I recently signed up for US Online America Group Dish Affiliate Program. They called me up out of the blue, and said they had a great offer. I listened, they said they would build me a few websites selling Dish Network and Direct TV Satellite Systems, all I would have to pay for is the hosting fee's for One year. So I agreed, thinking I could have a good chance of selling these as I have some prior internet advertising experience. And the sum of $125 per sale was enough to make me give it a chance. They also offered personal business training for "free". Hence the Quotations.
Well, after about a week, I got a call from a employee saying this was the business training that was included with my order. Well there was no training whatsoever... I could have staired at he wall for the half hour i talked to this lady, and I would have gained more knowledge. All she talked about was my websites, and what they were doing for the websites. Well I decided i would take them up on there 14 day money back guarantee. So I called it in, gettig a girl claiming to be a secretary. She said she would have someone call me back. So a day or so later, a man called me back asking me why i wanted to quit the program. I told him i didn't think it was right for me at the time, and would think about it at a later date. He told me If I quit now, I couldn't get back on board. Then he started making claims about the average money made for each affiliate. I listened, and decided "Whats $20 per month? It could work." So i decided to keep it. (One thing to learn, no matter how pursuasive a tele-salesman is, just do what you would do! They can be very pursuasive as it is their job to keep you with their company or buy their product.) He said another call for my training would be coming soon. (great, another wall-stairing experience).
So I received another mindblowing call from a girl again, who told me nothing but garbage. She basically told me to download flyers off the internet, then deliver to as many people as i could... Great, but i'm in CANADA. They said I didn't have to be in the USA to do this, as it was all on the internet! She then offered me what was called the "Advertising Package". She told me she would advertise my Page, so that i would get 60,000 specific customer clicks that would link to my site for a possible sale. So thats roughly 5,000 customers per month, that were looking to buy a satellite system, sent straight to my site! I was very excited, as i know how hard it is to advertise on the internet with all the competition, so I took the offer. A hefty $6,200 investment. But with 5,000 specific satellite tv buyers being sent to my site, how could i lose?
This was the question i asked the USOAG employee before I took them upon their offer. She said "Well I've seen this work for so many people, some make over $200,000 per year. So i asked, well is there a guarantee? She said, ya we guarantee you'll make your money back in 3 months, or we'll offer a refund. I thought, why not? Lets try it out, what have i got to lose... Well i don't have much to lose anymore! Haha. After 3 months of being on there "Adertising Package", which is suppose to send me roughly 5,000 visitors per month (so 15,000 total so far), I've only received 2,000 clicks. Now clicks wouldnt be that bad if i at least SOLD a few systems, but I didn't have one sale! So what i beleive they do, is just have employees going from site to site, over and over and over again, so it looks like there was traffic! The website is satelliteamerican.com/20641. Check it out... Then when you're done, try switching the number at the end... You'll see that many others were scammed as I was!
Now, Continuing on, I decided that they weren't living up to the expectations I had, and did not follow through with their "GUARANTEE", I would request my money back AGAIN! This time I called, and they said they knew nothing of this guarantee. But they told me on the phone... BELEIVE NOTHING THEY TELL YOU ON THE PHONE! Unless its in writing, it doesn't exist. So I asked why they had guaranteed that too me? They said that i must have been talking to someone reletively new... Was that their excuse to everyone? Well why don't they train their employees better? You think REFUNDS would be the first thing they teach them, as they probably 1000 requests a day for them. I decided to send them an email. Here it is:
"To Whom It May Concern,
Hi, On 8/29/07, i signed up for your advertising prgrams, which cost me a little over $6000. I was guaranteed to have made my money back by now, and have at least 15000 Hits to my website. Well I haven't had one sale yet, and only 2000 hits to my websites. So this is a breach of the contract, so I am requesting my money back in FULL.
I want my account cancelled, so I won't be charged the $20 per month for hosting fees. Again, you have failed to comply with your terms in the contract, so again I would like my refund ASAP. I tried calling several times, but I just sit and wait for hours then get sent to an automated answering service. Just to sit and have no one return my calls. Now I'm guessing this happens to all your customers, but i'm sure a lot of them don't clue in to whats happening.
I've been givin multiple numbers and emails to report this "scam", but will withhold if my money is refunded to my credit card by 10/16/07. I was told I have to give you at least 2 weeks for you to apply the refund, as some credit card company's will put a hold on this amount of money for a maxium of 5 business days. Again, I will report your company to the suggested sources, and I'm sure they will take action, IF my money is not refunded by the said date.
I'm sorry this couldn't work out for both of us, but again it was in your hands and you blew it. I've documented all phone calls (which I recorded for instances like this) and have all the emails and receipts you sent me by email. I've reviewed them all, and you've actually failed on over 75% of your guarantees. Which is enough to have federal charges pressed against you. I've dealt with scams before, and beleive me, I will not stop until they've been settled.
Thank you for your time!"
Well this letter did help me blow off some steam, but It didn't help at all. I waited til the 16th, and nothing happened. I guess i'll just have to live with my mistake.
Finally, I wrote this so that no one else will ever get scammed by these guys.US Online America Group is a horrible company, one who should be ashamed at what they do. Do they not have a conscience? Do they not see how this could drastically destroy someones life? Lets get real, I lost about $7000 to these guys. Now thats a lot of money to most people! It was a lot to me! And I want these guys all to be out of the job, and stop giving false hopes to people everywhere! I've read many horror stories about this company around the internet, but it seems they are still in business. How can this be? Someone needs to take a stand, and its time we all do!
P.S. If you're looking to make a quick buck on the internet, its not going to happen. Sorry for the news, but its not. I've tried about 15 get-rich-quick schemes, and none have made me money. If you really want to make a living, start a internet based business. It's legit, and what you put into it, is what you get out. I've started my own detectordeals.com and in just over 4 months of having it up and running, I've started receiving lots of traffic, AND sales to go along with it. And the best thing about it? I'm in control! None of this false hope crap from all these get rich quick sites. I am currently making enough money, that i've already payed off that damn $7000 credit card which was accrueing interest, but also bought my fiance an engagement ring, AND myself a new car! But like i said, What you put into it, is what you get out! A little hard work is worth it, better than losing everything! If you would like more info, email me on my website! Hope this helped you out!
Michael
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Canada
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