I received a postcard that was from the Online Trading Academy inviting me to a Free Investors Class they were doing at the Hilton in Greenville, S.C. There was only 6 people that attended this class from 6 to 9pm. A young man who claims he has has a lot of experience at trading not just Stocks but other investments. He spent quite a bit of time telling how at his young age of early 30s he was able to purchase a nice house, boat and live the life he always wanted to live without fear of not having enough money to send his 2 small kids to college etc. We literally learned nothing at this class....but were told that we could attend a beginner 3 full day set of classes to learn the way to trade Monex, Stock Market, Commodity Trades. They 1st said the 3 day classes would be I believe $899.00 and would be held outside of Charlotte NC. I ruled this out since my husband and I are retired and have a budget and I have had many medical bills the last few years. Later he said they would do a special for us: $299.00 if we signed up right then that night. These classes would start in 9 days. I decided it would be a great opportunity and would have to figure out a hotel and rental car. My husband was fine with this since he knew I have wanted to learn more about investing especially in the stock market. I rented a car (4 days) and had my hotel room reserved for the 3 nights. Got a good reduction due to the Online Trading Academy using this hotel often and had special rates. Our breakfast and lunch were include to. Saturday morning I drove the short distance to the school in a newer building full of offices. The one room was filled with many others there for the same reason. I had spoke to my :"mentor" 2 times before that Saturday and I did inquire on the prices of the actual program. He said that the classes would be around $1K each...but would run 5 to 7 days each. He said I did not need to take all the classes~~just the ones I was interested in. He did admit it could be up to $35K for the entire program. He knew even before I went to this 3 day set of classes that this was not anything I could do. He basically said that they would help me invest and learn how to get in and get out quickly and be able to make money daily. Also I was told that some of the head people of this company had scholarship like money or discounts for those that needed help. I attended this 1st day optomistic and again really did not hear anything but a very strong presentation from a man who spoke alot of his experiences and how we had to overcome the fear of failure. We were all given a little notecard with our 1st name on it and the time we would meet with our mentor/counselor. My time was one of the latest: $3:45pm. We were told to bring our large class book given to us in the am. I left the class to see the man assigned to me. The one girl in the hallway said he was still with another student & that they would get me when he was done. I waited till 4:15 and finally got up again and went out to the hallway. My mentor and another "teacher" were joking and I told him no one has gotten me as promised. Within minutes of sitting down with him
~~I knew I could not in anyway pay a discounted plan of over $850.00 a month for 2 (?) years. I also found out that the actual classes are in this town about 3 hrs away from where we lived. He basically dismissed me and told me it would be best to leave today & not continue with these "classes" I was in shock that the 3 days I paid for and the time and money for the hotel room and car would also be lost. I repeated what he said and basically showed interest in staying and doing the next 2 days. He said I could not & that I needed to return the book to them right then. I could finish the present class which was about over....I know my face was red and I was humiliated and hurt and angry that this is what they do for people that can not pay or would want to borrow many thousands of dollars. I spoke to no one after but did feel a chilly stare by one of the employees when I hurried to my car. Returned to my hotel and found out that I could not get a refund for that night. My rental car would be mine till 9pm Monday & that too I could not be refunded if turned in early. I feel very sorry for the young people who borrow $35,000.00 or more and find out that this was a big money maker only for the people that run this company which I believe is a scam promising making more money than what the class costs. I wasted actually 2 days and did not need to be stressed and disappointed in the way they treated me and made me feel. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE~~PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY & FOR SURE DO NOT BORROW MONEY TO TAKE THESE "INVESTMENT CLASSES" !!!!