10/10/04 American Entertainment Distributors, Inc. Rips off many and soils many reputations.
Like many of you I am sick and angry over this whole situation. Unlike many of you I had not sent in my money yet but was probably only hours from doing so. I called one of the references I was given to get some updated numbers on how his rentals we doing. He gave me the info. I was also given Pete Smolyansky as a reference to call! Naturally he was all roses and crap about the biz and his best advice was to jump on the opportunity while it was hot. Knowing now that his wife was part of the scam explains a lot. I don't believe all the references we were given were a part of the scam but I wouldn't be surprised if most were.
Probably the only thing that saved me from jumping into this sooner was that I wanted to go through the SBA to finance a multiple machine purchase and thereby spread my risk and create a network at the same time. This didn't make Evan F. Happy and he was always calling to get me to get one machine right away so I could get a feel for the business. Also like many of you I did my due diligent on AED. Contacting every one from the Florida Secretary of States Office to the Better Business Bureau. No one gave me any warnings. I also saw no since in letting AED find locations for me when I was more familiar with my area then they were and personal business contacts so I went out to get my own now I to have to give them the bad news about the situation. This of course will reflect badly on me and being a businessperson already in my community this will hurt my reputation considerably. This is a cost to me that is near equal to being taken for the money. I operate a film and video production company in West Virginia and our talent and reputation is our business. This info may make it easier for you to contact me should you so desire.
Like so many of you I saw the possibilities this business offered but, already being a business person/entrepreneur involved in the world of marketing I didn't believe all the hype or smoke Evan and the rest kept trying to blow up my nether region. But I do still believe in the technology of the machine and in the opportunity. If somehow Riello could find a better representative and technical support I think their machine, or the one represented by Moviebank, will end up in every store and street corner much the way ATMs have. Like all new technology there are always hurtles to overcome just as there was in early ATMs and even the computer systems we are using right now to communicate with about this mess/rip-off. But with a good business model built on honesty, integrity and service this technology and Riello could survive this. And the first thing they need to do is help all of you who have machines right now that aren't working to get them operational as quickly as possible regardless of the cost to them to do so. If Riello is indeed a reputable company, as I believe they are, then they have also been ripped off by AED and their reputation has also been besmirched. We should also not forget Ingram Entertainment in this. Your reputation in business can make you or break you.
As someone who is involved in the making of commercials there is also a level of ethics we must follow to comply with FTC rules. If the same people made the commercials for AED that made them for the other rip-offs mentioned in some of the other letters posted here then they need to be looked into as well by the law, along with whatever agency they were working for whose to say they aren't already working on the next TV scam or already have it in the can. This makes everyone suspicious of every honest offer we see on television.
On a final note why does it seem that all these scams seem to be coming out of Florida? I feel for all the folks down there from their recent hurricane misfortunes but they need to clean house along with rebuilding their homes and businesses because these scams damage them almost as much.
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