Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/16) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by Christy [redacted] of[redacted] Family Child Care. Ms. [redacted] is requesting to have all late fees and finance charges removed from her account, and she will pay her original balance in...
full. As the Manager of Customer Care at HomePages Directories, I take every customer complaint seriously and attempt to resolve all complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner.
We take special pride in providing our customers with excellent service, and work closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner. In this case, we have reviewed the communication between of[redacted] Family Child Care and our office. I have included the communication timeline below.
March 19, 2014 - Ms. [redacted] signed a contract for an eighth page advertisement in the New Richmond, WI HomePages directory totaling $375.00.
April 3, 2014 - The advertisement Ms. [redacted]'s order was built and a proof was sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided us on the original contract.
June 23, 2014 - The New Richmond, WI HomePages was printed and distributed to every residence, business, and PO Box holder via the U.S. Post Office.
July 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
July 21, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
August 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
August 13, 2014 - A member of our accounting team attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] via phone. The call was answered and then disconnected.
August 18, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I have set up a bill pay through my bank and will pay what I can each month. My ad is for a daycare and I still only have 1 full time child so I'm not getting much income. When I bought the ad Olivia said it would be ok to make little payments until I get more business and can get it payed off."
August 18, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "Yes, we will accept any payment on the account. Please make sure we do receive a payment every 30 days to avoid the next step of the collection process."
August 18, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
September 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
September 4, 2014 - A payment of $25.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
September 23, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
October 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
October 6, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I received my invoice today with an extra charge of $30.74 on the total charges. It also states I am 61-90 days past due. I was told more than once that if I made a payment within every 30 days this would not happen. This is a list of my previous payments sent within the asked time period. Please remove the charges from my account. I am very disappointed in my choice of advertising with this company. I have not received the results I expected and the accounting is not accurate."
October 6, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: Thank you for your response. When we spoke back in August, I did advise of the payment plan that we had that would avoid late payment fee and finance charges. Unfortunately, this was not a payment plan you could afford. We were however still willing to work with you and advised that we will accept any payment on the account but interest and a late fee would accrue and the account will appear past due and you would receive notices."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "I am sorry I did misstate that we spoke. I was referring to the email you sent where you said that you could only make small payments on the account. I did see that you had sent a payment of $10; we unfortunately do not have a payment plan that low. We do work with our customers and accept any payment; however, interest and late fee will accrue. You will receive past due notices but as long as we are receiving a payment every 30 days the account will go no further in the process."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I am glad we both agree there was a misunderstanding. Considering you agreed you would accept ANY payment without being charged extra fees I request that the extra fees be removed and I will pay my original balance. I have contacted Revdex.com on your behalf and I hope we can get this resolved."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "The contract that was signed does indicate that if payment is not received within 30 days of invoice a late fee and interest will accrue. If you are able to do a payment of $320 today I can remove the late fee and finance charge, or if you would like I can set up a payment plan that we do have available of 3 monthly payment of $106.67 starting in October."
October 14, 2014 - Our Customer Care manager attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] via phone. He left a message to call regarding Ms. [redacted]'s advertising account.
As defined in the advertising agreement that was signed by Ms. [redacted] if payment in full is not received within thirty days of the initial invoice, the account is subject to a $15.00 late fee and a 1.5% interest charge per month. It was communicated to Ms. [redacted] by our accounting team member that we would accept any payment toward the account, and regular monthly payments will keep her account in house and avoid any accelerated collection efforts. While Ms. [redacted]'s account would be kept in house under this circumstance, her account is still considered past due without a formally agreed to payment arrangement and fees would accrue on a monthly basis.
Ms. [redacted] has made four regular monthly payments as advised by our accounting team member. I am willing to honor Ms. [redacted]'s request to remove any accrued late fees and/or finance charges associated with her advertising account because of her timely communication and regular monthly payments. Ms. [redacted] has similarly agreed to pay her original balance in full, less any fees and interest, which as of today is $320.00.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/04/11) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by [redacted] of [redacted] In the complaint Ms. [redacted] states that she does not want us soliciting her business, employees, or anyone else at her business. ...
