StoresOnline, Inc high pressure sales technique scammed me out of $4200 + cc interest! rip-off scam liars Orem Utah

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Hi All. What follows below is a copy of the letter I sent to Sears MasterCard in an effort to fight the $4200 charge from StoresOnline to my card. Even after the mountain of "evidence" that I presented them Sears felt that they could not do a thing! Let this letter serve as a warning to anyone who is thinking of going to a StoresOnline seminar...THEY ARE SCAMMING LIARS!!! I hope plans for a Class Action Suit come together soon. Count me in! If anyone can help me get my money back please contact me.

This is an updated letter from Dec. 30 pertaining to my request for a fight a charge from StoresOnline, Inc dated March 21, 2002. To strengthen my case I wanted to clarify my original letter with a SUMMARY list of bulleted points as to exactly why I am fighting this charge. Also, you may see even more people who were victimized and are speaking out on www.travelripoffreport.com/search.asp keyword search storesonline. Lastly, in order to save Sears some money and hassle, you may want to think about somehow blocking any StoresOnline/Galaxy Mall charges to your customers accounts if possible. The summary appears below followed by my original Dec 30th letter.

SUMMARY
The following list is a breakdown of the reasons why I am fighting this charge:

StoresOnline didn't tell the whole truth. They LIED to me when they said I have 30 Days to return it!

StoresOnline used seminar-enlisting techniques that are dishonest. (i.e. Top Customer portrayed in seminar video found out to be Presidents daughter!)

StoresOnline's product is defective (login fails, merchant account unacceptable!)

StoresOnline's after sales support is almost non-existent. Only support phone call was a pitch for a Mentor Program costing more than $5000

StoresOnline's Management make it virtually impossible for you to air your issues

StoresOnline has a history of unethical behavior (see www.travelripoffreport.com, BBB, MSNBC, all my printouts)

StoresOnline continually have complaints made against them

StoresOnline utilizes a well-experienced and highly regarded consumer complaints specialist attorney from www.pattonboggs.com to counter any serious refund challenges. May be in your interest not to allow StoresOnline charges to future accounts.

More and more complaints are building up to a possible Class Action Lawsuit and reporting to FTC, State Attorney Generals, and various scam reporting agencies.
See My Story Page 2.

Dear Sears Credit Services Dept.:
Please accept this letter, application, and documentary evidence for review of my request to fight a recent charge to my Sears MasterCard Account.

Per your instructions in your "Dispute Form", I am submitting this letter as a record of "my story" with the hopes that you will understand the reason(s) why I am fighting a charge to my account dated March 21, 2002 by StoresOnline, Inc. I am hopeful that upon review of my writings here as well as the plethora of evidence against StoresOnline (also known as Galaxy Mall, Inc) that I have printed off the Internet through such reputable organizations such as the Better Business Bureau and NBC Television ('Dateline" transcripts) to name a few, that you will understand and agree to my request for a full refund of the $4200 as charged by StoresOnline, Inc.

My Story
On March 21st, 2002 I attended a daylong Internet Marketing/E-Commerce seminar sponsored by StoresOnline, Inc, a marketing company located in Orem, UT. The week before I had originally attended their 90-minute seminar which was advertised as free in the local newspaper.

However, early into the 90 minute presentation it became clear that there was intent was to convince as many people in the packed exhibition hall as possible to pay $40 to attend the all day seminar with 50% refunded back on the day of the seminar. I am not disputing this crafty marketing technique; rather, I am only mentioning this backstory to point out their apparent revenue tactics.

Moving forward, I agreed to pay the $40 fee to attend the all-day seminar. Having been employed in the newspaper publishing and internet businesses since 1996 I was fully aware that this seminar was going to be a pitch for their supposed "reputable" services...that being the creator of templated storefront websites for anyone who would want to develop an e-commerce site of his or her own no matter what size the company or whether or not they already had a product(s) to sell. However, I was not prepared for the strong-arm bullying sales techniques and half-truths that were used to prey on an unsuspecting, eager, and ill-informed group of 500 people jam-packed into a seminar room in CT on this day in March of 2002.

Looking back on my "state of well-being" that day I was a perfect target for their efforts to take advantage of people's need for financial stability and desire for financial independence.

This seminar invitation came to me at a time when I was in the greatest financial struggle of my life. In July of 2001 I was laid off from a company here in Wallingford, CT. Corporate downsizing had taken its toll on not only me but also my wife who happened to work at the same company I did. We were both managers eager for a bright financial future where we could start a family and build a home. ...to live the American Dream!

Well, first July 11 and then the tragic events of Sept. 11th saw to it that finding work again was going to be one of the great challenges of my life. Fortunately, unemployment benefits throughout the second half of 2001 helped keep me afloat...barely.

By the time March of 2002 came I was in a desperate state. My bills were piling up, the labor market was not returning my phone calls or resumes, and my greatest fear of not having any income coming in when my unemployment ran out in March was coming true! In fact, the day of this seminar, Mrch 21st was the day I cashed my last unemployment check!

