious Cisco certification that Cisco offers: CCIE. And having been a client for this long with this company, i learned first hand that they weren't kidding when they said that they only want SERIOUS candidates to apply; it just won't workout otherwise. Funny thing is... i saw some of the negative blogs before fully signing on with LAN WAN Professional and immediately all the red flags went up... i decided to call them up and after exhausting one of their representatives with all of the questions i had on my mind after reading the blogs, i felt confident enough to take the risk and sign up. Having made it this far, I'm so glad I made that decision to ask them questions instead of just making a decision about my career only based on blogs that basically anyone and everyone can post to. Plus i figured, i had nothing to lose by at least asking more questions... If you are someone reading this and you are serious about putting in the effort it will take to succeed, whether it is only in getting your CCNA or CCDA or CCNP or CCDP or even the crazy CCIE... and you are considering this company, do your due diligence in your research... read through all the blogs, check out their ratings with the BBB both with this current company name "LAN WAN Professional" (A rating) as well as their previous organization name Tech Pros Group (C rating) and call them up yourself and ask them all the questions in the world and read all of their explanations and service details before you sign up for anything!
8. to anyone reading this post who is also working on attaining their CCIE cert... BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND DON'T GIVE UP ON GETTIING THAT CCIE NUMBER! :) (if your are someone who has no clue what a CCIE is or why it's even important, just go to any job site and type in CCIE and check out the range of salaries)

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Network Guy
US
Jun 10, 2011 7:19 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I retract my previous comment due to some incidents that have happened recently. The training is good but the owner is the reason for all the blogs. He has an inflated vision of what the training is worth. Don't get sucked into a contract because it will most likely be one sided. Also, I know for a fact that some employees have posted good things on here. I was one of them but I can see through all the empty promises now. While I wish the employess at LWP the best, I think they know the end is near. Got your paycheck yet? How about those stock options, benefits, 401Ks? Eric Choi promised you so it must be true, right?

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Tfszip
Middleboro, US
Jun 29, 2011 9:28 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I live in Massachusetts. I was very nervous about this company at first, however, I did exactly what they asked and I passed all of my certs. I currently have 6 Cisco Certifications through LanWanProfessionals and I am telling you, this company is the real deal. If you work hard, you will pass. I studied 400 hours to pass the CCNA exam. Without this company, I would have never made it. My name is Tom Stevens at my telephone number is [protected]. I am a real student from LanWanProfessionals. Call me directly and I will straighten your ### out regarding the credibility of this company.

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tomp5331
US
Aug 16, 2011 10:38 pm EDT

What stinks is I still see them prominently displayed on job boards

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tomp5331
US
Aug 16, 2011 10:39 pm EDT

What srinks is they are still all over the job boards displayed prominently.

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karma899
Tustin, US
Apr 05, 2013 2:48 am EDT

The owner of LanWan Professional ERIC CHOI IS A SHYSTER MONEY HUNGRY shady man. He tries to get every penny he can from anyone he can take advantage of. If you are thinking about going through the training program DO NOT invest your money or time. ALL ERIC CHOI cares about is how much money he can get from each candidate that goes through the program and will make you pay 19.95% out of your pay after job placement for about 24-36 months. The total cost of the program is valued at about 50, 000.00. You will have to pay this back through a percentage of your pay check which can be 19.95 %. You will also have to pay a security deposit which ranges anywhere from $500-$1000 depending on your credit check and work experience, not including meals and lodging and air fare to get to camp. Meals and lodging fees vary depending on what Eric Choi decides he feels like changing it to that week. Also, after attending a 3 day camp, and you decide you want to move forward into the program and are accepted you will be responsible for a larger security deposit towards the entire program which can vary from $1000.00-$7000.00 and have to pay for the 11 day camp meals and lodging and air fare which usually costs about $149.00 a night for lodging for 11 days. You also have to pay for all of your CCNA Exams which start at $250.00 for each. After completing the training program then you are expected to start searching for a job and start working within 2-4 weeks.
Basically he is charging people way more than he should and is making a lot of profit. The training camp does not cost him that much money to have the computers, routers, switches, and training material for each candidate.
From personal experience and working for the company, I wanted to obtain my CCNA Certifications and get more training. After discussing this with Eric Choi, he actually had the audacity to tell my that he would come up with a price for the training program...REALLY? I was working for the company and he was more concerned about the cost of training and needed to have a deposit that weekend and only gave me 1 or 2 days. He wanted to charge me $6, 000 to go through the training program and also take $1000.00 out of my monthly pay to pay back for the training. I was working for the company and not making very much, but somehow he thought he could get me to pay $6, 000.00 an then payback the total value of $20, 000.00 through my paycheck.
VERY SHADY MAN WHO TRIES TO PINCH EVERY PENNY. DO NOT WORK FOR THEM... he will hire you as an independent contractor which means you are responsible for filing your own taxes. Also when you work as an independent contractor you make your own hours and are not on the companies W2. Well when I filed my taxes I was told by the Tax specialist that and independent contractor works their own hours and come and go as they please and are responsible for paying double taxes meaning I had to pay for my taxes that were not taken out and also pay for what the company would have paid for if I was a regular employee. Eric Choi hires people as independent contractors so that he doesn't have to pay taxes on each indivual, but makes you work as if you are a regular employee and be at the office everyday and by a certain time. Again trying get as much money as he can.

