Consumer Complaints

The Retreat Apartments Walnut Creek Reviews – Honest Reviews From Residents of The Retreat in Walnut Creek CA

2011-10-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Retreat Apartments Walnut Creek Reviews – Honest Reviews From Residents of The Retreat in Walnut Creek CA

If you are considering moving into The Retreat Apartments in Walnut Creek, California, and are looking for reviews of this complex from residents, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article I want to share my experience and nightmares of living at The Retreat ever since this complex was sold to its new owner by The Equity Residential Inc. – the former owner.

This morning I woke up to find that water in my apartment was shut off. Thus, no shower, not even brushing my teeth in the morning.

Luckily I had bottled water, so I was able to make a cup of coffee in the morning.

I kept checking on the water every hour, hoping that I could at least flush the toilet which continued accumulating excrements.

No luck.

At around 2:30 PM I finally called The Retreat at their main telephone number at 866-399-8240, which prompted me to dial 3 to speak with staff.

I wasn’t surprised when no one answered the phone there, so no luck.

This is not the first time water has been shut off in the complex, or perhaps just in my building.

Some other horrors of living at The Retreat I have experienced – fire alarms going off randomly in the entire building, sometimes late at night, for no reason whatsoever, constant construction, construction workers who do not speak English crawling up the exterior walls outside my apartment while replacing windows in the neighboring apartments, unavailability of some amenities, such as the pool and the Jacuzzi, gigantic garbage disposals located within 2 feet from the exterior walls in violation of all city and building codes, etc.

The faulty alarm system has not been fixed since this complex was owned by The Equity Residential.

A friend of mine used to live here several years ago and she says that even then the alarms were going off randomly just like they do now.

I remember The Equity Residential management claiming that they tried to fix the alarm system, and sure enough, some workers came on site, worked on the alarms setting them off and on to find out what was wrong and what caused the alarms to go off at night, and apparently found nothing, because it’s been years and we still have this problem.

The pool, according to The Retreat’s staff, has multiple pipe cracks which makes it unusable (even though we used it until The Retreat took over and shut it off, draining all the water).

The Retreat management claims that they are trying to obtain permits to fix the pool from the city of Walnut Creek, and that they are looking at possibly getting those permits and starting the actual work sometime in the summer of 2012. Until then we’ll have no pools for sure.

Many residents are complaining about the ongoing construction, noise, parking issues due to the construction and the Mexican workers dumping and storing piles of lumber, granite, and waste in all of the parking lots.

I personally don’t understand why The Retreat’s owner is putting all these money into fixing up an apartment complex, while making the current residents suffer. Many residents try to break the lease, and they threaten to make us pay for the remaining term of the lease, even though we never signed a contract saying we agree to live in the midst of a construction zone, with no amenities, no water, and no parking.

If you know Creekside Dr. in Walnut Creek – that’s where The Retreat is located – it is the crack heart of Walnut Creek. Street parking is almost impossible to find especially if you come home from work after 3 PM.

This street is the ghetto of Walnut Creek, with the Police circling around day and night. This street has high criminal activity with car theft rate higher than in Concord and other neighboring ghettos.

Creekside is where reportedly drug users come from all over the place to get meth, marihuana and everything else your heart desires.

I personally got mugged in the parking lot of my apartment building at The Retreat coming home late on a Monday night.

Check with Walnut Creek PD before moving to this ghetto! I am moving out of here as soon as my lease is up in 2012. Over the years I’ve had worse and worse experiences, and am finally moving to my own condo in Walnut Creek!

Are you a resident at The Retreat in Walnut Creek? Leave your comments!

Nigerian Scam Of November 2010

2010-11-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Here is another one in the series of Nigerian email scams I received today. This one was actually funny. Have you received the same email lately? Share your thoughts!

There Friend,

I am Mrs. Laura Susan Fredrick an FBI AGENT; I am a US citizen, 48 years Old. I reside here in New Braunfels Texas. My residential address is as follows. 1811 TEAL RUN PLACE DR.FRESNO, TX 77545,

United States. I am one of those that executed Compensation in Nigeria many years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over $15,000 while in the US, trying to get my payment but to all no avail.

So I decided to travel down to Nigeria with all my compensation documents, and I was directed to meet REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS, who is the member of OMPENSATION AWARD COMMITTEE, and I saw him and he explained everything to me. He said whoever is contacting us through emails are fake.

He took me to the paying bank for the claim of my Compensation payment. Right now I am the happiest woman on earth because I have received my compensation funds of $1.5 000.000.00 Moreover, REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS, showed me the full information of
those that are yet to receive their payments and I saw your name as one of the beneficiary, and your email address, that is why I decided to email you to stop dealing with those people, they are not with your und, they are only making money out of you. I will advise you to contact REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS.

You have to contact him direct on this information below.

COMPENSATION AWARD HOUSE

Name: REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS

Email: There Friend,

I am Mrs. Laura Susan Fredrick an FBI AGENT; I am a US citizen, 48 years Old. I reside here in New Braunfels Texas. My residential address is as follows. 1811 TEAL RUN PLACE DR.FRESNO, TX 77545,

United States. I am one of those that executed Compensation in Nigeria many years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over $15,000 while in the US, trying to get my payment but to all no avail.

So I decided to travel down to Nigeria with all my compensation documents, and I was directed to meet REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS, who is the member of OMPENSATION AWARD COMMITTEE, and I saw him and he explained everything to me. He said whoever is contacting us through emails are fake.

He took me to the paying bank for the claim of my Compensation payment. Right now I am the happiest woman on earth because I have received my compensation funds of $1.5 000.000.00 Moreover, REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS, showed me the full information of
those that are yet to receive their payments and I saw your name as one of the beneficiary, and your email address, that is why I decided to email you to stop dealing with those people, they are not with your und, they are only making money out of you. I will advise you to contact REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS.

You have to contact him direct on this information below.

COMPENSATION AWARD HOUSE

Name: REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS

Email: paulson.section1@qatar.io
Office Address: 13,Cole Street,Ikeja Lagos Nigeria.

You really have to stop dealing with those people that is contacting you and telling you that your fund is with them, it is not in anyway with them, they are only taking advantage of you and they will dry you up until you have nothing.

The only money I paid was just $250usd, take note of that. Once again stop contacting those people, I will advise you to contact REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS so that he can help you to deliver your fund instead of dealing with those liars that will be turning you around asking for different kind of money to complete your transaction.

Thank You and Remain Blessed.
Mrs. Laura Susan Fredrick.
Office Address: 13,Cole Street,Ikeja Lagos Nigeria.

You really have to stop dealing with those people that is contacting you and telling you that your fund is with them, it is not in anyway with them, they are only taking advantage of you and they will dry you up until you have nothing.

