I hooked up with these people in the Fall of '06. I have two patents for a light source that clips to the adjustable band at the rear of an ordinary baseball cap. I'd had some bad luck with previous patent development companies and vetted them pretty thoroughly after they solicited me, even to the point of flying out to NJ to meet with them. Satisfied with their pitch, I signed a development contract for around 12K. The agreement was that they would create drawings and a prototype for me to approve. Once I approved a final prototype I would pay them a cash deposit which in turn would be sent to a factory in China for the first production run. I would then get 60% of sales and they would get 40%. To make a very long and frustrating story short, things were rocky from the very beginning. Deadlines were missed, phone calls not returned, and emails ignored. I frequently had to threaten to sue them for breach of contract just to get their attention. I caught them in several lies along the way. I realized early on that these people were either incredibly incompetent or incredibly crooked. But I stayed in against my better judgment, only hoping that things would get better. The first prototype finally came in the fall of '07. I proposed some changes and got the second prototype in the spring of 08. I suggested some additional small changes which I asked them to incorporate into a final prototype for my approval. Believing we were on our way I sent them a check for $27,000 which was to forwarded to the China factory for the first production run as soon as I approved the third and final prototype. But the third and final prototype never came. The '08 holidays passed and still no prototype. Phone calls, emails and text messages were again ignored. Finally I got a call from Vince Urgola that the third prototpye was on its way; should have it in a week. A couple more weeks went by. More unreturned phone calls, etc. I finally got the final prototype which broke apart in my hands. I then found out that the company was no longer located at their Fairfield address. With the help of the Fairfield police department I found out that the company had gone out of business, blaming the economy. Attempts to retrieve my $27,000 failed. These people stole $27,000 from me. This money was never to go to Practical Enterprises. They were to hold it until I authorized them to send it to China. The fact that they converted to their own use is textbook theft. (I'm a lawyer by day) I've been in contact with some of the other inventors who were associated with Practical Enterprises (and Access Inventors, their marketing website). To a person, they have all had similiar experiences.in one guy's case his invention sold 20,000 units on QVC and he had yet to receive a dime. I've contacted the NJ Attorney General's Office and the Federal Trade Commision about these people. They are thieves. Stay away from them.
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