Associated Supply Company called my place of business trying to sell me their ink cartridges. I told them I had just ordered a large amount and didn't need any.
They would not take no for an answer and insisted I at least let them send me some to try. I told them no, I didn't want to be bothered with having to return anything, and I did not need them.
I told her I was currently paying 3.99 for color and 5.99 for the high capacity black cartridge. (Inkquik.com) The sales rep then insisted that their ink cartridges had a lot more ink and would last much longer than the ones I was using and that was the reason for the price difference.
The sales rep told me she would not take any billing information from me so they would not have anyway of billing me. And she assured me I would not have to I would not have to return anything, make any phone calls, nothing at all. She said I would not have to pay anything unless I was happy with the ink, and then "they would trust me to pay them only if I was completely satisfied."
No action whatsoever was to be required from me. I told her I understood that she was wanting to send them to me for free with no obligation, but I really didn't need them and I wouldn't feel right taking her ink for free. So I still told her I didn't want them, even for free. I told her I was busy and I appreciated her offer, but I really wasn't interested and I needed to get off the phone.
But she was relentless! She kept on and on badgering me, telling me I had nothing to lose and no action at all would be required by me, they would be mine to keep if I didn't like them. She said this was a promotion they were doing to get people to try their ink and see how much better their ink really was. I finally agreed just to get off the phone with her.
But when I tried the ink she sent me, it was not any better than the ink I was already using and theirs cost a lot more. So, of course, I did not re-order from them. And that was supposed to be it.
Then I started getting collection agency phone calls and letters claiming I owed them the cost of the ink plus now the cost for the collection agency. I kept telling them the agreement, but they said I owed the money since I kept the ink and if I didn't pay they would report my company to the credit bureaus and ruin my company credit. I told them if they did I would sue them and I would not be bullied in to paying for something I never wanted to begin with and they could send a UPS pick up for the remaining ink, but they refused to do that.
I had only tried the one black ink cartridge. I had not used any of the colored cartridges. I called the com pay directly to try to get them to send a UPS pickup for the remaining ink. They still refused. They wanted me to return them at my expense and pay the collection agency fees that they had incurred. Even after they agreed their sales rep should not have made all the claims she made. The woman I spoke to actually laughed at what the sales rep had told me and made light of it.
Still she would not agree to pick up the package. I did not feel like I should have to be bothered with having to send this back at my cost plus pay them $24 in fees. It was the principle of the matter. I had already had to spend a lot of my time on the phone with these people, and the collection agency. I had to write a letter of dispute to the collection agency also. I did not feel like I should be out any more time or expense.
Now two years later their legal department is calling me threatening to take legal action against my small business. This time they offered to settle with me if I paid them $ 75 dollars. I told them no again. I would not be scammed or threatened into paying them anything. They said they would file for a judgment against me and if I didn't appear in court ("clear across county) that they would receive a judgment against my company for $200 plus court cost and take it directly out of my checking account.
I still refused to pay and told them they are still free to send a UPS pickup for the ink. They still refuse to do this claiming I should have called them within 60 days if I did not want the ink, which I never agreed to or knew about.
And then he had the nerve to criticize me for "only answering the phone when I wanted to." Just because I was not there to answer the phone every time he called?
I told him I would have no choice but to report them to the better business bureau if they did not leave me alone. He told me that would make no difference and not hurt them in anyway. I guess I will look for legal papers in the mail next... If "Asso Supply Co" comes up on your caller ID save yourself a huge headache and Do Not Answer!
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