The only money I paid was just $250usd, take note of that. Once again stop contacting those people, I will advise you to contact REV. PAULSON WILLIAMS so that he can help you to deliver your fund instead of dealing with those liars that will be turning you around asking for different kind of money to complete your transaction.

Thank You and Remain Blessed.
Mrs. Laura Susan Fredrick.

Dawn Cobianchi

2010-03-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

With many businesses expanding to the Internet world to help lower their operating costs, fraudulent buyers have become increasingly 'astute'. It's easy enough to buy a pair of jeans at a mall, wear them a couple of times and return them; in online sales fraudulent 'buyers' get to keep their money in their wallets and keep the product at the same time.

'Oh so not technical' customers who complaint that they can't open the download are often not surprisingly quick on requesting a refund, putting a charge back and disputing a transaction after being provided excellent and timely customer service. Anything for a freebie!

Us, online retailers are often faced with losses and have to deal with them as a part of doing business.

Let's look at how reputable sources identify 'fraud'.

The definition of 'fraud' taken from The Free Dictionary online is 'a false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.'

Similarly, TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 47, § 1001 of US Code states:

'(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1)falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2)makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3)makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relates to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117, or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years. '

So, in layman terms, 'fraud' is making a promise without intent to perform a certain action, or knowingly and willingly making a statement that is not true as a matter of fact and/or with intend to derive certain benefits or to injure another who is acting upon or is injured as a result of reliance by another on such fraudulent statement.

An owner of cosmetics company that conducts their sales operations mainly online reports that fishy buyers account for about 5% of his sales. Here is how online purchase fraud occurs: a customer browsing online comes across a web site selling onine merchandise. That customer makes a purchase and upon receiving the shipment contacts the merchant claiming that product that arrived did not meet expectations. When the merchant politely agrees to issue a refund and requests the product shipped back, the customer asks if she can keep the product.

An solution that helps prevent physical product refunds is to include a return label in the shipment package. When a customer sees the C.O.D. shipment label, she will think twice whether she wants to go into trouble of requesting a refund knowing that she will not be able to keep the product.

In the event a customer contacts PayPal or the credit card issuer with a request to reverse charges, it is advisable to keep all proof of shipment and all records of communication with the customer that can proof that the product was received and that the customer did not have a problem with the description of the product or receiving the package.

With digital downloads it becomes more difficult. In case with a digital download nothing is shipped, and in many cases there is a grace period in which a customer can request a refund for any reason. This certainly is the case if you are selling a product through ClickBank, a major online digital download retailer.

ClickBank is known for their excellent customer service and prides itself in 100% customer satisfaction.

Here is how a 'savvy' customer Dawn Cobianchi, a Marketing Manager at Morel Eyewear USA easily obtains a refund from ClickBank after receiving two self-improvement e-books on relationship skills for the price of one: (these e-mail communications are posted with Dawn Cobianchi's expressed consent):

Note: E-mails from Dawn Cobianchi posted herein 'as is' without correcting any spelling errors as they appear in original correspondence from Dawn Cobianchi.

On or about March 14, 2010 Dawn Cobianchi made a purchase of an online book teaching women relationship skills sold through ClickBank.

On Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Dawn Cobianchi sent the following e-mail to the publisher and author of the book:

Subject: bad download, wrong product?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 12:53 PM

From: "dawn4homes@aol.com"

Hi all,

I have paid for a book that is not downloading properly. It may be my computer as it is maxed out with Adobe graphics programs.

Rather than asking for a refund is there a print version of I think it is called "Getting Your Boyfriend Back"

Also the title of this email address link appears to be wrong... I may have been confused on your initial web page as there is an overload of information on that page -from a consumer perspective.

Anyway I am a women who needs answers in my personal life and I would like to have a book sent to me - but the correct book?

If there is a difference in price please advise.

Thank you
Dawn

Publisher's response to Dawn Cobianchi

To: dawn4homes@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 16, 2010 3:38 pm
Subject: Re: bad download, wrong product?

Hi Dawn,

If you decide you want to read the book on your computer, please close all currently open Adobe PDF flies, download the latest version of Adobe Reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/, after the download follow the instructions from Adobe to update your software. Once you update it, restart your computer and re-open the file.

If you want the hard copy shipped, please let me know exactly which book you bought, your mailing address and the e-mail used for your transaction; There will be an adjustment in price but I need to know where the shipment is going to calculate shipping charges.

Sincerely

Re: bad download, wrong product? Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:11 PM

From: Dawn Cobianchi "dawn4homes@aol.com"

Yes I would like a hard copy of the book sent... I believe that it was called "Getting Your Boyfriend Back"

My address is:
15 Black Bear Court
Hamburg, NJ 07419

Please let me know, thank you!

Dawn

Note: (the address 15 Black Bear Court Hamburg, NJ 07419 was not found on mapquest or google maps)

Re: bad download, wrong product? Wednesday, March 17, 2010 12:26 AM

From: Dawn Cobianchi "dawn4homes@aol.com"

Yes that is the book that I want... "Getting Your Boyfriend Back"
can you please email me the electronic version to my work address then. I shouldn't have any problems downloading it there.

Can you bill me for the small difference in price or do I have to charge it?

My email address is:
dc@morel-eyewearusa.com

Please let me know... thank you!

Sincerely,
Dawn

To Dawn Cobianchi

On 3/17/10 3:04 AM,

The file is attached. Please let us know you got it

Re: bad download, wrong product? Wednesday, March 17, 2010 1:23 PM

Wed, 3/17/10, Dawn Cobianchi

wrote:

From: Dawn Cobianchi
Subject: Re: bad download, wrong product?
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 1:23 PM

Yes, thank you.... I did receive it.

Sincerely,

Dawn Cobianchi
Marketing Manager

MOREL
Morel Eyewear USA
Toll Free: 800/526-8838
Fax: 888/631-9796
dc@morel-eyewearusa.com
www.morel-france.com

E-Mail From Clickbank comes to publisher about an hour later:

Refund Request, Open Wednesday, March 17, 2010 6:09 PM

From: "ClickBank Notifications"

This is an automated message from the ClickBank.com ticket system to confirm
that this ticket has been created. Below is the most recent comment regarding
this ticket.

CREATED: 2010-03-17 11:09:39 AM
I have contacted the vender in regard to this product not downloading and
possibly being the wrong product? Requesting that a physical copy of the correct
book be mailed to me?

They have not responded and now do not know if the vendor/product was
legitimate?

Can you please refund my credit card?

Sincerely,
Dawn Cobianchi

------------------------------------------------

Above is the customers email.
Thanks,
Clickbank

It appears that Dawn Cobianchi has contacted ClickBank to request a refund for the purchase price of the book.

