ProfitCenterLearning review revisited
Compete shows ProfitCenterLearning.com trending towards 800,000 Unique Visitors per month
Not long ago I skirted over a site called ProfitCenterLearning when reviewing one of the thousands of fake news sites flooding the web.
I shouldn't have. I should have noticed the connection between ProfitCenterLearning.com and Pacific WebWorks – especially right at the bottom of ProfitCenterLearning's Terms and Conditions it states: "Products provided by Pacific WebWorks, Inc. and/or affiliated companies."
ProfitCenterLearning.com was registered by IntelliPay which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific WebWorks, Inc. I'll go into why this is important later in this post.
Apparently ProfitCenterLearning has some sort of "qualification" procedure so I decided to see how "hard" it would be to qualify:
Q: How much money per week are you looking to earn?
A: $1,000 per week
Q: How much time are you looking to spend working per week?
A: Less than one hour
Q: Please enter your Zip Code to find out if you qualify.
A: I entered 1,000,000,000,000 as my zip code
I excitedly submitted the button to see "if I would qualify" and – phew!!! I did. I got the following message:
ProfitCenterLearning.com tells me I qualified. Yahoo!!!
Wow. What a relief. I qualified!
NOW WAIT A MINUTE…why did ProfitCenterLearning have to check my zip code to see if I qualified if they're qualifying me in an "Unknown area"? I'm starting to feel like they don't really care about me. And for once in my life I was feeling "validated" 
Well, they did care about the length of the zip code when I actually tried to proceed to order the Google Biz Kit:
ProfitCenterLearning.com Zip too long
OK. So I put in a 5 digit zip and now I'm onto the order page which tells me I can get instant access to the following:
- Real, live support
- Their proprietary software
- Access to tips, videos, tricks, etc.
- The Home Business Kit using Google
- Home BizKit software
- Unlimited Tech Support
- Instant Access to my Profit Gateway Portal
Wow. All for a $1.97? I'm ready to go! At least that's all I see ABOVE THE FOLD of my computer screen along with some really cool big red arrows pointing to the arrow box that just make me want to hit that big ol' INSTANT ACCESS button.
But wait…there's more! What are all those words at the bottom of the page?
Oh, way at the bottom of the ProfitCenterLearning.com order page it says:
"By submitting this form I give my authorization to immediately charge my credit card $1.97 for access to the Business Kit for Google. I hereby request that my account be activated and authorize funds to be advanced as indicated. Monthly Service fees will commence 7 days from the date of this purchase, and will be billed monthly thereafter. After the 7 day trial you will be billed $79.90 monthly for the continued access to the Business Kit for Google. No refunds will be given for failure to use the requested and provided product. We reserve the right to transfer your billing to a third party Merchant of Record. This authority will remain in effect until revoked by me. This agreement will remain in effect each month until cancelled by me. You may cancel at anytime by writing to 230 West 400 South, Suite 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 or calling 1-800-497-4988 or 1-801-578-9020."
Hmm. 79.90/monthly x 12 = 958.80/year. Hmm. That's a tad more than $1.97.
At least it looks like they make it easy to cancel…better check their track record…
Since ProfitCenterLearning.com was registered by IntelliPay which is owned by PacificWebworks I decided to look into the complaint history of Pacific Webworks and came up with the following at the BBB:
Pacific WebWorks Complaints by Type
"BBB Rating for Pacific Webworks Inc (click here for the full BBB report)
Reasons for this rating include:
- BBB concerns with the industry in which this business operates.
- 487 complaints filed against business
- Failure to respond to 72 complaints filed against business.
- 66 complaints filed against business that were not resolved.
- Overall complaint history with BBB.
- Government action(s) against business.
The BBB has recently received numerous complaints regarding this company and the fact that consumers were not aware of fees that would be charged after the trial period for a Google Home Based Business offer."
