Complaint Review: American Entertainment Dirtributors Inc.

I'm going to make this short and sweet. I'm not even going to indulge in this back and forth bickering of managers and employees of UTS/AED. I just want to make it absolutely clear that UTS and AED were owned by the same people, there for one and the same. One of the Owners of AED started UTS to offer support for his machines he was selling. I'm not going to get into the legal drama of the sales tactics he and the rest of AED used, but I just want to make it clear when someone says UTS and AED are not one and same thats BS. About the the great technical support you guys recieved, remember it was the technicians that provided this support not the managers, if you hear anyone from so called "management" level saying they are thinking of reopening do not fall for anything they say ever again, "managers" did not tell techs anything that was going on because they were in on it. When AED/UTS was shut down, there were hardly any techs left, as a matter of fact i say about 4, and 2 no longer want anything to do with them. So for any "managers" to say that the technicians were idiots, all I have to say is next time use spell check. The real technicians who helped you are out there still, and all very knowledgeable on these machines....

We know who you are. We feel more sorry for you than the AED owners, theyre not stupid you know, UTS didn't sell V & L machines, AED did. AED also sold the dispensers for $40 K not UTS, it is obvious that if you were an employee, then you were one of the clueless mororns that was summarily dismissed for your lack of intelligence.

Dont be bitter, I encourage you to continue to try to contact Dispenser owners, and help them out. I mentioned opening a company to service these owners but 3 different attorneys pointed out the ways that a class action lawsuit could take my home. I know more than dvd machines, so I'll move on. Its unfortunate to see the little minds on here bashing anyone they can try to, without even the manliness to put their first name on their rantings.



I know why you don't , cause you would be called out for the loser that you were. Enough of the mud slinging, help out the BOE owners you can, they deserve it, and I hope you dont get caught by a class action lawsuit from the dissatisfied dispenser owners ( the ones who support IS owed to)



Have a nice life.....I hope we may never meet again.

Uts, was a great company? What a joke, how can a company run out of a warehouse, and under the leadership of a bunch of idiots be consider a great company? I don't even think UTS could be considered a company. I guess coming from TAG, UTS most have been considered a great a place, but a lot of us did not come from the sweat shop mentality that UTS management did and did not consider UTS a great place. And UTS was not on the verge of anything, they couldn't make a profit off a business where machines were sold for 40,000 dollars, how were they going to make a profit out of anything. Than again now that we see the cases brought agaisnt them we can understand why the company was not profitable..... No profits... I get it... WINK WINK



UTS knew that VNL machines did not work for months and continued to sell them and install them, I could gone forever, but I don't think there is need to say more.

I have also been caught up in this mess. I cancelled my order with AED, and have been awaiting my refund until I learned of recent developments. Today I received a call from the shipping company saying my machine made it that far and awaiting further instructions. I want to sell it to an experienced operator and am willing to take a loss on my investment. Please respond if you are interested.

Ken,

I paid 36,900 to AED for a Riello from AED onAugust 4. I also put 15,900 down on an Israeli machine from oneforce marketing with 10,000 due on delivery. I was never comfortable with the attitude or professionalism of AED and figured that there would be dificulties (late shipment, poor support, unspecified expenses, etc.) but I never dreamed I could be out 37k. I would count myself fortunate to get half my money back at this point.



All of my dealings with Nick at 1force have been more than satisfactory. They are small and just getting started. I expect delivery in the last week of this month and could have gotten it sooner, but I was not ready. At this point I can't vouch for it's reliability, but I have been servicing medical equipment for 17 years and don't anticipate anything I can't handle. There are several machines listed on Ebay also.

I paid for my machine back in August and since then until Sept 30, 2004 have been working with Damien P. to find a location for my machine. I was told that the machine would arrive in early December 2004. While I was talking with someone from the company on 9/30 the phone line was cut off and that was the last time I heard from anyone.

Now I know the company is under FTC investigation and most likely will not be opening up again. So my question is, how will I get my money back? monies that I have saved since I was 16 years old. My life time savings to start a business to support my new family and new born. 40,000 may not be alot of money for some of you but it is my LIFE.



I really need your help out there if you have any suggestions or ideas.



What if we contact the company in Italy and purchase the machines from them directly? Although there is an exclusive contract with AED, AED does not exist anymore.

If you have any suggestions for me, I would really appreciate your help.



PS: does anyone know another company other than DVDplay that sells vending machines for DVDs?

