In I purchased informational websites from Stone Image & Design. I was told I would make money from the sites with Google Adsense. This is a valid way to make money, but work has to be done in order to drive traffic to the sites and to make sure that the information is useful and has enough keywords for Google to generate relative ads. I paid a large up-front fee. Supposedly, there was to be a monthly fee as well, but I currently can't find it in my contract (which doesn't mean that it's not there - I just can't find it). I had never been charged or billed for the monthly fee even though I gave them my card information. The company also promised that I could get a full refund after one year if the sites did not generate enough revenue to pay my upfront cost. Now that should have been a red flag for me right there, but I was new to the ways of the internet.
A few months after these sites were built, I noticed the Google ads were not relevant. I contacted them via email and left phone messages. It would take several several voice mail messages before someone would finally reply. When they did reply, I was advised it was being worked on or some other excuse which I can't remember. Again, no one ever mentioned anything about me owing a monthly fee. I also asked for a written guarantee that I could get a full refund after one year. I was told it would be mailed to me. However, I never received it.
Several months go by with occasional emails and voice mails left with no responses. At some point, I finally got a hold of one of the business owners, Jerry Hildreth (also Fred Jerald Hildreth). I was given more reasons about why it wasn't working and again I was promised it would be fixed. Mr. Hildreth did not mention anything about monthly fees. I also asked him to send me the written guarantee and he said he would sent it. Again, I did not receive it. Mr Hildreth also informed me about his new website. Strange, I thought, but I did not push it further.
Now a year has gone by. The website for the Stone Image and Design web marketing is gone and replaced by a company which makes images on stone. I called the number, which happened to be the same number which I had for Stone Image and Design the web marketing company, and left a message. No response, so I called again the following week and left several messages. I also did research on the web and found a new company owned by Mr. Hildreth, Visitor Creation and Design. I also found lots of other questionable information which I can not share here at this time.
After almost a week of leaving messages, I finally heard back from Mr. Hildreth. He gave me several reasons as to why the sites didn't work, none of which seemed to be his own fault. He seemed willing to work with me on one condition... That I pay the 12 monthly fees for the past year. Hmmm. Do I pay this guy after he has continuously avoided my calls? Can I put my faith in a company which hasn't been addressing any of my concerns over the past year? Can I rely on a verbal promise of a full refund since they have yet to send me the written guarantee for a full refund? Are the monthly fees actually due? They might be. Mr. Hildreth says the initial up-front fee I paid was for the building of the sites themselves. The monthly fees were to pay for the services of keeping the sites current, submitting links to drive traffic, etc. But if I don't get such a simple service as a return phone call or a promise made in writing, how can I expect services on a monthly basis? And why wasn't I told about, billed, or charged for the monthly services a year ago when I first started with the company? I am afraid to pay him as it will make me have an even higher loss than what I already have now.
Since Mr. Hildreth promised to send me a written promise for the full refund during this conversation, I thought I would give him another chance. But more two weeks have gone by and I have not received anything in the mail and I havent heard form Mr. Hildreth again. Should I be surprised?
Am I being ripped off or did I just get involved with a company which has made bad business decisions? I can't decide, but I thought it would be a good idea to share my information with the public. If it's that the company has made bad business decisions, who's to say it won't happen again? The company Stone Image and Design has reformed into Visitor Creation and Design. Mr. Hildreth is involved with both companies. Was it his business partner or former employees which gave the old company a bad name? I don't know, but I do know that it has been Mr. Hildreth who has made the promises to send me a contract in writing. It is his voice mail that I reach when I call the company. And it is him who doesn't call me back until I have left multiple voice mail messages.
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