Dawn Cobianchi received two books for the price of one, and after receiving both books Dawn Cobianchi expeditiously contacted ClickBank to request a refund without notifying the vendor who sent her the products.

From Publisher to Dawn Cobianchi
Marketing Manager

MOREL
Morel Eyewear USA
Toll Free: 800/526-8838
Fax: 888/631-9796
dc@morel-eyewearusa.com
www.morel-france.com

Hi Dawn,

You know, I don't think any of my books will help you get a guy back.

Having a good relationship starts with being a good person.

If you lie, deceive and are a dishonest, conniving, greedy, backstabbing person, who wants to get something for nothing and lies her way through life, you will never have a good relationship..... at least not with a good person... All you will get is people who treat you the same way as you treat others.... perhaps one day you will come to work only to find out that you are not getting your paycheck...

Don't take this as affront against you. Work on yourself. If you want to ever have a loving, supportive relationship with a man, get married and have a family, you cannot start off as taking advantage of people because they can see right through you.

What goes around, comes around. Perhaps this will enlighten you.... because this is the last piece of free advice you will ever get from me.

Regards,

From Dawn Cobianchi:

Re: bad download, wrong product? Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:50 PM
From: "dawn4homes@aol.com"
First of all I would like to say that your message to me was anything but professional and makes me now question if I have spent my money wisely.

About me: I am a sweetheart, loving honest and always put others first.

I met the gentleman I am trying to reconnect with only months a few months ago, a long distance relationship me NJ him NE. We met on an interracial dating site and we were both hooked on each other. I have been single for three years and though on one or two of these sites in the past never took the time to meet any man -but him... -I just had a feeling about us.

We knew we were right for each other right away which is the first time in my life for me –we are both 52 yrs old. We met in Fl in Dec after my annual sales meeting and it was like magic.. and he came to NJ to see me in Jan. I planned every minute of his 4 days here so every moment would be perfect and again it was. He thanked me continuously for making everything so special for him - but I let him know that he didn't need to do that because I did it out of love.

I was supposed to see him in DC on his business meeting around a week ago but while Goggle his name on the net found a web site called MY YEARBOOK. I innocently enough went on the site thinking it was his class reunion site but found it was more like a dating site gone bad. He is very handsome and had some professional pictures posted and his "friends" consisted of almost 500 single women. I could read every comment and each one was about how attractive he was -can I have a bubble bath, I love you -why are you alone on New Years Eve, I should be there with you... some notes from women and comments actually said " I love you" "Are you home now hun.. missing you". Needless to say I was very hurt because he/we both agreed and took down our "dating posts" so it would just be the two of us.

After finding this information we spoke for a matter of seconds that morning I was freaked out and told him to read his email and pretty much hung up on him. The email consisted of all of the conversations that I "cut and pasted" from the web conversations with all of these women. I have not physically spoken to him since as he will not return my calls or text messages it is now over two weeks. All of the messages I have sent to him have been as result of me hurting and needing answers... none were mean -mostly just trying WAY TO HARD for him to talk to me, I let him know that I really loved him and that we could work through it.

Now this is a man who is a sweetheart as well, a great dad, smart, and lives his life for god and his children. A man that told me all the time how much he loved me and how deeply he missed me. He said he couldn't wait to bring me out there within the next year to marry me.

The saddest part for me is that my reason research him on the net in NE was to find the church where he is an active member – because I wanted to buy a mass card in memory of his mom and send it to him for Easter with some things for his little girls.

He told me everyday that he loved both by text message each morning and we spoke EVERY day on the phone and shared our lives.

So the only thing I know that I am guilty of is text message, email and voice mail overload -trying to get him to talk to me so I can have some closure or understand what it going on.

I have also invested $400 in a flight to see him which is 3 weeks from now and have asked him several times to ask him what I shoud do... cancel it, come out and if so if he might help me with the cancellation fee due to the circumstances?

So the next time -if you really are a professional you should think before you judge someone and ever send an email as unprofessional as the one that you sent to me.

I am just hurting and looking for closure... I now wonder if there is any merit in the book that I have purchased from you -which I have not yet had a chance to take a peek at.

Also from a business perspective you are a bit confused... I never asked you for free advice, I have the receipt right in front of me... it clearly says that I was billed $39.97.

I would like very much to post your comments to me on the internet.. If that is the way you really feel towards women who are buying your books -Are you for real or a scam artist?

All the best to you - You may want to check into some councelling for yourself :)

Dawn

Disclaimer: In writing this post the author has attempted to stay as neutral as possible and only document the facts as they are known to be true. No part of this article should be construed as legal advice.

Mizzen Media Management InstaConversions Scam Alert

2010-02-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

If you have received a spam message from the company Mizzen Media Management, website http://mizzenmedia.com or http://instaconversions.mizzenmedia.com or Joanna Wilcox at Mizzen Media Management, beware of these scam artists!

They go around sending you tons of unsolicited junk mail and they won't stop! They flood you with junk mail to your server day and night. When you block them, they expeditiously change their e-mail address from which they spam you and continue their fraudulent deceptive practices. The worst thing is that Mizzen Media Management is located in Canada, meaning that they don't fall under the FTC laws and you can't report them to FTC for that reason. FTC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute these crooks!

Here are three e-mails I received from Mizzen Media Management in less than 24 hours. And there was no way to block them from sending me any more spam messages!

Hello Marketing Manager,

My name is Joanna and I am a merchant manager at Mizzen Media Management; our company specializes in providing performance based solutions to merchants in order to increase their online sales.

I will be brief. We have developed a program named InstaConversions (http://instaconversions.mizzenmedia.com) whereby a sophisticated automated sales personality we call 'Summer' appears when a potential customer is about to exit your site (essentially a lost sale). Summer answers questions, highlights discounts and/or incentives, and then guides the customer back to your sales page. We have found that companies that incorporate Summer into their websites typically see a 10%-30% increase in their overall conversions.

InstaConversions is management intensive on our end since our agent and her chat logs are monitored DAILY to fully customize her responses to your unique client base. Given this, we have only made it available to select merchants, however I have looked closely at your website and believe that due to the volume of visitors and the quality of your sales page that it would be a great fit for our InstaConversions program.

Pricing is based purely on performance. Mizzen Media either joins your current affiliate program or is paid a flat fee per sale. There are no set up or monthly fees and a performance model ensures we are highly motivated to generate the most sales possible.