Ms. [redacted]s also states that she could not find the contact information/ phone number for American Marketing & Publishing to contact us. As the Assistant Manager of Customer Care, I take every complaint very seriously and attempt to resolve all customer complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner.
We take great pride in providing all of our customers with great service, and also work closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner. Each HomePages directory that we print contains the contact information for American Marketing and Publishing in both the white and yellow pages. Our contact information, including our phone number, is also clearly listed at the top of our website: HomePagesdirectories.com
Per Ms. [redacted]s request, I have marked her advertising account do not call/ do not visit. This ensures that Ms. [redacted]s will not be solicited in the future. I would like to convey my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience or frustration. If Ms. [redacted]s has any further concerns, I would be happy to address them personally. My contact information is:
[redacted]
Assistant Manager-Customer Care
([redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/04/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Just another form of fast talk if you ask me. Yes, you are correct that American Marketing & Publishing, LLC is listed in the yellow pages but why would I check there when at the top of my phone book it tell me to find you at www.CloseBy.com, even your yellow page ad directs me to the www.CloseBy.com website. This is the site I went to in hopes of getting a phone number but all I could do was send an email through the site--which went ignored. Its slick way of making it difficult for customers to locate you. So who are you really, HomePageDirectories,com, www.Closeby.com, American Marketing & Publishing, LLC.? Its too bad that it had to result in a complaint to the Revdex.com because you ignored my message through your site. Of course, you're going to tell me that you apologize and did not receive the message, oops. Please do not feel the need to respond as I know it will not be sincere and you and your company will continue to harass local businesses.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2014/05/05) */
We are in receipt of the recent response filed by Ms. [redacted]s of [redacted] I can attest that all of the statements made in our previous response are 100% accurate and true based on our records.
In her response, Ms. [redacted]s has again confirmed that she has been able to locate our contact information, and I also provided my personal contact information for her reference. At this point, Ms. [redacted]'s account has been marked do not call/ do not visit and we will not be soliciting her, her employees, or anyone else at her business. This was Ms. [redacted]'s desired resolution and we have confirmed this as of our initial response.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/04/25) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Once again, a lot of fast talk. I only found you in the yellow pages after you told me what name to look under. I find it very telling that you failed to address the fact that you did not respond to the email I sent via your website. What's your excuse for that. Seriously, you should go into politics because all I hear is cover your but, and its sad that the Revdex.com takes you at your word when if they'd bother to read between the lines, they'd see there are reasons why you have so many complaints. All of these people can't be wrong.
Honestly I'm super impressed with what amp did with their optima program. I went from non exsistant to claimed and found on [redacted] and other search engines. Hard to find someone to do this for a home based business like mine.
The renewal practices of this company are fraudulent. Seeking a renewal for the 2016 book in January 2015 is a scam. I purchased advertising in August 2015 for the 2015 book. They came to my business in January 2015 and handed me a paper to sign, I thought it was for the 2015 year. NO, this was a renewal for the February 2016 book. I was not billed for this ad until March 2016. Then I was turned over to collections in April of 2016 for the $400 advertising fee. There was no date for the ad in the contract. "apparently they can have you sign up any time and bill you whenever they feel like it" VERY DISAPPOINTED in this company, requests for reversing the fees have been ignored, and now turned over to collections. NICE! NEVER sign anything for this company unless you know WHEN the advertising is for!!! Maybe my $400 mistake can be your advice. For SMALL struggling businesses, $400 is ALOT of money! I would not advertise here EVER again.