Please post below!



sincerely,

I guess I'm lucky. My machine was installed in August and has worked well since, though I certainly had my issues with AED's service and Utech's post-installation support. Fortunately, it is the Italian model. I almost purchased the American model before someone at AED explained to me that there were two versions, and what all the differences were, and how many problems there were with the American version. This was only after delivery had been delayed for two months. Thank God, because otherwise I too woould have been stuck with a machine that doesn't work.



Sales have been slow, but I haven't started marketing do to some inventory issues. However, rentals have been increasing organically, probably do to the machine's location in the middle of a large college population.



Nonetheless, the apparent demise of AED and Utech is very troubling. Obviously I'm not going to be making use of the 1 year support agreement, and would like to be reimbursed, but concede that this probably isn't going to happen. I doubt that much will be gained by a lawsuit, but I sure don't blame those who have faulty or no equipment for trying. If asked, I suppose that I would sign on to a class action lawsuit.



But more pressing, I have a few simple questions regarding the software, and the location of the Windows Authenticity Certificate. They can most likely be addressed in one email. If there is anyone out there who I can email my questions to, please email me at



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Thanks. And don't worry, I won't sue you.

I don't know what is wrong with some of you that currently own Box Office Express dispensers. What are you thinking? You spent $30,000 to $35,000 per dispenser. Don't you think you should do whatever you can to protect your investment? Consider yourselves lucky that you are not one of the many that paid $35,000 times who knows how many for dispensers that were never received. If there truly is a group of techs out there you should be forever grateful that they want to organize to help you. They don't need to do this. They could let your investment rot away once it stops working....and it will stop working....for some reason or another that you may not be able to figure out. Do you actually think you are going to get anything out of a lawsuit??? If you do get anything it will be pennies on the dollar. You people must be ignorant to think otherwise. These people were obviously crooks...once the attorneys are done there will be little left. Start being realistic about this situation.



Once again, those of you that do have dispensers should be looking to find a group of techs that will organize and help maintain your machines. Yes, the original deal was free tech support for a year....give it up. Everything has changed. If you don't want to write off your $35,000 investment start looking for a way to save it....that is by finding a group of techs that will support you. Otherwise you are doomed to financial loss!!



To those techs that are trying to organize. It is a honorable idea. If I can help, I'll certainly do so.



my e-mail address will be replaced when I pay Rip-off Report for the use of this space..

There is a group of dispenser owners who are saying that they are owed tech support... from companies that are shut down. I know I posted before that former employees were going to offer some type of support, but the negative comments of a few, Russell, Myra B, etc indicate that they would sue any new company opening up for free support.

People that just set us back weeks and will increase any type of consultation costs as we now have to hire attorneys to make sure that we are not linked to companies that are shut down and that our scope of support is not misunderstood.

The former employees of UTECH felt bad for you guys, we still feel that way for those of you who are trying to make your business a success, however we will not jeopardize what we own for the few out there who are looking to sue everybody.

We are techs people, diversified and not "locked in" to having to support dvd dispensers, so depending on our next meeting we shall see what part of this nightmare we want to be associated with. I assure you we do not want any part of it, we are honest hard working people, we will move on if we have to.

As for those techs that were let go, business owners know if your cashier cant count or operate the cash machine, its time for the cashier to change positions in the company or be let go. AED didn't pay UTS either and some guys did get moved , the ones who got laid off were really not that good for a chance. So you band of "lets sue everyone" your broken machines will stay that way for some time to come.



I think we need to stick together and try to seek legal action together and go after AED



Lissa

Spring, Texas

U.S.A.



I don't know if any body else is in the same boat but 2 hours is hardly a drop in the bucket when it comes to figuring out how to operate this machine. As of October 8 the machine is stil not operating. If anybody knows how to operate this machine please let me know.



Rick

Torrance, California

U.S.A.



I suggest we get organized, possibly prematurely, possibly not, by following the link on the home page of www.ripoffreport.com as follows:



AS STATED ON THE HOME PAGE OF RIP-OFF REPORT.COM



ORGANIZING CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS



VICTIMS & LAWYERS, WHO WANT TO SUE COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS REPORTED

Harold

Edmond, Oklahoma

U.S.A.



I also have looked into a suit against these companies.

BRANDI - ERIE, Colorado

U.S.A.



want my money back, and would be willing to support a class action case.

Gerald - Saint Marys, Florida

U.S.A.



All victims like myself, don't listen to what Stephen has to say. We don't need negative ignorant people. Just file your complaint with the FTC, and they will pick up our case.



Stay positive. It's very important.

