The Importance of Doing Your Research
 | We here at Red Dragon Apothocary and Tarot By Tiamat talk a lot about keeping yourself safe and avoiding scams. But what if the scam isn't what you think of as a traditional psychic scam - what then? |
Earlier this month I lost my job at the hotel I was working at. Ok, maybe it was less lost and more threw away as fast as possible due to unsafe working conditions - but that's another story. So when a few days later I was offered a position reading for a psychic hotline I thought for sure it was fate.
I mean, who doesn't want to make good money doing what they love? I spent a great deal of time investigating the phone platform that this company uses (Click4Advisor - who by the way is awesome!) and crunching the numbers. This group, who calls themselves House of Psychics, asks that all their readers charge the rate of $3.99/minute for services to keep it even across the board. Seems fair to me. Then they tell us that for each $3.99/min that you get paid Click4Advisor takes $0.12 per minute connection charge - still fair since they are running the phone side of things. So base rate of pay SHOULD be $3.87/minute.
From there, Hose of Psychics says clearly on their website that the advisor (person actually doing the readings) gets 50%, Click4Advisor takes 15% and the remaining 35% goes to House of Psychics for advertising, webhosting, etc... This all seems very fair.
I mean, who doesn't want to make good money doing what they love? I spent a great deal of time investigating the phone platform that this company uses (Click4Advisor - who by the way is awesome!) and crunching the numbers. This group, who calls themselves House of Psychics, asks that all their readers charge the rate of $3.99/minute for services to keep it even across the board. Seems fair to me. Then they tell us that for each $3.99/min that you get paid Click4Advisor takes $0.12 per minute connection charge - still fair since they are running the phone side of things. So base rate of pay SHOULD be $3.87/minute.
From there, Hose of Psychics says clearly on their website that the advisor (person actually doing the readings) gets 50%, Click4Advisor takes 15% and the remaining 35% goes to House of Psychics for advertising, webhosting, etc... This all seems very fair.
So I happily signed up, submitted my info to Click4Advisor so that I could get paid and started taking calls. Here is where things began to unravel. The FB group and website that House of Psychics operated as their way of advertising went long stretches without updates, links were broken, emails went ignored and basic web funtionality just wasn't there. I tried to reach out several times to let them know there was an issue with my Click To Call button on their website which they ignored.
Then on October 3rd I took a phone call from a client. Our connection was iffy because I was out of the house, so I asked her to set up a callback and we would touch base when I got home. In exchange I offered her 3 free minutes. Now, because the system charges the advisor $0.50 to give out promo minutes I wanted to log into my account to be sure that it went through correctly. That's when I noticed something not quite right. I sat down and did the math repeatedly...just to be sure.
This client spent 9 minutes on the phone at the rate of $3.99/minute. However with the free minutes she was only charged for 6 minutes.If we break this down we have the following:
$3.99/minute - $0.12/minute connection fee = $3.87/minute
$3.87/minute x 6 billable minutes = $23.22
$23.22 revenue - $0.50 promo fee = $22.72
Not bad for a 10 minute call right? Well the math to this point was correct - but when it came to what I actually made it was a whole different story. If I get 50% of the payout, then half of $22.72 should be $11.36. Guess who did NOT get $11.36? That's right, this girl here! I instead was listed as making $7.63 which is 35% of the amount charged to the client. Guess who DID make $11.36 off that transaction? Yep, House of Psychics! Going back through all of my transactions revealed the same pattern - in every case House of Psychics took HALF while I was getting 35% despite what was and still is shown on their website as the breakdown of fees.
I started out very polite in my emails and phone calls - giving them the benefit of the doubt that maybe a box got checked incorrectly, or it was just a glitch... No answer. I messaged on Facebook and although I can clearly see that the messages were seen, still no answer. I spoke with Click4Advisor, who I still maintain has been AWESOME, and they stated that the money I earned while working with House of Psychics cannot be released until the group releases it. Hard to do though when no one responds to messages.
I logged on this morning to find that House of Psychics has removed me from their website and Facebook page, but has now blocked me on Facebook. I am left with no alternative but to warn the community at large and take legal action to get the funds being held hostage released.
If you are thinking of reading on a psychic hotline PLEASE do more research then I did. I should have checked the numbers after that very first transaction - but I didn't. And that is on me. But the dishonest practices of House of Psychics is on them.
I do however LOVE Click4Advisor's interface, and have shifted to an independent advisor with them. It means I have to do my own promotion and advertising but I am OK with that. Now instead of being tied to phone only, I now have the option to do phone, chat AND email services - all while making 85% of the amount the client pays. Much better deal if you ask me. And for companies like House of Psychics who think that there is no repercussion for their actions remember this :
Then on October 3rd I took a phone call from a client. Our connection was iffy because I was out of the house, so I asked her to set up a callback and we would touch base when I got home. In exchange I offered her 3 free minutes. Now, because the system charges the advisor $0.50 to give out promo minutes I wanted to log into my account to be sure that it went through correctly. That's when I noticed something not quite right. I sat down and did the math repeatedly...just to be sure.
This client spent 9 minutes on the phone at the rate of $3.99/minute. However with the free minutes she was only charged for 6 minutes.If we break this down we have the following:
$3.99/minute - $0.12/minute connection fee = $3.87/minute
$3.87/minute x 6 billable minutes = $23.22
$23.22 revenue - $0.50 promo fee = $22.72
Not bad for a 10 minute call right? Well the math to this point was correct - but when it came to what I actually made it was a whole different story. If I get 50% of the payout, then half of $22.72 should be $11.36. Guess who did NOT get $11.36? That's right, this girl here! I instead was listed as making $7.63 which is 35% of the amount charged to the client. Guess who DID make $11.36 off that transaction? Yep, House of Psychics! Going back through all of my transactions revealed the same pattern - in every case House of Psychics took HALF while I was getting 35% despite what was and still is shown on their website as the breakdown of fees.
I started out very polite in my emails and phone calls - giving them the benefit of the doubt that maybe a box got checked incorrectly, or it was just a glitch... No answer. I messaged on Facebook and although I can clearly see that the messages were seen, still no answer. I spoke with Click4Advisor, who I still maintain has been AWESOME, and they stated that the money I earned while working with House of Psychics cannot be released until the group releases it. Hard to do though when no one responds to messages.
I logged on this morning to find that House of Psychics has removed me from their website and Facebook page, but has now blocked me on Facebook. I am left with no alternative but to warn the community at large and take legal action to get the funds being held hostage released.
If you are thinking of reading on a psychic hotline PLEASE do more research then I did. I should have checked the numbers after that very first transaction - but I didn't. And that is on me. But the dishonest practices of House of Psychics is on them.
I do however LOVE Click4Advisor's interface, and have shifted to an independent advisor with them. It means I have to do my own promotion and advertising but I am OK with that. Now instead of being tied to phone only, I now have the option to do phone, chat AND email services - all while making 85% of the amount the client pays. Much better deal if you ask me. And for companies like House of Psychics who think that there is no repercussion for their actions remember this :
