Business Profile

Recruitment Services

Cheeky Scientist, LLC

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Cheeky Scientist, LLC's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Customer Complaints Summary

66 total complaints in the last 3 years.
16 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

Initial Complaint
Date:07/09/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was contacted by Cheeky Scientists on 07/06/2023. I was given an overview of the organization, which is about helping people with Ph.D. degrees find employment in industry or the private sector. I was told about the services the organization offers, including 1:1 mentoring, Resume and CV review, enhancing linked-in profile, and access to a network of thousands of employers. I was then given a very very hard pitch to sign up for the service immediately, as there was just enough time to join a new cohort of enrollees. i tried to defer, but was told I would have to wait months for the next cohort if I did not sign up immediately. The salesperson said they could finance the $5,999.00 enrollment fee instantly and if I did not get a job in 12 months, I would get a full refund of the enrollment costs. So I enrolled. Cheeky did not deliver on a single thing that was promised. I had 2 10-minute 1:1 meetings with a "mentor" who knew nothing about me or my desired field of employment. I sent dozens of messages to Cheeky asking for help, all of which were never returned. I filled out multiple google forms on a drive that was owned by Cheeky Scientist, but recieved absolutely no feedback on any submissions. I received no response to any of my requests for help. I feel I did everything asked of me, and Cheeky Scientists did not do anything they promised. I asked for a refund, and again, received no reply. At this point, it is 12 months from my intitial enrollemnt, they did not help me find a job, and I am entitled to the refund they promised. None of the documents they provide are downloadable. I am unable to find the agreement anywhere, as the docusign account that was used for enrollment has been disabled.
Business Response
Date: 07/23/2024
7/21/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21958258

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of *** *******.

Mr. ******* was under no obligation to buy our program at all. He requested a call with us, requested our services, purchased our product on his own computer, and used our product. Mr. ******* was also offered a 3 day cancellation which he chose not to enact. We have no record of Mr. ******* reaching out to us about his complaints anywhere in our support inbox via email or in Voxer our membership messaging app. He has also not reached out via phone. He has not provided a record of this in his complaint.

Please see below of Mr. ******* accessing our members only emails below which invite him to our live, weekly mentorship meeting every week. He opened one of these members only emails as recently as 7/19/2024. He also has access to mock interviews twice a week as well as individual meetings by appointment which he has attended on 7/7/23, 7/18/23, 8/15/23, and 8/30/23 and are always far longer than 10 minutes long, as you can see in the screenshots below where one meeting is 23 minutes and 11 seconds and the other is 34 minutes and 45 seconds, which are standard one-on-one mentorship meeting lengths. You’ll also see he has logged in to our training dashboard from his IP address of 146.75.154.1 as recently as this month. We also have the IP address he signed his contract from of 104.28.39.128, which is further below.

Mr. ******* requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In his request, he indicated he was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1. He was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. He also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.

Mr. ******* continues to receive support via Voxer and email. Please see the resume Mr. ******* submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4. He has continually been offered more support in the program as shown in our emails to him above.

Please also see his Voxer messages to his mentor - all of which were answered in a timely manner in Voxer in Exhibit 5.

Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Mr. ******* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

We would be happy to hear from him and support him in any way in his job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 07/24/2024

Complaint: 21958258

I am rejecting this response because: Section 7 clearly states,
"Guarantee. In the event the Customer participates in the program as set forth in Section 2,
Customer attests to not having received a job offer within twelve months of starting the
program, or within twelve months of Customer receiving the degree they were working toward
as an enrolled student at the start of the program, whichever is longer (the “Guarantee
Period”), and Customer pays the Service Fee in full or the amount owed over the Guarantee
Period, Customer may request a refund of the Service Fee paid to date or additional help."
I have satisfied all the conditions in Section 2, as shown by the evidence provided by Cheeky Scientists themselves, and did not receive a job offer in the 12 month period. I am requesting a refud of the Service Fee paid, as promised in the agreement.

Sincerely,

*** *******
Business Response
Date: 08/04/2024
8/3/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21958258

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of *** ******* further.
Cheeky Scientist’s Terms of Service allows for a refund only if the customer (1) completes the tasks laid out in the contract including without limitation program attendance, completion of workbooks, resume reviews, interview training and other similar tasks; (2) they provide advance notification to Cheeky Scientist that the customer has not yet received a job offer, six months and two months before the end of the twelve-month guarantee period.
Cheeky Scientist’s refund policies are stated in the Terms of Service. Every customer is required to acknowledge the Terms of Service by executing a digital copy at the time of purchase and by checking a box indicating they have reviewed the Terms of Service. A copy of the Terms of Service signed by Mr. ******* is attached below hereto as Exhibit 1. The Terms of Service are also available on Cheeky Scientist’s website: ************************************************ Cheeky Scientist also provides members with an FAQ page where the refund policy is available* *******************************
The refund policy contained in the Terms of Service provide to Mr. ******* are as follows:
6. Refunds. Except as set forth in Section 7 and Section 13, Company does not offer
refunds.
7. Guarantee. In the event the Customer participates in the program as set forth in Section 2, Customer attests to not having received a job offer within twelve months of starting the program, or within twelve months of Customer receiving their PhD, whichever is longer (the “Guarantee Period”), and Customer pays the Service Fee in full or the amount owed over the Guarantee Period, Customer may request a refund of the Service Fee paid to date or additional help. Refunds are not given at any time for Customers who receive a job offer after enrolling regardless of conditions of the job offer or how soon they receive the offer after enrolling. Job offers are chosen by the Customer, not by the Company because only the Customer decides which jobs they apply to. Company will never apply to jobs on behalf of the customer.
8. Guarantee Review. All refund requests will initiate a review of the Customer’s participation, as set forth in Section 2, by three Company officers, or if there are not three Company officers at any time, then as many officers as there are. The panel of officers will be given 30 business days to review the Customer’s material and effort, and to make a decision on whether or not to provide a refund. Customer agrees to complete a notarized affidavit form to confirm that they did not receive a job offer in order to start the refund panel review process.
Importantly, Section 13 of the Terms of Service allowed for Mr. ******* to cancel the contract within 3 days of signing it. He chose not to cancel the contract.
Further, Section 10 of the Terms of Service requires advance notification to Cheeky Scientist that the customer has not yet received a job offer, six months and two months before the end of the twelve-month guarantee period. This section states as follows (emphasis added):
10. Notification Requirement. Company and Customer share responsibility to the goal of getting the Customer hired. Company cannot help the Customer get hired if they disappear from contact and do not meet with their mentor or any Company representative for months at a time. To this end, the Customer must alert the Company in writing by registered mail six months before the end of Customer’s Guarantee Period to inform the Company that Customer still has not received a job offer. This written notification will activate an extra level of daily personal mentorship. A second written notice must be received by registered mail two months before the end of the Guarantee Period. This second notice will activate a second tier of additional personal mentorship daily to ensure the Customer gets a job offer. These written notices must be sent to 19211 Panama City Beach Pkwy #1047 Panama City Beach FL 32413-8712. Customer agrees that failing to provide the Company with written notice on or before the above timelines will result in no refund.
Mr. ******* purchased the Diamond Program on July 6, 2023. He initiated a request for a refund by emailing Cheeky Scientist a request to cancel the contract and receive a refund. Mr. ******* did not qualify for a refund pursuant to the policy for the following reasons:
•Mr. ******* refused to complete a notarized affidavit form to confirm that he did not receive a job offer as required in Section 8 of the Terms of Service.
•Mr. ******* did not complete or fulfill the tasks required for a refund as laid out in Section 2 of the Terms of Service.
•Mr. ******* did not provide advance written notice six months and two months before the end of the Guarantee Period, as required by Section 10 of the Terms of Service. These notices are important to give Cheeky Scientist an opportunity to provide its customers with more support in their job searches.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Mr. ******* purchased. There is no fine print in the Terms of Service. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website. We would be happy to hear from him and support him in any way in his job search.
Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 08/05/2024

Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 21958258, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I still believe that Cheeky Scientist is a predatory company that preys on unsuspecting academics and does not deliver on any of their stated purposes. That, however, does not entitle me to a refund.

Sincerely,

*** *******
Initial Complaint
Date:06/06/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
The services provided by Cheeky Scientist have been utterly unsatisfactory and misleading. When I engaged with the company, I was assured a refund if I did not secure a job within a few months. Despite following all provided guidance and remaining patient as advised, I have not obtained any employment. Instead, I was repeatedly told to be patient due to the "bad job market."

After the end of my postdoctoral contract, I contacted Cheeky Scientist multiple times under significant pressure, requesting a refund to seek alternative job placement assistance. Each time, my request was denied, with the excuse that the refund guarantee was applicable only after a year. They accept to a half an hour meeting with one of their mentors, which she said just network, this doesn't work for you, change your strategy. But still denied a refund.

I complied with this stipulation, waiting an entire year full of stress. Upon fulfilling the requirement of submitting a signed, notarized letter confirming my lack of employment, I was informed it would take a couple of months to process the refund.

It has now been an additional two months, and not only have I not received the refund, but my emails are also being ignored or with unsatisfactory responses. This is unacceptable. The service provided has not only failed to assist me in securing employment but has also contributed to significant financial and mental strain.

I have consulted with recruiters from the University of California, Santa Barbara, who have indicated that the advice given by Cheeky Scientist is highly unethical and detrimental to my job search. Furthermore, an online search reveals that others have experienced similar issues, with some even initiating lawsuits against the company. I have attached several reviews corroborating these findings.

I insist on an immediate full refund. This situation has caused undue stress and financial hardship, and I am no longer able to tolerate this unprofessional behavior.
Business Response
Date: 06/19/2024
6/16/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21808772

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Sanaz *********. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

Ms. *********has received extensive mentorship through her program including weekly mentorship meetings that are every Friday and beyond this, additional one-on-one meetings with a PhD mentor on 3/17/23, 3/24/23 and 3/28/23, 4/11/23 and 4/12/23, 4/18/23. 10/17/23, 12/4/23, 12/27/24. She has had custom resumes written for her and been given individual feedback on her LinkedIn profile as well as receiving consistent coaching from our team on her job search across a variety of membership channels. Please see exhibit 1 of Ms. ********* on mentorship meetings.
Ms. ********* requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make her request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Ms. *********’s application to get on a call. Please also see Exhibit 3 of the contract Ms. ********* signed which gave her the option to cancel within 3 days, an option which she did not choose to activate. Ms. ********* also opted into our Terms & Conditions prior to purchasing her membership. Our Terms and Conditions of the program are also clearly displayed on our website and Exhibit 4 shows them below.

Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. ********* receiving private help on live video calls from our mentorship team and participating in these calls, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address. Please also see exhibit 6 of Ms. *********'s resume that she turned in for review and one of the resumes written for her.

We have been very responsive to Ms. *********. Our program is appropriate for any one with an advanced degree and you can see our success stories for many people with diverse backgrounds here:

***************************************************

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ********* through her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:06/05/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Pressured to sign contract and transaction occurred on 4/20/2023
| First expressed dissatisfaction on 6/14/2023 and 7/10/2023
| Confirmed on 10/16/2023 that Cheeky Scientist was aware of my MA status before signing the contract despite the services being directed at PhDs. Their website routed me to their services after I responded, on their website, that I was an MA. Asked multiple times before signing 4/20 if my status as an MA was acceptable; they told me the company had helped many. Despite this, the materials provided are inappropriate for an MA and have hindered my job search. The company will not refund me or cancel the contract.
| Contract contains terms such as "helping PhDs like you," with no mention of an MA or accommodations for my situation
| Request for refund 11/13/2023
| Company has refused mediation via Department of Consumer & Business Affairs of LA County
| Company responded claiming the contract is valid/I accepted the terms
| Contacted CA Attorney General but they received no response from Cheeky Scientist
| Contacted FL Attorney General in May 2024 which they received, but I am awaiting an update
| Contract stipulated a refund after 1 year provided that I sign an affadavit that I had not had a job--including jobs just to be able to afford rent, food, medical care during this time. The expectation was that I remain unemployed for a year or receive no refund.
| Waited 4/20/2024 and again requested a refund; they will only provide the refund if I sign the affadavit
| Paid through Affirm third-party lender $4998.00 plus $1,802.68 interest
| Paid $2,078.01 of loan to date through Affirm
| Loan #X6M1-T0IU
| Affirm cannot adjust payments without direction from the merchant (Cheeky Scientist, LLC)
| Monthly cost has resulted in personal financial injury, forcing me onto Food Stamps, MediCal, and leaving me unemployed
| Complex medical history means the cost of my medical care is high and not covered by most of MediCal
Business Response
Date: 06/19/2024
6/16/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21803529

