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I took a 2-day seminar from Terri Levine, self-proclaimed "Guru of Coaching(R)" which turned into a major sales pitch for a one-year VIP mentoring program on the second day.
I applied for the VIP program Oct. 4 2009 at the seminar. The cost ($17, 500), came with a guarantee that I would increase my income by at least $100K the first year as long as I did everything Terri Levine said. I paid using my debit card.
On Oct. 5, 2009, the day after the seminar ended, I still hadn't heard whether I'd been accepted into the program when I received a telephone call from my fraud protection service stating someone was trying to charge $17, 500 to my debit card. I told them it was an approved charge, but because it was over my approved daily limit, I was told by my credit union (First Technology Federal Credit Union) that I'd need to have them break it up into 3 payments of $7500, $7500 and $2500. I told that to Pat Z., the admin to Terri Levine, and asked her if the fact they were charging me meant I had been accepted into the program. Pat said it did. This was Oct. 5, 2009.
The next day (Oct. 6, 2009) I had serious misgivings and cancelled my registration that night with an email to Pat, Terri Levine, and Donna, Terri Levine's client care coordinator. I received the following email on Oct. 7, 2009 from Pat:
- - Hi Yvonne. Terri is out with VIPs all week [note: this is the VIP program from the previous year and she was not gone, she was at another hotel in PA for only 2 days: wed/thu, Oct. 7/8] and gone next week on business. You did sign a legal agreement, that is not cancelable, and Terri accepted you in good faith. She did turn down others because she can only take a certain amount. Remember, you do have Terri's 100K guarantee. Donna can schedule your coaching date with Terri right away so that you can start ringing the cash register immediately. And, Donna is sending you homework (if not sent already) and other things which you can start on right now, you don't have to wait till your day with Terri. I am copying Donna in on this message so that she will contact you to schedule your coaching date with Terri as soon as possible. Warmly, Pat Zickefoose, Personal Assistant to Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching �® www.LevineBusinessCoaching.com www.TerriLevine.com www.CoachInstitute.com www.TerriLevineSpeaks.com
- -
The statement that Terri can only take a certain amount of clients, and that she refused to take some people to fit ME in is completely untrue. Ms. Levine approached at least two members I have spoken to who had told her they could not afford it and offered them more affordable deals.
I learned about this directly from the two individuals. She had told us (the 37 attendees of the seminar) publicly that she would not offer separate deals, and that if anyone told her they couldn't afford it, it wasn't the right program for them.
The day after I cancelled I started receiving dozens of emails from Donna, Terri Levine's client care coordinator, with VIP program materials. I emailed Pat Z., Donna and Terri Levine again stating I didn't want anything but my money back, and to please not send me any more emails about the program. I've not opened any of them, and I've heard nothing of a refund.
Also, today (Oct. 8, 2009) Ms. Levine advertised on Facebook for MORE VIPs for her program. Obviously she still has room for more, so letting me into the program didn't keep her from letting anyone else in. I have written the organization copying all three women and have only received that one response from Pat Z., the admin, on the 7th.
To date I have received no services for this money, and no refund so far. I'm out $17, 500, $2, 500 which was taken out AFTER I wrote to cancel the program, and obviously I cannot enter a mentoring program when I cannot trust the company.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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NEVER give your credit card number to Terri Levine people. She is does not operate her business with integrity. She initiates charges to the card, does not provide a service and then does not want to issue refunds. A fellow student at IPEC signed up for her home study course which was advertised as two months free and then $49 per month unless customer cancels with the first 60 days. He cancelled in writing after five weeks, they still charged his credit card after 60 days and will not refund the money. Wonder how that woman sleeps at night.
And I know for a fact that this complaints is accurate. Terri Levine is always inviting people to join her VIP prorgram multiple times per week on Facebook and Twitter.
