Caress Igt

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Resolved: Sam Ovens - Terrible Business Practices

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First I want to say how embarrassed I am that I got taken by these types of people. I had just lost my IT job when I got an invite to a consulting webinar from Sam Ovens.

It seemed to be a great fit for my field and I had the experience necessary to technically consult already. Seemed like a slam dunk... I watched the ~90 minute webinar where every promise under the sun is made. "110% money back guarantee", "$2000/month client in the first 30 days or your money back...", "anyone can do this if they follow my steps", etc.

It was stated over and over again how ironclad their guarantee was. I signed up for the monthly installment plan after confirming via webinar-chat with their associate that I would be able to have the first month refunded in the event that Sam's claims did not hold up for me. Again, "30-day risk free guarantee" seal on the payment page. I went through every single piece of material in about 21 days completing the worksheets as I went.

I won't go into specifics for fear of defamation litigation (google it, Sam does this), but suffice it to say that the overall premise is: find a niche, market it, sell it. The entire "Consultant Accelerator" course was a sales and marketing class with the addition of finding a niche. I can see how in certain cases this may work for people. However it doesn't fit with my field (IT) nor my wifes (pet care) considering both are niched to the max as it is.

The course also relied heavily on Facebook solicitation (to friends and family as well as strangers) and other practices I disagree with on principal. I decided to call it quits. I emailed the refunds department on day 21 or 22 saying I wanted out and that I completed the worksheets should they require them. I got an alert a bit later while away on business that Sam Ovens had charged another $597!

I immediately disputed the charge with my credit card as well as the original $597 that they apparently hadn't refunded yet. A month and a half later I got a call from my bank saying that Sam Oven's was challenging my dispute and provided all sorts of documentation saying the charges were valid. I then searched my email for the chain with their refund department and found it in my spam folder (refunds@***.com, not samovens.com fyi). I guess that domain where blacklisted or it matched similar items I sent to spam, I don't know.

But in the response to my refund request they said: "So sorry that you don't want to participate in this life changing course anymore. The course has tons of amazing information you will benefit from and I encourage you to participate. This program comes with a 30-day action-based guarantee.You are within the 30 day period to qualify for a refund, we urge you to give it another shot while you still have about 10 days within the refund period, we are confident you will see outstanding results. You originally signed up for the course with big dreams and ideas in mind.

Let us help you achieve that!" I wrote back (after getting another call from my bank saying they were unsuccessful with the charge-back) asking why I'm still being charged and why I was receiving an argument to my cancellation request. There's a long chain but to truncate: they will no longer accept my refund because it's been more than 30 days. Just like almost all the other complaints I've found on the internet. They string you along until the 30 days is up and then "sorry".

In hindsight there were various signs this was not a wise choice on my part. On one slide during the webinar Sam says the refund is good for 42 days, but in reality it's only 30. He says this to make you willingly go over the expiration date. In my case I gave plenty of notice to stop payments.

They could have requested any documentation they wanted, but instead decided to make me wait until the last moment to cancel (although I'm not sure anything I did would have gotten me a refund given what I've experienced with them so far).

I have the entire initial webinar with the associate's chat and promises. If anyone wants a copy to help their civil case feel free to reach out.

Sam Ovens Reply:
Hi Brian,


As the leader on our management team, I am terribly sorry about the experience you've had with us! Based on understanding that you were within our guarantee period of 30 days by completing the work we lay out inside the training program, I am able to go ahead and process the refund for you as per our policy.

We are currently speaking with you, your bank, and other important parties to resolve this quickly. We are happy to part ways happily if you don't think this course was a good fit for you, and please let us know if we can be of any assistance in helping you build your consulting business in the future.

-Consulting.com Management Team
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Reason of review:
Return, Exchange or Cancellation Policy
Loss:
$1096
Preferred solution:

Full refund

Caress Igt

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer
| map-marker Nashua, New Hampshire

Planet Fitness - Awful

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Updated by user Dec 09, 2014

As I explained, I called repeatedly and asked for the exact date of my year agreement. During those 3 calls I was never told I had to jump through any hoops to cancel.

I then was told that I needed to send a "certified" letter to cancel my membership. I don't care if...

Original review Oct 30, 2014
Joined this gym exactly one year ago. Went fairly regularly with no big complaints.
Got a new job with an in-house gym so tried to cancel after ~8 months.

Called the place and was told I had to wait until October 1st to cancel, which I accepted. Called on Oct 1st and was told that I actually had to wait until the 29th of October, which I accepted. Called on the 29th and was told that I'd have to come in physically to THAT location or send in some certified mail. I said "are you serious?" and was told "then your membership can stay as is!" and promptly hung up on.

These tactics that make it very difficult, even after a full year contract, to stop billing is why you should stay away from this place. They're nice as long as they know you're locked in. There is no reason why, in 2014, I should ever need to go to a post office for a gym membership cancellation.
I called my bank and explained the situation. They said they here this about this gym all the time and offered to stop all future withdrawals, which I did.

I then, out of courtesy, called PF corporate (I didn't want to get hung up on again by calling the original branch) and explained that I was cancelling and my bank wouldn't process their payments any more.

The woman I was speaking with immediately changed her attitude to complete *** and started citing that the "contract was legally binding" and that I'd be billed regardless and sent to collections. I said I'd be filing complaints online and hung up.
View full review
Loss:
$250
Reason of review:
Problems with payment

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

2 comments
Guest

Well, they shouldn't tell you when you sign up that all you have to do is come in before the 10th and cancel and it's all taken care of. They should give that spiel and then say, "Well, I'm actually lying.

Read the terms.

It's much more complicated than that. Welcome aboard!"

Guest

Read your agreement. All cancel specifics are there.

Instead of calling and misunderstanding simple cancellation rules, just re-read them. Without cancelling properly, you continue to be billed for up to six months. This may go to collections and go against your credit score. There is a window, a cancel by date, nor a cancel exactly on date.

If your membmembership was the monthly, you just walk in and cancel, get a receipt and toy are done (unless u owe back dues). If you are Black Card, terms if agreement mean there is a early cancellation buyout of $58.

Heck of a lot cheaper than getting charged for 6 more months, plus service fees, plus collections, WHY, because you want to cancel using different terms than the original ones you agreed to? If your credit score suffers because if this, there's the mirror!

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