Yuo know it is really sad that now techs come on here to defame UTS. Many of you that worked at UTS worked in a dead end job at a call center. You may have been educated techs but never got the hands on experience that UTS gave you. We all new as techs going in to UTS that it was a small and new company but there were benefits. So now that this has happened do not , do not talk trash about UTS. What other company do you know of does managers tell employees everything that is going on behind the scenes. Thats why they are managers you idiots, they get paid to manage the company. If we all new everything that was going on, there would be no need for managers. I am just tired of all the crap people especially from the ex-employees. I don't mean to put UTS business in the street, but some of you that got fired or moved into the sales department deserved it. You may know alot about computers, but that is not all, personality, work habits goes a long way. If it was my company I would have done the sma ething as well, in order to grow and get better, you have remove the weeds from the garden, fertilize and watch it grow. For those that did not know, UTS was on the verge of blowing up into ne of the largest IT solutions company in Miami, if only you guys did what you were suppose to do, you may have been invited for the ride. I said it beforeandI will say it again, UTS was a great place to work, great managers, great co-workers, well most of them.



For those customers out there that feel that UTS ripped them off, think again, Like Semon said, think about how much it cost for airfare 1 day before the flight, think of the stress it places on a tech to when he is told at 6PM today that he has to fly to God knows where tomorrow at 7AM to fix your machines. There is a customer out in Pheonix, AZ that has had his fair share of issues. He has posted on here how we have not helped him. Whenever he had an issue, some has gone out every single time to upgrade memory, operating system, replacing databases, whatever his issues were they were fixed, but was he greatful, no not at all, all he could do is complain that his machine was not making any money.



People, open your eyes and realize that this is not a turn-key business. It takes time, and dedication. s**t if I invested 30,000 I d**n sure gonna put in the time to ensure my business survives. If you are in location that is not profitable, move the d**n machine. Advertise, market, market, market. It is not that hard. Then to those people that never ever touched a computer before buying this machine, you mess something up, don't know what you did and expected us to fix it? Come on now, be real, but what UTS still sent a tech out to fix the issue, I personally have been sent on repairs and all I had to do was to reboot the machine, come now!!! Now each trip cost airfare, hotel, rental car and food for that tech. Is this fair to those that have real issues that I could have gone to take care of, but this person was so sure the machine had burnt out, and guess what were they charged for my trip no, UTS paid the bill.



It is sad what has happened to UTS, it is sad what has happened to you who have machines or those waiting on machines, but what takes the cake, is that now you all have caused many people to be without jobs, many of which has kids, congratulations, you all have earned you one way ticket hell.

first of all i would like to state that the employees of utech were not laid off for lack of money we were let go because they were going to go with a machine made in texas that needed no tech support from us they plan if not alread cancelled the V&l contract and probably the riello as well..how can a company claim they had no money when the machines they sold to you people only cost them $12,000 yes thats right you payed more than twice the cost of the machines and if they had no money and had 300 or more success stories where did all that money go

who knows. this job was like being back in high school if you were not in the in crowd you were out! they turned techs into sales people and cut their saleries in more than half from $650/week to $250/ week paid under the table if they got paid at all ..what kind of sick joke is that for a company to do to its so call well oiled machine

and great place to work. you people can draw your own conclusions but listening to any of that mess will only cloud the truth ..enough of the lies utech and try something new for a change like the truth . better to hear it from you now , then to listen to u mumble some excuse after the court rules on all of you!!!

first of all i would like to state that the employees of utech were not laid off for lack of money we were let go because they were going to go with a machine made in texas that needed no tech support from us they plan if not alread cancelled the V&l contract and probably the riello as well..how can a company claim they had no money when the machines they sold to you people only cost them $12,000 yes thats right you payed more than twice the cost of the machines and if they had no money and had 300 or more success stories where did all that money go

who knows. this job was like being back in high school if you were not in the in crowd you were out! they turned techs into sales people and cut their saleries in more than half from $650/week to $250/ week paid under the table if they got paid at all ..what kind of sick joke is that for a company to do to its so call well oiled machine

and great place to work. you people can draw your own conclusions but listening to any of that mess will only cloud the truth ..enough of the lies utech and try something new for a change like the truth . better to hear it from you now , then to listen to u mumble some excuse after the court rules on all of you!!!

Unfortunately I know very little about machines not yet delivered, however if I do find any info that will help Ill let you know

I'm not convinced that FTC is involved. I cannot find anything concrete to support this. The only good information I have received was from someone in their bank that FTC is not involved and that this situation is "Temporary". Lets stop being the victims here and start looking into what the heck is going on.