My VIP program is closed
My new apprentice program includes MUCH less and is offered for less
We take applications at an event after giving 12 hours of value and charging little to nothing for 12 hours of a seminar with ALL my best information
She took an application
She applied
She was accepted
She gave her credit card
She agreed to enter the program signing a form saying it was non refundable
Then she backed out a week later
We hold to our businesses policies and the better business bureau denied her complaint
Sadly there are certain people who like to make waves and cause problems
Over 1200 of my clients have posted testimonials on youtube about how much I help them so one bad apple in 12 years of business I can handle
The customer regarding the $49 a month... we never got his email and he could not produce the one he claimed to send...
I invite people to join my VIP program which is brand new and is my VIP APPRENTICE program... not the same
VIP program is sold out which it also says on twitter and facebook
Please get your facts right
Just read what people say about me on youtube and terrilevine.com... I have 1200 plus raving fans!
Scat Cat, you were not present to witness Teri's scam; consequently, your comment is unfounded. Yvonne has several eyewitnesses and her complaint is accurate.
I seriously doubt if Joel Bauer is Terri's friend--that is likely a one-sided friendship. I know both Terri and Joel and I run in circles with people who know both Terri and Joel. She has attended his seminars and decided to become a mini-Joel Bauer. She is a very poor imitation. Pathetic Terri should really get to be a "fly on the wall" when people I have heard her call her friends are making disparaging remarks about her.
Fortunately, I will not be around Terri when her karma catches up to her!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS1QNOiIfEo Does this look like Joel Bauer isn't Terri's friend? Actually, both Terri and Joel are aware of these comments and both of them would like your full name. I think if you are prepared to make such comments you need to be prepared to say who you are and not hide behind pseudonyms...
This all reminds me of a scam artist (claims to be a freelance business strategist out of the UK names Helmut Welte. He ran a scam business called XQ-Coaching until it floundered like any poorly put together scheme. He's still sleezing around the UK trying to sell his tricks and ripoffs. Found some interesting links below from some of his victims!
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/XQ-Coaching-Reviews-E251048.htm
XQ Coaching — Business Coach Scam
http://www.officegupshup.com/article80
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=226056566445
http://www.canyoutrustthem.com/index.php?go=details&id=6317
http://www.allscamsforum.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=77&page=1
Terri Levine is not only one of the most generous coaches I know she is by far the best and has been in business for almost 15 years, coached over 5, 000 clients, given away over $100, 000 to help coaches and established fundraisers and the International Coach of the Year Award. I was there when this Yvonne was. I enrolled in her program at the same time in the same way. Terri made it clear NOT to sign up if you weren't serious. She also called or had her assistant call BEFORE credit cards were run. On behalf of the 11 others who enrolled with her the same date, we clearly knew the deal. And boy did Yvonne make a mistake as we all have made over $50, 000 plus during the past year and you can see our testimonials on youtube.com.
I have worked with Terri twice ( call me an idiot..I deserve it). The first time she gave me valuable ideas and challenged me and it was worth the modest fee. However, it was the ONLY year in my 5+ years of business that i didn't add to my bottom Line. i chalked it up to learning. The second time, two years later, i had published a book and Terri invited me into a NEW program where I would double, triple and possibly quadruple my $10, 000 investment without spending additional money. She has a system where she and her staff do the implementation and the money rolls in for me. She calls it a zero cost system. I did everything she said, which included spending extra money after she bullied me and accused me of not following through. At the end of twelve months I had a flat bottom line. My banking account after expenses was the same number it had been after turning over $10, 000 to her. The only money I made was money I made through my traditional way of generating business. Everything I did at Terri's recommendation resulted in lost income because they cost time and money and I lost subscribers who did not appreciate the inauthentic pushy approach. Terri bullied and insulted, in addition to failing to fulfill her contract. She never implemented ANYTHING for me. Buyer beware.
This client who is not using her real name, Lisa Silvershein, I have proof of over 118 emails, never did what is mandated for clients to do in the program and fought our ideas every step of the way.
When a client doesn't listen to advice or take advice and fights the proven advice we can't help them make money or do better.
We went above and beyond for her and I gave her a free year worth $15, 000 in the program.
