AS A FORMER BROOKE EMPLOYEE, I WORKED IN ACCOUNTING, AND I AM EMBRASSED TO SAY I WORKED FOR THE CROOKED COMPANY, THEY STOLE MONEY FROM THE AGENTS, AND LIED ON STATEMENTS. THE BUSINESS MODEL IS A JOKE AND ROBERT ORR IS A FOOL!
Please contact Rhonda Lobell @ 225-268-8171. We all need info that you may have to put an end to the way Brooke is destroying families. Please leave her a message if she is unable to answer…SHE WILL CALL YOU BACK.
Brooke ruined my business world…I have a hatred that is very, very deep for these people and the many lives they have hurt so badly….They require mediation/arbitration so there is no formal record of the many people they have lied to and hurt so badly. Call me @530.888.7334
I think you would need to be a sucker to fall for a Brooke franchise deal- there is no name recognition like many of the national direct writers and as a P&C license holder, Brooke mailed me for months trying to get me to agree to a franchise- junk mail of course. I work at an MGA and we work with Brooke agencies- the way they are structured makes doing biz with them difficult. At least with Farmers / Allstate / Statefarm, you are getting a recognized name and reputation- for better or for worse. Seems like a scam to consolidate independent agenices but it’s really to no ones advantage except Brooke’s bottomline. Insurance buyers aren’t getting anything better out of it.
My experience was working on a deal to purchase one agency while owning three others. Upon arrival in Kansas City-Overland Park, the President at the time, Shawn Lowry, stated that I MUST agree to sell my other agencies to Brooke OR there was NO DEAL. He could have told me that via phone. It was never discussed, nor had he seen any financials or other pertinent info to make such an assumption. Uncle Bobby gave this punk the job and he was a schmuck. He recenlty WALKED OUT of Brooke himself. If I was in litigation, I would depose Shawn Lowry and see how disgruntled him and his Uncle are at this point. He could be a key witness against the company that adds “Buyer Assistance Plans” equal to 100% of the commissions for doing absolutely NOTHING. This scam is a house of cards with one entity representing revenues to another. If they were properly audited, not by American Stock Exchange, you would see there is actually very little revenues that they do not churn.
Now that I’m involved, it is plain to see that the success of a franchaisee is not in their interest. If the franchaisee fails they sell a new franchaise and another sucker is born.
I have known two people who got involved with Brooke, both left after two years. I hear nothing good about these folks. When I get their mailer, it goes straight into the trash. I am sure someone from Brooke is reading this. The message is, your model doesn’t work. People don’t like dealing with a half deck. The organization that do it right thrive, the organization that play games struggle to survive.
Finally! I’ve been waiting for this day to come. I hope all you Brooke agents out there jump on the bandwagon and start a class-action lawsuit against them. They’re nothing but crooks and hoodlums.
If you want to start in the independent insurance agency business. There are many more and financially sounder opportunities to do so than with Brooke.
The alledge allegations are true…thats why Brooke hired a lawyer that specializes in class actions suits…they are getting ready for what is to come. Right now every Brooke Agent in my area with an acception of two are leaving so the comment about “over” 800 franchisees is a misrepretation itself. The commissions you make never apply to the building debt, so your debt and the interest only grows larger. If you question Brooke and refuse to sign their monthly statement they “threaten” to deny your commission advance. I know I saved the emails. DO YOUR HOMEWORK before signing their contract….call every agent in your state and see how many answer…ride by the offices and see how many are opened.
I am currently involved with Brooke and trying desperately to get out. They are scam artists and do it well. Once in, you will never break even nor make money. You will never understand their statements and trying to correct an error on you statement takes an act of GOD. Do not get involved.
My experience with Brooke came from the company side and our experience with Brooke owners were that many new owners were unprepared for agency ownership and management. Brooke offered little help, had financing that was totally in their favor, and did not allow agents to review actual commission records.
While the concept of a franchise is not always a bad idea, Brooke’s fees were much higher than the “franchise services and recognition” they offered. Their model is riddled with flaws. Obviously there are some Brooke agecies that are successful, but if you you look closer at those agencies, they are formers IA’s that enjoyed good success, were sold to Brooke, then Brook turned around and sold them to a new owner, and the agency (in spite of Brooke)continued it’s good results. Brooke doesn’t offer a successful recipe if you are starting from scratch. That’s hard enough to do without someone skimming 15% of your income and keeping you in the dark about actual commission revenue.
I urge everyone having problems with Brooke to send an email to the Big “I” (Independent Insurance Agents Assn)State and National. Do this whether or not you are a member! Send the same letter to PIA (Professional Ins. Agents) State & National. The Latin American Agents Assn is involved!!!! Let’s seek the help of ALL of our associations.
With 30 yrs P & C experience I have never seen such a smug , cocky group of so called successful people. go after Shaun Lowery, he’s the key to what goes on in Overland Park
Let me just say that nothing has changed since I purchased (and then sold) a Broke Financial Services agency several years ago. How they continue to sucker agents into their system is beyond me. It is a no-win situation for new OR seasoned veterans between the exorbitant franchise fees and then the on-going skimming of commissions. The only way they can get someone to sign is with their “friendly” financing they offer. Please…..if you can’t get traditional financing then you have no business buying a half million dollar agency.
I will tell you this. I have never represented a fine company as ERIE. They gave me a chance as a scracth agent, and I know they won’t ***** themselves. They are great to work with, and recommend you contact them. They are 100% committed to the agent! Great company and underwriters.
I am an agent that has filed a lawsuit against Brooke for the same reasons as this agent. Sounds like alot of us have the same story. I wonder why Brooke can continue to do this and their reputation never seems to get out to the public?
Sounds like more people in a suit than the measily 12 mentioned, just from the comments in this article! You know the old addage – if it looks too good to be true…
But what about the carriers? Just goes to show they are scavengers which will beg business any way than can, except to appoint the hardworking principal of a new agency.
I’m a HO Brooke employee! They think I drank the Kool-aid, well guess what I didn’t.
I will soon contact many of you for my inside info-it’s real good, I mean super good for all franchisee’s.
Be in touch!
NEGATIVE PUBLICITY!!! Why do you think Brooke puts arbitration/mediation in all of their contracts? Because they do not want the publicity of a jury trial.
Not 15 minutes after this hit the yahoo – BXXX message board we get a message from our regional Brooke “genius”. The email was a puff piece that basically says “lawyers are bad, we are a great company, and we have a report from the Louisiana Department of Insurance to prove it.” Yea, I’m sure that was a real thorough investigation. Didn’t the last 3 or 4 Louisiana Insurance Commissioners go to jail?
I don’t know much about Brooke other than I personally know producers that sold successful indepedent agencies to Brooke and then gone and re-started other non-Brooke agencies.
I don’t get it though- no brand recognition in Brooke- no commercials, etc. What is the lure? Why do people sell out to Brooke? I want a Brooke agent to tell me why??
Kramer, you are correct that there is no branding and really few “franchise benefits”. Their lure is pretty simple: 1) They offer financing and way for agents to buy-in with little or no money and 2) they promise markets for individuals that think they can’t acquire markets on their own. In other words, it’s a quick start-up. For agents that have resources, industry knowledege & experience, and know how to sell insurance, Brooke has nothing to offer. Brooke preys upon agents that don’t have these characteristics and thus a two-fold problem is created – a business model that is flawed and an agent base that is not prepared for the task at hand.
Be very careful when talking to anyone at Brooke. Listen, do not talk. Do not give them copies of anything.
Dancing with the devil’s sister is not better than then devil himself.
Glad that news if finally getting out about the Brooke scam. Hope agents that are thinking about franchising have a chance to read this. It is a pretty common problem amongst franchisees. As a former franchisee I also had this problem, and decided to reach a settlement with them since I was just entering their franchise and wanted to keep a good relationship with them. Boy was that a mistake should have sued thier pants off.
I too am yet another ex-franchisee. This company misrepresents everything! Thinking about purchasing an abandoned agency?! Do your homework! This company is SUPER crooked and will go down, it’s just a matter of how long. Brooke continued to refer prospects to me and I continued to tell those prospects the wicked truth! Wish I would have known what now saved those peoples families!
For all Brooke agents looking to file a class action suit, check out the Brooke Forum at http://www.brookeforum.com or call Rhonda at 225-268-8171. You guys need to get organized and do something. There’s been alot of talk, but not much action on your part. Brooke needs to go down!
There are several people taking actions and have been for several months and there has been a coordination of these people. The problem is that legal action takes time. A long time. The suit in this article was actually filed back in Feb of this year and I posted that on the yahoo message board back then but only now is it becoming news. There are lawfirms recruiting franchisees to represent on a contingency basis. When the sharks come out like that you know there is blood in the water.
I’m glad there has been alot of action. I was an Area Manager with 18 franchisees at one time. Only 4 of them are still around and 2 of those are thinking of walking away. Brooke makes it easy to walk away to avoid litigation. If agents don’t rally and file a class-action, Brooke will never face the music.
I closed my office notified Brooke and walked away, its been 6 months I have not heard from them since.this people are crooks,unprofessionals,liars I can sit here and go on and on,they have NO shame on what they do.
I lost my house, savings and more.
This is my worst nightmare I still can’t wake up.
I have never seen such a one-sided comment section….NOT ONE SINGLE LETTER of support. Not ONE SINGLE comment of support from ANYONE who has done business with Brooke and benefited from the experience. In my opinion, the editors of this magazine are on notice to further explore the issues at hand and write a very comprehensive article. They owe this to the readers….The financial lives of very hard working people can and should be saved by this. I have to believe the editors are aware of the feedback on this article. Personally, I don’t care who the new VP of Underwriting is at some local Agency, I think this magazine has a serious obligation to do the real story. Otherwise, it is just a public relations rag looking for ad revenue.
