How to get your money back

If you've purchased an advanced training package, you need to cancel within THREE DAYS of the date of the contract in order to get your money back.  Here are the things to check for:

* Advanced training classes
* Annual forum
* Mentorship program
* Real Estate Success Software (RESS)
* REI Black book a.k.a. Rich Dad Automation software

Some of the verbiage from their representatives say that the software and Mentorship program are non-refundable - be aware if they try to withhold that from your payment.  In the United States, the "posting rule" holds that the cancellation notice must be postmarked by the 3rd business day to be legally binding.  The cancellation policy is very explicit about being midnight of the 3rd business day; this means a telegram ordered before that time should also be legally binding.  Google around and you should be able to find telegram service providers who can do this.

The RESS software is the CD that they give you at the training when you purchased your package.  To suspend the RESS software subscription, you have to fax over a written message to them.   Note that I used the word "suspend" - if they are really untrustworthy, it's possible they might "accidentally" reactivate it using your credit card information on file.

The REI Black Book is a website with a strong Facebook-esque design to it.  You may have to navigate around a bit or email them if they've changed the design to make it harder to cancel.  Look for a My Account section, and there should be a section where you can "Edit Cards" - under that, delete all card info (mine had two cards for some reason even though I was told only one card would be put on file) and then, back on the My Account screen, click on Cancel Membership.  Fill out a little form and then submit to finish.  Note that although the card info is deleted, it will still show a card number on the My Account screen - it's possible they are still keeping the card info somewhere and not telling you.  I would suggest you call your credit card bank to change the card number for you.

Another way to get some money back is to attend the first day of the training and, on the morning of the second day, you ask them in writing for a full refund of that particular training.  This is detailed in the "Our customer satisfaction committment" section which appears on the back of the contract page that you sign.

Monthly BBB customer complaint summary for April 2012

BBB complaint breakdown for April 15, 2012.

Rich Dad Education is operating as Tigrent, Inc. and their BBB listing can be found here.

Alert:  They currently have an alert for the business:

"BBB has received a pattern of complaints that allege that the substance and/or availability of the programs did not meet the customers' expectations compared to what was presented to them at the business' seminars."

Rating: They currently do not have a rating.  The BBB's stated reason is "This business has no rating at this time."

Accreditation: Tigrent is not accredited with the BBB.  This means they have not applied for accreditation or do not meet the BBB's standards for accreditation, which includes "a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints".

Complaint count (last 3 years | last 12 months): 148 | 52

This is an average of almost 1 per week.

Complaint breakdown:

Complaint Type	Closed Complaints
Advertising / Sales Issues	57
Billing / Collection Issues	5
Delivery Issues	8
Other	1
Problems with Product / Service	77
Guarantee / Warranty Issues	0
Total Closed Complaints	148

Who is Rich Dad Education?

"Rich Dad Education" is one of many names of a company currently (as of 2012) known as Tigrent Inc.  They are a training company that, according to their BBB listing, has operated under many names:

• Rich Dad Education, LLC
• Tigrent Enterprises Inc.
• Tigrent Financial inc.
• Tigrent Group Inc.
• Tigrent Learning Inc.
• Whitney Information Network, Inc.
• Whitney Leadership Group, Inc.
• Wealth Intelligence Academy
• Win Systems, Inc.
• Teach Me To Trade
• Cash Flow Generator
• Whitney Canada, Inc.
• Whitney Education Group, Inc.
• Teach Me Foreclosure
• Focus on Foreclosure
• Building Wealth
• Edu Traders 

If you search the web for some of these older names, such as Whitney or Wealth Intelligence Academy, you may find plenty of other information about them.  The author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, says [1] they are a marketing/education partner.

References:

1:  http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/road_to_rich_dad/main.html