Consumer Retrieval Services – Scam or Savior?
I have a new friend Jim. Jim was taken by an internet scam from a company called New Age Marketing. I am still unclear on which website is/was responsible – but I need to say up front that there are many listings for New Age Marketing – so this may not be one you do business with. I am also unclear if that company is still running at this point.
Anyway, I had just heard about Jim’s 10g story where he was given an internet business and promised some return, only to not see a single penny profit from his investment. No more than a couple days later (today) Jim got a call from a company called Consumer Retrieval Services – and lucky for him I was in the room to hear the call. CRS seemed to be privy to some information, and knew that Jim had been taken by this company New Age Marketing – which was an event that happened well over a year ago. I am still unclear on how they got his name or information and knew that he had been taken, but they knew about it and they had his phone number.
Consumer Retrieval Services at the time of this writing is about 9 weeks old. In a simple google search to find out if the company has any publicity I came across some free press releases, as well as an early warning on the rip off report that was not a testimony or direct complaint, but merely someone else who had been approached by the company. CRS offered to assist this lady in retrieving her money back from a different scam – for a fee of $485.00. My friend Jim’s offer was for a packet to assist him in getting his money back for only $149.00.
Now you can imagine, if someone said give me $150 and I will get you back your 10g how this might be exciting – especially if you had kissed the money goodbye. I cautioned Jim from ripping out his credit card – even though it was only $150 bucks. I began to ask some questions to the representative on the phone. There was no guarantee Jim would get his refund.
I decided to do a little whois search on the domain http://consumerretrievalservices.com. Here’s a picture of what I found – which I’m including as you never know when a company may decide to change their information to private:
I was a bit relieved to see a 5 year registration as a longer registration does give me hope that the business intends to be around for a while.
I called back the company and confirmed that Frankie was indeed the owner of the company. I talked to a gentleman (not Frankie) on the second call who claimed to have 19 years of online marketing experience. Why someone with that much experience would think a web presence would hurt his company or was unnecessary is way beyond me. He tried to tell me how easy it is to fake things online – even testimonials, etc. LOL, like he had to tell me about it.
Anyway, I asked if I could get the package for free, and if we got my friends money back that we would pay for the package and give him a great testimonial. You know – something to really help him out. He told me he already had stacks of testimonials and they would be added to the website.
I asked him how many clients per day the company was taking on and I was told between 25-35. Hmm. 25 * 150 = 3,750. Not bad for a day of calling up scammed folks, offering some relief, and mailing out a packet over night – which the cost for that is well under $10 I’m sure. So, lets deduct that – Still pulling in roughly $3,500 on a bad day. Not bad for a few people in an office making calls and mailing out some packet.
I do realize there is some work involved in getting their packet together – none the less it is work done once that can be sold over and over again. Once they find a way to one company, it is only a matter of finding the list of customers that company had.
I desperately wondered what the success rate was for this company in helping consumers get their money back, but was given no definitive answer, while I could have sworn Jane (the lady I initially talked to) quoted something over 90 percent. Her manager was hesitant to release any of that information.
So here I sit wondering if this $150 is worth my friend Jim’s time, or just a way for someone else to get something more from him.
Here’s some other stuff I checked out. That email address above goes to a site – http://aristocratsllc.com/ which appears to promote – guess what – Internet marketing. Backlinks from that site stem from a blog that looks like it was built on the same template – http://web30technology.com. That has some wordpress blogging and internet marketing/seo stuff as well.
I’m on the fence, intrigued, and skeptical at the same time.
I like to see companies that offer a money back guarantee. At least in the beginning while they build a reputation. Or an even better thought would be for this company to offer only taking a commission off those cases where they are really able to get the money back for the person.
If they have even a 75 percent or better in getting funds back, they will do well. Unfortunately, it will take some time for this company to build a reputation and they will need to prove themselves.
If you have been approached by this company and have taken them up on their services, I would love to hear from you. Results will be greatly appreciated.
Share this Post[?]
Smoke This
-
-
-
-
-
Sign by Dealighted - Coupons and Deals
Sign by Dealighted - Coupons and DealsDid you visit while I was away?
From Dec 07' to March 08'
Blog Catalog
