Storesonline Incstoresonline Inc Galaxy Mall Imergent Inc. Imergentc Inc. Netgateway deceptive business practices victimized many consumers Orem Utah

 

On January 3, 2003 my girlfriend and I attended a "seminar" on internet marketing offered by Stores Online. I had been solicited through a direct mailing and had previously attended a free informational seminar. We paid $20 to attend the full day seminar held at the Sheraton in Tacoma, WA. During the course of the seminar they had several people running around to process credit information and whenever there was a break we were pressured into making a decision NOW or it would cost more if we waited.

This company said that we could set up a storefront through their Store Building package which we could purchase that day at a discounted price. They promised free technical support and help to develop these storefronts. People were being asked to buy 6 of these storefronts, we elected to only buy 3. Some of the seminar was conducted by a person who said he had had great success and was there because he was so grateful to StoresOnline for his success and wanted to share it with all of us. We gave them $500 against a debit card and signed contract for the balance of $2899. There was a great deal of pressure applied personally every time there was a break.

They said they would finance anyone. Jake Cannon, the young man who was working us came back with the information that I had "slightly" better credit than my girlfriend and therefore should put it in my name. I should have known then because my girlfriend is going through a divorce and is in debt heavily. After we returned home and had a chance to look at the package we decided that we should research this company. We do not possess the technical knowledge needed to "build" our own storefront. To get this knowledge we need to use their technical services and this is not a free service. At that point we knew we had been duped.

We started doing more research on the company and found that it's business practices are shady at best. They function under the names of StoresOnline, Galaxy Mall, Imergent, Imergentc. We found the Ripoff Report and were dismayed to find that we were not the only people who had been duped. We read a report that a consumer had put the cd in his computer and tried to run it. He had windows XP, as do we, and the cd jammed his computer. We decided not to take that chance. We decided to return the materials and cancel the contract under the 3 day right of recission law. Even though their contract states that we have no such right, the laws of our state are very specific about what our rights are. The FTC states that we are entitled to this right for any transaction held as a seminar in a banquet room of a hotel.

We sent our materials via UPS and they were accepted by the company. We wrote to Mr. Poelman and expressed our displeasure and our intent to cancel the contract. They have refused to do that. We spoke on several occassions to Cammi Chandler who is in Customer Relations. This was after we filed a complaint against the company with the Attorney General of Washington. She responded to the Attorney General with a very ambiguous letter that indicated that she was trying to help us.

We have had a lawyer write to the company and we e-mailed back a response to the e-mail she had sent to the attorney general and indicated that she was less than forthcoming with the response. We told the finance company, Fair Financial, that we were not going to pay. They told us that my credit would be impacted but after 3 months of no payment the contract reverts to Stores Online. Since that time we have founds reports on their other names and also reports under www.webscam.com. We do not feel that this is an honest company and we will not do business with them. They have kept all the material returned and we will fight to get our money back and my credit history restored.

I am interested in a class action lawsuit. To other readers: File a complaint with your attorney general; www.worldjustice.com is a legal resource center that provides free services and a forum to submit your complaint. Another consumer has compiled thorough list of steps to take. I will restate them here. Did you purchase your business before you became a business? If you were a consumer purchasing this business before you became a legal business entity, then you have rights underthe Consumer Protection Agency. Tell them that you were a consumer at the time and request a legal mediation or arbitration. Send your complaint and factual documentation to: Division of Consumer Protection, Heber M. Wells Building, Second Floor, 160 East 300 South, SM 146704, Salt Lake City, UT 84114, (801)350-6601.

Send your complaint to all state agencies, County Attorney, State Attorney General, Consumer Protection, State Senator and Congressman. Send a copy of your complainttothe FBI's Cybercrime Unit. Explain and send factual information (i.e. if the disc that SOL gave you in the tool builder kit is worthless, send it as evidence. Send what you can to: Cybercrime Task Force, FBI, 52272 South College Drive, 2nd Floor, Murray, UT 84123 Contact Cammi Chandler in Customer Relations at 801-227-0004 or E-mail her at cchandler@storesonline.com. SOL is required to have a department to handle the large volume of complaints that have been submitted to the BBB of Utah. Protect yourself while protecting others. SOL has a listing of cities and states that are hosting these scam conferences. Go to www.iregnow.com. There you will find if SOL is hosting a conference in your city.

Remember you have a right to "assemble" as long as it is peacful and within the confines of the law. Picket, pass out information to these unsuspecting guests, hand out BBB of Utah company reports, etc. Contact the media in your area and let them know a week or two in advance. On a personal note: Since the customers are solicited by direct mailings there is very little chance that they will find each other again in their city. This makes it tough to get together for a class action suit. Take these steps that Debbie in Union, OR so diligently put together. Look for other consumer complaint forums and file there. We are only out about $3500.

Many people that attended that conference/seminar are out much more. We have chosen to limit our loss by not using any of their technical or hosting services. We no longer have any of the materials, the cd, etc. I believe that their acceptance of our return is their acceptance of our wish to cancel our contract. Our lawyer is looking into more law governing these types of transactions. Best of luck to all! Hunter Olympia, Washington
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