Based on a recent review, the BBB has determined the company is still making deceptive claims in regard to money-making opportunities they allegedly offer through the purchase of their software and training programs on various websites they operate.
“This company has a pattern of making clear promises of easy wealth, but offering scant details on how potential subscribers actually make money,” said Dana Badgerow, president and CEO of the BBB. “They also change company names regularly and juggle websites, but their offer always remains the same. We dispute their claims and feel the only way anyone could make any money by signing up with them is by recruiting more people to buy these training programs. Ultimately, there is no end product or service for consumers.”
What drew the attention of the BBB in 2009, besides an unsatisfactory record due to complaints which had gone unanswered, was a reference on http://www.3hourprofits.com, one of the company’s websites – now disabled – which referred to an organization called BBB Reviews.org, a non-existent entity designed to imply an association with the Better Business Bureau. BBB Reviews.org was taken down shortly after the BBB publicized the existence of the site and disavowed any connection to it. Force One Events currently has an “F” rating due to unanswered complaints and concerns about the company’s – and their related entities – business practices.
The BBB believes that Force One Events, Inc. and company owner, Dan Miller, are doing business under a variety of names. Information in our files indicates that some of these business names have included or may include: Powerline100, IPC Progam, Click Marketing Inc., Extreme Wealth Formula, Lead Net Pro, Productive Pathways.com, Elite Sales Incentives, Elevations Group VIP and Mimzing.com. In regard to these entities, we have been able to confirm direct connections to either Dan Miller or Force One Events in some instances, but not all. Other affiliations have been alleged in customer complaints we’ve received. The BBB has requested basic information from this company but has not received a response. In a letter sent to the BBB back in January of this year, the company alleged they had previously sent information providing requested information regarding their operations. The BBB has no record of this documentation.
The most recent complaints filed against the subsidiary entity called Lead Net Pro state that the company’s software caused their computers to crash and the company has refused to provide refunds. Force One Events has refused to respond to these complaints, denying they are connected to Lead Net Pro. However, in a recent secret-shopping of Lead Net Pro, a BBB employee received several e-mailed confirmations signed by Dan Miller, owner of Force One Events.
The Better Business Bureau advises customers to be leery of any money-making offers that sound too good to be true, and provides the following tips to identify work-at- home offers. Work-at-home offers will:
Never offer you regular salaried employment.
• Promise you huge profits and big part-time earnings.
• Use personal testimonials but never identify the person so that you can check with them.
• Require money for instructions or merchandise before telling you how the plan operates.
• Assure you of guaranteed markets and a huge demand for your handiwork.
• Tell you that no experience is necessary.
• Often have misspelled words on their Web sites.
• Take your money and give you little or nothing in return except heartbreak and grief.
The best rule of thumb for consumers is this: Anytime you’re asked to pay in advance to obtain a job, the offer of employment is not legitimate.
The BBB advises victims of work-at-home schemes to ask the company for a refund; if that request is refused, customers should tell the company they plan to notify law enforcement officials.
Customers should also keep careful records of everything they do to recover their money. Document phone calls, keep copies of all paperwork such as letters and receipts, and record all costs involved, including the time spent trying to receive a refund. If the company refuses to provide a refund, customers should contact:
• The Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org).
• The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov).
• The U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
• Your state Attorney General’s office or the office in the state where the company is located
• The advertising manager of the publication that ran the ad the customer answered.
• Or, if the offer was found online, contact www.ic3.gov.
The mission of the Better Business Bureau is to promote, through self-regulation, the highest standards of business ethics and conduct, and to instill public confidence in responsible businesses through programs of education and action that inform, protect and assist the general public. BBB hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact the BBB at http://www.bbb.org or 651-699-1111, toll free at 1-800-646-6222.
Source http://hometownsource.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment