Fraud
Complaint
Jessyca
Country: United States
Ok, I have been reading this morning - the complaints regarding this company. Basically, people are promised a so-called CD with whatever information it is that they are inquiring about. For me, it was a Google Kit, for others, it was grants. It all comes back to this one company, Grant Masters.
They have a ton of phone numbers to call....all, of course, leading to places unknown, and definitely not in America.
Most of the numbers leave you holding, and no one ever picks up. If you do get through, it's nothing but run-arounds and dead ends.
We had supposedly cancelled our "subscription" on 6/4, yet saw on our account today, double the origional charges! I am a stay-at-home mom with nothing but time on my hands, so..... I started calling around.
I finally got ahold of the correct company (I'm sure they're all connected), and spoke with a person named Jezebel (?) - lol - and after her telling me that the charges were for the exact thing I had already cancelled, she did not argue (which was a change of pace), and instead, stated that she would authorize a full refund of the current charges, and email me a cancellation notice (which I did not receive the first time).
I am on here to let anyone know who has been defrauded by this company, that I will keep you informed if I do indeed get the email and my money returned. If I do, I will post the number I called, and hopefully it will help others.
If I do not see both of these things happen, I will be posting an email address (that I will create solely for this purpose) to which I would appreciate anyone who has been scammed, to write and give me their email addresses and information regarding their specific scam (grant, google, etc.).
I don't want any personal info, just to clarify. All of the emails I will receive, I will forward to authorities as a petition to open an investigation into this company (or further aid in any ongoing investigation). This goes beyond a scam - it is fraud - they do not follow through with providing the services for which you initially pay (i.e. - the "CD'). Therefore, they have technically voided their own contract and you should not be held liable for any further charges.
I am not a lawyer, to clarify that as well! Just a severely pissed off mother with little money and a lot of time on her hands. The one thing that truly gets me is when someone messes with my family. And they have done just that by stealing our money.
Thank you for reading, and I will keep you posted!
They have a ton of phone numbers to call....all, of course, leading to places unknown, and definitely not in America.
Most of the numbers leave you holding, and no one ever picks up. If you do get through, it's nothing but run-arounds and dead ends.
We had supposedly cancelled our "subscription" on 6/4, yet saw on our account today, double the origional charges! I am a stay-at-home mom with nothing but time on my hands, so..... I started calling around.
I finally got ahold of the correct company (I'm sure they're all connected), and spoke with a person named Jezebel (?) - lol - and after her telling me that the charges were for the exact thing I had already cancelled, she did not argue (which was a change of pace), and instead, stated that she would authorize a full refund of the current charges, and email me a cancellation notice (which I did not receive the first time).
I am on here to let anyone know who has been defrauded by this company, that I will keep you informed if I do indeed get the email and my money returned. If I do, I will post the number I called, and hopefully it will help others.
If I do not see both of these things happen, I will be posting an email address (that I will create solely for this purpose) to which I would appreciate anyone who has been scammed, to write and give me their email addresses and information regarding their specific scam (grant, google, etc.).
I don't want any personal info, just to clarify. All of the emails I will receive, I will forward to authorities as a petition to open an investigation into this company (or further aid in any ongoing investigation). This goes beyond a scam - it is fraud - they do not follow through with providing the services for which you initially pay (i.e. - the "CD'). Therefore, they have technically voided their own contract and you should not be held liable for any further charges.
I am not a lawyer, to clarify that as well! Just a severely pissed off mother with little money and a lot of time on her hands. The one thing that truly gets me is when someone messes with my family. And they have done just that by stealing our money.
Thank you for reading, and I will keep you posted!
Comments
As you found out, you are only getting the run-around. They will most likely try to string you along either by denying you cancelled, or by promising to cancel now. Talk is cheap. If they can stretch this out past 60 days, your bank can no longer reverse the charges under FCBA (for credit cards), or FRB Reg. E (for checking accounts). They know that for such small fraudulent charges, unless you can get your bank to reverse it, it will never be worth it to sue them.
They are deliberately walking the line between what they promise and what they will later claim to deflect prosecution. This type of scam promises something trivial at a teaser price to get your account number, but they could never make money on trivial "shipping and handling" charges. The money comes from the much larger charges, such as you have seen, and in paritcular from having some excuse to keep making them until you can figure out how to stop them.
Somewhere they cover their butts with hidden terms so they can later claim you "agreed" to their charges, or that it was just a "misunderstanding" (to keep their butts out of jail), but you were never intended to actually be aware of the charges they were about to pile on. Just enough confusion to keep it a civil matter rather than criminal, but it's basically "phishing" followed by fraudulent charging, wrapped in a "product" of little value for appearances sake.
Immediately contact your bank to dispute all fraudulent charges, and close that account to prevent additional fraudulent charges. Follow up with a written dispute sent to the dispute address for your bank on your statement, and make sure your bank gets your written dispute in less than 60 days from the statement date of the statement showing the fraudulent charges.
File fraud complaints with FTC, your state AG, the U.S. Postal Inspector, and BBB. If you file your fraud complaint with your bank within the 60 days dispute window, but your bank fails to reverse the charges, file a complaint against your bank with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), at www.occ.gov.
Mail fraud applies regardless of whether they ship their product through the U.S. Mail, or via a private shipper. All that is required is that a common carrier be part of the scam.
There are a lot of desperate people looking for money now, and the crooks prey on them.
I AM THE PERSON WHO POSTED THIS.... I HAVE NOW BEEN REFUNDED ONE AMOUNT, AND SHOULD SEE THE OTHER BY THIS FRIDAY. I HAVE POSTED UP THE NUMBERS I CALLED AS WELL AS SOME HELPFUL TIPS ON GETTING YOUR REFUND. PLEASE VISIT THIS ADDRESS (COMPLAINT BOARD) TO SEE ALL INFO.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/groups/grant-masters--fraud-g775.html
THANKS, AND GOOD LUCK!
http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=y&compid=055737833
http://www.bbb.org/central-northern-western-a ... ix-az-97024590/
"BBB Rating
Better Business Bureau has requested basic information from this company but has not received a response. As a result, Better Business Bureau may not have current information about the company.
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F
Reasons for this F rating include:
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating
13 complaints filed against business
Failure to respond to 10 complaints filed against business
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business
Complaints concern advertising and billing or collection issues.
Complaints allege that when the free CD is ordered, consumers are unaware that they are signing up for a 7 day trial period and will be charged $49.50 after the trial period has expired.
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings.
Business Contact & ProfileBack to Top Business Name: Iworks Inc.
Grant Master
Grant Resource Center
Business Address: 428 E. Thunderbird Road #743
Phoenix, AZ 85022
See the location on a Mapquest Map
See the location on a Google Map
Phone Number: (866) 396-5695
BBB Accreditation: This business is not a BBB Accredited Business
Type of Business: GOVERNMENT GRANT SERVICES
Website Address: http://www.yourgrantmaster.com
http://www.grantresourcecenter.com/login/upgrade
Business ManagementBack to Top BBB has no information regarding Business Management at this time.
Customer Complaint History
When considering complaint information, please take into account the business's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
BBB processed a total of 13 complaint(s) about this business in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 13 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months, 5 were closed in the last 12 months.
These complaints concerned:
5 regarding Billing or Collection Issues
4 regarding Billing or Collection Issues
1 regarding None of the Above - Indicate Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue
1 regarding Customer Services Issues
1 regarding Failure to respond to phone calls or written requests for assistance or support
1 regarding Delivery Issues
1 regarding Non-delivery of products
2 regarding Refund Or Exchange Issues
1 regarding Failure to honor refund, exchange or credit policies
1 regarding Refund Or Exchange Issues
2 regarding Selling Practices
2 regarding Selling Practices
2 regarding Service Issues
1 regarding None of the Above - Indicate Service Complaint Issue
1 regarding Service Issues
These complaints were closed as:
10 No Response
6 Company failed to respond to the BBB or to the consumer to resolve the issues.
1 Company failed to respond to the BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.
3 No Response
3 Resolved
1 Resolved
1 Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 Resolved
..."
http://www.vegasbbb.org/bbb_rated_acc_rpt.asp ... %2C19%2C22%2C26
"BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB rating of F.
Reasons for this rating include:
Failure to obtain a required competency license.
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating.
Number of complaints filed against this business.
Failure to respond to complaints filed against this business.
Overall complaint history with BBB.
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business.
Business Contact and Profile
Company Name: Grant Master
Company Address: 2620 S. Maryland Pkwy. #969
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone Number: (866) 396-5694
Type of Entity: Sole Proprietorship
Customer Contact: Lara Clemens, Administrative Assistant
BBB Accreditation Status: This company is not a BBB Accredited Business.
Type of Business: Grant Writers
Products and Services
This business offers typical products and services for the Type of Business shown above.
Business Management
The BBB has no information regarding business management at this time.
Licensing
As of 3/27/2008, the Bureau has been UNABLE to confirm this company has a valid local business license for the locale in which they operate. IF A CONSUMER DOES BUSINESS WITH AN UNLICENSED FIRM, THEY DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK.
Customer Complaint History
When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
The Bureau processed a total of 104 complaint(s) about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period.
Complaints Concerned:
96 - Billing or Collection Issues
91 - Unauthorized credit card charges
5 - Unauthorized bank debits
7 - Refund or Exchange Issues
7 - General Refund or Exchange Complaint Issues
1 - Customer Service Issues
1 - Inappropriate behavior by customer service personnel
The 104 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months was/were closed as:
13 - Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
12 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
2 - Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined the company made good faith and reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's good faith effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
89 - No Response
89 - Company failed to respond to the BBB or to the consumer to resolve the issues.
..."