I was referred to the above named company via a former employee of a major publication "Black Enterprise Magazine (BEM)." I received the magazine at a women in business seminar at my former college from the employee of BEM who participated in the seminar. The company in question "Feast New Media, " was featured in a one-page article regarding website design.
After reading the article and noting that the company had performed website upgrades for "Black Enterprise Magazine." I decided to contact Feast New Media, regarding designing a six (6) page website for my small business. I spoke to the President, Nechelle Feaster, in detail about the content and structure of the site I wanted created. After our conversation I decided to contract with her company and in January I remitted an initial payment of $500 in advance and signed a contract for service to commence on the design of the website. I communicated extensively via e-mail with Ms. Feaster to help facilitate completion of the website. I remitted the balance of the payment $730.97 in February a total of $1230.97. There was a six-week time frame to design the website that was agreed to between both parties. The website was supposed to be completed by the end of March.
Ten (10) days prior to the completion of the website I e-mailed a new company logo to Feast New Media, that was supposed to appear on the website. Five (5) days later I received an e-mail from the president Ms. Feaster stating they were putting the finishing touches on the website draft and I should have it in a couple of days or sooner.
Suffice it to say from February 12 - May 16 (3) three months double the time initially stated they were still working on a six (6) page website in which only three pages out of the six had any content. Although, throughout the entire process I kept the company apprised of what I wanted done to the website and sent them links and detail directions to help assist with the completion of the website. The president herself assured me that one person was working diligently on completing the website.
After twelve (12) weeks with no website I filed a complaint with PayPal the internet company the company used to secure payments. I then filed a complaint with the Internet bureau of the Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau, which was a complete waste of time. I actually hand delivered the complaint to the BBB and they still managed to mess up the paperwork and information. Finally, with no other recourse left I took the company to small claims court.
In court the President of "Feast New Media, " Ms. Feaster committed perjury in court and was able to win the case. Ms. Feaster claimed that a third party was responsible for a portion of the website. I contacted the third party in question and they e-mailed stating they had no account under my company's name. I filed an appeal in which proved Ms. Feaster committed perjury and the appeal unfortunately was denied. Not wanting to give up I yet again filed a motion to reargue the case, which was also denied in 2005.
I also found out that the company did not have a legitimate business address. How does a publication like "Black Enterprise Magazine, " highlight such an unscrupulous company like "Feast New Media?" Isn't there a conflict of interest to spotlight a company/person that has does business for the publication? Shouldn't the recommendations be unbiased similar to Consumer Reports Magazine?
After utilizing all the appropriate resources and exhausting time and energy I heard about "consumer complaints.com, " on NY1 news and decided to use this forum to help other unsuspecting consumers avoid the same pitfall.
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