The BBB then goes on to describe the Government Action against Pacific WebWorks:
"Government Actions
On August 26, 2007 Pacific Webworks Inc entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection ("the Division"). Without any admission of guilt, Pacific Webworks Inc agreed to the following: a) to comply with all of the requirements of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and all other laws and rules administered by the Division; b) to provide the Division with evidence that the consumers listed in the agreement have been made whole; c) to pay a fine, a portion of which was stayed for the company's compliance with the agreement; d) to comply with all of the requirements of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and all other laws administered by the Division, acknowledging that any complaints received by the Division regarding transactions entered into after the date of the agreement shall be subject to administrative or other legal action; e) to issue refunds for any validated consumer complaint, concerning consumers who purchased Pacific Webworks Inc products and/or services through the date of the agreement, and who file a complaint with the Division. This agreement does not affect the civil claims of parties other than the Division; nor does it preclude enforcement actions by other agencies having jurisdiction over them and their actions. Pacific Webworks entered into this agreement freely and voluntarily without any undue influence of the Division."
You can read the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act here. I haven't located the original complaint, but I did locate the DOJ Consumer Protection Cases Completed in 2007-08
…which lists Pacific Webworks this way: Pacific WebWorks – Unauthorized Charges
And the most recent resolved complaints against Pacific WebWorks are listed below:
Pacific WebWorks Complaints Detail View
While it's good that all of these complaints were resolved and are closed, it is interesting to notice that "Billing or Collection Issues" continues to make up the highest volume of the complaints.
The specific breakdown the BBB gives for the 63 Billing or Collection Issues complaints that Pacific WebWorks resolved in the past 12 months is as follows:
BBB BreakDown of Pacific WebWorks Billing and Collection Complaints for the past 12 months
2 Failure to correct billing errors
2 None of the Above - Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue
2 Failure to substantiate charges
1 Billing or Collection Issues
41 Unauthorized credit card charges
2 Improper collection practices
13 Unauthorized bank debits
Of course the most interesting parts are the 41 Unauthorized credit card charges and the 13 Unauthorized bank debits.
It would be interesting to look at other websites and DBAs owned by Pacific WebWorks or one if it's subsidiaries.
I don't have time to that now, but there here are the sites and DBAs that the BBB lists under the Pacific WebWorks BBB report:
www.pacificwebworks.com
www.yourprofitgateway.com
www.profitstudiolearning.com
www.googlebizkit.com
www.esuccess2u.com
www.eauctionsuccess.com
www.moneyy.org
ESuccess2u.com
eAuctionSuccess
Profit Studio Learning
Google Biz Kit
Tweet Profit Studio
QuickStart
Tradeworks Marketing, Inc.
YourProfitGateway.com
Home Business Kit for Google
Filed under Sales Page reviews by Comment. 
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Comments on ProfitCenterLearning review revisited
2:37 am
Paul, what is your best guess as to why people who a) could do this research, but b) who don't, and so c) fall for this type of trick?
I have my own idea, but I am curious as to yours.
(Oh, and yes I will be doing the disclaimer post – thanks for sending me some more info.)
5:20 am
I fell in this trap 1 month back
Cancelled after paying the first month fee by calling them
Recieved a confirmation E mail from them informing its cancelled
Hope everything will be OK?
My question
Why Google does not take any action?People join in first place because they advertise it as Google Business kit.
I also thought it as a google program
Expecting others comments
2:32 pm
Wow. I'm really thinking through that first question and I'm not coming up with a great answer so far other than for some reason people don't want to know.
5:23 pm
Wow. I'm really thinking through that first question and I'm not coming up with a great answer so far other than for some reason people don't want to know.
BTW I love your blog!
6:29 pm
I was pestered numerous times by the Philipine customer service reps until I gave in and signed up for the 1.97 this morning, because I don't have a credit card I asked a friend to help me out, after doing some research I decided to cancel my registration and was told no problem and threatened them with the wrath of god not to withdraw any more money from my friend's credit card, now let us wait and see, will keep you posted.
