Idea Analyst and Associates

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
This is another complaint - a followup for complaint [redacted]. I should have been paid back on or before March 12th 2016 as she stated in her response. It is now March 16th. She is clearly ignoring her promise again. She gives tons of excuses and has taken advantage of me for way too long. I don't want to read a whole novel of excuses and explanations. A bank would never accept that. When you get a loan from a bank, all that does not matter. No more excuses. I am disgusted with [redacted]'s lack of responsibility and respect. I foolishly trusted her work that she submitted to you in the last complaint and marked it as closed. She doesn't keep her word. I lost potential business due to her neglegence as well. Please refer to complaint [redacted] for details. I should not have closed the case. Because I have so many issues with her, I did not know how to describe the primary nature of the complain.
I want what was promised by [redacted] when she promised to reimbuse me in 2 weeks or sooner. It is now 18 days and I want my money back immediately. I want the same reimbursement as promised. Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.When I filed this complaint on April 30th, I did not yet have the refund.  However, while I wish [redacted] no ill will, I do feel it should be noted she did not 'honor' the refund it at all.  She missed her contractual deadline of April 14th, then three days later asked for another ten days, which I granted.  She missed that deadline as well and simply wrote she would send what she could within a week.  She sent nothing in that week and did not communicate further.  After those three missed deadlines I had good reason to assume I would not receive anything from her, thus leading me to file with the Revdex.com of San Diego.  Thankfully my credit card company protected me and took the money back.  Note this also means Idea Analyst did have the funds but [redacted] was simply not a priority.   
Regards,
[redacted]

