Consumer Alerts
Click On Federal Trade Commission For Vending Machine Results
Click Here To File A Complaint With The FTC
Vendweb is a proud member of the BBB
Always check with the BBB to see what reports are on a company.
Click Here To Search The BBB
A Story from a operator:
In my daughter and her boyfriend were relating to me how well they were doing in the soda/snack vending business in Houston, Texas. So, I expressed to them that I would like to look into vending. They volunteered to help me find used reconditioned machines at fair prices.
They served as the middle man in the purchasing transaction, selling me the machines from a Houston, Texas dealer named Steven Fuchs. I bought ten machines in good faith, trusting my daughter and her boy friend, and Steven Fuchs on their recommendation.
My daughter and her boyfriend also made arrangements with a Houston man, Scott Moffitt, to transport ten machines to Austin, Texas, and set them at the designated locations, at a fee of $75 each.
I then contacted Bill Evans of Advanced Vending Locating, 370 NE Camano Dr., Ste 5 # 16, Camano Island, Washington, 98282. He promised to find good locations for my machines, guaranteed results, etc. For the fee of $300 per machine. The guaranteed results were the sale of 100 units per machine per week at the locations provided, and if the machines did not produce the guaranteed results, Advanced Vending Locating would find new locations.
So, here's how it all played out: I got the 10 machines from Steven Fuchs in Houston. A few months after the purchase of the machines, I found out that, of the 10,6 were by companies no longer in business and repair parts were no longer available. I mistakenly trusted the business acumen of my daughter's boyfriend and his judgment that Steven Fuchs was an honest businessman.
Then, Bill Evans (of Advanced Vending Locating) sent his locating contractor for this area, Jimmy Baker, to find locations for the machines. He found me the locations, none of which I thought were very promising, but he reassured me that he had been doing this for many years, and besides, there was the guarantee from Evans. When I had the machines delivered, one location owner had changed his mind and did not want the machine after all. Within 6 months, 5 more locations had gone south, and I had to pull the machines. All these machines were in bad neighborhoods and two were pulled because of vandalism. One was vandalized while the store manager watched, but he refused to cooperate with supplying the name of the vandal to the police or to me. Anyway, within a year, I had only 3 machines located.in the three month initial period of placement, none of the machines performed as guaranteed. I contacted Bill Evans at Advanced Vending Locating (see attached letter). I only could get as far as his answering machine by phone. Of course he never returned the calls. I tried his e-mail, but got the same lack of response. Finally I sent him the above mentioned letter. That letter was received on June 6th by Anita Hedahl who represented herself and the Agent of Advanced Vending Locating. Till this day, I have received no response.
I mistakenly trusted this person, who has a really nice website and sends out a really nice looking brochure. And, after all, there was the Contract
0 comments