Our website outlining the program in full can be found at: http://instaconversions.mizzenmediacom

I'd be pleased to answer any questions you may have - please give me a call at 1 800 483 0569 or email me to get the ball rolling.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

-----------------------
Joanna Wilcox
Marketing Associate
Mizzen Media Management
http://mizzenmedia.com
T: 1 800 483 0569
F: 1 800 393 5423

p.s.
We have a demo version of Summer's interactions and we encourage you to have a look and see how attractive and professional our automated sales person would look on

Hello Marketing Manager of your site,

I am following up on an email I sent recently regarding our InstaConversions automated sales personality and the potential benefits it could bring to your company. I have analyzed and verified that your website would be an excellent fit for our program, and am eager to discuss this potential collaboration with you.

Our website (http://instaconversions.com) has a full description of the the program, as well as a demo version of Summer's interactions – we encourage you to have a look to see how professional our automated sales person could look on your site.

Please feel free to email anytime, or simply give me a call at 1 800 483 0569 and I can answer any questions to help get you started.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

-----------------------
Joanna Wilcox
Marketing Associate
Mizzen Media Management
http://mizzenmedia.com
T: 1 800 483 0569
F: 1 800 393 5423

Hello Marketing Manager,

I am following up on my two previous emails regarding our InstaConversions program.

As I mentioned earlier, since our model is very management intensive and compensation is based solely on performance, we are very selective in who we approach to collaborate with. Your particular company appears to meet our criteria very nicely and we are keen to discuss this potential partnership further.

Hard numbers speak volumes, and we find that almost instantly InstaConversions tends to increase our clients sales by 10-30%. Please give me a call at 1 800 483 0569 - I'd love to spend some time explaining how our exciting program can yield the same great results for

Yours sincerely,

-----------------------
Joanna Wilcox
Marketing Associate
Mizzen Media Management
http://mizzenmedia.com
T: 1 800 483 0569
F: 1 800 393 5423

p.s.
an interactive demo of our automated sales personality 'Summer' can be seen at instaconversions.com

After the first message I was irritated. We all hate spam, but can't avoid it once in a while. Apparently they got my e-mail address from one of my websites. Don't know if they used a piece of software that gathers e-mail addresses from websites or someone went to my site in person.

I marked the message from Mizzen Media Management as spam and figured they'd leave me alone at this point.

But as you can see, another message came in almost the same day, or the following day.

I blacklisted joanna@mizzenmedia.com and indicated that I want all future e-mail coming from this e-mail address to be deleted immediately. Yet, the same day I received a third e-mail from the same spammer. I don't know what to do at this point!

What can I do to prevent future spam from these con artists Mizzen Media Management, http://mizzenmedia.com, and http://instaconversions.mizzenmedia.com? Any advice? It is clear that Mizzen Media Management is breaking consumer laws, anti-spam law, and possibly other conventions but if they are in Canada, they are unreachable? I checked their IP address 208.91.131.171 and it appears that this IP address is on multiple lists that report spammers on the Internet, so clearly there are a lot of spam complains against Mizzen Media Management. What can I do as a consumer to protect myself from Mizzen Media Management? Any advice and help is greatly appreciated! Please leave your comment.

This post is filed under: Mizzen Media Management, joanna@mizzenmedia.com, instaconversions

The Magic Of Making Up |Is The Magic Of Making Up a Scam? Find Out Here

2009-12-19T23:34:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for information about The Magic Of Making Up e-book by T.W. Jackson, also known as T Dub, you have probably found yourself in a situation where you or someone you know needs advice on getting ex back. Find Out if it's a scam or not ==> Click Here To Read!

You have read all the buzz around The Magic Of Making Up, but are not sure whether this book is a scam or a real deal.

Moreover, you want to know if this e-book will help you in your situation, and whether the advice laid out in The Magic Of Making Up can help in your specific situation.

This review will help you decide whether the Magic Of Making Up is right for you.

The Magic of Making Up is a sixty-four page book. The author, T Dub (or TW Jackson) wrote this book a couple of years ago.

T Dub claims that he has helped 50,111 people in 77 countries.

According to T Dub, he receives copious e-mails from folks who have bought his e-book and used the advice to get their ex's back. He also goes on to actually show the e-mail testimonials received from his customers. This makes it look legitimate because it is hard to imagine that T Dub would be able to write as many e-mails himself as he shows on his computer screen.

The Magic Of Making Up is a simple book written in a user-friendly, concise manner, and yet it has some eye opening advice.

For instance, it shows you the so-called 'instant reconnection' technique, that can be very handy when you first meet your ex after separation.

The drawback in our opinion is that The Magic Of Making Up is not a gender-specific e-book, and the advice given can suit both genders. Although clearly distinguishes between the specifics of getting a woman back versus getting a man back, we think that T Dub could have elaborated more of both topics.

The price of the book is industry standard and comparable to the price of other books on the subject of getting your ex back.

T Dub also offers the book in a MP3 format, but you can only get the MP3 together with the PDF e-book an a small additional price.

Many folks who have busy jobs or commute long hours will find the MP3 version of the Magic Of Making Up handy. You can listen to it while you are driving to work, or while relaxing at home after work.

Lastly, read the testimonials on this page very carefully before you make your final decision on whether to buy The Magic Of Making Up, and carefully compare the success stories with your situation. Ask yourself, is my situation similar to whose who gave T Dub These Testimonials. If so, you are on the right path to getting your ex back.

See Also: get my boyfriend back

Another Internet Scam - Have You Gotten This E-Mail?

2009-03-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a new Internet scam e-mail I just got today. If you have gotten the same e-mail, leave a comment in the comment section of this blog post.

From: M. David Malumo
Phone: +27-71-082-4945
Email: malumodavid@yahoo.com.hk

I know that this will come to you as a surprise since we don’t know each other before. For the purpose of introduction, I am Mr Mpumelelo David Malumo General Manager Commercial Fuels & Lubricants, Sasol, Johannesburg, in South Africa. After due deliberation , I decided to contact you for your assistance in standing as benefactor to the sum of US$30.5Million (Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) equivalent because, I and two other colleagues are currently in need of a silent foreign partner whose identity we can use to transfer the said sum. This fund accrued legitimately to us as commission from foreign contracts with Department of Mining & Energy and Sasol Group, through our private connections.

The fund is presently waiting to be remitted from ABSA bank here in South Africa to any overseas beneficiary confirmed by us as associate/receiver. By virtue of our positions as civil servants in my country, we cannot acquire this money in our names. Because as high placed civil servants, we are not allowed by the civil service code of conduct to own or operate bank accounts outside of our shores. On the other hand, it is not safe for us to keep the money here due to unstable political environment. I have been mandated as a matter of trust by my colleagues, to look for an overseas silent partner who could work with us to facilitate transfer of this fund for our mutual benefit, hence the reason for this email. What I am requesting from you is:

(1) to be our silent partner and receive the funds as the sole benefactor to the contract amount which we shall secure all legal documentation to authenticate our claim.

