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:09/20/2023
Type:Billing 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.
The product or service that Cheeky Scientist sold me through high pressure sales tactics is not what was promised. The advice and one on one mentoring has been minimal and sub par. They charged me thousands of dollars for online workbooks and pre recorded talks.
Customer Answer
Date: 09/20/2023

Below is the email I sent to Amanda ****** at Cheeky Scientist as well as the "resume" they provided for me after weeks of meetings.

Dear Ms. ******,

I am writing to request a refund on my Diamond Membership from the Cheeky Scientist company. I feel that I was promised a personalized career service which has not delivered on its promises.In other words, I was way overcharged for what has been delivered.

Since joining in May, I have had several one-on-one phone calls and it took two months, literally for these phone calls to result in a "personalized" resume which was very disappointing. I actually wrote most of the resume and was given a few edits in return (see attached). After sharing this with a mentor I know personally outside of the cheeky company they found the resume to be lacking in any professional detail.

Furthermore, nearly all my one-on-one calls were with a Cheeky career specialist who was trying to manage their children at the same time as talking with me. I understand being a professional working mother but this is not what i would expect for the price I have paid (and will continue to be paying) for this service.

At this point, I have gotten a lot of recorded webinars, some written online material, and a very mediocre resume which is not even complete for the cost of $4000.This is an exorbitant amount of money for a disappointing experience. Please let me know how I can obtain my refund.

Thank you,

*******
Business Response
Date: 10/04/2023
10/1/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20628301

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ******* ******. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below. First and foremost, this client is continuing to use our services and has a mentorship meeting with us scheduled on 10/5/2023. This was scheduled by her on 9/28/2023, which is 9 days after she made this compliant on 9/19/2023. Please see Exhibit 1.
Ms. ****** joined the program 4 months ago. This is the first time she has brought up any concerns. Ms. ****** never reached out to Cheeky Scientist prior to placing a complaint and continues to avail herself of the program resources.

Importantly please see Exhibits 2 and 3 of the Terms and Conditions that Ms. ****** had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. She knew what he was agreeing to including our refund policy, services offered and member participation.
Our representative was also very clear with Ms. ****** about the nature of the agreement and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 4 shows the transcript between the representative and Ms. ****** where she is told about the agreement and refund terms and she agrees to each point.
Further Ms. ****** has received extensive help from the Cheeky Scientist team including one on one meetings to rewrite her resume, update her LinkedIn and tailor her job search on 5/2/23, 5/12/23, 5/26/23, 6/14/23, 6/22/23, 6/27/23, 7/6/23 and 10/5/23. Please note that despite Ms. ******’s claims, as mentioned above, she continues to meet with the team even now to work in her job search and take advantage of the resources offered to her.

Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team on recorded mentorship sessions, as well as her participating in the mentorship forum, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

Cheeky Scientist has provided all the services laid out for Ms. ****** in section one of the Terms and Conditions. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated clearly verbally and in plain language in the contract.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ****** through her job search. We will continue to provide mentorship to help her transition.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/04/2023

Complaint: 20628301

I am rejecting this response because:
First, I made an official complaint to the company after finding out from a career list serve that I am on that the company has underserved and over promised hundreds of people and that I was not the only one, so it felt empowering to know this and I was inspired as others were to voice my complaint directly. The issues with Cheeky Scientist have been voiced in several news sources **** *** ******** ******* **** *********** *************************************************************************************************** * and has been the focus of discussion on several academic lists.
I do not "continue to use services" but rather was invited to participate in a phone call to introduce a new product that is included in the exorbitant price of their current offerings and is at least something useful and personalized (hopefully).
My issue is that this business has not delivered on the "product" that they claim to sell. It's false advertising. The "services" that I have used such as the 8 meetings that I attended were very disappointing and it took 8 meetings over the course of two months to receive the mediocre and incomplete "personalized resume" that Ms. Hoopes attached. One of my grad students could have done a better job at this task.
My participation in the mentorship forum consisted of reading some old posts and then posting a request for assistance which was met with a canned "thank you for reaching out" sort of reply. This is my biggest issue with the money that I have spent on this company. That they advertise personalized assistance and mentorship but what you get are: a series of PDF files, canned responses from forum moderators, incomplete feedback on personal documents, and "live" sessions on Fridays which are not personalized unless you count the few minutes of questions at the end of each session.
So basically, this company gets you to sign on the dotted line with a contract that I'm sure their lawyers have made sure is water tight, without truly knowing what product you have purchased. You are convinced by a high pressure salesman to sign and then you discover, little by little, that what you purchased for thousands of dollars is nothing more than a sham. I made the meeting for tomorrow 10/5/23 because there is supposedly some new resume technology that at the very least might be useful to me, but in no way will make up for the thousands of wasted dollars.

Sincerely,

******* ******
Business Response
Date: 10/19/2023
10/17/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20628301

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ******* ****** further. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
Ms. ****** joined the program over 4 months ago. This is the first time she has brought up any concerns. Ms. ****** never reached out to Cheeky Scientist prior to placing a complaint and continues to avail herself of the program resources. As of the date of this response Ms. ****** has not reached out since her last meeting with our team on 10/5/23 with any complaint of any kind.

Importantly please see Exhibits 1 and 2 of the Terms and Conditions that Ms. ****** had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. She knew what he was agreeing to including our refund policy, services offered and member participation. Please see section 1 for services offered. All of which has been provided to Ms. ****** in a timely manner. Despite Ms. ******’s claims otherwise, all services have been provided.

Our representative was also very clear with Ms. ****** about the nature of the agreement and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 3 shows the transcript between the representative and Ms. ****** where she is told about the agreement and refund terms and she agrees to each point.

Further Ms. ****** has received extensive help from the Cheeky Scientist team including one on one meetings to rewrite her resume, update her LinkedIn and tailor her job search on 5/2/23, 5/12/23, 5/26/23, 6/14/23, 6/22/23, 6/27/23, 7/6/23 and 10/5/23. Please note that despite Ms. ******’s claims, as mentioned above, she continues to meet with the team even now to work in her job search and take advantage of the resources offered to her. Our team stands ready to continue to work Ms. ****** and will continue to provide support.

Finally please see Exhibit 4 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team on recorded mentorship sessions, as well as her participating in the mentorship forum, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

Cheeky Scientist has provided all the services laid out for Ms. ****** in section one of the Terms and Conditions. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated clearly verbally and in plain language in the contract.

Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ****** through her job search. We will continue to provide mentorship to help her transition.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/19/2023

Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 20628301, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Sincerely,

******* ******
Initial Complaint
Date:09/18/2023
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.
I started as a cheeky client under the guise that they would help me get a job in industry. And that they would be there every step of they way and be available to help me. Well that was a flat lie. My advisor lived across the world on a completely flipped schedule so that I could only have meetings with her very early or very late. She was impossible to get in contact with because of this and because of the hundreds of other people she had (her words not mine). They say you will work one on one with the founder the only time I saw him he did not want you to speak with him and disrupt his conversation with himself. His advice to get a job was to LIE on your resume! After I made it through my first three meetings with my advisor in which I did 99% Of the work I was told she would do which is why I paid for the service I never heard from her again. Their idea of helping people get a job is to scam them out of money that newly graduated phds DO NOT HAVE. promise they will get them a job with a signing bonus in 3 months to cover that amount which doesn’t happen. And then make the client do all the work for them and leave them high and dry. This company should not be in existence. They make promises they do not keep. I had to take out a personal loan to cover this amount because the interest was so high. This type of business practice is just disgusting.
Business Response
Date: 10/04/2023
10/1/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20619658

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ****** *******. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
Ms. ******* joined the program over 6 months ago. She is only just now bringing up any concerns. She has not reached out to Cheeky Scientist for a refund.

Importantly please see Exhibits 1 and 2 of the Terms and Conditions. Ms. ******* had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. She knew what she was agreeing to including our refund policy. There is also a lender disclosure in Section 4 of the terms and conditions. One important part is her required participation in the program is also outlined in the Terms and Conditions that she agreed to.
Our representative was also very clear with Ms. ******* about the nature of the agreement, the loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 3 shows the transcript between the representative and Ms. ******* where she is told about the agreement, loan and refund and she agrees to each point.

Finally please see Exhibit 4 of Ms. ******* receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the mentorship forum, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.
Ms. ******* also admits that she had multiple meetings one on one with a highly trained PhD mentor during which she received feedback on her LinkedIn and had a resume custom written for her.
Cheeky Scientist has provided all the services laid out for Ms. ******* in section one of the Terms and Conditions. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated clearly verbally and in plain language in the contract.

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 Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:09/18/2023
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.
On 5/11/23, I saw an ad on LinkedIn for academics looking for more job stability, work-life balance, and economic security. I indicated interest in the ad and was immediately contacted by a transition specialist. They seemed legitimate, asking to evaluate my resume and LinkedIn profile.

Shortly after, I got on a recorded video call with Isaiah ******, and he began asking personal questions to understand my anxieties and capitulate his "services" as a remedy. I shared that I'm a first-generation college graduate with no safety net, and although I'd recently found a full time role in my field, it was grant-funded and would soon be eliminated. I shared that I was extremely fearful and anxious about this, because my wife is disabled, does not work full time, and I had a 2-year-old, and a newborn coming the following month. I shared that the pressure to obtain another full time position was suffocating, and he positioned his services as a method to get a data science job, which I shared that I really wanted. I told him my family's budget was tight and couldn't afford the $180/month he offered, and I needed to talk to my wife. He insisted on staying on call while I talked to my wife. When I returned, he then told me it'd be closer to $400 per month, plus a $2,000 deposit and suggested I "just put it on a credit card." I told him I didn't have credit at that amount, and he offered to drop the price so the initial payment would be lower and monthly payment $370. I told him that it's high and will make things even tighter, but he insisted that it's an investment in myself that will pay for itself when I land a six-figure data science job pretty soon. He even played me a recording of someone he claims was part of the association who landed a data science job at Amazon for over $200k + unrestricted stock. He kept pressuring to sign up now because space is limited, the price will increase, and there was a money back guarantee.

