Revou.com has prominently advertised in their website, "Starting your own site like twitter has never been so simple. Revou is a revolutionary PHP driven social network software that allows you to run your micro blogging site just like Twitter & Jaiku. Revou is fully customizable and feature pack including SMS integration, custom API and more!"
The same product is in the number one position of Featured Products in the Alstrasoft.com, with the same picture of the product, as can be seen in the Revou.com's Home Page.
After several chat sessions and email, we decided to buy their Twitter Clone Software and SMS Plug-In (which will enable you to increase the number of characters from the default 140).
In our communications with them, they even told us that since, BOTH PRODUCTS ARE SO SIMPLE TO INSTALL, there was really NO NEED to pay for the $40 installation fee. Even someone with absolutely no tech background, can install them. What a well designed TEASER!
After several days of communications, we began to notice that we have been talking to only one person, John Goh, (aka Gohkaiwei). All Sales and Support, and Admin emails were signed by him. It seems that ReVou is a ONE-MAN SHOW.
We found out out he is a Singaporean, with an address at: 14 Robinson Road #13-00, Far East Finance Building, Singapore, SG 048545.
He was strongly recommending a webhost (which he claims to have acquired) for our site. But he said that the products can be installed JUST AS EASILY IN ANY HOSTING COMPANY.
When we had our web designer try to install his products, there WERE MANY ERRORS. So we finally decided to have John install them by paying the $40 installation fee.
But after trying for more than TWO WEEKS, John could still not install the very products HE MADE, without ERRORS showing up. Remember his claim that IT'S SO SIMPLE TO INSTALL?
After over two weeks, we said enough is enough. THE PRODUCTS ARE OBVIOUSLY DEFECTIVE AND INCOMPLETE.
Even if ReVou did not have a money back guarantee, we demanded for him to give back the $390 we paid him. We paid him $390 with the obvious understanding that the products are as good as they were advertised to be. But since even John, THE PRODUCT MAKER himself, cannot make his products run, then he has to return the money.
We have given him ALL THE CHANCES TO CORRECT THE ERRORS, EVERYTIME THEY APPEARED, but he could not fix any of them. Total errors: at least 14. Even ONE ERROR is not acceptable TO YOUR CUSTOMERS, if you go ONLINE.
After giving him the first ultimatum, we Googled ReVou and Alstrasoft. To our dismay, we found SIMILAR COMPLAINTS EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING SOME BLOGS AND FORUMS, WARNING PEOPLE NOT TO BUY ANYTHING FROM BOTH COMPANIES.
After discovering that, we decided to give ReVou, Alstrasoft, and John, no more extensions.
By the time of this writing, almost TWO MONTHS HAVE PASSED. And we have not heard from him since the last time we gave him an ultimatum.
From the little investigation that we have made, John Goh and company initially operated from Singapore. But since January of this year, they have already transferred to the U.S.
It's possible that they are illegal aliens victimizing innocent american and international buyers. But what is definite is that john and company are crooks and thieves who have gone online.
We also found out that Alstrasoft was the original name, WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING SINCE 2003. But after many complaints were filed against them, they have adopted the name ReVou. Both companies however, share the same address, at 8939 s. Sepulveda Boulevard, Westchester, California.
Since they were allegedly banned by PayPal (GREAT WORK PAYPAL), ReVou and Alstrasoft are using SWREG, which is a company owned by Digital River, as their payment processor. SWREG.org has been reported many times for SCAMS. How true indeed is the saying that BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
It's a wonder that the government authorities and the better business bureau or bbb.org, have done nothing to stop these thieves who have been victimizing people for many years.
We are therefore appealing to complaint, and other Complaints sites, to initiate a movement to get the GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES, THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES, PAYPAL, E-COMMERCE PROVIDERS, PAYMENT PROCESSORS, AND BBB.org, to make a concerted effort to clean up the Internet by ARRESTING, PENALIZING, AND FOREVER BANNING COMPANY OWNERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO VICTIMIZE PEOPLE. These Online CROOKS AND THIEVES HAVE BEEN ALLOWED "IMMUNITY" FOR MUCH TOO LONG A TIME ALREADY.
We are also appealing to EVERYONE reading this complaint, to AT LEAST do their share, by telling ALL THEIR FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND ONLINE CONTACTS, to SPREAD THE INFORMATION that they read.
There are still too many people who, like us, DO NOT REALIZE THE NEED TO CHECK ON MERCHANTS AND INDIVIDUALS, BEFORE MAKING ONLINE PURCHASES. Or if they do realize, they may not know HOW TO GO ABOUT IT.
ONLINE MARKETERS, let us work together to help make the Internet a SAFE PLACE to do ONLINE BUSINESS.
Emmanuel
CDO
Asia
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