UPDATE: October 18, 2005. Despite being still under investigation by the Victorian authorities and despite warnings being issued by the Australian Consumers' Association, the Victorian Government and the Real Estate Consumers' Association (Hall of Shame), spruiker George Mihos is still spruiking. He's reportedly resurfacing tonight in Hawthorn.
Spruiker George Mihos claims to have taught thousands of Australians how to become millionaires.
So you'd think he'd be able to find just one person to write a testimonial for him.
There must be someone so besotted by the rhetoric that they'd be willing to write him a genuine reference.
But no, Mihos is so short of admirers he has to get his staff to write testimonials for him.
Anyone on the Mihos mailing list would have received a recent email with a headline which screamed: "How to Create New Multiple Streams of Income And Ensure a Lifetime of Financial Abundance!"
Featured prominently in the material was a "testimonial" from one Pat Sciarrone whose life changed when he discovered Mihos' Today Not Tomorrow Institute. Within three months he had increased his passive income by $6000 a month!
Pat left out one piece of information. He's a staff member at the Today Not Tomorrow Institute (TNTI).
You can call the "institute" and they'll put you through to Pat who will "highly recommend" that you go along and "evaluate the program".
Evaluating the program, Pat will explain, means attending the three-day seminar. You pay $795 and you have two and a half days to "evaluate". According to Pat, if you don't like what you hear, you can get a full refund. If you do like what you hear, you fork out an extra sum (up to $8,000, depending on which support package you choose).
You see, explains Pat, there's a money-back guarantee. "You pay $795 to go along and evaluate the program but there's a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. If you can't see the value, you get a refund. If you're satisfied you take a package; if you're not satisfied you walk away."
There's just one snag. It's not true. George's "satisfaction guarantee" is as big a sham as Pat's testimonial.
When people turn up at a Mihos seminar, they have to sign a registration form. On the back, in the small print, is a clause which traps the signatory. If they express satisfaction at any time over the next two and a half days, they are obligated to buy a 12-month package costing anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000. To ensure that happens, George's staff, including Pat, hand participants evaluation forms to fill out several times a day. If you tick any box which indicates even the mildest satisfaction with anything, you're obliged to buy a 12-month package. You can't get a refund and leave – and if you try, you'll come under heavy, aggressive pressure.
Even those who manage to negotiate that minefield don't get the 100 percent guaranteed refund that's promised. They will get only half their money back because, also in the small print, is mention of a fee to cover the George Mihos costs in organising the seminar and providing catering.
So be careful what you believe with Mr Mihos and TNTI.
From the sham testimonial to the sham guarantee, this mob is one big sham.
jenman.com.au 18 Oct 2005
The government does not act quickly enough to close this trash down. If it were their money that was at stake, closeure would be immediate!
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