I just want to say that as a former Brooke Agent I had no choice but to walk away. From day one I had problems after problems and it was very diffcult to get any help on anything from them. I tried for months to straighten things out and then when the working capital ran out i was told to sell. There was no help but I walked away and they got another person to take over the office and i am sure they will have the same fate. i think as agents that have been screwed by Brooke we need to get together and expose this company and let people know what is really going on so other people do not have to go thru what we are going thru. And if people need a good lawyer call Brett Coonrod or email him at bcoonrod@smithcoonrod.com.. He is great…..
Mann is correct in everything he is saying. The value of the Brooke agency that you buy is determined by a Company that is owned by Brooke. They somehow forget to disclose this. They make it look so good you cannot pass the deal up. I bet Cynthia Weber Scherb, general Counsel was dissappointed to see the old Mann Lawsuit surface. In your contract it states if there are any disputes you need to go to mediation and then arbitration. That is so they keep the lawsuits out of the court system and out of the eyes of the public.
Brett Coonrod stated that there are fundamental problems with Brooke’s accounting system. I would have to say those problems are more than fundamental. How can you ever get anything solved with your agency and Brooke when the employees who are suppose to be helping you out in your agency keep leaving Brooke.
Scerb’s comment re: we believe the number of lawsuits we’ve had with franchisees has been very low. And she states that they were successful in resolving them at little or no cost to the Company. I wonder how much they have spent in the lawsuit against Rhonda Lobell. I bet they have spent many times over what they will ever gain in that case. Because they will gain nothing. Once you become a Brooke agent you are going to loose everything you own. You will have no money to defend yourself against Brooke.
Rhonda Lobell, along with a few other people, are playing the role of “Erin Brokovich” if I spelled that correctly. I’m sure you’ve seem the movie.
It is the case of the big fish eating little fish just to get fatter.
It is ashame that we live in a world that treats people like Brooke treats there Franchisees.
No one has money to fight Brooke, so they end up giving the agency back to Brooke and going away.
I am thankful for freedom of speech, although sometimes it can get us in trouble.
I would like to thank all of the people who are working hard to win this battle against Brooke. You know who you are.
My phone number is 225-268-8173. Please call and leave a message. I will call you back after work hours. I would also like to thank everyone else who posted comments. We need the publicity.
I am about to walk away ( giving a 30 day notice letter) and open my own agency. Does anyone know the difficulty , if any in “selling” back your franchise?
Brooke will let you walk away, but if you are going to open another agency – Watch Out! They will automatically assume you are going to “steal” all the franchise business from them and will dog you. Rhonda Lobell can tell you all about it.
I am a current agent/supposed owner with Brooke and the agency I bought is a joke. The Mann suit in FL sounds like a broken record that many of us have heard over and over. We really need to get together and sue Brooke. If we band together we can take them down big time and they know it. If you are reading this Brooke, look what you created. A beast of angry current and ex franchisees. I would suggest that no one attend the Vegas convention or better yet carry signs outside and spread the word about the system. Brooke can say all it wants, but look at its stock prices and the how many of us are stuck with Brooke and thier haphazard acounting system!
If you are new to Brooke, get out immediately. Stop drinking the koolaid!!!!
Keep your comments coming but please be careful using someone else’s name. We all need to keep our facts straight!
Rhonda Lobell did not open another agency.
And I do agree with you! Brooke is harrassing former Brooke agents regardless of the agents employment situation. Such as, Brooke filing lawsuits against the agents current employers.
It’s obvious to me that Brooke definitely has a vendetta against Lobell.
No, she didn’t open another agency, but Brooke is accusing her of “stealing” Brooke business all the same. I don’t think she’s made any secret of her situation and posted her name and telephone number already on this website. I wouldn’t have used it otherwise.
I’m the one that opened another agency. I am the one that they are sueing. I am the one who have never been to Kansas. I am the one who is being sued in the state of Kansas. I am the one who the judge decided this week to throw out the improper venue in my case and to hear the case in Kansas. I am the one that now will have to fight a lawsuit in Kansas.
I don’t understand why Walgreens can open up a store across the street from Rite Aid and not get sued for taking there clients away. I don’t understand why McDonalds can open up a rest. across the street from Burger King and not get sued for taking there business. It is called competition.
Well Brooke have never heard of that. I opened a agency across from Rhonda’s Agency.
I’m the one who is getting sued for doing that. AND yes there are other things involved.
I have no money to defend myself. Now what do I do.
Those of you who are telling us to band together, where have you been. Rhonda has been in this fight for two years, alone with a few other people. She figured this out a long time ago. She has been trying to get people to band together.
What about the class action lawsuit. Have you called the attorney and told him you are interested in joining the lawsuit.
Probably not.
225-268-8173
As you can tell I am a little aggrivated.
Call Rhonda and get involved. She cannot do it alone.
I was only with Brooke for about 9 months i was a start up and I didnt know a lot about what was going on but I will be calling Rhonda today….because its not right what they are doing
I feel so bad for you Gene, I understand your frustration and anger I’ve been there but you know what sooner or later these BROOKE CROOKS WILL FALL hopefully sooner than later. keep your head up and continue with what you need to do, I will call Rhonda today to find out how to join the class action law suit.
I’ll check to see if a local franchise attorney would be willing to work on a contingent basis, but there are attorneys all over that will do this.
Kansas Agents – if you watch daytime T.V. at all, you will see these ads. Or look in the yellow pages. It shouldn’t be that hard to find someone that would take this on. And they would have plenty of Plaintiffs!
I’m not looking for an Attorney,What I meant to ask was,are there currently any sellers out there in the same mess with Brooke? and looking to join the/a Class Action suit against them,sould that be an option for us as well.
As far as I know, there is no class action suit yet. That’s why I recommended an attorney – to get one started. I’m not a Brooke agent or would have done it myself. However, as a former Brooke employee I know of another seller that basically got her agency stolen from her. If you give me contact information, I’ll contact you.
I closed my office gave them a 30 day notice and walked away it’s been 6 months I have not heard a word its like the company vanished. This is how much Brooke cares about their franchises and/or agencies.and they still try to deny……….
Hey im in Houston and they just bought all are locations in texas around 60, and they want us to fill out all kinds of forms and I scared, They want to buy a office. after reading all your comments ive made up my mind. HELL NO!!!!!!!
Streaked/Mend, Have you guys recieved all the money owed to you per your contract,or did you just recieve a letter instead? Did their SALESPERSON tell you things that didn’t happen,I would like to get a list of all Agency Owners that sold to Brooke, and did not recieve PAYMENTS as agreed in our contract.
I WAS THINKING OF SELLING TO BROOKE AND I STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH ON BROOKE AND FOUND THEM TO BE CROOKS, I AM A STRONG BELIEVER IN CHRIST AND ASKED GOD FOR GUIDANCE AND I DISCOVERED A LOT ABOUT BROOKE. CHRIST SAVED ME FROM ANTI- CHRIST
Please. please people…..I know that we burned you. But that is water under the bridge. Let’s move forward and forget the past. After all, tomorrow is another day.
I would like to echo the words of that great man of peace, Rodney King, who asked that now famous and prolific question on TV during the LA riots, “Can’t we all just get along?????”
I know this is not who we all think it is. Let bygone be bygones. Obviously he has not lived in our shoes for a day. I’ll just leave it at that. Please sign your real name when you are commenting.
Everyone needs to let there tv stations aware of the situation and forward this web-site to DATELINE, 20/20, 60 MINUTES, anyone who will hear our plea for help we need to expose BROOKE. I guess it’s true what they say, if you got money you can get away with murder just ask O.J!!
Bryan: It is hard to find someone who is not on Brooke payroll that will listen. Brooke is operating on that fine grey line. They know exactly what they are doing. None of us have money to fight them. Well let me re-state that. We used what little money we had to fight them and now we are out of money. No one wants to help us for free. We have tried all of the free avenues. Brooke has all of our money to fight against us. There day is comming real soon in court. I am wondering if they will show up. There are some very well written documents in front of the judge. If he reads them, there will be a very interesting day in court. We’ll have to wait and see. Please pray that the judge understands what is going on and reads those documents. This could be a very big turning point in all of our cases against Brooke.
Certainly our situation is no laughing matter. But I think that the Bygones be Bygones message paints a true picture of the cocky, arrogant and uncaring attitude that these people have about our plight. I suspect that Brooke thinks that this will eventually fade away because of our limited resources and they are smug about it. But they seem to forget that David beat Goliath in the end. Hopefully that will be the case here.
Let bygones be bygones, I don’t think so!! There are some of us out there that do have the resources to go after them(Brooke). I have lost over $600,000 so far and if they don’t pay the second payment I would have lost over a MILLION. I will NOT let this go.Like Gene has stated, just give it a little time and you will see the lawsuits come in. Brooke has messed with to many long term agents and their families. I have to beleave that with all of our Justifiable Complaints along with Depositions of certain people the Court System, Multi State DOI and the SEC, Brooke will have alot of explaning to do. At this point I don’t see how they can defend themselfs,there are too many complaints of Misrepresentation,Breach of contract,as well as the RICO cause.
LAAA REPORT ON BROOKE CORPORATION BRINGS MEDIA ATTENTION AND MORE HORROR STORIES
Recently, the Latin American Agents Association reported that Brooke Corporation was the target of a lawsuit alleging that, among other things, the company was in breach of its contract with franchisee Arthur Mann. Since or report, we have received e-mails and phone calls from other Brooke franchisees disgruntled with how the company handles its business, at least with them.
After our report was circulated, we received a phone call and e-mail from Brooke executives. In the e-mail, Brooke stated that “We were disappointed to see that the LAAA has circulated old news about the Mann lawsuit, which was filed last January, without contacting us for comment, but we appreciate this opportunity to respond.
We at Brooke work hard to make sure our processes and procedures are correct and our employees act ethically.
“We believe that the allegations in the lawsuit are untrue, and we intend to defend vigorously. The lawsuit has been stayed by the court, and sent to mediation, which will occur in November inKansas City. If the parties are unable to resolve their differences in mediation, the court has ordered that the parties proceed to arbitration, and the case will remain stayed pending that arbitration.”
