20/07/2010. Interview with the admin of GoldCollarInvest

BEWARE! THIS PROGRAM HAS STOPPED PAYING! PLEASE DO NOT INVEST!

Hi guys! The first of two updates today sees finally sees the return of my interview questions from the admin of GoldCollarInvest. After a two week wait we finally get to meet Bruce, the man behind the program originally reviewed here.

Since GoldCollarInvest was reviewed it should be pointed out that in addition to the original plans offering from 8%-12% weekly forever with the option of claiming your principal back after 30 days, a temporary shorter term plan has also been introduced. That, coupled with a noticeable slowdown in activity over this last week may not be a very encouraging sign to some investors, but let’s hear what the admin has to say.

“1. Hi Bruce, please introduce yourself to the readers of MNO and tell us about your own role within GoldCollarInvest. What are your own duties within the program? What kind of experience do you have in managing the funds of others?

Hello Paul and all MNO readers. I am Bruce from GoldCollarInvest, the administrator of GCI based out of Cayman Islands. My prime duties lie in running the entire operations at our office comprising of both online and offline management. My portfolio contains a fine blend of expertise in Gold Futures and Sports Arbitrage that basically need excellent money management skills to succeed. As I have been in the field of funds management even before the GCI website came along, this clearly is not an unknown domain for me.

2. Can you also give us some background on the program? How long have you been running? What were you hoping to achieve by starting it in the first place? Apart from you is there anybody else working on GoldCollarInvest?

GoldCollarInvest was started in 2009 in Cayman Islands as a registered company dealing with Bullion trading and our strategic and corporate expansions brought our attention to many profitable mediums. Our search for a risk-free alternative medium ended in Sports Arbitrage and this has since been our forte. Taking our business online was not an idea that crept up overnight. It has been in my mind for a while and when the profits from Sports Arbitrage began to show predictability and stability, I went to work on the GCI website with my team.

It is the thought of losing money that drives most people including me, away from investment programs. All it takes is for one to find out how NOT to lose precious money. It was again not discovered overnight. I had to wait and watch. The efforts paid off. Why should we need to face any losses when there are ways one can make money for every investment? The GoldCollar is not a dream anymore. It is a living, breathing fact. Success does not have to ride on risks. This is what we believe at GCI. This is what we want everyone to know too.

Yes, we have a wonderful group of extensively skilled people at GCI who take care of the various departments. We are hiring more people and will be expanding further in the coming months, as that would become necessary to meet the increasing duties here.

3. What about the investment plans? Can you explain them in detail to us? What are the minimum and maximum amounts for investment, what rates of interest are on offer and how long do they run for? Which one has been the most popular?

We have 3 plans at GCI. They all come with Daily and Weekly profits. There is also a Limited Edition Plan that has been added less than 24 hours ago but we will get back to that later.

The Starter Pool pays an 8% profit per week and this is split into the 1% daily profit and the 3% weekly profit. You make 1% each weekday and 3% during the weekend until you withdraw your principal amount. You may invest between $10 and $1000 in this plan and it also comes with a 4% referral bonus.

The next plan is the Mid Pool and you will gain a total of 10% for each investment. In this plan, an investment of between $1001 and $5000 will bring you a 1.2% daily profit and a 4% weekly profit at the end of the week. The referral bonus is 4% for this plan.

The enticing Grand Pool offers a total of 12% per week in profits where you make 1.4% daily and an additional 5% as weekly profits. The investment amount should lie within the $5001 and $10000 mark. Each referral will bring in a bonus of 6% for you.

As announced in the last GCI newsletter, we have added a new exciting Limited Edition plan for our members to celebrate my wedding anniversary and the excessive profit generation in the past few weeks. I believe that success and joy should be shared. Along with my family and team, we are glad to announce this Limited Edition plan for all those who want to cheer us on for the special occasion.

This Limited Edition plan pays 1.5% for 7 calendar days and your principal is valid for withdrawal on the 8th day. Your investment should be within $10 and $500 only. For every referral, you also make a 4% bonus.

For now, all the plans except the Limited Edition one will remain in our agenda. The Limited Edition plan will only last for a short period.

4. In times of global recession do you agree that some of the minimum investment requirements in some of your plans are unrealistic for most online investors? Like the Grand Pool for instance, why ask for $5,000 and get no investors when you could ask for $1,000 and get 5 investors? Or $100 and get 500 investors?

