They contacted me by phone also back in April seemed to imply that the were business partners with my current web host who I had been with for almost 4 years with no marketing other than what I could do myself - read none. Their sales person promised a new, reseigned website, with all the personalization options I need for my products, them hosting it, them maintaining it and them marketing it. I got an email from their sales person about the marketing part. I was, and still am, involved in a personal bankruptcy and advised that I didn't have a lumpsum to give them - no matter how tempting the offer - and it was VERY tempting. My sales person put me on hold to "speak to his financing manager" then came up with a 4 month payment plan of $500.00 a month. I agreed and the ball started rolling.
On May 1st, they got their 1st payment of $500. On June 1st there had been no visual proff that they had done any work dispite several conversations with the "tech suppervisor" about how I would not be sending my second payment until I atleast saw something, so I called and advised that if they tried to debit my account for the second payment I would dispute it. Less then a week later I had a site with my products transfered - incorrectly and several MIA - but it was progress. So on July 1st I authorized the next payment. They took the balance for the remainder of the contract instead and bounced my business account.
I called, I complained, I cried at the guy since this also almost bounced my mortgage - the one in the bankruptcy! In the end they refused to honor the payment plan and retun the extra money. I filed a BBB complaint on 7/8/06.
Funny thing that BBB complaint - I was complaining about the deceptive sales practice - promising payments than forcing the lump sum payment - but they kept defending the work they put into the website, saying it was a viable and fully functional website. While I did disagree to those claims, I kept telling the BBB and them that I wasn't argueing that - yet - but just the billing deception.
I argued and kept the BBB complaint open and unsettled until September when I finally had the resources to contact a laywer about suing them. My local lawyer's verdict - of course I had a case against them for misrepresentation since I have written proff that they were supposed to market and my long emails about the lack of satisfactory progress on my new site - but the contract I signed was all about the building and hosting of the website and reasonably the amount paid could easily have covered the cost of what work they did do. His judgement was that the promises were unreasonable for the cost charged and a judge would think that I got my moneys worth of work done. He did not feel that me spending additional money would result in getting much back by going through the judicial system.
At that point I cut my losses. I had always kept my original site under my personal domain so I was extreemly lucky in that way. While I feel in my gut that any company that makes outlandish promises just to lure the small businessperson in should be made to pay, I do understand the way my lawyer consultant was looking at it.
If any action is taken, please let me know. I retain all my email conversations with this company and the links into my BBB complaint.
T. Niki
Tucson, Arizona
U.S.A.
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