Complaints

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

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  Cheeky Scientist, LLC

  19211 Panama City Beach Pkwy # 1047 Panama City Beach, FL 32413-8712

• 

  Cheeky Scientist, LLC

  Coeur D Alene, ID 83814-2754

• 

  Cheeky Scientist, LLC

  495 Grand Blvd STE 206 Miramar Beach, FL 32550-1897

• 

  Cheeky Scientist, LLC

  PO Box 1507 Coeur D Alene, ID 83816-1507

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/26/2022

  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 July 17, 2022, I met Ryan ******** on zoom to learn about the Cheeky Scientist Association. Through a brainstorming strategy, he pushed me to buy the membership. I honestly explained my financial situation, age, my PhD in social sciences, and my statistics/data analysis weakness. I told him several times that I could not just make a purchase like that on a whim and asked to stop the meeting. He never listened to me, and I wanted to be polite and behave in an academic setting. Ryan was verbally abusive, telling me stuff as I would never get a job in academia, they never pay what I deserve, I have no job hunting strategies, and I need help. I told him I needed to live with my son and his family because I couldn't afford rent and living costs. He was repeating my own words to give me pressure: " do you want to live like an independent person with an amazing job and over $100,000 income a year and enjoy your life? Or, do you want to lose your independency/dignity and live with your son and continue to be desperate and hopeless? it was just an emotionally abusive consultation. Eventually, I paid $2000 under so much pressure at that moment. The next day I found that it was US currency, and I paid $CD 2700 for the first installment. He never told me about the currency exchange. Since last week, CSA has sent me tons of annoying generated promotional emails. Those emails are free for everyone interested in getting information about CSA. I had no access to educational materials/courses/training or one-on-one consultation as promised. I received no invoice that shows the fee I paid. They have ignored me for having a phone conversation or zoom call. Through my research, I have found that there is no chance for me with a Ph.D. in social sciences to get a job in the industry. The money sitting on my credit card equals 2 months' rent! I have lived under pressure since last week, and my future seems even scarier than before after experiencing this scamming.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2022

  Contact Name and Title: ******* ****** COO
  
  Contact Phone: **********
  
  Contact Email: *********************************
  
  
  
  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 a membership. This is unreasonable to claim especially given the fact that this was a video call that Ms. ******* could have ended at anytime by leaving the Zoom meeting or closed her laptop, etc.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* further claims that she was unaware her purchase was in USD. Ms. ******* made her purchase through the Cheeky Scientist website which is all clearly in USD. Nowhere are amounts advertised in CAD.
  
  
  
  Further, Ms. ******* claims she did not receive access to courses and training material. Please see Exhibit 1 of proof of Ms. ******* receiving support in Voxer one-on-one, logging into her dashboard to access her training materials and submitting her resume for review.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* claims she did not receive a receipt for her purchase. Please see Exhibit 2 of Ms. *******'s receipt which she received immediately upon purchase.
  
  
  
  Cheeky Scientist is proud of the services that it provides and is here to support Ms. ******* through her job search.
  
  
  
  Respectfully,
  
  ******* ******
  
  COO
  
  Cheeky Scientist
  
  ************
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/20/2022

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  
  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  
  
  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the statements made by Ms. ******* ******. My transition responses are as follows:
  
  
  
  1.My expectations about the transition call were participating in a respectful virtual meeting between two PhD professionals (the CSA Rep and myself). As a professional, I am 100% aware of virtual meeting etiquettes. As a PhD professional speaking with another professional, I expected that our interaction would be respectful. During the virtual meeting, Ms. ****** suggests that I had to leave if I was under pressure. I was merely sharing my concerns about the prohibitive cost of their membership fees. I found the attitude to be opportunistic and condescending. As the representative of an organization and a highly trained professional, I expected better from Mr. Ryan ********. I found the suggestion that I leave the meeting rude and unprofessional. As I noted in my first complaint, I only acted as I usually did in keeping with the required decorum of virtual academic/professional meetings.
  
  
  
  2.I did not buy my membership through the CSA website. I had a transition call with the CSA sales agent, Ryan ********. Mr. ******** told me the price was $4999. He gave me a $1000.00 discount and proposed that I pay in two instalments, beginning with $2000.00. Curiously, he didn't inform me the funds would be in U.S. dollars. The amount was CD$ 2, 693.34. I informed Mr. ******** about my dismay regarding the lack of full disclosure and the scale of the exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar the day after this transaction. Here's a quote from Mr. ********'s response to my concern: "Since I normally only field Zoom meetings in the U.S. I didn't even consider the currency exchange factor since you are in Canada." I found Mr. ********'s response to be untruthful. The CSA has been in business for many years with members coming from 152 countries based on what they claim. Accordingly, the CSA must be used to members needing to convert their payments from their local currencies to the U.S. dollars. Fielding virtual meetings in the US doesn't mean that members reside in the U.S. So, Mr. ********'s claim wasn't honest.
  
