Combined Insurance reviews and complaints 2
View all 37 complaintsCombined Insurance - phony job ads
DO NOT INTERVIEW WITH THIS COMPANY!
I applied for a Marketing Manager (a supervising manager position) position with a company called the John Capra Agency in Dallas through ZipRecruiter. I received an online request to come to their office for an interview. I had a couple of questions first. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a preliminary interview (as I live 3 hours away) and wanted some info on the Agency (there was 0 info about it on Google). I called the person (Ken Keith) that was listed in the interview email. After asking my questions (which he didn't answer), he asked me what I had applied for, about my experience, and salary expectations. He said I sounded like a good fit and the salary expectations were in line with the pay. He added that the job ad should have said Combined Insurance (which it didn't). He said I should speak to John Capra himself as he would have the answers and gave me his number. I called and left messages with him twice and never received a reply.
I went ahead and scheduled the interview (shot in the dark), and drove up to their office. It was a nice office, but no receptionist. A man asked me to sit in a conference room with others (I just assumed they were in line for an interview). I sat next to one guy who had his resume out. I asked him if they were begind and he said he didn't know. A few minutes later a man comes in and starts placing pamphlets in front of us. I get a pamphlet that says "sales careers". I lean over to the guy next to me and ask what position he applied for. He said "Sales Executive".
I pull the man (John Hunt I believe) with the pamphlets aside and tell him that there must be a mistake as I didn't apply for a sales position. He asks me what position I applied for and I tell him Marketing Manager. He corrects me and says its a "Market Manager" position. I refute him and show him the job ad. It shows it clearly as a supervising manager position titled Marketing Manager. I tell him I've been the Director of Marketing for a group of companies for over 6 years and I was never looking for a sale position. I explain how far I drove and how much time and money they wasted me. I ask him how he's going to make it right. He says he's sorry and that it was the recruiting agency's fault. I tell him this is absolutely not true as the 2 people responsible (Ken Keith and John Capra) are officed right next door to his. I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said he was it.
These kinds of companies disguise sales position job ads with meaningless, non-applicable titles that sound super important, yet are only meant to lure applicants in. They never even looked at my resume or location. The serious lack of unprofessionalism and this kind of false advertising by this company is completely unacceptable.
Combined Insurance - Do not use this company
I am embarrassed by what has happened to please bear with me. I too was a victim of these heartless crooks at combined insurance. I really wished I had gone to this web site first. My story goes like a lot of yours. I posted my resume on Monster.com. I got around 100 responses. Someone from Combined Insurance called and offered me salary plus commission. I was surprised that I would get salary PLUS commission selling insurance. It sounded too good to be true. I should have known better. If it sounds too good to be true in is.
The interview was high energy. I told them I had a sick spouse and could not travel and was told no problem. When I filled out the paper work I elect the least amount of travel, which was 10%. I was again assured that travel would be very limited. I was told they wanted me to be a manager and that my territory would be close to home.
When I went to school I was pressured into staying at the hotel even though I lived not too far away. That was the first week away from my wife. I had a license already. The school was all feel good stuff pumping PMA and W C Stone's psychobabble. The Combined School of Brain-Washing is really good.
As soon as I graduated we went on an Ardmore or whatever the hell they called it in Nowhere Texas where we had to sell to Eustis Banks and be chased by Courage the Cowardly Dog. (Week 2 away from my wife). My trainer if you can call her that was the most self-centered person I have ever met. She admitted, dating 3 customers and hinted that she slept with them to get them to sign a contract. She could not pay her bills and often talked of suicide. Management told me that she was the highest producer in the country, (most likely another lie). I asked that I be moved to another trainer because she was scaring me. When she was told she would not be training me, she was furious and started accusing me of crazy stuff like writing my initials in her vehicle and stealing money.
Then off we went to another remote town of deranged in-breads. We continued town hopping and never finishing an assignment. My manager was now training me. He was ok I guess. He seemed like a man who had lost all hope and had just given in. Then I was informed I would be going to some town I never heard of that was 5 hours away. Finally I said enough I am not going out of town anymore. Management was furious. I reminded them that I told them from the beginning I was not able to do all this traveling. Their efforts to make me feel worthless and guilty fell on deaf ears.
Upper management often called me and told me I need to focus on the company and not my ill wife. I need to sell, sell, sell. They also were upset because I would not travel anymore. I made $400.00 on the first check followed by $200.00 then nothing. NOTHING? How can that be? Well maybe they got it in too late.
