Catalyst Coaching
Complaint 190070 Details

  • Date Occurred: 09/30/2014
  • Reported Damages: $12,000.00
  • Location: Draper, Utah

The complaint is against an online dating profile

The complaint is a listing fraud posted on public forums or sites against an anonymous entity

The complaint is mobile text spam or smishing related against an anonymous entity

The company or person contact no longer exists

International boundaries

Catalyst Coaching/Crystal Consulting/Focus LC/CNSS Mentoring, (& I later learned they may have been formally known as Thrive Learning Institute) conned me into signing up for their coaching program to learn how to create my own website & have a work from home business doing “drop shipping” online. They knew I was interested in going back to school so they made it sound like I would be going through a "school" program with them but for half the price.
They made me feel like they were choosing me & they are very selective with who they have in their program. They told me I would be using "other people's money" & that they could coach me on how to transfer my tuition payment to a business credit card so that if my LLC fails then my tuition would dissolve with it. They kept pressuring me to sign up, saying that if I did not sign up that day that I would no longer qualify for their program. They talked me into it; I guess because I am a desperate single mother trying to make ends meet. The next day I changed my mind and called them back to cancel. They put me on the phone with a guy named Jeremy Turner (evidently he is their “damage control” guy). I told him my concerns and that I wanted to cancel. I didn’t understand why it was costing me $12,000. He assured me that it is much less than going back to school and that I can still be a stay at home mom. He then promised me a $900 “Scholarship” check to help pay my credit card bills for the first 3 months and that I "would be making around $5000 after that so I would easily be able to start paying off my "tuition". It was on this premise, & the fact they directed me to the online BBB showing they're in good standing, that I decided to take a leap of faith & try their program. I have later learned that these guys get a lot of complaints against them, then reorganize under a different name so that their company appears to be in good standing with the BBB. I never received the Scholarship check that was promised & I have called them several times asking for it. I also have asked many times for a copy of my contract and receipt for the amounts I paid toward their tuition. They never sent it to me nor returned my phone calls. It wasn’t until last week that I finally received a copy of my contract. I think the only reason they finally sent it to me is because they received a call from American Express in regards to my dispute.
Every time I tried to call & express my concerns with paying so much for their "tuition", they sweet talked me then bullied me into not canceling & reminded me how expensive going back to school can be. When I would call & ask why I havent received my scholarship they would say "Oh I don't know why, let me send that out to you right away". Never received anything. After about 6 weeks of being in the program & going thru their "coaching sessions" I finally saw the red flag after all the attempts to receive that scholarship check & receiving nothing, so I started researching them. Come to find out there are many people who have also been scammed by them & there are many who have done the exact same program as me for only a 1/4 the amount of what I paid (which was $12,000). They are all over the place with different tuition requirements apparently.
They get away with what they're doing b/c they know they have to fulfill the commitment of "Services Rendered", which is what I’m sure the credit card companies look for. So the coach does call once a week & they have many videos you can watch. But what you're left with is a knowledge that is no different than what you can find online for free, and a crappy website. And you pay thousands of dollars more for all their subsidiary companies that call you 10x a day for things like SEO & marketing, your site will never end up on the 1st page of a google search as they promise you. They don't tell you what's involved w/ actually getting traffic to your site!!!!
I paid one such subsidiary called Elite Corporate Services for Credit Coaching & to have them register my LLC for me. They completely screwed up the process & put the wrong name on my LLC papers. They also told me (after I paid) I wouldn't be able to have an EIN# for at least a week or 2. They told me they could get me a line of credit that wouldn't be linked to my personal accounts, so that way if my business fails all the money I spent would just dissolve with my LLC.
Needless to say, I'm trying to get my money back thru the dispute process w/ my credit card companies. Stay away from these scumbags, and any type of coaching program that is out of Utah. They are all in cahoots with each other!

  • Seeking Resolution: I'm Looking for a Refund
  • Refund Amount: $ 12,000.00

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Comments

  • Michael
  • Michael SBID #3af80b7d0f
  • Posted 04/17/2013
  • My wife and I have too been scammed by these guys sweet talking us for just over $5500. We did get the LLC for NC state and although I think the initial amount of $1500 was way too much I did pay and not really complaining about that. I am however complaining about Catalyst Coaching and Focuslc as I have just received an email stating that my subscription failed to go though for what I thought was completely covered when I paid the initial $5500 or so. Luckily the credit card they had on file had been compromised a month back and so they have no way of charging anything additional. I have called their billing department, spoke with a Tiffany and asked if I could have this so called contract I signed stating how much I agreed to and for how long. She has since avoided most of my calls and emails and today I just received a call back. The first go around she emailed me but forgot to send the attachment. Second round I got the same email but with an attachment with a generic "Terms of Service Agreement" dated 2009. I called back and asked her where on this is my name and where does it say how much. She went around in circles reading what is said on the terms of service but I still do not have anything in writing saying I agreed to anything monthly which I would not have willingly signed for after paying out over $5500. I am looking to sue these guys for every penny but think it would be great if we can all get together and do this. I think if more people bring up a lawsuit, they will be forced to settle probably out of court. Please let me know if anyone is having any thoughts of any lawsuits.
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  • Eileen
  • Eileen SBID #c57941dd38
  • Posted 04/04/2014
  • michael out of my own personal interest my credit card number was stolen after a payment to these people also. I hope it works out for you I am out $14,000.
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Business Profile Summary

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Company Statistics

  • Complaint Against Catalyst Coaching
  • Complaints Filed: 10
  • Reported Damages: $104,317.03
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