I typed a full response to this complaint before. Indicating MANY details, in terms of how the marketing coop did not occur so I offered to refund her money, and I gave her double the value of services (will be $600 value once distributed, client does not want work distributed now until she is paid back for the personal loan). The press release is complete and we were working together on it over the holidays and she said she would be taking a course which upon completion we could add to the press release. I have done that. I have been in business 15 years, and I go above and beyond for clients. I offered her more than DOUBLE work product since the coop did not occur, the coop could not occur because we did not have enough participants that is why it is so inexpensive for them to get advertising, marketing / advertising coops run that way. She said she would like the press release since the coop didn't happen instead of her money back, and as I said I didn't offer her a like value product, I offered to write and distribute the press release. I have worked very long days for 15 years helping clients. Her response to the press release in December was wow, you spent so much time, this is really good. I went to school for marketing and journalism. Other clients who had to wait got their work and are getting picked up left and right. In Dec I have a note from her, don't worry about mine until you catch up on others, I  know you are going through a lot without being able to find housing etc (not her exact words but close I am paraphrasing and pointing that out, but I can pull the email, I have every email saved for past 10 years). The press release is outstanding, AND it could be benefiting her now. 
The personal side and my "incredible" circumstances I want to say this. I am a publicist, a business development consultant, I've worked as an actress on TV (travel show), I produce on social justice films, I am a chairperson of various social justice organizations and I will say this, EXCEPTIONAL people can go through hard times. My "incredible" circumstances I was having immense difficulty finding a suitable place to live in so cal, where as a long term animal advocate, I had to find a place for me and 3 dogs and it was hard. I had to pay daily/short term stays until I could find suitable living arrangements. [redacted] helped over the holiday with a LOAN yes for several days at a hotel so we would keep a roof over head, I could not visit family, I didn't even eat well on the holidays and I was working 15 hour days to sustain and provide for myself and my dogs. So yes some friends helped, none of them were angry they thanked God I was okay and able to keep my 3 dogs with me. I worked until 3 a.m. on the computer, to get clients work done WELL as I care about my clients and keep sustaining, I had to do that for months and my dogs ate, but sometimes I did not have enough food. I am okay, I am an established professional with plenty of products of work and you do not, stay in business 15 years if you don't care immensely about people and ones clients. I am an animal advocate, I kept my dogs with me as it should be. Trust me I wanted to pay her back the first day she asked for the money and all who know me KNOW I am good to the core. I know she has indicated she doesn't want to hear about my hardship or explanations. BUT its TRUTH. Just like in my writing for journalism, when [redacted] said wait on me in Dec (I can pull email) we were editing in Dec too, actually had pleasant conversations and then she was finishing coursework, well I wasn't going to put the course work in the pr piece until it was complete. 
The press release I wrote is worth more than the $200 she paid, anyone reading this google my press releases, I wrote them (the recent ones) on minimal food because I had to pay so much daily for short terms until my dogs and I finally found a place to live., I slept in a church for 2 days, they can vouch for me from the hardship. The LOAN not business expense that was housing for my dogs and I (3 nights) we never went without a roof because each day I worked long days and it was a lot to provide that for months when hotels cost $70-$100 a day on the cheap end, and that was only option with family thousands of miles away and keeping my dogs (who had previously been abandoned by others, not Lady, lady's guardian passed in May).
My point is extraordinary educated people can go through hardship and it doesn't mean you have done anything wrong, as in not working hard enough, or not trying. I have worked LONG days since I started my consulting practice, learning so much and working hard for many clients. I was going through hardship YET when the discussion came up with [redacted] and I about do you want refund or I will help you more and do the press release, as it helped her specifically, not just part of a coop. (I helped implement an advertising coop to increase tourism for an island before, I have proof of that too, so much proof. Linked in, pages of work product, google search and see my social justice work, actual work product for clients. So even though hardship I offered to basically triple value of work. [redacted] and I were making edits, my clients can see my PR before its put out to ask for changes, in Dec. And she said wait on hers, to get caught up on other work, keep roof overhead. The loan wasn't business, it was personal to help with housing when my dogs and I were in between housing.
I AM an accomplished professional, there is public proof galore. I actually tripled her work product which I would get out today, BUT she says "don't distribute" or she'll sue me. To get your blog doing better, I would have said okay to release that the same day. Better not in terms of content, I built you up, focused on your strengths, saw your value and good that you do (speaking to client). So when there is so much out there about my integrity why do you have such a hard time seeing mine when it is right in front of you. I CARE about my clients, my heart is gold, I work harder than anyone I know and that press release is exceptional. the best thing to do is distribute it to help you (my client).
The loan, I stated I would pay it 14 days from my response. that would make sense, within 14 days of the day I posted and I will do so. To wish you the very best sincerely and move forward. It has not yet been 14 days.
You will be paid back for the personal loan in FULL the moment I have it. It is not yet 14 days from my response, please see the value of the amazing work that could help you majorly if you would understand the value of my distributing my work that I did for you. My press releases to help people afford them ...the price to write them went up JUST $20 in 15 years to $300 and then $300 for distribution which for an established publicist is very reasonable. You paid $200 for the work (the coop again which was cancelled offered to give back money, or said I'll do a press release, to make up for other advertising coop canceling, I simply didn't cancel all work I offered you something better or the refund, you accepted the press release with distribution.). If you go out and pay another established publicist to write and distribute the release as I do, even the services you are looking at much more.
The loan, I am sorry I couldn't pay it back sooner, but I worked non stop and had to keep a roof overhead. My clients are happy dogs and I okay, and I overcame all obstacles and see how extraordinary it is that I was able to keep producing high quality work, through hardship.
My career is established, very. One look at my linked in demonstrates that. My next bit of income will go to repay the person loan so we can just move forward. I wish you success with your blog. AGAIN, it has not been 14 days from my response indicating I will repay the loan within 14 days.

Review: I hired Idea Analyst & Associates ([redacted]) on November 25, 2013 to consult on raising

distribution funds for my documentary short film, [redacted]. I was given a

deadline for upfront payment of $3,000 which I met on November 25, 2013.

