MyDollarstore, Inc. My dollarstore Inc USA cheated us . irvine, California

Mr Rex Mehta and Manjit Dhillion must do the right thing as business men and not
try to rip off customers by short supplying goods and sending non saleable goods,
expired stock and no proper documentation and still trying to justify their wrong doing. Shame on you guys
 
We were advised by the Marine Insurance investigators that we had legitimate claim against Dollarstore international .They did not pack the goods as per shipping standards; this is just to prove that they cut corners and charge the client.

This is a dodgy company that has no property facilities they only operate out of an
office and rip-off customer and get their salesman Jose Jiminez to justify their wrong doing.

Have  you ever wonder why they do not have any franchise stores in USA.

Our accountants Report.
 
We act as accountants for Mr Company and would like to report that Mr E suffered a huge loss of over $22,000  due to Mr Rex Mehta and Mr Manjit Dhlillion of My Dollarstore USA not providing proper documentation for the goods supplied ,expired stock and stock short supplied . Mr E also suffered further loss due to Dollarstore USA not packing the container as per shipping standards .

Regarding the claim of loss by Mr. Ismail Ebrahim for his shipment the insurance company on June 25th has advised Mr. Ismail Ibrahim  that being an intercompany shipment between dollarstore USA and Dollarstore Austarlia and because of transit rigors during its inland/sea voyage the claim was denied. Also the report was not filed in time. According to the shipping company the bill of lading indicate that this shipment was shipped under FCL/SLAC terms and  Dollarstore Australia had confirmed that the packing/ Loading was done by Dollar Store USA and approved by your local surveyor. The claim filed by Mr. Ismail Ebrahim  is a false claim against Dollar Store and insurance company. As a consequence Mr. Ismail Ebrahim claim was denied by both Dollarstore USA and Insurance Company.

Mr Rex Mehta and Mr Manjit Dhllion know the truth thats why they paying their salesman Jose Jiminez to make all kinds of accusation and blow hot air. Mr Jose Jiminez got all his info screwed up. No goods were shipped at that date why do they not reply themselves  as they were doing the business not Jose Jimenez.

On the 11/01/2012 we received an e mail from Manjit Quote we will not accept any items that are returned.

We have all documentation and e mails to back us.  Mr Manjit Dhllion CFO and Mr Rex Mehta CEO were given 4 months to sort out the problem and they never attempted to solve the problem .They expected the problem to disappear and they would get away with their rip offs. We now doing business with a  reputable company and do not have these issues.

Mr. Ismail Ebrahim was offered refund by Dollarstore USA  Attached are the e-mail Aug 26, 2011 confirming that Dollarstore was not aware of the quarantine requirement from Australian authorities for US made foods. These e-mails are from Mr. Ismail Ebrahim and his Custom agent Mr. Raj Sharma to Mr. Manjit Dhillon at our office in Irvine. Nowhere in this e-mail had any mention of quarantine requirement for US made food items by Australian authorities. It was brought to our attention when the shipment landed in Australia. We had offered to Mr. Ismail Ebrahim that we will take food items back and give him credit on his next shipment. Those items were not returned back to us.

The name of his store in Australia is My Dollarstore which is our registered name. Mr.Ismail Ebrahim is using our trade name, brand name and logo without our authorization when he himself concedes that he did not buy or paid for My Dollarstore franchise.

8/26: E-mail from Ismail to Manjit: 

I had a chat with our shipping agent a couple minutes ago and put him under pressure to update me on customs regarding the food stuff so that we do not have a problem clearing the goods.

8/26: Raj Sharma (Customs agent in Australia) to Manjit:

Hi Ismail, apologies for delay 

At present please stay away from the following,

Food stuffs with animal & by-products such as milk / honey / eggs & animal meat
Medicine stay away from antibiotics please speak to TGD department direct 

The rest seems ok with your first lot Mr. Ismail Ibrahim of Australia tried to rip off My Dollarstore by filing a false claim. Mr. Ismail Ebrahim or His Custom Agent Mr. Raj Sharma had not informed My Dollarstore in California that US made foods are subject to quarantine by Australian authorities before the items were shipped. Mr. Ibrahim is filing the claim after the facts which he was not aware of and the food shipment was OKd by his Custom Agent Mr. Raj Sharma before My Dollarstore shipped the food items.

