A young woman claiming to be age 22 and a neighbor came to our home soliciting to sell magazines so that she may qualify for a "free trip to Sidney, Australia." She claimed to receive points for each sale and pushed me to buy six magazines. When I told her tht I didn't need anymore magazines, she said her mom had told her to tell her buyers to buy them anyway and send them to a local orphanage. She also claimed to be a student at UC Berkeley. When I asked her for her shcool ID, she didn't have it nor a driver's license or a seller's ID from the the City of San Diego or the company she represents. I also asked her if this was a scam and she assured me that it was not. I only purchased (1) Enclyclopedia Britanica on CD-ROM for $45. I was given a receipt, which shows transaction # A1035728.
Later, after she left with my check, I checked the web to see if
the price of the product was for fair value. The sales slip makes no mention of which version of the software even though there are different versions for different operating systems. I immediately becasme suspicious. I then checked the web to see if there were any derogatories on the company.
While the BBB did not show any negatives of any consequence, I found on this web site (i.E., usacomplaints.com) a report by Lauren of Aurora, Ill. That matched the MO of my rep to a tee. What is the liklihood that two reps from diferrent parts of the country would say virtually the same pitch unless it was scripted?
I then went to the UC Berkeley Registrar site [http://registrar. Berkeley. Edu/regweb.html] to verify that a Stacy Billings (?) was a student (no record found).in addition, the email address she gave me ([email protected] also did not work. I have concluded that it is very unlikely that she is a neighbor and that she fraudulently induced me to support her alleged trip by misrepresenting that she was a neighborhood woman who needed my help.
From the evidence, I can only reasonably conclude that the company and its rep have engaged in, at a minimum, a pattern and practice of illegal conduct that the State Attorney's General should make an example of this company (see also California B&P Code 17200 and the California Consumer Protection Act).
For the record, I have recinded the contract by posting a letter, certified return receipt, within the three days (1/1703) as required by law. I will wait with great anticipation to see if my check is returned as promised by the terms of the agreement (i.E., "will be returned within 10 business days following receipt by the seller of your cancellation notice."
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