See email for more details and evidence.
Business Response
Date: 10/04/2023
10/1/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20613399

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Mi ********. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
Mr. ******** joined the program 4 months ago. He is only just now bringing up any concerns. Cheeky Scientist has continued to reach out to Mr. ******** to provide support.

Importantly please see Exhibits 1 and 2 of the Terms and Conditions. Ms. ******** had to agree to prior to his purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract he signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. He knew what he was agreeing to including our refund policy. There is also a lender disclosure in Section 4 of the terms and conditions.
Our representative was also very clear with Mr. ******** about the nature of the agreement, the loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 3 shows the transcript between the representative and Mr. ******** where he is told about the agreement, loan and refund and he agrees to each point.

Finally please see Exhibit 4 of Mr. ******** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the mentorship forum, as well as accessing his program materials and dashboard using his computer’s IP address.

Cheeky Scientist has provided all the services laid out for Mr. ******** in section one of the Terms and Conditions. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and conditions. They are stated clearly verbally and in plain language in the contract.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:09/15/2023
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.
On August 1, 2022 I was coerced through high-pressure sales tactics by Cheeky Scientist to swiftly sign a contract coupled with a loan of $4,584.24 loan, 36 monthly payments of $127.34, with an APR of 29.99%. I was rejected a refund and cancellation requests, services were not used nor offered as promised. I was promised professional coaching through the Cheeky Scientist’s Diamond Program, an online mentoring package to find a job outside of academia. None of this has happened. It is highly disorganized and I have had no personal contact with a coach of any kind. I was told I’d be able to claim the money back if I hadn’t found a job within 12 months—but discovered on reading the agreement’s small print after signing that this depended on Cheeky Scientist deciding if I made sufficient “effort” to participate in its programs. I attended all classes and filled out documents as instructed.

The call was recorded and I had to share my screens with representatives as I filled in personal details on contracts and loan applications. I tried to cancel within hours of getting off the video call, but was reminded by company representatives that I’d verbally confirmed I understood the agreement and had signed up voluntarily.
Business Response
Date: 10/17/2023
Thank you for
the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ****** ****. We take the
responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

Ms. ****
joined the program 14 months ago. She is only just now bringing up any
concerns. She has not reached out to Cheeky Scientist for a refund and has only
ever had positive things to say about the program and how much it has helped
her job search. Please see exhibit 1 of Ms. **** receiving extensive help in
our Voxer messaging channel for multiple interviews that she got due to her
work in the program and expressing how much the program helped her. This help
was private, individualized, and one one one as Ms. **** needed it, despite her
complaint stating she did not receive it.

Importantly please see Exhibits 2 and 3 of the Terms and Conditions. Ms. ****
had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the
contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies.
She knew what she was agreeing to including our refund policy. There is also a
lender disclosure in Section 4 of the terms and conditions.

Our
representative was also very clear with Ms. **** about the nature of the
agreement, the loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 4
shows the transcript between the representative and Ms. **** where she is told
about the agreement, loan and refund and she agrees to each point.

Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. **** receiving help from our mentorship
team and participating in the mentorship forum, as well as accessing her
program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

Cheeky
Scientist has provided all the services laid out for Ms. **** in section one of
the Terms and Conditions. There is no fine print in the agreement or terms and
conditions. They are stated clearly verbally and in plain language in the
contract.

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 Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:09/14/2023
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.
In May 2023, I purchased Cheeky Scientist's associate diamond program for a range of job search services. I took a $5000 personal loan, through Affirm (per Cheeky Scientist's recommendation) at a rate of 10% to be paid off in 3 years. For the past two months, Cheeky Scientist has not provided any of the services I paid for per our contract. On July 17, 2023 Cheeky Scientist sent an email to me that they decided to abruptly block my access to their platform because of an ongoing dispute. Since then Cheeky Scientist has refused to provide any of the services I paid for, including but not limited to weekly live meetings, mentorship meetings, referrals, resume update, access to forum, etc. I have tried multiple times to reach out to them via phone but I haven't received a response yet. Although the dispute was resolved several weeks ago, Cheeky Scientist is still refusing to provide services I paid for. Per the signed contract, Cheeky Scientist must continue to provide all of the purchased services until I receive a job offer or provide a full refund if no job offer is received after 12 months. Therefore, Cheeky Scientist has breached the contract since at least July 17, 2023. I am asking that they provide a refund for the paid amount for breaching the contract and not providing any explanations.
Business Response
Date: 09/28/2023
9/19/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601785

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Mr. ********* has received extensive one-on-one coaching through his program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 5/15/23, 5/29/23 and 6/5/23, 6/7/23 and 6/21/23. He has had a custom resume written for him and been given individual feedback on his LinkedIn profile as well as receiving extensive coaching on his job search. Please see exhibit 1 of Mr. ********* on mentorship meetings.
Ms. ********* requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make his request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Mr. *********’s application to get on a call.

Further, Mr. ********* was on his call for over an hour. Please see Exhibit 3 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Mr. *********, and his confirmations in return, which he gave us when he entered the program. He was fully aware of the cancellation policy.

Please also see exhibit 4 of the contract Mr. ********* signed and exhibit 5 of the terms and conditions of the program which are clearly displayed on the website and which Mr. ********* would have had to agree to in order to purchase his membership.

Finally please see Exhibit 6 of Mr. ********* receiving help from our mentorship team and participating, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using his computer’s IP address.

We have been very responsive to Mr. *********. His services were paused when he disputed his purchase after extensively utilizing the program. A third party review of his purchased showed that he made it knowingly and was provided service again as per his signed agreement. Now that Cheeky Scientist has won the dispute we are happy to continue to work with Mr. *********.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 09/29/2023

Complaint: 20601785

I am rejecting this response because:
Unfortunately Cheeky Scientist in their response to this complaint did not address my issue and provided irrelevant information to my concerns. Cheeky Scientist has not delivered anything at all for more than two months now. Cheeky Scientist never reached out to me nor did they respond to my inquiries in the past two months. As of now they haven't reached out to continue the services per their contractual obligations not even after providing this generic response to my BBB dispute. Cheeky Scientist can not provide any evidence of any interaction they made with me for more than 2 months yet they claim they have provided extensive services? They have obviously breached the terms and conditions of the contract and are legally liable. If they plan to make up for their extensive service deficiency especially in the past two months they should have already offered a meaningful action plan. I reject this response for it is based on false claims and irrelevant information regarding my complaint with BBB. Please either provide a full refund of the amount paid or offer your action plan to compensate for your service interruption for over two months. Do not forget that I am paying monthly payments plus interest for the services that you refuse to provide. Please be clear and specific in your response

Sincerely,

***** *********
Business Response
Date: 10/13/2023
10/11/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601785

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Mr. ********* has received extensive one-on-one coaching through his program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 5/15/23, 5/29/23 and 6/5/23, 6/7/23 and 6/21/23. He has had a custom resume written for him and been given individual feedback on his LinkedIn profile as well as receiving consistent coaching from our team on his job search across a variety of membership channels. Please see exhibit 1 of Mr. ********* on mentorship meetings.
Ms. ********* requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make his request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Mr. *********’s application to get on a call.

Further, Mr. ********* was on his call for over an hour. Please see Exhibit 3 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Mr. *********, and his confirmations in return, which he gave us when he entered the program. He was fully aware of the cancellation policy.

Please also see Exhibit 4 of the contract Mr. ********* signed and Exhibit 5 of the Terms and Conditions of the program which are clearly displayed on the website and which Mr. ********* would have had to agree to in order to purchase his membership. The terms and conditions include large disclaimers at the top of them for increased clarity.

Finally please see Exhibit 6 of Mr. ********* receiving help from our mentorship team and participating, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using his computer’s IP address.

We have been very responsive to Mr. *********. His services were paused when he disputed his purchase after extensively utilizing the program. A third party review of his purchased showed that he made it knowingly and was provided service again as per his signed agreement. Now that Cheeky Scientist has won the dispute we are happy to continue to work with Mr. *********.
Further Mr. ********* claims that he has not received any reach out from Cheeky Scientist in the last two months, however Cheeky Scientist has continued to reach out regularly with emails and content to provide Mr. ********* with help almost daily which you can see in Exhibit 7 below. Mr. ********* is aware he is receiving emails; the exhibit shows he opens some of them though he does not respond.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/16/2023

Complaint: 20601785

I am rejecting this response because:

In exhibit 7 that Cheeky Scientist has attached to provide evidence of services provided, these are just marketing emails they send for free to everyone who has subscribed to their website to receive free emails. Yet as you can see I have not opened most of them as these are simply promotional emails not the services Cheeky Scientist is obligated to offer in exchange for $5000 they have charged me. For instance in early July 2023, they removed my access to their platform where I could post my resume for review and editing or ask questions. I haven't had access to the platform and therefore have not received any of these services. They also removed my access to my shared folder on Google drive where they provide additional services, also since July they have never had any one-on-one mentorship meetings with me. Also they have blocked my access to weekly group meetings since July. In addition they have never contacted me via Voxer since July 17, which is their main communication method. Further, they haven't provided any referrals or introductions to company employees. These are examples of the services I purchased for $5000 not a few marketing emails they would otherwise send for free to anyone for sales purposes. I am asking Cheeky Scientist to please stop spamming my email with marketing emails and instead provide services I purchased which include, but not limited, to the above examples I mentioned. As of today, Cheeky Scientist has not reached out to resume the services they stopped on July 17, 2023.It has been 3 months that they have been refusing to deliver. I am asking that Cheeky Scientist to either provide a full refund as they have breached the contract for 3 months now and are not willing to resume the services as is evidenced by their responses here, or provide a refund for the three months that they did not provide anything other than a few general marketing emails and continue the services immediately with an action plan to make up the three months during which they have been idle. If Cheeky Scientist is not cooperative I respectfully ask BBB to assist me with other options available.

