Bristol Who's Who

Review: I think this organization is actually a scam that provides nearly no services and charges exorbitant fees. Since I realized this the day after I gave payment information over the phone I have been trying to cancel my membership and obtain a refund. I spent hours on the phone requesting a refund but I was denied and they informed me that there was no way for me to cancel my membership.

I do not now, nor did I ever want a membership with this organization. I was tricked into signing up because I thought the organization was legitimate and associated with universities I have attended. I now know that it is not.

They will claim that they do provide valuable services and that they are legitimate but there is plenty of evidence on the internet that they do not. Former employees talk about how the business is actually a scam and how they hated working there because their job was to fool and rip off clients.

Finally, if they are a legitimate business, why is it so difficult to cancel a membership and get a refund? If they are providing services then surely they can accept the money from those who find their service valuable and refund those who want nothing to do with them and think they are a scam.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund and I would like all of my information removed from this organization's website and internal database.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and the business has agreed to refund the original charge. This resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I was approached by this company after I made an enquiry. They made their service sound totally legitimate and asked a bunch of questions. Consequently I was asked to pay 1400 dollars for a lifetime membership. After getting access to the product I realised this was in no way worth the money that I had paid. Soon after I received a call from another agent from [redacted] Who s Who claiming I had to pay an additional 700 $. When I refused the lady started getting annoyed and claimed that it was a necessary part pf the product. This made me pretty annoyed. On doing research I discovered numerous unhappy customers who also were claiming to having been scammed.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded the full amount (1189$) for this membership that will be of no use to me since I refuse to purchase the upsell.

Business

Response:

The [redacted] Who's Who Finance Department has been trying to contact the member in regards to the request so that we may reach a resolution but have been unsuccessful in reaching said member. If possible, please have [redacted] contact us ASAP so that we may resolve. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because I have not been contacted. [redacted] is the name of the Revdex.com mediator. [redacted] had no problems contacting me when they were trying to sell me something. My number is [redacted]. Please organize for a refund ASAP.[redacted]

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

As per our conversation with this client, [redacted], an agreement was made to drop him down to a lower membership. Attached, you can find a copy of the signed agreement. If he would like, we can resend his receipt.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I bought a lifetime membership back in June-July this year. I chose the lifetime option to avoid any future charges. I was told I was not going to get any additional charge except for an optional press release or at least that's what I understood.

I received the Welcome email on July [redacted]. One month later I received a call and an email from the [redacted] on July [redacted] offering what I thought it was an optional charge so I asked him for some time to review the information I had and if I accepted the charge. I rejected the service he was offering on July [redacted]. One month later I noticed a charge to my credit card. When I asked the reason for this charge, the [redacted] said they notified me about this future charge, he could re-send the notification and void this charge every month. Since then I have sent 3 emails with no response at all, one of them asking him to send all the charges details, notifications, confirmation for the charges voids with no response at all.

This is not my expectation of an excellent service from a company dedicated to publish successful people and their achievements. This time it's a simple request I am being ignored by, but next time my career could be in risk.Desired Settlement: I would like to cancel my membership and get back the founds I have invested on it.

Business

Response:

We drafted an agreement document with [redacted] to refund a total amount of $1078.95 to resolve the matter. [redacted] signed the document and we issued the refunds o this matter is now fully resolved.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: Review: In January 2015, while reviewing my profile on [redacted], I noticed a pop up stating I was selected for listing in the Bristol Who’s Who directory. No costs for the service noted so I submitted my information. I received a phone call from their sales rep attempting to sell me a lifetime membership for over $900 dollars. During the ensuing conversation, the marketer reduced the costs down to a one-year membership offer for $295 dollars. I agreed to try the service for a year and paid that fee on Jan [redacted] with the understanding the $295 was my costs for a one year trial membership. On Wednesday February **, 2015 I received a phone call from a representative welcoming me and during the conversation mentioned that there was a one-time $639.95 fee that I needed to pay to complete the process. This caught me totally by surprise, as the one-year membership fee of $295 was all that had been discussed during the initial conversation. The call ended and the representative informed me that my credit card would be billed for this additional fee. The first thing Thursday, February [redacted] (the next morning) I emailed the representative that I had spoken with and explained my surprise with the additional costs. I informed him I had researched all the materials provided by Bristol verifying that nothing identified this additional cost. I stated that I was not authorizing the charge to my credit card, wanted my membership cancelled and my original $295 dollar fee returned. I chose the email because the high pressure sale techniques employed was not something I would subject myself to again with Bristol and wanted a written audit trail of my requests from this point forward. Hearing nothing from the representative nor receiving no e-mail correspondences I wrote to the President & CEO of the company requesting a full refund explaining the circumstances. There was no address or contact information for the President that I could find on the Bristol web site so I used the physical address identified on the Revdex.com site under the complaints section for Bristol. My first [redacted] letter was returned stating the addressee was unknown because it was a multiple story building. The second sent identified the floor but to date I have heard nothing form Bristol nor was my correspondence returned.

