It sounded like a good business opportunity, until they had my money, then there was only a busy tone on their end!
An ad in the paper advertised a business opportunity selling gourmet coffee on display racks in local stores for a well to do living! I was lured in by this claim and jumped on the opportunity before investigating! My mistake, I know!
The companies name is "Twin Peaks Gourmet Coffee" and they promised exclusive rights in my area to sell gourmet coffee, that would, at a minimum, make around $3,000 a week with 45 display racks. I purchased the display racks and the 45 stores, guaranteed by a third-party locator, for about 70 grand! Ouch!!!
After many evasive answers and unanswered calls, my so-called gourmet coffee and display racks arrived about a month later than promised. Then, to my dismay, the coffee was set to expire in only a couple of months. Yet I pressed on with the business!
About another month had passed before they sent a locator to secure stores for my display racks and coffee. The locator was about as trustworthy as a used car salesperson. Keep in mind, this was gourmet coffee and I expected upscale stores, but that's not what the locator found! The locator secured stores in the slum (not in my local area), where people are more apt to spend food stamps on booze rather than gourmet coffee. These stores included run down thrift marts, liquor stores and even a bong shop, called "Straight Trippin"!!! Not that I have anything against a bong shop, but to sell coffee, come on!!!
Yet, the locator insisted that I would sell at least 8 bags of coffee a day, despite their apparent location. He called these stores areas of impulse buys. I tried it out!!! Another month later, I was lucky to sell only 2 or 3 bags total.
I called the locator to complain and they said it would be another 90 days before they could set up new locations! In the mean time, the coffee was ready to expire! So, I thought, I'd call Twin Peaks Gourmet Coffee to complain and see if they could help! After all, their mission statement said that they were in this every step of the way, and my success would reflect their success. When I went to make the call, guess what I got? A busy tone!!!
Wait, there's more! Twin Peaks also offered me exclusive rights to my area and rights to refuse other distributors! That wasn't the case, another distributor was in my area, probably scammed much the same way!
What should I do? Call a lawyer or an investigator? I did make a report with the Federal Trade Commission, but they said they're swamped with cases such as mine! Can I claim "Fraud Loss" on my taxes? I would appreciate any advice!!!
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