Please do not waste your time with this scammer...he is very sneaky and I can't believe i worked for this company!
I found out the hard way!

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NetEngineer75
Oklahoma City, US
Dec 17, 2014 5:35 pm EST

I was going to remain silent on this as it is not technically a scam as they use the law and legal contracts to protect themselves. Then I read gfunk7771's post. This is not a measly $1900. I am paying over $24, 000 over 2 1/2 years. This is almost 20% of my earnings. The point of making the 20% feasible is that supposedly they will get you a job that pays over 20% more then what you are currently making.

After going through the 3 day camp, I received my CCNA, CCNA-Security, CCNA-Wireless, and CCNA-Voice. Most of this was due to brain dumps, which I don't have a problem with as long as they are accompanied by actual learning and trianing in these areas.

The 11 day camp, I had to sign contracts and pay deposits before I went to it, but with promises of 80K starting, how could I lose. During the 11 day camp, before we even started, there was a contract to sign that stated we would spend 40 hours a week actively looking for a job, and if we didn't spend that amount of time each week looking, they would sue us. I had just signed a lot of contracts before going out there, and paid a deposit and flight out for the 11 day camp. Why wasn't this contract in the mix, obviously because they know the chances of us going to the 11 day camp would be deminished had we known we would have to sign this contract. Of course we have already paid all this money, and they wouldn't let us train, we would have had to pay to get flight changed to go home and would have still been out the money for the deposit, so of course under duress I signed it.

The 11 day was nice, the house was nice and they have snacks and provide meals, at the end of the camp they had some of the employees come out ot the house and had a party. The training was good, we got a lot of hands on experience building networks from scratch, but not much in the way of troubleshooting except to study for the CCNP-TShoot.

After the 11 day camp, I was on my own. They had trained us in some interviewing techniques, gave us the basics on command line configurations and some theory for networking. It took me over 2 months of searching for a job in multiple states. I had to find a job to tide me over until I could find gainful employment. I told them this, and they started talking about how we will need to work something out to pay them back. Of course the day after I get that call, I get a job offer. The job started at a little over $25/hour. wich was a 20% increase over the previous job I had. I had to move 120 miles away and rent a house, plus pay for moving. So basically for 2 1/2 years I am making the same amount of money I would have had I stuck with the other job. The company I started working for actually trained me and got me prepared for answering calls. I still owe them for almost a year, and today I tried logging in and I don't have access to the Lanwanprofessional site or email. I will give them a chance to figure out what is wrong, else stop payments to them. All and all the experience while "training" was good, but the after experience, and finding that I could have gotten the same trainging for hundreds of dollars, and the brain dumps were free sites, so could have passed the tests for a lot cheaper. Over all I would say find another way to get the training and save yourself a lot of money. They will not help place you, and they do not have a paid internship program. There are a lot of camp programs out there that corporations pay for to get their employees trained, that do cost as much or more than LAN WAN Professional, but employers pay, and they pay for training, not for the answers to pass a test.

