A Co Antrim woman who lost more than £8,000 after entering the FBA Brand Builder programme says her life has been “destroyed” and is now struggling to pay off a loan she took out to enter it.
The Ballymena company, owned by entrepreneur Darren Campbell, announced it was being liquidated on Monday after more than 100 people signed up to a group legal action alleging they had lost thousands due to malpractice by the firm.
Mr Campbell and the company have strenuously denied the claims and vowed to robustly defend them in court.
Read more: Controversial ‘brand builder’ shuts down company and enters liquidation
Portglenone woman Nicola Graffin, 35, said she signed up to the FBA Brand Builder in August 2024. Months later after never getting to the launch stage of her business, she had borrowed £8,500 which she says she is struggling to pay back every month.
Ms Gaffin says she was “naive” when she initially signed up to the programme and was very supportive of the company but was later removed after claims she had broken her contract.
“I started querying things myself, I was asking questions that anyone should have been entitled to know and where the money was going and how successful the success stories really are,” she told The Irish News.
“I had good relations with lots of people, I had spoken to some who had launched and were taken out for success dinners, but yet hadn’t made a penny in profit.
“To me it just wasn’t making sense any more.
“I requested to have my mentoring calls which were recorded by the company sent to me and after a lot of back and forth I was kicked out, because I was told I broke their contract.”
Ms Gaffin described her experience as “soul destroying” and says it has knocked her self confidence. She is one of more than 100 who have agreed to pursue a civil case against the company and Mr Campbell.
Nicola also says she suffers from alopecia, and believes the stress caused by her involvement with the company has led to further hair loss.
Nicola Griffen speaks to THE IRISH NEWS about The FBA Brand Builder.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
“Honestly it has destroyed me. I’m a stay at home mum, I’ve got lots of health issues and I was wanting to do something to make my kids proud of me,” she said.
“I didn’t have that money to start with, I took a loan out for it and I’m now having to pay that loan back every single month for the next five years. I don’t have that money to be putting into it.
“Now I have to strip back on everything else to pay that loan back.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words but it has just destroyed me. It’s knocked my self confidence completely.
“We were told at the start that £10,000 would have been enough to launch our business, I thought that included the programme fee. Nothing was explained properly.
“We were made to think that we could make a difference to our own lives, and the fact that we are in a worse off situation that we ever were, is soul destroying.”
Another woman, from Co Fermanagh, says she signed up to the FBA Brand Builder after a friend had seen advertisements for the programme on social media.
Anne Gunn (41), from Enniskillen, says after herself and a friend had a call with an employee of the company, they felt “pressurised” into paying the £6,500 sign up fee. Seeking a refund weeks later she was told there was a “strict no refund policy”.
Anne Gunne from Enniskillen spoke to The Irish News about her experience of the FBA Brand Builder
“I had seen stuff about him giving away holidays to Disneyland and all the success stories,” Anne said.
“I’m a single mother of two children and working full time, I got a loan to pay for this and now I’m obviously paying back a loan for something I have nothing to show for.
“I was told after the first £6,500 that a further investment would be needed in the fourth month and that after six months we would be making money.
“But the hidden costs just kept coming. After we paid the money and received the contract, the contract didn’t even really make sense.
“At that stage I started to think that something wasn’t right. I got cold feet and felt it was too good to be true and that’s how it turned out.”
Anne added that she has had sleepless nights over her involvement with the company, and said she is “happy” it is no longer operating.
The FBA Brand Builder Premises near Ballymena.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
“I’ve had all sorts of emotions, I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad, I’ve been worried. I was doing this to make things better for myself and my family and now I’m worse off.
“It’s been stressful, there have been a lot of nights I haven’t slept over it. But at the same time, when I look at a lot of other people and how much money they have lost I count myself lucky.”