unethical and fraudulent sales practices
Complaint
Wendy
Country: United States
This complaint has also been filed with the Better Business Bureau in new york.
May 3, 2011
Industrial Chem Labs and Services Inc.
55 – G Brooke Avenue
Deer Park New York 11729-7200
Re: Unauthorized Product Shipment; Invoice – 86532
To Whom it May Concern:
We are in receipt of the above referenced invoice. As a prefatory remark, this invoice was not authorized and the product shipped was without any verbal or written authorization. Additionally, the series of events that led to this invoice and product shipment relate to a cold call sales and shipment scheme that violates professional business practices. We encourage your company to cease and desist this business practice immediately as it relates to Toscana or any other CCMC community and retrieve your product immediately.
First, we would like to make an official record that no member of the Toscana or CCMC team ever contacted Industrial Chem Labs directly inquiring about the product shipped. Rather, your sales representative contacted Toscana by cold sales call seeking information regarding our director of maintenance. During conversation with our staff member, your sale representative proceeded to tell the maintenance personnel about a sewer line product and offered to forward a sample to our community. Rather than a sample we received a 100 pound shipment of product that we did not order. Prior to this call, we had no knowledge of your company, had no established accounts with your company and do not have your company listed as an approved vendor for Toscana or other CCMC communities.
As mentioned above, we received the disputed invoice for unordered product on Friday, April 29, 2011. At that time, we immediately called to dispute the invoice and the shipment. Our call was returned on Monday, May 2, 2011 by Andy and then his supervisor Richard. As explained to both, we had not ordered and did not want this product. Your representatives insisted that Toscana maintenance personnel authorized this shipment but produced no signed PO, invoice, contract or other credible evidence of authorization. Our company and communities maintain very specific processes for vendor approval and ordering. Our maintenance team is very aware of these processes and procedures. One such procedure is that Toscana requires written authorization from the community manager and use of only authorized and preapproved contractors/vendors.
Once confronted, your company attempted to negotiate this transaction by removing shipping charges and lowing the per pound cost of the product to reduce the bill from $577.81 to $299.00. We informed Richard that we did not want the product under any circumstance. Richard advised that “the offer would remain on the table for 30 days at which time the invoice would be sent to collection”.
Your sales and shipment scheme is not new and has been well documented by the Better Business Bureau in New York. The Better Business Bureau rates your company an “ F” on a scale of “A+” to “F”. There have been 184 complaints filed against Industrial Chem Labs, 132 in the last 12 months, 131 which concern selling practices similar to those referenced above. See attached.
We did not order this product and refuse to pay for it. We will store the 100 pounds of Sewer Cleaner on our property for 30 days from the date of this letter. If it is not removed by that time we will consider it abandoned property and dispose of it. Further, if we do not receive acknowledgement of removal of the sewer product and voiding of invoice 86532 within 15 days, we will add our voice to the 184 others through the New York Better Business Bureau and file a formal complaint with the Attorney General’s office.
Sincerely,
CAPITAL CONSULTANTS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
Wendy Mueller, PCAM, CAAM
Toscana Community Manager
Cc: Board of Directors
Carpenter, Hazlewood, Delgado and Wood PLC
May 3, 2011
Industrial Chem Labs and Services Inc.
55 – G Brooke Avenue
Deer Park New York 11729-7200
Re: Unauthorized Product Shipment; Invoice – 86532
To Whom it May Concern:
We are in receipt of the above referenced invoice. As a prefatory remark, this invoice was not authorized and the product shipped was without any verbal or written authorization. Additionally, the series of events that led to this invoice and product shipment relate to a cold call sales and shipment scheme that violates professional business practices. We encourage your company to cease and desist this business practice immediately as it relates to Toscana or any other CCMC community and retrieve your product immediately.
First, we would like to make an official record that no member of the Toscana or CCMC team ever contacted Industrial Chem Labs directly inquiring about the product shipped. Rather, your sales representative contacted Toscana by cold sales call seeking information regarding our director of maintenance. During conversation with our staff member, your sale representative proceeded to tell the maintenance personnel about a sewer line product and offered to forward a sample to our community. Rather than a sample we received a 100 pound shipment of product that we did not order. Prior to this call, we had no knowledge of your company, had no established accounts with your company and do not have your company listed as an approved vendor for Toscana or other CCMC communities.
As mentioned above, we received the disputed invoice for unordered product on Friday, April 29, 2011. At that time, we immediately called to dispute the invoice and the shipment. Our call was returned on Monday, May 2, 2011 by Andy and then his supervisor Richard. As explained to both, we had not ordered and did not want this product. Your representatives insisted that Toscana maintenance personnel authorized this shipment but produced no signed PO, invoice, contract or other credible evidence of authorization. Our company and communities maintain very specific processes for vendor approval and ordering. Our maintenance team is very aware of these processes and procedures. One such procedure is that Toscana requires written authorization from the community manager and use of only authorized and preapproved contractors/vendors.