The story was picked up by the trade outlets, as well as some mainstream media publications. The Kansas City Star ran an article on Brooke with the headline “As Brooke Corp. expands, scrutiny also grows.” In it, Brooke founder and chairman Robert Orr referred to his company as “entrepreneurial country boys.”
The LAAA was contacted by Louisiana agent Rhonda Lobell, who purchased a Brooke franchise as a 28-year insurance industry veteran. She told us — and the Kansas City Star — that she wanted to expand her business and utilize the services promised by Brooke. She said Brooke consistently shorted her on commission payments and failed to deliver on its business promises. Lobell also echoed the sentiments of some other Brooke franchisees that the company’s eyes are ultimately set on owning the agencies outright and pushing the franchisees out.
Lobell commented that “if you are paying more than the agency’s worth, plus a $165,000 franchise fee, 15 percent of your commission and maybe another 25 percent for other services, there’s no way you’ll make it.” Orr wrote Lobell’s experience, as well as others who lost Brooke franchises, this way: “In my opinion, most of the people who are yelling now just aren’t that good at handling money.”
The article also makes mention of an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Insurance over allegations by Brooke franchisees that the company misrepresented profitability of franchises, overbilled franchisees for services rendered, and withheld income from franchisees, allegedly so the franchise would fail and Brooke could take over. These are similar to the allegations made in the Mann lawsuit. Louisiana state investigators found no evidence to support the complaints against Brooke’s, but did find that the company was deficient in reporting changes in ownership to carriers. Lobell told us that she seriously questioned both the veracity and tenacity of the Louisiana DOI investigators.
According to the Kansas City Star article, “Brooke’s own regulatory filings show that since 2000, at least 12 Brooke franchise holders in other states have sued the company or its subsidiaries or claimed in response to Brooke litigation that alleged fraud, misrepresentation and other abuses doom franchise buyers to failure.”
Brooke officials claim that the franchise-related lawsuits include six old closed lawsuits/arbitrations that won or settled long ago, and the six current cases disclosed, two have agreed to arbitration and one has agreed to mediation.” This means that the resolution of three cases is still up in the air, and three others are pending. Also, Brooke reported they had even initiated legal proceedings against a franchisee.
The LAAA received an e-mail from former Brooke executive and franchisee David Mace, who is now with PrimeVest Financial Services. Mace said he was a VP at Brooke from 1989-1996, including serving as Transaction Manager in Phillipsburg, Kansas from 1995-1996. He bought a Brooke franchise in 1996, owning it until July of 1997, when Mace told Brooke that “the agency was theirs.” According to Mace, Brooke failed to notify companies of the change in ownership, something that the Louisiana investigation uncovered. He said that Brooke executives told him in no uncertain terms not to contact any companies. After word got around the company grapevine that there was new ownership, according to Mace, the company directed him to say there “had been a change in management.” This was the catalyst for Mace’s exit, according to his e-mail, as he “lost all the money I had originally invested in the agency when I purchased it, but was relieved to be out of the situation.”
Mace said he contacted a company asking if they had received notice of an ownership change, and was told they hadn’t. He also recounted a meeting he had with Brooke CEO Robert Orr not long after his conversation with the company. “(He) came to my office and spent over two hours in a tirade, yelling at me because of how bad this would look to other agents and possible investors. I didn’t care – I was through dealing with them.”
Mace ended his e-mail with this: “The moral of the story? Brooke has a long track record of being less than honest in their dealings with agents, insurance companies, investors, and the general public. It starts from top management and works down. It’s time they are exposed for who they really are. My goal in contacting you today is to make sure your organization is aware of what has been going on inside Brooke for many years. I would ask that your association be very wary of promoting Brooke as a viable insurance outlet to agents who belong to your association.”
The Mann lawsuit has been stayed by the US District Court in Kansas City pending arbitration, which will occur in November. Mann’s lawyer, Brett Coonrood, told Insurance Journal that “Mr. Mann agreed to the Court’s stay?(but) this does not mean his claims are any less valid and a decision in his favor will be just as binding on Brooke as would a decision of the US District Court.”
He added that “(m)y client’s claims are typical of other Brooke franchisees that I have represented and I believe there are fundamental problems with Brooke’s accounting processes and its business model insofar as that model relates to the treatment of its agents.”
Those interested in reading unsolicited comments from fellow insurance colleagues are encouraged to read the Insurance Journal article:
And take a look comments such as “It is the case of the big fish eating little fish just to get fatter. It is a shame that we live in a world that treats people like Brooke treats there Franchisees. No one has money to fight Brooke, so they end up giving the agency back to Brooke and going away. I am thankful for freedom of speech, although sometimes it can get us in trouble. I would like to thank all of the people who are working hard to win this battle against Brooke. You know who you are.”
Other thoughts include: “(I) too am yet another ex-franchisee. This company misrepresents everything! Thinking about purchasing an abandoned agency?! Do your homework! This company is SUPER crooked and will go down. It’s just a matter of how long. Brooke continued to refer prospects to me and I continued to tell those prospects the wicked truth! Wish I would have known what now saved those peoples families!”
These are just two in a very long string of comments, which include contact information of people willing to stand up for their rights and band together with others who believe they have been treated unfairly (to say the least). Obviously our report touched a nerve with many producers, and created at least a few media stories. Again, these are unsolicited comments ” the voice of the people — and are worth review.
A link to this message board should be emailed to every local and national TV station, radio station, media network including CNN, CNBC, the new FOX Business News Channel, Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine and any other media that you can think of. There is no better bunch for exposing this type of dirty laundry.
Look where the incentives are. Brooke makes big money from the sale and finance of the franchaise. Brooke has an incentive to see the agent fail because it is an opportunity to sell the agency again. Recycling inventory. Check the number of owners each agency has had. Five owners in seven years pretty much tells the story.
I am an independent insurance broker that have not and will never be with Brooke. And Brooke doesn’t seem to be a good decision to me in the first place. First of all, if you look around the most successful insurance agencies are independent and I mean independent. They are not part of any cluster, franchise group, not even captive. If you want to succeed in this business have to realize it won’t happen overnight, and will require a lot of commitment.
Being committed to pursue education (insurance designations, CPCU, AAI, CIC, etc) plus acquiring managerial skills (seminars in Marketing, HR, etc.) will certainly bring success to your agency. The access to prefer market that Brooke promises to franchisees is something many brokers can obtain with committment to education and improve the other skills.
Secondly, the money invested/debt acquired in Brooke is a lot larger than the money needed if you start alone. We started our agency with $15,000 plus another $10,000 borrowed a few years ago (of course more is needed now). We have struggled but now are in better shape with almost $500k in revenues, growing and no debt other than small expenditures in the co. credit card paid in full every month. Of course requires good money management.
To me getting into Brooke sounds more like someone who wants to run the business from home without much sacrifice. Running an insurance agency is NOT like running a Starbucks shop.
I hope more people realize abouth the risks associated with this Brooke company.
Brooke will keep doing this to people until they are forced to go to court. So far they have not had the wonderful opportunity to see the inside of a courtroom. We will see very soon if they will have there day in court. If so I will personally invite everyone who wishes to attend. I think they have build there house of cards as high as it can go.
Thank you all previous Brooke Franchisees for turning the light on for some of us. Please trust, those of us that are still in the thrust of Brooke, are there because we bet the farm on this business and we don’t know how to get out. We have heard, they ruin you in the industry where no carrier will hire you. Some of us have long tenure in the industry, got in this and NOW don’t know how to get out. This organization is dangerous. They know they have you by the throat and they play on it. Please lead the way and trust, still with Brooke or Gone, we will stand with you. In my short time with them, they have played more games with my statement than Mattel could have developed. Joke is on me for not reading the contract–but doesn’t make their practices ethical (which isn’t illegal) nor some of them Legal (that is the question).
Terrified:
I’m sure all of the Franchisees read there contract. You’re not alone in this situation. We are all trying to get out. It’s a long battle. You can call and talk to Rhonda about all of this 225-268-8171. Just call and leave a message. She seems to be leading the pack. She is the only one with a court date with Brooke. There is alot riding on this court date.
I hope Rhonda does well in court! We existing are reading and listening, to afraid to post alot of the times because this organization appears to be like the mafia!! I don’t mean that lightly. They have us financially by the balls and it emotionally tears down the franchisee where it makes them difficult to do anything but fail. I pray the papers and various leaders within the courts continue digging because if everything was clean–they wouldn’t hide so much from us…………hard for us to prove a case when we can’t get the documents to prove it, very very hard! That is why they keep so much from us!
Actually I do somewhat know what she is going through. I sued a National Insurance Carrier that I was captive with some years ago representing almost 20,000 Agents Nationwide in a class action and civil suit. I have been in the insurance industry 14 +years. I know what monsters I was up against. It is a very hard, sometimes isolated road. It is hard to take a stand. The insurance industry conducts itself as if it does not have to follow governmental rules, they have some the best attorneys that will come at you. Mine triggered a 10 year audit by the IRS, compliments of them subpeoning my tax records. They never play fair. I hate I have stepped into another company that is not ethical, nor plays by the rules. It took me 3 years but we won in settlement on class and individual. I interviewed attorneys and hired one on that could handle the guns they would come with and then took 9 boxes of documentation in his office and over a year of recordings that they knew nothing about (In some states only 1 person need to kknow about the recording)–they sucked air when they heard themselves on tape. Little people can win, when they prepare and organize. This site is good, that is where I got all of my witnesses and members for class cert from–a site like this! GOOD Luck Rhonda. In hiding for now–I wish you the BEST! Stay strong, there is light at the end. I know you must feel like the odd ball right now and the suit consumes your days but you will get your life back one day!!
I know alot of you out there are not willing to come forward. I understand that. But if any of you have it in you please call Rhonda. Her trial is this week on Friday. She has no money for an attorney and she is going to court without one. She is going to do her best. Please call her. 225-268-8171. There is also another site with more information. It is the Yahoo Financial website. If you do not know how to get into it. E-mail me.