Sincerely,

***** *********
Business Response
Date: 10/26/2023
10/11/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601785

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ***** ********* with further details again. As laid out below, Mr. ********* signed a contract, agreed to our terms and conditions, and verbally expressed agreement with our key terms. He’s also been offered help continuously and has often refused it, which we have evidence of below as well. He’s also engaged in 218 posts in our mentorship forum, had multiple one-on-one mentorship calls, and been introduced to professionals in his field.
Mr. ********* continues to claim that he has not received support for 2 months. However that is untrue. As seen in Exhibit 7 below he continues to receive emails regularly. The emails include his invite to meet with Isaiah and receive help every Friday which he refuses to take advantage of.
Mr. ********* has also claimed he did not receive help gaining referrals with companies that he would like to work at. However that is also untrue. Cheeky Scientist connected Mr. ********* with 4 different people in industry positions who could have provided the referral, However, Mr. ********* refused to use the scripts provided to him to nurture those relationships and did not manage to secure a referral for himself.

Mr. ********* has received extensive one-on-one coaching through his program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 5/15/23, 5/29/23 and 6/5/23, 6/7/23 and 6/21/23. He has had a custom resume written for him and been given individual feedback on his LinkedIn profile as well as receiving consistent coaching from our team on his job search across a variety of membership channels. Please see Exhibit 1 of Mr. ********* on mentorship meetings.
Ms. ********* requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make his request. Please see Exhibit 2 of Mr. *********’s application to get on a call.

Further, Mr. ********* was on his call for over an hour. Please see Exhibit 3 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Mr. *********, and his confirmations in return, which he gave us when he entered the program. He was fully aware of the cancellation policy.

Please also see Exhibit 4 of the contract Mr. ********* signed and Exhibit 5 of the Terms and Conditions of the program which are clearly displayed on the website and which Mr. ********* agreed to when purchasing his membership. The terms and conditions include large disclaimers at the top of them for increased clarity.

Finally please see Exhibit 6 of Mr. ********* receiving help from our mentorship team and participating, as well as accessing the program materials and dashboard using his computer’s IP address.

We have been very responsive to Mr. *********. His services were paused when he disputed his purchase after extensively utilizing the program. A third party review of his purchased showed that he made it knowingly and was provided service again as per his signed agreement. Now that Cheeky Scientist has won the dispute we are happy to continue to work with Mr. *********.
Further Mr. ********* claims that he has not received any reach out from Cheeky Scientist in the last two months, however Cheeky Scientist has continued to reach out regularly with emails and content to provide Mr. ********* with help consistently which you can see in Exhibit 7 below. Mr. ********* is aware he is receiving emails; the exhibit shows he opens some of them though he does not respond.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/27/2023

Complaint: 20601785

I am rejecting this response because: Cheeky Scientist has veen refusing to provide any of the service items I purchased from them for nearly 4 months now while I have been making monthly payments of $160. Cheeky Scientist doesn't even respond to my inquiries.

Sincerely,

***** *********
Business Response
Date: 11/10/2023
11/12/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601785

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ***** ********* with further details again. As laid out below in Exhibits 1-6, Mr. ********* signed a contract, agreed to our terms and conditions, and verbally expressed agreement with our key terms. He’s also been offered help continuously and has often refused it, which we have evidence of below as well. As shown in Exhibit 6, he’s also engaged in 218 posts in our mentorship forum, had multiple one-on-one mentorship calls, and been introduced to professionals in his field.
Mr. ********* continues to claim that he has not received support for 2 months. However that is untrue. As seen in Exhibit 7 below he continues to receive emails regularly. The emails include his invite to meet with Isaiah and receive help every Friday which he refuses to take advantage of.
Further Mr. ********* claims that he has not received any reach out from Cheeky Scientist in the last two months, however Cheeky Scientist has continued to reach out regularly providing meeting times, meeting links, updates on the job market, our proprietary materials and more, which you can see in Exhibit 7 below. Mr. ********* is aware he is receiving emails; the exhibit shows he has opened select emails.
Finally Mr. ********* has not responded to Cheeky Scientist since July and has continued to refuse to join our meeting times. We will continue to provide services and as always stand ready to help him, and we welcome any response from him to those emails or his attendance at any of the meetings we continue to offer him.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 11/13/2023

Complaint: 20601785

I am rejecting this response because: Unfortunately, Cheeky Scientist (CS) continue to refuse to deliver. As mentioned several times in my previous responses here, CS removed my access to their platform and all of the services I purchased in early July, 2023. They simply sent an email and informed me that they will pause the service. They did and haven't resumed it as of now. CS in its response claims that I have refused to join weekly meetings. How could I join weekly meetings when my access to CS is removed? Again, in the past 4-5 months CS has refused to deliver. They have refused to offer 1 on 1 mentorship, resume editing, providing referrals, answering questions, weekly group meetings, access to forum among several other thing. CS has repeatedly stated here that they are willing to resume services, but they haven't delivered anything, they do not respond to my inquiries, and no one from CS has contacted me to resume the work since July. As mentioned in my previous responses, CS only sends me marketing emails which I would receive for free by subscribing to their website. These emails are not a part of the services I paid for. Other than these generic marketing emails CS has provided absolutely nothing since July. Unfortunately it seems that CS intends to continue to send generic responses without new information to my complaint here until I miss to answer one of them within 10 days so that BBB closes the case as resolved in CS favor without CS having to continue the work.

Sincerely,

***** *********
Business Response
Date: 01/03/2024
12/30/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601785

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of ***** ********* with further details again. Most importantly, Mr. ********* and Cheeky Scientist are working together as recently as 12/28/23, including live mentorship meetings.
In terms of the complaint, to ensure we respond, please consider that as laid out below in Exhibits 2-8, Mr. ********* signed a contract, agreed to our terms and conditions, and verbally expressed agreement with our key terms. He’s also been offered help continuously. As shown in Exhibit 6, he’s engaged in 218 posts in our mentorship forum, had multiple one-on-one mentorship calls, and been introduced to professionals in his field. He also has continued to receive consistent outreach from Cheeky Scientist as shown in exhibit 8.
As mentioned, Mr. ********* has continued to take advantage of the program. As shown in Exhibit 1, Mr. ********* has continued to have mentorship including after this last complaint was raised on 11/29/23, 12/9/23 and 12/28/23. Mr. ********* maintains access to his program and is actively utilizing it. We are excited to be working with Mr. ********* and to get him hired into one of the roles we are seeking for him together.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Initial Complaint
Date:09/14/2023
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 saw an ad for Cheeky Scientist for a free consultation to discuss potential alternative science careers. I thought I could see what advice was out there and start looking for a new job in earnest, so I reached out. I was contacted very quickly to set up this “free” consultation. I met with Isaiah Hankel, he asked me a few questions about what I’m looking for, and then he began the sales pitch. He talked about how much success they’ve had placing people in better, higher paying jobs. He said I would be able to speak with people who had been placed in those jobs and they would help me get the necessary skills, tailor my resume, etc. It sounded great. Then he told me the price. I was extremely hesitant. I said I couldn’t do it for that price. He then told me he could offer me a discount. I was still hesitant and said I wanted to discuss it with my husband. Isaiah instead continued to pressure me into buying the service. I went through an application process for a loan and I was told I needed to sign some paperwork, but I was not briefed on what exactly the requirements were for me or for them to fulfill this supposed contract. The meeting ended with him essentially saying we can’t wait to work with you, talk soon. I got off the call and immediately felt like this meeting had gone off the rails. I immediately contacted Isaiah and who I believe is the CFO, Ms. Hoopes, and I stated the following:

I would like to cancel my membership with Cheeky Scientist. While I value what you have to offer, I am not in a position to benefit from the program at this time. As I have not paid any amount at this time, and in fact my loan still says “merchant processing” I would like to cancel ASAP.

They refused to cancel my loan. I have since paid the debt but I feel that they engaged in predatory practices. I never used the services offered.
Business Response
Date: 09/21/2023
9/19/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20601387

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of **** *******. We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.
Ms. ******* requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make her request. Please see Exhibit 1 of Ms. *******’s application to get on a call. Ms. ******* was not contacted until the day after she filled out her application and she did not have a Zoom call with Cheeky Scientist until the day after first speaking with the team. So two days after filling out her application.

Further, Ms. ******* was on her call for almost an hour. Please see Exhibit 2 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Ms. *******, and her confirmations in return, which she gave us when she entered the program. She was fully aware of our very clear cancellation policy.

Please also see exhibit 3 of the contract Ms. ******* signed and exhibit 4 of the terms and conditions of the program which are clearly displayed on the website and which Ms. ******* had to agree to for her to purchase her membership.

It’s worth noting that Ms. ******* has been in the program for 15 months and is just now for the first time bringing up being pressured in any way. We have been very responsive to her including responding to emails the same day and following up on our end when she did not reply in turn.
Finally please see Exhibit 5 of Ms. ******* receiving help from our mentorship team and participating, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

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:09/11/2023
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 went through the enrollment which was rushed and very scripted to pressure the possible client to enroll. I asked if I could cancel and the enrollment specialist said I could or kind of, but later on this was found to be entirely untrue.

Later I was placed with a job coach who complained that she was overworked and did not really have space in her schedule for me, but crammed my sessions in any way. Sessions always felt rushed and like she was 5 steps ahead of me. She was impatient and demeaning despite my rushing to keep up.

