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Business Profile

Recruitment Services

Cheeky Scientist, LLC

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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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

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    Customer Complaints Summary

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

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    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.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/21/2023

      Type:Product 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.
      This Cheeky Scientist (CS) business is a group of liars. STAY AWAY from them by all means.

      CS lure all the unconfident PhDs (clients) into their so called Cheeky Scientist Association (CSA) with the absolute garbage promise that they will connect the clients to recruiters in the industries. They will find appropriate job circulars for the clients. The clients would need to spend about 1 to 2 hours each week. So hearing such promise, people fall into trap of subscribing to this CSA for a hefty $5000 (plus interests) fees. During the "transition call", the representative works such a swift manner that they don't even disclose the entire contract before signing the contract. The rep talks so authoritatively that you just fall into trusting his words. Then comes the real picture. THEY WILL NOT DO ANYTHING, period! All they will do is to push you to do the following things. See the attached contract.

      It's okay whatever the conditions they want in their contract. The main reason of my complaint is that the representative did not tell me all the details, and lied blatantly.

      The representative did not disclose this contract to me before compelling me to sign up. The rep did not tell me there will be live sessions to attend. The amount of commitment they are requiring doesn't equal to only 2 hours worth of effort each week. To satisfy their requirements you need to list 500 companies each with one resume, 1000 networking contacts, prepare 20 resumes each month. If anyone can do all these things, they can surely land a job on their own. It is practically impossible to satisfy all these conditions. They literally rob $5000 without doing anything. And above all, there is a refund policy written in their contract in plain language, which they will not admit by any means.

      They are CHEATERS, absolutely SCAMMERS.

      It is my fault that I didn't give a deep thought earlier. There is no point spending $5000 if you can do all these things yourself.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/05/2023



      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      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. ******-********’s claims are quite simply untrue and seem to be a bad faith attempt to avoid paying the balance he agreed to pay per the legally binding contract he entered freely into. We did document the agreement Mr. ******-******** entered into with Cheeky Scientist and the confirmations she gave whereby he confirmed he understood the terms of the program. We have also reached out to Mr. ******-******** to help reconcile any frustration he may have had about this process and are still ready to talk with him at his convenience.

      Please see exhibit 1 of Mr. ******-******** reading every page of his contract, contrary to his claims.

      Please see exhibit 2 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 further see exhibit 3 of Mr. ******-******** receiving one-on-one guidance in our messaging application as well at the mentorship dashboard which Mr. ******-******** gained immediate access to.

      Finally, please see exhibit 4 the agreement that Mr. ******-******** signed upon joining the program. Especially see page two which shows that he read the contract prior to signing. He was not rushed.

      Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides our clients and we do stand behind those services that have helped tens of thousands of PhDs. You can see many of these PhDs here: *************************************************** and is here to support Mr. ******-******** through his job search.

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      **********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/14/2023



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because: please see the attached documents.



      Sincerely,



      **** ******-********
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/16/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Date of Transaction: 9th December 2022. I spoke with a representative virtually and on that call I was asked to sign the contract. I was given no time to read the contract, hence I asked what was written in the contract. The representatives misinformed me. When I signed the contract I did not know I could not cancel. Amount of Money: A loan with Affirm for a total amount of 5502.28 US dollars. I agreed to purchasing the membership of Cheeky Scientist on the basis of service promised by the merchant representative. I was provided with no insight of the service against the membership. Once I purchased, I realized I do not want this material and service. I have not used the service after 1 month of purchase and contacted the merchant within 1 month, requesting cancellation. The merchant promised: 1) Networking and references within the industry without which I cannot get job: This was a false claim. The network provided was of members like me, who have no industry experience and are looking for jobs. People do get jobs without referrals. 2) Materials provided to help get jobs only by Cheeky: After receiving their materials I realized they are pre recorded videos, years old reading materials and mentor assistance that were all substandard. All the information and materials provided were available for free on internet. Within a month I realized and contacted Cheeky requesting them to take back all materials, access and cancel membership. I do not approve buying this as I am not benefiting. 3) Assistance at every step of job interview: I received no feedback on my CV and LinkedIn profile when requested, found zero reference, network from the industry for jobs. Interview assistance was substandard.
      I am asking them to cancel my membership and inform Affirm. My credit score is getting affected.
      The merchant didn’t try to resolve the issue even after I wrote them repeatedly explaining the issue.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/01/2023


      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      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.


      We are a bit surprised by Ms. ******** claims given that she has been provided with extensive help since joining our program, which you’ll see in the exhibits below.


      We did document the agreement Ms. ****** entered into with Cheeky Scientist and the confirmations she gave whereby she confirmed she understood the terms of the program. We have also reached out to Ms. ****** to help reconcile any frustration she may have had about this process and are still ready to talk with her at her convenience.

      Please see exhibit 1 of Ms. ****** on video receiving live mentorship from our PhD leadership team.

