Polaris Global to ship BFE: Decision, postage extra
After months of speculation on whether or not Polaris Global would meet their July deadline to ship Beyond Freedom Evolution: Decision, the company sent out an email yesterday advising those that had purchased the package that it would indeed be shipped out on June 30th.
Unfortunately unless you bought Decision after January 2010, you’re looking at some hefty shipping fees to have the package sent to you.
Beyond Freedom Evolution: Decision is the second part of the relaunching of Beyond Freedom when Liberty League International rebranded as Polaris Global late last year. Originally slated for release in May 2010, Decision was then delayed by a month.
Due to Polaris Global cancelling their 3 day Sovereignty Conference in Hawaii earlier this year there was a lot of speculation on whether Decision would even be released. It’s good to see Polaris Global finally come through with the product though. Although it remains to be seen if it’s more of a legal obligation rather then a genuine product release.
As far as I’m concerned, going on previous conference attendance a big question mark still looms over Polaris Global’s planned December 2010 Sovereignty conference in British Columbia, Canada.
As for shipping, the email sent out by Polaris Global to it’s customers and associates states:
For anyone who has purchased the upgrade package (Beyond Freedom to Beyond Freedom Evolution), and anyone who has purchased Beyond Freedom Evolution that included Beyond Freedom Classic for free, shipping for any of the components of Beyond Freedom Evolution has not been paid.
Any shipping paid on Beyond Freedom Evolution orders that included Beyond Freedom Classic for free covered only the shipping charges for Beyond Freedom Classic.
Shipping has been set at a hefty $56 USD. Considering the Decision package only consists of 3 DVDs, 3 CDs, a 160 page guidebook, a journal, 2 pocket pads, 3 goal cards and, a ring sizing chart this seems a little steep.
I had a massive package sent to me internationally (we’re talking 5-6kg of stuff) and it came in at around $80AUD ($69 USD). Asking $56 USD to ship some stationery does in comparison seem a little on the rich side.
Oh and incase anyone’s wondering why they weren’t charged shipping for the first part of Beyond Freedom Evolution: Departure, Polaris Global state
An error in our system enabled the first component, Departure, to ship without appropriate shipping charges; Polaris has covered these charges on your behalf.
Right. Because in an age of electronic shipping nobody thought to test the shipping feature nor notice that shipping wasn’t being charged until after orders had been shipped.
Seriously?
I don’t think so.
The extra shipping charge on an already delayed product sounds more like a last minute cash grab to me.
Whether or not Beyond Freedom Evolution: Decision was worth the wait remains to be seen. No doubt some BehindMLM readers will be expecting a Polaris Global package in the mail shortly…
…I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the verdict is.
Sounds like a lot of credit card companies will be busy refusing those charges and requesting the refunds pronto.
I find this to be outrageous. I paid for the Beyond Freedom Evolution upgrade in October last year. In December I decided enough was enough and saw the light. Too much lies, deceit and poor direction.
I was refused a refund. I was not informed there would be a further postage charge when the product was finally ready for shipment, unless I am mistaken and missed reading it somewhere.
I no longer have a use for this program but as I paid for it I feel I should receive it. I thought it would be fun to put it on ebay and see if someone would buy it for $1.00.
But I will not be coughing up $US56 to get it and then obviously I will be asked to pay this again for the final instalment.
They want me to enter my credit card details to pay for this postage. I had a hard enough time getting them to stop charging my credit card earlier in the year; I can’t bare the thought of giving it to them again.
This is such a disgraceful unprofessional request. If they forgot to inform of postage to begin with, they should be covering it themselves.
I have to speculate, is the product really ready for shipment or are they really gauging how many they need to print by seeing how many people will pay the extra postage just to save printing costs.
The people who actually want the program now must be a fraction of the number who ordered it before things got really bad toward the end of last year.
Still if you pay a couple of thousand dollars for something, you expect to get it even if it will end up in the trash can.
Perhaps it really is just a last minute cash grab.
If anyone knows if this opens any legal options to get a refund, please post your advice.
I wonder what happens if you refuse to pay additional postage?
Considering it seems like nobody was informed at the time of the transaction about additional postage fees and that Polaris Global presumably have an obligation to either provide a product or refund, what exactly happens here?
I presume that if you don’t go and register to get it, and don’t provide your credit card details to be charged postage, then you will not get the product.
They ask you to login using your usual name and password to complete this next step but I am not a member anymore and my password is invalid.
Perhaps I will just send an email stating that I believe I am entitled to the product and don’t feel I should have to pay extra postage and see what they come back with.
Won’t be holding my breath though. Those poor two or three admin people who are now supposedly working from home will probably quit over the influx of complaints they are about to receive.