Yes I do agree why is Google allowing these thieves to tarnish their very good reputation???, who is benefitting from this anyways?
9:01 pm
i have an idea close ur account on which u used to pay for this scam and open a new one?
5:47 pm
people do need to read the "terms and conditions" though as it does tell you that it will take the 79.90 out of your account each month. i think people are still wanting to believe in the "make money quick and easy" thing.
6:30 pm
I was doing a general search and an article came up regarding a gentleman who claimed he made about $150.00 per week part-time. Since this is one of the first realistic dollar amounts I've ever seen (vs $5000.00 part-time), I decided to read further. There were several testimonials from different people saying they did this job for Google and how good it was. I then just searched on yourprofitgateway.com and found all the real fraud testimonials. This company is very deceptive, but as with anything you should always do your homework before giving any company your information.
8:35 am
Since seeing the Your profit Gateway Advert I'm still at a loss as to what we're supposed to be doing for the company to make this incredible amount of money to be able to pay around a $1000 a year for it.
So if there is anyone out there who has actually tried working for the company please let me know if it's really a scam or not.
5:07 pm
There are claims that hidden negative option offers are no longer going to be allowed on Google Adwords:
"Beginning in the coming weeks, we’ll no longer accept ads that promote Unacceptable Business Practices. This includes, but is not limited to, negative option or unclear billing, the sale of normally free items or services, and false celebrity endorsements."
http://www.henbima.com/ppc-tool/cpa-marketer-watchout/
Good news if true but I seem to remember a similar adwords 'crackdown' a few months ago and yet ads keep appearing..
Of course there are plenty of other ad networks (adsonar etc) happy to accept these ads and plenty of unethical cpa affiliates happy to make these media buys to promote their fake news sites and fake blogs (flogs) – so the ads will still run on big sites like time.com giving them a 'credibility' which they do not deserve.
Pacific Webworks is an interesting one – they claim to be making massive profits (quite possible when looking at that compete.com graph for ProfitCenterLearning.com) and yet they are linked to all sorts of shady stuff:
http://strangelyperfect.tv/5146/more-on-google-profits-and-pacific-webworks/
Why no action from the FTC, State Attorney Generals etc?
And no civil action from the like of Google either…
Thousands of complaints online going back 2 years and more and yet they just keep on getting away with it with just a tiny rap on the knuckles every now and then (Utah Division of Consumer Protection).
9:22 am
My concern is the same one or similar to Johns. Why hasn't anyone or any agency gone after a publicly traded company like Pacific Webworks, when they are blatantly involved in scams.
Instead the FTC has put their energy and focus on the US bloggers and advertisers. When their real targets should be the sources of these fake blogs and scam sites, the product creators.
It is mind boggling, and makes one wonder how the justice system seems to protect the criminals and portend to be protecting the consumer.
6:09 pm
I feel like a moron. I was on Facebook, that famous website where everyone knows your business and where you meet friends you never knew you had. Anyways, I saw an ad by Google for Mystery Shopper and thought "well, if its by Google it must be the real thing". I immediately was brought to a page for Google AdSense. I continued on, agreeing to the $2.11 shipping charge for the FREE "working at home kit". Not a bad deal right? The shipping charge; however, had to be paid with a credit card so here I am filling out the info on my credit card and hit "submit". Next thing I know I am reading that $79 per month would be charged to my credit card. For what? I'm the one who is supposed to be earning money. At the bottom of the page I saw "Google is in no way affiliated with this website". I got a phone call that night and I was plenty mad at the telemarker and told her it was fraudulent and told her why would I use AdSense when I was not a business looking for people to click on ads on my company website and earning money for that. I just wanted to be a Mystery Shopper & what did this have to do with Google AdSense. She said they were a Google driven program. I told her I was not interested and there had better not be any charges made to my credit card & hung up. They called 4 times this morning and my husband told them I was not home so they asked my husband to make the commitment for me. How in heck am I going to get out of this. I cancelled the Google email account they asked me to set up and also sent an email to AdSense's help center. Any advice from anyone out there?
