This is an email and hard copy fax I sent to Tafiti Consulting Management on February 5. This is after a series of letter, problems and complaints. I will continue adding to this report with more details. I have phone numbers and emails from them that I can provide to anyone on request. I also see that on their website - gotafiti.com — they have a box stating they are part of BBB and consumer affairs - when I clicked on those boxes — Tafiti consulting or Tafiti Builder, Media Learner or Ridgecrest Consulting isn't listed & they have "The Shipper LLC - which is a program they sell for ebay sellers. So that is misleading - and just looks impressive on their site - but it means nothing. I did a search with those organizations - and none of those names are actually registered with them. If anyone can give me advise on how to pursue this - I would appreciate it. I am going to file complaints with those departments anyway - as well as any others I can find.
Here is my email to everyone and anyone at Tafiti that I have dealt with since June.
Hi - I signed up with Tafiti thru Ridgecrest (Ray Punta) in June. I committed myself to 20 hours per week - and was swept away by a line of crap and a huge investment (almost $13,000) and believed in it. I put in my time - and had many issues that I brought to your attention as well as to my coaches over the months. Many of the issues were not my issues - and were either Builder issues or mis-information or lack of information.in emails I was told that compensation was due to me and I did receive apologies in emails due to all the problems. The SEO was disaster - and I paid almost $3000 for that and it took almost 3 months and was only a few lines long. I was told it was going to be redone - and then I received an email - around the holidays - that another company was taking that over and would do it. I have not heard from anyone to date.
Ridgecrest referred me and advised me to incorporate in Nevada — tremendous tax savings and
$1400 later & and there are no advantages - I live in NY — the income still has to show on my return. They sent me things with my home address on it - which shouldn't be - and everytime I contacted them - they said it would be corrected - and nothing is corrected. Another scam. They said I would pay for my investment within 60-90 days & another LIE!
I have paid thousands of dollars in finance charges on my investment - and tons of money for pay-per-click and article distribution - and I have had 5 sales to date - including sales for the holidays. So - my profit is less than $200.00. That doesn't cover my Tafiti builder fee and the banking fees and merchant charges and any pay per click for the month. My prices are great & I have a blog, I have written articles, and I get nothing but tons of trash emails and no emails with orders. To contact the green team it has to be thru email - and I wait days and days for answers. There were shipping issues that the builder couldn't handle - and I lost about 9 sales up front due to them. So - finally - Dawnray came up with something - after Trevor got involved - but that was 3 months after the site was opened - and since it was done for me — it leaves me in the dark if I want change. All the shipping is for bikes out of the west coast & and there were overweight bikes with additional shipping that was finally figured out & but if I take on a supplier from the east coast - everything changes - and I was told it was impossible - to "maybe we can figure something out when we have a chance", The supplier is not really supportive of any issues I have with anything - or giving me updated info - as I am not considered a viable account.
Over this weekend - I will be writing to Consumer affairs and every complaint group on the internet stating my case - and I will give them details and they can contact me for more info if needed. I have hundreds of emails that I can send them from Tafiti apologizing or stating that things cannot be done. I finally insisted on getting an invoice from Ridgecrest for my investment - and low and behold - Angela Stevens is on the top of it - which amazed me - because when I told both Scott and Ray Punta that I researched Angela Stevens as well an a few other home based business providers - and I felt they were a scam — THEYAGREED! Never once did they say that they were part of it & and I had to beg for a bill months later & and it was a handtyped bill - not on letterhead — very unprofessional - yet I am supposed to use this as a tax deduction? Looks fake to me.
Since the holidays I have taken the time to personally call several other bicycle internet retailers - and after lengthly discussions - although holiday sales were down a bit — they all did very well & and my bikes were cheaper for the same product. But being told to start marketing AFTER the 14 week initial training course and after the site is open causes a lot of loss of time. Dave Smith and Trevor were very nice and helpful - especially Trevor - as he was more available and was there when I needed help the most & but they do just what they are told - and are very limited in the time they are allowed to help on the phone. With Dave - for my first 14 weeks - if I got 15 minutes a week one on one - it was a lot - and many of them were delayed or cancelled because he was assigned to the greeting call for new clients. This was not his fault - but the problems were from week one.
Now I see when I research complaints on the internet - that Tafiti Builder/Consultant and Media Learner all have a lot of complaints - and this is new as there weren't any when I first did the research. This is very concerning.
Sure - SUPPOSEDLY you guarantee to stay with me until I make my money back & but that can take years - and an extreme amount of time - and more money. And frustration with Tafiti and also as Ray Punta knew from the start, I am paying well over 20% on credit cards for this investment & so it is hundreds a month. When I first signed up I asked what other expenses I would have - and I was only told that the only other expense would be setting up the business. No mention of pay-per-click which is needed, logo fees if wanted (and highly recommended by Tafiti) - I am so thankful I said I would wait on that. Then the builder fee started in November & to host my site.
I have had enough. I brought my attorney everything and he is helping me draft my complaints to post on blogs, internet complaint boards and business bureaus in Utah. I am not in a position to start with heavy attorney fees - but my husband is pushing me to go that way. My emails alone — hundreds of them back and forth — prove the problems and the apologies. Some of these will be included in my blogs and complaints.
