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USCCA, Again.

32K views 123 replies 80 participants last post by  MJClark 
#1 ·
I hate to disparage one of our sponsors. Especially the newest one that I am aware of. But for me, this is "over the top" and wrong.

It appears that USCCA, having created their new Defense Shield insurance backed program, is no longer going to allow members to just join for the magazine and forum. It is now requiring the purchase of their Defense Shield program with new memberships or renewals.

While this is not so different than say, AAA, which is an insurance company to begin with, and became an association of insureds. USCCA is the opposite. It was an association of like minded individuals, and an insurance backed option was made available, long after the origination of the group.

Now, like minded individuals who were a part of the group and paid membership fees to belong, but who feel no need for the insurance offered, will not be allowed to continue their membership unless they purchase the insurance backed option in addition to their regular membership. In my mind, that makes it little better than a scam with a magazine.

So, to Tim Schmidt, I say NO.

Link to the letter "explaining" it all >>>here<<<
 
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#82 ·
I am a member of ACLDN. I will be renewing my membership by years end. I like what Marty Hayes is doing, I like and respect his motivation. I'm very clear about what I get for my money and my expectations of their organization are being met.

I was a member of USCCA for one year. Didn't renew because it didn't offer anything I valued more than the cost of membership. I put them in my SPAM filter.

Fitch
 
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#84 · (Edited)
It's actually a very good way to make a lot of money without leaving the kitchen table. Find a group of people with a common interest and start an "association" with "membership" and some kind of benefits, a website, maybe an email "newsletter" and charge annual dues. This "Tactical Tim" guy is probably laughing all the way to the bank. Imagine how much he's made in USCAA dues. He could dissolve the organization tomorrow and retire rich.
 
#85 ·
It's funny that I joined the USCCA back in Oct 2010-Gold Member-for free and to my surprise received their magazine. I found them from an ad on FB and joined up right on the spot. I woulda never paid good money to join. We have the NRA to fight for us. BTW my Gold Membership expired Oct 2011, yet my member status is still "Active".
 
#86 ·
First off, I want to say that Tim isn't all bad. He's done a lot personally to lobby for CCW in Wisconsin and has surrounded himself with some reasonable talent. They sponsor armed american radio which I think is doing a fair outreach job (although there are some things I would change about it like the political nonsense of ripping liberals all the time - they should be ripping both parties, frankly).

That said, I could never sign up. I wanted the magazine - I think Kathy Jackson is a pretty cool person. I don't find value in a paid forum (come on, when there are tons for free), an insurance program that is run poorly, Tim's videos, or anything else they put out. They would probably do better financially if they sold subscriptions to the magazine and nothing else for $35 a year.

It's sad because they could have been a great organization without almost even trying. They should have developed a defensive handgun training network/program (ie, find a qualified trainer in your area, or hook up with one of the national training schools), a gear rental/testing program (you rent holsters/etc for a week at a time), good video series - with a host that's actually good on camera, and of course, just stop spamming the entire world (who does that?)

So, I'm sure people have mentioned these ideas and criticisms to Tim many times now. For what value is there, it's just insanely expensive at the moment.

Oh, and the videos were what sealed the deal for me - too much bad information from a person who runs an association about guns.
 
#87 ·
He could dissolve the organization tomorrow and retire rich.
BTW, I actually don't think he's made a whole lot - I'm pretty sure this has put him in big debt. He wrote something a while ago about it and how he almost lost his house, etc. So, I think what we are seeing is the desperation of someone pulling at every last straw to make this work. I think the defense shield thing is an ill-advised grasp to try to balance the books.
 
#92 ·
BTW, I actually don't think he's made a whole lot - I'm pretty sure this has put him in big debt. He wrote something a while ago about it and how he almost lost his house, etc.
Was given a membership which ran out and have not renewed - I will not given the whole insurance thing.

Given the rest of the marketing approach I am not inclined to take his hard luck story at face value. Perhaps this is a good guy who came up with an idea and has allowed others to be his marketing arm...don't know...but the approach is definitely aversive and I think he may become a victim of it.
 
#89 ·
I have been a member of USCCA for several years, due to lack of judgement last October i selected the insurance and provided my credit card info. I was supposed to be charged $44 Quarterly, my credit card was charged $44 in October, again in November and again in December. So I am getting out of the organization. That Tim really starting rubbing me wrong when he wanted us to use his buddy for investment opportunities. So, I am going on line now and remove my credit card info and just let my membership expire. I looked here to see if others felt the same way, and sure enough I did.
Thanks,
Marcus
 
#91 ·
I had the same problem with USCCA and my credit card, I actually had my credit card company calling me wondering who they were because of the way they were placing charges against my card. Had to close the card and get a new one issued . Don't trust them at all ....SCAM
 
#90 ·
I joined the organization about three years ago when I was a newbie. The forum was pretty good although it seems rather stale now. I never opted for his e-mails and now that the are forcing the Defense Shield I will not renew when the time comes. There is too much good information including on this site to deal with mass marketers. I went to Front Sight and enjoyed the training but the marketing was ridiculous. I challenged Piazza on his 911 conspiracy stand and the energy he was putting into that when we should have been involved in fighting for our rights with the current occupant of the People's House. I have been blackballed as a result. It is a shame to cover something that could be good with the snake oil salesman mentality. It cheats everyone and is ultimately counterproductive.
 
#95 ·
USCCA, Again

I am a new member here and have been reading the many posts re: USCCA I recently joined USCCA as a platinum member and was wondering based on the info here and on the Tauris Firearms Forum how can I get my money back from USCCA or do I just have to ride out the years membership?. Also does anyone have any views on Front Sight as I've in the past and recently been getting alot of emails and solicitation from them about joining. Are they scams or are they legit worthy of my time and money? My motto is "If you tread on me or mine I will Mow your A$$ down"!
 