Thanks. Gene
You are correct. Everyone wants to not say anything incase Brooke let’s them off of the hook. They don’t realize they have already lost everything they own as soon as they sign on the dotted line. Now everyone is trying to figure out how to get out, including us. With all of these post on here you would think that someone, somewhere can help us. Rhonda and myself do not want to see people go thru what we have gone thru. I hope the word is finally getting out. We have a court date on Friday with them. Rather, Rhonda has a court date with them on Friday. If you have any information that can help her out PLEASE call her.
Yes and thank you so much for doing that. There is only a handful of people really helping out the situation here. And my hand only have five fingers. I think there are more than 5 people with information. In my opinion there is alot riding on this court date. It will effect alot of people in the future. I hope she gets a chance to share all of her information that she has with the judge on Friday.
I guess she just needs to do her homework about proper legal procedure. Hopefully the judge will coach her a little bit. Aren’t there any legal aid attorneys or law students that could help??
I read all of the items she submitted to the judge. She did an excellent job. Those documents are Very Well written, but she is not an attorney. NO ONE WANTS TO HELP FOR FREE. I think she will do great. No one knows more about Brooke and the problems she is having than herself. She knows more about Brooke and there accounting practices than they do. She was going to fail from day one. There is no way anyone can ever succeed in owning a Brooke franchise. OH, in the beginning you think life is great, You THINK you own your own business, You THINK you are self employed, until you get your first monthly statement and try to get someone to explain to you why you need to borrow more money from them to keep the doors open.
Yes I agree but the Letter opener is all she could afford after owning a Brooke Franchise. She has learned to use that letter opener very well. David did beat Goliath once.
Am a little hesitant to post personal info here for fear of retaliation. Do you have a number where I can call you? Maybe a neutral place and a time you will be there? I will definitely call. Or if you are a member of the Brooke Forum, give me your user name and we can make contact through there.
Need help to deal with Brooke…. they told me all the right things, and of course, nothing was done, all they want is just commissions out of me, no help no support…. only give me, give me, give me…. now money is gone, and they want to sue me!!!! Please I need help to deal with them!!!!
I was a former franchisee and Brooke lied about helping me find office space, they failed to provide me with standard commercial markets, failed to file my Securities License forms which caused my securities licenses to expire, and threatening to take all of my personal belonings if I did not pay the franchise fee. This organization has been a farce.
Get help from http://www.yahoo.com and click on finance and then type in BXXX. Once there, look on the left hand side and click message board. Alot of current and previous agents there that will help you out! Good Luck. In the trenches with ya!
I am in San Jose, CA and I, too, was a former Brooke Franchisee. I did call you yesterday and I wanted to tell you my story.
For me, they failed to provide Standard Carriers and Markets for my commercial lines business, they failed to help me find an office, and they failed to transfer my Securities Licenses to their NASD Broker Dealer. Furthermore, they want me to pay the $220,000 franchise fee for giving me nothing.
Does this make sense to you ? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
All in all, Brooke was a bad idea, and this premise is supported by a number of Commercial Brokers I have interviewed.
Feel free to give me a call at 408-202-1316. This is not a joke and I am with you all the way.
Thanks.
Dennis A. Baras
Mad As Hell Former Brooke Agent.
1) HOW MANY OF YOU ARE READY TO FILE CLASS ACTION AGAINST BROOKE?
2) DO YOU KNOW ANY LAWYER WHO CAN HANDLE IT?
3) CAN YOU SURVIVE AFTER FILING LAW SUITE AGAINST BROOKE? I HAVE HEARD THAT THESE GUYS ARE SHARKS AND THEY PREVENT COMPANIES FROM APPOINTING YOU.
Yes, I am ready to fight Brooke in a Class Action Lawsuit. I’ve been looking for an Attorney in CA because I reside in this State.
I have posted a comment annonymously for fear of retaliation by Brooke. I believe everyone can survive after the lawsuite because what it comes down to is establishing a clear case of fraud, violation of fiduciary responsibility, and 100% deception towards current and past franchisees.
I’m on the carrier side, have direct contact with management and in my 26 yrs I’ve never met a bunch of arrogant bastards like Brooke. For those thinking about buying a franchise..it will be your biggest nightmare..stay clear
I would really appreciate any info on how to deal with these people. I closed my doors over a year ago and am waiting for the axe to fall. I have contacted them several times and gotten the same response….”your franchise is next on the list to sell!” Someone tell me what I need to be ready for please!
All I can say is WALK AWAY!!! Hopefully while you still have the shirt on your back. These people will not do anything to an agent that walks away. I’ve seen it time and time again. All we can hope is that they go down – and soon! Unfortunately not soon enough to help all of the people they have destroyed.
Yes someone should encourge all to join
together, and file a class action lawsuit
probably under a rico act. I’m writeing
on behalf of my son, who just received a letter regard his debit to them. Being
in the insurance business for 30 years, it
was quite apparent, that he was receiveing
few if any rewal commission.
My brother is currently useing a law firm
of about 700 lawyers in the firn, and they
are handling a case for him on a contentingency basis, the second case they
ever took on a conteingy basis in about a
100 years. I would be happy to have him
check with his lawyers to see if they
could give a few ex-Brooke agencies a little relief. I can be contacted at E-Mail: back40bill@msn.com. Just write, and give a little back ground in you case, and
a phone number where you could be reached,
as I will be very careful that word does not get back to the emeny. Thanks, Bill
Our law firm is looking for any information that would be useful in documenting fraud by Brooke, irregular internal accounting practices, and criminal or other misconduct.
We are prosecuting several cases on behalf of former Brooke insurance agencies. We are also trying to work with the banks (many of whom were complicit) to obtain relief under the promissory notes. Yes, it may be possible to invalidate the promissory notes.
Another element of the case involves pursuing Brooke officers and directors. There appears to be a substantial D&O policy. That may hopefully also afford relief.
We represent several of the largest agencies in the country. Please feel free to contact the lead attorney, anonymously if you wish. His name is Chris. His address is bluewater402@yahoo.com
Provide your name and phone number if you want a call back. Anonymous information is fine, but it will be far more useful if we can source it back to credible witnesses.
Please help!!!!! Cara Jo Robert’s worked for Brooke at it’s Overland Park location. She was brutally murdered in her home in Harrisonville,MO on November 5th during broad day light. She had no enemies and we believe this was not some random at of violence. This company has done just about everything else under the sun that is deemed to be evil, destroying the lives of others for personal gain. This community has never experience a murder in which they have not been able to solve quickly, in fact the last murder was in 2005. So far, all the investigators have found is nothing!! Cold Leads! Cara had access to financial information about Brooke. Her friends and family think someone at Brooke knows what happened and why. Help us find her Killer or Killers!!!!! She left behind a loving husband and 2 year old son. Email carasadvocate@yahoo.com with information or call the Harrisonville Police Dept. 816-380-8928
Please help!!!!! Cara Jo Robert’s worked for Brooke at it’s Overland Park location. She was brutally murdered in her home in Harrisonville,MO on November 5th during broad day light. She had no enemies and we believe this was not some random at of violence. This company has done just about everything else under the sun that is deemed to be evil, destroying the lives of others for personal gain. This community has never experience a murder in which they have not been able to solve quickly, in fact the last murder was in 2005. So far, all the investigators have found is nothing!! Cold Leads! Cara had access to financial information about Brooke. Her friends and family think someone at Brooke knows what happened and why. Help us find her Killer or Killers!!!!! She left behind a loving husband and 2 year old son. Email carasadvocate@yahoo.com with information or call the Harrisonville Police Dept. 816-380-8928
I got involved with brooke, only to have rates changed monthly, my accountant was fired and taken to canada, they took complete control,and forced me out the door. Kyle Garst and Kelly Hurt were the ones I dealt with wat crooke, My Interest rates changed every month, and it was to the point I could not pay my bills, I hate these bastards, I hope they burn in Hell,There Attorneys are just as croked,
Cara Jo Roberts was the Brooke accountant that was murdered in ’08. I suspect she knew too much and someone knew she’d talk. That’s just me, not any official news.
There is a facebook page under her name. The case needs to be kept alive.
I would also recommend staying away from Allstate, they may be a step better than brook, but only a very small step.
I would also recommend staying away from Allstate, they may be a step better than brook, but only a very small step.
AS A FORMER BROOKE EMPLOYEE, I WORKED IN ACCOUNTING, AND I AM EMBRASSED TO SAY I WORKED FOR THE CROOKED COMPANY, THEY STOLE MONEY FROM THE AGENTS, AND LIED ON STATEMENTS. THE BUSINESS MODEL IS A JOKE AND ROBERT ORR IS A FOOL!
Please contact Rhonda Lobell @ 225-268-8171. We all need info that you may have to put an end to the way Brooke is destroying families. Please leave her a message if she is unable to answer…SHE WILL CALL YOU BACK.
Brooke ruined my business world…I have a hatred that is very, very deep for these people and the many lives they have hurt so badly….They require mediation/arbitration so there is no formal record of the many people they have lied to and hurt so badly. Call me @530.888.7334
I think you would need to be a sucker to fall for a Brooke franchise deal- there is no name recognition like many of the national direct writers and as a P&C license holder, Brooke mailed me for months trying to get me to agree to a franchise- junk mail of course. I work at an MGA and we work with Brooke agencies- the way they are structured makes doing biz with them difficult. At least with Farmers / Allstate / Statefarm, you are getting a recognized name and reputation- for better or for worse. Seems like a scam to consolidate independent agenices but it’s really to no ones advantage except Brooke’s bottomline. Insurance buyers aren’t getting anything better out of it.
We also are in a lawsuit with Brooke and I know several others as well with more to come.
I’m also involved in a lawsuit with Brooke – I personally know of MANY agents experiencing the same issues.