After five sessions with the job coach I asked in our last session about my resume. Her response was "I am still working on it." and that she had so many to work on. She now claims that she needed a future job description. I had been researching jobs for two sessions, why was this not brought up in call five? It has been four months since our last call and she never reached out once to inform me that she still needed info or if I had found a job description. Video of our last call has also not been shared with me in Google Drive.

With the job coach's prompting I explored in the forums, training modules, and other features. I found these features to be no more helpful than Facebook groups, YouTube videos on similar topics, etc. The program is a bunch of hype to scam clients out of hiring bonuses.

I am claiming breach of contract as this resume was supposed to help me find new employment. Instead I have been job searching with a resume that has minimal changes with no results.

Cheeky scientist has not supported my goals of gaining a higher paying role in business, in fact this program has hampered my goals by spending my savings to attain this goal, taking time away from my PhD studies, and making no forward progress on other employment.

Trying to reach the company by phone is pointless as it constantly goes to a seemingly unmonitored voicemail. Since the company refuses to follow up by phone I am submit this complaint.
Business Response
Date: 09/19/2023
9/19/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20585764

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Ms. ***** has received extensive one on one coaching through her program including private meetings with a PhD mentor on 4/3/23, 4/5/23, 4/14/23, and 4/21/23. 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 note that she was specifically asked if she was looking to invest in her job search and she responded with a yes.

Further, Ms. ***** was on her call for over an hour. Please see Exhibit 3 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Ms. *****, and her confirmations in return, which she gave us when she entered the program. She was fully aware of the cancellation policy.

Please also see exhibit 4 of the contract Ms. ***** signed and exhibit 5 of the terms and conditions of the program which are clearly displayed on the website and which Ms. ***** would have had to agree to in order to purchase her membership.

Ms. ***** has also been provided with a brand new resume to apply to jobs with as well as feedback on her LinkedIn profile. At no time did the mentorship express they were “too busy” to help her in any way she may have needed.

We have been very responsive to Ms. ***** and she has access to multiple ways to contact her mentor, the leadership team or the support team including via phone, email and Voxer. Ms. ***** called and left a voicemail with the administrative team at 5:53am, which is outside of business hours and is clearly explained on the voicemail message then called back at 10:06am which was not answered by the team as they were assisting other members and placed a complaint with the BBB less than an hour after that. Please see exhibit 6 of Ms. *****’s call records. It is important to note that Ms. ***** did not ever reach out anywhere else at any time during the 5 months of her membership to express any concerns. She was responded to via email after her complaint came through and has not responded to date.

Finally please see Exhibit 7 of Ms. ***** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

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:08/28/2023
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 left a review with BBB that doesn't seem to have done anything and attempted to report Cheeky Scientist for fraud with BBB only to be redirected to file a complaint.

I had a "transition meeting" over zoom with one of their agents July 25, 2023. During that meeting I signed up for membership with the understanding I would be doing installation payments. However, upon reviewing the documents in further detail after the meeting, I realized that they had me sign a loan document for a 14% interest. Strike 1.

I immediately tried to contact Cheeky Scientist by phone and email but couldn't get through to them by phone (all calls went to voicemail). I finally got a reply got an email reply saying they wouldn't cancel as I had signed the welcome agreement where I apparently waived the right to cancel. They never explicitly explained to me that upon signing, I am no longer able to cancel. The rep said something like, "You can't cancel after a week, you need to see it through the full year", which I took as encouragement to not give up halfway. Strike 2.

My account - same day - was revoked regardless. Upon trying to login, I got an error message that no account was associated with my email. I had communicated this to Cheeky Scientist in the same email I requested cancellation. No change ever after, or even a month later. Strike 3.

I attempted to dispute the loan with the Affirm, only to be told that they would not cancel as it is a "lifetime membership" and I signed the aforementioned agreement acknowledging my inability to cancel membership. This is even after I provided evidence of fraud, both upon being led to take out a loan without knowledge AND having the account deleted/lack of access to their resources.

I wanted to give Cheeky Scientist the benefit of the doubt at the beginning of this debacle, but after everything, they are undoubtedly a scam. They attempted, and still are attempting, to steal my money.
Business Response
Date: 09/01/2023
8/30/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20524652

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Importantly please see Exhibits 1 and 2 of the Terms and Conditions Ms. *** had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. She knew what she was agreeing to including our refund policy in Sections 6 and Sections 8. There is also a lender disclosure in Section 4 of this agreement. These disclosures are bold and easy to read in the contract and include easy to follow text about the nature of the agreement, the loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months.
Our representative was also very clear with Ms. *** about the nature of the agreement, the loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Exhibit 3 shows the transcript between the representative and Ms. *** where she is told about the agreement, loan and refund and she agrees to each point.

Finally please see Exhibit 4 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the PhD forum, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address. No access was revoked from Ms. *** until she disputed her purchase as fraud. Since this dispute was decided in our favor because the purchase was not fraudulent, her access has been regranted.

Importantly, we have been very responsive with Ms. ***. We have replied to her extensively including emails exchanged on 7/26/23, 7/27/23, 7/28/23 and only stopped responding when she requested that we do so. She then re-established communication after her dispute was finalized with all parties agreeing that Ms. *** knowingly entered the contract and knowingly took out a loan to pay for the program. We responded immediately on 8/29/23 and 8/31/23.

Another important item to note is Ms. *** has been offered a partial refund in order to resolve her complaint despite her having access to the materials and contractually agreeing to the terms of no refunds prior to 12 months. To date she has not accepted.

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:08/17/2023
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 am writing to file a formal complaint against Cheeky Scientist for their deceptive practices and failure to deliver on their promises. I subscribed to Cheeky Scientist Diamond Program on 10th October 2022 with the expectation of receiving professional career guidance to transition into management consulting, particularly targeting McKinsey, BCG, and Bain (MBBs).

Upon my initial call with Ryan ********, Vice President of Industry Transitions at Cheeky Scientist, on 10th October, I was subjected to high-pressure sales tactics, with Ryan falsely claiming that the future enrollments might cost $8-10k. He further asserted that only a limited number of seats were available (3 to be exact, and that someone took 1 seat while I was on the call), creating a sense of urgency to push me into signing up for the program. However, upon investigating the situation, I discovered multiple discrepancies and misleading information that raises concerns about the legitimacy of their claims. Contrary to the “3 seats left”, they made multiple people subscribe to the program.
Firstly, Ryan made several misleading statements, including inflated success rates for MBB hires and claimed that Cheeky Scientist had successfully helped over 50 PhDs get hired at McKinsey, over 30 at Bain, and over 60 at BCG. Throughout the call I explicitly asked about MBBs only. He also mentioned that the program's "board of directors" consisted of PhDs working in management consulting, particularly in these three firms. Yet, upon conducting my own search, I found significantly fewer profiles that supported these claims.
I emailed Ryan ******* and Isaiah ****** on January 8th, 2023, to cancel my subscription. But they refused to cancel it. I sent them a detailed report explaining why I wanted a refund and a cancellation, at which they deleted my account from Diamond Program where all members are welcomed upon joining the program. They said the “PhD trainers” would help me, so I decided to give them another 2 weeks. But the assistance provided by Cheeky Scientist's PhD trainers did not meet the promised standards. I interacted with trainers Meerambika ******* Sarah ******* and Abha ****** in January 2023, all of whom failed to provide the expected level of expertise and networking contacts relevant to my career goals. Despite explicitly emphasizing my focus on MBBs alone, they repeatedly offered generic industry feedback and irrelevant networking contacts, showing a lack of understanding of the consulting industry and a disregard for my specific needs. This disparity raised significant doubts about the program's ability to cater to specific career goals.
Additionally, I filed a complaint with Affirm in January and again in July, the payment provider used by Cheeky Scientist, providing them with detailed evidence of the deceptive practices. However, Affirm's response was unsatisfactory, and they declined to take any action despite requesting them multiple times.

Upon closer examination of the signed contract, I discovered that many crucial terms and conditions were missing or substantially altered compared to the one on their website. This discrepancy between the website's representation and the signed contract raises concerns about the transparency and accuracy of information presented to customers. The contract stipulations such as waiving class action status and non-disparagement clause, which not only made me fearful of filing a complaint, but also undoubtedly has resulted in a false representation of the service since people fear legal action for complaining that the service did not meet its obligations or provide what they claim to provide. Additionally, the signed contract introduces several new requirements to be fulfilled by the member. These requirements were not disclosed during my initial call with Ryan which leaves me feeling misled and unfairly bound by unexpected obligations.
I strongly believe that Cheeky Scientist LLC's failure to provide consistent and transparent information about their services and guarantees has resulted in an unfair and deceptive business practice. As a customer, I have the right to accurate and complete information to make informed decisions about the services I am purchasing. The disparity between the website's promises and the actual terms in the signed contract has caused me considerable frustration, mental torture, time wastage, and financial investment that I now question. The resources provided through the subscription have proven to be of little to no use, and I am convinced that the program will not deliver the results it claims to provide.
I have repeatedly requested cancellation of my subscription and a refund of the amount I have paid via Affirm. However, Cheeky Scientist has refused to process the cancellation and refund.
Therefore, I request that the Better Business Bureau investigate this matter and take appropriate action against Cheeky Scientist for their deceptive marketing, false claims, and failure to provide the services they advertised. I seek a full refund and the immediate cancellation of my subscription.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust that the Better Business Bureau will conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to address this issue.
Business Response
Date: 08/25/2023
8/23/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20482171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

By Mr. ****’s own admission he availed himself of all the program assets including multiple meetings with highly trained mentors including documented private meetings on 10/11/22 and 10/25/22. Importantly, he used the program assets for 2 full months prior to expressing any concerns about the program. Now, nearly 8 months later, he is claiming he bought under pressure. His use of the program for months with no complaints disputes this.
Importantly, Cheeky Scientist does follow enrollment periods which are clearly posted on our website. Only a certain number of members are able to enroll during certain periods. This is done since trainings are live and our private mentorship team can only support a certain number of members. Again, this is publicly posted. Please see exhibit 1 of the enrollment period explanation from the FAQ page here: ********************************

Mr. ****’s complaint accuses Cheeky Scientist of falsely claiming that the cost of the program was increasing. However please see our current non promotional pricing of $9998 per membership (the same amount Mr. **** was told) which can be found here in our publicly available terms and conditions and is further made clear in exhibit 2: *************************************************

Prior to purchasing, Mr. **** agreed to the Product's terms and conditions. Section 7 & 8 of the terms & conditions explain that there are no cancellations or refunds prior to 12 months. Section 1 shows the product has already been provided to Mr. ****. Section 2 outlines that Mr. **** agreed to participate in the program. Please see Exhibit 3 of the terms and conditions which are also on the Cheeky Scientist website.
Per the BBB’s request in June, 2023, all non disparagement language was removed from our Terms and conditions and we have not disputed Mr. ****’s right to post to the BBB or otherwise. We do still reserve our rights to defend ourselves against defamation and libel as needed.

