I hired them for $1500 ($750 deposit) to do my data analysis, results write-up and discussion outline. My contract from super friendly yet completely full of BS PattiLou Normand stated a 10 day turnaround. About 5 days after the work was supposed to be done I reached out and started calling regularly. I'd get emails from Clark Guo "assuring" me that the work would be done on time. My project manager Zhongyi sounded half asleep each time we spoke. Each time he'd promise to get me something to work with by the end of the day. I never received anything, NOT A THING except a paragraph full of number that was completely incomprehensible! So finally I said I wanted a refund. I was very angry and at that point I was getting no response from them. So I filed my complaint with the BBB. 10 days later I got my full refund for my $750 deposit. Not sure why I got so lucky since it seems so many have been told they have a no refund policy. But I was ready to take legal action. PLEASE, if you are in the midst of your dissertation hell, DO NOT HIRE MINIMAX (i.e. MCG Consulting), you will be promised the world and then have your $ taken away. You will not get what you need. I lost a whole 2 months waiting on this company to help me with my dissertation. I finally gave in and re-introduced myself to SPSS and did the analyses myself. So far so good. I wish all of you luck with your studies, and again PLEASE do not use this company. Any positive reviews on here are clearly from their own employees.

As an editor who specializes in academic writing I responded to a craigslist posting seeking editors. The pay was very low; in response to my query I received a form letter telling me I would be required to do the first dissertation for free. If I did well enough I might have to do a second one for free. Since any outfit asking me to work for no pay raises an alarm, I googled and found an inordinately high number of writers who complained they were turned away after doing their "sample" work. Also, it appears they keep upwards of 90 percent of their fee. Hence, your dissertation is edited by someone who may or may not be qualified (since they are being tested) and if they are qualified, chances are they are very low pay (if paid at all) for a quick and stressful turnover time.

My advice: find a qualified editor in your area who works with your university. Or google "dissertation editor" and find a freelancer who takes pride in his or her work without taking you to the cleaners.

Whatever you do, DO NOT send this scam of a company any money. I wired over a $2000 via western union in the hopes that my dissertation would be properly edited and proofread.

Unlike others, I wasn't expecting anything from scratch. I put it all the work, I just needed some added content, reference check, and general editing. Boy, did I get none of that. I got a perfectly unedited version of my dissertation. It was literally as if I emailed it to myself.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY wished I looked up this crappy company before I sent them my money. Do yourself a favor and do not deal with this company. Wonderful criminal history they have!

How it works: They promise you the world, build you up so you believe that the money you're investing is really going to a good cause (your dissertation - and blood, sweat and tears) and so you western union them $3000 to get your analysis. You wait for 6 months thinking that they must be putting in the extra effort - especially since it was only supposed to take a couple of weeks - you call and call and call, email after email until finally you get it...the biggest piece of crap you could imagine. And they say they've held up their end of the bargain with unverified results and shady (at best!) methodology. Refunds? Not here! Save yourself the heartache of being 100% duped. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS.

Minimax Consulting will not send you statistical output that can be replicated -- an inherent part of the scientific method. They will not supply you with the most fundamental information about the procedures they followed: what stats package was used and the version, sample observations used, how they handled missing and outlier data, if the data had to be transformed and how, any randomization or jackknifing done, no CIs reported for any test statistic, no graphical output, whatsoever. When you request verification, PattiLou Normand will claim repeatedly that they have met all contractual agreements, and will refuse to supply you with any data matrices, or metadata, functions used, vector loadings, they will be unwilling to provide ANY of the ORIGINAL, statistical output. However, she will also insist that they are sorry you could not work together to rectify things (that places some of the blame on you), and they are still willing to speak with you about the situation (thin appearance of being cooperative, in case you decide to sue), all the while professing they have met all their obligations to you, contract terminated. All empty, non-sensical, and contradictory words. Keep your money, your reputation, and your sanity, people. I paid Minimax Consulting $1800.00 in advance (they require payment upfront, but also have a No-Refund Policy, another red flag), and after nearly 4 wasted months, 8 phone calls, and almost 30 of the same exasperating, cookie-cutter emails about an analyst working feverishly on my project, and after I demanded either my money back or the legitimate work for which I paid, they sent me a document that is utterly worthless, more than full of dubious results that I could never give to my committee or publish in a peer-reviewed journal. Any reputable statistician, company, or scientist will provide all necessary intermediate data so that their work can be reproduced. With Minimax Consulting, you will get far more dishonor and frustration than you ever bargained for, and far less quality and quantity of product for which you rightfully are due. Don't just believe my experiences, friends. Read the other complaints here (notice how Minimax never responds to complaints), and check out their record at the BBB of RI. It won't take too much digging for you to discover that Minimax Consulting runs a bogus operation. I just hope this warning gets to you: it vaporized earlier from this same site without a reason for rejection email. Maybe Minimax threatened them with a lawsuit like they have done me? It's called Freedom of Speech, guys, and I can prove everything I have written here is true. And while Minimax screwed me and countless others (based on the postings), I hope this message prevents someone else from being scammed by their glamorous, internet facade. If you have already been scammed by Minimax, report them to the AG of RI and the AG of your state of residence. You can also file investigative complaints with multiple agencies listed on scambusters.org. Good luck to all.