Sincerely,Desired Settlement: Desired Settlement: I want Bristol to refund my initial fee or $295.00 and the second charge for $639.95. I have cancelled the credit card used to prevent them from making additional charges and would not be comfortable in providing another so a simple check for the $934.95 will be acceptable.

Business

Response:

After purchasing the initial membership, any further purchases are optional. We have tried to contact the client by calling and emailing them on multiple occasions to try to come up with a resolution to this matter. We need to speak with him on the phone in order to resolve this. We will go ahead and cancel the Multimedia Press Release charge. As per the original membership, please have the client call us to resolve this matter as swiftly as possible. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

This issue is not resolved at this time. I have not received a refund of either of the charges ($259.00 & $639.95)made to my credit card. As I mentioned in original complain the resolution I seek is a full refund of these two charges to me as the credit card used was cancelled to avoid any further charges. I will attempt to contact Mr. S[redacted] next week.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

As per our Finance Department, the initial charge of $259.00 has also been refunded. Please have the client review their bank/credit cards statements. Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. The refund for the $259.00 was made on 8-**-15 and now reflects in my account. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Review: I am a member of the NY and DC Bars. While updating my profile at the [redacted] alumni website, a pop up window appeared saying that I had been selected to be listed in the Bristol Who’s Who directory that had listings of thousands of prominent professionals from around the world. No fee was mentioned - so I filled out the online form with my basic contact information.

On ** November 2014, I received a phone call from [redacted] who tried to sell me a lifetime membership in the Bristol Network for $900+. I balked at that, and she backed down in stages to various less expensive levels. She was very persuasive in convincing me of the ways that Bristol could help me expand my business contacts worldwide. I finally agreed to a $182 one-year membership - to give it a try. She then referred me to the accounting department, who advised me that there were additional processing charges. At the end of the day, my credit card was charged $208.85 (CN# [redacted]).

On ** December 2014, I received a call on my cell from an unknown source (the caller ID screen showed Unknown). It was [redacted] from Bristol, who said she was to be my Bristol adviser from now on. She then began a long spiel about the need to provide Bristol with biographical and business experience information for my Bristol profile that was to be distributed worldwide. She went on to explain that my professional resume would be edited by Bristol professionals to improve its effectiveness, but that I would have the final say as to its content. In all, it was slick performance - one that soon morphed to more money. As in the case of [redacted] started ridiculously high - $900+ for various promotional materials and extensions of my one-year membership. And she was very persuasive - and seemed to be well informed. We finally settled on $338.95 for a membership extension and a package of benefits I would receive.

When the call was finished, I realized that this was a phone scam, and that I had been had. I went to the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) online and, sure enough, my experience was exactly the same as three other people who had filed complaints about Bristol through Revdex.com this year.

I sent this same information to Bristol by email on * December 2014 - and demanded a refund. I have heard nothing from them.Desired Settlement: I want Bristol to refund $547.80 by reversing the charges on my Mastercard, whose number they have. When the refund has been processed, I will get a new Mastercard to prevent them from doing further mischief with my credit card information.

Business

Response:

Client signed a document accepting a refund of $19.95, $59.95 and $338.95. These refunds have been issued as agreed and now this matter is resolved.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,