Mr. **** agreed to the terms of the program in 3 ways. First, by opt-ing into the Product terms and conditions prior to purchasing, which, as mentioned, are also easily accessible publicly on our website. Second, by verbally confirming he understood key provisions in these terms, including that there were no cancellations. Thirdly, by signing our refund guarantee contract. Please see exhibit 4 of Mr. ****’s signed agreement.

Mr. **** was not solicited for a call. He requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members including filling out an application for a call.

As mentioned, Mr. **** took advantage of the program extensively. Please further see exhibit 5 of Mr. **** receiving help via Voxer as well as the dashboard which Mr. **** gained immediate access to, the dashboard includes an extensive and robust section on management consulting which is Mr. ****’s particular area of expertise. Please also see the immediate resume review that was provided to Mr. **** within 24 hours of joining the program.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 09/06/2023

Complaint: 20482171

I am rejecting this response because:

Program
Utilization and Duration: Contrary to Cheeky Scientist's claim, I attended only four communal Zoom
sessions in October 2022 conducted by Isaiah ******, CEO, which were general
information sessions and of no practical use to my career goals. There were no
one-on-one sessions with any of their staff members. Furthermore, I explicitly
communicated to Ryan ******** during the initial call that I would be occupied
in November and December 2022 due to enrolling in a business school program.
During these two months, I had no interaction with Cheeky Scientist and did not
access any of their resources. Therefore, their assertion that I utilized
their services for two months is unfounded.

Cancellation
Attempts: I
made my first attempt to cancel my subscription by reaching out to Ryan ********
on LinkedIn on January 8, 2023. However, he refused my request.
Subsequently, I contacted Isaiah ****** through Voxer, an app used for
communication by Cheeky Scientist, on January 9, 2023, expressing my
desire for cancellation and providing a detailed report outlining the reasons
for my request. In response to this, I was abruptly removed from the
training forum, the very platform where they provide access to program
resources. This forum includes links, chat forums, and interactions with other
members, which I barely used beyond my initial introduction upon joining. I
promptly removed all Cheeky Scientist staff members from my LinkedIn network. Hence,
the claim that I actively used their resources and interacted with their staff
members for eight months is entirely inaccurate.

Misleading
Statistics: I
strongly emphasize that Cheeky Scientist has conveniently ignored the
misleading figures shared by Ryan ******** during the initial sales call, which
significantly influenced my decision to enroll in the program. My queries
during the call, specifically regarding the number of PhDs successfully placed
in McKinsey, Bain, and BCG (MBBs), were met with exaggerated figures, creating
a false impression of Cheeky Scientist's track record. My questions during the
call and Ryan ********'s responses were as follows:
Question
1:
My
Question: "Statistics you have for
management consulting students that Cheeky Scientist has been able to help get
hired at MBBs? And how many have there been so far?"
Ryan's
Response: "For McKinsey we’ve helped over
50 PhDs get hired. Bain over 30 and BCG over 60. In McKinsey alone we have 8-9
people who are way higher than a management consultant. They are in the
director level role, associate director, executive director. For BCG and Bain,
it’s going to be the same or even higher. The management consulting track is
led by “board of directors” who are all PhDs working in management consulting
and the vast majority of them work in those three firms." (Transcript
available)
Ryan did a query search from the
Cheeky members directory for “working in management consulting”. The result for
the search was 403 - “PhDs that we’ve helped get into management
consulting exclusively”.

Question 2:
My
Question: "Can you give me a number for
MBBs from the 403, management consulting is a very big umbrella?"
Ryan's
Response: "For the 3 firms, I have no way
to search by the specific." After a while, "Isiah said collectively
there’s 117 between all three firms (MBBs)." (Transcript available)

I did the query search myself in
January 2023 for “Management Consultant” from the Cheeky Scientist directory
and found only 251 results from their members directory
************************************************. These were folks who were interested
in management consulting and not folks who got hired to management consulting
firms through Cheeky Scientist as advertised by Ryan ******** during the
call. I looked up all of these profiles on LinkedIn and the results were
contrary to what had been told to me by Ryan. These results do not corroborate
with the statistics Ryan told me during the call!
Ryan had mentioned that other
companies (that offer career guidance and counseling) won’t even have 20% of
the network that CS does, and that CS has more folks who got into MBBs through
cheeky than any of the other firms. These are false claims, which I found after
my reserach!
Ryan mentioned Vincent and Dianne as
individuals who got into McKinsey via Cheeky. Vincent is the only “success
story” Cheeky Scientist (CS) has on Management consultants that CS has helped
secure a job at MBBs from the total 226 success stories. I have checked
all their profiles on LinkedIn, and these profiles do not corroborate with the
statistics Ryan ******** provided during the call.

Non-Disparagement
Clause: I
refrained from filing a complaint with BBB earlier due to the presence of a
non-disparagement clause in Cheeky Scientist's terms and conditions. The
removal of this clause, as per Cheeky Scientist's response, implies that they acknowledge
its unfairness.

Enrollment
Period Claims: While
Cheeky Scientist asserts that they follow enrollment periods, I want to
underscore that my complaint primarily focuses on the information provided
during the initial sales call. During this call, Ryan ******** emphasized the
limited availability of seats, indicating that only three seats remained for
the Diamond Program, thereby creating a sense of urgency. If this information
was incorrect or misleading, it undeniably influenced my decision to enroll.
Furthermore, the claim that they restricted enrollments to fewer members than
stated is disputed by the evidence that multiple individuals were added to the
program daily until January 19, 2023 (I was kicked out of the forum).
(Screenshots below, refer to the time points! (arrows)).

Cost
of the Program: Cheeky Scientist references the current non-promotional pricing of their
program, but during my initial call in October 2022, I was informed that the
cost might increase to $8,000 to $10,000 in the future. This information played
a crucial role in my decision to enroll. If this pricing structure has changed,
it is imperative to acknowledge this discrepancy.

Unanswered
Questions and Limited Assistance: In addition to the points mentioned above, I would like to highlight
that my complaint in January 2023 to Cheeky Scientist about the program's
inadequacy did not result in any corrective action. The "highly trained
mentors" assigned to assist me were unable to provide the level of
expertise and networking contacts promised during the initial call. My
interactions with these mentors were as follows:
1.Abha ****** (Jan 5-Jan 9,
Jan 16-Jan 20): My interaction with Abha ****** revolved around my request
for cancellation. She could not provide details about management consulting
resumes and was unable to share any relevant contacts via Cheeky Scientist.
2.Sarah ******: Sarah
****** did not respond to my multiple messages asking for networking contacts
relevant to my career goals.
3.Meerambika Mishra (Jan
10-Jan 19): Despite my explicit emphasis on MBBs, Meerambika ****** was
unable to provide management consulting-specific feedback and shared networking
contacts that did not align with my specific needs.
Additionally, the initial resume
feedback I received was generic and did not justify the cost of the program.
These interactions were limited to a mere 10 days, from the time I asked for
subscription cancellation to sending a detailed report with reasons and
screenshots, until I was removed from the training forum. Consequently, they
cannot claim to have provided the full service as promised during the initial
call.

In conclusion, I reiterate that the
information presented during my initial sales call significantly influenced my
decision to enroll in Cheeky Scientist's program. However, the subsequent
experience did not align with my expectations. There appears to be a profound
disparity between the representations made during the call and the actual
services provided. Cheeky Scientist causes financial distress to international
students by promising services they do not deliver.

I respectfully request a thorough
reevaluation of my request for cancellation and a fair resolution that
considers the glaring discrepancies between my expectations, the promises made,
and the actual program delivery.

Sincerely,

******** ****
Business Response
Date: 09/19/2023
9/13/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20482171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

By Mr. ****’s own admission he availed himself of all the program assets including multiple meetings with highly trained mentors including documented private meetings on 10/11/22 and 10/25/22. Now, he seems to be disputing those meetings. Please see exhibit 1 of Mr **** attending these meetings. Importantly, he used the program assets for 2 full months prior to expressing any concerns about the program. Now, nearly 8 months later, he is claiming he bought under pressure. His use of the program for months with no complaints disputes this.
Mr. **** references our member directory. This directory is constantly being updated to include the most up to date and accurate information as possible for our members. The number on any one search will change based on the consistent updating. Please see exhibit 2 screenshot taken on 9/13/23 showing over 280 management consultant results, far more than Mr. **** states. Cheeky Scientist specifically explained to Mr. **** that there was no way to show how many of each associate that we had in each firm he asked about:

Representative: “For the three firms? I have no way to search by the specific firm that I can't.”
Importantly, Cheeky Scientist does follow enrollment periods which are clearly posted on our website. Only a certain number of members are able to enroll during certain periods. This is done since trainings are live and our private mentorship team can only support a certain number of members. Again, this is publicly posted. Please see exhibit 3 of the enrollment period explanation from the FAQ page here: ******************************** . This will continue to be the case.

