April my neighborhood received a door-to-door magazine solicitation. The young man was from Urban Development Solutions. I listened to the extremely well prepared presentation and decided to take (2) 1-yr subscriptions that were to go to a local woman's shelter. I realized that the dollar amount I gave was higher than for normal subscriptions, but I was told that this person got a few dollars for each subscription. Also, this was not a donation and the company needs a profit, too.
April 10 my neighborhood received a door-to-door magazine solicitation. The young woman was from Urban Development Solutions. Our discussion ran as in and while I was shocked at the even higher dollar amount than in I took (2) 1-year subscriptions that were to go to a local woman's shelter.
April 14 I received my check back with a typed sheet (not business letter-head) telling me that they were unable to cash my check because the payee (Urban Development Solutions) was not correct. I had specifically asked the young woman who she represented, who to make my check out to, and saw the same name on their receipt. It was Urban Development Solutions. This typed sheet asked me to write out a new check in the same dollar amount to Ultimate Unity. This made no sense to me, so I decided to do some checking.
After some searching, I located Urban Development Solutions, Inc. On a BBB website in Michigan. (www.bbb.org/eastern-michigan) It states that they are not a BBB Accredited Business. They were given an F rating. Maurice McClain is listed as president.
After some additional searching, I located Ultimate Unity, Inc. On a BBB website in Indiana. (www.bbb.org/northernindiana) It states that they are not a BBB Accredited Business. They have a C rating. Maurice McClain is listed as president.
I have also verified that Self Starters, Inc has the same address and phone number as Ultimate Unity, Inc.in Michigan. Self Starters, Inc web site says they are a member of the BBB of Southwest FL with a Fl address, of course. Self Starters currently has an A - rating because they have only been a member since May. (www.bbb.org/west-florida) Self Starters About Us page states that the manager is a woman with over 27 years in the door-to-door magazine sales business. It does not give her name. The bottom of their Home page lists many names. Two names with Manager after them are both males.
While the Self Starters Home page lists that they are For Profit and lists other statements that were given during the presentation, the fact that I wrote out my check to the "wrong" company and that contact information and addresses go hand-in-hand with 3 different company names, etc. I am grateful that my check was returned and that I decided to do some web searches. I will never again listen to any such door-to-door solicitations. I hope that others will follow suit.
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