(2) Provide a private telephone and fax number for easy communication under your control

(3)Receive the funds as the beneficiary, take out your commission after tax and keep the rest of the money until I arrive there to meet you after the transfer is completed.

My proposal is that after you receive the funds, it would be shared as follows: (1) 15% to you as commission for your co-operation and assistance in facilitating the transfer, while the remaining 85% belongs to me and two colleagues. You will be free to take out your commission immediately after the money hits your country. Since our objective is to invest the money in a foreign country, it would be appreciated if you could also help us with advices and direction on investing into profitable/lucrative ventures in your country for an additional 3%. However, this is optional, and if it is not convenient for you to further assist us with investing the money, we can end our cooperation after you make available to us our part of the money.

The transaction, although discrete, is legitimate and the money will be transferred successfully with all necessary back-up official documents showing legitimate source/origin of fund. The transfer will be affected within a period not longer than two weeks as soon as we reach an agreement and you furnish me with a suitable response indicating your interest for processing the transfer. I plead with you on one issue, whether you are interested or not, kindly do not expose this information to any one else. I confirm that the transaction is legitimate and without any risks either to us or yourself. Please, give me your response immediately by return mail through my alternate email: malumodavid@yahoo.com.hk

Yours Truly,
M. David Malumo.

Strawberrynet.com Fraud

2008-11-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Strawberrynet.com fraudulent charges. Today I logged onto my bank account online and found out that I was charged for something through my verified PayPal account. I did not recognize the charges, called my bank and disputed the transaction. Further investigation into my PayPal account history showed unauthorized charges from a payee Strawberrynet.com. I have to say that I have never previously heard of such company or never even thought of buying fragrances (the products they sell) online.

Transaction was immediately disputed with PayPal and reaffirmed that it was cancelled that I would not be charged for said transaction. What the PayPal rep advised is that I change my account password and security questions and that an investigation will take place and I will be notified as to the outcome.

Dealing with PayPal is great and having a verified account is convenient for some purposes, however, it is just as easy to get your e-mail and your password and charge fraudulent transactions on your PayPal account. It is just as easy to pull money from a verified bank account to cover the cost of the fraudulent transaction.

Simple web search showed that Strawberrynet.com has been previously a recipient of money from unauthorized transaction. Apparently Strawberrynet.com is located in Hong Kong and are doing “business” overseas. Be wary when doing business with out-of-country online sellers and especially Strawberrynet.com. It is currently unknown how the fraudulent transaction occurred on my account, but when dealing with this seller, be very cautious.

Attorney Rip Off

2008-11-21T14:55:00.001-08:00

Attorneys rip offs are a recent hit thing. Lawyer scams have been recently reported all over the US, however, they are not yet as common as more "traditional" Nigerian and Russian scams. Here is how it works. An attorney receives an e-mail from out of country asking for assistance in some legal or financial matter. An attorney checks the information of the sender, verifies that the contact information is legitimate and transfers money abroad. The check received from the foreign "client" is deposited in the attorney's trust account. Days later the lawyer learns that the check is fake, alas the money is gone and who cashed the attorneys' check is unknown. Read a real e-mail received by many victims recently at attorney scam.

Christian Carter Scam or Not?

2008-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Some women who have purchased Christian Carter’s book Catch Him and Keep Him presume that the voluntary singing up for his monthly subscription program is a scam, to which I must rebut. When you buy Catch Him and Keep Him, READ what it says. It has an option to sign up for additional information that is delivered to you monthly. And when you do leave that check mark on, you will receive digital products IN ADDITION to the book. This is not included in the price of the book and the first month I believe is free after which you just have to cancel. As an alternative, you may opt to never receive additional products in which case you will never be charged an additional fee.

If you do, you can cancel Christian Carter at any time. By the way, you can buy it by clicking here or ==> Read More About Catch Him and Keep Him >>>

To learn more about Christian Carter's Catch Him and Keep Him and other relationship products, simply enter your name and e-mail address in the form below to receive information and reviews about Christian Carter's book and other products for women. Be sure to confirm your subscription to our newsletter - You will receive an e-mail immediately after you submit your information, so be sure to check your inbox and click on the confirmation link in the message. If you don't see the message, check your spam box and add our e-mail to your white list, so you don't miss any more e-mails from me. You can un-subscribe at any time.

===================================================================
===================================================================

See, a lot of women are so eager to buy and read Catch Him and Keep Him that they don’t pay attention. Then they receive the additional products and think, cool! A month later their credit cards get charged and they go what the heck is it for? When you buy something online, look what it says. Look what you are paying for. Pay attention if it says, monthly subscription or not. If you contact Christian Carter’s office and explain the situation you will get your refund if you did not intend to purchase additional products, however I strongly urge you to actually read what you are signing before you do.

Christian Carter is a world-leading relationship coach who has millions of subscribers. He didn’t make his name by scamming people, so I really have to rebut this presumption. He has in fact indicated that he in the past has returned people’s money for the subscription when they requested a refund. So, don’t panic. Send him an e-mail and your money will be refunded, not for the book, but for the subscription.

As far as the book goes, you can download it free for seven days. After that you get charged unless you cancel. There are some scummy people who just want to download the book and get their money back. This will backfire on them. Sometimes I just think, what is it really worth to you to get your dating life back in order? Isn’t it worth the twenty-five bucks? Someone has worked hard to put this information together for you. And this is someone’s sole income.

Christian Carter is a relationship coach whose sole income is writing amazing books for women to help them in their dating life. If you want his book free, how would you feel if your boss told you, hey this week you are not getting paid for your job? So, what makes it normal to take the hard earned money from someone who has worked hard to help YOU? Buy the book , swallow the cost and move on. I hope the book helps you and it will. But if you want to be scummy, it will surely backfire. If you’ve enjoyed Christian Carter’s Catch Him and Keep Him, you may also like How To Find a Husband Book

Get More Buyers Review|Michael Rasmussen

2008-11-02T04:39:00.000-08:00

If you are in the business of making money online, you’ve probably heard of a highly publicized program called “Get More Buyers” by Michael Rasmussen. I was curious hearing all the hype about Get More Buyers, as well as Michael Rasmussen’s newsletters urging to “buy now won’t last” which is a recognized strategy of someone who has been in the business of making money online for even a short period of time. It works like this, “Buy now at this price or we’ll increase the price tomorrow and when you wake up in the morning it won’t be there.” Or, “You will only see this page once, so act now!” which is total BS because all you need to do to see this page again is copy and save the url and you can see this special “one time offer” every day of your life if you like.