Mr. ****’s complaint accuses Cheeky Scientist of falsely claiming that the cost of the program was increasing. However please see our current non promotional pricing of $9998 per membership (the same amount Mr. **** was told the price was being increased to) which can be found here in our publicly available terms and conditions and is further made clear in exhibit 4: *************************************************

Prior to purchasing, Mr. **** agreed to the Product's terms and conditions. Please see Exhibit 5 of the terms and conditions which are also on the Cheeky Scientist website.

Mr. **** agreed to the terms of the program in 3 ways. First, by opt-ing into the Product terms and conditions prior to purchasing, which, as mentioned, are also easily accessible publicly on our website. Second, by verbally confirming he understood key provisions in these terms, including that there were no cancellations. Thirdly, by signing our refund guarantee contract. Please see exhibit 6 of Mr. ****’s signed agreement.

Mr. **** was not cold contacted for a call. He requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members including filling out an application for a call. Please see exhibit 7 of Mr. ****’s completed application.

As mentioned, Mr. **** took advantage of the program extensively. Please further see exhibit 8 of Mr. **** receiving help via Voxer as well as the dashboard which Mr. **** gained immediate access to, the dashboard includes an extensive and robust section on management consulting which is Mr. ****’s particular area of expertise. Please also see the immediate resume review that was provided to Mr. **** within 24 hours of joining the program. He was helped extensively by multiple mentors on top of joining the multiple meetings that he came to.

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

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/06/2023
Hi ******* *********
I am writing to you in response to my complaint ID#20482171. I received an email yesterday which said that the case has been closed. I would like to dispute it and get a clarification please.

I received a response from Cheeky Scientist on 9/20/23, to which I submitted a reply on 9/30/23. I received an email on 10/2/23 stating that my reply didn't have any attachments, though I did submit a reply from myself. Moreover, it said that I had 5 days to respond, but my complaint was closed yesterday 10/5/23.
I have been in Washington DC all this time, rehearsing and performing at the World Cultural Festival with limited free time, and on my return fell sick. I am not satisfied by Cheeky Scientist response and wish to submit a reply.
Attached are screen shots of dates/images from BBB and the file for my reply for 9/30/23. Please look into this.
An article was published on 13th September 2023 in one of the top scientific journal ‘Science’ about Cheeky Scientist titled “Criticism builds against Ph.D. careers firm Cheeky Scientist” ***************************************************************************************************** The author is following up on this case. You can clearly understand how Cheeky Scientist has been scamming so many students with their ponzi scheme, just like myself. I don’t think I need to say anything more, the article speaks for itself.
Moreover, here is a YouTube video titled ‘Exposing Cheeky Scientist’ *********************************************. It goes into details on how Cheeky Scientist pressurizes students into signing up for their program, promises them things they can’t deliver and the fine print in their contract which they don’t disclose at all during the initial call. This is the best video out there explaining how Cheeky Scientist is running a fraud enterprise. Please take a look!
Looking forward to hear from you.

Regards,
******** ****
Customer Answer
Date: 10/06/2023
Let’s start with the article published on 13th September 2023 in one of the top scientific journal ‘Science’
about Cheeky Scientist titled “Criticism builds against Ph.D. careers firm Cheeky Scientist” ***************************************************************************************************** *article attached). You can clearly understand how Cheeky Scientist has been scamming so many students with their ponzi scheme, just like myself. I don’t think I need to say anything more, the article speaks for itself. Moreover, here is a YouTube video titled ‘Exposing Cheeky Scientist’ ********************************************** It goes into details on how Cheeky Scientist pressurizes students into signing up for their program, promises them things they can’t deliver and the fine print in their contract which they don’t disclose at all during the initial call. This is the best video out there explaining how Cheeky Scientist is running a fraud enterprise. Please take a look! I do not accept the response by Cheeky Scientist at all. Let me ask Cheeky Scientist a few questions:
1. Yes, I did attend those 2 sessions, I never denied that. I signed up with Cheeky Scientist on 10/10/22 and I attended 4 sessions in October 2022, all of which were of no use to me. You state that “he used the program assets for 2 full months prior to expressing any concerns about the program” can you share any PROOF that I used your resources, apart from the sessions mentioned, before complaining?
2. Did I not mention during my initial call to Ryan ******** on 10/10/22 that I will be busy during November and December because I was enrolled in a business program and won’t be able to attend any session with Cheeky Scientist during that time?
3. Did I not complain and ask for a cancellation and refund to Ryan ******** and Isaiah ****** on 8th and 9th January respectively? Why was I kicked out of the platform upon asking to cancel my subscription?
4. The stats that I quoted from my initial call in my last response to BBB, did Ryan ******** not tell me those stats about students Cheeky Scientist helped get into Mckinsey, BCG and Bain? Are those stats/numbers, correct?
5. Was I not pressurized during the call by Ryan ********, despite telling him multiple times that I need to consult with my friends before I take a decision of joining the program?
6. Were there actually 3 seats left in the program when I had the call with Ryan ********? Did someone actually signup for the program during my call, when Ryan ******** told me that someone just signed up and so only 2 seats are left in the program?
7. What exactly are your enrolment periods because the website doesn’t say anything? And please tell us how many students were enrolled for each enrollment period? Did you not enroll multiple students into the program after I signed up, despite “only 3 seats being left”?
8. As for the numbers from your directory, the numbers you quoted now are different because you have added multiple students after me, and hence more numbers than what I stated in my last response. Is this number “the number of students you have helped get into management consulting via Cheeky Scientist” or “just folks interested in management consulting”? Please elaborate.
9. Was I not told by Ryan ******** during the call that the price would be increasing? And despite refusing to accept enrolling in the program, Ryan ******** kept lowering the price to pressurize me into subscribing to the program?
10. Did Ryan ******** go over the non-disparagement clause in the contract with me? Did Cheeky Scientist inform me about excluding the clause in June this year after BBB told you to remove it? Because that was the reason I kept paying Affirm till May 2023, despite asking you to cancel my subscription; and didn’t complain to BBB.
11. Did Ryan ******** discuss the fine print in your contract with me during the call on what Cheeky scientist expect a student to complete i.e. attend session, fill notebooks, participate in the discussion forum etc? Were any of those details disclosed to me during the call?
12. Why don’t you share the second page of the contract with BBB, the one I shared in my initial complaint? Why is it different from the contract on your website? Why does it say “Member agree that they will not, at any time, without the express written consent of the other party communicate, disclose or acknowledge the contents of this agreement, to any person or entity”?
13. Why were your ‘PhD trainers’ not able to find me a single connection who works at MBBs in the US who used CS to get the job? Why was I sent contact of folks working outside US, and those who worked at McKinsey, BCG and Bain more than a decade ago, and that too who are not affiliated with Cheeky Scientist?Please answer these questions and stop giving the same redundant replies. I can validate everything I have stated in my initial complaint and response with screenshots as proof, and a recording of the initial call with Ryan ******** on 10/10/22. I have proof to substantiate my claims that I was pressurized to subscribe to the program, I was lied to, told fabricated statistics during the initial call; and that this program is literally of no use to me and not worth $5000 at all. Please answer the above questions and provide proof! I had sent detailed reports with screenshots and call recording transcript to my college administration, my college counselor, to the local police station and to Affirm in January 2023because Cheeky Scientist refused to cancel my subscription. And cut all ties with Cheeky Scientist and its affiliates. So, stating that I used resources for all these months is a big fat lie!
Business Response
Date: 10/21/2023
10/23/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20482171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

As Mr. **** has stated, he availed himself of all the program’s products and services including meetings with our PhD mentors on 10/11/22 and 10/25/22. Mr. **** used the program’s products and services 2 full months prior to expressing any concerns about the program. When he did express his concerns, we responded to them promptly. Now, after having access to the program for 8 months, Mr. **** has claimed he bought under pressure; a claim that was never raised before.
As Mr. **** has also stated; he went to his payment processor and attempted to dispute his purchase. However, due to a preponderance of evidence showing he extensively used the program’s products and services, the payment processor, who is an independent third party, denied his dispute. This processor is solely responsible for collecting from Mr. ****, not us.
Mr. **** has claimed he has lost access to the program. However, this is untrue. Mr. **** retains access to his program dashboard and to the mentors team. Please see Exhibit 1 of Mr. ****’s user access. We are committed to continuing to provide our services to Mr. ****.
Importantly, we utilize enrollment periods at our discretion to appropriately allocate mentorship resources. This is clearly posted on our website’s FAQ page. Please see exhibit 2 of the enrollment period explanation from the FAQ page here: ********************************

Mr. **** claims that we falsely stated that the cost of our program was increasing. Our prices have already increased to the level that Mr. **** is disputing. Please see our current non promotional pricing of $9998 per membership in our publicly available terms and conditions: ************************************************* This is also provided in Exhibit 3.

Prior to purchasing, Mr. **** agreed to the Product's terms and conditions. Section 7 & 8 of the terms & conditions explain that there are no cancellations or refunds prior to 12 months. Section 1 shows the product has already been provided to Mr. ****. Section 2 outlines that Mr. **** agreed to participate in the program. Please see Exhibit 4 of the terms and conditions.
Per the BBB’s request, all non disparagement language has already been removed from our terms and conditions and we have not disputed Mr. ****’s right to post to the BBB or otherwise. We do still reserve our rights to defend ourselves against defamation and libel.