What followed was a series of missed conference calls, ignored emails, and neglected deadlines in

providing promised work. The work which was ultimately (and belatedly) submitted was considerably

subpar, sloppy, inappropriate to the purpose and unacceptable. After another series of progressively

incoherent and unprofessional emails, my co-producer ([redacted]) and I became increasingly

concerned about working with Ms. [redacted].

Her first "list'' of potential funding leads was submitted on December 17, 2013. Of the funding sources

she put together, we did not even qualify for submission to at least half of them due to numerous

factors of which Ms. [redacted] was well aware including living in the wrong state, having a short rather

than feature length piece, etc. In addition, it suspiciously looked like she, for the most part, simply

copied the recent WomenArts funding email list (from December 14, 2013) which is sent out for free to

anyone who signs up. Thus, we received no benefit from our relationship with Ms. [redacted] and no

useful services in exchange for advance payment.

Ms. [redacted] herself originally suggested terminating the agreement on a conference call with Ms.

[redacted] on January 7, 2014. Per Ms. [redacted]'s recollection of that call, "After being unable to

reach her [Ms. [redacted]] on the phone and being unable to leave a message due to a full voicemail

box, I texted her to arrange a time to speak. We spoke that evening for about an hour. I tried to lay out

the concerns [redacted] and I had about the lack of communication and missed deadlines, but before I could

get too far, [redacted] began telling me about how upset she was with the collaboration. She felt that [redacted]

showed a lack of compassion in not understanding the missed deadlines due to illness and the holidays

and that [redacted]'s voicemails and correspondence had been rude and hostile. She talked at length about

not working that way with her clients and about trying to infuse positive energy into everything she

does. She talked quite a bit about what she would need to continue working on the project, i.e. a more

positive attitude from our end, and that she would happily refund the money if she received one more

message that she deemed unfriendly. It was a long, rambling conversation. While I had hoped that we

ended on a note of mutual understanding about how to proceed, I was still very concerned about her

communication skills both with us and funders." Nonetheless, Ms. [redacted] and I decided on that

date to accept one more attempt at the working relationship.

After a second similarly problematic list was submitted on February 10, 2014, followed by a protracted,

fruitless conference call with all three of us two days later, Ms. [redacted] and I did decide to terminate

the agreement. Ms. [redacted] agreed to this termination on February 12, 2014 via email but it took hel'

until March 12, 2014 to sign the actual Termination Agreement (see attached Termination Agreement).

She failed to meet the mutually agreed upon, contractual refund date of April 14, 2014, despite

reminders being sent to her via email and text in the week leading up to the deadline. On April17, 2014

she requested another ten days to make full payment, to which I agreed. She has now missed that

deadline, as well, and cannot even give a date when she will be able to refund the full amount (see

attached email correspondence). She continues to write and stress the fact that she has courteously

agreed to let me out of the contract but, her promised refund has yet to appear. Any business can say

they are going to refund your money, but it is the actual refunding of the money that counts.

Ms. [redacted] and her attorney, [redacted] of [redacted] (phone [redacted]), were warned

more than once that I would file complaints with both the California Attorney General's office as well as

the Revdex.com if she missed the extended deadline, but she failed to meet it nevertheless.

Given her track record of disregard for deadlines, at this point we have serious doubts we will ever see

this refund and believe Ms. [redacted] knowingly failed to deliver services as promised, deliberately

breaching her own contract in both work produced and refund promised.

I fully expect Ms. [redacted] to respond to this complaint with a protracted tale about how much work

she has already done on my project, how many hours of work she didn't even charge me for and how

she was so "courteous" to even "let me out" of the agreement. She has done so In numerous em ails to

Ms. Gharrimashi and me, as well as in response to a complaint listed against her on the RevDex.com website. However, If the events are reviewed carefully, her claims will be proved baseless.

I have attached the Termination Agreement as well as the email correspondence I have exchanged with

Ms. [redacted] starting at the time of the original refund deadline. A complete time line of events as

well as copies of all correspondence and work product can be made available upon request.