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Fiona ******. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

Ms. ****** has received extensive mentorship through her program including weekly mentorship meetings that are every Friday and beyond this received additional one-on-one coaching through the program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 4/20/23, 4/27/23 and 4/28/23, 5/4/23 and 5/11/23, 5/30/23. 6/26/23. She has had custom resumes written for her and been given individual feedback on her LinkedIn profile as well as receiving consistent coaching from our team on her job search across a variety of membership channels. Please see Exhibit 1 of Ms. ****** on mentorship meetings.
Ms. ****** requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make her request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Ms. Water’s application to get on a call. Please also see Exhibit 3 of the contract Ms. ****** signed which gave her the option to cancel within 3 days, an option which she did not choose to activate. Ms. ****** also opted into our Terms & Conditions prior to purchasing her membership. Our Terms and Conditions of the program are also clearly displayed on our website and Exhibit 4 shows them below.

Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the mentorship call, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address. Please see exhibit 6 of Ms. ****** resume that she turned in for review and one of the resumes written for her.

We have been very responsive to Ms. ******. Our program is appropriate for any one with an advanced degree and you can see our success stories for many people with diverse backgrounds here:

***************************************************

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ****** through her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 06/20/2024

Complaint: 21803529

I am rejecting this response because it did not address the concerns I brought up in my original complaint. It would not have been possible for me to determine the appropriateness of the materials before I received them, which I received outside of the 3 day cancellation period. All of the provided materials and mentorship meetings were, yes, conducted, but they were conducted as though I had the experience and background of a PhD without making accommodations for my status as an MA graduate. The process of preparing for the materials was also not made transparent to me before purchase or receiving the materials after the three days, which was just as time-consuming as if preparing them myself.

Sincerely,

Fiona ******
Business Response
Date: 07/05/2024
6/28/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21803529

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Fiona ******. We take the responsibility to respond seriously.
Ms. ****** has received extensive mentorship through her program including weekly mentorship meetings that are every Friday and beyond this received additional one-on-one coaching through the program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 4/20/23, 4/27/23 and 4/28/23, 5/4/23, 5/11/23, 5/30/23 and 6/26/23. She has attended the weekly Friday mentorship meetings as recently as 1/5/24.
Ms. ****** has had custom resumes written for her and been given individual feedback on her LinkedIn profile as well as receiving consistent coaching from our team on her job search across a variety of membership channels. Please see Exhibit 1 of Ms. ****** on mentorship meetings including her email log showing attending the meeting on 1/5/24. You’ll also see clear evidence of her on meetings reviewing and updating her LinkedIn profile and resume. We have no control over whether or not Ms. ****** chooses to continue her education to pursue a PhD or not. We have helped many members who have decided to stop at a Masters degree.
Ms. ****** requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make her request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Ms. Water’s application to get on a call. Please also see Exhibit 3 of the contract Ms. ****** signed which gave her the option to cancel within 3 days, an option which she did not choose to activate. Ms. ****** also opted into our Terms & Conditions prior to purchasing her membership. Our Terms and Conditions of the program are also clearly displayed on our website and Exhibit 4 shows them below.

Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the mentorship call, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address. Please see exhibit 6 of Ms. ******’ resume that she turned in for review and one of the resumes our mentorship team wrote for her.

We have been very responsive to Ms. ******. Our program is appropriate for anyone with an advanced degree and you can see our success stories for many people with diverse backgrounds and degrees here: ***************************************************

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ****** through her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:06/03/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
They sold a service to help find employment opportunities, and apply for positions for PhD students. This is a total scam. I sent them 3 different job postings that I wanted to apply for and they were supposed to carve out a draft AI resume to assist in the process.

They committed to assisting in updating resumes to fit the job applications, but they did not do this.
They committed to teaching us how to use their AI software - I was sent one invite in 3 months' time, and NOT one of the participants on the call had access besides the cheeky presenter who sold this line of bull and crap.

They committed to assisting with interviews, and prepping for convos with potential employers, no resumes were provided, no interviews were offered.

They committed to assisting with cover letters etc, for busy professionals.

All this is a site with an AI tool - of which ChatGPT does the exact same thing for free!

This cheeky scientist is a scam! 100%

They provided a few references to other cheeky scientists. Although all of these seemed to be more online social media influencers. Not every one wants a job being a professional actor.

They have a return policy and I have asked for my money back, instead they want me to continue to waste my time meeting with someone that has done nothing for 3 months.

If I did nothing at work for 3 months I would be fired!

They want me to continue in the program for another 9 months or until I find a job, and at that time when I do find a position on my own I will then be obligated to pay them another $1248.00 for absolutely nothing - they offer nothing!!!

There is no program, no process, no procedure.

Dr. Kari L. *******
Business Response
Date: 06/17/2024
6/15/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21787597

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Kari *******.

Ms. ******* requested a call with us, requested our services, purchased our product on her own computer, and used our product. Further details are articulated below.

Please see below of Ms. ******* has attended numerous private meetings with our team over a 3 month period including 5 1-on-1 meetings, including meetings on 2/23/24, 2/29/24, 3/7/24, 3/21/24, 3/28/24, 4/4/24, 4/12/24, 4/23/24, 4/29/24. She had resumes and cover letters provided to her as well as access to software to create resumes and cover letters.
Ms ******* was provided with the Terms and Conditions prior to purchase and provided with her contract with the same terms and conditions at purchase. She agreed to all of these policies and confirmed that she understood them. Please see Exhibit 1 of the Terms and Conditions that Ms. ******* agreed to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy. And exhibit 2 of the contract Ms. ****** signed with those same terms and conditions outlined.

Further please see Exhibit 3 of Ms. ******* receiving help from our mentorship team, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address and receiving further support via Voxer.