Rhonda Lobell
(225) 268-8171
My experience was working on a deal to purchase one agency while owning three others. Upon arrival in Kansas City-Overland Park, the President at the time, Shawn Lowry, stated that I MUST agree to sell my other agencies to Brooke OR there was NO DEAL. He could have told me that via phone. It was never discussed, nor had he seen any financials or other pertinent info to make such an assumption. Uncle Bobby gave this punk the job and he was a schmuck. He recenlty WALKED OUT of Brooke himself. If I was in litigation, I would depose Shawn Lowry and see how disgruntled him and his Uncle are at this point. He could be a key witness against the company that adds “Buyer Assistance Plans” equal to 100% of the commissions for doing absolutely NOTHING. This scam is a house of cards with one entity representing revenues to another. If they were properly audited, not by American Stock Exchange, you would see there is actually very little revenues that they do not churn.
Good luck and Depose Shawn Lowry!
Now that I’m involved, it is plain to see that the success of a franchaisee is not in their interest. If the franchaisee fails they sell a new franchaise and another sucker is born.
I have known two people who got involved with Brooke, both left after two years. I hear nothing good about these folks. When I get their mailer, it goes straight into the trash. I am sure someone from Brooke is reading this. The message is, your model doesn’t work. People don’t like dealing with a half deck. The organization that do it right thrive, the organization that play games struggle to survive.
Finally! I’ve been waiting for this day to come. I hope all you Brooke agents out there jump on the bandwagon and start a class-action lawsuit against them. They’re nothing but crooks and hoodlums.
Shudda is right. Agent failure is in their best interest.
If you want to start in the independent insurance agency business. There are many more and financially sounder opportunities to do so than with Brooke.
The alledge allegations are true…thats why Brooke hired a lawyer that specializes in class actions suits…they are getting ready for what is to come. Right now every Brooke Agent in my area with an acception of two are leaving so the comment about “over” 800 franchisees is a misrepretation itself. The commissions you make never apply to the building debt, so your debt and the interest only grows larger. If you question Brooke and refuse to sign their monthly statement they “threaten” to deny your commission advance. I know I saved the emails. DO YOUR HOMEWORK before signing their contract….call every agent in your state and see how many answer…ride by the offices and see how many are opened.
I am currently involved with Brooke and trying desperately to get out. They are scam artists and do it well. Once in, you will never break even nor make money. You will never understand their statements and trying to correct an error on you statement takes an act of GOD. Do not get involved.
Employee when you can please call me!
Employee my cell is 817-253-0443. Thanks Jeremy Pool
My experience with Brooke came from the company side and our experience with Brooke owners were that many new owners were unprepared for agency ownership and management. Brooke offered little help, had financing that was totally in their favor, and did not allow agents to review actual commission records.
While the concept of a franchise is not always a bad idea, Brooke’s fees were much higher than the “franchise services and recognition” they offered. Their model is riddled with flaws. Obviously there are some Brooke agecies that are successful, but if you you look closer at those agencies, they are formers IA’s that enjoyed good success, were sold to Brooke, then Brook turned around and sold them to a new owner, and the agency (in spite of Brooke)continued it’s good results. Brooke doesn’t offer a successful recipe if you are starting from scratch. That’s hard enough to do without someone skimming 15% of your income and keeping you in the dark about actual commission revenue.
I urge everyone having problems with Brooke to send an email to the Big “I” (Independent Insurance Agents Assn)State and National. Do this whether or not you are a member! Send the same letter to PIA (Professional Ins. Agents) State & National. The Latin American Agents Assn is involved!!!! Let’s seek the help of ALL of our associations.
With 30 yrs P & C experience I have never seen such a smug , cocky group of so called successful people. go after Shaun Lowery, he’s the key to what goes on in Overland Park
Let me just say that nothing has changed since I purchased (and then sold) a Broke Financial Services agency several years ago. How they continue to sucker agents into their system is beyond me. It is a no-win situation for new OR seasoned veterans between the exorbitant franchise fees and then the on-going skimming of commissions. The only way they can get someone to sign is with their “friendly” financing they offer. Please…..if you can’t get traditional financing then you have no business buying a half million dollar agency.
Hey local,
I will tell you this. I have never represented a fine company as ERIE. They gave me a chance as a scracth agent, and I know they won’t ***** themselves. They are great to work with, and recommend you contact them. They are 100% committed to the agent! Great company and underwriters.
I am an agent that has filed a lawsuit against Brooke for the same reasons as this agent. Sounds like alot of us have the same story. I wonder why Brooke can continue to do this and their reputation never seems to get out to the public?
Sounds like more people in a suit than the measily 12 mentioned, just from the comments in this article! You know the old addage – if it looks too good to be true…
But what about the carriers? Just goes to show they are scavengers which will beg business any way than can, except to appoint the hardworking principal of a new agency.
BROOKE IS THE ANTI-CHRIST.
THE END IS NEAR, SAVE YOUR SOULS, GET OUT.
I’m a HO Brooke employee! They think I drank the Kool-aid, well guess what I didn’t.
I will soon contact many of you for my inside info-it’s real good, I mean super good for all franchisee’s.
Be in touch!
NEGATIVE PUBLICITY!!! Why do you think Brooke puts arbitration/mediation in all of their contracts? Because they do not want the publicity of a jury trial.
Not 15 minutes after this hit the yahoo – BXXX message board we get a message from our regional Brooke “genius”. The email was a puff piece that basically says “lawyers are bad, we are a great company, and we have a report from the Louisiana Department of Insurance to prove it.” Yea, I’m sure that was a real thorough investigation. Didn’t the last 3 or 4 Louisiana Insurance Commissioners go to jail?
I don’t know much about Brooke other than I personally know producers that sold successful indepedent agencies to Brooke and then gone and re-started other non-Brooke agencies.
I don’t get it though- no brand recognition in Brooke- no commercials, etc. What is the lure? Why do people sell out to Brooke? I want a Brooke agent to tell me why??
Kramer, you are correct that there is no branding and really few “franchise benefits”. Their lure is pretty simple: 1) They offer financing and way for agents to buy-in with little or no money and 2) they promise markets for individuals that think they can’t acquire markets on their own. In other words, it’s a quick start-up. For agents that have resources, industry knowledege & experience, and know how to sell insurance, Brooke has nothing to offer. Brooke preys upon agents that don’t have these characteristics and thus a two-fold problem is created – a business model that is flawed and an agent base that is not prepared for the task at hand.
Be very careful when talking to anyone at Brooke. Listen, do not talk. Do not give them copies of anything.
Dancing with the devil’s sister is not better than then devil himself.
Glad that news if finally getting out about the Brooke scam. Hope agents that are thinking about franchising have a chance to read this. It is a pretty common problem amongst franchisees. As a former franchisee I also had this problem, and decided to reach a settlement with them since I was just entering their franchise and wanted to keep a good relationship with them. Boy was that a mistake should have sued thier pants off.
I too am yet another ex-franchisee. This company misrepresents everything! Thinking about purchasing an abandoned agency?! Do your homework! This company is SUPER crooked and will go down, it’s just a matter of how long. Brooke continued to refer prospects to me and I continued to tell those prospects the wicked truth! Wish I would have known what now saved those peoples families!
How can Texas agents join in the class action?
For all Brooke agents looking to file a class action suit, check out the Brooke Forum at http://www.brookeforum.com or call Rhonda at 225-268-8171. You guys need to get organized and do something. There’s been alot of talk, but not much action on your part. Brooke needs to go down!
There are several people taking actions and have been for several months and there has been a coordination of these people. The problem is that legal action takes time. A long time. The suit in this article was actually filed back in Feb of this year and I posted that on the yahoo message board back then but only now is it becoming news. There are lawfirms recruiting franchisees to represent on a contingency basis. When the sharks come out like that you know there is blood in the water.
I’m glad there has been alot of action. I was an Area Manager with 18 franchisees at one time. Only 4 of them are still around and 2 of those are thinking of walking away. Brooke makes it easy to walk away to avoid litigation. If agents don’t rally and file a class-action, Brooke will never face the music.
I closed my office notified Brooke and walked away, its been 6 months I have not heard from them since.this people are crooks,unprofessionals,liars I can sit here and go on and on,they have NO shame on what they do.
I lost my house, savings and more.
This is my worst nightmare I still can’t wake up.
Sounds like my story, and still struggling after 4 years…
Simple country boys, my big butt!
follow the link to view the article.
http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/295667.html
Yes indeed! Check out all of the comments posted by wronged agents at the end of the article! WOW
Brooke agents have heart! The SEC is investigating Brooke and is very intersted in some of their business practices. Keep your fingers crossed!
Thank you for publishing this article. The more light that can be shed on brooke the better.
I have never seen such a one-sided comment section….NOT ONE SINGLE LETTER of support. Not ONE SINGLE comment of support from ANYONE who has done business with Brooke and benefited from the experience. In my opinion, the editors of this magazine are on notice to further explore the issues at hand and write a very comprehensive article. They owe this to the readers….The financial lives of very hard working people can and should be saved by this. I have to believe the editors are aware of the feedback on this article. Personally, I don’t care who the new VP of Underwriting is at some local Agency, I think this magazine has a serious obligation to do the real story. Otherwise, it is just a public relations rag looking for ad revenue.
Amen Brother!
I just want to say that as a former Brooke Agent I had no choice but to walk away. From day one I had problems after problems and it was very diffcult to get any help on anything from them. I tried for months to straighten things out and then when the working capital ran out i was told to sell. There was no help but I walked away and they got another person to take over the office and i am sure they will have the same fate. i think as agents that have been screwed by Brooke we need to get together and expose this company and let people know what is really going on so other people do not have to go thru what we are going thru. And if people need a good lawyer call Brett Coonrod or email him at bcoonrod@smithcoonrod.com.. He is great…..
Mann is correct in everything he is saying. The value of the Brooke agency that you buy is determined by a Company that is owned by Brooke. They somehow forget to disclose this. They make it look so good you cannot pass the deal up. I bet Cynthia Weber Scherb, general Counsel was dissappointed to see the old Mann Lawsuit surface. In your contract it states if there are any disputes you need to go to mediation and then arbitration. That is so they keep the lawsuits out of the court system and out of the eyes of the public.
Brett Coonrod stated that there are fundamental problems with Brooke’s accounting system. I would have to say those problems are more than fundamental. How can you ever get anything solved with your agency and Brooke when the employees who are suppose to be helping you out in your agency keep leaving Brooke.