7:19 pm
John,
I've continued to be baffled by Pacific Webworks and Raven Media which seem to plug away no matter what.
I think you may find the following particularly interesting:
http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2009/09/05/selfprofitsmadeeasy-salespage-review/
- especially the tie-in to the recent FTC case against Jason Brailow.
These hidden negative options will be with us for a very long time. They are just way too profitable and there are plenty of non-ppc advertising sources that care much less if at all about the "overall user experience" than Google.
That combined with private affiliate networks popping up and how easy it is to set up anonymous corporations tied to secret bank accounts makes me think that Google's decisino isn't going to really make much of a dent in the proliferation of the hidden negative option scams.
http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2009/09/20/digging-deeper-into-hidden-negative-option-scams/
9:41 pm
I've cancelled my Google email account, uninstalled my Google toolbar. Also will close my Facebook account since that is where the fraudulent ad was posted. I called my credit card company, had the $2.11 shipping taken off, cancelled my card. Facebook should be ashamed of themselves for posting these ads and Google is the biggest loser of them all. I've learned a lesson but will not deal with Google or their products or programs any more.
10:32 pm
Carol,
One thing you should know is that those type of products are using Google's name without Google's permission. Google is trying to crack down on them in various ways.
Essentially they have nothing to do with the real Google at all.
1:47 pm
Hi, you did all of the correct things. I am sorry that you had to go through this. Many thousands have. In fact on one scam alone over 220,000 people were scammed that reported it. So, a lot more did not report it, and we have no idea what the total reached. That one was called Google Money Tree.
Some of those involved with that scam are being prosecuted, but it seems 50 more rise for every one that goes down.
2:14 pm
In case people don't know the case Greg W. is talking about, you can read the original Work At Home Truth discussion of Google Money Tree here which has over 800 comments and a lot of people who filed complaints with law enforcement and helped one another file complaints and try to get their money back.
2:42 pm
Negative options – what the FTC is trying to do is ensure that the credit card companies realize that under disclosed negative option plans will lead to valid chargebacks, no matter what the contract says.
We will see if the gatekeeper liability theory works.
4:06 pm
Wow.
That would be a huge step forward for consumers.
One of the most frustrating aspects over the past year was how many credit card companies didn't honor customer disputes against even the scammiest negative option practices.
10:19 pm
I'm so glad I found your site!! I signed up for the onlineCashKit and the profitCenterCrap, thinking I'd read the info& suck up the 2.97$ loss if it required more money or proved unfeasible.I became very uneasy when I received the email reciepts for my "one day trial" and my "seven day trial";while each mentioned I would be billed for monthly sevices after the trial, no mention was made of the cost of that subscription.I've searched all over for the number to call to cancel the one day trial, but none of the numbers are available today.Same thing for the seven day trial, though thanks to this site I know what charges to look out for..What they provide is useless crap-the cheesey car/swimming pool/tropical mansion collage on their site told me they're full of it. I would like to know if it is possible to utilize Google's Ad programs to earn money, or is that a total scam too? Since I couldn't find a direct explanation of whether Google charges a fee to access/register for ad placement, or if even allows individuals to work for them in the manner described. Any decent information out there..
1:09 pm
@Nicole: Google has two separate programs. One is called AdWords and one is AdSense. I am assuming that you are referring to the AdSense program. For that you need a website or a blog. It has to be a self hosted blog if it is WordPress, to be able to display the ads on the site.
Google's blog, Blogger, will allow you to display their ads. There are a few others that will too. You have to check around.
I have accounts with Squidoo and HubPages, but I have never tried to place AdSense on them.
To get the AdSense account is fairly easy. You have to sign up for it and get a Publisher number. You will find your number in the upper right hand corner of the site once you are accepted into the program. And you can use this same number for all of your sites.
