Amanda Smith, representing Palmetto Marketing, Inc. came to my home on June 3, 2005, asking my daughter and I to purchase some magazines from her because she only needed 90 points and she would win this trip to Cancun. I told her sorry, I wasn't interested because I was disabled and didn't have the extra money to invest in magazines for her trip to Cancun.
She said she was really hot, most of the other people in the 3 apartment complexes bought and it would really help her out. My 20 year old daughter, who had worked for a magazine company for 5 days last September felt sorry for her because she knew first-hand how hard it was to sell magazines. I told her I had not gotten my new checks yet because I had just opened a new account and she asked if I had an ATM. I said yes. She told me she wasn't supposed to tell me this but if I paid cash, and she wrote I made a special trip to the ATM and she let the company know, I would receive the entire amount of money back and still get the magazines. I told her I found this hard to believe but she said it was because they wouldn't have to wait for the checks to clear the bank. (She sure got me hook, line, and sinker.) She was cute, huggsy, drew little hearts by our signatures and gave both my daughter and I big hugs. She said she only had 30 points left and knew she could get them before the night was over.
She further told us to expect our rebates by no later than 6/13/05. I had an uneasy feeling about this and expressed it to my daughter after she left. My daughter felt she was sweet and honest and didn't think I had anything to worry about. Well, I did worry, from the moment she took my $82.00 until the 13th of June came and passed. I know I was ripped off and should have stuck to my guns when I first told her no. What a hard lesson to learn, and I am nearly 50 years old, disabled and certainly couldn't afford to lose the $82.00, even though Amanda Smith told me I would receive the entire amount back. What a fool I was and it will never happen again. I don't care how cute or how hot or how late it is when they appear at my door again! I do intend to contact the Better Business Bureau as well as the Illinois Attorney General's Office even though I don't look for any monetary resolve for me.
Karen
Riverton, Illinois
U.S.A.