As for Eric Choi, he is a salesman and he will hard sell you and make you think you can do whatever he says and the emplyers will just all have a bidding war over you, but don't expect that to happen as he won't be there in the interview to help you answer the questions, and they don't even teach you about the one thing every employer will ask you in an interview. STP. Know about STP and OSPF as well as you can, and you can usually impress an employer enough to give you a chance.

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newone65
Weston, US
Jan 05, 2015 11:22 am EST

Hi, i almost get into this, today i will take the assesment, i´m CCNA and CCNP certified but with no hands on experience, i´m wondering if to take this risk worth for me, since i though they would find a job for me, and i didin´t have to pay anything until a get a job, now i´m reading differen story, can someone help me with a good advise?

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prospectpete2015
Anaheim, US
Feb 03, 2015 11:23 am EST

This company was founded by a manipulator

The owner Eric Choi has practically ran this company to the ground from the start.

From the looks of it, he over works his employees and pays them in peanuts and lies.

From speaking with one of the employees about the history of the company, it sounded like things were looking up for this company but then the owner decided not to pay rent at the old building and was evicted and was sued for it. Not so smart right?

Now when I came to test-drive the camp I had to pay up the wazoo for airfare, and when we were picked up it was great customer service. Then ad we reached our destination...it was a house with outdated equipment and bunk beds...I came here for training not a sleep over.

The owner then comes in and gives his elevator sales pitch that should've lasted an hour but went on for almost 8 hours. just they way he talked felt like a lie.

His poor employees work day and night for almost for 15 hours straight. These guys look tired and beat up. I heard that they severely underpaid for what they are actually worth.

The place over all is just depressing that someone could get away with running a company this way.

Don't waste your time with this company. Unless they get their act together and change the atmosphere and philosophy of this company. this company will continue to stay where they are for a long time.

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dthelen22a
US
Dec 20, 2015 12:10 am EST

Why if this company is bad are there no negative customer reviews at the BBB site: http://www.bbb.org/sdoc/business-reviews/employment-training/lan-wan-professional-in-irvine-ca-100102804/ The BBB site shows 5 complaints, and no one has bothered to fill out a customer review there. I am not saying anything good or bad about this company. I know networking takes times and effort to learn. I have been in the field 15 years. I still have to work hard to learn aspects of the field.

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Patrick Pule LWP
Irvine, US
Aug 08, 2016 9:29 am EDT

My Name is Patrick Pule and I am the Director of Client Relations with LAN/WAN Professional. I have been associated with the organization for over 8 years now and have been aware of this blog posting for quite some time and in the past I did not find it appropriate to reply to internet blogs, until now.

My reason for responding is that we understand that many professionals depend on online forums, such as this site, to make an informed decision and would expect legitimate organizations to properly respond to misleading to false statements.

In addition, we have a growing nationwide membership base who have successfully acquired and currently hold high level enterprise IT (LAN/WAN) positions in engineering, administration, and architecture and project management with major organizations who are proud of their association with LAN/WAN Professional, but are frustrated with the incorrect statements posted on online blog sites such as this.

For this reason, I am responding to this blog post as an official representative of LAN/WAN Professional to simply provide accurate information of who we are and what we do and to initiate an open forum for positive, logical and factual dialog.

To begin, LAN/WAN Professional is not a training school, but rather a Nationwide IT Membership organization that is focused on helping our members attain and maintain high level positions in enterprise IT (LAN/WAN) with focus on CCNA, CCNP, CCIE routing, switching, security including data center, wireless, voice and network management technologies earning a minimum of $60, 000 to $90, 000 (entry), $90, 000 to $150, 000 (mid/lead) and $150, 000 to over $180, 000 (senior) per year.

Just as important, up to 100% of our service fees are either tied to our member’s employment success and/or can be paid by helping LAN/WAN Professional and fellow members.

With that stated, the services we provide are NOT for everyone. It requires a tech savvy individual with the proper background and abilities be employable in enterprise IT (LAN/WAN). For this reason, we only offer our services to approved members who have been fully vetted through an extensive qualification process.

