Houston Media Lab Brian Spencer Brian Styles Took the money and ran!! Houston Texas

 Brian Spencer or Brian Styles as he is now known, was someone that I went to school with at the University of Houston.  We were members of the same fraternity, and we had stayed in touch over the years, so when it came time for me to build a website I thought that it just made sense to go with who I knew.  Big mistake. 

I was given the task to build a website for my organization (in May of '10), and as I mentioned, realizing that I knew someone who was the founder of a website building company, I decided to just call Brian.  He was extremely receptive to the idea of creating a website for my organization.  When I mentioned that I was going to need a larger site than what his entry level package would have given but that I didn’t have all of the funds ready to go and would need to get back to him once I raised the money, he immediately offered to discount his highest package (the $3500 option) down to $1000, but that I would need to put $350 down immediately to get things going.  Now, after writing that, and after 2 1/2 years of ordeal, it seems foolish to think that would be a viable offer, but remember, I was going to a person that I thought I knew, to do business with what I thought was a legitimate business, so I thought he was actually cutting me a deal because he knew me. 

So I gave him my credit card to make a $350 deposit on this website and told him that I would send him the details of the site that I needed.  Almost immediately problems started to occur.  First, my card was charged a second time about a week after the initial payment, so I was now out $700.  I contacted Brian, and at first he acted like he had no idea what was going on and would "look into it", after about a week I had heard nothing, so I began contacting him.  I should have known something was up when he became REALLY hard to reach all of the sudden.  But again, I choose to err on the side of "busy with good intentions".  After about 2 weeks he gets back with me and says that his "accountant" accidentally charged my card twice and that he would refund me through the card processing company that they used, and he apologized saying that I'd have my money back in a week or so.  So I was left feeling like things were going to be made right. 

About a month goes by, and no money in my account.  I have been sending texts to Brian during this time and he would say, "oh I forgot to process the refund" or "yeah I'll take care of it when I get home", and I started to sense that this was going to be an issue.  By the middle of the summer he was telling me that his accountant had robbed him of a lot of money and that he was suing this guy, and that he promised that he would get me my money.  He also said that he didn’t have time to get to my site and that he needed me to give him the entire $1000 before he could produce anything for me to look at. 

I don’t hear a peep from him for months, receive no refund, and ultimately get "defriended" from him on Facebook.  So I reach out to him on a cell phone that I have from work, and he immediately answers (after not answering from py cell phone).  Surprise, surprise right? When I ask him about everything he says that his girlfriend cleans out his Facebook account and that it was an accident that I got deleted, and that he can't believe that I never received the $350. He also said that he got a new phone and lost all of his numbers so he couldnt contact me.  I asked him how he sent the check and he said something to the accord of "I’m not sure, ill have to check, but I think mail".  Starting to realize that a refund is going to be tricky/impossible to get, I ask him to create a small website for no extra money because I figured that it'd be better to walk away with something rather than nothing at all.  He agrees to that, and we get off the phone.  I get re-added to Facebook, and we occasionally chat about how busy he is, and that he is going to get around to the site.  A year goes by and nothing, no site, no anything.  We have texted sporadically but not as often as you would like to speak with someone who is supposed to be doing some work for you.  He mentions that he is too busy to create a site and that he would work to get me that "$250 or 300 that he owes me".  I asked him about the whole $700 since he has decided that he is not going to produce a site, and he said, "no, that initial $350 was a deposit, so you'll lose that".  A deposit for what?  I thought that a deposit is for work that is rendered.  But I am not a lawyer, so fine, lets do the $350.  Months go by and many more promises and never any action.  I had realized that I was taken by this thief that I thought was a legitimate business man, but I had held out hope that he would decide to do the right thing and get even with me.  

At this point, I am considering small claim courts and BBB actions with the hope that people realize that Brian is not an ethical business man.  He has a photography company now, but still works with Houston Media Lab.  I have been told that he changed his name (now goes by Brian Styles) because all of the negative reviews that were attached to his real name (Brian Spencer) and Houston Media Lab.  Brian is a talented guy, and a good photographer, but he is un-ethical, and impossible to reach (unless you are making a payment).  I would urge you to consider doing business with a reputable company who is actually concerned with producing a quality product and a good customer experience, Brian Spencer or Brian Styles and Houston Media Labs is simply not that company.