Then I found this web site. Boy was I surprised. So I quit Combined and I want to thank everyone who shared his or her stories. Unfortunately by the time I saw this, my water had been turned off and my lights will go out any day now.
I went to a job fair and I was offered a job by one of the nations largest companies with salary plus commission. The exception was they put it in writing. Yes I did check this site before signing anything and found no such problems.
I still have not been paid by combined. MY manager said he did not remember me turning in anything for the past two weeks. I told him I had a receipt for the checks I turned in and he suddenly remembered them. Then said that my pay was under $50.00 and they will not write me a check for anything under $50.00. I don't have the receipts for the ones that renewed and had the automatic withdrawal and of course they will not pay me for that because I cannot PROVE it. So all in all they are stealing my last two paychecks.
Over the last week Combined customers have been calling me saying that combined is taking out more than they signed up for. So far 3 customers have called and complained to me about Combined taking money out and one lady is now in a negative balance because Combined emptied her account. One customer told me she canceled 3 months ago and Combined is still taking money out of her check. When customer call me to complain I always send them to www.complaintsboard.com and you should too.
Thank you everyone. Although I have no water and soon will have no lights, you saved my house. I will get paid by my new company in time to make the mortgage and enough to get my utilities turned back on.
Warning: DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The worst company to work for. I was a TM for about month before I quit. They sell worthless policies and prey upon poor people who don't know any better. Then their recruiters come on sites like this and try to rebutt all negative comments because it really does hurt their ability to get anyone to work for them. My DM was an ignorant ### that I nearly punched out in the first week. I thank god I'm not there anymore although I get calls all the time from them trying to get me back. The way I left there is a story in its self, so the fact they keep calling shows truly how desperate they are. Hopefully, people look at sites like this and run the other way when the Combined drones come calling.
I worked for Combined for close to 5 years in Australia in the early to mid 90's. I was single at the time and I found Combined (or Combined found me) at a time in my life when things were pretty low. My career started slowly, I went a year of spending what I was earning just going to work. It seemed to just click and things started going my way. I went from Sales rep to Territory Rep then to District Rep in the next 12 months. I started to make reasonable money, I thought it was great money. I was quite a party animal and found the lifestyle of booze and late nights exceptional fun. I really lead the high life of driving flash cars and staying in ritzy hotels. I had all the awards and trappings of a Combined high achiever. Our team was achieving fantastic results in the District and we had a pretty good team, I was very fortunate to have understood the philosophy of field training and spent most of my time doing that. This was due to a very motivated Regional Manager. I believe he is still with the company and has climbed the ladder of success. This same manager who made me, also sent me to the wall. This started on a "Masters" trip. Master's awards were a all expense paid trip offshore to a special awards ceremony. Myself and another "DR" spent most of our time drunk. One night my room mate found me in the toilet with my pants around my ankles and put me to bed. That same night I was having drinks in my room with my Regional manager. I wasn't THAT drunk and was certainly not that drunk that I passed out on the toilet. Anyway, I quizzed the Regional the next day about what time we finished up and he just laughed and said we had a great time. Now is the time I say I'm a straight bloke and so I thought, was the Regional. I couldn't prove anything as I was known as bit of a playboy and a drunk. (It's still a bit hazy, but little bits have come back to me and I reckon he was the reason my pants were down). I lost a bit of direction after that and started doing silly things like writing bogus policies to reach targets. Things were starting to spiral out of control. I didn't want to be near this pervert, so I put in for a transfer. That was my undoing. I moved to an area under a different Regional (a previous leader of mine, great guy). At the start it was good, but because the company & my ex-Regional didn't want me to transfer area's, they stopped all my automatic renewal income (Cemtex) I had built up over 4 and a half years. I was like a sinking ship, I didn't have the motivation or the income to start from scratch again. I tried and tried but ended up going bankrupt. I was bitter and twisted for a while, but there is a silver lining. I met my beautiful wife via Combined (I met her towards the end of all this), we've been married for 13 years and have 3 wonderful kids. So it really is a bittersweet relationship with Combined for me. I have got a fair bit to be thankful for. I have a very good work ethic and am a very positive person, i have utilized the work practices from Combined and am now quite successful again. So for all of you, who have battled through this post, I believe in Combined and think it's a great career for the young and single and it's work ethics and mindset will set you up for your future, however, crappy management and crappy people stuff it up. As for despicable turd Regional Managers, I really don't know whether I could restrain myself from punching him in the face if we ever came face to face. Hopefully I never have to.