As Ms. [redacted] is now In breach of contract, I am requesting the Revdex.com of San Diego

to mediate the return of these funds. Many thanks for your time and consideration.Desired Settlement: Immediately refund the contractually obligated amount of $2,625.

Business

Response:

In summary, yes there were numerous times that it was unpleasant in working with this client. I have many clients, and have worked as a business development consultant for years, 1 complaint in 14 years of business or as an independent contractor and have maintained an A rating with the Revdex.com.. One big erroneous allegation on behalf of the client was that I simply pulled my funding source list from another organization, simply far from the truth and I have the evidence to back that up. It is true that I received unpleasant messages from [redacted] even on a holiday (Christmas) and still on my end, rushed to get her an initial list of funding sources I was considering for her project. And yes I was in the hospital twice, and little compassion was shown by the Client.

At the end of the day, we did in fact have a conference call to discuss the funding sources for her project, a list I went back and worked on a considerable amount more (have the list of funding sources) to discuss with them. Out the gate they were negative. I explained that the reason why I receive positive results is from pleasant working relationships and I do everything to make sure my clients are confident in the approach., and go above and beyond in the amount of productive work I do on behalf of my clients. Regarding the second funding list, of which they told me every reason why they would not qualify for many of them (even once saying, [redacted] is a first time filmmaker, indicating the reason she wouldn't qualify for one, which is not a valid reason, first time filmmakers do qualify for film grants)., Other reasons they provided for several other funding sources, were viable concerns, but there were reasons as to why I was considering approaching. They did not care to hear my feedback, even after years of working with funding sources, some of whom I have had conversations with have told me on occasion they do very much consider my projects I present, and have complimented me on the work being above par, and outstanding (we never got to this point...ie submitting work to funding sources regarding this Client).

I explained there were viable reasons for selecting many on that list and I was more than happy to go back and add additional sources, and to speak directly with funding sources (many with whom I have worked with in the past, through other project submissions) to get their direct feedback regarding their project. I do everything possible to make certain to put my projects in front of the most viable grant funding sources for their respective projects, and only take on film projects which have a potential opportunity for grant funding, in terms of consideration of their project, the decisions at the end of the day are up to the funding sources. I was willing to work with them to that point, but they said no, and asked to be let out of our service agreement.

They expressed to me that they appreciated my passion for their project, yet they could put this money to better use, such as licensing fees for the film. [redacted] is the person I had the contract with, and [redacted] and I had many conversations prior to engaging in the contract, and she and I were both looking forward to proceeding. Even though I could have proceeded with the work that they hired Idea Analyst and Associates, Inc for and held them to the agreement, as there was no breach of contract, we had not even prepared letters of inquiries yet for the potential grant opportunities or proposals for the funding sources, I agreed to let them out of the contract because this would not have been a positive or fruitful working relationship. I have perpetuated many entities and continue to over the years and those clients were thankful for the involvement and what I was able to provide through the company.

Out of the gate, I decreased the retainer to be able to accommodate Ms. [redacted] as finances were tight, and charged her a per project rate. Work was done on the contract, hours were spent of my time, but again to accommodate and promote good will, I only charged her for 3 hours of my time, and agreed to refund the $2625. With the initial proposed time frame in terms of the refund, I told Ms. [redacted] it would be 60 days for the refund but she would be refunded the full $2625. She pushed and pushed indicating that was not acceptable, so I agreed to accommodate to try to accommodate her and refund her within 30 days and yes signed a termination agreement to that effect. The company had cash flow restraints, and the cash was not available to take care of her refund immediately.. I explained this to Ms. [redacted] and maintained correspondence with her, always, as you can see by the proof of emails she provided, and let her know that absolutely she would be refunded but it would just take a bit more time to have the funds to be able to do so. Her contract was issued in November and she indicated she indicated she wanted to cancel approximately 2 months later. Again, I could have proceeded with work and refused her request, but I honored it, as I do not want a working relationship which is not productive, pleasant and fruitful for all parties involved. The only issue here was needing more time to get the full refund to her. That point is neither here nor there at this point, as I have honored and accepted liability for chargeback the amount on [redacted] in the amount of $2625 to be refunded, and that is in process. At this point I am simply parting ways, as we have both agreed, and I sincerely wish Ms. [redacted] nothing the best with her project. Any other questions, feel free to contact me. I am happy to provide the documentation once the amt of $2625 has been fully processed by [redacted]. There may be other erroneous things in Ms [redacted]s statement, many in terms of difference of opinion etc...but the fact remains and in short...there was a contract, I performed work under that contract, Client requested to be let out of that contract, I agreed, my atty issued a termination agreement and at this point the refund (liability for the charge back, has been accepted in the amount of $2625. There was a previous delay in processing the refund, and I did correspond with Ms. [redacted] and was forthright about that. Refund has now been granted. No further dispute here.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

