I registered to attend a Nashville, Tennessee, seminar to be conducted by "Patloan, " a company based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The registration fee was $150.
The seminar was canceled, and Patloan has failed to refund the $150 registration fee despite four months of calls, e-mails, and written correspondence. Paul Mitchell, head of the organization, has in fact made at least 6 commitments to make restitution. There is absolutely no question concerning the status of the refund—no dispute, no issue as to whether services were provided. It was simply a seminar that was either canceled or was never going to take place in the first place.
Small lending operations who are looking for assistance in training concerning collections methods, marketing, advertising, public relations, compliance issues, and office management should definitely beware.
My operation is a small one as well, but I have very close family ties to some of our industry's leading national and state organizations. Mr. Mitchell is very aware of these connections and of the bad "press" within our industry they've already created for him with industry businesses large and small. He's chosen to refuse to refund this small amount in spite of them. I believe it's safe to say that if he would do this to me, he'd certainly do it to you.
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