There are some overseas blogs that you can use rather than one's in the US, two are Blogsome.com or Paranormaltimes.co.uk. Blogger will get indexed rapidly, since Google owns it and you can link to all of your other blogs and sites from it, to give them a small amount of "juice". It is also an easy system to set up your first blog.
I like WordPress but there are so many more, that could be very good for you. I think that I may make a project of categorizing the ones that accept ads for people.
Anything and everything that you could want to know about AdSense can be found on the Google site. You do not need to buy any Ebooks explaining it.
I hope that this helps in your understanding.
10:19 pm
Greg,
I'm not sure why you included ParanormalTimes.co.uk in your comments. I went to their site and it looks like the blogs have to be dedicated to paranormal information.
I certainly wouldn't risk putting offtopic material on that site and getting my account shut down.
It looks like that site is geared to a very niche-specific market, which is completely different than what Blogsome offers.
Let me know if I'm misinterpreting their site usage guidelines.
10:10 pm
@Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth): paranormaltimes.co.uk/blog/2007/11/16/free-bloggin-sites/
Try that link and it will explain it.
"Just thought we’d drop this blog on here to let everyone know that you don’t have to run a paranormal group to have a FREE site with us, if your an individual and you want a blog, your also more than welcome to create one for your personal use, now it doesn’t have to be strictly paranormal either.
Our service is free to use…………………….."
3:46 am
@gregw:
Thanks for explaining Greg.
The only thing that still seems strange is that you are posting a link to that site on a site focused on helping people earn income from home and it seems like the paranormaltimes blogs prohibit any sort of commercial activity.
I like the concept of the site you're referencing, but I'm still not understanding why you'd post a link to it in this type of forum discussion as it seems completely off topic.
Normally, I'd consider off-topic links like that just someone spamming the blog, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't your intent.
5:39 pm
You know that if you do not want my contribution all you have to do is delete it. It would not bother me in the least.
6:22 pm
Greg,
Not sure why you're getting so defensive.
I love what you contributed. I just was trying to clarify because I don't want to send a bunch of people to that site and have them get their blogs deleted, which according to the terms of service looks like what would happen since they don't allow commercial sites and this entire site is primarily dedicated to people who want to run a home business.
Does that make sense?
Are you the owner of the ParanormalTimes site? If so, maybe you can clarify if people can run commercial blogs over there?
7:53 am
I am not defensive. You, again, took my comments wrongly.
The site in question did allow adverts. As far as I know they still do.
This is only another bridge. It can be a bog site that directs traffic to your most complimentary site, blog, or what have you.
On it's own, it may not bring you an income, but by redirecting the traffic it could prove to be invaluable.
11:07 pm
Thanks for clarifying, Greg.
I'll look into it more. Sorry about the misinterpretation on my end here.
6:23 pm
Greg, I completely missed all your other posts helping people when I posted these recent comments. Now it all makes more sense.
Again, big apologies on my end here.
6:38 pm
Hi, I am another one of the stupid ones that has been scammed! Please, please please could someone let me know what to do. I didn't pay by credit card I paid by debit card and have had the first monthly subscription taken out of my bank. I am desperate to cancel this, but the number they provide says they are not open. I have called many times at different times over the past couple of days to hear the same message. I am scared that they will continue to take this money and I don't know what to do about it. Do I have to close my account?? I don't know if anyone can sense my panic or urgency in this email, but I really am panicking and would like some advice .. any advice …. PLEASE.
10:56 pm
Alison, you would need to discuss this directly with your bank. You can get some background information about what to do here:
http://www.helpwithmybank.gov
You'll probably want to read this sections:
http://helpwithmybank.gov/faqs/banking_autowithdrawals.html
2:15 am
One of Pacific Webworks victims has launched a class action lawsuit against them as well as against the affiiate /cpa affiliate network that promoted the offer:
Lawsuit: Work from Home ads are a scam!
"A class action complaint has been filed regarding "Work from Home" ads on the internet, asserting they are deceptive and misleading."