LAN/WAN Professional and its staff have been providing our services for over 15 years and handle thousands of candidates every year and currently have a success rate that currently exceeds 90% for members who successfully complete our service.

Unfortunately, our member success prior to 2013 was not as good as it is today. This was mainly due to an inadequate operations and qualification/approval process that resulted in us accepting a large number of individuals who did not have the proper background, abilities and/or motivation to be successful. This resulted in negative blogs from 2013 and before such as some of the blogs posted on this site.

By 2014, we have refined a multi-step process that allows qualified candidates to fully experience our service for up to 1 week remotely from anywhere in the United States PRIOR to becoming member and allows LAN/WAN Professional to properly assess each candidate to ensure that they possess the right attributes to be a successful member. The best part is that 100% of the fees for this 1 week access is paid through a $490 grant we offer to a qualified candidate.

If you are truly serious about an upgraded career in enterprise IT (LAN/WAN) and feel you have what it takes to be successful, visit our website on the link below and “Test Drive” for free and personally validate for yourself how real we are.

http://www.lanwanprofessional.com/home_idapp.php?service_type_id=240

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at, [protected] or simply respond to this post and I will respond back to you. If you plan to respond, I respectfully request that you post a professional and logical post focusing on facts versus unprofessional and misleading statements.

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crazylogic
US
May 18, 2017 5:02 pm EDT

Just curious why so many people would say these things about your facility/membership program?

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ChrisiDav32843
US
Sep 15, 2017 8:09 am EDT

@ Patrick Pule LWP What is most concerning is the statements regarding the lack of placement within the organization. One post actually read . "candidates required to perform job searches for up 40 hours a week". Is this correct? If so, how can one who maintains full time employment meet such a demand? Also, if candidates are responsible for finding their own employment, why charge so much for the services? As I believe I read on your site, one of the major differences between your organization and traditional methods is the hands on training and the promise of job placement post the initial training stages. Although, I do agree that some participation is necessary from the candidate, LWP bolsters an extensive reach into some of the most sought after positions that are not available to the average seeker. Once again, thank you for participating in this dialog and your your response is welcome.

Regards

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Patrick Pule LWP
Irvine, US
Sep 25, 2017 3:38 pm EDT

Thank you for taking an interest in our organization. I believe the questions you have regarding our services are very valid and needs to be fully clarified BEFORE you make any commitments. For this reason, let me start by providing some answers to your specific questions followed by how you can fully verify our success including exactly how we help our members achieve success. The answers to your specific question is as follows:

1. 40 Hrs Week Commitment - You asked how a working professional can commit to 40 hrs/week in training/job searching if they are also working fulltime. Please note that 40 to 50 hrs/week commitment is for unemployed applicants. Working applicants will need to commit a minimum of 20 hrs/week. If they cannot commit 20 hrs/week in their career advancement, we would not be a right option for success.
2. Why Charge So Much - Please note that the services we offer would be equivalent to getting 1 up to 2 separate master’s degrees. The difference is that what we provide is more real world hands-on versus unnecessary concepts and theories and we are able to help our members acquire these skills at least 20 times faster. If you researched the cost of just 1 master’s degree, the cost range from as little as $40, 000 to over $100, 000 per master’s degree. Our cost after applying credits range from $30, 000 to over $50, 000 and is fully deferred until you receive upgraded employment. We believe based on this cost comparison, our cost is very moderate. In addition, if you take into consideration your time (opportunity cost) valued at $30, 000 to $80, 000 per year depending on how much you earn. Our overall cost is lower than even self-study. Finally most members receive an increase in their pay that exceeds what they pay us monthly. For this reason, you essentially receive a significant amount of services without paying for the costs.
3. Why Are So Many Negative Blogs - Please note that we have a significant amount of individuals participating in our services each year. In addition, the relationship dynamics of our services where payment is deferred until upgraded employment will automatically create negative blogs. This is due to the fact that even if our service has a success rate that exceeds 90%, the 10% who are not successful will blog about us. Based on this, we would easily have over 50 new negative blogs posted EVERY year from individuals who used our service. Since 2015, we implemented a more extensive 2 step qualification/test drive process to ensure that only qualified candidates are approved as members. Since this period, we have had only 1 to 3 negative blogs for actual individuals who used our service. We believe that we have very few negative blogs based on the high volume and low number of blogs from actual people who used our service. This is something we are very proud of.