The investment plans are not set to suit the industry standards or the current global economic status. They are highly dependent on the income generators. So the concept of paying high profits for a lower investment is not practical when it comes to investing in Sports Arbitrage.

Here is an ideal comparison. Would you expect the kind of income a multinational restaurant franchise makes in a day if you invest what could only support a burger stand? There is a difference in what can be expected from each investment. We have given options for all our members to select the plan that best suits their expectation in terms of returns.

5. Tell us about the payment options available from GoldCollarInvest. What payment processors are you currently dealing with? What have been the most popular choices among investors? Do you think you may be isolating a large section of the investing community by having such a narrow choice? Do you plan to add more?

We have been accepting Liberty Reserve (USD & EUR), Perfect Money (USD & EUR) and Bank Wire Transfers. I don’t believe there will be any changes made to that list for a while as it took us a while to shortlist them. Looking at the importance of running a hassle-free long running program, we really can do without facing any conflicts with payment processors that seem to be running into issues every now and then. Perhaps, if we do come across trustworthy payment processors along the way, we will probably include them.

Our members have been using all these payment processor options equally so I suppose they are all popular in their own ways.

The choices may seem narrow but I feel that we have offered the best that are currently available in terms of safety and efficiency.

6. What about this very unorthodox payment schedule? How does it work and why have you decided to run it like this? Has it been popular or do some people think it’s unnecessarily complicated? Also, are payments still automatic?

GCI plans have a reason to be the way they are. For example, the Starter Pool pays 8% each week. Now, if we were to just keep paying only a daily profit, it would leave our members nothing exciting to look forward in the weekend. So, a weekly profit adds a bit of a thrill to each investor. If one was to take a closer look at the plans, they really are not complicated.

The payments are not automatic but all withdrawal requests are usually processed within minutes. Therefore, our members will not find any difference in the promptness of payment transactions.

7. How highly would you rate the security of your own website? Tell us about your hosting provider and how highly would you rate them as a service provider?

We are using a customized DDOS protection ETH Proxy. It is a very powerful website protection service and we are very happy with it so far and our hosting provider is very efficient and easily accessible throughout the day.

8. What about your script? I know you recently switched from a custom design to a generic GoldCoders model. Not everybody agrees that this was such a good move on your part and has pretty much removed any individuality that GoldCollarInvest had. So why did you feel the need to do it?

Previously we had a direct payment structure model but many members were not comfortable using it and raised many issues about it. So, we had to find a good solution for it and this was why the script was changed. This script comes with their own advantages when we have to send out mass emails, withdrawals, referral, referral commission notice etc and the previous model did not come with these features.

Although one can pass it off as a regular GoldCoders script, our programmer who has taken great effort in making it look as unique as possible has modified it to a large extent. You can easily detect this in our investment options page, which looks exquisite in nature.

9. What kind of customer support do you offer? What is the best and most efficient way to contact you if I have any questions? I know that you have a Live Chat feature. What hours (GMT) does it work? Or is there any fixed schedule? Also can you answer the same question about your phone number?

We have a wide array of customer support options at GCI to make sure that we are accessible in every way possible. Our Helpdesk and Live Chat services operate 24/7 where our staff is always on standby to respond to your tickets and chat messages. As an alternative, we also have an email support service that is equally effective. You can address any issue to its respective department and we have displayed all the details in the Contact page in the GCI website.

The phone support feature is not operating full time and we do attend as many calls as we can, considering the multiple tasks our support team handles on any particular day. However, we are looking at hiring a dedicated person to run the phone support service full time which will be implemented soon.

10. Can you tell us about your postal address in the Cayman Islands? Is it an actual office staffed by GoldCollarInvest employees or is more of a virtual serviced office for registration and mailing purposes?

The contact address displayed in the site is of that of the actual GCI Partners LLP office we run in Cayman Islands. All our operations are controlled in this venue by my team and me.

11. What have been the most common questions, problems, or other support related issues that you have had to deal with so far? Is there anything you would like to address here so that members can avoid having to contact you?

Well, our initial hiccups mainly existed in the change of models from the Investment Tracker one to the standard model we operate from now. We had quite a few requests from our members who felt that the earlier model was confusing and they needed an easier approach to accessing their GCI accounts. So, we had to finally go through an entire process of changing the model to what it is today.