 Instead of trying to sort out the problem and repair their reputation they condoning their rip off.

We refer to the Surveys Report
 
Based on the documents reviewed, that this was an intercompany shipment between
Dollarstore, USA and Dollar Store Australia. From the survey report and
photos, it appears that the damages were due to poor/ inadequate packing by
Dollarstore USA and also, improper loading/ stowage of the cargo within the
carrying container. 

Damages were sighted by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service,which interpreted
as poor packing/ stowage, that led to the damages.
The above explain the damages. Further more
We were advised by the Marine Surveys to issue a claim against DollarStore Inc. USA for damages.

A comment was made by Quarantine and our shipping company that we were dealing with a dodgy company as they had never experienced where a supplier could not produce relevant documentation for their goods to be cleared.
They sent us Expired stock, invoiced goods that were not sent, items and not saleable items which Quarantine destroyed

We are thankful that we no longer deal with this company.
We would not like to see any other business person being
ripped off and lose money

We also came across an Article which is self-explanatory
about Rex Mehta

DollarStore shuts 41 stores

New Delhi: US-based deep discount
retailer MyDollarStore Inc., founded by an American of Indian origin, is the
latest casualty of the economic slowdown in India that has forced organized
retailers to apply the brakes on ambitious expansion plans.

The chain, which entered the country
in 2004 selling products including imported shampoos and shaving lotions at a
price of Rs99 each, has shuttered three-fourths of its 55 stores in the past
few months, the company said. It now has 14 stores in the country.

MyDollarStore was founded by Rex Mehta, an Indian-American
based in California, who came to India with the ambition of opening 400 stores
across the country in three years, offering products including Doritos chips
and Kelloggs Pop-Tarts, according to the chains website.

Mehta had bet that the chain and its
stock of inexpensive but quality merchandise would match the Indian concept of paisa
vasool (value for money).

Organized retailers have experienced
a tough infancy in India, confronting soaring real estate prices and other
costs during the years of an economic boom, followed by the slowdown that set
in last year and dampened consumer demand.

At least four employees at
MyDollarStore interviewed by Mint said they had not been paid salaries
for three months. Some employees said the chain was understating the number of
stores that had been closed. These employees didnt want to be named.

There may be some disgruntled
employees here and there and somebody is selling a sob story across to you,
said Soumitra Ghatak, chief executive of Sankalp Retail Value Store, which is
the master franchisee for MyDollarStore in India. Those who are on our payroll
have been paid; those who are on notice period or on settlementsthose
(employees) will take some time and thats it.

Ghatak did not say how many people
are currently on the companys payroll and how many had been laid off.

Meanwhile, a person named Imran
Sheikh has filed a petition against Sankalp Retail in the Bombay high court
under sections 433, 434 and 439 of the Companies Act, according to the courts
website. The sections are related to a company unable to pay its debts, but
its unclear why Sheikh had filed the case. Mint was unable to contact
him or his lawyer.

Its just a filing of petition
(and) we are unaware of the content and since no notice has been served as yet
and without seeing the copy of the petition and content we are unable to
respond, Ghatak said.

When asked if the company is
withholding payments to vendors and suppliers, he said it was the case with
almost all retailers.

Vendors payments are usually in a
cycle and can get delayed in a cash crunch and those are normal things, he
said.The company said the 14 stores still operating in India include three in
Mumbai and one in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi.

Employees at the Centre One Mall in
Navi Mumbai said the My Dollarstore there has been shut since February,
although Ghatak said the store was open.

The store in Metro Junction Mall in
Mumbais Kalyan neighbourhood has been closed for renovation, according to
Ghatak. However, a person familiar with the situation who didnt want to be
named said the MyDollarStore there had been shut since early this year.