Let me finish this response by stating that if anyone reading this post is serious about advancing in their IT career and is excited about a career in enterprise LAN/WAN earning at least $60, 000 to $150, 000 per year but is concerned about how real our service is, please visit our website and request to receive some grants to personally “Test Drive” our service through a 2 step application process. The first step in the process can be done remotely with a grant we provide that will give you a good idea about the quality of the hands-on we provide.

Please note that you will still have many questions regarding how placement works including details regarding repayment and related matters after completing the first step. For this reason, candidates who are successful in the first step can receive a second more significant grant to attend a 4 day camp in California. This will allow qualified applicants to receive over $3, 000 in services paid by a grant and also personally meet us and fully understand how we help you get upgraded employment including all the details associated with commitments and obligations BEFORE you make any commitments.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email me at ppule@lanwanprofessional.com or contact me directly at [protected]. Take Care and Best Wishes

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LWP_Guy_Not_Satisfied
US
Nov 06, 2018 7:42 pm EST

When I worked there I didn't see a single contract that was less than $45, 000 after their credits. Here is how the credit works...if you write a good blog post or say something nice about our company you can earn credit. You also have to advocate 4 to 6 people. The advocacy only counts if your people actually buy into the program. LWP says they spend $2600 per person to get them to become a member. As a member, you have to either pay $2600 or advocate a new member. So credits are not really credits. If you have advocated your 4-6 people then they will start paying you for anyone after that. At that point it would be a credit not a requirement.

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LWP_Guy_Not_Satisfied
US
Nov 06, 2018 7:47 pm EST

To be clear the job search requirement is not 40 hours a week. It is 40 hours a week doing job search the way they tell you to. If you don't follow their method, no matter how many hours you spend, you will not qualify and will hear it from EC. You will also be required to search, interview and be willing to work Nation Wide! Part of your agreement will be to do this and to be willing to accept the job even if you have to relocate for 6 months.

I heard EC joke many times about how most people said that once they got the job they worked less than when they were in job search. I don't think is accurate because after you get hired EC will tell you that only the really good guys will follow his plan and work for 6 months then go back into job search again. What EC doesn't say is that when you go back to job search you will have to pay him more money.

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Rick Choi
US
Sep 21, 2018 11:49 pm EDT

I hate to say it but LANWAN Professional is one company that promises more than it can provide. Once they have their hooks in you they will suck your bank dry. Eric Choi will say anything to get more money from you and if you try to get away he will threaten to ruin your credit. Stay away! Their grants are nothing more than bait to lure you in.

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LWP_Guy_Not_Satisfied
US
Nov 23, 2018 5:32 pm EST

I see that Patrick Pule still comments on here. He works for Lanwan Professional Scam and has for about 10 yrs. Here is my question...if this isn't a scam are you legally allowed to run the business and your camps from the residential homes in Anaheim California? If you are legally allowed to do this why don't you have a business license with the City of Anaheim Ca? The City of Anaheim prohibits the use of residential area's for business purposes where the business has employee's coming to the home to work. The two homes used are rented by the company and at least 10 people come to the homes to work on a regular basis. Some of the employees even sleep at the homes. This is a violation of the bylaws. This is also why Lanwan Professional Scam does not have a business license in Anaheim.

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Choi_hater
US
Jun 27, 2019 3:18 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

If you make the mistake of falling for their scam and are accepted as a "member", by the time you figure out you have to essentially lie to get a job using their "methodology", they have you are already indebted to them for $50k+ for their dubious "services" rendered. If you balk, the president will threaten to ruin you and your credit. Meanwhile they force you to stick to their methodology and if you don't they kick you out and demand payment.

Their methodology includes recording phone calls (illegal in some states), mis-representing yourself and your background to come off as a seasoned IT professional with years of IT experience (even if your only experience is with them) with recruiters and hiring managers, and totally making it up as you go along while talking with these companies.