When I filed this complaint on April 30th, I did not yet have the refund. However, while I wish [redacted] no ill will, I do feel it should be noted she did not 'honor' the refund it at all. She missed her contractual deadline of April 14th, then three days later asked for another ten days, which I granted. She missed that deadline as well and simply wrote she would send what she could within a week. She sent nothing in that week and did not communicate further. After those three missed deadlines I had good reason to assume I would not receive anything from her, thus leading me to file with the Revdex.com of San Diego. Thankfully my credit card company protected me and took the money back. Note this also means Idea Analyst did have the funds but [redacted] was simply not a priority.

Regards,

Business

Response:

My last communication I sent to [redacted] was at the end of the month of April, indicating that the company was having a severe cash flow crunch, and their was no unwillingness to refund the transaction, my attorney was also copied on that correspondence. I also explained to her that I let her out of the contract as a courtesy, as there was a contractual agreement, and I did not even charge her for every hour of work, which I did not. I simply asked for her patience, as I needed more time to refund her. In fact, the reason why [redacted] refunded the money so promptly was because I accepted the liability (meaning agreed promptly to refund the money).

When I spoke to [redacted], they said even though you told her you would refund her, this sounds like a case of buyers remorse, and they indicated that they typically fight those refunds and don't allow those refunds to go through. I explained I did agree to honor her refund and that I wished to do so, that IS the reason that the refund was processed, because I in fact wrote to [redacted], explained the situation, and said yes I want to give her her money back, there is documentation with [redacted] that I am the one that accepted liability for the transaction, meaning so the refund would be promptly returned to [redacted].

As their recommendation, was that I should not terminate a contract due to buyer's remorse, again I said I understand that but agreed to let [redacted] out of the contract and wanted to refund her in full. So this is what happened and can be verified. AGAIN, the reason the refund was returned was because I informed [redacted] NOT to fight it, or delay it and that it should be returned. I did not have to let [redacted] out of the contract for changing her mind, but I did as that is what she requested, and I also felt the working relationship was strained and normally myself and my clients happily work together to achieve results. So yes I let her out of the agreement. There WAS in fact a delay in the refund, but as I last stated at the end of April it was going to be paid, there was a cash flow crunch. And again, I am the one who wrote to [redacted] to say please honor the charge back and refund the client. Now that the money has been refunded from my account, there is no further dispute here. I wish [redacted] the best and just want to put this to rest. I have gone above and beyond in letting her out of the contract in the first place, not charging her for EVERY hour of my time, and AGAIN even though [redacted] told me this was a case of buyer's remorse, and they typically don't let those charge backs go through, I wrote to them, and said I issued a termination agreement by way of my attorney, I agreed to a refund and I told them to please honor it, had I not done that this still would have been delayed. I wanted [redacted] to have her money back so that we both could just move forward from this. If there are any further questions, I am happy to answer them, but at the end of the day [redacted] has been refunded in full and was not even billed for every hour. thank you.