      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.

      Please further see exhibit 3 of Ms. ****** receiving help via Voxer and other online tools, including her participation in our PhD mentorship forum as well as the access she was given to her mentorship dashboard, which Ms. ****** gained immediate access to. All of this is confirmed below along with her IP addresses she consistently used to access all of our materials

      Finally, please see exhibit 4 the agreement that Ms. ****** signed upon joining the program. Especially see page two which shows the timestamps confirming she read the entire agreement at her leisure and was not rushed.

      Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides our clients and we do stand behind those services that have helped tens of thousands of PhDs. You can see many of these PhDs here: *************************************************** and is here to support Ms. ****** through her job search.

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      **********
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/15/2023

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      ResolvedMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I signed a contract (attached) with Cheeky Scientist on 02/13/2023 for resume prep/recruitment services. Based on the live conversation, I understood that they would do most of the work with my minimal help and the total cost for the service would be $2500 to be paid over time about $100 a month (check out cart attached) until I find a job with money back guarantee. I felt very pressured into checking out with affirm (that then I realized was a loan company). after it was approved I was rushed into signing the contract. The details of the loan shows the cost to be $3602.51 including interest. I also then realized that the burden of the work would mostly be on me and not on them. I believe rushing me into agreeing and signing all the documents over a short period of time impacted my judgment and I emailed them next day requesting for cancellation of the contract and the loan and I refused to use their services. They have not been responsive even though they were very responsive prior and before signing the contract. I would like for the contract to get cancelled and my money get refunded including any interest that I would have to pay until then.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/27/2023



      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: 19405702

      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. ******** reached out to Cheeky Scientist to inquire about our services. We did document the agreement Ms. ******** entered into with Cheeky Scientist and the confirmations she gave whereby she confirmed she understood the terms of the program. We have also reached out to Ms. ******** to help reconcile any frustration she may have had about this process and are still ready to talk with her at her convenience.

      Please see exhibit 1 of Ms. ******** participating in the forum which she received immediate access to.

      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.

      Please further see exhibit 3 of Ms. ******** receiving services and mentorship and participating in the mentorship forum as well at the program dashboard which Ms. ******** gained immediate access to.

      Finally, please see exhibit 4 the agreement that Ms. ******** signed upon joining the program.

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

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      **********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/28/2023



      Better Business Bureau:



      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 19405702, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
      The company reached out to me and we are working
      towards a resolution at this time. So for the time being, I would like to
      request for my complaint to be removed. If needed, I will add it later.



      Sincerely,



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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/14/2023

      Type:Sales and Advertising 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 emailed to join a zoom meeting on Monday, February 6th, 5:30 pm CST by Brichelle ****** @Cheeky Scientist to understand their program to help PhD students transition into industry careers. The zoom meeting was set up for Ryan to meet me (no intimation as to any recording). The zoom meeting was set up to only allow once the participant agreed to being recorded. In good faith and to learn about their process, I agreed to enter the zoom room. There was no mention of verbal consent for the recording and no one mentioned that those who cannot afford, can take up a loan from tertiary party (Affirm). At the time, I was not looking to sign up or take any 'LOANS' for them to pursue seeking jobs for me. The process of interviewing my suitability took over 45 minutes, and after saying no plenty times, the meeting was getting dragged on to a limit that Ryan ******** even offered to reduce the cost of the program from $5000 to $2000, to be paid over multiple years, payment starts in March, '23. I relunctantly agreed to look into their program, and found no evidence of my field of architecture/ urban design. I already have a full time job, ongoing health issues, and an enormous debt. My spouse was unemployed for the last 6 months, and my dog has recently undergone serious life threatening medical procedure. I have absolute no intention of using their services and know that I cannot afford a loan with 27% APR (that no one mentioned) and was swiftly forced to click. Now, the cost of the program to be paid $2718.38 (Affirm processed on 02/08). After Ryan told me to log in and connect on Voxer, I was mislead into thinking they had resources for me to review, only to be left at the tab of engineering (no clue why). After the meeting, I messsaged Isaiah on Voxer at 6:38 pm the same night that I have to unenroll and requested to kindly cancel my enrollment and the loan. The loan was not processed till then and after repeated emails, they offered refund of $1000 on 02/10.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/26/2023

      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      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. ****** came to the Cheeky Scientist website and requested downloads of content for her industry transition.  She was reached out to by a team member via email to inquire if she was interested in speaking to our team and she readily agreed. Ms. ******’ claims otherwise are quite simply untrue and seem to be a bad faith attempt to avoid paying the balance she agreed to pay per the legally binding contract she entered freely into. We did document the agreement Ms. ****** entered into with Cheeky Scientist and the confirmations she gave whereby she confirmed she understood the terms of the program. We have also reached out to Ms. ****** to help reconcile any frustration she may have had about this process and are still ready to talk with her at her convenience.