Lisa Silvershein really needs help and I am happy to help her if she is honest and in integrity and does the work she needs.
My name is Lisa Silvershein. I live in NJ not Georgia. I have been a client of Terri’s for the past year and she has not been able to grow my business using her strategies, however I have a thriving career coaching business that I opened in 2003. I have a proven track record and devoted clients. I was working with Terri to take my business to the next level. We have both discussed all of the things that I am doing right and through her System she is only able to help me automate my sales strategy by “dripping” on clients and creating auto responder programs.
My business has been built on meaningful results and relationships. A computer driven sales strategy did not sit well with my clients and I had to stop the sales emails when many of them reached out to me regarding their annoyance with the new approach. I have gone back to my traditional way of running business and it has started growing again.
It is unfortunate that Terri felt the need to insult me and my business. I am shocked and surprised that she chose to attack me via the internet. I paid her $10, 000 and only worked with her for one year. I was never given a free year. I have no idea where she came up with that statement. I wish her success with her Business Growth System. I am sure that it works for some of her clients, it just didn’t work for me and my ideal clients.
I too hired Terri Levine thebusinessgrowthsystem.com and was ripped off by her scam. Don't trust her lies. Terri Levine the business coach promises you that her and her team will implement a business strategy which will quickly put money in your pocket. Once she has your money, Terri Levine sends you a canned presentation of material and sends you off to work. When u ask Terri Levine why she isn't implementing anything she says that the kit she sends you is all the implementing she does. Don't give her your money!
I just filed a lawsuit in the Montgomery County Pa court that she demands any lawsuit must take place in her contract. Of course, I live about 15 minutes from this court and its not quite the inconvenience she had hoped for! I have now spoken to 4 of her clients that I knew signed up for her program around the same time I did. Not one of them is happy with her or any of her consultants that she outsources to implement her program. Terri Levine DID NOT do any of the things in her contract that she said she would do and therefore Terri Levine is being sued in court. Don't be fooled by Terri Levine, she has all sorts of fake quotes and books that I'm sure she didn't write. A lot of times these books are written by authors who sell the rights to have your name put on the front. Do you really think she wrote all those books? I strongly doubt that she actually has a Phd, I'd love to see her diploma. Do yourself a favor and find a coach with integrity, not a coach who's blasted all over the internet.
Michael Friedman of One Call Clean Out did file a lawsuit in Montgomery County and like any business owner you typically have in your contract that legal disputes will take place where your business is located. This is not in my contract to make it “inconvenient” and in fact I met Michael at Business Network International so I knew that he would live local and was doing business with local business owners.
I have been in business for over 30 years and have had over 5, 000 clients and have not heard from any of the clients Michael says are unhappy. I don’t “outsource” to random people. In fact on my website I clearly have the biographies of all the Mentor Coaches that I have certified in my program, as I can not personally work with every client. All of my mentor coaches have years of experience and have been trained and certified in my program and work directly with me. The mentor coach who worked with Michael Friedman and One Call Clean Out, Frank, possesses over 35 years of varied, high-level, hands-on experience in a variety of business environments. He is versed in marketing, brand management, merchandising, operations, finance, human resources and logistics and has built an enviable track record of success in driving sales and profits for well-known companies such as 7-Eleven, Inc, Sunoco and Family Dollar Stores. Throughout his career he has been recognized for utilizing innovative methods to attain and exceed aggressive sales and business improvement goals. He is an independent contractor who works with clients on behalf of my firm.
Our firm did what we committed to do according the written agreement and when the client, One Call Clean Out breached the contract, we terminated the contract according to the legal terms of the contract.
I am not sure what “fake quotes” and “books” he is “sure” I didn’t write. Just go to Amazon and you can see I am a bestselling author of nearly 20 titles. You can check with my publishers such as John Wiley and Sons and Morgan James and find out that I am the author of my titles.
I’d be happy to show anyone my Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD.
