Failure to deliver payments on time
Complaint
Alex Campbell
Country: United States
We gave this company aurthority to proceed in retreiving our debt of over $50,000.00, at 30% commission. Now the agreement calls for us to receive our money 30 days after they have received money from our former customer.
It is over 90 days and we have only received 1 payment, which was nearly 40 days late. Now we are still waiting on the second payment and even that will be late.
Is there anything we can do that would make these people keep their word and make the payments as promised, or is this a Federal Law infraction and should we go to the Feds ( FBI ).
It is over 90 days and we have only received 1 payment, which was nearly 40 days late. Now we are still waiting on the second payment and even that will be late.
Is there anything we can do that would make these people keep their word and make the payments as promised, or is this a Federal Law infraction and should we go to the Feds ( FBI ).
Comments
Quick summary: I hired them to go after rent from tenants who skipped town. I got one payment and ever since, I can't get anyone on the phone to give me any status updates. I have written to the Better Business Bureau who referred me to the NY State Attorney General, who recommended I contact a local attorney. After attorney fees and headaches, I probably don't stand to see much money from whatever they collected so I chalked it up to experience.
They are local to me and whenever I drive home from work, I am tempted to stop in there and see what's up, but restraint gets the better of me.
DO NOT do business with them. You have been warned.
The wheels of justice turn slowly...
Update on FTC v. Jesse Willms, known for running various "teeth whitener" and "penny auction" scams:
http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/23 ... ny-auction-site
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On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission obtained a court order shutting down online operations run by Canadian Jesse Willms. The agency accuses him of bilking $450 million from U.S. consumers by signing them up for $79 “negative option” services, such as teeth whitener, that were advertised as free. Willms took some of that money running deceptive penny auction sites named SwipeBids.com and SwipeAuctions.com, the agency alleges.
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FTC complaint:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/05/jessewillms.shtm
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For Release: 05/17/2011
FTC Charges Online Marketers with Scamming Consumers out of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars with 'Free' Trial Offers
The Federal Trade Commission has brought a law enforcement action against an online operation that allegedly raked in more than $450 million from consumers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand by luring them into “free” or “risk-free” offers, and then charging them for products and services they did not want or agree to purchase. As part of its ongoing efforts to stamp out online fraud, the FTC seeks to stop the operation’s illegal practices and make the defendants repay injured consumers.
“The defendants used the lure of a ‘free’ offer to open an illegal pipeline to consumers’ credit card and bank accounts,” said David C. Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “‘Free’ must really mean ‘free’ no matter where the offer is made.”
The FTC worked closely with Canadian law enforcement, including the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud, in investigating this international scheme. Most of the defendants are located in Alberta.
“Internet fraud is a global problem that requires an international enforcement response,” said Lisa Campbell, Deputy Commissioner of Competition for the Competition Bureau of Canada. “International cooperation ensures that fraudsters can’t hide behind borders.”
According to the FTC’s complaint, Jesse Willms and 10 companies he controls used deceptive tactics in offering “free trials” for various products online, including acai berry weight-loss pills, teeth whiteners, and health supplements containing resveratrol (the supposedly healthful ingredient in red wine), as well as for a work-at-home scheme, access to government grants, free credit reports, and penny auctions. (Penny auctions are online auctions in which consumers must purchase bids, usually for $0.50 to $1 each. Regardless of whether a consumer actually wins a penny auction, the consumer has paid for each bid he or she placed during the auction. However, each bid that is placed raises the price of the auctioned item by a penny.)
According to the FTC, Willms and his companies obtained consumers’ credit or debit card account numbers, by enticing them with bogus “free” or “risk-free” trial offers that supposedly required only small shipping and handling fees, and also promised phony “bonus” offers just for signing up. Consumers had no reason to believe they would be charged for the trial product or the extra bonus products, but they were often charged for the “free” trial plus a monthly recurring fee, typically $79.95. Consumers were also charged monthly recurring fees for the so-called bonus offers. Although the defendants offered a money-back guarantee, consumers were often unsuccessful in canceling the charges or obtaining refunds, and the process involved time-consuming phone calls and other steps that made the deals far from risk-free, the FTC complaint alleged.
The defendants allegedly contracted with affiliate marketers whose banner ads, pop-ups, sponsored search terms, and unsolicited e-mail led consumers to the defendants’ websites, and the defendants paid the affiliates for each consumer whose credit or debit card was charged. The defendants allegedly made false claims about the total cost of products, recurring charges, and the availability of refunds. They also buried important terms and conditions in fine print, the FTC alleged.
The complaint charges that the defendants’ penny auction offers falsely indicated consumers would receive free “bonus” bids, but those who provided credit or debit card numbers to facilitate future auction buying were hit with charges they did not know about, including $150 for introductory “bonus” bids and $11.95 per month for ongoing “bonus” bids. The FTC also charged that Willms and his companies made false weight loss and cancer cure claims for their products, and touted bogus endorsements by Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray.
The FTC further alleged that the defendants provided merchant banks with false or misleading information, in order to acquire and maintain credit and debit card processing services from the banks in the face of mounting chargeback rates and consumer complaints. Willms and his companies also allegedly violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E (issued by the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors) by debiting consumers’ bank accounts without their signed written consent and without providing consumers with a copy of the written authorization.