Scerb’s comment re: we believe the number of lawsuits we’ve had with franchisees has been very low. And she states that they were successful in resolving them at little or no cost to the Company. I wonder how much they have spent in the lawsuit against Rhonda Lobell. I bet they have spent many times over what they will ever gain in that case. Because they will gain nothing. Once you become a Brooke agent you are going to loose everything you own. You will have no money to defend yourself against Brooke.
Rhonda Lobell, along with a few other people, are playing the role of “Erin Brokovich” if I spelled that correctly. I’m sure you’ve seem the movie.
It is the case of the big fish eating little fish just to get fatter.
It is ashame that we live in a world that treats people like Brooke treats there Franchisees.
No one has money to fight Brooke, so they end up giving the agency back to Brooke and going away.
I am thankful for freedom of speech, although sometimes it can get us in trouble.
I would like to thank all of the people who are working hard to win this battle against Brooke. You know who you are.
My phone number is 225-268-8173. Please call and leave a message. I will call you back after work hours. I would also like to thank everyone else who posted comments. We need the publicity.
I am about to walk away ( giving a 30 day notice letter) and open my own agency. Does anyone know the difficulty , if any in “selling” back your franchise?
Brooke will let you walk away, but if you are going to open another agency – Watch Out! They will automatically assume you are going to “steal” all the franchise business from them and will dog you. Rhonda Lobell can tell you all about it.
I am a current agent/supposed owner with Brooke and the agency I bought is a joke. The Mann suit in FL sounds like a broken record that many of us have heard over and over. We really need to get together and sue Brooke. If we band together we can take them down big time and they know it. If you are reading this Brooke, look what you created. A beast of angry current and ex franchisees. I would suggest that no one attend the Vegas convention or better yet carry signs outside and spread the word about the system. Brooke can say all it wants, but look at its stock prices and the how many of us are stuck with Brooke and thier haphazard acounting system!
If you are new to Brooke, get out immediately. Stop drinking the koolaid!!!!
I think that we need to ban together and sue them….it is so upsetting that they are getting away with what they do to there agents
You need to contact:
Rhonda Lobell
(225) 268-8171
Also, Wes Shannon indicated there was work going on in this area, but he did not leave any contact information. Perhaps it is on the Brooke Forum.
Keep your comments coming but please be careful using someone else’s name. We all need to keep our facts straight!
Rhonda Lobell did not open another agency.
And I do agree with you! Brooke is harrassing former Brooke agents regardless of the agents employment situation. Such as, Brooke filing lawsuits against the agents current employers.
It’s obvious to me that Brooke definitely has a vendetta against Lobell.
Whats her story i dont know it? my email is lisaph2@aol.com
No, she didn’t open another agency, but Brooke is accusing her of “stealing” Brooke business all the same. I don’t think she’s made any secret of her situation and posted her name and telephone number already on this website. I wouldn’t have used it otherwise.
I’m the one that opened another agency. I am the one that they are sueing. I am the one who have never been to Kansas. I am the one who is being sued in the state of Kansas. I am the one who the judge decided this week to throw out the improper venue in my case and to hear the case in Kansas. I am the one that now will have to fight a lawsuit in Kansas.
I don’t understand why Walgreens can open up a store across the street from Rite Aid and not get sued for taking there clients away. I don’t understand why McDonalds can open up a rest. across the street from Burger King and not get sued for taking there business. It is called competition.
Well Brooke have never heard of that. I opened a agency across from Rhonda’s Agency.
I’m the one who is getting sued for doing that. AND yes there are other things involved.
I have no money to defend myself. Now what do I do.
Those of you who are telling us to band together, where have you been. Rhonda has been in this fight for two years, alone with a few other people. She figured this out a long time ago. She has been trying to get people to band together.
What about the class action lawsuit. Have you called the attorney and told him you are interested in joining the lawsuit.
Probably not.
225-268-8173
As you can tell I am a little aggrivated.
Call Rhonda and get involved. She cannot do it alone.
I was only with Brooke for about 9 months i was a start up and I didnt know a lot about what was going on but I will be calling Rhonda today….because its not right what they are doing
Lisa, thanks so much for getting involved. Glad you are out.
I feel so bad for you Gene, I understand your frustration and anger I’ve been there but you know what sooner or later these BROOKE CROOKS WILL FALL hopefully sooner than later. keep your head up and continue with what you need to do, I will call Rhonda today to find out how to join the class action law suit.
Gene,
No problem….like i have said before its just very wrong what they are doing and its not fair to any of us……
How far are you on your Class Action Suit,and can sellers get involved as well.
I’ll check to see if a local franchise attorney would be willing to work on a contingent basis, but there are attorneys all over that will do this.
Kansas Agents – if you watch daytime T.V. at all, you will see these ads. Or look in the yellow pages. It shouldn’t be that hard to find someone that would take this on. And they would have plenty of Plaintiffs!
I’m not looking for an Attorney,What I meant to ask was,are there currently any sellers out there in the same mess with Brooke? and looking to join the/a Class Action suit against them,sould that be an option for us as well.
As far as I know, there is no class action suit yet. That’s why I recommended an attorney – to get one started. I’m not a Brooke agent or would have done it myself. However, as a former Brooke employee I know of another seller that basically got her agency stolen from her. If you give me contact information, I’ll contact you.
I closed my office gave them a 30 day notice and walked away it’s been 6 months I have not heard a word its like the company vanished. This is how much Brooke cares about their franchises and/or agencies.and they still try to deny……….
I sold my agency to a friend of mine, he took my agency and his and bought a Brooke. Now we’re both stuck.
Hey im in Houston and they just bought all are locations in texas around 60, and they want us to fill out all kinds of forms and I scared, They want to buy a office. after reading all your comments ive made up my mind. HELL NO!!!!!!!
SMART, mend.
If you’re camping and everyone starts yelling BEAR….don’t stop to chat. RUN!
How could you do that to a FRIEND???
Run, Mend, run!! And run fast. There’s a reason your company sold to Brooke and it can’t be a good one. Find another job. NOW!!!
Streaked/Mend, Have you guys recieved all the money owed to you per your contract,or did you just recieve a letter instead? Did their SALESPERSON tell you things that didn’t happen,I would like to get a list of all Agency Owners that sold to Brooke, and did not recieve PAYMENTS as agreed in our contract.
I WAS THINKING OF SELLING TO BROOKE AND I STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH ON BROOKE AND FOUND THEM TO BE CROOKS, I AM A STRONG BELIEVER IN CHRIST AND ASKED GOD FOR GUIDANCE AND I DISCOVERED A LOT ABOUT BROOKE. CHRIST SAVED ME FROM ANTI- CHRIST
THANKB YOU
Please. please people…..I know that we burned you. But that is water under the bridge. Let’s move forward and forget the past. After all, tomorrow is another day.
I would like to echo the words of that great man of peace, Rodney King, who asked that now famous and prolific question on TV during the LA riots, “Can’t we all just get along?????”
I know this is not who we all think it is. Let bygone be bygones. Obviously he has not lived in our shoes for a day. I’ll just leave it at that. Please sign your real name when you are commenting.
Everyone needs to let there tv stations aware of the situation and forward this web-site to DATELINE, 20/20, 60 MINUTES, anyone who will hear our plea for help we need to expose BROOKE. I guess it’s true what they say, if you got money you can get away with murder just ask O.J!!
Bryan: It is hard to find someone who is not on Brooke payroll that will listen. Brooke is operating on that fine grey line. They know exactly what they are doing. None of us have money to fight them. Well let me re-state that. We used what little money we had to fight them and now we are out of money. No one wants to help us for free. We have tried all of the free avenues. Brooke has all of our money to fight against us. There day is comming real soon in court. I am wondering if they will show up. There are some very well written documents in front of the judge. If he reads them, there will be a very interesting day in court. We’ll have to wait and see. Please pray that the judge understands what is going on and reads those documents. This could be a very big turning point in all of our cases against Brooke.
Certainly our situation is no laughing matter. But I think that the Bygones be Bygones message paints a true picture of the cocky, arrogant and uncaring attitude that these people have about our plight. I suspect that Brooke thinks that this will eventually fade away because of our limited resources and they are smug about it. But they seem to forget that David beat Goliath in the end. Hopefully that will be the case here.
The RICO charge, if it sticks trumps all the money issues. It’s the real gun in this case against the burglars.
Let bygones be bygones, I don’t think so!! There are some of us out there that do have the resources to go after them(Brooke). I have lost over $600,000 so far and if they don’t pay the second payment I would have lost over a MILLION. I will NOT let this go.Like Gene has stated, just give it a little time and you will see the lawsuits come in. Brooke has messed with to many long term agents and their families. I have to beleave that with all of our Justifiable Complaints along with Depositions of certain people the Court System, Multi State DOI and the SEC, Brooke will have alot of explaning to do. At this point I don’t see how they can defend themselfs,there are too many complaints of Misrepresentation,Breach of contract,as well as the RICO cause.
LAAA NEWS FLASH
LAAA REPORT ON BROOKE CORPORATION BRINGS MEDIA ATTENTION AND MORE HORROR STORIES
Recently, the Latin American Agents Association reported that Brooke Corporation was the target of a lawsuit alleging that, among other things, the company was in breach of its contract with franchisee Arthur Mann. Since or report, we have received e-mails and phone calls from other Brooke franchisees disgruntled with how the company handles its business, at least with them.
After our report was circulated, we received a phone call and e-mail from Brooke executives. In the e-mail, Brooke stated that “We were disappointed to see that the LAAA has circulated old news about the Mann lawsuit, which was filed last January, without contacting us for comment, but we appreciate this opportunity to respond.
We at Brooke work hard to make sure our processes and procedures are correct and our employees act ethically.
“We believe that the allegations in the lawsuit are untrue, and we intend to defend vigorously. The lawsuit has been stayed by the court, and sent to mediation, which will occur in November inKansas City. If the parties are unable to resolve their differences in mediation, the court has ordered that the parties proceed to arbitration, and the case will remain stayed pending that arbitration.”