Now, I’ve just started reading Get More Buyers, and I am not offering you to buy Get More Buyers through my ClickBank affiliate link, because I am not a complete idiot and I understand that if I try to sell something to other affiliates, I am wasting my time. Those who may be interested in Michael Rasmussen’s Get More Buyers are perfectly happy using their own affiliate links to buy Get More Buyers for their own use. I really don’t understand why there are so many reviews for this book. Get More Buyers is an expensive ClickBank product. Not to mention, Michael Rasmussen’s success in online marketing and his obvious connections in this industry is what has made Get More Buyers so popular and credible. However, Get More Buyers in my opinion while being a legitimate product has major downside and flawed core.

I will explain this in a moment. See, Michael Rasmussen is an Internet marketer. Thus his product is based on Michael’s knowledge of this narrow niche which is what makes his product completely useless for those who do not target affiliate marketers as their buyers. Michael sells to online marketers. There is nothing that I have read in Get More Buyers so far (I apologize if I am mistaking about this) that teaches how to sell to those who are NOT Internet marketers.

Example: one of the advanced strategies technique is based on merely selling to future potential affiliates for that same exact product you are trying to sell. Enough said, I won’t tell you the exact “secrets”, but based on that, the whole strategy of Get More Buyers is built around the fact that your buyers are in the affiliate marketing and is based on growing your affiliate base from your buyers.

Excuse me, but this does not work for me. I do not sell to other online marketers, thus I cannot even start implementing these strategies, because they actually start with selling to future affiliates. I am sorry to say that but the niche I am in is simply not interested in ever becoming Internet marketers, thus I cannot approach other Internet marketers asking them to buy the “cheap product” I am offering because they are not interested in buying it merely because my product is NOT about how to make money online. By the same token my actual buyers are mostly career people, in their thirties, forties, and fifties who have jobs and are not interested in becoming online marketers. Thus I cannot possibly turn my buyers into promoters of my product.

One last thing, if I wanted to make a use out of Michael’s product, I’d have to become a Make-Money-Online type Internet marketer. And then, of course, Michael is encouraging us to become affiliates for his Get More Buyers book and sell it. I really don’t understand why someone would miss an opportunity to grab an affiliate link to Michael’s book BEFORE buying it. If you are that stupid that you don’t even realize that you should buy through your own affiliate link, then you probably won’t benefit from the contents of the book either. But if you must see the sales page for Get More Buyers, go to GetMoreBuyers.com

Entrecard Fraud

2008-10-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

It would seem the bigger the company, the more neglectful employees they hire. Recently one of the fellow bloggers complainted that Entrecard took the money, deleted the account and refused to return the money. All because of a mistake. Here is the crux of the complaint:

I have NEVER been more infuriated by the rudeness of any company in the ENTIRE WORLD than Entrecard. I am so completely frustrated right now. I just opened an account to buy advertising for my blog, and because I mistyped the URL to my blog some support person sent me a very rude email telling me it was deleted followed up by a personalized EVEN MORE RUDE email telling me that my money would NOT be refunded!

This is unbelievable and I am left to report them to the better business bureau. This is also the SECOND time I have been deleted for a stupid reason. This is completely unprofessional of them and I will no longer have a thing to do with them. Forget it!Where else do people buy cheap advertising?

Well, if you want to know how this ended, the client was finally able to get the money back. But as she says, it is not about the money, but about the integrity of the company.

Washington Mutual Fraud Law Suit Filed By An Individual Investor

2008-10-10T05:08:00.001-07:00

WaMu Fraud is the top news headlines. But Washington Mutual securities fraud is a separate cause of action from what many shareholders presume. Shareholders are in the hole and are desperate to recover their losses.

A law suit filed by an individual investor in Los Angeles County fails to state cause of action. The crux of the case is, a shareholder who left without his investment sued Washington Mutual and JP Morgan Chase in Municipal Court of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Branch. The law suit that was filed alleges fraud on the part of both companies involved in the Washington Mutual and JP Morgan Chase merger. The summary of the court case can be found at Disgruntled WaMu Shareholders Sue Washington Mutual and Chase

Equity Residential Fixes They Accounting Errors Finally

2008-09-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I previously wrote about Equity Residential billing fraud and I promised to follow up. After further communication with the Equity Residential management I convinced them that the wrongdoing was on their part. The staff in charge of accounting at Whispering Oaks after pointing out the flawed calculations in my records was finally convinced that a first grader would see that she and her accounting procedures were wrong. I suggested that she stay overnight or however long it would take her to make simple math and left. I said I didn’t have enough time to sit there waiting for her to do first grade math. When I went to Whispering Oaks office the next time to drop off my rent check, the accounting error was fixed.

Additionally I wanted to give an update of the utilities policy. Apparently other residents had complained to Equity Residential headquarters, so Equity Residential issued and distributed new utilities policies and payment explanation. According to Equity Residential letter that was passed around to all the residents now Equity Residential charges boiler and sewer fees in addition to our regular water and garbage bill. Out water and garbage bill used to be somewhere around $20-$30/mo. Now it is near $100, more like $100 for one person, and more for two and more people per apartment. Living at Equity Residential at this rate, especially with the increasing rent has become unjust. My one bedroom apartment has gone up over $300 in two years. While it was reasonable two years ago considering the favorable downtown location of Whispering Oaks, now the property does not justify the high price.

I have seen in forums that a lot of people complain about Whispering Oaks, saying the rent is too high for what you are getting. Creekside Dr. is a high crime area with multiple car burglaries happening on this street consistently. This part of town is the ghetto of Walnut Creek which is considered a pretty upscale area. I don’t understand the significant increase in rent over the past two years. Other than the fiasco of the financial and mortgage markets, and people losing their homes due to increased variable rates and the high number of foreclosures, and increasing home mortgage rates, many homeowners are forced into foreclosure and moving into apartments. Naturally, the rental real estate is booming allowing it’s owners to profit on renters who have been forced out of their homes.

Equity Residential Cross-Country Fraud

2008-07-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

To follow up on the earlier post with regard to Equity Residential billing fraud, I did some research. Equity Residential is a large company and I was not surprised when its name came up several times in search results.

RipOffReport has mentioned Equity Residential eight times. Consumers from all over the country have reported similar issues with Equity Residential fraudulent accounting procedures, unjust enrichment and overbilling.

ApartmentReviews had three reviews that listed similar issues; incompetency of the apartment management staff, their inability to resolve accounting misconduct and lack of interest in working with the residents toward problem resolution. I left mine there as well.

It appears that many consumers across the country have reported that Equity Residential has continually engaged in collection on paid invoices, illegal collections from residents who have moved away and later found out that they were being sued by Equity Residential.

A simple search of court records in Contra Costa county superior court, Walnut Creek branch, has shown pages of records for Whispering Oaks Apartments, a complex owned by Equity Residential. I was advised to contact Fair Housing, HUD and Better Business Bureau. I will be posting updates shortly.