      Ms. ****** claims that she was unaware she was applying for financing. However please see exhibit 1 of Ms. ****** looking over and agreeing to the terms of her financing.

      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.

      Please further see exhibit 3 of Ms. ****** receiving help one-on-one from our mentors and participating in the mentorship forum as well at the program dashboard which Ms. ****** gained immediate access to.

      Finally, please see exhibit 4 the agreement that Ms. ****** signed upon joining the program.

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

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      **********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/28/2023



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because: the service they showcased is irrelevant to my career that they never spoke about (I am already working in the industry) and my field (they pitched their sale by churning my own words and threw random **** for a service), and I was not informed that I was signing up for a loan from a tertiary party (Affirm - who has already started alerting me for payments). I requested to cancel the loan and enrollment within an hour of the requested meeting (that I did not verbally consent to) and it was fraudulent to set up a meeting that was only accessible through zoom's default agreement to join a recorded meeting.



      Sincerely,


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

      Business Response

      Date: 03/19/2023

      3/18/2023


      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      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. She was reached out to by the team, agreed immediately and filled out an application to qualify to get on a call. Please see Exhibit 1 of Ms. ****** application to get on a call.

      Ms. ****** was told multiple times that it was a loan with interest and that she was responsible for the balance. Exhibits proving this have already been submitted. Below we are resubmitting the transcript of the second verbal confirmations of this that are on the record.
      These and the other terms of the loan were double confirmed by Ms. ******. Ms. ****** also opted-in to the loan’s disclosures and terms & conditions on her own computer with her computer’s unique IP address, which has been recorded a well.

      As mentioned, Ms. ****** claims that she was unaware she was applying for financing. Please see Exhibit 2 of Ms. ****** looking over and agreeing to the terms of her financing.

      Please also see again 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.

      Ms. ****** opted-in to the Zoom meeting’s terms and conditions agreeing to enter the Zoom room upon the condition it was being recorded. Please see Exhibit 4 of Zoom’s terms that Ms. ****** agreed to.

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

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      **********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/20/2023



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because: I was not informed that I was signing up for a loan and I have never heard of this tertiary party before. I realized this was a loan only after they had swiftly ended their zoom meeting which had been recorded with no verbal consent and I immediately tried to cancel my enrollment and therefore the loan. Even though the loan took two days to process, I had been pushed around already inorder to cancel my enrollment and have only been offered more discounts for services which are nowhere clear or near to my career. Within an hour of their meeting which did not provide adequate time for completely reading the terms, I requested for cancellation and have not pursued any of their services as they were already misleading, unsuitable and being an international student, I was vulnerable to their sale tactics; not knowing their predatory nature of call and demanding unfair commitment to their so called 'services'. They have offered further discounts to their service as a settlement but since I cannot commit nor pursue their fraudulaent nature of 'helping' therefore am only interested in getting the loan cancelled and spreading awareness that young students, especially international students don't fall victim to this scam.  




      Sincerely,



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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/14/2022

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      ResolvedMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I accidentally signed up for Cheeky Scientist while prepping for a colonoscopy. I was dehydrated and delusional and I suffer from depression that was not medicated at the time. They used very strong sales tactics to guide me to sign up for a loan, and I did not know the interest rate or ability to pay because I was delusional and felt sick. I had no business bring on the internet that day. I want Cheeky to release me from the contract and cancel the loan, please.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/03/2023

      I hope your holidays were good! This client is working
      with us and has withdrawn their complaint. Please let me know what I need to do
      on my end for that.

      Best,
      Rayanne

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/03/2023



      Better Business Bureau:



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




      Sincerely,



      ***** ******
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/21/2022

      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 believe this company is based on fraudulent and manipulative practices and I think people need to be warned before getting involved with this company.

      I scheduled a transition call because I wanted to learn more about the company. I was pressured into signing a contract that included a no refund policy and within two weeks of receiving the program I asked for a refund. I was told I was not allowed to have a refund and I would be provided with more assistance. I was barely given any assistance and I requested another refund, only to be told I had been enrolled in the program for too long. The materials provided through this company are not worth the amount they are charging. They do not provide assistance or any of the services that were promised upon initial consult. I have been refused a refund twice now and believe this company is a scam.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/06/2022

      12/06/2022


      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: #********

      Dear Better Business Bureau,
      Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of A ***** (******* ****). We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

      We are a bit surprised by Ms. *****’s claims given that she has been provided with extensive help over the course of many months since joining our program.

      Ms. *****’s claims otherwise are quite simply untrue and seem to be a bad faith attempt to avoid paying the balance she agreed to pay per the legally binding contract she entered freely into. Additionally, Ms. ***** was given access to her Training Dashboard with all downloadable documents that were immediately available for download, the Expert Accountability Training forum, and Voxer - where she received additional materials and guidance.