As a result of my horrific experience with Homepages I have a No Solicitation sign on my door! A young gal named Sarah came into my Studio to sell me Homepage advertising. I told her from the moment she walked in that I had a business partner and that I don't do anything without first discussing it with her. That I would be happy to look everything over, discuss it with my partner and then get back to her with a decision. I was also very clear that I did not think we could afford the cost as we had spent our advertising budget on other things. Sarah would not give up. She suggested that I sign the contract just to hold the space and that I could talk to my partner and let her know. I was uncomfortable with that and so then she told me that she was going in for some knee surgery and that it was going to be difficult for her to get back as she was going to be laid up for a couple of weeks and that it would be easier if I just signed everything so she didn't have to come back out, because of course there was a deadline. She told me that if my partner did not want to do it she would just destroy the contract! So after speaking with my business partner we decided not to do it so I called Sarah to tell her we were not interested only to find out that she had already submitted the paperwork and that there was no way she could cancel the contract. I was furious telling her that she lied to me but realized at that point that I was very stupid to have believed this lying conniving salesperson. I received the bill months later and I told them that I wasn't going to pay because I was lied to by Sarah. I have refused to pay it even though they reduced the amount because quite frankly I was lied to. The salesperson had no intention of waiting for me to call her back with my partner's decision. She submitted that paperwork immediately. Shame on her! I don't think I should have to pay for something when in fact this deceitful salesperson lied! In addition, I have not received one client as a result of advertising with Homepages, not one! I would never recommend this company to anyone!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/29) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by Mr.[redacted] of the [redacted] Campground. In the complaint, Mr.[redacted] is requesting to have the contract that he signed on 8/20/2014 to be cancelled, specifically for...
the[redacted] HomePages, IL directory for 2014-15. As the Customer Care Manager at HomePages Directories, I take every cancellation request seriously and attempt to resolve all customer complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner. We take special pride in providing our customers with excellent service, and working closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner.
In reviewing the timeline and communication for Mr.[redacted]'s account, we noted a conversation on 8/22/20114 that took place between Mr.[redacted] and a member of our Customer Care team. On that date, Mr.[redacted] stated that he was approached by one of our sales representatives,[redacted], to advertise in the[redacted] HomePages. Mr.[redacted] signed a contract for advertising in the[redacted] HomePages, but expressed to the sales representative that he was not happy with advertising results from the previous year and did not want to move forward. Our Customer Care team member did communicate this to both the sales representative and the area sales manager, directing them not to submit the contract. Per the direction of our Customer Care representative, the contract was not submitted to our office. As of today, 8/27/2014, we do not have a current contract on file for advertising in the[redacted] Homepages for the [redacted] Campground.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/10/16) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by Christy [redacted] of[redacted] Family Child Care. Ms. [redacted] is requesting to have all late fees and finance charges removed from her account, and she will pay her original balance in...
full. As the Manager of Customer Care at HomePages Directories, I take every customer complaint seriously and attempt to resolve all complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner.
We take special pride in providing our customers with excellent service, and work closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner. In this case, we have reviewed the communication between of[redacted] Family Child Care and our office. I have included the communication timeline below.
March 19, 2014 - Ms. [redacted] signed a contract for an eighth page advertisement in the New Richmond, WI HomePages directory totaling $375.00.
April 3, 2014 - The advertisement Ms. [redacted]'s order was built and a proof was sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided us on the original contract.
June 23, 2014 - The New Richmond, WI HomePages was printed and distributed to every residence, business, and PO Box holder via the U.S. Post Office.
July 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
July 21, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
August 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
August 13, 2014 - A member of our accounting team attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] via phone. The call was answered and then disconnected.
August 18, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I have set up a bill pay through my bank and will pay what I can each month. My ad is for a daycare and I still only have 1 full time child so I'm not getting much income. When I bought the ad Olivia said it would be ok to make little payments until I get more business and can get it payed off."
August 18, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "Yes, we will accept any payment on the account. Please make sure we do receive a payment every 30 days to avoid the next step of the collection process."
August 18, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
September 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
September 4, 2014 - A payment of $25.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
September 23, 2014 - A payment of $10.00 was credited to Ms. [redacted]'s account.
October 1, 2014 - A statement was generated and sent to Ms. [redacted] to the mailing address she provided on her original contract.
October 6, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I received my invoice today with an extra charge of $30.74 on the total charges. It also states I am 61-90 days past due. I was told more than once that if I made a payment within every 30 days this would not happen. This is a list of my previous payments sent within the asked time period. Please remove the charges from my account. I am very disappointed in my choice of advertising with this company. I have not received the results I expected and the accounting is not accurate."
