I won't go into detail regarding my life or why I was seeking grants. I've rewritten this a few times to keep it short but it's not happening.
On 9/1/04 I was contacted by Heather Veilleux regarding grant information I had purchased and downloaded from the internet a while back. She asked me if I needed help with it. I was then introduced to John Palmerson and he said he would call back in 15 min. He actually called back an hour and 15 minutes later.
Like an idiot I answered all his questions and gave him all the information he requested. He said that with an "investment" of ($4,000 and $240 for materials) and an 8 hour commitment per week I would get extensive mentoring sessions, software, contacts to sources and materials to obtain all the grants I was seeking within 2 to 4 months TOPS. The investment would be returned via an education grant which might take longer. But if for some unforseeable reason I didn't receive all that I was seeking within 6 months they would work with me for free. I was also promised that all the information and software would be shipped overnight and John would call me back on 9/3/04 to set up mentoring sessions and discuss the "text"
I didn't get the call back and I didn't receive the materials.
When I called I got his voice mail. When he did return my phone calls he said he had an emergency at home but would absolutely email me all the information and call back later. This never happened. This was saturday 9/4/04.
By tuesday, 9/7/04 I called one more time and actually spoke with Heather and asked to speak with John and got his voice mail again. No Response.
Wednesday, 9/8/04 AM I called the credit card company. My first thought was to report my card lost, which I wish I had done.
Instead I inquired if there were any charges to my account in the tune of $4,240.00 and that I was ripped off. They told me that a charge in that amount was made over the weekend but for some reason it didn't post to my account. They also told me that they would put a watch immediately on my account and if the charges tried to come through again they would do nothing until I was contacted either at home or at work.
That same day Fed Ex delivered the materials. The "text" was a copied booklet telling me what I already knew regarding grants, basic internet terminology and marketing strategies. The software was a certificate to be filled in and faxed to them for either Grantgate or Federal Money Retriever. I also received a certificate that I had to fill in and return to set up "mentoring session" for which there were 10 half hour sessions. The kicker was that I was now a member of the "Success Team" with Net Success Now.
I emailed their customer service and stated that the program was not what I was led to believe it would be and as far as the mentoring sessions, if they are anything like what I already received, I didn't want any part of it. I would be returning their materials. I didn't get any response so I figured this was the end of it.
On saturday 9/11/04 I checked my credit card account to figure out how much I could be paying on it this month and $4,240.00 was posted to my account. I called the company and told them that there was supposed to be a watch on my account and they let the charges post. They told me to call the 800 number on the transaction and if I couldn't resolve it then I could file a dispute.
Everytime I called the number I got a recording that "they were out to lunch". So I emailed them stating again that I would be returning their materials. The program was not what I was led to believe and that I had notified the credit card company and they are aware of the situation. Please charge back the charges made to my account.
I suppose I should probably give them more time to respond but I came to the conclusion people should be aware of this ripoff now. I will send them a copy of this complaint along with their materials (return receipt requested)
I'm not wasting my time with phone calls. I want hard proof, in writing any dealings with these people.
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