The story was picked up by the trade outlets, as well as some mainstream media publications. The Kansas City Star ran an article on Brooke with the headline “As Brooke Corp. expands, scrutiny also grows.” In it, Brooke founder and chairman Robert Orr referred to his company as “entrepreneurial country boys.”
The LAAA was contacted by Louisiana agent Rhonda Lobell, who purchased a Brooke franchise as a 28-year insurance industry veteran. She told us — and the Kansas City Star — that she wanted to expand her business and utilize the services promised by Brooke. She said Brooke consistently shorted her on commission payments and failed to deliver on its business promises. Lobell also echoed the sentiments of some other Brooke franchisees that the company’s eyes are ultimately set on owning the agencies outright and pushing the franchisees out.
Lobell commented that “if you are paying more than the agency’s worth, plus a $165,000 franchise fee, 15 percent of your commission and maybe another 25 percent for other services, there’s no way you’ll make it.” Orr wrote Lobell’s experience, as well as others who lost Brooke franchises, this way: “In my opinion, most of the people who are yelling now just aren’t that good at handling money.”
The article also makes mention of an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Insurance over allegations by Brooke franchisees that the company misrepresented profitability of franchises, overbilled franchisees for services rendered, and withheld income from franchisees, allegedly so the franchise would fail and Brooke could take over. These are similar to the allegations made in the Mann lawsuit. Louisiana state investigators found no evidence to support the complaints against Brooke’s, but did find that the company was deficient in reporting changes in ownership to carriers. Lobell told us that she seriously questioned both the veracity and tenacity of the Louisiana DOI investigators.
According to the Kansas City Star article, “Brooke’s own regulatory filings show that since 2000, at least 12 Brooke franchise holders in other states have sued the company or its subsidiaries or claimed in response to Brooke litigation that alleged fraud, misrepresentation and other abuses doom franchise buyers to failure.”
Brooke officials claim that the franchise-related lawsuits include six old closed lawsuits/arbitrations that won or settled long ago, and the six current cases disclosed, two have agreed to arbitration and one has agreed to mediation.” This means that the resolution of three cases is still up in the air, and three others are pending. Also, Brooke reported they had even initiated legal proceedings against a franchisee.
The LAAA received an e-mail from former Brooke executive and franchisee David Mace, who is now with PrimeVest Financial Services. Mace said he was a VP at Brooke from 1989-1996, including serving as Transaction Manager in Phillipsburg, Kansas from 1995-1996. He bought a Brooke franchise in 1996, owning it until July of 1997, when Mace told Brooke that “the agency was theirs.” According to Mace, Brooke failed to notify companies of the change in ownership, something that the Louisiana investigation uncovered. He said that Brooke executives told him in no uncertain terms not to contact any companies. After word got around the company grapevine that there was new ownership, according to Mace, the company directed him to say there “had been a change in management.” This was the catalyst for Mace’s exit, according to his e-mail, as he “lost all the money I had originally invested in the agency when I purchased it, but was relieved to be out of the situation.”
Mace said he contacted a company asking if they had received notice of an ownership change, and was told they hadn’t. He also recounted a meeting he had with Brooke CEO Robert Orr not long after his conversation with the company. “(He) came to my office and spent over two hours in a tirade, yelling at me because of how bad this would look to other agents and possible investors. I didn’t care – I was through dealing with them.”
Mace ended his e-mail with this: “The moral of the story? Brooke has a long track record of being less than honest in their dealings with agents, insurance companies, investors, and the general public. It starts from top management and works down. It’s time they are exposed for who they really are. My goal in contacting you today is to make sure your organization is aware of what has been going on inside Brooke for many years. I would ask that your association be very wary of promoting Brooke as a viable insurance outlet to agents who belong to your association.”
The Mann lawsuit has been stayed by the US District Court in Kansas City pending arbitration, which will occur in November. Mann’s lawyer, Brett Coonrood, told Insurance Journal that “Mr. Mann agreed to the Court’s stay?(but) this does not mean his claims are any less valid and a decision in his favor will be just as binding on Brooke as would a decision of the US District Court.”
He added that “(m)y client’s claims are typical of other Brooke franchisees that I have represented and I believe there are fundamental problems with Brooke’s accounting processes and its business model insofar as that model relates to the treatment of its agents.”
Those interested in reading unsolicited comments from fellow insurance colleagues are encouraged to read the Insurance Journal article:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/09/26/83749.htm
And take a look comments such as “It is the case of the big fish eating little fish just to get fatter. It is a shame that we live in a world that treats people like Brooke treats there Franchisees. No one has money to fight Brooke, so they end up giving the agency back to Brooke and going away. I am thankful for freedom of speech, although sometimes it can get us in trouble. I would like to thank all of the people who are working hard to win this battle against Brooke. You know who you are.”
Other thoughts include: “(I) too am yet another ex-franchisee. This company misrepresents everything! Thinking about purchasing an abandoned agency?! Do your homework! This company is SUPER crooked and will go down. It’s just a matter of how long. Brooke continued to refer prospects to me and I continued to tell those prospects the wicked truth! Wish I would have known what now saved those peoples families!”
These are just two in a very long string of comments, which include contact information of people willing to stand up for their rights and band together with others who believe they have been treated unfairly (to say the least). Obviously our report touched a nerve with many producers, and created at least a few media stories. Again, these are unsolicited comments ” the voice of the people — and are worth review.
A link to this message board should be emailed to every local and national TV station, radio station, media network including CNN, CNBC, the new FOX Business News Channel, Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine and any other media that you can think of. There is no better bunch for exposing this type of dirty laundry.
Look where the incentives are. Brooke makes big money from the sale and finance of the franchaise. Brooke has an incentive to see the agent fail because it is an opportunity to sell the agency again. Recycling inventory. Check the number of owners each agency has had. Five owners in seven years pretty much tells the story.
I am an independent insurance broker that have not and will never be with Brooke. And Brooke doesn’t seem to be a good decision to me in the first place. First of all, if you look around the most successful insurance agencies are independent and I mean independent. They are not part of any cluster, franchise group, not even captive. If you want to succeed in this business have to realize it won’t happen overnight, and will require a lot of commitment.
Being committed to pursue education (insurance designations, CPCU, AAI, CIC, etc) plus acquiring managerial skills (seminars in Marketing, HR, etc.) will certainly bring success to your agency. The access to prefer market that Brooke promises to franchisees is something many brokers can obtain with committment to education and improve the other skills.
Secondly, the money invested/debt acquired in Brooke is a lot larger than the money needed if you start alone. We started our agency with $15,000 plus another $10,000 borrowed a few years ago (of course more is needed now). We have struggled but now are in better shape with almost $500k in revenues, growing and no debt other than small expenditures in the co. credit card paid in full every month. Of course requires good money management.
To me getting into Brooke sounds more like someone who wants to run the business from home without much sacrifice. Running an insurance agency is NOT like running a Starbucks shop.
I hope more people realize abouth the risks associated with this Brooke company.
I need to talk to Elizabeth Brown you have my number because I thought I was taking you to dinner in Vegas for Middle east food.
Brooke will keep doing this to people until they are forced to go to court. So far they have not had the wonderful opportunity to see the inside of a courtroom. We will see very soon if they will have there day in court. If so I will personally invite everyone who wishes to attend. I think they have build there house of cards as high as it can go.
Please send date and time, I would like to attend and see if big Shawn comes.
Brooke I know you are reading this message.
“YOU ARE IN LOUISIANA NOW” See you Nov 2nd.
Thank you all previous Brooke Franchisees for turning the light on for some of us. Please trust, those of us that are still in the thrust of Brooke, are there because we bet the farm on this business and we don’t know how to get out. We have heard, they ruin you in the industry where no carrier will hire you. Some of us have long tenure in the industry, got in this and NOW don’t know how to get out. This organization is dangerous. They know they have you by the throat and they play on it. Please lead the way and trust, still with Brooke or Gone, we will stand with you. In my short time with them, they have played more games with my statement than Mattel could have developed. Joke is on me for not reading the contract–but doesn’t make their practices ethical (which isn’t illegal) nor some of them Legal (that is the question).
Terrified:
I’m sure all of the Franchisees read there contract. You’re not alone in this situation. We are all trying to get out. It’s a long battle. You can call and talk to Rhonda about all of this 225-268-8171. Just call and leave a message. She seems to be leading the pack. She is the only one with a court date with Brooke. There is alot riding on this court date.
What are your thoughts about the article in the Insurance Journal ?
I sent an e-mail to the editor asking them to keep digging on this story.
I hope Rhonda does well in court! We existing are reading and listening, to afraid to post alot of the times because this organization appears to be like the mafia!! I don’t mean that lightly. They have us financially by the balls and it emotionally tears down the franchisee where it makes them difficult to do anything but fail. I pray the papers and various leaders within the courts continue digging because if everything was clean–they wouldn’t hide so much from us…………hard for us to prove a case when we can’t get the documents to prove it, very very hard! That is why they keep so much from us!
You have no idea what Rhonda is going thru. Wish us luck on Nov 2nd.
Actually I do somewhat know what she is going through. I sued a National Insurance Carrier that I was captive with some years ago representing almost 20,000 Agents Nationwide in a class action and civil suit. I have been in the insurance industry 14 +years. I know what monsters I was up against. It is a very hard, sometimes isolated road. It is hard to take a stand. The insurance industry conducts itself as if it does not have to follow governmental rules, they have some the best attorneys that will come at you. Mine triggered a 10 year audit by the IRS, compliments of them subpeoning my tax records. They never play fair. I hate I have stepped into another company that is not ethical, nor plays by the rules. It took me 3 years but we won in settlement on class and individual. I interviewed attorneys and hired one on that could handle the guns they would come with and then took 9 boxes of documentation in his office and over a year of recordings that they knew nothing about (In some states only 1 person need to kknow about the recording)–they sucked air when they heard themselves on tape. Little people can win, when they prepare and organize. This site is good, that is where I got all of my witnesses and members for class cert from–a site like this! GOOD Luck Rhonda. In hiding for now–I wish you the BEST! Stay strong, there is light at the end. I know you must feel like the odd ball right now and the suit consumes your days but you will get your life back one day!!
