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Scam Warning: Bruce Berman "I got here, you can, too"

By now, you have surely heard his commercial on the radio or seen it on TV (typically on Fox).  Using a number of different websites, but always the same pitch, you hear a dullard telling his aggressive, but much smarter, boss that he wants to quit.  The boss quickly puts him down with a fast-paced array of business start-up questions ("do you have a business plan?  You gotta have a business plan to start a business!  You are pathetic!").  After this, Bruce A. Berman steps in to calmly say that all is not lost, his book will tell you how, step-by-step, to become independently wealthy by being your own boss.  And since Bruce is so wealthy, he'll give you the book!  Just go to his website and ask for one! All you have to pay is the shipping. Ah, but were you able to read the fine print that flashed across the bottom of the screen?  We had to Tivo it to be able to read it.

Follow the review below, or click on the blue buttons at left to jump ahead.

How to Order the "Free" Book

We tested out Berman's offer; went to one of his many duplicative websites (3 examples of his websites are www.igothere.com and www.6bruce.com and www.27boss.com. He is constant creating new websites to sell the same book and cd's.  The latest ads on satellite radio, such as Sirius, hawk the latter website. We ordered the book.  It wasn't quite free, you had to pay $3.95 in shipping costs, which you put on a credit card. Be sure you read the fine print at the bottom of the page.  We'll come back to that later.

  • Point 1: Paying the shipping charge - you might think that this is a small point, after all, you're only paying a small fee for the shipping... except, now he has your credit card numbers and authorization. Why does he want them?  Did you read the fine print on the TV commercial? It was only on the screen for less than 5 seconds (tough to measure on our stopwatch) and there about 45 words in the disclaimer.  Can you read 45 words in less than 5 seconds? We paused the TIVO so we could read it. It said you agreed to the terms on the website, including "pay a refundable shipping and handling fee". And what were the rest of those terms?  Isn't it odd how you really have to search to find them, and the tv ad doesn't provide them! 

What did you get?

About a week later, a package arrived.  It contained:

  1. A paperback book, 192 pages, "I got here, you can, too! A Master's Course in Becoming a Millionaire"
  2. An audio cd (not shown in the photo at right)
  3. A pamphlet selling their merchant processing service
  4. A paper binder of 8 more audio cd's; the "Aggressive Wealth Audio CD's" collection
  5. A welcome letter.
  • Point 2 - The fine print: You bought the CD collection

If you didn't read the fine print, by now you may be asking yourself, where did all these cd's come from?  Here's what the fine print (that didn't appear, either verbally, or in writing on the TV commercial) said:

"We are giving you these two products for free as a thank you for considering the entire Aggressive WealthSM program. Take up to 30 days and decide if you want the balance of the Aggressive WealthSM program, if you elect not to take advantage of this exceptional offer and you decide you do not want the balance of the Aggressive WealthSM program, simply call our toll free number (within 30 days from our shipping date) to process your cancellation and we will cheerfully give you a return authorization number and cancel your order and you will owe nothing. At the end of the consideration period if you decide you want the rest of the program, do nothing and your credit card will conveniently be billed only one payment of just $99.90."

That's right, when you agreed to pay $3.95 for the "free" book and one audio cd, you also agreed to by a set of 8 audio cd's for $99.00.

At this point, if you hadn't read the fine print, you're probably calling their phone (not toll-free) to return the set.

Click here to find out what happens when you call!

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