      Hopefully you can see from the evidence above how unreasonable it is for Ms. ***** to claim she did not receive extensive support or that she was pressured in any way especially given the fact that this was a video call that she could have ended at anytime, i.e. she could have simply left the Zoom meeting, closed her laptop, etc.

      Please further see Exhibit 1 of Ms. ***** receiving one on one support from our trainers as well as participating in 88 individual posts in the Expert Accountability Training Forum with out industry trainers over the course of several months, as well at the Training Dashboard which Ms. ***** gained immediate access to.

      Finally, please see Exhibit 2 the agreement that Ms. ***** signed upon joining the program whereby she would give full effort in the program for 12 months. She stopped giving full effort half way through but we are willing to continue our work together to get her hired.

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

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      ************
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/18/2022

      Type:Product 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.
      Date of transaction was on 10/28/2022
      Amount of money paid: $4998.00 (Principal) and 1230.55 in interest (via Affirm) totaling$6228.55
      The business committed was for a guaranteed job hunting and resume updating service, the company made aggressive sales pitches and forced me on agreeing to their terms and predatory lending practices without my will after hanging up from the call, I found out that they are trapping other people in this scheme online and I had filed a report with federal trade commission(ref # ************ Immediately after the call I called the loan processing company Affirm Inc to stop the loan which they didnt. There is already plenty of complains about their bad sales practices online: *********************************************************************************************
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/17/2022

      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 June 27th 2022 I had a transition call with Cheeky scientist team. During the call I told them that I am interested in a data scientist position want to see how they can help me. The person on the call told me that recruiter are not reaching out to me because my lindkin profile ranks very low which he checked using some software and told me that they can get me hired within 3 months. They offered me to join a Diamond program for 3999 dollar and said only few seats are remaining and I should quickly make the decision. I did not have 3999 so I was not going to join the program but the person on the call said he can set me up for a payment plan where I can pay 150 dollar per month. I did not realize he was making me take a loan from Affirm and everything he was doing was so quick. He asked me to share the screen on zoom this was all being recorded since at the beginning of the call they start the recording. He asked me to enter the credit card details and my SSN as required to get the loan approved. He also asked me to put 30,000 as my income for last year to get the loan approved. I became a little suspicious but did not realize that it was for the loan. I ended up joining their diamond program, where during the call they made me sign in some google drive and put in my resume. As soon as the call ended I realized that I made a mistake and called them back to get the refund and cancel my order. The person on the call refused to do that and said I will have to join the program and they have the recording of the zoom call where I confirmed my participation and agreed to pay the full amount. This call was within a few hour of the zoom call. I quickly also sent an email asking them to cancel the order, I have a copy of the email before attending any of their online coaching classes. I was forced to use their program because they did not give the refund. I just attended one online session and they sent me two videos to watch which I found completely useless and unrelated

      Business Response

      Date: 10/30/2022

      10/30/2022


      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      Dear Better Business Bureau,
      Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint of Ashok ********** We take the responsibility to respond seriously and have responded in detail below.

      We are a bit surprised by Mr. *********** claims given that he was hired into a job after joining our program, which was the guarantee he was given upon joining the program. In the message he sent he stated: “Job wise I am fine, I got a good position with kind of work I wanted to do.” Please see Exhibit 1 of the message Mr. ********* sent us message confirming he was hired.

      Mr. *********** claims otherwise are quite simply untrue and seem to be a bad faith attempt to avoid paying the balance he agreed to pay per the legally binding contract he entered freely into. On our end we’ve met the terms of the contract by helping him to get hired. We did document the agreement Mr. ********* entered into with Cheeky Scientist and the confirmations he gave whereby he confirmed he understood the terms of the program.

      Mr. ********* came to us for help to get hired, freely chose to enter into the agreement with us and entered his information for the agreement. He received two months of rigorous help from multiple members of our team and as a result, by his own admission, was hired. Please see Exhibit 2 of Mr. ********* receiving help via Voxer and participating in the PhD forum as well at the dashboard which Mr. ********* gained immediate access to. As an example, you can see in Exhibit 3 where Mr. ********* takes advantage of our mock interview training services on multiple occasions by writing on multiple, "My interview at ****** got scheduled for Friday at 1PM this week. I will attending the mock interview session with Abha today and on Wednesday".

      Mr. ********* claims that he was unaware he was applying for financing. However please see Exhibit 3 of Mr. ********* looking over and agreeing to the terms of his financing. We also read the terms and conditions of the agreement, including that there were no refunds and the fact that he was signing up for a loan with interest, whereby he verbally agreed to these terms. Here’s what was read and verbally agreed to on Mr. *********** end:


      We want to confirm that you understand you’ve been given all the materials, have been fully onboarded, and our work together has already started. Can you confirm that you understand that for me or ask any questions you have? [You said, “Yes”]. Second, we want to confirm that you got the welcome letter and the job offer guarantee so if you don’t get a job in 12 months you get a full refund. Now, outside of that, all sales are final and there are no refunds prior to 12 months. Can you confirm you understand that for me? [You said, “Yes”]. Finally, we want to make sure you understand your payments are about XXX amount per month. Next month, you will send you an email for the first payment and you can pay through that email. As mentioned, you owe the full balance, which is why it’s called a loan, but you can pay off the balance early at any time, like when you get hired, and when you do, there’s no payments and no interest due after you pay it off. Can you confirm that you understand that for me too or ask any questions you have? [You said, “Yes, I understand”].