Please see the resume Ms. ******* submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4 as well as the resume written for her.
Importantly Ms. ******* was in the program for over 3 months prior to expressing any concerns about the program. When she did express concerns, we responded to them promptly and Ms. ******* proceeded to ignore all attempts to continue working together.

Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. ******* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website and was agreed to prior to purchase.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ******* through her job search. We would be happy to hear from him were she to reach out for any resolution.
Finally, for clarity, Ms. ******* retains all access to her program, she is able to utilize all materials and receive mentorship at any time.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:05/13/2024
Type:Product Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Transaction date: 05/12/2024
Transaction amount: $3498
They contacted with my LinkedIn and also posted in linked about an advertisement on career mentoring seminar. The advertisement simply asked to file a form with contact details. One person from their company (name is not given) and Issaiah ****** reached me over phone text and they want to set up a meeting with no payment process required.

The meeting was on 05/12/2024, 5pm EST. They showed me their ads, some message lines of other people who took their services (not sure they are their employee) and said they will help me job search process. Then suddenly they asked for 4k USD that I need to pay within a very short span of time. They sent a particular link to give my credit info and gave me no chance to think about it. They never said at first that I can't get the refund once after payment. I asked them money back in 10mins after the credit information is processed, as it looked fishy.

When I changed my mind, and asked them I need a refund and they denied to give my money back where I haven't even taken their service yet. They even forced me to sign some papers online where I may only get refund after 1 year if I don't get hired for job (did not sign the paper yet, as I was already denying to take their service).
Business Response
Date: 05/27/2024
5/26/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21701346

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Anika ********. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

Ms. ******** has been refunded. Please see exhibit 1 of the proof of refund within 72 hours.
Ms. ******** made her purchase knowingly with full disclosures. Prior to purchasing, Ms. ******** agreed to the Product's terms and conditions. Section 9 & 10 of the terms & conditions explain that there are no cancellations or refunds prior to 12 months. Please see Exhibit 2 of the terms and conditions that Ms. ******** opted into prior t purchasing, which are also publicly available on the Cheeky Scientist website.

Ms. ******** requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members. She filled out an application requesting a call and specifically consented to our team reaching out to her to help her book the call she requested. Please see her consent below and please see exhibit 3 of Ms. ********’ application requesting to get on a call.

Ms.******** freely joined the call remotely from her computer and was under no obligation to purchase.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services they offer and wishes Ms. ******** the best in her future career endeavors.

Respectfully,
Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:05/06/2024
Type:Customer Service Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Receiving harassing phone calls and emails from Cheeky Scientist employees. Last year I submitted an information request from Cheeky Scientist, when I had a video chat meeting with them, the business gave me bad vibes with their extreme high pressure sales tactics, and after doing some digging, I basically told them I wanted nothing more to do with them. They just called me trying to solicit me again, and when I told them I don't want anything more to do with them and hung up, they have since texted me harassing text messages.
Business Response
Date: 05/21/2024
5/20/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21671917

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Steven *****.
Mr. ***** reached out to Cheeky Scientist with no solicitation on Cheeky Scientist’s part. He provided all his contact details and requested a call with us. Please see exhibit 1 of Mr. *****’ application requesting a call where he provided his email, phone number and LinkedIn profile. He also emailed our support specialist personally, providing recent copies of his resume to be reviewed by our team. Please see exhibit 2 of Mr. ***** emailing in his resume and his provided resume.
He had a call with our team in October of 2023 and our team during which he specifically asked for follow up information to be sent to him by the Cheeky Scientist team. At no time did he ask to opt out of our mailing list or follow up. He subsequently filed a complaint without ever expressing to Cheeky Scientist his desire to not receive follow up. At no point was Mr. ***** harassed.
Cheeky Scientist would be happy to remove Mr. ***** from the mailing list he opted into and to not contact him in the future now that he has expressed the desire to be removed. This has been done.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 05/21/2024

Complaint: 21671917

I am rejecting this response because: on May 5, 2024 I received a call from a Cheeky Scientist employee after I had already submitted one BBB review about the company expressing my concerns for their unethical high-pressure sales tactics. I have attached the screenshot of the phone number from my phone that day. During that call I told them that I was not interested and felt it was a scam, then hung up while the employee had started to make comments.
Following this, I got a text message from that same employee harassing me. At this point I had clearly demonstrated no interest in them or their products. Admittedly I responded crudely, but I want to be clear. If this EVER happens again from someone claiming to be a Cheeky Scientist employee I will press charges for harassment. I have also included that text message conversation as further evidence.

Sincerely,

Steven *****
Business Response
Date: 06/24/2024
6/16/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21671917

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond further to the complaint of Steven *****. However, Mr. ***** has provided no new information. He contacted us initially to reach out to him and we have no documentation that he requested us to not reach out to him until the BBB complaint was submitted to Cheeky Scientist on May 6th. No reach out has been made to Mr. ***** since this and he has provided no documentation showing that we reached out since May 6th, which was the first date he requested that we stop reaching out.
For clarity - we have no documentation of him requesting us to not reach out to him until May 6th when he filed his initial BBB complaint and we have not reached out to him since to our knowledge. Please let us know if any further reach out has been recorded.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 06/25/2024

Complaint: 21671917

I am rejecting this response because: I would like the BBB representative to determine the course of action at this time. I have proven that I was contacted this year after submitting a negative review last year through the BBB, sending negative messages to both the representative and the owner of Cheeky Scientist. I have also proven that I was texted harassing comments. I will no longer respond to this BBB complaint as I have submitted all of the evidence through the system. I will once again reiterate that if I am contacted again by Cheeky Scientist I will turn to police assistance in the matter, and I will have this, long list, of messages to refer to, in order to see it through.

Sincerely,

Steven *****
Initial Complaint
Date:04/04/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Yesterday afternoon, I was coerced to sign up for a job placement program for recent PhD graduates at a predatory firm called Cheeky Scientist. They recorded the call without my consent and demanded that I sign up immediately or lose my "spot" in the program, and told me I wouldn't be able to get a job without them. This cost me $2998, and they requested that I pay with a credit card while sharing my screen.

After ending the call, I googled them and realized they were predatory, if not an outright scam. They only send advertising materials and do not help with job placement. I want to cancel, but I see that other people have had a lot of trouble doing so and recommend involving legal counsel. This morning I sent an email requesting a cancellation and full/partial refund, but I anticipate they will not cooperate. I believe a letter of rescission has worked for other people to get their money back from this firm.