The defendants named in the FTC complaint are Jesse Willms, Peter Graver, Adam Sechrist, Brett Callister, Carey L. Milne; 1021018 Alberta Ltd., also doing business as Just Think Media, Credit Report America, eDirect Software, WuLongsource, and Wuyi Source; 1016363 Alberta Ltd., also doing business as eDirect Software; 1524948 Alberta Ltd., also doing business as Terra Marketing Group, SwipeBids.com, and SwipeAuctions.com; Circle Media Bids Limited, also doing business as SwipeBids.com, SwipeAuctions.com, and Selloffauctions.com; Coastwest Holdings Ltd.; Farend Services Ltd.; JDW Media LLC; Net Soft Media LLC, also doing business as SwipeBids.com; Sphere Media LLC, also doing business as SwipeBids.com and SwipeAuctions.com; and True Net LLC, also doing business as Selloffauctions.com.
The FTC would like to thank the Competition Bureau Canada, Service Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud, the Edmonton Better Business Bureau, and the BBB of Southern Nevada for their invaluable assistance in this investigation.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.
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Preliminary injunction, asset freeze:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/09/jessewillms.shtm
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For Release: 09/22/2011
FTC Stops Online Marketing Scheme That Allegedly Scammed Consumers Out of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Using 'Free' Trial Offers
At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court halted an online operation that allegedly took in more than $450 million from consumers in the United States and several other countries, and froze the alleged ringleader’s assets, pending trial. The scheme allegedly lured consumers into “free” or “risk-free” offers for weight-loss pills and tooth whiteners, and then billed them for things they did not want or agree to purchase, providing false or misleading information to merchant banks in order to acquire credit and debit card processing services.
The court order granting a preliminary injunction against Jesse Willms and 10 companies he controls stems from the FTC’s ongoing crackdown on online fraud. Pending trial, it bans the defendants from selling products or services that feature a “negative option,” in which the seller interprets consumers’ silence or inaction as permission to charge them, or “continuity plan” in which consumers are sent regular shipments of merchandise until they cancel. The preliminary injunction also prohibits the defendants from offering any products as a “free trial” or “bonus”; misrepresenting costs of a product or any cancellation policy; failing to disclose the amount and timing of fees and the terms and conditions of any refunds; making misrepresentations about the benefits or safety of products; misrepresenting any product endorsement or testimonial; and charging consumers without their express consent.
According to the FTC’s complaint, filed in May, Willms and his companies deceived consumers with offers of “free trials” for various products online, including acai berry weight-loss pills, teeth whiteners, and health supplements containing resveratrol (the supposedly healthful ingredient in red wine), as well as for a work-at-home scheme, access to government grants, free credit reports, and penny auctions. Consumers were often charged for the “free” trial plus a monthly recurring fee, typically $79.95. Consumers were also charged monthly recurring fees for the so-called bonus offers.
The court found that the FTC showed enough evidence in the case to justify freezing the assets of Willms and his companies. It stated, “Not only has [the FTC] shown a likelihood that Defendants have engaged in misleading marketing practices, but it has also shown that Defendants have moved substantial funds to offshore companies and bank accounts. . .” Specifically, the court stated that Willms admitted to establishing several holding companies in Cyprus to facilitate international merchant banking, and that email exchanges show that funds were likely transferred from Willms’ accounts to Cyprus and possibly for the purpose of hiding assets.
The FTC recently filed an amended complaint adding two defendants to the action, Elizabeth Graver and Mobile Web Media LLC, a company Graver allegedly established to help Willms acquire credit and debit card processing services.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle. The preliminary injunction was entered by the court on September 13, 2011.
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25 Orville Drive Bohemia NY 11716 Suite 101A
Phone 888-826-9002 EXT 517 FAX 631-963-3928
Bob "The Stud" Winterts
This Company does not do any reserch or obey the laws set in the states they are trying to collect from.
Or is it Mike McMahon who represents Jones Back hoe service out of Riverside CA?????
Bottom line is my company responded to the false compliant on 4/30/2011 and get a nasty phone call on 10/04/2011.
Sam Fields never gives details, and seems to only be able to compose 1 line email responses - I'm going to send over to RipOffReport, BBB and Consumer protection >> so we can get to the bottom of their issues.
Funny: They even sent me a email that they were having trouble locating the debtor - I did a Google Search and found everything they needed in <30seconds on CrunchBase.
= SAD
Thanks
Several years ago, it appears they were collecting on a bunch of "consumer debt" outside their usual line of business, that originated out of the operations of a bunch of scam companies run by some guy up in Canada, that were later sued by FTC for defrauding consumers who bought "free trials" of "teeth whitening" products.
The scam companies were using the "free trial offers" to create a pretext for automatic monthly charges, with hidden negative option terms burried in terms boilerplate reachable only through obscured links in poor contrast font. In short, they did everything they could think of to reduce the chance that consumers would know about these terms, while still claiming they were "disclosed". Supposedly, consumers could "cancel within 14 days", but the scam companies made sure the "free trial" arrived AFTER the cancellation deadline, had customer service phones that were not answered, gave callers trying to cancel the runaround, and ignored cancellations anyway. The charges were laundered through overseas banks (showing currency conversion fees), in this case using a front company in Cyprus, all common tactics used in consumer fraud.
Consumers reported receiving "attorney letters" when disputing the fraudulent bills, and were pointed to where the "automatic billing" terms were hidden. They claimed they did not know the accounts were fraudulent. Maybe they didn't.
In any case, it appears that most of their business is commercial collections.
Any debt that stretches out 4 years is a windfall if you collect any of it.
No one cares what you're entitled to, but they'll gladly take a cut of whatever you get.