Empty racks greet customers at the
Noida store.

Ghatak said the company is focusing
on the store-in-store format, opening sales outlets on the premises of big
retailers that he declined to name. We have recast our business model and we
want to get into smaller formats with smaller footprints and thats all
work-in-progress.

The company plans to open as many as
80 such sales outlets in the next 12-18 months.

Work-in-progress always looks
dirtier than what it was originally. Ghatak said.

 

Regarding the claim of loss by Mr. I****l for his shipment the insurance company on June 25th has advised Mr. I**** that being an intercomapny shipment between dollarstore USA and Dollarstore Austarlia and because of tarnsit rigors during its inland/sea voyage the claim was denied. Also the report was not filed in time. According to the shipping company teh bill of lading indicate that this shipment was shipped under FCL/SLAC terms and My Dollarstore Australia had confirmed that the packing/ Loading was done by Dollar Store USA and approved by your local surveyor. The claim filed by Mr. I**** is a false claim against Dollar Store and insurance company. As a consequence Mr. I**** has tried to claim from both Dollarstore USA and Insurance company.

They could not produce documentation to Border control and Australian Quarantine due to the goods was expired and had short shelved life. They were aware of the requirements.

My dollarstore USA would not be able to export to Australia due to their track record and listed as a dodgy company to do business with. Mr Manjit Dhillon was give 12 weeks to produce documents By Border control and Australian Quarantine.

This is the modus operandi

They advertise on the web as follows:

My Dollarstore, Inc. is one of the few Dollar Store that owns and operates a corporate store. And being a volume distributor.

They operate from small office in Irvine  USA .They have no stores in their home town they show you a Dollar Tree store and tell you your store will look like this. When you ask them where is their corporate store they say its too far away to show you. Tried to Google, did not find any of their stores in USA .They then take you to JC Sales Wholesalers showroom in L A and show you all their products and that  they will supply as they have a Joint Venture with JC Sales.

When they ship its not the same products. If my Dollarstore USA brand is to sell expired stock and old Spanish video movies and inferior quality stock then we would not like to be associated with that company Brand.

Refer to emails from their Ceo Rex Mehta and Mr Manjit Dhillon which can be certified

Thu 20/10/2011 9:15 AM
Hello Ismail,
I have someone working on them today and hopefully you will have them tomorrow. Thanks.

With Best Regards,
Manjit Dhillon
Chief Operation Officer

Sat 15/10/2011 9:53 AM
Hello Ismail,
Per Manjit instructions attached are the EPS logo files and signage. Let me know if you need anything else.  

With Best Regards,
Rex Mehta Ceo

Wed 11/01/2012 9:18 AM
hello
We forgot to send sunglasses and reading glass stand and merchandise .We will send them with the next order. Please do not ship anything back because we will not accept them. Video tapes in Spanish dated 2001.please let me know which is the line item on the invoice

Manjit Dhillon
Chief Operation Officer

You can decide for yourself is it worth doing business with a company like this and have one of their employees to defend their wrong doings.
 

Attached are the e-mail dated Aug 26, 2011 confirming that Dollarstore was not aware of the quarantine requirement from Australian authorities for US made food items. These e-mails are from Mr. Ismail Ebrahim and his Custom agent Mr. Raj Sharma to Mr. Manjit Dhillon at our office in USA befor eth shipment was dispatched. Nowhere in these E-mails had any mention of quarantine requirement for US made food items by Australian authorities. It was brought to our attention when the shipment landed in Australia. We had offered to Mr. Ismail Ebrahim that we will take food items back and give him credit on his next shipment. Those items were not returned back to us.

The name of Mr. Ismail Ebrahim store in Australia is My Dollarstore which is our registered name in USA. Mr. Ismail Ebrahim is using our trade name, brand name and logo without our authorization when he himself concedes that he did not buy or paid for My Dollarstore franchise.