Is that even legal though? Australia has some pretty detailed consumer laws.
If I paid for a product and no mention of additional postage was made and then I get an email months later advising me the product is ready but that I have to pay extra or I don’t receive the product or a refund, surely that’s an issue for consumer affairs.
That’s just a joke. Surely Polaris have taken into consideration people leaving the company in the nearly one year it’s taken for Decision to be released (from Sep 09 when Polaris Media Group started).
As with many former LLI associates I find myself in this position also however we were all well aware when we chose to purchase the upgrade that we were not charged freight nor were we receiving anything more than the first installment of the new program.
Again it really comes back to personal responsibility as I have mentioned on here before. No one forced me to purchase anything at any time and now no one is forcing me to receive the 2nd installment however I’ve actually gained great value from the original Beyond Freedom as well as the new edition and having been a student of personal development for many years I didn’t think I had anything to gain from it other than being able to make great profits from the sales.
I was pleasantly surprised just how much impact this product has had on my life in so many different ways, particularly in allowing me to move on happily and very successfully so I’ll be paying the freight (just as I would expect for anything that has to be couriered to my door) and enjoying part 2!
I believe they’ve done a pretty good job of getting the product out only a few months late. Really, it’s time to either get some value from the product you chose to invest in or simply take responsibility for making a purchase that wasn’t right for you.
How many of us have joined a gym, paid for a 12 month membership and then only turned up for a few months? I’m sure guilty of that. I’ve wasted money on all sorts of purchases over the years and kick myself when I do but I don’t blame anyone else but myself.
I’m really tired of reading so many victim based complaints and so much blame. Let’s try to look harder at the man in the mirror and stop wishing it was easier but rather that we were better!
If that’s the case then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. However it still presents the problem of what if associates past or present don’t want to pay for shipping.
Are they entitled to a refund then?
How exactly was it conveyed that associates and customers weren’t being billed for postage on the entire package via a lump sum? I imagine that’ll be a critical point should anyone kick up a fuss.
Truth Prevails is absolutely delusional. Still spinning this “take responsibility for your actions” bullshit. No one signed up in September for a product to be delivered months late.
Back in September, there was no mention of Shane Krider about to declare himself publicly as a Scientologist. Suicide for a marketer.
There was no mention of Shane dumping his wife and children for Rachel Oliver in front of the entire community. Another blow of credibility.
Especially since he was quick to point out Brent’s infidelities. And canceling events thus killing the income opportunity. As of this moment, there is still no actual date for the Sovereignty or Influence conferences. It’s been that way since February.
And all of this muck about the Telly awards? What a joke.
How did they judge the product when it has not even been released yet? Meanwhile, the Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away across Australia and NZ.
we were??? I expected to receive the whole program in 1/3’s, 3 months apart, just like we were told. I filled out the paperwork at the Event and on it shipping was not included in the final price nor was it mentioned to be on subsequent mailings.
I paid the upgrade price and now I sit and wait. I want my money back for the last 2 modules and do not want to have to pay for shipping twice, after sending the product back just to satisfy the 10 day money back guarantee.
This is easy to explain folks. They are charging $56 in shipping because that is what it cost to print and ship the product to you. They are hanging on by a thread financially and they want you to pay for the product again. That’s it in a nutshell.
And the “personal responsibility” stuff mentioned above, that is just an old school redirection technique… where is the “personal responsibility” of the company and its founders?
Tip: when someone says take “personal responsibility” make sure to take into consideration who is telling you this and why they are telling you this.
Polaris Global is done…The writing is on the wall. 3 months from now, most will move on to other companies in the industry.
I have made a choice. I too love personal development and I choose to engage in products and programs that come from the true masters in the industry who charge value for money and whose goal is to REALLY make a difference in people’s lives.
I choose not to use products which contribute to lining the pockets of people whose motivation is simply that, to get money and who have no integrity. If you love the program Truth Prevails, fantastic, more power to you, enjoy!
I take responsibility for my poor choice in aligning myself with a dreadfully mismanaged company and for wasting my money on this program. I wish I had more information to come to this realisation before I forked out money for the upgrade but I didn’t so, such is life, time to move on, I agree.
But we don’t have to be complete martyrs here. The company also needs to take responsibility for their pathetic business practices and we all know they won’t, so I don’t see it as whinging or avoiding responsibility to simply point out that this is a tragic mess on the companies behalf.
Of course you expect to pay freight on anything coming to your door. You also expect to see those charges up front. I thought I was paying a total sum for all three instalments including postage, packaging and handling.
