Avon - Allied Data ripoff and harrassing and fraudulent claims Houston Texas

I became an Avon rep in Feb. of 2004---the worst mistake in my life! At first, everyone involved with Avon was wonderful, but the second I decided to quit, all hell broke loose! The woman who recruited me, Donna Roberston, would not even answer the phone when I called her, and I emailed her daily. One day when I blocked my caller id and got her on the phone, she claimed that she never got my emails. I had email read receipts! And one time, I was suppose to go to the Beauty Advisor seminar, but I was sick with the flu, so I called and canceled....I got billed for that one, too!

I wasn't sure how to send the overstock of products I had- which Donna talked me into getting, (saying that I would sell them so fast I would have to order more)---$1200 worth! Avon's collection agency quickly called me, but I was having sever migraine headaches at the time and even going out in sunlight triggered them- not to mention the non-stop collection calls added stress, causing even more headaches, usually 3-5 daily.

Anyway, I finally talked to a really nice man, Mr. Rogers, with American Systems in Columbus, who was really helpful. He explained the easiest way to send the products back, and he told me that after Avon received my products worth $1600. that my account would be closed and taken care of. So I shipped the products back and called Mr. Rogers with the UPS tracking numbers. He said thanks and that my account would be closed.

WRONG! About 10 days after Avon received the products, I started getting phone calls from Allied Data Corporation. The first person I spoke with, Elaine Robinson, was so rude and mean! She told me that if I didn't send in several pre-dated checks to pay the bill in full, that I would be sued.

She tried to force me to "promise" to send the checks to her by certified mail, and that once they received them, they would hold them until Avon verified the dollar amount of the products I returned, that Avon would send me a refund check. Yeah right! I told her that I would have to get back with her- I'm not that stupid!

Then about 5 days later I had a message on my answering machine from Allied Data, stating that I had to call them back before noon the next day or they would see me in court. That wasn't enough time to contact anyone and find out why Avon was trying to take me to court.

I called Allied Data the next morning and spoke to Mr. Jones, who informed me that he didn't care that I sent the products back to Avon and had a receipt, or that Mr. Rogers had said that my account was closed- he said Mr. Rogers was a fool and should lose his job because he was lying.

Then this Mr. Jones said that he was a "legal person" and that I would have to get a lawyer to settle this. I told him that I couldn't afford a lawyer, and he said that I would save time and money if I just gave them the money, and that if I did get a lawyer, he would take me to court and I would have to pay Allied Data's lawyer fees! I told him I was going to call Avon and find out the problem.

Oh, I called Avon. About 23 times in 2 hours! I never got a straight answer, and I called Avon's collection department and left messages 4 times in 1 day- and they haven't called me back to this day. I called Mr. Rogers, who was so helpful, and he said that he couldn't find a reason on my account for it to have been sent to Allied Data, and not to worry because Avon probably didn't go through the products yet and wait 2 weeks.

I contacted my district manager, Marilyn Wilson, and I talked to her assistant who promised to have Marilyn call me back. She never did. I got an email from the assistant asking me to detail what was going on and that my email would be sent to Marilyn. That was in October, and I haven't heard a word from anyone to this day.

Mr. Jones started calling me every single day, leaving messages that if I didn't contact them by the next day at noon, I would be sued. I talked to him several times, and he told me that I would be taken to court and there was no way I would win any kind of judgement, and that Allied Data would take my 2004 income tax return. I called a tax lawyer and talked to her, and the lawyer informed me there was no way Allied Data could do that. I still am worring about that now!

So I called Mr. Jones and told him that I didn't appreciate being harrassed, and he said that Allied Data would make it a lot worse for me. Isn't that nice! He also said that in my contract it said that I had 10 days or else Avon wouldn't take the products back. I had my contract handy, so I asked him were that was stated. He said that it was under section 2, other provisions, part G. This is what it says on my contract: "For residents of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam only- to pay Avon applicable shipping fees. All locations charge shipping fees for immediate shipment of addditional orders." When I read this to Mr. Jones, he said that apparently I couldn't read. Isn't that cute? (I have my contract here if anyone would like me to fax them a copy to prove it to them!) I informed Mr. Jones that I would have to get back with him.

I finally got a hold of a woman named Becky at Avon, and she looked at my account and said that Allied Data was a collection agency, and that Avon was NOT taking me to court, and that Mr. Jones was just using "scare tactics" to try and force me to pay, and that I shouldn't worry about it, because Avon would take care of it.

My mother finally emailed Avon, and the reply she got was funny! They said thank you for your concerns, and that Avon would do everything they could to resolve the problem. I still get the run-around from them. That has been going on since October, and I am still getting 5 calls a week from Allied Data.

Avon is a mean and selfish evil empire. All they care about is MONEY MONEY MONEY. And anyone who says different, well, just wait until you are seriously screwed, too. I was constantly pressured to recruit, which I didn't do. Avon doesn't care if there are 100 reps within a 20 mile-radius, as long as they are bringing in the money!

I am thinking about getting people together that have suffered the same thing I have and starting a class-action lawsuit against Avon and Allied Data. If you are interested, please add to this post!

I really liked selling Avon, but I didn't want to recruit a lot of people so I was slowly pushed out of the "circle". Avon wasn't started for the sole purpose of money; it was to get quality products at home and to have women working for them. But the jewelry is crap and the makeup isn't as great as I thought it was going to be. I had many customers complain about the quality of the products. I even have a pair of sandals returned because they came apart the day the woman wore them- she never got her sandals, either!

Well, I don't think there is anything I left out. I have really been hurt by Allied Data and Avon, and I have tried so many damn times to fix this, and NO ONE will even try to help me.

I did what Avon's first collection agency asked me to do, and I have the contract I signed. The only thing on it that mentions sending products back to Avon is that I have to return products within 6 months after terminating my relatinship with Avon to send products back for resale. I did that in plenty of time- products were in perfect condition! Oh well, not much I can do now. The rich rake in the money, and step all over us little people because they can. That's the American way now, huh?

Stephanie
Frankston, Texas
U.S.A.

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