Here are the copies of the e-mail from Ismail Ebrahim and his custom agent Mr. Raj Sharma from Australia to Mr. Manjit Dhillon in USA.

8/26: E-mail from Ismail to Manjit:

I had a chat with our shipping agent a couple of minutes ago and put him under pressure to update me on customs regarding the food stuff so that we do not have a problem clearing the goods.

8/26: E-mail from Raj Sharma (Customs agent in Australia) to Manjit:

Hi Ismail, apologies for delay At present please stay away from the following, Food stuffs with animal & by-products such as milk / honey / eggs & animal mea Medicine stay away from antibiotics please speak to TGD department direct

The rest seems ok with your first lot

 

We
respond as follows:

My
dollarstore International Irvine

1.      
We
have never had any dealings with the author Jose Jiminez - Irvine (United
States of America); we dealt directly with the owners Mr Manjit Dhillon and Mr Rex
Mehta.

2.      
We
did not spend all of the 9 days with Rex and Manjit. Our entire trip to
California consisted of 9 days (which was at our own cost).Our time with Rex
and Manjit consisted of the following:

a.      
Day
1: A dinner meeting with general discussions

b.     
Day
2: Meeting at their admin office regarding the proposal. They promised to show
me a store but I spend half of the day waiting for them to arrange a store
visit. Towards the end of the day they took me to  J C Imports and showed me stock that they
could supply. They took me to a Dollartree store and should me that a store
could look like this. This store did not belong to them and they were unable to
show me a store that had a franchise agreement with them.

c.      
Day
3: Had a closing meeting with Rex Mehta and Manjit and nothing was finalised.

3.      
On
our return to Australia we contacted Rex Mehta and Manjit Dhillon and thanked
them for their time and hospitality and advised them that we did not think that
their proposition would be feasible. They urged us that it was a working
concept and that we should give it a try, as a gesture they would only charge
us for the stock, fixtures and fittings and plan layout. If their concept
succeeded the next store we opened would have to have to go into a franchise
agreement.

4.      
We
did not contact the one and only supplier (JC Imports) they showed us.  Please provide us of any evidence of us
contacting your suppliers?

5.      
Every
week we get suppliers contacting us to purchases merchandise.

6.      
The
initial pro forma invoice issued was scrutinised and our shipping company
advised Rex Mehta and Manjit Dillon of the strict Australian authorities (AQIS)
and Australian Customs requirements on foodstuffs ( e mail was sent regarding
requirements).  We accepted the proforma
invoice based on it meeting the Australian authorities (AQIS) and Australian
Customs requirements which Manjit Dillon assured us it did.

7.      
All
the standard documentation for Australian authorities (AQIS) and Australian
Customs requirements was not provided and as such the shipment detained.(expired
foodstuff  short dated foodstuff, labels
in Spanish ,Spanish video dated 2001 ,many items duplicated up to 10 time)

8.      
The
$2,685.49 refund was in relation an overpayment of the initial proforma
invoice. Ie. The pro forma invoice was higher than the final invoice.

9.      
The
missing stock (in question was only discovered in November when the shipping
company unpacked the containers. No refund payment was received for this.

10.  
We
were advised via email that the my dollarstore name could be used at no cost.

11.  
Our
logo is totally different to the one used by Rex and Manjit, no training and
procedure manuals were provided. We had to change the store layout as the
incorrect fixtures and fittings were provided. No computers and software were provided.

12.  
All
our Trading names, logos and business practices conform to the Australian
business practices and Australian Government regulations.

In
closing, all our statements can be verified with the relevant correspondence
from the Australian Authorities as well as the American Australian chamber of
commerce and emails from Rex and Manjit.