We are looking for a way to improve this aspect of the website and we are not too far from succeeding. We always welcome members who need to contact us and if we have missed out on any information so far, please do approach us and we will be glad to help.

12. What other outside business and investment activities are GoldCollarInvest involved with? What evidence can we see of these projects can we see?

We are into Sports Arbitrage betting activities, a legal, popular and risk-free investment medium. We are always glad to show proof of our activities to anyone who insists on seeing them.

13. Do you have any opinions on the current crisis in the HYIP industry? What do you think lead up to it and would you have any suggestions as to how the situation could be improved?

I would not really call it a crisis. I would rather look at the entire phase positively and take it as an opportunity to improvise the quality of the industry. Income generation and rotation through legitimate sources such as Sports Arbitrage that offers a margin gain in every bet is definitely more promising when it comes to investing. Profits that are generated through safe mediums yield steady profits that are beneficial for investors and the respective programs.

This could as well be looked at as a learning curve for programs and investors alike that gain experience and a better perspective of the industry. There are genuine money making opportunities that can sustain any legitimate program for a long time to come and I feel truly blessed to have encountered one such medium.

I personally empathize and understand the thirst in every sensible man who wants to walk out of the rat race and move on up in the social circle. I want the best for my family as much as any man would and I believe that GCI is my way of giving back to the society what it has given me. There is no need to stay rooted in one spot with nowhere to go simply because you believe that anything great comes with a risk. That is a myth that I overcame a while ago and I know for sure that anyone who still has a little spark glowing inside will believe that there is still a lot to hope for in life.

The bottom line is, this industry is going nowhere. Anyone who believes that there is a crisis has to look beyond the curve. I believe in the future that lies beyond that curve. I hope you know what I mean.

14. Do you really think describing an online HYIP as a “zero risk investment opportunity” is a responsible statement? If it was really risk free shouldn’t there be some kind of insurance policy in place?

I can boldly claim that GCI is not a conventional online investment program as its income source and strategies differ by miles. Sports Arbitrage is a very safe medium for investors as there is a ‘no loss’ balance in every bet.

Respectable, well-informed individuals who make a comfortable living as professional sports arbitrageurs do exist worldwide. Investors like us make a profit margin that does not rely on the outcome of each bet. So, the possibility of incurring a loss is impossible. Any sports arbitrage professional will tell you that this truly is a risk-free option.

At GCI, we offer a concept that allows the common man to be financially successful at any point in life by investing sensibly in safe, legitimate opportunities that bring in a steady passive income as profits.

Thank you for that suggestion. Until now, I had no such plans but I shall surely get my team to find out if we could indeed add an insurance policy. As soon as we are on track, we will let you all know.

15. Are there any plans to develop GoldCollarInvest further in the near future? Will there be any interesting changes made soon? How are you planning to keep the program competitive? Any promotional ideas in mind?

GCI is going to be around for a long time and with each phase; we will improve and develop ways to transform this program into a success. We have introduced the Limited Edition plan for now and you can expect to see many more changes in future. We do not want to be in any competition although a competitive spirit does kick in the adrenalin. We want to be a successful, long running program that stays ahead in quality and professional ethics. As long as we maintain these traits, GCI will turn each corner victoriously.

Promotional ideas do come as a package for each phase but I suppose at the end of the day action speaks louder than words. Our members have been very supportive and we believe that this is the best promotion any business seeks.

16. And finally is there anything else you wish to say not covered in this interview? If there was just one thing you could say to investors to get them to join your program before any other then what would it be?

I believe that we have covered enough of GCI and also through your blog and this interview hopefully clarified any traces of doubts that could have been lingering in some minds too.

As for investors, I just want to say that we offer a simple, legitimate and genuine investment program that offers a completely risk-free opportunity for those who really want to wear that Gold Collar.

Above all, I must thank you for this great opportunity to communicate with all your readers from around the world who have been looking for a sensible and long lasting program that assures security and steady profits.

I must also add that MNO adds great value to each program and investor throughout the world and I wish MNO on behalf of everyone at GCI a very successful future.”

Thanks a lot to Bruce for that and good luck to all the investors participating there. That’s about it for the moment but don’t go too far as I’ll be back a little later with all the day’s main news stories as well as a closer look at a program called UniteTrade which has recently been added to my monitoring page. See you then!