When financial reporter Chuck Jaffe calls me it's usually for one of his MarketWatch "Stupid Investment of the Week" columns, and we always end up in an "interesting" conversation to say the least. But I was just floored when he called me last week for a story he was working on about infomercial Kevin Trudeau's latest book: Debt Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About.
I immediately recognized the name. Trudeau sold a wildly popular book on "secret" health cures that a friend lent me some time back. While I am very interested in alternative health, I found his book one of the worst I'd read on the topic, full of unsupported rantings and ravings.
Now he's the debt expert.
I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on it. But Chuck Jaffe has, and you can see what he has to say here.
And if you check his radio show website quickly enough you'll get to listen to his "Infomercial Journey Through Hell" review of the program.
Save your money. Hop on over to Credit.com and we'll help you out for free.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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9 comments:
I read debt cures, and I must say, I disgree heavily with Chuck. Thats not to say I think any of Kevin Trudeau's other books are worth reading (from what Ive heard, they arent) though it wouldnt be fair to say that this book is not worth its price. I found the book to be 30% fluff, 70% valuable information for people like me who are in debt! One piece of advice: If you are going to buy the book, I highly recommend buying it from the Debt Cures Web Site so that the crazy salesman that answer the phones arent able to sucker you into purchasing other items!
I know this is an old post, but Trudeau is still running infomercials for this book. People should be aware of this man's history. I found this info on another blog:
in 1990, trudeau posed as a doctor in order to deposit $80,000 in false checks, and in 1991 he pled guilty to larceny after he had provided false information to obtain credit cards which he used for his own purposes. (probably one of his debt cures) he spent two years in prison because of this conviction.
in 1996, his recruitment practices for his multi-level marketing program, nutrition for life, were cited by illinois and michigan, and the "sec". michigan forbade him from operating in the state.
in 1998, trudeau was fined $500,000 to be used for consumer redress by the ftc, relating to six infomercials he had produced and in which the ftc determined he had made false or misleading claims.
in september 2004, trudeau agreed to pay $2 million ($500,000 in cash plus transfer of residential property located in ojai, california, and a luxury vehicle) to settle charges that he falsely claimed that a coral calcium product can cure cancer and other serious diseases and that a purported analgesic, called "biotape", can permanently cure or relieve severe pain.
most recently, in september 2007, the federal trade commission has charged kevin trudeau with violating a court order by allegedly misrepresenting the contents of his book, “the weight loss cure ‘they’ don’t want you to know about,” in several infomercials. during the ads, trudeau claims that the weight loss plan outlined in the book is easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want. however, when consumers purchase the book, they find it describes a complex, grueling plan that requires severe dieting, daily injections of a prescription drug that consumers cannot easily get, and lifelong dietary restrictions.
Buyers Beware, even purchasing online you have the same challenges of going through a series of other offer prompts.
The catch is that you cannot go back to change your orders and it does not give you an option to see or edit your grand total before processing your order. Once you get to the last prompt and select yes or no, it proceeds to process your order and gives an order id number. In two to three days you can call customer service to confirm your purchase order & amount charged to your card.
If you change your mind and choose to cancel the order you will discover that you cannot and will have to wait to receive your order. Once received you can request to return it for your money back within 30 days, losing the shipping fees alread paid and you will pay the return shipping & restocking charges. [Bad, Business Practice]
Thanks for all the warnings. I've heard mixed reviews of the book.
You can see what many of Truduea's customers think about his products at http://kevinscures.com. Seems that the general opinion of people who have tried to buy the book is pretty bad. He's a total con artist.
There is lots of controversy surrounding Kevin Trudeau and his new book debt cures. Many people say that Kevin Trudeau has transformed their lives for the better; others say that he is a con artist and a scam. The goal is to help and make you more informed about what you can really believe from Debt Cures and from Kevin Trudeau's other books. Kevin Trudeau has written a book for you to have access to everything you need to quickly cure your debt so that you can start creating wealth. All you have to do is take the next step by making the choice to change your life. Check back frequently since he will be updating his book to include new information and resources to change your financial future. You can take your life back with his help. Don's miss it!
Kevin Trudeau gives new meaning to the word fraud. I ordered the book yesterday for $19.95 and the rush shipping for $11.95. Accourding to my math, that comes to $31.90. This morning I checked my bank account and was billed $81.80. I called instantly and was told I could not cancel the order and that I would have to wait until it got here and then ship it back. I would then be out the cost of shipping both ways. The book had not been ordered yet but they refused to cancel anyway. I think Kevin got out of jail way too soon.
I can't argue that he's a shyster. I wrote as much in an article some time ago. http://www.thatedeguy.com/archives/2007/10/debt-cures-that-i-want-you-to-know-about It's been a bit of a strike point and really enlightening as to how badly he's taking advantage of people.
there is no controversy. let's be clear. kevin is milking the system and consumers for every dime he can get. all the time.
why the pretend call-in shows? why the playboy bunnies? why all the staging?
it's the same model no matter what he is pawning off on folks. and the trick is to pry that credit card number off of you, because once he has that, he owns you. soon to follow will be the mystery subscriptions to his newsletter and then the other stuff he starts shipping to you. and try to cancel. just try. it's a death grip i tell ya!
think about it. he can build a website to do all this complicated maneuvering to get you to build an account and order but he can't provide a simple cancel function, especially for those dumb monthly email newsletters. it's always call the 800 number. good luck!
don't get me wrong. i need kevin and donald barrett and donny lapre and all the rest. they give me plenty of fun blogging material.
but that is me just being selfish. hmm ... i guess i'm like them. hey, ya want my newsletter? just need a little information first.
:-)
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