      Finally, please see Exhibit 4, which is the agreement that Mr. ********* signed upon joining the program. His signature and IP address further confirms that he knew the terms of the program and entered into the agreement willingly and fully aware of his and our commitment to each other via the program.

      Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to continue to support Mr. ********* in his career development.

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******
      COO
      Cheeky Scientist
      ************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/05/2022



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because:

      First of all, I graduated in May 2022, and I started searching for a job about a month after I graduated and it does take some time to find a job because I wanted to find a job in a completely different field than what I had specialized during my Ph.D. My Ph.D. is in theoretical physics with a specialization in general relativity which is very different from data science.  A Data Science job requires a certain set of skills in math and programming, which I developed on my own and without any help from cheeky's program. During the transition call, Isaiah manipulated and used some tricks and hurried me to join the program. I was not the only one who fell into their trap, and there were many other complaints on BBB, of which I have attached( Attachment 1) one screenshot (Complaint: ********).  Immediately after this call, I realized that Isaiah gave false information about my Linkdin profile and did not ask me about my background, which is necessary to say anything about how long it could take to find a Data Scientist position as one has to learn those skills and become expert to find a a data scientist job.
      I got very suspicious after the call ended and did a google search for cheeky scientist scams.  The top results of the search took me to the BBB website, where I saw many, many similar complaints about the transition call, where they made people join their program by telling them several lies. When these people ask for a refund, they tell them that they have used their product and show the kind of proof they show here. I decided not to use their services as they would be used to deny any possibility of a refund. I directly approached financial service Affirm the next day, from which they made me take the loan, and it was a scam. Affirm told me they would not be able to cancel the loan until the merchant initiated it. On the same day, I got a message and call from another person who told me that he had also been promised a data scientist position he believed it was a scam too. I will be happy to bring him in, and he has also tried very hard to get the refund. For the next several days, I kept sending emails asking them for a refund, but they either did not respond or said they will not refund me. This was when I had not even looked at their material or attended any of their online calls. 


      I was tired and saw no hope of a refund, so I decided to try to see what they had. I sent a message to Isaiah on Voxer asking him if he would still like to help me because I just wanted to see what they have. Isaiah said he would be happy to help and asked me to remove a negative review I posted on Facebook. I removed the review and told him I have the first round of interviews coming up after two days at *****l. The hiring manager at ****** found me through LinkedIn and asked me if was interested in a senior data scientist position they have available. I just applied for that position and got a phone screen which I was already prepared for and the phone screen was easy since they approached me and wanted to know more about my background.  Isaiah tried to convince me that he would get me hired at ****** as he knows people there and said I should trust him let him show that he can get me hired at *****l. I did take a risk this time and told him I would attend the two training sessions, of which I went to just the first one and found it completely useless and irrelevant. I just wanted to be nice to them but they were using this opportunity to make records that I have used their program. My video interview at ****** was going to be a technical one where the hiring manager asked me in-depth questions which were very specific to the field of machine learning, and I got a rejection from ****** after the interview since I was still in the process of learning those skills. I did not want to waste my time with Cheeky's programs as it was too irrelevant and waited for a few more weeks.
      After a few weeks, I got a message from Abha, their training lead for industry transition, asking me if I had worked on my resume and Linkedin by following their guidelines. I told her that their program was irrelevant to my job search and I should get a refund. She suggested I email Rayanne hoops and ask for a refund. I wrote to Rayanne and asked for a refund again, but she again refused. Later, Abha also falsely claimed in Voxer's message that I had networked through Cheeky and that I should not get a refund.
      The truth is I never contacted anyone with the help of Cheeky Scientist, and I almost immediately removed myself from all the groups they had added me to during the transition call. I also wanted to remove myself from the google drive they shared with me, but that could not be done by myself. I got into an argument with Abha as I was angry and wanted my refund. I sent several messages to Isaiah asking for a refund. He only responded after I posted a review on BBB. He asked to remove the review. I did tell him in the message that I am fine job-wise, and I found the kind of job I wanted and also told him in the same message that since I have not used their services and those are not useful, I should get a complete refund. 


