On April 28 I attended a seminar at the Westin Hotel in Portland Oregon, which I had heard advertised on KEX radio in Portland.? The Seminar was put on by The Real Estate Network LLC (TREN) of Austin, Texas to promote joining their network.
Among other things, membership was to include easy access to the founders, Scott Morris and Matt Garcia who were putting on the seminar, and attendance at a 3 day training boot camp in Portland scheduled for May 5? 7.? Entry fee into the Real Estate Network was $6719.00 payable by funds with a certified check.?
I decided to join and paid via certified checks, one in the amount of $2000.00 on April 18 and another certified check in the amount of $4719.00 sent April 26. I received an email verifying my funds had been received by TREN along with a schedule of the Portland boot camp.
Beginning May 2, in order to discuss a partner I was considering bringing with me to the boot camp, I began attempting to make contact with TREN.? I had been given the name? And phone number of Mark Garcia as a contact person for the company. I left him 3 voice mails asking that he call me back.?? He did not.? I also emailed Scott Morris about the same issue and heard nothing back from him. As a primary promotion for joining this network was easy access to the men involved, I became concerned they were not fulfilling their obligations.
On My 3 only 2 days before the boot camp was to take place in Portland, I received an email from Scott Morris that the Portland boot camp was cancelled with an offer to attend a boot camp in Denver or Houston instead.
? By now I was skeptical of this company and requested a refund on May 4 via email to Scott Morris.? He emailed me back that same day promising that if I wanted a refund it would be issued to my satisfaction, asking that I wait until the following week for him to handle it. On May 8, I sent Mr. Morris an email asking that I receive my refund by the end of that week which would be May 13.? He emailed me back that should not be a problem.
The refund had not arrived by May 13. On May 14 I sent an email to Mr. Morris inquiring as to the status of the refund.? I received no reply.? On May 16 I sent another email to him and again did not receive a reply. On May 17 I left a voice mail on his number listed on the Better Business Bureau of Austin Texas web site listing of The Real Estate Network.? Again I received no reply.
I contacted the Tom Martino Trouble Shooter radio show and was put on the air May 19. While on the air, Mr. Morris phoned me.? Despite his being very hostile to me, I invited him to join me on the air.? On live national radio he promised to have my refund sent to me immediately and that he would have all normal procedures bypassed to accommodate that.
2 days later I received an email from Char Lovato, TREN accounts manager, informing me she had received authorization from Mr. Morris to issue me a refund.? She stated that the refund policy of TREN was within 45 business days of? A request for a refund, but that she would do everything in her power to honor my refund request long before the 45 days expires. As the funds had been paid with certified checks, I think this long of a refund policy is unreasonable, especially given the promises made by Mr. Morris. I responded to her via email and shared with her that because of the promise by Mr. Morris on live radio that I expected to have my refund within a week.? I received no reply.
On June 12 I sent an email to Char Lovato with cc to Scott Morris inquiring as to the status of my refund.? Again, I received no reply.
On June 18, I sent to Mr. Morris a letter stating:
I have spoken with an attorney, Michael Damiano, regarding this situation. If I have not received a cashiers check in the amount of $6719.00 from you by June 29, I will file a complaint against
your company with the Attorney Generals of the state of Oregon and the state of Texas, file a report about your company on usacomplaints.com, file a complaint with the Austin Better Business Bureau, and contact the Tom Martino Trouble Shooter Show again as I was given a special number? To contact them after? We were off the air in case you did not honor the promise you made on that show.?
This is the e-mail response I received from Mr. Morris
Mr. Sullivan,
We have received your many certified letters detailing additional threats to me and my company.? We have been advised by legal council to investigate the extent of damage already done by you to our reputation and our business.? We are currently reviewing tapes from the Tom Martino radio show in Denver, and interviewing individuals in Portland to determine if we will be filing legal action against you.
Because of this we are unable to do anything in regard to your refund until a determination has been made in this matter.? I have no doubt you will continue to attempt to damage TREN, and there is nothing we can do about that.? It will only serve to damage you further should we decide to bring legal action.
You started this, and have given us no choice in the matter.? Your refund was being processed as promised when you went on the air and unfairly accused TREN of denying your request after less than ten days.? We believe this had a major negative impact on the results we received from that radio show, and may be seeking damages as a result.
Any further communication between you and I should be handled through our lawyers.
Sam
Scott A. Morris
The Real Estate Network, LLC
On July 5, my attorney, Michael Damiano, (503) 293 7694,
Responded to the above in a letter stating:
The facts are clear and indisputable. You never intended to honor any of the repeated representations or promises that you personally and others at TREN have made to Mr. Sullivan. You have from the very onset misrepresented you company and your commitments. You have done so in bad faith breach of your contractual obligations to Mr. Sullivan and you have acted fraudulently and deceitfully. Consequently, we intend to aggressively seek breach of contract damages in the amount of $6719.00 due Mr. Sullivan, and damages for bad faith contract and for your fraudulent misrepresentations and deceit, as well as attorney fees and costs.???
Furthermore, Mr. Sullivan is well within his rights to present his claims to any consumer advocate group that seeks to protect consumers against fraudulent and deceitful business practices.
We will expect to receive at our office a certified check made out to Dennis J. Sullivan in the sum of $6719.00 no later than 5:00pm PST July 14.
As of today, July 23 there has been no response from Scott Morris or the Real Estate Network to the letter from my attorney. More importantly, I have not received my refund. My attorney has begun to file to file suit and will only stop upon receipt of my refund. If a refund is not received, this suit should be filed within a matter of days.
I believe The Real Estate Network is a deceitful company and know for sure that Mr. Morris has made several promises via email and a public statement on national radio which have not been honored.? My refund has not been issued as of 80 days after it was first promised.
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