October 6, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: Thank you for your response. When we spoke back in August, I did advise of the payment plan that we had that would avoid late payment fee and finance charges. Unfortunately, this was not a payment plan you could afford. We were however still willing to work with you and advised that we will accept any payment on the account but interest and a late fee would accrue and the account will appear past due and you would receive notices."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "I am sorry I did misstate that we spoke. I was referring to the email you sent where you said that you could only make small payments on the account. I did see that you had sent a payment of $10; we unfortunately do not have a payment plan that low. We do work with our customers and accept any payment; however, interest and late fee will accrue. You will receive past due notices but as long as we are receiving a payment every 30 days the account will go no further in the process."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team received an email response from Ms. [redacted]: "I am glad we both agree there was a misunderstanding. Considering you agreed you would accept ANY payment without being charged extra fees I request that the extra fees be removed and I will pay my original balance. I have contacted Revdex.com on your behalf and I hope we can get this resolved."
October 7, 2014 - A member of our accounting team replied to Ms. [redacted]'s email: "The contract that was signed does indicate that if payment is not received within 30 days of invoice a late fee and interest will accrue. If you are able to do a payment of $320 today I can remove the late fee and finance charge, or if you would like I can set up a payment plan that we do have available of 3 monthly payment of $106.67 starting in October."
October 14, 2014 - Our Customer Care manager attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] via phone. He left a message to call regarding Ms. [redacted]'s advertising account.
As defined in the advertising agreement that was signed by Ms. [redacted] if payment in full is not received within thirty days of the initial invoice, the account is subject to a $15.00 late fee and a 1.5% interest charge per month. It was communicated to Ms. [redacted] by our accounting team member that we would accept any payment toward the account, and regular monthly payments will keep her account in house and avoid any accelerated collection efforts. While Ms. [redacted]'s account would be kept in house under this circumstance, her account is still considered past due without a formally agreed to payment arrangement and fees would accrue on a monthly basis.
Ms. [redacted] has made four regular monthly payments as advised by our accounting team member. I am willing to honor Ms. [redacted]'s request to remove any accrued late fees and/or finance charges associated with her advertising account because of her timely communication and regular monthly payments. Ms. [redacted] has similarly agreed to pay her original balance in full, less any fees and interest, which as of today is $320.00.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/04/11) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by [redacted] of [redacted] In the complaint Ms. [redacted] states that she does not want us soliciting her business, employees, or anyone else at her business. ...
Ms. [redacted]s also states that she could not find the contact information/ phone number for American Marketing & Publishing to contact us. As the Assistant Manager of Customer Care, I take every complaint very seriously and attempt to resolve all customer complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner.
We take great pride in providing all of our customers with great service, and also work closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner. Each HomePages directory that we print contains the contact information for American Marketing and Publishing in both the white and yellow pages. Our contact information, including our phone number, is also clearly listed at the top of our website: HomePagesdirectories.com
Per Ms. [redacted]s request, I have marked her advertising account do not call/ do not visit. This ensures that Ms. [redacted]s will not be solicited in the future. I would like to convey my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience or frustration. If Ms. [redacted]s has any further concerns, I would be happy to address them personally. My contact information is:
[redacted]
Assistant Manager-Customer Care
([redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/04/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Just another form of fast talk if you ask me. Yes, you are correct that American Marketing & Publishing, LLC is listed in the yellow pages but why would I check there when at the top of my phone book it tell me to find you at www.CloseBy.com, even your yellow page ad directs me to the www.CloseBy.com website. This is the site I went to in hopes of getting a phone number but all I could do was send an email through the site--which went ignored. Its slick way of making it difficult for customers to locate you. So who are you really, HomePageDirectories,com, www.Closeby.com, American Marketing & Publishing, LLC.? Its too bad that it had to result in a complaint to the Revdex.com because you ignored my message through your site. Of course, you're going to tell me that you apologize and did not receive the message, oops. Please do not feel the need to respond as I know it will not be sincere and you and your company will continue to harass local businesses.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2014/05/05) */
We are in receipt of the recent response filed by Ms. [redacted]s of [redacted] I can attest that all of the statements made in our previous response are 100% accurate and true based on our records.