Would you be able to help me get this resolved?
Business Response
Date: 04/17/2024
4/17/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21529171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Jialu ***.
Ms. *** was under no obligation to buy our program at all. She requested a call with us, requested our services, purchased our product on her own computer, and used our product. These are the main reasons we have denied her a refund. Further details are articulated below.
Please see below of Ms. ao accessing our members only emails below. You’ll also see she has logged in to our training dashboard from her IP address of 134.174.140.171. We also have the IP address she signed her contract from of 134.174.140.171, which is further below.

Ms. *** requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In her request, she indicated she was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1. She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.
Ms. *** continues to receive support via Voxer and email. Please see the resume Ms. *** submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4. She has continually been offered more support in the program as shown in our emails to her offering her one-on-one mentorship times in Exhibit 5 and we are here to support her now.
Finally, Ms. *** asserts she was recorded without her consent. It is not possible to join a recorded Zoom meeting without consenting to being recorded.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. *** purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. *** through her job search. We have many success stories as shown here: ***************************************************

We would be happy to hear from her and support her in any way in her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne ******
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 04/18/2024

Complaint: 21529171

I am rejecting this response because: I have submitted a Letter of Recision within 3 business days of signing up for their "services."
The business used high-pressure sales tactics to coerce me into purchasing a diamond membership, including unauthorized screen recordings and demanding I pay $3000 on the spot. I glanced at the forums and "support" from this business, finding that most of the content is not job search training but additional marketing materials, and promptly logged out of everything and did not access these materials again. At this point I submitted the Letter of Recision and the business is not entitled to money.

Sincerely,

Business Response
Date: 04/29/2024
4/29/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21529171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond further to the complaint of Jialu ***.

Ms. *** has not submitted any new evidence or brought up any new concerns. Ms. *** opted into the terms and conditions and signed a contract stating that there are no refunds. Ms. *** signed her name directly below the particular clause stating that there are no refunds. There is no 3 day clause in Ms. ***’s contract.

Ms. *** was under no obligation to buy our program at all. She requested a call with us, requested our services, purchased our product on her own computer, and used our product. These are the main reasons we have denied her a refund. Further details are articulated below.
Please see below of Ms. *** accessing our members only emails below. You’ll also see she has logged in to our training dashboard from her IP address of 134.174.140.171. We also have the IP address she signed her contract from of 134.174.140.171, which is further below.

Ms. *** requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In her request, she indicated she was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1. She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.

Ms. *** continues to receive support via Voxer and email. Please see the resume Ms. *** submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4. She has continually been offered more support in the program as shown in our emails to her offering her one-on-one mentorship times in Exhibit 5 and we are here to support her now.

We would be happy to hear from her and support her in any way in her job search.

Respectfully,
Rayanne ******
COO
Initial Complaint
Date:03/25/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I wish to end my contract/ account with the company and be released of any further financial obligations. I sent an email stating such on 3/17/24 and also gave reasons why I was dissatisfied with the company’s services. I sent the email to their associate, Mishra **********, who I was working with and to the CEO Isaiah ******* Due to no response to that email.
I sent email requests for a zoom meeting to discuss my situation with Mishra on 3/20/24 & 3/23/2024. I VOX messaged Mishra to check her email that I was requesting a meeting and to send a zoom link on 3/23/24.
I sent a meeting request to Francesca Gerard a person who once set up a meeting for Mishra on 3/22/24 And sent a request to support @cheeky scientist (Amanda) to find out how to cancel my account 3/23/24. I have not received any replies to any of my emails.
I feel that I was a victim of their high pressure tactics to sign up with them but being desperate to find a higher paying job I signed up and agreed to payments that I no longer can afford and being 61 yrs old I feel that they misrepresented their ability to get me a job. Several occasions I mentioned difficulties with using their technology for communications and record keeping. The associate told me not to worry. So now since they have been sited for pressure sales tactics they have revised their requirements for getting further help or to cancel the contract and I so I don’t have the proof they want in the forms that they wish. I now don’t want to pursue finding a new job at all anymore and don’t wish to be working with them. They are not equipped to handle the discrimination of ageism and they have not developed their service to provide support for those such as I to navigate their systems and to help me land a job. Originally, I asked for a partial reimbursement, however I will be happy with just being released from any further financial obligations ($1178.82 remaining to pay) and to close my account. Sincerely, Dolores ***********
Business Response
Date: 04/08/2024
4/6/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID:21478753

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Dolores ***********.
Importantly, Ms. *********** has used the program for over a year and had a meeting with our mentorship team as recently as 4/2/24, which is after she made her complaint here.
As Ms. *********** has stated, she availed herself of all the program’s products and services including meetings with our PhD mentors on 5/25/24, 6/2/23, 6/20/23, 10/16/23, 10/23/23, 11/13/23, 4/2/24, as well as receiving weekly mentorship invites to our live mentorship meetings. Please see below of Ms. *********** receiving mentorship from one of our mentors, including her having her LinkedIn profile updated in real time per our methods.
You will also find evidence of Ms. *********** below accessing our members only emails. You’ll see she opened these emails, including the “Association Diamond Meeting” emails as recently as 4/5/24, again, after this complaint was made. You’ll also see she has logged in to our training dashboard multiple times from her IP address of 73.165.210.189, which matches the IP address she signed her contract with, which is further below as well.