  
  
  3.After my payment, I only received a welcome letter. I received no receipt from the CSA as is standard from reputable organizations. Concerned about this glaring omission, I reached out to some CSA colleagues and found out that many were dissatisfied with CSA's business practices and lack of clarity on membership fees. I also found that across many years, the fees for CSA membership were arbitrary. Some members were charged $300 (2016), $600 (2019), $1000 (2020). I wonder how mine ballooned to $4999. Exhibit 1 shows what Ms. ****** brought to your attention as a receipt. As shown, the receipt does not indicate how much I paid as the first installment. The welcome letter does not show anything about two instalments and the date of second installment.
  
  
  
  
  
  4.Ms. ****** claims that I had access to their materials from the moment I paid. Please see Exhibit 2 indicating my conversation with Meera, a CSA staff, from July 19-26 on Facebook regarding the error messages I received while trying to access the dashboard. Since then, I had not found any information/training materials that fit my needs. My background is the social sciences and I expected to find some training materials that would help improve my knowledge of statistics and data analysis. I shared this information with Ryan in the transition call.
  
  
  
  5.Ms. ****** claims that I had access to Voxer and training. Exhibit 3 shows resume training by Mr. Isaiah ****** as Ms. ******' Exhibit. I am not sure how Ms. ****** considers those red circles and arrows as one-on-one coaching/training!
  
  
  
  
  
  New points to BBB:
  
  
  
  1.I also wish to note that the CSA's programs favour PhD holders with a science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM) background. Many PhD holders from the humanities and the social sciences find their training materials overwhelmingly skewed in favour of member with a STEM background. Members with a non-STEM background get little value for their money.
  
  
  
  2.I would like the CSA to provide a video of the transition call I had with Ryan ******** as evidence. I believe it was recorded. The video would show rude, aggressive, and opportunistic Ryan was towards me.
  
  
  
  3.I also want to add that Ryan ******** and Ms ****** are not PhD holders. This is contrary to the claims of Isaiah ******, the CSA CEO. The CSA claims that the organization is run by PhD holders.
  
  
  
  In general, I find that the CSA exploits the fears and anxieties of unsuspecting PhD holders from many parts of the world by selling them hopes of the promise of helping connect them with industries seeking PhD holders that want to work in the industry. Their business practices are predatory, misleading, and unacceptably expensive. They do not offer all the services they purport to provide, and they also charge more fees for other services in addition to the exorbitant membership fees they charge.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/04/2022

  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.
  
  Ms. ******* claims that she did not purchase her membership through the Cheeky Scientist website. However, it is not possible to purchase a membership through Cheeky Scientist without purchasing directly through the website. That is the only way.
  
  
  
  The currency on the Cheeky Scientist website is very clearly in USD. Any prices ever discussed are in USD and all visual prices are in USD.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* again claims she was not given a receipt. Please again see Exhibit one of Ms. *******'s receipt, which she did receive.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* claims that Cheeky Scientist is inconsistent in pricing. Cheeky Scientist has provided different levels of membership and products to members like almost all businesses across all industries. Ms. ******* chose the program she joined again of her own free will without any undue influence.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* did get full access to all materials immediately upon purchase. Unfortunately members have to reset their password if they have forgotten it and cannot log into their dashboard. This is also standard for any log in for any membership. Resetting her password would have immediately unlocked her account.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* confirms she did receive and sign the Welcome Letter confirming her understanding of the terms and conditions including that she understood that the shortest term of commitment to the program is 12 months.
  
  
  
  As shown from exhibits already provided Ms. ******* received coaching from multiple members of the Cheeky Scientist. Ms. ******* confirms this.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* claims that Cheeky Scientist is focused only on STEM PhDs. However, Cheeky Scientist has a long history of helping PhDs of all backgrounds to transition into industry as evidenced by our many success stories which can be found here: ***************************************************
  
  
  
  Finally Ms. ******* asserts that Ryan ******** and myself are not PhDs which is correct. Please see Cheeky Scientist's about us page to see the overwhelmingly PhD team at Cheeky Scientist here: *************************************
  
  We do have some non-PhD level administrative positions on the Cheeky Scientist team. However all of our career trainers on the team who have provided feedback and support to Ms. ******* and her job search are PhDs.
  