We lost a lot of
money and would advise anyone to be cautious dealing with this company as they
justify their unethical practices. This is confirmed by an employee (that was
not involved in any of the dealings) posting a response on Mr Rex Metha and Mr Manjit
Dhillons behalf. I would further plead with all
business people to be extremely cautious when dealing with Rex Metha and Manjit
Dillion of my dollarstore as they con you and feel very nonchalant I lost over
$20,000 USD

 

Mr. Ismail Ebrahim from Australia contacted Dollarstore Inc. of California USA on May 7, 2011 regarding opening aMY Dollarstore Franchise in Brisbane, Australia. On May 16, he sent us ane-mail that he needs budget and projection for a complete set up of a Dollarstore there. On May 19th Dollarstore provided him with theprojection and Budget. On May 22nd he told us that he wishes to come to California and see our operation and sign the Master Franchise Agreement for setting up of Dollar store in Australia. On June 5th he sent us a floor plan for 162 sq meters store in a plaza in Brisbane and told us to go ahead and design his store and when he will come to California, he will sign the agreement and pay us the Franchise fee.  On July 9th Mr. Ismail and his wife came to our office in California. They stayed with us for 9 day.During his stay he visited our operation and placed order for merchandise and fixtures. We introduced him to all our suppliers. He told us that he will wire transfer the money when he gets back to Australia and we trusted him. 

On Aug 11, Mr. Ismail sent us an e-mail from Australia that he has changed his mind and he does not want to open Dollarstore in Australia and we believed him. Later on we found out that he had contacted all our suppliers in California which were introduced to him by us.Mr Ismail told our suppliers  that he wants to place the order directly with them for purchase of the merchandise for his Dollar store in Brisbane,Australia.  Our suppliers ignored his request. 

On Aug 23rd he contacted us again by e-mail that that he still wishes to proceed with a dollar store franchise withour company and requested a Proforma invoice for merchandise to be sent to him. On Aug 24th we did sent him a proforma Invoice of the merchandise and fixtures for his approval.  On Aug 25th he approved the list of the products. His clearing agent Mr. Raj Sharma also approved the list

of goods with the following exceptions, Food stuffs with animal & by-products such as milk / honey / eggs & animal meat and Medicine Including antibiotics. These items were not part of the food products in the shipment. Mr. Sharma did not mention requirement of quarantine of US made food stuff by Australian authorities (AQIS).

On Sep 7, 2011 we received the wire transfer of $60,000 for the merchandise and fixtures. The products were shipped on Sep 9 and on Oct 19th Mr. Ismail received the goods. Dollarstore sent him18 pallets of merchandise and fixtures in a 40 Feet Hi Cube container with all the documents Including Material Safety Data Sheet, Certificate of Origin,  Certificate of Analysis,  Certificate of Use, Bill of Lading, Original Packing slip and Original Invoice,  Free Sales Certificate , Bar codes and Declarations. We have not provided these amounts of documents to any other buyer.  

On Oct 22 Mr. Ismail informed us that some items were missing and he requested a refund for $2685.49. We did mailed a check for that amount.  He acknowledged receiving the check on Oct 23. The check was deposited and cashed in Commonwealth bank of Australia by him.

In the meantime we have also found out that unbeknown to us Mr. Ismail has registered our name My Dollarstore for his store in Brisbane, Australia. He is using our procedure and training manual for his store.  On Oct 7 we sent him a cease and desist letter to stop using our brand name and he told us that he will change the name of his store but he never did.  In short Mr. Ismail Ebrahim cheated us of out of both master franchise fee and Unit franchise fee and is using our Brand Name, Trade name and Logo without our permission. He even used our design to merchandise his store. 

Dollarstore had provided him with all the documentation for the shipment and he had not informed  us that there was quarantine requirement by AQUIS of Australian authorities for food items from USA. He got everything he wanted and more and because of his ineptness Australian quarantine seized part of his merchandise and he is blaming us for that. In short Mr. Ismail wanted something for nothing and he received more that he had paid for. As of today he is using our brand name, Logo, tradename, training manual and design without paying us a single dime. In conclusion Mr. Ismail owes us $25,000 Franchising and $15,000 Unit Franchise fee for a total of $40,000 for My Dollarstore in Australia