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The regulator must probe 'get-rich-quick' schemes

If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. But it's all too easy to get sucked in by the promise of financial freedom.

This is the problem with the unregulated sector of “get-rich-quick” seminars, where self-proclaimed financial experts promise the earth. But novice investors can end up taking on debt via loans and credit cards to pay for costly training courses.

An exclusive Telegraph Money investigation into a free crash course run by YouTube star Samuel Leeds found that attendees were told they would receive mentoring and "guaranteed deals" if they paid for further training costing around 15,000. But several of those who joined the so-called Academy told Telegraph Money that they never sealed a deal.

One member, army veteran Danny Butcher, died by suicide in October after taking out a loan to pay the membership fee. There is no suggestion that his attendance on the course resulted in his suicide. However, it illustrates the appeal of such courses to vulnerable people who may already be in financial difficulty.

Mr Butcher was already 20,000 in debt when he signed up for the course. His family and several MPs have called for tighter scrutiny on the sale of expensive training courses.

Read Sam Meadows’ first person account after attending a “crash course” held by Property Investors with Samuel Leeds.

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Pericles Ends said of 'Pensions tax boost for 45pc taxpayers worth ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’: "I hope the pensions annual allowance taper is axed. I would like to provide for my old age – and I’m probably just past my peak earning now. I’d like to put as much away as possible in a pension so I’m not a burden on my family or the state – and at this crucial juncture, I’m limited this year to putting 10,000 in. Ludicrous. I hope Javid takes a scythe to pension regulations. The ‘Hammond squeeze’ on my low-hanging fruits is both painful and annoying."