      BBB should look at old complaints around June and July since many more people were tricked into joining their program. Many of those are removed now, but I hope they should still be accessible by BBB. I want to make it clear that these two people, Abha and Isaiah, have no expertise in data science and wasted a lot of my time. In addition, they gave me false hope that they could get me hired in a very short time without even asking about my background. Another person who had a transition call with them the same day messaged me that he has a background in organic chemistry, and these people promised him a transition to a data scientist position without even knowing his background. Everything on the call was superfast only the part which they kept for a record where the agreement was made is slow. I will be happy to bring him in and talk about his experience, and I will also suggest he write a BBB review and complaint if the Cheeky Scientist does not give me a refund. 










      Sincerely,



      Ashok *********

      Business Response

      Date: 11/20/2022

      RE: Cheeky Scientist, LLC
      ID: ********

      Dear Better Business Bureau,

      We have reviewed the additional information provided to you by Mr. *********, and his response
      actually supports our previously stated position that Mr. ********* voluntarily signed up for our
      services and a used those services in support of his job search.

      As provided in our prior response, Mr. ********* had numerous communication with multiple
      members of our staff and attended training session in preparation for his interviews. This latest
      response from Mr. ********* confirms the accuracy of the evidence we provided, including his
      communication with our staff and use of the program in support of his job search. We believe that Mr.
      *********** use of our program assisted him in ultimately obtaining his current position.

      We are disappointed that Mr. ********* choose not to avail himself to more of our services, as he
      might have been more satisfied with the program had he fully committed. We fully stand by our product
      and the results that it produces in transitioning Ph.D.’s in to private industry, including in the case of Mr.
      **********

      To put it succinctly, Mr. ********* sought out our company, voluntarily entered into a contract for our
      services, availed himself of those services, and has now successfully transitioned into a new role. We
      believe we have upheld our end of our contract and the promises we made to him, and we would ask
      Mr. ********* to do the same.

      Respectfully,
      Rayanne ******

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/26/2022



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because:

      I never agreed that I used Cheeky services to find a job. In fact, it was quite the opposite, as they wasted a lot of precious time when I was searching for a job and gave me a lot of stress. I have already explained that this fraud business continues to lie and say that I voluntarily went to them to get help. Days before Isaiah flooded my inbox with email over email ( screenshot attached), which made me wonder why he sent me so many emails (see screenshot and date of email). Because of his so many emails, I just booked one call to see what they have and not to join their program. By this time, I have known this business for less than a week. This business follows the following strategy and tricks people.
      1) They start this zoom call with a recording without prior information about the recording. They give false information and convince people to join their program.  
      2) They delete the part of the recording where that false information is given and only keep the recording that mentions payment information. They also ask people to upload their resumes to their google drive during the call so that they can claim after the call that the person has already used their service. The transition call is very fast, and he does not give time to think. Only the payment part is slow so that this person can later claim nothing was rapid. I have explained it all in my last response. He does not go over terms and conditions during the call, which guarantees any kind of job and not just an industry job within a year. This is something very stupid as anyone with Ph.D. obviously gets a job within a year without anyone's help.  


      3) They push people to attend their training sessions so that they can generate proof of them using the program and later deny the refund. When I was on the transition call, they asked me to attend the training call the next morning itself, to which I became very suspicious I later realized that they wanted to create proof that people use their program. I just went to see one of their training session and that too after they did not agree to give me my money back and left before it ended. It was so useless and a waste of my time.  


      I have already mentioned that I did not use Cheeky's training or referral to find any current job and will never use it. It was a big waste of my time, and lost a lot of money to this scam. The claim that I received training from multiple trainers is completely false. I just talked to Abha for some time, and that too asking for a refund (attached). I have already explained in my last response why and how talked to them after I was denied a refund.  Abha kept explaining to me that I should give them time and use their services. I told her again and again to refund my money. See the attachment of my chat with Abha. I will provide more on this. 

       

      I have given them 3999.0 dollar. I will still be ok if they give me back 3000 although I never really used their service to find a job and will never use it. 



      Sincerely,



      Ashok *********

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/25/2022

      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.
      The date of transaction: August 25, 2022, made through Affirm, for a total of $5,127.94 over a period of 36 months to the Cheeky Scientist. Within an hour, they had used pressure selling tactics to get me to buy a service ensuring I would receive an industry job post PhD. However, they use pressure selling tactics and would not allow me to read the document with ample time. After the Zoom meeting ended, I called them back within 30 minutes to try and end the service. I spoke to Ashley ******* about my concerns and being rushed and pressured into purchasing a service that I did not want. Isaiah ****** called me and said that there was no grace period for canceling, despite discussing my concerns about being rushed into a service and not thinking this partnership would be a good fit - due to 1:1 mentorship from him and his team. Regardless, he said that it was too late to get refund. Nowhere in the document I was pressured into signing does it lay claim that there are no cancelations. Please contact me with any further questions.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/05/2022

      09/05/2022





      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC

      ID: ********



      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. ***** claims that she was under pressure to purchase our products and services. This is unreasonable because Ms. ***** was told she was under no pressure to purchase anything and was able to leave the call at any time. Further, because the call was a video call, Ms. ***** could have left the meeting instantly at anytime by disconnecting or closing her laptop, etc.

