Complaint Review: Primerica - Duluth Georgia

EDitor's Comment: Rip-off Report Investigation: Primerica gets a POSITIVE RATING in customer support from Rip-off Report and is fulfilling its commitment to provide excellent customer service. Primerica pledges to resolve complaints and address representative issues. For a long time this EDitor had concerns about Primerica because of the number of Reports about them. For many months Rip-off Report was looking into the company, even before they contacted us to resolve any issues and mostly misunderstandings being posted by competitors. With over 100,000 representatives and 6 million clients, Primerica is bound to be the subject of a certain number of complaints about improper agent conduct, as well as product and administrative complaints. Rip-Off's investigation found such complaints, but importantly also found that Primerica is committed to resolving such complaints quickly and doing everything possible to satisfy its clients. It also takes appropriate action against any of its representatives who are found to have conducted themselves improperly or unethically. We believe that the number of complaints against this company, whether through the Internet or other channels, is small when put into the context of its enormous size. Most big companies would never commit themselves like Primerica has. Read our investigative Report and Primerica's commitment to 100% consumer satisfaction. www.primerica.com provides products and services through independent representatives. Primerica www.primerica.com has more than 100,000 licensed representatives who serve more than 6 million clients in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United Kingdom. Through a Financial Needs Analysis www.primericafna.com, the companys representatives provide a snapshot of a familys financial picture and suggest a strategy for financial security via Primericas products and services www.primericafinancialsolutions.com. Primericas business opportunity is attractive to people from many different backgrounds, including women www.womeninprimerica.com, African-Americans www.primericaaalc.com, Hispanics www.primericalatino.com and young adults www.generationprimerica.com.

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We are writing to you regarding an extreme violation of privacy that should never have occurred and cannot be ignored. In January of 2004 we received a call from a stranger. He had been solicited by Primerica in August of 2003 to purchase life insurance. This man ironically had reservations about the wording in the privacy statement and requested to see the full text of the policy in which he was about to agree to. He met with an agent from Primerica, Todd Harris, and at that time he was given a folder that he took with him at the close of that meeting. The folder contained the full text of an application and policy. OUR application and policy. We too had met with Todd Harris, in March of 2002, and had been solicited for life insurance, money market, even possibly a second mortgage. We provided them with the required information to apply for the policy. The required information included : name, social security number, place of employment, occupation, gross monthly income, work address, work telephone number, driver's license number, home address, home phone number, names of our three children, the children's social security numbers, place of birth for each family member, birth date of each family member, and a COMPLETE medical history including names of doctors, hospitals, etc... Even a photo copy of a check from our checking account. Primerica declined coverage for my wife, Nicole, and our eldest son, Britt, due to their medical history and we ultimately decided to take coverage with our employer, When Todd advised of us of the decline in coverage over the phone, our business with him concluded and we never met with him face to face again. We did however, meet with a different agent, Tyler, to roll over a 401K and to start a money market. Other than the quarterly statements and deductions for the money market account we gave Primerica little thought, until a stranger called. The application we had been assured was private, had been photocopied and now rested in the hands of a man we didn't know, and in turn had no right to know all the things about us he did. It was an identity thief's dream. Someone used our information in an attempt to sell something to someone else and in turn put our entire family's future at risk. In his response to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services Mr. Harris admits he decided to use our information as an example, something we had NEVER given Mr. Harris nor Primerica permission to do. Mr. Harris indicates we refused the policy in person, although after he informed us he would not cover my wife, Nicole, or our eldest son, Britt, over the phone, he never returned to our home, so the fallacy that we refused copies of the policy is factually inaccurate and indicates to us further a reason to distrust his further claim that this is the only time he used our information this way. We have had three or four discussions with Primerica General Counsel, in which she indicates identity theft happens, this was an oversight, and the company offers a $1,000.00 settlement in return for complete absolution; They admit no wrongdoing, take no responsibility for the actions of their employee and we release them of liability completely for any future problems arising from Todd Harris' negligence or incompetence. Todd Harris is an agent training others, he was training someone the night he met with us and he was training someone the night he met with Mr. Dasher, the stranger on our phone. He is not a new agent, he is trusted to be capable enough to train others and to hold the most private of information of the general public. We have jobs to do, children to raise, a house to maintain, and responsibilities of life to manage, We do not have the time nor money to waste on lawyers or lawsuits to make them accountable, and although everyone we talk to agree this is legally and ethically wrong, no one seems spurred on to help us. Primerica's General Counsel's attitude was daring us to get an attorney or or possibly trying to ascertain if we lack the resources to fight them. We may not have the financial status to fight them , but we are not without resourcefulness. So we turn to you for help. Primerica used us to sell their product when they could not sell to us, they willfully and knowingly ignored their own privacy statement, they denied our family the dignity of privacy and that is not acceptable to us. Primerica solicits by referral, so how do we warn enough people for the public to be protected ? And how do we make them accountable ? This is not about winning a lawsuit, it's about them accepting responsibility for their company and their employees. We now have to provide 7 different pieces of ID in order to check our 3 yr. 11 yr and 13 yr olds credit bureaus at all three agencies. And will have to continue this for the next several years for them as well as ourselves. What Primerica allowed to happen is against the FEDERAL law ! We intend to continue pursuing this until we find someone willing to listen and who can help us. Derick Salem, Oregon
U.S.A.