I also had a horrible experience working for Combined. I spent two straight weeks away from home to study for the insurance test and to go through the sales training. After I was out in the field I spent over 12 weeks with different salesman and any sales we made were to be split "evenly." Which, was by far not the case. They were bringing in figures of over $1, 200, and my checks were barely clearing over $250.00. Our office meeting was held every morning in the conference room of a Comfort Inn. Guess that should have given me a clue? Everyone is right you went to towns that you may have been close to, but had no idea they even existed. We specifically targeted homes that were either falling apart or were hitting up local trailer parks. I'm an honest person and I know these people could barely put food on the table, so how could I try to convince them that spending the money on a policy every month was a good decision? I couldn't stand lying to these people and taking the hard earned money, with what little they had. Everyone in the office that I worked for were alcoholics and pot heads. We went back the the Comfort Inn every night and would wrap up our nightly meetings with pitchers of beer. I knew that most of them were smoking weed, but I hit my final straw when the person I was paired up with smoked weed as I waited for a customer to let me in to collect their renewal money. He was training to be a District Manager and we were over two and a half hours away from the office. When I knocked on the door I waited and the customer was not home. When I was heading back to the car he threw it out the window and began spraying cologne. I may have been blonde, but I wasn't stupid. I could smell it the second I stepped back into the car. It was only halfway through the day, but I demanded that he take me home. I couldn't stand the thought of him driving a vehicle under the influence. I told him I was going to tell our Boss, and his reply was "it doesn't matter; he'll never believe you." So, I decided he was probably right so I worked out the rest of the day, and when I returned that was my last day as an employee for Combined Insurance. I wasn't risking my life to make some peanuts. And, he was right our Boss never would have believed me. Isn't that sad? The only thing good that ever came out of my work with Combined was my puppy Ginger. Believe it or not we had stopped at a trailer beside the road that was falling apart and was filled to the brim with different animals. I was talking to the wife while my partner was trying to convince her husband that they needed the policy. I was petting her dog, and she asked me if I wanted a puppy. She ran back in the house and brought out this tiny little thing just over 8 weeks old. I didn't get to pick her, but apparently she chose me. I was instantly attached. Thank God it was the end of the day, because my partner probably would have killed me that he had to take care of this dog since I was the one driving. They only asked for a donation to cover the cost of the vaccination. I didn't have any cash and I wanted to do something special. So, I asked if they would accept a check. They happily agreed and my donation was for $100 to the nicest couple I ever met, and the best dog I ever had. She made the two hour trip home laying on my partners lap on top of the "blue book." I have a wonderful Pomeranian-Corgi mix, and surprisingly I have Combined to thank for that; go figure.
To be successful in the sales industry, you need to treat the job like you own the business. Be prepared to make sacrifices to get your product out there, never say "i cant" because that closes up any possibilities of ever being successful. Don't work for the money, work for the priceless experience. Analise an obstacle, why cant i sell to the people of Texas? If you don't know then ask someone. It could be because they feel like you are too different to them and they can't trust you. Then make them trust you! Study their culture a bit so you can be on their wavelength, then show them what insurance options they have. Let them know that they could get alcohol poisoning from all the moonshine they consume and it could not be long before their liver fails! If you make them feel like you actually care about their financial security then chances are they'll start caring too.
As for your interesting trainer, what she does to close sales is not your business. But if you really wanted to get her for her idiocy, then you should've provided evidence. Its only obvious that she'd deny everything and point the finger at you instead. You should've known that and been more tactful towards the situation.
And if you go to a town thinking of its inhabitants as "deranged inbreeds" then its no wonder why they don't want your product. Better your attitude.
I worked with combined for a few months and made barley any money but nearly 6 months after leaving the company i have received a letter saying I owe them around £500.00 from my retention account I am sure this is wrong especially as they should of sent that letter after 3 months of leaving the company as you cannot have charge backs from customers after three months but have no proof as i foolishly threw away my retention account letters a long time ago as I thought I was done with the company.
I was just wondering if this had happened to anyone else and if so what did you do?
My husband has an interview tomorrow with combined insurance, and after reading some of the comments I don't think it is worth our time. He is very professional and a good person. He is willing to work hard at sales if the benefits are there. He was told that he would receive salary plus commissions, but am questioning this. Any further comments from past employees would be helpful. He wants a professional career with a good company.