As mentioned, Ms. *********** used these services for an entire year without expressing any concerns or dissatisfaction and has in fact, since her email on 3/17/24 continued to meet with our mentorship team to available herself of services as recently as 4/2/24.
Ms. *********** requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2, respectively.
Please also see the resume Ms. *********** submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 3 and a second resume below this that was written for her by our team. Finally, please see Ms. *********** continuing to receive support via Voxer and email. She has continually been offered more support in the program and all of her emails have been answered promptly despite her claims otherwise. Please see Exhibit 4.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. *********** purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. *********** through her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 04/16/2024

Complaint: 21478753

I am rejecting this response because:
The COO did not meet with me as agreed via a zoom meeting. Instead I was given the bate and switch and was met by the associate who I had been working with, of which when I received the invitation to meet with the COO by zoom it said that the associate was organizing it but that the meeting was to be with the COO. The meeting was scheduled for 4/2/24 and it was not my intention to use the service as the COO declares that I did on that day, I was at the meeting to meet with the COO to discuss ending my contract. I asked the associate where the COO was and the associate acted like she was checking on whether the COO was going to be attending but then didn't explain any further why the COO wasn't there. Since the associate was meeting me then I asked why she didn't reply to my original email requesting ending my contract. And she replied cause she has to give that to someone of higher rank. Well, I had also sent that very email to both the associate and the CEO of the company so a higher ranked person was on that email and thus the lack of response initially is not adequately explained and that I had to go to the BBB to get any response.
The associate then proceeded with discussing the job search and I explained the lack of attention that was given to specific issues in my case and the fact that the service was not appropriate for me. And then basically, the bate and switch proceeded of the COO not speaking with me and instead of having the the associate proceed with a meeting that the COO thus calls as me using their service because the associate showed me their newest programs to help people get a job and that it would work better for me and encouraged me to upload my resume. Of which I had not asked for. I did not use their service on that day intentionally I was on the zoom on 4/2 to speak with the COO. I was there to have my contract with the company ended and to not pay any more money to them. I feel I have paid enough and that their service is not helpful in my case and that they are being unrealistically optimistic and giving false promises and unproven reasons for lack of success.
Additionally, the COO keeps talking about me getting a refund at the end of one year instead of providing me with my request of ending my contract immediately and ending any further payments. Since, that now my year is up as of May 23rd 2024 and if the COO refuses to end my contract now and end any further financial obligations then instead I will thus request that I am instead guaranteed a full refund of the full amount of $1309.80 that I paid to the company through my affirm loan up to May 23rd 2024 without the need to meet any qualifications or requirements for that refund and that I am paid that refund no later than June 1st 2024.

Sincerely,

Dolores ***********
Customer Answer
Date: 05/10/2024

Complaint: 21478753

I am rejecting this response because:
The COO promised to meet with me and instead I was met with the mentor I have been having and the COO now claims I used their service on 4/2/24. I did not intend on using the service I was there to speak with the COO. I consider the meeting as a bait and switch tactic and they are not acting in a manner to support the hardships I am facing financially and am unable to utilize their services in a manner that is getting me a job. I wish to end the relationship now and not have to pay the remaining fee that they are charging. I do not understand why then are unable to end the relationship and to relinquish me from having to pay any more money. And I am hoping that the BBB can see that they are being unreasonable in my case. Further the fact that they claim that I opened an email is using their service is ridiculous. The email that I opened just announces that a meeting is going to take place about their job talks. I don’t think that is a service until I go to the meeting which I didn’t go to. The COO lied about meeting me and being unreasonable in not ending the service and relinquishing me from owning any more money.

Sincerely,
Dolores ***********
Business Response
Date: 05/24/2024
5/23/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID:21478753

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Dolores *********** further.
Ms *********** has made no new claims nor brought forth any new concerns. These have been addressed already.
Ms *********** states that she was promised a meeting with the COO. This is untrue. Ms *********** was offered meeting times with a PhD mentor which she agreed to. Please see Exhibit 1 emails wherein Mr. *********** is offered mentorship times to work specifically on her job search. Please also see further times during the same period both last month and this month where Ms. *********** asks for more mentorship and continues to use the program.
Ms *********** states in her emails that she is not asking for a refund.
These have been provided and there is no communication where Ms. *********** was offered a meeting with the COO at any point nor has Ms. *********** provided any.
Please also see evidence already provided that Ms. *********** has used this program extensively over months with dates of the most important meetings noted. Access to live, weekly mentorship meetings beyond this were also provided:
Importantly, Ms. *********** has used the program for almost a year and had a meeting with our mentorship team as recently as 4/2/24, which is after she made her complaint here. As Ms. *********** has stated, she availed herself of all the program’s products and services including meetings with our PhD mentors on 5/25/24, 6/2/23, 6/20/23, 10/16/23, 10/23/23, 11/13/23, 4/2/24, as well as receiving weekly mentorship invites to our live mentorship meetings. Please see below of Ms. *********** receiving mentorship from one of our mentors, including her having her LinkedIn profile updated in real time per our methods.
You will also find evidence of Ms. *********** below accessing our members only emails. You’ll see she opened these emails, including the “Association Diamond Meeting” emails as recently as 4/5/24 - after this complaint was made.
You’ll also see she has logged in to our training dashboard multiple times from her IP address of *************** which matches the IP address she signed her contract with, which is further below as well.

As mentioned, Ms. *********** used these services for a year without expressing any concerns or dissatisfaction and has in fact, since her email on 3/17/24 continued to meet with our mentorship team to available herself of services as recently as 4/2/24.
Ms. *********** requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. She agreed to our Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a contract. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.
Please also see the resume Ms. *********** submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4 and a second resume below this that was written for her by our team. Finally, please see Ms. *********** continuing to receive support via Voxer and email. She has continually been offered more support in the program and all of her emails have been answered promptly despite her claims otherwise. Please see Exhibit 5.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. *********** purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. *********** through her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:03/25/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Date of transaction: June 8, 2023
Amount of money: 6503.26 USD (total loan amount)
Commitment: Cheeky Scientist said they would help me find a job with career coaching and direct industry connections, but as I showed in the attachments, I requested help with an application and a Cheeky Scientist employee missed the deadline and acted like she didn't understand, but further more they lied to me about the so called membership. Most importantly, I got extremely sick and quickly realized I would not be able to use the so-called "program in full" because of my illness. I am only now starting to recover and I also, of course, do not have a job. I quote from Rayanne Hoopes, the supposed membership person with Cheeky scientist (which is also in the email attached): "We did provide and will honor a 12-month refund guarantee in the agreement. For confirmation, the guarantee that you signed is that if you use the program in full and you do not have a job offer within 12 months of starting the program, you will receive a full refund." If I am literally disabled with multiple illnesses and cannot use the program, how is this ethical? On top of that, if I get a job before June 8, 2024, which I will probably because I need a job, BUT without their help, I technically also don't qualify for a refund!!! I tried to get a refund through Affirm, but they lost my case the first time and provided no confirmations for my record, then conveniently didn't get back to me during my second case with them until after their 60 day window that I supposedly needed to meet in order to get a refund. Additionally, Affirm ran me around for weeks saying they were escalating my case, only to tell me that I didn't meet the deadline. To this point, Affirm actually has terminated their relationship with Cheeky Scientist because all of this (find news article attached).
Cheeky has not contacted me at all or tried to resolve this. Why would they?
Business Response
Date: 04/08/2024
4/6/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21475119