…the named plaintiff who is described as "elderly, retired and on a fixed income," clicked on an advertisement link located on her AOL homepage pitching a Google 'work at home' opportunity and "reasonably believed" this was a Google offer and did not know that Google had nothing to do with the product being sold by defendant Pacific WebWorks.
Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bar-tender/2009/11/lawsuit-work-from-home-ads-are-a-scam.html
-
Also, at 4:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 12, 2009: (TODAY!)
"Pacific WebWorks, Inc (aka Profitstudiolearning / profitcenterlearning) …..will hold a conference call to discuss its fiscal 2009 third quarter results and future growth possibilities. "
Interested parties may access the call by dialing 1-877-941-1465 from within the United States, or 1-866-228-9189 if calling internationally. The conference ID is 4184023.
"Participants on the call will include CEO Ken Bell, President Chris Larsen and CFO Brett Bell. Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call.
Please send all questions to bjcoberg@chesapeakegp.com so that we can keep the call flowing and to answer as many questions as possible. "
From: http://www.stockhouse.com/News/USReleasesDetail.aspx?n=7528071
So – feel free to call in or email with any questions or 'issues' you may have
They might ignore you but worth asking at least..
6:42 am
Thanks John,
I had meant to post that as well.
7:53 pm
@Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth): I fell for this stupid scam which came in two parts, the first part for 2.97 for the Google Kit, and then the secondary program which said it went along with the first program to really make it work. It was at the second pop up that I started filling out the info, and That is where I saw the 79 bucks per month. I closed the window anc contacted US Bank and the rep told me I should contact the vendor. I said, how, this is a scam, and there is no way to contact them. She verified they hit my account 2.97 and eventually said I could cancel the card and be reissued a new one, which I did. Is this going to be enough to stop these crooks, who have my address and phone number too?
8:10 pm
Chris,
It depends on how aggressive they are. There have been similar situationss in the past where people ended up getting called relentlessly by telemarketers.
1:29 am
@cindy: Some people might see it as a "small price to pay" for the money that the site claims they will be making. I admittedly didn't see the extra charges until I received the confirmation e-mail of the account being activated when I fell for this trap. At first I thought, hmm, it's a small price to pay for the money they are promising me. However, that night I did some research on this service and found out it was a scam. Cancelled the very next day without any significant resistance from the service rep I talked to (and I was very surprised that the phone number they gave me actually worked), and tomorrow I'm cancelling my credit card, despite the credit card company's CSR that I talked to telling me not to worry about it.
My warning to anyone who reads this and has fallen for this scam: cancel whatever you used to pay for this nonsense and if possible, ask your ISP to immediately change your IP address as well. Even if you ask the company to cancel your account, there is nothing stopping them from selling your credit card information to third party advertising firms and their other affiliates, at which point you will find other charges on your credit card bill that you supposedly "approved" (if you read the privacy policy of these sites, or the non-privacy policy as I've seen it appropriately called, the minute you click the button to send the website your credit card info, you are immediately and unconditionally giving them the right to share your personal information with anyone they wish to share it with and are approving any and all transactions that follow).
My gut feeling tells me that this practice is definitely illegal, and the only reason it's allowed to continue is because noone is standing up to them. I dread the idea that some reputable companies (Google, for example), are actually profiting from this nonsense, and it may be true. I've heard that Google gets paid for each click within a set time period for the websites that are using this service, and who knows who else. I bet if enough people were willing to do so, a class action lawsuit against this business would shut them down for good, or at least a little while.
1:42 am
Oh, and to add to my previous post:
Under the most extreme circumstances, it may also be prudent to re-open your bank account as well. In most cases, I don't think this is necessary, but it is the only real way to ensure that the scammers never have access to your money again, especially if you gave them your debit card info. I'm not sure if they can find your bank account routing info or anything like that off a debit card, but like I said, it may not be a risk worth taking. The time and frustrations spent trying to get your money back, especially if you're on a short incomce, could be devastating.