 | | | Author: | | SurprisedReader (---.ipt.aol.com) | | | Date: | | 29.10.07 | |
CANADA
A company out of Orem, Utah, StoresOnline, brands itself a "leading e-services provider" but has been accused of being a "ripoff." After attending an initial informative meeting, the company invites interested parties to a second all-day workshop, luring them with breakfast and lunch.
StoresOnline prom-ises to create Web sites and maintain them annually for a small fee.
Before entering the workshop, attendees must sign an agreement. One of the stipulations is that solution providers and Web-service providers cannot attend.
Before breakfast is barely digested, participants are asked to fill out a financing-prequalification form. However, everyone is approved to finance the approximately $6,000 the company's product costs. The reduced prices on a package to help users build six "storefronts" are not available after the day of the workshop.
Several individuals take turns telling the audience the benefits of the company's product. But when asked what a meta tag is or why they are charging nearly $6,000 to do what anyone with a computer and $60 can do in a few days, they don't provide adequate answers.
One of StoresOnline's biggest mistakes is in naming a search company: www.overture.com. Type in Stores-Online at that site, and the company appears on www.ripoffreport.com, a site that includes numerous testimonials from people who say the company duped them.
StoresOnline was contacted but unable to respond to questions "given the late nature of the request," a company executive said. |
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