Every Sunday, we uncover the untold stories of clients who joined Darren Campbell’s FBA Brand Builder (FBABB) program—raw, unfiltered accounts that shed light on what happens behind the polished marketing. While FBABB promises life-changing success, these firsthand experiences reveal a different reality: financial struggles, hidden fees, and emotional stress.

Darren Campbell has worked hard to curate the image of FBABB as a program that delivers success. But what about the stories he doesn’t want you to hear? The ones he hides behind carefully selected testimonials? This weekly feature aims to give those silenced voices a platform, empowering clients to share their truth, find solidarity, and help others make informed choices.

This week, we’re sharing two new stories from clients who trusted FBABB but ended up facing challenges they never expected. Their words, shared anonymously and with minimal edits, capture the reality of what it’s like to invest in this program.

(Client Story 1) “We’re £8,500 Down, and I’ve Lost All Confidence in Myself”

I had a major operation last year, which left me unable to do a full-time job, so I started looking for something I could do online, from home.

I came across all the ads for Darren Campbell’s FBA Brand Builders, and I was intrigued. This fella seemed to be churning out success stories, and when I searched online, I couldn’t find anything negative about the company. More on that later.

Anyway, we did the Zoom call with Danny Balmer, and he told us they needed to find out if we were a good fit for the company. He asked plenty of questions. I can’t believe it now, but we handed over £6,500 to these people in the hopes of a better future.

On the onboarding call, we were told there were a few more bits and pieces along the way, and then the next large sum of money would be buying our stock to send to an Amazon fulfillment center in the USA.

There were about 150 tutorial videos in the program, and we were told to go one step at a time through them. Within three days, we were being told we’d need to pay their accountant over £300 to set up a company.

Four days later, we were told we’d need Empire Builder software—£700 for the year or pay monthly. We paid for the year as there was a discount. We were getting nervous at this stage.

When we got deep into the program, we found some of the most unprofessional videos we’d ever seen. Talks of thinking about your child being kidnapped and what you’d do to get money to get them back. This was the mindset we were told we’d need in business.

Then we found out we’d have to pay for FBA Studio for branding, etc.—another £1,700.

At this stage, the video from Kirsty came out. I followed the trail and found that people had been losing everything they had on PPC advertising to try and stay relevant on Amazon.

We didn’t even know about that.
We didn’t know that almost everyone was failing or had already failed.
We didn’t know that Trustpilot was full of fake 5-star reviews or that you’re threatened with legal action if you say anything negative.

But I found all these things out the hard way.
I asked for a refund three times, but no— not a cent.

We’re down about £8,500, and that’s considered lucky in the circles I’m in now. It’s surely not money we could afford to be without—it was a big deal for us.

I’ve lost all confidence in myself because I can’t believe I bought into this rubbish.
We now know it doesn’t work, Darren always knew it doesn’t work, and the dog on the street knows it doesn’t work at this stage.

He needs to be stopped.

(Client Story 2) “£20,000 in Debt and Kicked Out of FBABB”

Last year, I noticed a few articles on Facebook by Love Ballymena about Darren Campbell. He was a familiar face, and I remember thinking at the time, fair play to him, he’s doing great for himself. Facebook ads kept popping up, showing a down-to-earth, straight-talking Darren advertising how he could teach others his methods. I remember thinking, I could do that! This could be my chance to have something for myself and contribute to my family’s income.

I’ve been a stay-at-home parent for over 20 years and am incredibly grateful, but over time I started to feel like I was losing the person I used to be. With my younger kids now at a good age, I really wanted to focus on building a career, but I was petrified about getting back out there. I live with a few health conditions that leave me suffering from chronic pain, fatigue, and anxiety. I honestly didn’t know where to start, felt completely embarrassed by my lack of workplace experience, and was terrified I wouldn’t be able to cope with the demands of a 9-5 job due to my health issues.

I reached out to FBABB and had a few online calls before deciding to sign up. From day one of access, I was hit with my first red flag: hidden costs! I’d asked numerous times during the sales calls if there were any additional costs, and I was told there weren’t. In hindsight, I should have demanded a refund immediately, and I feel utterly stupid for not doing so. But the excitement and promises of their “100% success rate” ignited a fire in me that I desperately needed. They had me convinced I couldn’t fail if I followed their blueprint, which they claimed had “cracked the Amazon algorithm.” I believed and trusted them, so I continued paying the endless extra fees.

Things started to feel off, though. Members’ posts in Mighty Networks were deleted, and people disappeared from the group. Mentors frequently dropped referral links to sign up for AMEX credit cards and bank accounts. Clients were told to exaggerate their income to qualify for AMEX cards, and I began hearing whispers about disastrous product launches. By this stage, I was in too deep, and it was too late to back out.

I launched my product, and the nightmare began. All the calculations the team had walked me through were completely misleading. The target price wasn’t the starting price for launch but significantly lower, and I struggled to ever raise it. Amazon fees, PPC advertising, and product returns crushed any hope of making payments. What FBABB completely failed to teach clients was the importance of understanding all these areas. For example, if a customer returns an unwanted item, Amazon rarely resells it if it’s been opened. Instead, the seller is charged a handling fee by Amazon to manage these returns. In my case, without a U.S. address to send my returned items to, I had to pay Amazon to dispose of them. Each return cost me $35 (stock price and shipping) plus $20 for disposal.

Whenever I raised concerns with the FBABB team, they downplayed them, telling me I was an isolated case and they’d “never seen this before.” Meanwhile, they continued running PPC campaigns that spiralled completely out of control, pushing me further into debt. The PPC charges went straight onto my credit card, which terrified me as the costs were piling up fast. I quickly realised these so-called “experts” had no clue what they were doing. It’s deeply concerning, especially when clients have invested huge amounts of money into this programme.

To top it all off, I eventually saw the nasty side of FBABB. I received disgusting threats to legally silence me, forbidding me from talking about my experience. They kicked me out of the programme, leaving me scared and struggling to run an online business. FBABB teaches you just enough to launch but withholds critical knowledge, trapping you into staying with them so they can mismanage your business—for a fee.

Today, I’m £20,000 in debt, and I have Darren Campbell’s FBABB programme to thank for teaching me how to set up an Amazon business that completely failed me.

Share Your Story With Us

These client stories are a powerful reminder of the human impact behind FBABB’s broken promises. Darren Campbell’s marketing may paint an inspiring picture, but the voices of those who’ve lived the experience tell a far more sobering tale.

If you’ve been affected by FBABB, we want to hear from you. Sharing your story could help others avoid the same pitfalls. Email us at [email protected] or use the Contact Us form on our website. Your privacy is our priority—submissions will remain anonymous and confidential.

Thank you to everyone who has stepped forward to share their journey. Together, we’re building a community of truth, accountability, and support. Stay tuned for next week’s edition of “The Reality of FBABB: Weekly Client Stories Uncovered.”