#96 ·
I let mine expire, tired of the constant deal emails to renew at the expensive rate. I enjoyed the magazines, but not worth the amount they now want for the insurance coverage. They use alot of fear tactics to get you to renew. As I have discovered, there are more sources for information, including this site.
 
#97 ·
I let mine expire, tired of the constant deal emails to renew at the expensive rate. I enjoyed the magazines, but not worth the amount they now want for the insurance coverage. They use alot of fear tactics to get you to renew. As I have discovered, there are more sources for information, including this site.[/QUOTE



Thanks,I will contact them and see about getting a refund I don't like being scammed so for now on more research is in order! I'll have to notify others to check this site as well as others before taking a leap of faith as I have.
 
#98 ·
liked their magazine. signed up for their on-line newsletters. it seemed like i got ten attempts to sell me something for every one tidbit of real information. i never responded to any offers, and they stopped sending them. seems i wasn't the only one who smelled something fishy.

"you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people, all of the time." A. Lincoln

"you can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." G.W. Bush

"you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, and that's not a bad percentage." ???
 
#101 ·
While it isn't "insurance" like USCCA, I recommend to everyone I talk to that they need to check out the Armed Citizen Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) website and join. Great newsletters. Very responsive if you have questions, and God forbid if you have to use a gun in self defense, they have the type of team assembled that you WANT helping with your defense.
 
#103 ·
I feel the same as those who have already posted. I did manage to resist giving them a credit card--and I did not go for their insurance plan; if it was an option, I still might have been a USCCA member.

Speaking of the literature they sent to me one time, after getting a Gold membership, I believe: what crap! poorly written, almost as if the assignment was given to a junior in high school.

USCCA. Fail! Great concept, failure because of greed, it seems to me.
 
#108 ·
About a year ago they offered a deal where you could join for a month for 7 bucks, so I did. For this you had access to the forum + one magazine. When I got the magazine it was an old one. At the time it seemed they had an overwhelming amount of useful information. I downloaded a bunch of it, but most of it was redundant and some downright corny and amateurish. I have since deleted most of it.

From the beginning I spotted Tim's "huckster" mentality, especially after he tried to sell me on some financial opportunity scam his little brother cooked up. I did enjoy the forum, but it ain't worth paying for what you get. Toward the end of the month I did recieve a current magazine, and they kept me on the forum for a while after my "subscription" had run out. I guess they kept thinking they could sell me on the "Shield" thing. By that time a good deal of member disgruntlement was appearing on the forum over it.

Long story short they cut me loose and I never looked back. This forum is about the best I've found anyway, along with a couple of others. I do still get the free newsletter, mainly to read Coldy Alderson's articles. I see now that Tim is coming out with a "home defense association" but I'm sure it is more of the same, and smacks of desperation.
 
#109 ·
I was a member a few years back...and only for a year. At the time it was offored that I could download all of the back issues (at least 2 yrs worth IIRC). It was worth it just for that. Magazines weren't worth the price I was paying, better mags out there, and MUCH cheaper. I browsed the forums a bit, but I'm not going to pay for a forum when there are so many other great ones out there offering the same thing. I got constantly pounded with spam. I called them a couple times before it finally stopped...this was after un-subscribing multiple times. There was always another deal...Tim was constantly trying to squeeze every penny out of his members, and still is. It was and still is desperation on his part. He puts pictures out there of his family and such when all along he is worse than a used car salesman(the kind with the annoying commercials that "accept all credit applications", well duh).

For these reasons I dropped out.
 
#111 ·
I haven't gotten any e mails from USCCA for over a week. After a few months of not biting on any of their offers I must have gotten dropped from their list.
 
#112 ·
Agree with most in that the insurance issue will cause me to leave the organization. NRA offers something similar at a similar price and frankly I trust the NRA more than a newish magazine with big ideas and a short track record. The articles seem much more geared to newbies than more experienced folks, better articles eslewhere.
 
#113 ·
My first post here...

was going to ask about USCCA organization... Then I said to my self, "self, why not do a search of the forum first." Glad I did. Think I'll steer clear of the this group.

Anyone know of any similar organizations that are reputable and worthy of looking into for a new carrier?
 
#114 ·
was going to ask about USCCA organization... Then I said to my self, "self, why not do a search of the forum first." Glad I did. Think I'll steer clear of the this group.

Anyone know of any similar organizations that are reputable and worthy of looking into for a new carrier?
Welcome to the forum... from the guy who started this post...

USCCA is now offering their magazine separate from their Insurance scam. It's not a bad magazine... but I won't subscribe any further...

You will find much more valuable information here on DC than you will from USCCA. And, you'll get a variety of opinions as well, and nuances upon nuances for means of carry, training, guns, ammo, strategy... In short... a ton of info...

I cannot recommend any specific "organization" but I have heard a great deal of good about these guys: ACLDN

The chances of you needing any coverage is really quite slim... the chances that you will need to use your carry weapon of choice is almost as slim.

The most important thing you can do is know the laws of your own state regarding; Deadly Force, Stand your ground (if applicable), and castle doctrine (again, if applicable)...

For a good start on the basics... Get the book in my sig line by Massad Ayoob. It's cheap... some libraries have it... and if they don't, ask for interlibrary loan. Or you can purchase the book on line at books a million (least expensive source I have found)

Again, welcome
 
#121 ·
Agreed!

I'm a brand new member here. Recently became very interested in getting my CCW so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I ended up here because I clicked on a USCCA ad on Facebook. A Google search later and I was very happy I found this forum and saved myself some serious cash. :)
 
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