Mr. **** agreed to the terms of the program in 3 ways. First, by opt-ing into the Product terms and conditions prior to purchasing, which, as mentioned, are also easily accessible publicly on our website. Second, by verbally confirming he understood key provisions in these terms, including that there were no cancellations. Thirdly, by signing our refund guarantee contract. Please see Exhibit 5 of Mr. ****’s signed agreement.

Mr. **** was not solicited for a call. He requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. Please see Exhibit 6.

Mr. **** extensively used the program’s product and services. Please see Exhibit 7 of Mr. **** receiving help via Voxer as well as the dashboard which Mr. **** gained immediate access to. The dashboard includes PhD-level training on management consulting, which is Mr. ****’s particular area of expertise. Please also see the immediate resume review that was provided to Mr. **** within 24 hours of joining the program.

Our methods and our company have been published positively in numerous prestigious publications, which are listed on our website. We are proud of our products and services, and are here to support Mr. **** through his job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 10/31/2023

Complaint: 20482171

I am rejecting this response because:
They are giving the same old
repetitive response. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify and address their
points.
They did not answer my questions from the last
response, which clearly shows that I was lied to, told fabricated
statistics and was pressurized to sign up for the program during my
initial call. Cheeky Scientist knows that they have a weak case and hence
aren’t answering these questions.
I will give
them another chance to answer these questions:
Did I not mention during my initial call to Ryan ******** on 10/10/22 that I will be busy during November and December because I was enrolled in a business program and won’t be able to attend any session with Cheeky Scientist during that time?
Did I not complain and ask for a cancellation and refund to Ryan ******** and Isaiah ****** on 8th and 9th January respectively? Why was I kicked out of the platform upon asking to cancel my subscription?
The stats that I quoted from my initial call in my last response to BBB, did Ryan ******** not tell me those stats about students Cheeky Scientist helped get into Mckinsey, BCG and Bain? Are those stats/numbers, correct?
Was I not pressurized during the call by Ryan ********, despite telling him multiple times that I need to consult with my friends before I take a decision of joining the program?
Were there actually 3 seats left in the program when I had the call with Ryan ********? Did someone actually signup for the program during my call, when Ryan ******** told me that someone just signed up and so only 2 seats are left in the program?
What exactly are your enrolment periods because the website doesn’t say anything? Please state your enrolment periods!! And please tell us how many students were enrolled for each enrollment period? Did you not enroll multiple students into the program after I signed up, despite “only 3 seats being left”?
As for the numbers from your directory, the numbers you quoted now are different because you have added multiple students after me, and hence more numbers than what I stated in my last response. Is this number “the number of students you have helped get into management consulting via Cheeky Scientist” or “just folks interested in management consulting”? Please elaborate.
Was I not told by Ryan ******** during the call that the price would be increasing? And despite refusing to accept enrolling in the program, Ryan ******** kept lowering the price to pressurize me into subscribing to the program? Did he not do that?
Did Ryan ******** discuss the fine print in your contract with me during the call on what Cheeky scientist expect a student to complete i.e. attend session, fill notebooks, participate in the discussion forum etc? Were any of those details disclosed to me during the call?
Why don’t you share the second page of the contract with BBB, the one I shared in my initial complaint? Why is it different from the contract on your website? Why does it say “Member agree that they will not, at any time, without the express written consent of the other party communicate, disclose or acknowledge the contents of this agreement, to any person or entity”?
Why were your ‘PhD trainers’ not able to find me a single connection who works at MBBs in the US who used CS to get the job? Why was I sent contact of folks working outside US, and those who worked at McKinsey, BCG and Bain more than a decade ago, and that too who are not affiliated with Cheeky Scientist?

It’s already been more than 12 months now that I fell prey to
their fraudulent scam! Please answer these questions and stop giving the same
redundant replies. Otherwise accept that Cheeky Scientist scammed me into
buying their program under pressure. I have proof to substantiate my claims
that I was pressurized to subscribe to the program, I was lied to, told fabricated
statistics during the initial call; and that this program is literally of no use to me and not
worth $5000 at all!
I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

******** ****
Business Response
Date: 11/15/2023
11/13/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20482171

Dear Better Business Bureau,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond further to the complaint of ******** ****. We are happy to further address his concerns here.

As Mr. **** has stated, he availed himself of all the program’s products and services including meetings with our PhD mentors on 10/11/22 and 10/25/22. Mr. **** used the program’s products and services 2 full months prior to expressing any concerns about the program. When he did express his concerns, we responded to them promptly. Now, after having access to the program for 8 months, Mr. **** has claimed he bought under pressure; a claim that was never raised before.
As Mr. **** has also stated; he went to his payment processor and attempted to dispute his purchase. However, due to a preponderance of evidence showing he extensively used the program’s products and services, the payment processor, who is an independent third party, denied his dispute. This processor is solely responsible for collecting from Mr. ****, not us.
Mr. **** has claimed he has lost access to the program. However, this is untrue. Mr. **** retains access to his program dashboard and to the mentors team. Please see Exhibit 1 of Mr. ****’s user access. We are committed to continuing to provide our services to Mr. ****.
Importantly, we utilize enrollment periods at our discretion to appropriately allocate mentorship resources. This is clearly posted on our website’s FAQ page. Please see exhibit 2 of the enrollment period explanation from the FAQ page here: ********************************

Mr. **** claims that we falsely stated that the cost of our program was increasing. Our prices have already increased to the level that Mr. **** is disputing. Please see our current non promotional pricing of $9998 per membership provided in Exhibit 3.

Prior to purchasing, Mr. **** agreed to the Product's terms and conditions. Section 7 & 8 of the terms & conditions explain that there are no cancellations or refunds prior to 12 months. Section 1 shows the product has already been provided to Mr. ****. Section 2 outlines that Mr. **** agreed to participate in the program. Please see Exhibit 4 of the terms and conditions.
Per the BBB’s request, all non disparagement language has already been removed from our terms and conditions and we have not disputed Mr. ****’s right to post to the BBB or otherwise. We do still reserve our rights to defend ourselves against defamation and libel.
Mr. **** continues to state that numbers on the member’s directory change. Being a part of the member directory is optional. Members can opt in and out at will. The number of members changes regularly.

Mr. **** agreed to the terms of the program in 3 ways. First, by opt-ing into the Product terms and conditions prior to purchasing, which, as mentioned, are also easily accessible publicly on our website. Second, by verbally confirming he understood key provisions in these terms, including that there were no cancellations. Thirdly, by signing our refund guarantee contract. Please see Exhibit 5 of Mr. ****’s signed agreement. There is no fine print in the contract or the terms and conditions.

Mr. **** was not cold called. He requested the call with our team, including filling out an application for a call prior to the call. Please see Exhibit 6.

Mr. **** extensively used the program’s product and services. Please see Exhibit 7 of Mr. **** receiving help via Voxer as well as the dashboard which Mr. **** gained immediate access to. The dashboard includes PhD-level training on management consulting, which is Mr. ****’s particular area of expertise. Please also see the immediate resume review that was provided to Mr. **** within 24 hours of joining the program.

Our methods and our company have been published positively in many publications as well, which are listed on our website. We are proud of our products and services, and are here to support Mr. **** through his job search.

Respectfully,

Rayanne Hoopes
COO
Cheeky Scientist
5097200258
Customer Answer
Date: 11/24/2023

Complaint: 20482171

I am rejecting this response because:
They are giving the same old repetitive
response. They did not answer my questions for
the second time, which clearly shows that I was lied to, told
fabricated statistics and was pressurized to sign up for the program
during my initial call. They are refusing to answer the questions I had asked
because they themselves know that they have a weak case. I have the full
recording of the initial call I had with Ryan ******* to substantiate
everything I say.
Their claim that I availed all
resources and used the programs products and services for 2 full months is
wrong. I had clearly told Ryan ******* during my initial call that I will be
busy during November and December 2022 due to my participation in a business
school program. And when in January when I complained to them and sent them a
detailed report, they refused to cancel the contract. And I kept paying the
dues to Affirm because Cheeky Scientist had refused to help and because of the non-disparagement
clause and that ‘I wasn’t to disclose details of the contract’ to anyone. I
have had no contact with anyone related to Cheeky Scientist since January 2023,
when after multiple requests they refused to help me. So, their claim that I
have used their resources for 8 months is a lie!
As for dispute with the payment processor,
they had asked me to settle it with Cheeky Scientist, but given they refused to
help me, I kept paying them. Hence, Cheeky Scientists’ claims are baseless and
false. They kicked me out of the platform where participants ask questions,
right after I had sent Cheeky Scientist a report about how Ryane ******* had
lied to me, misquoted me stats and pressurized me to but the program. Moreover,
they keep talking about enrollment periods, can they list exactly what their
enrollment periods are? They have constantly refused to answer this question.
They keep adding students to the program, pressuring them by stating that ‘only
3 seats are left’. You can read extensively about their tactics on Reddit. They
used the same tactics with another friend of mine, and I have the full
recording for that call too.
During the call Ryan ******* told me
“I know what Isaiah told me, he's considering 8 to 10,000 for next year”, so
Cheeky Scientists claim that I’m ‘falsely stating’ that their costs was
increasing is a lie. I am only telling what I was told by Ryan ******* during
the initial call.
As for the members directory,
during the call I had asked Ryan ******* how many folks they had helped get
into Management consulting, and he showed me 403 members in the
directory stating “so that's just PhD's that we've helped get into management
consulting exclusively” which was a lie. When I checked it myself later on, the
members directory is just a list of folks “who want to get into management
consulting” and not folks “who got into management consulting” through Cheeky
Scientist. Ryan ******* misquoted and false advertised me the program which is
an offence!
As stated earlier, a full article has been written in
a top scientific journal ‘Science’ about Cheeky Scientist titled “Criticism
builds against Ph.D. careers firm Cheeky Scientist” *****************************************************************************************************.
It clearly explains how Cheeky Scientist has been scamming so many students
with their ponzi scheme, just like myself. And soon another article will be
published. There are multiple complaints about Cheeky Scientist on BBB itself.
It’s already been more than 12
months now that I fell prey to their fraudulent scam! They refuse to
answer the questions mentioned in my last 2 responses and keep giving the same
redundant replies. Cheeky Scientist scammed me into buying their program under
pressure. The call recording substantiates my claims that I was pressurized to subscribe
to the program, I was lied to, told fabricated statistics during the initial call; and
that this program is literally of no use to me and not worth $5000 at all!