In her response, Ms. [redacted]s has again confirmed that she has been able to locate our contact information, and I also provided my personal contact information for her reference. At this point, Ms. [redacted]'s account has been marked do not call/ do not visit and we will not be soliciting her, her employees, or anyone else at her business. This was Ms. [redacted]'s desired resolution and we have confirmed this as of our initial response.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/04/25) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Once again, a lot of fast talk. I only found you in the yellow pages after you told me what name to look under. I find it very telling that you failed to address the fact that you did not respond to the email I sent via your website. What's your excuse for that. Seriously, you should go into politics because all I hear is cover your but, and its sad that the Revdex.com takes you at your word when if they'd bother to read between the lines, they'd see there are reasons why you have so many complaints. All of these people can't be wrong.
Honestly I'm super impressed with what amp did with their optima program. I went from non exsistant to claimed and found on [redacted] and other search engines. Hard to find someone to do this for a home based business like mine.
The renewal practices of this company are fraudulent. Seeking a renewal for the 2016 book in January 2015 is a scam. I purchased advertising in August 2015 for the 2015 book. They came to my business in January 2015 and handed me a paper to sign, I thought it was for the 2015 year. NO, this was a renewal for the February 2016 book. I was not billed for this ad until March 2016. Then I was turned over to collections in April of 2016 for the $400 advertising fee. There was no date for the ad in the contract. "apparently they can have you sign up any time and bill you whenever they feel like it" VERY DISAPPOINTED in this company, requests for reversing the fees have been ignored, and now turned over to collections. NICE! NEVER sign anything for this company unless you know WHEN the advertising is for!!! Maybe my $400 mistake can be your advice. For SMALL struggling businesses, $400 is ALOT of money! I would not advertise here EVER again.
As a result of my horrific experience with Homepages I have a No Solicitation sign on my door! A young gal named Sarah came into my Studio to sell me Homepage advertising. I told her from the moment she walked in that I had a business partner and that I don't do anything without first discussing it with her. That I would be happy to look everything over, discuss it with my partner and then get back to her with a decision. I was also very clear that I did not think we could afford the cost as we had spent our advertising budget on other things. Sarah would not give up. She suggested that I sign the contract just to hold the space and that I could talk to my partner and let her know. I was uncomfortable with that and so then she told me that she was going in for some knee surgery and that it was going to be difficult for her to get back as she was going to be laid up for a couple of weeks and that it would be easier if I just signed everything so she didn't have to come back out, because of course there was a deadline. She told me that if my partner did not want to do it she would just destroy the contract! So after speaking with my business partner we decided not to do it so I called Sarah to tell her we were not interested only to find out that she had already submitted the paperwork and that there was no way she could cancel the contract. I was furious telling her that she lied to me but realized at that point that I was very stupid to have believed this lying conniving salesperson. I received the bill months later and I told them that I wasn't going to pay because I was lied to by Sarah. I have refused to pay it even though they reduced the amount because quite frankly I was lied to. The salesperson had no intention of waiting for me to call her back with my partner's decision. She submitted that paperwork immediately. Shame on her! I don't think I should have to pay for something when in fact this deceitful salesperson lied! In addition, I have not received one client as a result of advertising with Homepages, not one! I would never recommend this company to anyone!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/08/29) */
We are in receipt of the recent complaint filed by Mr.[redacted] of the [redacted] Campground. In the complaint, Mr.[redacted] is requesting to have the contract that he signed on 8/20/2014 to be cancelled, specifically for...
the[redacted] HomePages, IL directory for 2014-15. As the Customer Care Manager at HomePages Directories, I take every cancellation request seriously and attempt to resolve all customer complaints in a prompt and satisfactory manner. We take special pride in providing our customers with excellent service, and working closely with them to ensure that any issues regarding their advertising are resolved in an amicable manner.
In reviewing the timeline and communication for Mr.[redacted]'s account, we noted a conversation on 8/22/20114 that took place between Mr.[redacted] and a member of our Customer Care team. On that date, Mr.[redacted] stated that he was approached by one of our sales representatives,[redacted], to advertise in the[redacted] HomePages. Mr.[redacted] signed a contract for advertising in the[redacted] HomePages, but expressed to the sales representative that he was not happy with advertising results from the previous year and did not want to move forward. Our Customer Care team member did communicate this to both the sales representative and the area sales manager, directing them not to submit the contract. Per the direction of our Customer Care representative, the contract was not submitted to our office. As of today, 8/27/2014, we do not have a current contract on file for advertising in the[redacted] Homepages for the [redacted] Campground.