In terms of being “blasted on the Internet”, please do look at how people are raving about my programs and services. I think you can find enough positive client testimonials on http://www.terrilevine.com, http://www.thebusinessgrowthsystem.com and http://www.youtube.com/user/coachterri that will speak for themselves about how well I have been serving clients for decades and how happy my clients are.
Sadly this unhappy client would not allow us an opportunity to continue working with him to help him achieve his goals but breached his contract instead. I am certainly not in business for over 30 plus years with raving testimonials as a scam artist and am happy to speak to anyone who has questions about my guarantees or services or my coach training or reputation as a business coach and mentor. Terri@terrilevine.com
I researched IPEC on the Better Business Bureau and I'm surprised to find no reports of complaints. IPEC is rated as A+ by BBB with 0 complaints disclosed in the last 36 months. I don't distrust the comments made above, but I'm just curious why no one has gone to the BBB; it's the first resource I go to when researching a company.
I'm really interested in becoming a life coach, so if anyone on this page has come across a good experience with a company, please forward. Thank you.
The previous quote is interesting about the BBB to say the least. It seems odd that some random, faceless person decided to stick up for Terri Levine even though this person doesn't know Terri. I'm not saying that someone who has scammed people out of their money came on here and made that post, I'm just saying it seems odd. The truth is if you search Terri Levines name in the BBB there have been 3 complaints in the past 12 months against her. What you won't see are the complaints of unsatisfied clients who had to sue her because for whatever reason the BBB will not get involved with complaints if there is litigation involved. Buyer Beware!
Terri Levine has talked with me and has corrected the situation. This website does not allow me to remove complaints otherwise I would.
Terri Levine is a selfish, lying cheat of a woman who somehow manages to get a sound sleep after an expensive dinner with her husband, paid for with OUR money. I once made the mistake of enlisting Terri's "services" and quickly learned that she was an even greater scam than diet pills offering free trials for the first month! Terri is rude, fake, disingenuous, a thief, overpriced, and half-### everything she does. DO NOT PAY HER A DIME! I've been watching her closely and all she does is rack up millions from our good-willed down payments and blow it on clown statues, trips to Mexico, an apartment in AC, and eating out for every meal. Her home has three bedrooms and an add on apartment while only she and her husband live there! And she built herself a state of the art gym beside her office that she almost never uses. Everything about Terri is over the top and 100% artificial. That woman doesn't know how to be honest or act with integrity at all. To blame her own customers for dishonesty, laziness, or a lack of integrity is simply her projections of her own massive flaws.
You'll get what's coming to you Terri. Hope you've enjoyed me listening to your conversations these past few months ;)
A disgruntled "friend" and consumer
This is all fake...
Terri Levine may have started with the best intentions but she takes money withoit delivery of the promised follow through. For years she sold an annual service to my husband. He gained no financial turn for his investment. When he died I contacted Terri to get a much needed refund for the months my husband was dead. I expected only to be refunded from the time I notified her which would have been fair enough. However, Terri responded to me specifying though she was psid annually her arrangement was " month by month" with my husband. She sympathized with me telling me she knew my husband had died and removed him from her listing and informed her networks he was no longer available. However, she refused to refund money for services she acknowledged were month by month and ones my husband could not avail of as he had died. Terri told me he " knew there were no circumstances he could get a refund" I challenged her right to charge a dead man for services. She gave me her whole spell. The amount was small to her around $800 but huge to us. In that moment she concretely displayed the incongruity between her ethos snd practice. She is, in my experience, disingenuous to the core and ineffective in her capacity to followthroigh on her promotional promises. What a shame such a gifted, lovely man like my husband who was trying to leave something behind for his family was taken in by this woman at his most vulnerable.
I received an email on this matter resolving it and I will pursue it no further. Fair enough to get a response though. Athough I still get no refund if I could take the complaint down I would.lts just not worth it. I will not get a refund but its one less burden I need to carry. I feel I've spoken up for my husband and that's enough. Terri and her business will continue to thrive no doubt and serve those whose hearts resonate with hers as heartrepreneur clients.