I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Regards,
******** ****

Sincerely,

******** ****
Initial Complaint
Date:08/10/2023
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 was contacted by an associate at Cheeky Scientist, LLC (a career advising and counseling service company) at 6:30 am HST on 7/31/2023 to book a "Transition Interview" at 9:00 am HST over Zoom. At the Zoom meeting, I spoke with Ryan Metcalfe who used aggressive sales and scare tactics to get me to agree to signing up for the Cheeky Scientist Association Diamond program. During the call, Ryan had another associate join the call, and had me share my screen with him. He walked me through signing up for a loan with Affirm for $4998.00 to finance my membership in this program. After which, he had me follow a link to a "Welcome Letter" to sign and complete this process. While I was reading the letter both he and his associate were talking which did not allow me to concentrate. I was very uncomfortable. Upon signing, I was immediately given access to a Google Drive folder, a Voxer account, and set up a login and password for their Diamond program. After the call was completed, I looked at the message and file sent via Voxer. I felt uneasy about the program. In the morning on 8/1/2023 (within 24 hours of signing), I called Cheeky Scientist, messaged Isaiah (company founder) on Voxer, and emailed Ryan, Isaiah, and Rayanne Hoopes requesting to cancel my membership and refund the loan with Affirm. I have been corresponding with Rayanne for a week, but the company will not cancel the service agreement. Rather, she emailed me on 8/4 to offer a $1,000 refund and keep the service agreement in place. I refused this offer and requested the service to be cancelled and the funds returned to Affirm. On 8/8, I emailed Rayanne, Ryan, and Isaiah again requesting a refund and full removal from their system. In this email, I stated that I removed the Google Drive folder. A new link to the Google Drive folder was emailed to me within 30 minutes. I removed the folder again and repeated my prior message. No one from their company is contacting/corresponding with me to resolve this issue.
Business Response
Date: 08/15/2023
8/13/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20448378

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Ms. ****** requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out a form requesting a call with us. Please see exhibit 1 of Ms. ******’s application to get on a call. Please note that she was specifically asked if she was looking to invest in her job search and she responded with a yes.

Please also see exhibit 2 of Ms. ****** signing a contract with us explaining our refund policy in Sections 6 and Sections 8. There is also a lender disclosure in Section 4.

We currently require all new members of our program to go beyond signing an agreement with us that clearly lays out our terms for them, but we also ask to document that they understand our refund terms verbally by video. Please see exhibit 3 of the transcript of this video where the confirmations were slowly and carefully reviewed with Ms. ******, and her confirmations in return, which she gave us when she entered the program. She was fully aware of the refund policy. Further, Ms. ****** was not rushed or pressured in any way. She was on her call for over an hour. Exhibit 4 shows Ms. ****** going through these confirmations.

Importantly, we have been very responsive with Ms. ******. We have replied to her extensively including emails exchanged on 8/1/23, 8/1/23, 8/4/23, 8/7/23, 8/9/23 and 8/11/23. Importantly, we have offered Ms. ****** a partial refund despite her access to the program as detailed below. To date, she has refused the refund.

Finally please see exhibit 5 shows further evidence of Ms. ****** receiving help via and participating in the PhD forum as well at the dashboard which Ms. ****** gained immediate access to.

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: 08/18/2023
I do not agree with Cheeky Scientist Association's response.
I am providing additional evidence showing that I have been trying to cancel the service agreement with Cheeky Scientist Association (“CSA”) since August 1, 2023. I have not availed myself of their services and have every intention to discontinue contact with this association.

In Attachment 1, you will see all the email correspondence I have had with CSA since August 1. You will see that I have consistently asked for the service agreement to be cancelled and the reference loan to be refunded to Affirm. I would like to draw your attention to my emails on Tuesday, August 8 at 7:17 am and 7:56 am in which I notify Rayanne Hoopes that I have removed their Google Drive folder from my Gmail account.

In Attachment 2, you will see screenshots of conversations on Voxer with “Cheeky Scientist” and Ms. Meerambika ****** documenting my intent to cancel. I would like to note that Voxer is not their proprietary communication software, and a free version for individuals is available for download from the Apple Store. Here is a link to their website: *********************************

In Attachment 3, you will see the number of emails specific to their Diamond Program that I have received since July 31, 2023 totals 12. I have not opened any of their program specific emails since July 31 and have not received any other emails associated with their program since August 6, 2023. To be clear, I do not want to avail myself of their services. However, if I am still in the Diamond Program and receiving benefits, then why am I no longer being provided any services?

CSA is saying that I was not under pressure and provided me with a 1:26 minute video recording taken without my permission or knowledge saying that I consent to everything and am “jovial.” This was at the end of an almost two hour long Zoom meeting. It is not reflective of the full meeting when I clarify that if their associates do not attend scheduled meetings that they would be in violation of their own service agreement. It also does not capture Ryan M******* and another associate taking while I was trying to read. Once this happened, I felt pressured and hurried the conversation. I was not able to read the full agreement. The recording of this video is an invasion of privacy.

Throughout the approximately 2-hour meeting, Ryan used high pressure sales tactics (limited time offer, only 6 seats left) and flashed images of articles in Nature and the Harvard Business Review. These articles are misleading. Both are authored by Isiah Hankel, SCA CEO, and are not peer-reviewed. Rather, they only represent CSA’s opinions. Please see the links to these articles:
1. Nature: **************************************************
2. Harvard Business Review: **********************************************************

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires a 72-hour “cooling off period” for high pressure sales, with no questions asked. This is because consumers fall prey to these types of sales. I am one of these people. I contacted CSA within 24 hours to cancel this service agreement. CSA will say that the FTC rules do not apply because this is an “online sale.” However, the FTC ruling stating that online sales was in 2015 and prior to the proliferation of teleconferencing technologies that are now being used in educational settings, conferences, medical offices, and the USA judiciary system since the COVID-19 pandemic. These teleconferencing technologies simulate in-person discussions and meetings through the use of video and screen sharing, and was not contemplated in 2015. CSA’s “transition call” is akin to door-to-door sales, and is subject to the FTC rules and state-level consumer protections.

I am not deriving any benefit from CSA’s Diamond Program. I have not logged into their online “dashboard” since the “transition call.” I am willing to submit my computer for a forensic audit to prove this. I am adamant about not using their services.
I want Cheeky Scientist to refund the total amount of the loan, $4889.00. I do not want a partial refund.
Customer Answer
Date: 08/22/2023
Dear BBB,
I would like to note that Exhibit 4 from Cheeky Scientist does not reflect me “participating” and “receiving help” from any of their members, representatives, or materials. These pictures are from the original “Transition Call” on 7/31 and I was not aware that I was being videotaped via Zoom. This is not only a misrepresentation but an invasion of privacy via the recording of the video. I am not aware of any state or federal law that allows videos to be recorded without the permission of all parties involved.
Business Response
Date: 08/31/2023
8/30/2023

RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
ID: 20448378

Dear Better Business Bureau,

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

Ms. ****** carefully reviewed her contract for 11 minutes as further detailed below, including bold easy to read disclosures about the nature of the agreement, the fact she was taking out a loan, and that there are no refunds prior to 12 months.
Ms. ****** requested the call with Cheeky Scientist team members and filled out an application to make her request. Please see Exhibit 1 of Ms. ******’s application to get on a call. Please note that she was specifically asked if she was looking to invest in her job search and she responded with a yes.

Further, Ms. ****** was not rushed or pressured in any way. She was on her call for over an hour. Please see Exhibit 2 of the confirmations we slowly and carefully reviewed with Ms. ******, and her confirmations in return, which she gave us when she entered the program. She was fully aware of the cancellation policy.

Importantly please see Exhibits 3 and 4 of the Terms and Conditions Ms. ****** had to agree to prior to her purchase outlining the refund policy, and the contract she signed at time of purchase agreeing to the same refund policies. Ms. ****** has repeatedly stated that she did not get time to read the contract, however the last page shows that Ms. ****** viewed the short contract for over 11 minutes prior to signing. She knew what she was agreeing to including our refund policy in Sections 6 and Sections 8. There is also a lender disclosure in Section 4 of this agreement.

We have been very responsive to Ms. ******, extensively exchanging emails on 8/1/23, 8/1/23, 8/4/23, 8/7/23, 8/9/23 and 8/11/23. Importantly, we have offered Ms. ****** a partial refund despite her access to the program and it being outside of the refund agreement as detailed below. To date, she has refused the refund. Since Ms. ****** has disputed her payment through the payment processor, Cheeky Scientist cannot provide services until the dispute is resolved. However, once it is resolved, we will be happy to continue to provide services.
The Transition Call was done via Zoom and entrance to the call requires consent to record. Please see Exhibit 5 of the consent that Ms. ****** accepted prior to joining her Zoom call.

Finally please see Exhibit 6 of Ms. ****** receiving help from our mentorship team and participating in the PhD forum, as well as accessing her program materials and dashboard using her computer’s IP address.

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

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Cheeky Scientist, LLC is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.