Wow. Where do I begin? I will try to keep this short, as most people wont read a really long post...and I want people to hear this. I worked for Combined Insurance for years. I was an agent (high producing), and then a TM. First off, any company that has to teach agent how to sell, how to talk to people, how to "stick to a script" is hiring the wrong people. If you don't know how to sale naturally, you shouldn't be in the business. They expect you to pay for thousands of dollars out of pocket in travel. They hook you with the "salary" but they fail to tell you that a lot of your salary will be held back. They make your statements impossible to read and I still think I got ripped off for years. They will hire anyone, expect TMs to train to proficancy then let people fail so they don't have to pay residuals over time to those agents. They want people to fail! It's cheaper. They hook people with "providing leads" which are nothing more then beat up current clients. I could keep going but my laptop is going to die...do not waste anytime in your career, the way I did!
I used to work for them in the early 90s. I agree with the comments on here. The training is good, I was put in a 4 star hotel with all the food provided and the training was simple. I scored 96% on the main exam. However, the job was absolutely crap. Following a days work on a Tuesday they expected me to go to a 'motivational' team meeting and tell everyone the 'Good News' ! WTF is the good news. I got up and walked out and explained I had commitments on evenings outside of the job. It did not go down too well with the management but that was how it was and I refused to go to these meetings that I did not get paid for. They also wanted me to go on an Ardmore over 100 miles from home and expected me to pay for my own accommodation. I did not go to that. To cap it off I went to a re-visit to renew a policy to a male. When I arrived he was in a wheel chair and told me he only bought the original policy to get the 'Stupid Cow' to shut up and leave and asked 'did he look like he needed that kind of insurance'. This was one of similar re-visits. I quit the next day as my conscience did not allow me to pressurise old, infirm, disabled and otherwise vulnerable people out of money they did not have.
The company is a total joke and lacks morals. But, go to the training, have a blast at their expense and quit!
Combined is a great company to work for, I have been with the company for 9 months and have had two promotions. I have strong work ethics and professionalism which is key in a career in sales. Sales is challenging, not everyone can do it and it really comes down to that. In these 9 months I have made 59K, believe me not easy, I can honestly say I worked hard for that money and deserve every penny of it. To the person that commented on Mr. W. Clement stone, that is the philosophy of the company, and really what distinguishes Combined from any other insurance company. Everyone is motivated indifferent ways, mine is being able to provide for my family. So if a person is looking for a "job", this is not the place for you, here at Combined we are looking for individuals that are looking to build a career, the beauty about it, these people weed them out.
Combined Insurance is not a joke or a rip off. Someone mentioned, "Sales is always a tough career. If it was easy everyone would do it." That's the truth. You either can do the job or you can't. After reading some of these posts I'm shocked that you people with obvious negative personalities were even hired into the company. To be in sales, self-motivation is an asset you MUST contain!
Think about it...If you're an agent, you start off working 5 days a week, make a lot of money, then you realize you could literally go golfing/shopping/fishing instead of working & no one would know! Sounds like filling your working days with "fun activities" has a huge potential to become a habit, right? Then you get canned because you're NOT WORKING, so your sales significantly decrease as a result, & a decline in production is definitely giving you a terrible attitude because you're broke! Now you spend your time sitting at home in the dark, unemployed, writing unrealistic complaints that blame everyone but yourself.
The person who said this:--------------------------------------------------> "Its where you sell 5000 dollars of APV your first week in the field. And out of all of that selling I got a wopping 350 bucks after taxes. After being told by my managers that hitting my Gold Pal award would make me about 1500 dollars before taxes. So for the people who think he just needs to grow up, stop whinning and put more into his work. Must not be able to find real jobs and think that Combined is the best thing out there. Or more likely the best thing they can get!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously you are a completely unrealistic liar..$5, 000 APV and you were paid only $350, huh? This is a very good example of someone trying to say the job was a joke but really they just couldn't cut it. Is the "real job" you found one in which you do next to nothing, hate going to work each day, & make only enough income to survive because you are lazy? You have to work for your money in sales...
The most beneficial thing about selling insurance is helping people! If you keep that in mind instead of only thinking numbers...the money comes naturally & in large amounts! While some people are writing untrue junk about my company, I'll continue to feel great about how much my job will help policyholders if/when something unexpected happens.
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