  
  
  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
  
  Best,
  
  ******* *****s
  
  COO
  
  Cheeky Scientist
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2022

  ***Document Attached***
  
  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the statements made by Ms. ******* ******.
  
  First, I would ask the BBB to investigate the Cheeky Scientist Association (CSA) manipulative and intrusive practices to find out how they operate. To ask for my transition call video recording as evidence will definitely reveal the CSA dubious practices and how a) I was pushed to pay the membership before disclosing the welcome letter and b) I was misled through the zoom call by Ryan ********, the salesperson at the CSA.
  
  Second, statements provided by ******* ****** posted on BBB website on September 6, 2022, either fail to clearly respond to my concerns or are irrelevant to my complaints of August 20, 2022.
  
  I am requesting more definite statements to each numbered statement below:
  
  1. I hereby repeat that purchasing the membership was performed via a zoom call. I had no access to the Cheeky Scientist website, and visual prices in USD as she claims. Ms. ******* ****** confirms that there was a video call. I believe that the zoom-meeting video recording on July 17 is available in the CSA archives, and I request a copy of the video of the whole virtual meeting between Ryan ******** and myself. This video recording will reveal so many facts about the nature of the CSA fraudulent behaviour. The hallmarks of this video call are Ryan ********'s promises re: connecting me to several relevant industry-related companies in Ottawa, one-on-one training considering my specific qualifications and PhD degree, areas to strengthen my skills and their refund policy. In addition, the video will show that there was no discussion about prices in USD. Producing this video recording can aware new PhD professionals from becoming victims, and/or anyone who will be a target of the CSA.
  
  
  
  2. I am reattaching the receipt produced by the CSA. As shown, this is not a valid/standard receipt because it does not explain the amount paid, the financial transaction or purchase, the name of service provider. Also, the receipt does not identify if I paid the whole amount, or the first instalment. This receipt is not acceptable for tax purposes as well.
  
  
  
  3. The receipt provided by the CSA does not show what program I joined. Other PhD fellows who were disappointed with this program, were charged for the diamond program.
  
  
  
  4. I had no access to all materials upon purchase. Re-attaching Facebook conversations between Meera, the staff and myself show that I had no access to the dashboard from July 17 to July 26, nine days after this purchase. Resetting password is the easiest task each person (at least PhD fellows) know. The problem was not about the resetting password.
  
  
  
  5. The welcome letter (Contract) popped up on the zoom screen for a minute or so AFTER I paid. Ryan ******** did not explain about the terms and conditions (The video recording will show the sequence of events). Initializing the welcome letter was after the payment.
  
  
  
  6. I do not confirm that I received coaching from multiple members of the CSA. This is an untruthful claim. The attached exhibit is the only service (if it is considered a coaching service!) from Isaiah the CEO. As shown, there are some red arrows and circles on my resume, and I should repeat that this has been the ONLY service I received which cost me CD $2693.29.
  
  From August 17, 2022, I have been blocked from their platform and I have no access to their training documents. Also, my review about the CSA on Facebook page was erased. I confirm that I checked the dashboard from July 19 to August 16 and could not find any useful information to help me upgrade my qualifications and transition from academia to industry.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  *** **************** ******* *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/22/2022

  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 asked Cheeky Scientist to cancel my loan with Affirm because I did not receive a service from them. I did not receive a financial letter of agreement or a direct invoice with Cheeky Scientist to be billed for a service. I told Affirm that my personal information such as my social security number and birthday was compromised by a recorded call taken by Cheeky Scientist. Recording somebody's personal information shows an intention to use it. I immediately asked them to stop recording the call. I was told by Cheeky Scientist that they viewed the recorded call. This means Cheeky Scientist recorded me without my permission which is illegal. I was lied to and told Affirm was only a "soft credit" pull but I was actually being pressured into a loan. I was walked through this process Cheeky Scientist called "onboarding" to give the illusion of accepting service. Cheeky Scientist charged me $3000 plus interest through an Affirm Loan for a FREE Voxer app and a link to a FREE Google drive with no valuable information is robbery. What Cheeky Scientist promised on their sales call did not match what was being offered. Cheeky Scientist's "cancelation policy" violates the Federal Trade Commission's Buyer's Remorse Cool Off Rule, which states:"Your right to cancel for a full refund lasts until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturday is considered a business day, but Sundays and federal holidays are not." "You don't have to give a reason for canceling. You have a right to change your mind." I did give your organization a written email asking to cancel. The federal trade commission states the seller's responsibility is: If you cancel your purchase, the seller has 10 days to: 1. cancel and return any check you signed, 2. refund all your money, 3. return any property you might have traded in, 4. tell you if any product you still have will be picked up or abandoned, 5."Within 20 days reimburse you. They still refused to cancel the Affirm loan.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2022