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Alterra *******.
Ms. ******* was given 3 days to cancel her membership, which she declined to do. Evidence of this is below. Ms. ******* also used the program extensively. These are the two main reasons we have denied her a refund. Further details are articulated below.
As Ms. ******* has stated, she availed herself of all the program’s products and services including meeting with our PhD mentors on 6/8/23 and 6/9/23, as well as receiving weekly mentorship invites to our live mentorship meetings. Please see below of Ms. ******* received mentorship from one of our PhD mentors and her accessing our members only emails below. You’ll see she opened and clicked on these emails, including the “Association Diamond Meeting” emails. You’ll also see she has logged in to our training dashboard multiple times from her IP address of 64.64.116.136. We also have the IP address she signed her contract from of 73.170.16.217, which is further below.

Ms. ******* requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In her request, she indicated she was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1. She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.
Importantly, as mentioned, Ms. ******* was given a three day cancellation option in her contract which she chose not to use.
Finally, Ms. ******* continues to receive support via Voxer and email. Please see the resume Ms. ******* submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4. She has continually been offered more support in the program as shown in Exhibit 5 and we are here to support her now.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. ******* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ******* through her job search. We would be happy to hear from her and support her in any way in her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 04/08/2024

Complaint: 21475119

I am rejecting this response because: I have not been using their services, that is an absolute lie. The last contact I had with them was last June, and the one time I tried to use their services my "mentor" messed up the application deadline and I couldn't even apply!!! have been fighting for my life due to multiple illnesses ever since, not even thinking about a career. This is shameful!!!

Sincerely,

Alterra *******
Business Response
Date: 04/21/2024
4/20/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21475119

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond further to the complaint of Alterra *******.
Ms. ******* was given 3 days to cancel her membership, which she declined to do. Evidence of this is below in Exhibit 1. Ms. ******* also used the program extensively. These are the two main reasons we have denied her a refund. Further details are articulated below.
Ms. ******* herself said both to Cheeky Scientist and to the BBB that she will need to continue to work and to get a job. Please see both instances below:

Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. ******* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website* *************************************************

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ******* through her job search. We would be happy to hear from her and support her in any way in her job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 04/22/2024

Complaint: 21475119

I am rejecting this response because: I have not used their services at all. I have been extremely ill. This is unethical.

Sincerely,

Alterra *******
Initial Complaint
Date:03/20/2024
Type:Order Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Cheeky Scientist (CS) advertises free calls to discuss career paths. On 3/05, I requested a free job strategy call with CS via a website form, with no intention of initiating services. Later that day, I received a text message from Destiny Amour with CS, and Amour scheduled a Zoom meeting for 3/07 at 5:00pm with Isaiah ******, the CEO. After I accepted the invitation, Amour called and messaged several times to confirm, last received 3/07 at 1:30pm. At 5:10pm, I reached out to Amour to ask whether they would be joining the meeting, and Amour called to reschedule, stating ****** had forgotten.

The Zoom was rescheduled for 3/10 at 5:00pm. During the call, ****** used predatory business practices to pressure me into signing a contract. In discussing my career goals, Isaiah repeatedly steered the conversation to personal issues he would later exploit. ****** guaranteed job offers within 5-10 weeks of initiating the program. ****** urged me to “put it on a credit card and pay it off with my signing bonus,” referring to the fees as an investment. At 5:37 pm, I paid $3,998 to Cheeky Scientist using a credit card, and I signed the contract at 5:38 pm. The meeting was recorded in its entirety but not furnished to me.

On 3/11, I had my first meeting with CS. I felt unsettled by the preceding events and joined the call from 9:30am to 9:45am. Soon after, I discovered information about CS's misleading and predatory business practices and other victims. On 3/12, I called Capital One to dispute the transaction and emailed ****** and Rayanne ****** (COO) to request an immediate refund. On 3/13, ****** stated via email they are unable to process a refund until 12 months of program participation. CS provided misleading information about their services, changed the initial meeting time to create a sense of urgency, and used several communication methods (such as email, phone calls, and Vox voice messages) with different individuals to create confusion and avoid documentation.
Business Response
Date: 04/03/2024
4/3/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21461617

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Morgan *********. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
As Ms. Fransowrth has stated, she availed himself of all the program’s products and services including meeting with our PhD mentors on 3/10/24, as well as receiving weekly mentorship invites to our live mentorship meetings that occur weekly. Please see below of Ms. ********* receiving mentorship from 4 of our mentors, including in the second image having her resume worked on collaboratively with her in real time reviewing our transferable skill list to choose skills to add to her resume (the resume is presented further below).

Ms. ********* has continued to access our members-only emails, including our weekly member-check-ins, Diamond Daily member-only emails, and our live weekly mentorship meetings on Zoom, as recently as 4/3/24 as shown below.

Ms. ********* requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In her request, she indicated she was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1.

Ms. ********* signed her name directly next to our provision that we do not provide refunds. Please see below.

She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.
Finally, please see the resume Ms. ********* submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4, as well as the resume we wrote with her following it. We are ready to continue meeting with her to finalize the new resume as well.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. ********* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ********* through her job search. We would be happy to hear from her were she to reach out for any resolution.