I don’t remember my order form saying “when the time comes for the next two instalments you will be charged $US56” Please show me how we were all “well aware” of this fact Truth Prevails, I am happy to accept responsibility if I am wrong and missed something.
I have never had a company announce postage later in all my years of having things delivered to my door.
You clearly try to diverge from the real point here, Truth Prevails. There is no “victim based complaints” here just some statements of fact unless you show otherwise. Nice try though. People have a right to know what goes on behind the scenes of this sad declining mess of a company.
Your gym membership example is interesting Truth Prevails. I’d like to draw on the example of restaurant reviews. I use customer online reviews and ratings all the time to make decisions about resturants I go too. They work really well.
I don’t think that stating a poor restaurant experience makes people complaining victims. No different on here. Just some consumers stating their experiences.
Its not personal development. Its Scientology under the guise of personal development. The company is named after a star constantly referenced in Scientology. They always bang on about finding your north star, another Scientology reference. The co-founder and creator of the products has come out and officially publicly stated he is a Scientologist. Other leaders in the Polaris leader ship are Scientologists.
I first bought this just thinking it was personal development but its not. It needs to be stated and advertised that it is a religion of Scientology version of personal development so people know when they buy it that it leans strongly towards sciontologist views in what it trys to teach.
I received this email
“I have reviewed your situation and all of the facts involved. The Decision Module is currently in the process of shipping. The shipping was never charged to many distributors and does need to be paid. We do apologize for any confusion and inconvenience regarding this.
Your request for a refund is denied. The Product Right to Cancel clearly states that the buyer may cancel within 10 days of the original purchase date. You are well outside of this period. The 10 day return policy is not a warranty, it is a right to cancel and the product was purchased in September 09. The 10 day period would be from that date for all of the modules purchased at that time.
We will require that you provide us with the c.c. information only if you wish us to ship you the product which you have paid for. If you no longer wish to receive it, that is your choice. No refund will be given if you choose not to have it shipped out.”
I paid for this September 30th, did not receive product until mid to end January. If I had returned it unopened means I would not have received my refund regardless?
I am contacting my lawyer (I get awesome discounts) and will find out what my rights are.
Does anyone have a document or maildog from Polaris that shows the original schedule of delivery for the three different modules of Beyond Freedom Evolution?
I can’t remember the dates or months we were originally told that each would be delivered. Much appreciated if anyone can post a link or copy of this information.
more crap from the crap merchants; decision weighs over 3 kgs; just get over yourselves
I am quite delayed in reading the above comments regarding shipping charges for the Decision curriculum of Beyond Freedom Evolution, but hope that my thoughts are not posting too late.
I found that Decision weighed over 4.5kg, so $55usd (not $56) in shipping charges does not seem excessive. Further, what company does NOT charge shipping for its products? So, to say that Polaris is guilty of a “cash grab” or “old school redirection techniques” is entirely presumptuous and borderline slanderous.
But, I have also found this blog has less to do with factual information than it does rampant supposition and blatant speculation. It is easy to diminish the perception of a company through information distortion, which is entirely what this blog exists upon.
This has far less to do with a company attempting to conduct business (by the way, Polaris is not in violation of any consumer laws in charging shipping, as I discovered after an inquiry to the ACCC) than it does with angry, malcontented individuals bent on spreading hostile rumours and misinformation through the autonomy of a blog.
Shame on you.
There’s no problem with shipping charges but to take orders for a product, release it after delays nearly a year later and then tack on ‘oh yeah, and you’ll have to pay us postage now too’ is a bit rich don’t you think?
Charging shipping obviously isn’t against any laws – but perception is a key point in the running of a business and Polaris deciding to announce extra shipping charges on a product that’s already nearly 12 months overdue isn’t, in my opinion, good customer service.
Wow I am beginning to understand the ‘attack’ strategy that you have spoken of Oz in analysing some of the Polaris info. Funny how those of us who have been ‘wronged’ are having a pretty level headed discussion about the whole thing and then out of nowhere comes attacks like ‘get over yourselves’.
Funny thing is, you’re attacking your own people as most of the folks on here have ordered the product and not received it.
‘shame on you’ what tha? No, shame on a company who promises something they can’t deliver and then charge people for their mess up.
The recent Virgin Blue flight bungle is a good example of this, only this company who actually have a reputable CEO, are TAKING RESPONSIBILITY and issuing refunds.
I think get over yourselves went in the wrong direction. Funny how you don’t see any reputable names in personal development associated with this company. Man, the brainwashing is very sad. I am so glad I escaped when I did and have a clean conscience. 20k a month is never worth selling your soul.
With the money they charge for these products, I would go and see Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Oprah any day!!!