Thousands Sign Property Guru Petition Protest

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for new rules to make offering property training and wealth creation courses stricter. 

The protest follows the death of Army reservist Danny Butcher, 37, who killed himself after spending thousands of pounds on a get-rich-quick property course that failed to deliver. 

Two thousand people had signed up for the petition in just a week after a BBC TV undercover report highlighted the tactics of wealth creation firm Property Investors. 

Danny Butcher ran up £18,000 in loans and credit card debt to fund his property training and was in despair when his hoped-for business failed to take off and left him struggling financially. 

The petition is calling for stricter rules to govern property training, including:

• Outlawing false claims about accumulating wealth
• Regulated prices for courses and a professional body to oversee trainers
• Property trainers should have transparent finances, experience in property deals and five years’ experience before they can mentor

“It is clear from online forums and Facebook posts that many of the people signing up for these courses are inexperienced and vulnerable individuals,” said Glyn Jones, who is organising the petition. “

The so-called ‘wealth creation/property training’ industry needs to be cleaned up. Consumers need protecting from unscrupulous individuals engaging in unethical business practices so that they are not pressured into making decisions under the influence of cult-like groups. Regulation of this industry would save countless others getting into unmanageable debt; we must not let Danny’s death be in vain. 

“Social media enables these property gurus to reach uninformed and impressionable. With no need to fact check because of lack of oversight, their claims can flourish unverified.”