Once confronted, your company attempted to negotiate this transaction by removing shipping charges and lowing the per pound cost of the product to reduce the bill from $577.81 to $299.00. We informed Richard that we did not want the product under any circumstance. Richard advised that “the offer would remain on the table for 30 days at which time the invoice would be sent to collection”.
Your sales and shipment scheme is not new and has been well documented by the Better Business Bureau in New York. The Better Business Bureau rates your company an “ F” on a scale of “A+” to “F”. There have been 184 complaints filed against Industrial Chem Labs, 132 in the last 12 months, 131 which concern selling practices similar to those referenced above. See attached.
We did not order this product and refuse to pay for it. We will store the 100 pounds of Sewer Cleaner on our property for 30 days from the date of this letter. If it is not removed by that time we will consider it abandoned property and dispose of it. Further, if we do not receive acknowledgement of removal of the sewer product and voiding of invoice 86532 within 15 days, we will add our voice to the 184 others through the New York Better Business Bureau and file a formal complaint with the Attorney General’s office.
Sincerely,
CAPITAL CONSULTANTS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
Wendy Mueller, PCAM, CAAM
Toscana Community Manager
Cc: Board of Directors
Carpenter, Hazlewood, Delgado and Wood PLC
Comments
Frauds typically have so many complaints they are playing a game of "chicken" in every fraudulent demand they make. When challenged by an AG complaint the usual response from such scams is to pretend "there's some mistake", or "we stand by our records, but we will cancel it just this one time".
Problem with bluffing is you might only get away with it once per victim. It's obvious from years of complaints that it's a scam, and that's the same picture FTC, state AGs, and the Postal Inspector start seeing in their complaint files. Unlike normal businesses, they have to keep finding new "customers" to con. Not much value in "good will".
It's common for shakedown scams to threaten "legal action".
It's a cheap threat, so they give it a try. Lying for dollars.
File the fraud complaints, with FTC, AG, and the Postal Inspector.
can you tell me about the company, about Peter, or anyone else that you may know, I was considering working there until I read these complaints
i the proprietor of M/s Priya Plastic Processor,having units at 2nd Nandini Industrial Estate
Sr.No.110/2/12;Village: Amli,Silvassa -396230,Dadra Nagar Haveli, had order PLASTIC POLYMERS from
ZHONGBAO PLASTIC LTD
Address：NO.42，Yanji road,Shibei district, Qingdao, China,their contact number are MB: +86-15314201872
TEL: + 86-0532-89094123 and the contact person was ERIN CHEN in the month of june 2014,vide their Performa Invocie no.ZBP-141189 dated June 13th 2014 for which i had send advance of 30 % on 16th June 2014 $4875 and final payment after confirmation of the Dispatch as per terms against Bill of Lading on 2nd July 2014 $ 11375.00
Now the shipment have arrived in India on 27th July 2014,today 3rd August 2014,when our CHA had examine the goods he found the material supplied by the Supplier was wrong and it shows some STONE like object in it
I have tried to call the concern person ERIN CHEN whom i was dealing but she was not present on duty since two days.I visited the Cargo and found that their was STONE FILLED IN COMPLETE CARGO I HAVE TAKEN PHOTO ALSO
Now looking to the circumstance i am worried that i have been cheated by the supplier and have ran away by taking the full amount of $ 16250.00
i humbly request your good self to intervene in this matter and help me out to get back the payment +or the correct material and take back their wrong supplied goods, as the wrong material will also attract LEGAL PROBLEM from my country CUSTOM DEPARTMENT and other charges
i got a bill in the mail today for $101.00 for the product. Made a call to Roy Dobbs, when he got on the line he asked what was wrong. I stated that I agreed to try a sample, not 2 gal. He stated UPS would not accept a package with less product. I then asked for a return shipping label, that I was not buying the product and he said he was not sending a label and basically I was to deal with it. I went to UPS and paid for the shipping myself ($25).
Shame on this company trying to con the handicapped people in Michigan. They need to be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!
one is our head of maintenance and the other the Jail Commander. We keep putting them in storage and not being able to contact Industrial Chem Labs. I as the bookkeeper have paid some of the bills in the past not knowing they were not ordered. We cannot stop them from shipping these. Just received 4 buckets last week (2 in each name) very frustrating. We have not got anything from them about being turned into collections. I wish we could have the carrier send them back. Don't know if that can be done. However, when they deliver they usually just go to dispatch or if officer in lobby will sign for the boxes. I assume they are signed for. May not even require it.
are 80 years old like myself.