Soon though, my weakened state coupled with strong-arm pushy sales tactics would cause me to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life! The stage was set. After listening to an eight hour long presentation on such Internet rhetoric as how easy it is to set up a storesonline storefront and how easy it truly is to start making money I was in a position of vulnerability.

Knowing this, the salespeople were willing to tell me anything to get me to commit to not just one package of 3 pre-built templated websites for roughly $3,000 but also to commit to a whopping 6 website package for just $4200.

Having established a DBA with the state of CT called Bremer Enterprises during my unemployment weeks I was eager to find some sort of business opportunity I could try to help my situation. This opportunity the salesmen convinced me of was with StoresOnline.

During the final 30 minutes of the exhaustive seminar the sales pitch went from semi- passive to bullying-aggressive. This was evident when I inquired about any money-back guarantee they have. Their answer of "You have 30 days to change your mind" is the biggest reason why I am writing you this letter trying to fight this charge.

Once this quite large charge of $4200 through their "manual merchant processor" was handed to me a deep sense of dread came over me as I left the seminar. To my left and right were people who also forked over anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000 who were also walking out of the building with a combination of excitement and fear over their faces. I understood their fear of making a large mistake all too well by now.

A day or two later I decided to focus on getting these packages of 6 pre-built online storefront ready for whatever products StoresOnline assured me they would help grant me access to sell via dropshipping. I was also assured by StoresOnline reps at the seminar that my existing merchant account with E- commerce Exchange which I already had set up for a non-related internet venture would be OK to use with StoresOnline.

As I started the building process via logging into storesonline with an ID and passwords I noticed that much of the wording throughout these 2 packages of 3 sites (6 sites each) was circa 1996-1997. The verbiage and how the Internet is a growing phenomena seemed outdated at best. Even the packaging was substandard for something I just paid over $4000 for. These 2 aesthetic factors did not bode well for me.

Next came tech support. After sending StoresOnline an email requesting help with setting up the site and another one for help in selecting dropshippers nationwide who can offer me products to sell on my sites, my response from both of these emails was nothing more than an autoresponder message saying someone would be in contact with me.

Well, a phone call came all right...however the call from them was a thinly disguised attempt to get me to spend another $7000 for lifetime support with a Coach Mentor Program. This phone call enraged me to say the least! It was at this point, barely 10 days or so after I had bought the program that I was feeling scammed beyond belief! It was after this point that my futile attempts to contact StoresOnline and request a refund well within my quoted 30-day Money Back range started. Obviously, my troubles with StoresOnline were just beginning!

Upon my decision to return the 2 packages ( with ID and passwords to 6 sites) I bought at the seminar I called the customer service number at StoresOnline, told them my story that I was very unhappy with everything and wanted a full refund as was thought my right. It was at this time I was told that there is NO Money Back Guarantee what so ever!

Unfortunately it was my word against the rep. Since I did not have a tape recorder with me at the seminar there was no way for me to prove that a seminar rep, who in the interest of closing the sale with me, told me anything that would satisfy just to get me to spend the $4200. Weeks later, feeling outraged, embarrassed, and scared (while still unemployed too) I decided that desperate times call for desperate measures and called up with a plan of action.

I attempted to convince them for a full or at least partial refund with a story that due to my financial situation coupled with my wife being pregnant and without health benefits that I needed the money to help pay for pre-natal and post-natal medical costs. Feeling humiliated that I had to resort to lying to try to get this refund I quickly discovered that they would have no sympathy for my situation at all.

I then tried reselling these packages like they told me I could on EBAY hoping that someone would who went to the seminar and thought about purchasing them but hadn't would be interested in a below seminar price through EBA Y. As you can imagine, EBAY did not work either!
So all this brings me to Nov-Dec 2002. I would have sent this letter in much sooner however I have been fortunate enough to have landed a job now and work 4-50 hours a week. My time to pursue this has dwindled but my desire for a refund has only increased since every time I make a $100 or so payment to my Sears MasterCard l cringe at how little the amount comes down due to the high balance coupled with the high interest rate.

Technically I read in your documentation that I do not have to make a payment while I am fighting a charge but I wanted to make good faith payments as well as keep my credit record in tact.

Ultimately, if SearsCard cannot see the overwhelming evidence I have included with this letter as well as the heartfelt letter I have written here as justification enough for a refund of the charge, than I will be forced to pursue more legally pressing options possibly involving my attorney, Federal Trade Commission, and the CT Attorney General

In Conclusion I remain hopeful that you will see how fraudulently and unjustly I have been treated by StoresOnline, Inc and remove the charge to my account. To support my claims, I am sending the results of my diligent research on scamming associated with StoresOnline or Galaxy Mall. Unfortunately, they have victimized many other people!

UPDATE: Printouts of complaints sent with first mailing Dec 30 although several more have been filed this year already through www.travelripoffreport.com and www.complaints.com.

I have been a loyal customer of yours now for several years and have been happy with your level of service. I hope to reward your support here with future purchases for furnishing a home within the coming year. If I do not receive a credit I may sadly resort to using different CC Companies for these future purchases.

It has been a pleasure to be a customer of yours. I hope to continue that relationship. Thank you for this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Patrick
Meriden, Connecticut
U.S.A.

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