  Contact Name and Title: Rayanne ****** COO
  
  Contact Phone: **********
  
  Contact Email: *********************************
  
  08/07/2022
  
  
  
  
  
  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 not given a letter of agreement or a direct invoice for the services she signed up for. However please see Exhibit 1a of the Welcome Letter provided to Ms. ******* complete with her signature of all terms and conditions. Ms. ******* was also immediately provided her account information from Affirm and can log in and see her information at any time.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* claims that she gave her personal information to Cheeky Scientist to secure a loan. This is incorrect as Ms. ******* provided the 3rd party loan provider with her information via their website.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* further claims she was recorded without her consent. However, please see Exhibit 2 showing the consent terms she opted-in to prior to the call. Her participation in the call is not possible without this consent being given and her consent was recorded in the metadata.
  
  
  
  Ms. ******* also claims that there was a hard credit check on her credit. This is not the case as seen in Exhibit 3, which Ms. ******* was shown and agreed to in the terms and conditions on the page prior to her purchase.
  
  
  
  Furthermore Ms. ******* claims she was not provided services. Please see Exhibit 4 attached screenshots of Ms. ******* receiving one-on-one support, group support in our forum and immediate, downloadable access to a training dashboard of hundreds of training videos, downloadable workbooks, and more, which the Exhibit does show she accessed.
  
  
  
  Finally Ms. ******* claims that Cheeky Scientist violates the Federal Trade Commission's cool off rule however that is incorrect as the cool off rule only applies to purchases made in response to in person sales carried out in a person's home or in other similar scenarios; it does not apply to online purchases. Moreover, in this case, Ms. ******* could have left the video call at any time but did not.
  
  
  
  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
  
  
  
  Respectfully,
  
  Rayanne ******
  
  COO
  
  Cheeky Scientist
  
  ************
  
  
  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/17/2022

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  
  8/16/2022
  
  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  I am not satisfied with their response to the Better Business Bureau, because they have not fulfilled their part of the agreement.
  
  The response given by Cheeky Scientist only shows "onboarding" which is not an actual service, but an opportunity for them to take pictures of a service they have yet to provide to me. The problem is that they did not fulfill the service that was promised in the "onboarding" call. They showed consent at the beginning of the "onboarding" call but I asked that they stopped recording the Zoom call midway through. I did not schedule the Zoom call so I could not stop it on my end. I continued to talk to the sales representative because I thought I could trust his statement that he said he stopped recording and delete it; however, the evidence that was provided by Cheeky Scientist, shows they did not delete my personal information. Therefore, breaking consumer trust and not complying with my revoke of consent.
  
  I did NOT receive ANY assistance or personalized support that Cheeky Scientist promised on their website about the Diamond Associates Program. They did NOT provide the following services that were promised on their website and "onboarding" call: no accountability meetings with Dr. ******, no accountability group meetings, no 12 lessons via zoom or any other meeting platform, no personalized ideas for my transition into a career, no discover data, no behind the scenes help emails or meetings, no personalized 1 to 1 help meetings or emails, no weekly meetings session with lessons or notebooks, No WhatsApp invitation for an accountability group, and I could go on... The link to the website shows what they promised and did not fulfill. ***************************************************************
  
  The response and pictures Cheeky Scientist submitted to BBB only show their "onboarding" process and they did not provide any pictures of the services they promised to provide that were mentioned on their website and during the onboarding call. I am paying $122 a month for access to their website which is a ridiculous cost because I have had ZERO help and they have not allowed me to participate in any of the personalized groups or programs listed above. I was told I would have a follow-up call from their team but none of that happened that led to a meeting.
  
  The initial Diamond Associates 101 zoom meeting was canceled by Cheeky Scientists, and I did not receive any more opportunities to have access to accountability groups, 1 to 1 appointments, and no one called me to offer a resolution as they stated in an email; therefore, it is impossible for me to even do the program. Thus, not able to ask for my money back after a year's time because I was prevented and not allowed access to their live accountability groups, links to regular live lessons, or any live or digital personalized services to submit evidence of submitting resumes in order to meet their money-back requirements. On 8/6/2022 I sent an email stating that they have not helped me and I still have not received a response from Cheeky Scientist to provide any effort to fulfill their part of personalized services. They still refuse to cancel the Affirm loan and denied returning the money I have paid to date.
  
  
  
  Best,
  
  ***** *******