If you are familiar with Equity Residential or Whispering Oaks Apartments in Walnut Creek, CA, and have a story you want to share, send me an e-mail activetrader925 at yahoo

Equity Residential engaged in unfair and misleading practices

2008-07-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of residential housing in the US has been alleged in fraudulent practices and overbilling its customers.

I personally have been a resident at one of the Equity Residential Properties apartment complexes in California for over two years. Over the course of my residency at Equity Residential I have encountered numerous problems which were caused by negligent accounting practices and incompetency of the property management at my complex.

My first problems started when I, at the end of my initial lease term, requested a transfer into a larger apartment. I was told that in order to move into a new apartment within the same complex that was controlled by the same management, I had to put in a new deposit. When I asked the management at Equity why they simply could not roll over the deposit from the old apartment to the new one, they didn’t give me a legitimate explanation, but said that it was how they decided to do it.

After I put in the deposit on the new apartment and moved I expected a check from Equity Residential as their apartment management had assured me that a check would be arriving shortly in the mail.

The check never arrived. A month later I went to the property management office to inquire about my security deposit. A leasing specialist at Equity Residential pulled out my record and informed me that a bill would be arriving in the mail shortly and that after they have cleaned out my $800 security deposit in some bogus charges, I still owed them some amount, which was around fifty dollars if I remember correctly. I asked what the charges were for, to which Equity Residential leasing consultant said that the charges were for carpet cleaning and that it was usual business for Equity Residential to deduct money from its residents’ security deposit to pay for carpet cleaning. A leasing consultant giggled and said I got lucky that my carpet was still brand new and that because of that Equity Residential decided not to replace carpet at in my old apartment at this time.

She said I would have been charged additional amount for replacing carpet in my whole apartment and would have owed Equity Residential even higher balance.

When I inquired about the carpet cleaning bill, the leasing consultant presented me with a bill from the carpet cleaning company. The charges were around $300 and when I asked about the remaining balance of my security deposit after the carpet cleaning charges, she seemed astounded. She said that my deposit had been rolled over to the apartment I was currently occupying. She contended that because the security deposit on the old apartment was for some reason higher by $300 than the deposit on the apartment I was currently renting ($800 – on the old apartment v. $500 on the new apartment), after deducting carpet cleaning charges from my security deposit, I still owed Equity Residential Properties some money.

I pointed out that I had in fact put down a second security deposit, but the leasing consultant contended there was no record of me putting down a brand new deposit on the new apartment lease.

Needless to say, I was trying to involve my attorneys, and after showing Equity Residential management receipts from cashier’s check for the new security deposit, they finally agreed to send me some money, which it took Equity Residential another month or two to come up with a check.

Luckily for me, I have not had much interaction with Equity Residential until now when my lease came to its expiration again.

A month before the expiration date of my lease, Equity Residential notified me that my new lease would be increased by $141 ($1,260 v. $1,119). I went to the property management office to see if I could move to another apartment of the same size at a lower rate. The management staff said they did not have anything available cheaper than that until I showed them Craigslist advertisement for the same apartment complex where Equity Residential claimed the rent for the same size and type of apartment nearly two hundred dollars cheaper.

A leasing consultant pulled out the rate sheet and found several vacant apartments and apartments about to become vacant that were priced cheaper than my renewal rate. She said that vacant apartments were priced lower than renewal rate in order to get new residents in. But knowing that I would not be getting my $500 deposit back and may even end up with Equity Residential coming after me for more money in bogus charges (as a quick research of court records showed Equity Residential highly litigious practices with respect to its renters), I decided to save myself a headache and renewed my lease at $1260/mo.

Immediately after signing a new lease agreement, I asked Equity Residential accounting department to calculate my rent for the month of July 2008. I asked to calculate the prorated rent at $1,119/mo for the first eight days, add up the prorated rent for the remainder of the month at the new rate, and add the water and garbage bill that Equity Residential includes into the monthly rent. The amount of calculations came up to a figure that was for rent alone higher than my new rent and together with the water and garbage was around fourteen hundred. When I first looked at the itemized calculations, I could not understand why my rent alone, which was supposed to be lower than the new rent, was listed higher than my monthly rent at the new rate. Additionally, the utilities bill was nearly $65 for water and garbage, which was twice as high as it had been historically.

When I pointed out to the Equity Residential accounting that even a child could see the discrepancy, they agreed to recalculate the amounts, which came to a more legitimate figure. I wrote a check to Equity Residential which included both my monthly rent and utilities, and left immediately after Equity Residential leasing consultant accepted the check. Here is what the calculations came to:

$1,119/mo/31 daysX8=$288.77

$1,260/mo/31 daysX23=$934.84

Total Rent for July 2008 $1,223.61

Water and garbage bill $65.49

Total Rent and Utilities 1,289.10

A staff member at Equity Residential wrote a note with the calculations which I kept.
Approximately two weeks after Equity Residential accepted my check, I received a three-day notice to pay or vacate that Equity Residential staff pinned on my door. I was away for vacation, and the humiliating note stayed on my door until I got back in town.

Having had enough of problems with Equity Residential, I sought advice from several attorneys, who have suggested that I keep proper records of the happenings.

As my August rent payment came closer, I received another threatening note from Equity Residential suggesting that I owe them for the water and garbage for the month of July along with the rent and utilities for August, and that no partial payment will be accepted.

I was in the hopes that once Equity Residential reviews its records for their accounting errors, they would get off my back. That didn’t happen.

Today, making my way out of my apartment building I saw a note pinned on the hallway billboard where residents post lost cat and moving sale notes. The note said, “Stop! Have you looked at your utilities bill?” Basically, another resident of Whispering Oaks, which is my apartment complex owned by Equity Residential suggested that we (renters at Whispering Oaks) have been charged for boiler fees, and other fees in addition to water and garbage that Equity Residential have been regularly passing onto its residents without our expressed consent and our permission, and which was not a part of our lease agreement.

Looks like further investigation into Equity Residential’ and Whispering Oaks’ unfair accounting practices is much needed. I will update this blog as investigation moves along. Don’t forget to subscribe to my fee reader to get the updates of this investigation.

Wells Fargo not returning a client's money

2008-07-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

You would think that a large financial institution such as Wells Fargo bank should have their business under control. Yet again, Wells Fargo’s Business Direct, which is Wells Fargo Business Credit Card Department that reportedly employs forty bankers, screwed up.