      Ms. ***** also claims that she was not given the terms and conditions of her membership. This is imply not true as Ms. ***** readily agreed to purchase our products and services after being asked on several occasions if she understood the terms of the products and services she was purchasing. Additionally, when asked if there was a cancellation period prior to purchase, it was brought to her attention that there is no cancellation outside of the signed agreement once the materials are purchased and received because many of the materials are instantly downloadable. Upon the purchase of the services, Ms. ***** confirmed repeatedly that she understood the services were delivered immediately, that there are no refunds and all sales are final, and that she understood the terms of the payment plan she purchased. Here is what was read to her for clarity, as well as her confirmations:



      ... first, we want to confirm that you understand you've been given all the materials, have been fully onboarded, and our work together has already started. Can you confirm that you understand that for me or ask any questions you have? Ms. ***** confirmed Yes, I understand. Second, we want to confirm that you got the welcome letter and the job offer guarantee. Now, outside of that, all sales are final and there are no refunds, which means you can't come back today or tomorrow to cancel because we have to give the program a fair chance together. Can you confirm you understand that for us or ask any questions you have? Ms. ***** confirmed Yes, I understand Finally, I want to make sure you understand your payments are about XXX amount per month. Next month, you will receive an email for the first payment and you can pay through that email. As mentioned, you owe the full balance, which is why it's called loan, but you can pay off the balance early at any time, and when you do, there are no payments or interest due after you pay it off. Can you confirm that you understand that for me too or ask any questions you have? Ms. ***** confirmed Yes, I understand...



      Please see Exhibit 1 of the terms and conditions Ms. ***** had to agree to prior to purchasing our products and services. Further, please see Exhibit 2 showing that Ms. ***** signed Welcome Letter stating that she understood these terms and conditions. Finally, please see Exhibit 3 of Ms. ***** gaining access to all the products and services she purchased.



      Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ***** through her job search, and look forward to continuing our work together to get her hired.



      Respectfully,

      Rayanne ******

      COO

      Cheeky Scientist

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

      Business Response

      Date: 09/05/2022

      ***Document Attached***


      See Attachment/File: ***** ***** Welcome Letter
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/12/2022

      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 was approached via LinkedIn Messenger to set up a call with Cheeky Scientist, a service that is supposed to help PhDs like me get a job. On the call with Kyle ********* was talked into filing for a loan via Affirm for $4,000 and an appointment with Isaiah ****** was set up for later in the day. Immediately after the call, I requested to cancel this membership via LinkedIn Messenger. I was told to email *********************************. I emailed her requesting to cancel my membership. On the call later in the same day with Dr. ******, I asked again to cancel my purchase, and I was told that I could not cancel it. I have emailed ********************************* 3 times trying to cancel my membership. She has not gotten back to me. I called the Pittsburgh BBB and was told to file a complaint online. I have attached photos of the LinkedIn Messages asking to cancel and the emails that I sent asking to cancel. All were sent within 24 hours of purchase. The last email was sent after the call with Dr. ******.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/28/2022

      Contact Name and Title: Rayanne ****** COO

      Contact Phone: **********

      Contact Email: *********************************

      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC

      CASE#: ********

      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. ******* purchased services from Cheeky Scientist on August 11th. Cheeky Scientist does have a no refund policy regarding consulting programs since those services begin to be provided immediately after purchase and those policies have to be agreed to prior to purchase and are posted prominently on the website. Please see Exhibit 1 of the terms and conditions that Mr. ******* had to agree to in order to make any purchase on the Cheeky Scientist website.

      Mr. ******* decided to purchase through a third party company and made that purchase of his own free will without any undue influence. He then received consulting services via private classes with our trainers, access to our training dashboard, private training forum led by our PhD trainers, and private mentorship via our messaging platform, and submitted his resume for review. He also submitted and received help on his resume. Please see Exhibit 2 of Mr. ******* receiving these services (full resume is included at the end as Exhibit 4).

      Additionally please see Exhibit 3, Mr. ******* signed the Welcome Letter stating that he understood that anytime under 12 months he would not be eligible for a refund.

      Cheeky Scientist does strive to provide alternatives for members when at all possible and as such, if Mr. ******* chooses not to move forward with continued work with Cheeky Scientist, we will pay off 10% of the loan that Mr. ******* took out on his own free will so that both parties can go on their way.

      If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

      Best,

      Rayanne ******

      COO

      Cheeky Scientist

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/29/2022

      (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

      (1) Prior to the delivery of any service, after a sales call, which occurred in my home, I requested in writing to cancel the service. In violation of the Pennsylvania Right to Rescind and Florida Cooling-Off Rule, I was informed that I could not cancel. The relevant links to the AG pages of each PA and FL are provided below, each specifically mentions sales calls in the home as an ideal example of the protections.