The resume they craft for you (for about $3k) gets a ton of traffic and calls from recruiters because it is filled with every single keyword recruiters are looking for. It looks the same as everyone else’s in the program and some recruiters have figured out that people with LWP on their resume are making it all up and lying, because they are.

I did very well in the program at first, they claimed I was a top notch member who could be a developer because of my technical aptitude. I was kicked out for not following their methodology for job searching. I felt sick to my stomach every time I had to talk to hiring managers, because I knew I was LYING. Once I wouldn’t lie anymore, I was kicked out, and they started demanding payment, and it was A LOT. I had to refinance my house to get them off my back! My wife damn near had a heart attack over the whole process. I can’t believe she stuck with me though the whole ordeal, she’s a saint.

If you have no problem LYING to get employment and violating Cisco policy when you try for your certs and don’t mind being $50k poorer in the end, go for it. You’ll just be another member stuck in their contract owing them tens of thousands of dollars. It is like being in debtors jail, the only way out it to pay them or ruin your credit. From what I have read on this board, if you do get a job, they keep after you for more money to help you keep the job. You’ll need the help, because you won’t be prepared in the slightest.

I don’t know how these thieves sleep at night.

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Patrick Pule LWP
Irvine, US
Jul 10, 2019 1:14 pm EDT

This is Patrick Pule, Director of Member Services. As mentioned on previous responses above, my job is to ensure that all potential and new members receive accurate information about who we are and what we do. For this reason, I will occasionally visit blog sites and provide a response so that potential members have an accurate understanding of our membership organization and services.

It has been almost 2 years since I last responded to blogs as on this site. Just as important, we are proud of the fact that we have so few negative blogs on websites such as this one, compared to the thousands of applications we receive every year. In fact, in the last 2 years it looks like there has been 5 blogs from just 3 individuals making either misleading or incorrect statements.

During this same period of time, we have received over 10, 000 applications and serviced over 1, 000 individuals. This is the reason why we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

In terms of some of the comments mentioned above, please note that most of our members work for major fortune 500 companies and government agencies that require an extensive background check including making sure that anything on their resume is factually correct. In addition, we are very proud of the fact that our members not only get quality employment in LAN/WAN, but typically acclimate and get promotions and pay increase much faster than other professionals in LAN/WAN.

With that stated, membership with LAN/WAN Professional is not for everyone. It is not as simple as whether you possess technical aptitude. You also need to possess transferable professional skills and be able to learn efficiently and have a consulting perspective/approach to your career including job search.

To ensure that only qualified candidates who are FULLY AWARE of both the benefits and SACRIFICES that will be required to be a successful member of LAN/WAN Professional, we allow all qualified candidates to personally test drive and experience our service prior to making any commitments.

We have recently updated the qualification process to allow for a more streamlined process. This is possible through 2 grants including a $690 grant that covers 100% of the value of a 1 to 2 week remote hands-on that you can do from anywhere in the United States and allows you to personally experience how we help you acquire LAN/WAN skills 20+ times faster.

After experiencing us remotely, we offer a second grant that covers 100% of the value of additional services including a 2 day LAN/WAN Job and Career Advancement Camp. The purpose of this camp is to ensure that you have a FULL and THOROUGH understanding of who we are and what we provide as well as the exact process and what you are paying.

At the end of the day, we are seeking a long and mutually positive relationship which will last the rest of your LAN/WAN career. For this reason, we want to ensure that you are fully aware and committed prior to accepting you as a member. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [protected] or email me at ppule@lanwanprofessional.com.

To Test Drive our service, please visit www.lanwanprofessional.com.

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JackofSF
US
Nov 01, 2019 10:41 pm EDT

I went through the program and for my CCNA and CCNP with the help of there website they told me to study the answers and questions to pass the test. After I got my certs and I had my first job they did not help me get I lost it because I did not know what I was going. And now they still did not help me get a job after years having a few contracts. Yes they did try to help but never got a job with there help. the Contract did say I did not have to pay anything as long as I had a job. Now they want to file to collections. They are just money hungry. They did not even for full the contract.

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