This company is trying to collect $6,000 from my aged cousin who lives in Los Angeles, CA, supposedly for iron work provided by Marcos Universal Iron Works. First, they called her and when she answered she said she was her mother and could she help them. She doesn't like strangers to know she lives alone.
The agent said she wasn't her mother—that she was 85-years-old and lived alone. I wonder where they got or who provided that information. They went on to tell her they were collecting a debt and would take her to court. She told them she had not had any iron work done in many years. Then, a couple of days later she received the first demand for payment in the mail. She called me to investigate and I suspected a scam from the start.
I know for a fact that 1) the last iron work done was when her husband was still alive—well over 13 years ago; 2) she keeps excellent records and there is no bill or contract in her files; 3) she ALWAYS pays her bills.
So I decided to check the internet before calling these people and I'm so glad I did. I checked their website at http://commercialinvestigations.net. They supposedly belong to three industry associations; they provied a toll free number for vendors (866-697-7141); but do not list an address anywhere on the site.
Next, I checked the BBB and found a BBB business report at that outlines their mishandling of their business clients and the grade of "F" that the BBB gave this company. I found the BBB report through CII's own website where they had posted their rebuttal letter to the BBB trashing the BBB's article.
I will call CII next week when I go to visit my cousin and, afterward, since I know they will not resolve this matter to her favor, I will contact the local District Attorney's office. I thank all of you who have reported this company. They need to be stopped. I'll let you know if anything interesting develops.
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