I know alot of you out there are not willing to come forward. I understand that. But if any of you have it in you please call Rhonda. Her trial is this week on Friday. She has no money for an attorney and she is going to court without one. She is going to do her best. Please call her. 225-268-8171. There is also another site with more information. It is the Yahoo Financial website. If you do not know how to get into it. E-mail me.
Thanks. Gene
Hey, why be afraid to come forward? They can’t do anything to you worse than they already have! Don’t be a chicken sh*t…
You are correct. Everyone wants to not say anything incase Brooke let’s them off of the hook. They don’t realize they have already lost everything they own as soon as they sign on the dotted line. Now everyone is trying to figure out how to get out, including us. With all of these post on here you would think that someone, somewhere can help us. Rhonda and myself do not want to see people go thru what we have gone thru. I hope the word is finally getting out. We have a court date on Friday with them. Rather, Rhonda has a court date with them on Friday. If you have any information that can help her out PLEASE call her.
I signed an affidavit for Rhonda. If anyone else needs my help, post your contact info here and I will contact you.
Yes and thank you so much for doing that. There is only a handful of people really helping out the situation here. And my hand only have five fingers. I think there are more than 5 people with information. In my opinion there is alot riding on this court date. It will effect alot of people in the future. I hope she gets a chance to share all of her information that she has with the judge on Friday.
I guess she just needs to do her homework about proper legal procedure. Hopefully the judge will coach her a little bit. Aren’t there any legal aid attorneys or law students that could help??
I read all of the items she submitted to the judge. She did an excellent job. Those documents are Very Well written, but she is not an attorney. NO ONE WANTS TO HELP FOR FREE. I think she will do great. No one knows more about Brooke and the problems she is having than herself. She knows more about Brooke and there accounting practices than they do. She was going to fail from day one. There is no way anyone can ever succeed in owning a Brooke franchise. OH, in the beginning you think life is great, You THINK you own your own business, You THINK you are self employed, until you get your first monthly statement and try to get someone to explain to you why you need to borrow more money from them to keep the doors open.
I’m afraid she’s off to fight the dragon armed with a letter opener rather than a sword.
It only took a rock and my help for David to slay Goliath!
Yes I agree but the Letter opener is all she could afford after owning a Brooke Franchise. She has learned to use that letter opener very well. David did beat Goliath once.
I sharpened my letter opener with my file. My secretary calls it a dagger. It works really well on UPS boxes.
ok that one got a smile out of me.
Any news on how Rhonda did anyone?
I believe her trial isn’t over yet and will be continued on Wed Nov 7th.
need to contact former brooke ee and need elizabeth brown.
Am a little hesitant to post personal info here for fear of retaliation. Do you have a number where I can call you? Maybe a neutral place and a time you will be there? I will definitely call. Or if you are a member of the Brooke Forum, give me your user name and we can make contact through there.
Need help to deal with Brooke…. they told me all the right things, and of course, nothing was done, all they want is just commissions out of me, no help no support…. only give me, give me, give me…. now money is gone, and they want to sue me!!!! Please I need help to deal with them!!!!
I was a former franchisee and Brooke lied about helping me find office space, they failed to provide me with standard commercial markets, failed to file my Securities License forms which caused my securities licenses to expire, and threatening to take all of my personal belonings if I did not pay the franchise fee. This organization has been a farce.
I agree – as a former franchisee, Brooke never did what they promised to do (per thier contract)….BREACH OF CONTRACT!!!
Want to hear my experiences, (225) 268-8171.
http://www.brookeforum.com
Get help from http://www.yahoo.com and click on finance and then type in BXXX. Once there, look on the left hand side and click message board. Alot of current and previous agents there that will help you out! Good Luck. In the trenches with ya!
Rhonda:
I am in San Jose, CA and I, too, was a former Brooke Franchisee. I did call you yesterday and I wanted to tell you my story.
For me, they failed to provide Standard Carriers and Markets for my commercial lines business, they failed to help me find an office, and they failed to transfer my Securities Licenses to their NASD Broker Dealer. Furthermore, they want me to pay the $220,000 franchise fee for giving me nothing.
Does this make sense to you ? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
All in all, Brooke was a bad idea, and this premise is supported by a number of Commercial Brokers I have interviewed.
Feel free to give me a call at 408-202-1316. This is not a joke and I am with you all the way.
Thanks.
Dennis A. Baras
Mad As Hell Former Brooke Agent.
1) HOW MANY OF YOU ARE READY TO FILE CLASS ACTION AGAINST BROOKE?
2) DO YOU KNOW ANY LAWYER WHO CAN HANDLE IT?
3) CAN YOU SURVIVE AFTER FILING LAW SUITE AGAINST BROOKE? I HAVE HEARD THAT THESE GUYS ARE SHARKS AND THEY PREVENT COMPANIES FROM APPOINTING YOU.
To Whom It May Concern:
Yes, I am ready to fight Brooke in a Class Action Lawsuit. I’ve been looking for an Attorney in CA because I reside in this State.
I have posted a comment annonymously for fear of retaliation by Brooke. I believe everyone can survive after the lawsuite because what it comes down to is establishing a clear case of fraud, violation of fiduciary responsibility, and 100% deception towards current and past franchisees.
This can work.
Let me know who you are via e-mail.
Leonides
I’m on the carrier side, have direct contact with management and in my 26 yrs I’ve never met a bunch of arrogant bastards like Brooke. For those thinking about buying a franchise..it will be your biggest nightmare..stay clear
I would really appreciate any info on how to deal with these people. I closed my doors over a year ago and am waiting for the axe to fall. I have contacted them several times and gotten the same response….”your franchise is next on the list to sell!” Someone tell me what I need to be ready for please!
I am drowning in Debt….Brooke has me hook line and sinker…no funding..they have drained me personally….ruined the book of business…help
All I can say is WALK AWAY!!! Hopefully while you still have the shirt on your back. These people will not do anything to an agent that walks away. I’ve seen it time and time again. All we can hope is that they go down – and soon! Unfortunately not soon enough to help all of the people they have destroyed.
9/21/2008
Yes someone should encourge all to join
together, and file a class action lawsuit
probably under a rico act. I’m writeing
on behalf of my son, who just received a letter regard his debit to them. Being
in the insurance business for 30 years, it
was quite apparent, that he was receiveing
few if any rewal commission.
My brother is currently useing a law firm
of about 700 lawyers in the firn, and they
are handling a case for him on a contentingency basis, the second case they
ever took on a conteingy basis in about a
100 years. I would be happy to have him
check with his lawyers to see if they
could give a few ex-Brooke agencies a little relief. I can be contacted at E-Mail: back40bill@msn.com. Just write, and give a little back ground in you case, and
a phone number where you could be reached,
as I will be very careful that word does not get back to the emeny. Thanks, Bill
Dear (former) Brooke community:
Our law firm is looking for any information that would be useful in documenting fraud by Brooke, irregular internal accounting practices, and criminal or other misconduct.
We are prosecuting several cases on behalf of former Brooke insurance agencies. We are also trying to work with the banks (many of whom were complicit) to obtain relief under the promissory notes. Yes, it may be possible to invalidate the promissory notes.
Another element of the case involves pursuing Brooke officers and directors. There appears to be a substantial D&O policy. That may hopefully also afford relief.
We represent several of the largest agencies in the country. Please feel free to contact the lead attorney, anonymously if you wish. His name is Chris. His address is bluewater402@yahoo.com
Provide your name and phone number if you want a call back. Anonymous information is fine, but it will be far more useful if we can source it back to credible witnesses.
Thanks!
Please help!!!!! Cara Jo Robert’s worked for Brooke at it’s Overland Park location. She was brutally murdered in her home in Harrisonville,MO on November 5th during broad day light. She had no enemies and we believe this was not some random at of violence. This company has done just about everything else under the sun that is deemed to be evil, destroying the lives of others for personal gain. This community has never experience a murder in which they have not been able to solve quickly, in fact the last murder was in 2005. So far, all the investigators have found is nothing!! Cold Leads! Cara had access to financial information about Brooke. Her friends and family think someone at Brooke knows what happened and why. Help us find her Killer or Killers!!!!! She left behind a loving husband and 2 year old son. Email carasadvocate@yahoo.com with information or call the Harrisonville Police Dept. 816-380-8928
Please help!!!!! Cara Jo Robert’s worked for Brooke at it’s Overland Park location. She was brutally murdered in her home in Harrisonville,MO on November 5th during broad day light. She had no enemies and we believe this was not some random at of violence. This company has done just about everything else under the sun that is deemed to be evil, destroying the lives of others for personal gain. This community has never experience a murder in which they have not been able to solve quickly, in fact the last murder was in 2005. So far, all the investigators have found is nothing!! Cold Leads! Cara had access to financial information about Brooke. Her friends and family think someone at Brooke knows what happened and why. Help us find her Killer or Killers!!!!! She left behind a loving husband and 2 year old son. Email carasadvocate@yahoo.com with information or call the Harrisonville Police Dept. 816-380-8928
Here is an article from The Kansas City Star.
http://www.demo-mo.com/100/story/3043.html
I got involved with brooke, only to have rates changed monthly, my accountant was fired and taken to canada, they took complete control,and forced me out the door. Kyle Garst and Kelly Hurt were the ones I dealt with wat crooke, My Interest rates changed every month, and it was to the point I could not pay my bills, I hate these bastards, I hope they burn in Hell,There Attorneys are just as croked,
as a result of my dealings I lost my Funeral Business ,and my License, I spent 90 days in jail, over the choices I made to stay in business
Cara Jo Roberts was the Brooke accountant that was murdered in ’08. I suspect she knew too much and someone knew she’d talk. That’s just me, not any official news.
There is a facebook page under her name. The case needs to be kept alive.