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



      (2) I have received no private classes. After being misinformed that I did not have the right to cancel, which I requested both orally and in writing, I had a one-on-one call, which lasted for less than a half an hour. In the call, I was directed to reformat my resume in accordance with a provided template and fill in a spreadsheet with a list of local companies to which I would apply.



      (3) Other than the above, I have received no 'private mentorship'. I have requested numerous times to cancel, but no mentorship has been sought or given.



      (4) I have received no help on resumes. Other than the above, in which I refor****ed a resume to match a template, no assistance has been granted.



      In accordance with both PA and FL law, I should have been able to cancel as I requested before any service was granted. As a result, the most appropriate solution is a full payment by Cheeky Scientist to the third party. If a partial repayment is to be made, because the service was to last 12 months and only 1 month has been used, Cheeky Scientist, should cover 11/12 of the total cost. Please note that this solution is in violation of the policies of both the PA and FL attorneys general.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/08/2022

      09/08/2022





      RE: The Cheeky Scientist, LLC

      ID: ********



      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. ******* decided to purchase our service knowingly and calmly, that the details of the purchased were presented very clearly, both verbally and displayed on the screen, and he received our services immediately afterward purchasing the program. The transaction was completed by Mr. ******* under his complete control and without undue influence. After all, he could have left the Zoom meeting, turned off his device, or walked away at any time.



      Mr. ******* references the "cooling off rule" and the "right to rescind" which are not applicable in this situation. These rules do not apply to online purchases.



      Mr. ******* also claims that he has not received private mentorship yet in the same message confirms that he had a "had a one-on-one call" and "was directed to reformat my resume in accordance with a provided template" among other job search training activities. Our previous response here provides further exhibits of the training materials that Mr. ******* has accessed.



      Furthermore, please again see Exhibit 1 of Mr. ******* logging into his dashboard on multiple occasions on different days, receiving support via Voxer from the Cheeky Scientist team, submitting his resume for an immediate resume review and participating in the training forum.

      Mr. ******* also claims that we have not tried to provide mentorship over time but we continue to be ready and willing to work with him per the terms he signed and have reached out as recently as Monday, September 5th without response. Please see Exhibit 2.

      Finally, below is the verbatim verbal confirmations that Mr. ******* gave to us on file confirming that he understood unequivocally that there are no refunds in the program after purchase.

      Speaker 1: And then ****, I just need a couple of verbal confirmations from you... So the first one is just that you've got access to everything and our work together has already started. Is that correct?

      ****: Yes.

      Speaker 1: Awesome. And then the second one is just outside of our guarantee. We don't have any refunds. So we are fully committed to you in getting you into that dream industry position and you are fully committed as well, correct?

      ****: Yes.



      The above confirmations are in addition to the contractual agreement Mr. ******* signed that we submitted in our previous response whereby he committed himself to working in the program.

      This shows that Mr. ******* fully understood the terms and further arguments are simply a bad faith attempt to terminate a legally binding contract.

      We are ready and willing to continue to help Mr. ******* get hired in industry and look forward to working with him.



      If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.



      Respectfully,

      Rayanne ******

      COO

      Cheeky Scientist

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




      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/19/2022

      (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

      This complaint was filed after discussion with staff at the PA BBB, the FL BBB, and the PA Attorney General offices. All three entities suggested that I file this claim. I am simply trying to cancel a service that I am not using and obtain a refund for the 11 months of the service that I am not using.



      As is typical of Cheeky Scientist, the most recent response by Cheeky Scientist contains a number of inaccuracies. These relate to my use of the service. I contend that other than the acknowledged uses, I am not currently using the service. Furthermore, the service was not used later than 1 week after the initial purchase. Use during this time was mostly to attempt to contact Cheeky Scientist to cancel the service.



      (1) The implication that I have misrepresented services rendered by Cheeky Scientist is false. I acknowledged receipt of one, one-on-one call and said that other than this call no private mentorship was given. Note the use of "other than this call".



      (2) The assertion that I have claimed that Cheeky Scientist has not tried to provide private mentorship is false. I have never claimed that Cheeky Scientist did not attempt to provide mentorship, simply that I have not used the service.



      (3) The assertion that I have used the Voxer platform to receive services from Cheeky Scientist is false. The only conversations that I have had on Voxer were to try to cancel this service.



      (4) The 'contractual agreement' to which Cheeky Scientist refers was not presented to me as such. I was told that I was signing a "Welcome Letter".



      (5) The assertion that I am bargaining in bad faith is false. In fact, as detailed above Cheeky Scientist has routinely used deceptive tactics to secure my involvement in the program and to make it appear as if I am hiding my use of the platform. The platform has not been used extensively. Other than the first week of the service during which I was directed to use the platform, I have not used the platform. If Cheeky Scientist has logs of my use of the platform, the organization knows this.



      The dishonest behavior of Cheeky Scientist is why I want to terminate the service.



      Thank you,



      ****

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