I wanted to advise you of my position. If you agree that financial compensation is due — then I must be contacted asap. Many at Tafiti are aware of the problems & and many agreed. After I started flipping out with problems - Ryan Grover contacted me - said he saw my site and the amount of work that went into it & and said I should make some changes. He went thru a list of them — which were very different then I was originally taught. I took that list to technical support and Dave Smith - and Trevor - and every one of them told me that the Builder program was not equipt to make those changes & such as increasing the size of the thumbnails so the bike picture pops out at you, take the emotional picture off the front and put more reasons to buy from me. One person said I had enough content - then another didn't. Too many mixed messages — and yet no growth in my site.
This really hurt us financially and I lived up to my part. Eventually - I just said this is ridiculous & and was embarrassed because two internet people that I know both told me not to do it. I tried to convince them this was the best thing for me... Especially when Ray told me that sales could be forced thru my site & to help get it started - I should have known this was false info & of which I am sure he will deny. I can tell you more about his family, his town, his own website and his telling me to sell anything on ebay thru my site to get started - such at things around the house & this is when I called a month after signing up that I was concerned with lack of response and issues I was having. I wanted to sell bikes — the Shipper program didn't help me one bit - another waste of $995 — I found my supplier on my own.
I can go on and on & more than you care to listen. This is now not acceptable - I have invested well over $15,000 and hundreds and hundreds of hours and have a loser website. The public does not deserve this - and moreso in this economy.
I will set up another site thru someone else - with other products & and it will be cheaper and probably more successful - as months and months won't go by with little progress. If you go back thru my complaint to you on 10/5 - you can see that not much changed. I got a limited number of additional phone support - all based on marketing - and the shipping issues still remained. The were corrected just before the holidays - after I lost several sales. Finally - Trevor convinced tech support that it could not be done - after months of my arguing that it had to be done and being upset by it. Dave Smith even told me the night before I opened the site to take all those bikes off & I have that in an email too. Wouldn't that change my tabs and hurt my site? I refused - so I raised the price of the bike to compensate for the shipping problems - and then I was so much higher than everyone else.
While I was waiting for my package from Nevada and the supplier to approve me and get me info - I could have been told that I could start some articles and marketing. I opened the site in SEptember - had one more week of support & was told to do pay-per-click - didn't get one sale. Then I complained and Trevor took over - and told me to keep writing articles and blogs and such & while still working on shipping and adjusting prices and fixing the site. He told me to market very differently from what I was told. I did that and there are a lot of articles out there — still no sales yet. How long can I wait and keep spending money. He told me to do pay-per-click for the holidays - I did that thru google and yahoo — only a handful of sales. I submitted my site to hundreds and hundreds of directories myself. SEO only came thru maybe at the end of December - and what a joke that was. Trevor apologized. Never got anything further and then got an email that some other company was contracted and would do the SEO for me - never happened. That money should come back to me ($2495.00, The Shipper and Ebay program $995 each & useless and was told not to do ebay for months & I did what I had to do by buying things thru the company and get rated - that is where it stood. I need real help - videos are okay - but this was so disappointing and overwhelming and I was told by my coaches that do not do ebay - to hold off.
I should get other compensation as well - for things the builder can not do and also for the lack of info and the flow of information to get my site marketed faster - not months after it is opened up. How can I possibly make money in 60-90 days if it isn't marketed and only opened after 90 days? This was not all discussed with me. I am sure you have a few clients that found a special niche - so it worked for them & but that is a few - if everyone had these experiences & it would be impossible to be successful.
I do not expect that you really care about this - and I probably will not hear from anyone tomorrow - Friday, February 6th. I felt - I should tell you one more time - and then do whatever necessary to let the public know. Now that I looked at the complaint groups again & I see the complaints are piling high. I am also submitting to 20/20 and Dateline - I know they keep track of these complaints - and if there are many they make it public on TV. I have family who works for NBC - and they told me how to proceed. I have seen these issues on many news shows - never knew how they came about & what a disappointing learning experience this is.
I want you to know that this is so against my grain & I have never ever gone after anyone for anything - I always took it on the chin and moved on. But last year - recently unemployed after 30 years - that was a lot of money. I was very hesitant - they were believable and snowballed me beyond belief. The amount of time I spent was almost a full-time job - more than the 15-20 hour commitment - and I even hired someone with computer to come in and help me get the info/specs and pictures on the site - as it wasn't great from the bike supplier. I am very upset about this - lose alot of sleep over it as it has caused a tremendous hardship on my family - with no end in site. I have done a lot of research - I guess this was a scam & I could have provided the info to a web builder for half the price and had the site up in a month and then done marketing with or without them. You have no idea how i feel - and i feel forced to take the actions i will take on monday. I have friends, family and legal counsel getting me lists of every place i can complain too - both on the internet and in the state of utah. I really don't want to spend another minute on this & but the investment forces me to do so. I have to make money and start another business ASAP. I left a job after 30 years to start a home business - and now I am probably going to have to go out and get another full time job because of Angela Stevens (unbeknownst to me), Ridgecrest, Tafiti and Media Learner. Because none have done right by me in any manner - I have to proceed accordingly.
Sincerely,
Mary - huntington, ny
Huntington, New York
U.S.A.
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