I first opened a Wells Fargo business credit card account for my new business back in 2006. It was a brand new enterprise, and thus I was offered a secured credit card. The credit card limit would limited by the amount of the collateral that I was required to put in the bank in order to have said secured credit card. I applied for a secured credit card with the credit limit of one thousand dollars, which was secured by opening a separate savings account at Wells Fargo as collateral and by depositing one thousand dollars into said collateral account.

In the beginning of 2007 I decided that I no longer needed said secured credit card and I went to a local Wells Fargo branch to request closure of the credit card account. The trip to the branch was useless, as branch personal advised that because the credit card was in fact a secured credit card that required return of the collateral, the only way to close the credit card account and to get the collateral refunded was to call a toll-free number on the back of the card.

Upon returning home, I called the number on the back of my credit card. The Wells Fargo rep that I spoke with said that for some strange reason she could not close the credit card account over the phone and that in order to close my credit account she needed to send me some paperwork for me to sing. She said the paperwork would be arriving in the mail within a few days. At that time the card was already paid off.

I waited and waited. No papers from Wells Fargo ever appeared in the mail. I went to a retail branch again. Needless to say, that trip was as useless as the first one was. Once again, I was advised to call the number on the back of the credit card.

I called. The rep on the phone put me on hold for a long time. When he returned, I was told I would be transferred to someone else. That someone else was in fact the first person who was somewhat helpful. The first thing that he said to me was “I don’t understand why they couldn’t do it at a branch.” Well, that was a relief! After apologizing profusely, that someone else assured me that the credit card was now closed. However, while I was waiting for the promised paperwork since the first time I called to have the account closed, I incurred an annual fee in the amount of $25, which was now bringing my credit card balance to $25!

However, the rep explained that he was going to take care of the annual fee by reversing it, which would make my account balance zero. He said, however, that would take some time and that while the fee was refunded, the credit card account could not be closed. He assured me though, that once the annual fee was reversed, the credit card account would be closed.
Later on I received a letter stating that my credit card account was closed. Yet, no refund of collateral was issued. With the letter that I received from the credit card department I went to a local branch. Local branch personnel was not helpful (as always) until I insisted that they make the necessary phone calls. I expressed in a polite manner how frustrating it has been doing business with Wells Fargo and how long it took to do a simple things such as closing a credit card account.

Branch personnel made a phone call to the appropriate department. The person on the phone said that for collateral account it takes up to thirty days to issue a refund check. I was assured that I would be receiving a check within thirty days, but no later them thirty days since the day the credit card account was officially closed.

Thirty days went by. Still no check. Another ten days went by. I went to the same Wells Fargo branch again. A personal banker that I spoke with said that she had no access to see what went on with my credit card account, since the account was closed. Again, she advised that I call the number on the back of the credit card.

When I told her the whole story and how painful it had been to deal with Wells Fargo regarding this issue, she started pointing at her computer screen frantically repeating over and over that she had no access to said credit card account.

“Look,” I said, “I don’t care how you handle that. Wells Fargo owes me money. If I don’t get resolution of this problem today, the next call your bank will be receiving with regard to this matter will be from my attorney.”

“I can call the business credit card department,” she said.

“Please,” I said.

The banker dialed a number on the phone and after speaking with someone she was transferred to another department. Finally it was the department that handles business credit cards. The banker explained the situation. After hearing what the Business Direct rep on the phone replied to her, the banker offered the telephone to me.

What I heard was beyond audacity. Business Direct representative told me that my card was NOT a secured credit card.

“Excuse me?” I said. “Are you saying that there was never a collateral to the account?”

“No,” she said, “it wasn’t a secured credit card.”

“But how could that be?” I exclaimed.

“There wasn’t a collateral,” she repeated. “I don’t show any note on the account that it was secured.”

“But I know it was!” I exclaimed. “I gave Wells Fargo a thousand dollars to have this secured credit card open for me!”

“Well,” she stammered, “if there was a collateral, it must have been taken to cover the unpaid balance on the card.”

“But there was no balance,” I said, “I paid the card off long before it was closed and I did not charge anything else on it.”

Now when I think of it, it was even stranger since even if Wells Fargo tried to pull this on me and take some money for what they claim the unpaid balance was, there was no way that the alleged unpaid balance would be exactly the same as the credit card limit.

Wrapping up my conversation with the Business Direct representative, I asked if she had any idea of how we could proceed toward the resolution of this problem.

“I will look into that and have the department investigate the reasons why your collateral was not returned. Give us a call at this number sometime tomorrow and we’ll tell you why you did not receive a refund. If there was an error on our part, we’ll let you know; or we’ll let you know why you are not getting any money back.”

To summarize, I first attempted to close this credit card account in March 2008. It has been four months since, and it doesn’t look like I am ever going to get my money back. It is interesting to me and I am very curious, how in the world does Wells Fargo do its accounting. If money comes from somewhere, it should go somewhere. The collateral account was on my name and I wonder what kind of creative accounting one should do to have a thousand dollars magically disappear? Imagine this; you take a thousand dollars and put it into a bank account. When you come back to draw your thousand dollars from your bank account, the thousand dollars is gone. I wonder if self-proclaimed “accounting professionals” such as this financial institution in fact ever studies accounting.

GPNETHELP.COM Cancellation

2008-01-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

I recently wrote an article about my personal experiences dealing with Florida-based GPNETHELP.COM. The article is called Dating Site Subscription Cancellation and can be found here. When I wrote the article about GPNETHELP.COM, I still had erroneous pending charges that GPNETHELP.COM imposed on me. Since I attempted to resolve the issue of repeat erroneous billing from GPNETHELP.COM that was imposed on me by GPNETHELP.COM on behalf of WealthyMen.com, I have found out that GPNETHELP.COM has had multiple issues of a similar nature reported by consumers across the country. To be fair and accurate, I have to say that since I posted my previous article, the issue has been eventually resolved and the erroneous charges have been refunded by GPNETHELP.COM

However, before GPNETHELP.COM got around to finally resolving the problem, I decided to take a step further and do a bit of a research into the issue of the negligent wrongdoings that were reported by other GPNETHELP.COM customers.

First of all, GPNETHELP.COM handles billing for three dating sites: FLING.COM, WEBDATE.COM, and WEALTHYMEN.COM. My research has shown that GPNETHELP.COM was consistent in imposing fraudulent charges on consumers. I personally have never been a member of FLING.COM and have never heard of WEBDATE.COM. However, WealthyMen.com is a site that has many members and is rather a popular website. Of course, WealthyMen.com is not an industry leading dating site such as Match.com or Yahoo Personals, but I was astound that they have decided to do business with a company such as GPNETHELP.COM, which apparently exercises negligence in their business conduct.

If you have been a victim of misconduct by GPNETHELP.COM, please, comment in the comment section of this post.

Free to Email, No Credit Card Required.
Start Searching Now!
Singlesnet.com