Respectfully,

Rayanne ******
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 04/07/2024

Complaint: 21461617

I am rejecting this response because the contract is inconsistent with what ****** promised orally.
It is also vague about services provided, and a 12-month waiting period offers
no remedy if services/oral promises fall short, as other BBB complaints
indicate.
During the 3/10 meeting, ****** stated “around 80% of jobs are not
visible to the public” and implied the company worked with recruiters to access those
jobs. ****** also stated I would receive job offers in 5-10 weeks, the job of
my dreams guaranteed or my money back. ****** called the program fees an
investment and urged me to put it on a credit card and pay it off with a
signing bonus. Only after the transaction cleared at 5:37pm, ****** informed me I needed to sign a “Welcome
Letter and Service Agreement.” This was not previously disclosed, and I felt
pressured to sign having already paid. ****** emailed a Dropbox Sign link at
5:38pm, which I viewed at 5:40pm. ****** prompted me to type my name at the top
of the document. I did not scroll down, having presumed I understood what was
in the contract based on ******’s statements.
On 3/11, I joined a meeting from 9:30-9:45am.
Attendees were ******, ******, and Suneeva ******* and Meerambika ******, PhD
Mentors. The meeting was recorded. ****** described upcoming meeting topics and
directed ******* and ****** to compile information on companies. After the 3/11 meeting, I
found consumer complaints and articles in which others had similar experiences.
On 3/12, I disputed the credit card transaction. I also emailed CS support,
******, and ****** to immediately discontinue all services, process a refund,
and obtain the 3/10 video. On 3/13, ****** declined the refund until after 12
months. On 3/14 at 9:53am, despite my earlier email, ******* emailed me to join
the meeting. I did not attend. On 3/15, ****** emailed me a link to access the
Mar 11 meeting (16 min, 51 sec). On 3/20, I again emailed CS support, ******,
and ****** to request a refund. On 3/21, ****** emailed me a link from the 3/14
meeting (43 mins, 6 sec). Attendees were ******, *******, ******, and six other
unknown people. On 3/22, ****** again declined the refund. I have not accessed any of the company's materials since 3/12, including emails, except to compile them as evidence.
Cheeky Scientist's response is unacceptable.

Sincerely,

Morgan *********
Business Response
Date: 04/21/2024
4/20/2024

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 21461617

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond further to the complaint of Morgan *********. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
Ms. ********* has provided no new information in response. She does use the word “vague” however her contract and the terms and conditions are shown below and are very clear outlining exactly her participation in the program as well as services provided.

Services Provided. Company will provide Customer with an online mentoring program for the life of the program. The program includes weekly live meetings, or review of live meeting recordings, in Company’s virtual Mentorship Dashboard. Complete access to live meeting workbooks, forms and other documents are delivered immediately upon execution of this Agreement in the Mentorship Dashboard, including job search templates in Google Drive. Access to help from PhD mentors is immediately available in the private PhD Accountability Forum or one-on-one in Voxer, as well as in a series of private, live small group Zoom meetings focused on the Customer’s job search needs. Company’s mentors will strive to get back to any questions the Customer posts in the Forum or Voxer about the job search process within one to two business days and likely much sooner. Questions unrelated to the job search process may take longer. Company will help the Customer create a custom plan for their job search through additional programs, meetings and mentorship with the goal of helping the Customer update their resume, update their LinkedIn profile, get interviews and get job offers. Company will provide immediate access to a Member Directory with thousands of members, many working in industry so that Customer can actively network and work to get referrals. Company may introduce Customer to past members once the Customer’s resume, LinkedIn, networking and interviewing expertise, and overall professionalism meet the Company’s standards of excellence. Company does not procure, offer, or promise employment or engagements to Customer. Company does not contract with employers, match customers with employment opportunities, provide customers lists of employers or employment opportunities, and does not distribute lists of customers to employers. Company never provides direct referrals because Company does not contract with employers.
Participation of Customer. Company will work around the Customer’s schedule and at the Customer’s chosen pace, within reason, to help the Customer get into the industry job of their dreams and has provided a flexible process to ensure that this happens. The Customer’s engagement in the program is an important part of this process, including the Customer showing up to mentorship meetings and engaging with the material because, as examples, the Company cannot submit applications on behalf of the Customer or show up to interviews for the Customer. Company will work flexibly around the Customer’s schedule to help get their resume updated, to guide them on how to submit their application, perform well on interviews, and to get the job offer(s) they want. Customer can attend all live meetings or they can review the live meeting recordings within the same month of the meeting. Customer will complete the workbooks, forms and other documents reviewed during the live or recorded meetings and upload them in the form of files, images, PDFs, videos and other file types to the Customer’s Google Drive folder within the same month they are presented. Customer will work with their mentor to complete their job search strategy sheet with a targeted list of companies they would like to get hired at, as well as identifying networking contacts at each company. Customer will work with their mentor to get their resume updated to an industry format, will learn how to target each resume to each position and will apply consistently to job openings, storing the targeted resumes they submit and the job opening they apply to in the Customer’s Google Drive folder. Customer will participate regularly in the Accountability Forum on the Discourse platform with regular participation simply meaning posting questions or comments on a monthly basis. Mentorship advice given to the Customer through any of the Company’s communication channels should be responded to by Customer within a reasonable and timely manner to achieve full results..
As Ms. ********* has stated, she availed herself of all the program’s products and services including meeting with our PhD mentors on 3/10/24, as well as receiving weekly mentorship invites to our live mentorship meetings that occur weekly. Please see below of Ms. ********* receiving mentorship from 4 of our mentors, including in the second image having her resume worked on collaboratively with her in real time reviewing our transferable skill list to choose skills to add to her resume (the resume is presented further below).

Ms. ********* has continued to access our members-only emails and mentorship meetings, including our weekly member-check-ins, Diamond Daily member-only emails, and our live weekly mentorship meetings on Zoom, as recently as 4/3/24 as shown below. Importantly, she has continued to access these membership materials after her dispute here to the BBB.

Ms. ********* requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. In her request, she indicated she was willing to invest in our program. This is presented below in Exhibit 1.

Ms. ********* signed her name directly next to our provision that we do not provide refunds. Please see below.

She was provided with our full Terms and Conditions prior to purchase, which she opted in to. She also signed a full contract of those same Terms and Conditions. Both are presented below in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3, respectively.
Finally, please see the resume Ms. ********* submitted and received feedback on in Exhibit 4, as well as the resume we wrote with her following it. We are ready to continue meeting with her to finalize the new resume as well.
Cheeky Scientist has provided and continues to provide all the services that Ms. ********* purchased. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated in plain language in the contract at standard font sizes. As mentioned, this information is also publicly available on our website.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ********* through her job search. We would be happy to hear from her were she to reach out for any resolution.

Respectfully,

Rayanne ******
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258

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Cheeky Scientist, LLC is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.