Got a scam call today I wanted to let other people know about.
The caller ID was “Gorden Leslie” with the phone number 773-891-5581. Here’s a transcript of the message:
Hi, this is Patrick calling from Mitchell Communications Group. I have made numerous attempts to reach you [lie!] regarding an entry form that was filled out in your name within the last 12 to 18 months to receive a new car. [probable lie!] This will be my final attempt to notify that your name was pulled and you’re going to receive one of our top four major prizes. It would be in your best interest to give me a call back as soon as possible. The number is toll free at 1-877-279-3457 extension 243. We’re not a telemarketing agency [lie!] or a timeshare and this is not a cold call so please do not ignore this message. I’m very aware of the do not call list so I wouldn’t be calling unless you actually entered. [lie!] This is a time sensitive matter I do look forward to hearing from you. Once again congratulations my name is Patrick.
Just for kicks, I called back and was connected to a woman who identified herself as “Rhonda, your prize coordinator.”
Do not do business with IsraelSims.com unless you enjoy being ignored, misled and lied to, and you think it’s OK for the SIM cards you ordered for your trip to Israel not to arrive until after you’ve already left.
Lawrence Fish
Executive Chairman
RBS Citizens, N.A.
1 Citizens Plaza
Providence, RI 02903-1344
Dear Mr. Fish,
Please find enclosed a complaint about your institution which I just filed with the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts.
You promised me a $50 promotional credit and then never paid it. I spent almost 25 minutes on the phone with your customer service department today trying to get this resolved, only to be told at the end that it would be “researched” and it might take another two months before I am paid what I am owed, if indeed I am paid at all.
When I asked for this to be confirmed in writing, the representative with whom I was speaking said this was not possible. I had to escalate to a supervisor, Ana, who assured me that I would receive a confirmation letter within 7-10 days. Why I had to escalate to a supervisor just to receive such a letter is beyond me. It remains to be seen whether I will actually receive the letter I was promised, or for that matter the $50.
I would like to know what you are going to do to ensure that every single person who was entitled to the $50 promotional credit receives it. Promising a promotional credit which you then fail to pay is unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent. Are you going to let that stand or take steps to remedy it?
Sincerely,
Jonathan Kamens
encl: copy of complaint to Massachusetts Attorney General
As I recently wrote, my wife and I have been shopping for mattresses at Jordan’s Furniture. We still haven’t settled on a mattress to buy, but one thing that was very obvious to us the first time we tried them out was that our old bed pillows were awful, and we walked out of Jordan’s that night with two new ones.
I bought a king-size “Nature’s Rest” latex pillow. Here’s the box it came in:
Notice how the front of the box clearly says that this is a king-size pillow. So does the label on top of the box:
The pillow came rolled up tightly inside the box. The Jordan’s associate who sold it to me warned me that it could take as much as a week for it to expand to its full size. I was therefore only somewhat concerned when I got home and unpacked the pillow and discovered that it was significantly shorter than every other king-size pillow my wife and I have ever owned. Not only that, but it was significantly shorter than the pillow cover that came in the box with it. (more…)
Credit Card Services
Post Office Box 7092
Bridgeport, CT 06601
Account Number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
I am writing to dispute the following charge:
01/29 02/01 85456110031701887007089 MAD HAT INTERNATIONAL COLUMBIA SC 18.45
Before making this purchase, I contacted the merchant and asked specific questions about the product I was considering purchasing, to determine if it would meet my needs. The answers to my questions provided by the merchant were objectively, factually incorrect. If the merchant had answered correctly, I would have known that the product was not suitable for my needs, and I would not have purchased it.
On the day the product arrived, February 2, 2010, I immediately ascertained upon opening it that the merchant had provided me with incorrect information and the product was useless to me. I put it back in its packaging without using it and sent the merchant email complaining about the problem. He did not respond to my email.
I sent another email February 22, and once again, the merchant did not respond.
I am not going to waste my time explaining why this is clearly intended to deceive the recipient about the source, importance, and content of these mailings. I know this is so; you know this is so; the methods of deception and intent to deceive are obvious. I’m quite certain that a judge will agree.
I received a number of these mailings before I finally decided to ask you to stop sending them. On October 15, I sent a message through the contact form on your Web site which read as follows:
(Do not add my email address to any bulk email lists as a result of this submission. I am providing you with my email address only so that you can respond to this request. NO OTHER USE OF MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS AUTHORIZED.)
(Do not add my postal mailing address to any direct-marketing lists as a result of this submission. I am providing you with my postal address only so that you can remove me from your direct-marketing list as described below. NO OTHER USE OF MY POSTAL ADDRESS IS AUTHORIZED.)
For months now, you have been sending me junk mail in envelopes that you have intentionally designed to deceive recipients. You’ve made them look like some sort of official certified or registered mail, and you’ve intentionally left your company name and return address off of the envelopes. These envelopes are clearly designed to get people to open them, when they would just throw them in the trash if it was obvious they were from you.
This kind of deceptive direct-mail advertising is exceedingly slimy. It is distressing to me that I purchased a vehicle from a company that employs such slimy tactics. You have proven to me, unfortunately not for the first time, that my initial impression, that you were different from all the other slimy car dealers out there, was wrong.
Whatever mailing list I am on to be sent these slimy mailings — please get me off of it. Right now. And leave me off of it. Permanently.
Honda Village did not have the courtesy to reply. Furthermore, since I sent the message quoted above, I have received at least two more of these offensive mailings, the most recent one today.
If you had stopped sending these when I asked you to stop, I would have left it at that. But since you didn’t, I have decided to teach you a lesson not only about not sending junk mail to people who have asked you to stop, but also about engaging in deceptive trade practices.
A representative of Life Miracle, the manufacturer of the Magnetic Laundry System about which I wrote several days ago, responded to my article here. Here is my response:
![[Digg]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Email]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Do not do business with 