Lets get organized. I suggest we contact the largest newspaper in Florida and get a reporter involved. I also support hiring a PI to track these SOB's down and find out the truth. Let us put together a list of all the names that we have come in contact with. I'll start - Jim MacAuthor, Mike Menkes, Thomas Kling.



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Semon - this is directed toward you.



Its great to hear that UTS might be up and running again to support those with technical issues on their machines. Do you have any informatiion or recommendations for those of us who have paid the big bucks, but haven't gotten a machine delivered yet?



You also reported that the FTC shut down your company and AED. It seems the FTC knows nothing about this (or isn't talking). Do you have any additional information regarding WHY the companies were shut down?



Any help would be appreciated. I understand that you are out of a job - I am out just about everything I had.

Thanks Semon for letting us know that you have not forgotten us. I was thinking of notifying the FTC that by shutting down UTech they are causing more claims than are currently pending. I advise any other distributor out there to do the same. I am sorry for those that have lost thousands of dollars....it is horrible. The FTC should not be looking to cause even more damage.



To those of you at UTech looking to find a way to help us....we really appreciate it!!



THANKS.



my e-mail address will be replaced when I pay Rip-off Report for the use of this space..

I would like for you serious owners out there that although this has been thrust upon us, the former employees are thinking about you.

I have been in contact with a few business owners and can give you the following information.



A contingency plan is in place. UTECH may be up and running in the near future, however that is a best case scenario, worst case scenario holds that court proceedings may drag this out.

We want you to know that we are trying to make sure that we can set up some type of support for you.



Now we do not have the necessary infrastructure to give full support, however we are working out plans to offer some type of support and we will be contacting all owners in the very near future to see what we can do.



Thanks for your patience, this has been a horror story for us all.

Whether you are a struggling distributor or a successful distributor it seems to me that is in all our interests to get together and have a quality exchange of information. Further if it is true, as it seems, that the FTC has shut both companies down we are sunk...we need technical support. I am willing to establish a list and then establish a meeting for us to share useful information....Something that AED should have done from the beginning. To that end, if there are any Utech employees out there that would like to work on a consulting basis please advise...I, as well as other distributors, I am sure, would like your assistance. If you are a distributor and know how to reach any tech employee a posting or an email would be helpful.



Phil or Darrell...do either of you have any additional locations you'd like to place your machines? My "real" business took a turn and requires my full attention...I'd be interested in selling my dispensers at a very reasonable price.

Diane,

I would be interested in purchasing your Riello machine assuming that is can be installed and comes in good working condition. I currently have one other machine. Please contact me and we can talk about it. Have a good day.



my e-mail address will be replaced when I pay Rip-off Report for the use of this space..

I recently purchased a machine (in last two weeks). It is not October 1st and none of the AED phones work, the site aed1.com is offline.



Have I just been duped?



Any information on this subject would greatly be appreciated.



(If it is true about FTC closing them down, how would I go about getting information)

Semon,



If you saw what they shipped me and claimed it was new you would have a different story.

Semon,



If you saw what they shipped me and claimed it was new you would have a different story.

Semon,



If you saw what they shipped me and claimed it was new you would have a different story.

Semon,



If you saw what they shipped me and claimed it was new you would have a different story.

I am a current operator of the Box Office Express, you can see my comments above. I have the Italian Machine. I had my problems initially, as most people did, but I worked with AED and resolved them. My unit has been virtually trouble free except for 2 items. A video card (which did not effect it's operation) and a modem (which caused us not to be able to perfrom credit card transactions for about 48 hours).



This is a NEW VENTURE, a business oppertunity-not a get rich quick scheme, not an overnigh success! Like any business, you need to MARKET IT, PROMOTE IT, and work at it...success will come. If you bought a unit, and expected the EXACT results that AED Sales Reps promised, than that is YOUR mistake...any responsible and intelligent person would take that information, and disect it....in a new business, hope you can make 1/3 of what they predict! Then decide, can you AFFORD to lose your investment, or only regain a portion of it for the first year?



What if we gave up on ATM MAchines, and the Banks did not force us to change our habits..WE WOULD BE STUCK IN LONG LINES. That is what this unit does, in the right place, it forces people to change their habits, and it is up to the owner to teach them. This is not the field of dream "Build it and they will come!" YOU Need to teach them and show them. I guarantee, once a customer tries the unit, they will love the unit-convienance, that is what human beings want.



I am sorry for those of you that had problems with AED, or the V & L Machine. I am sorry for those who had no problems and wanted to make an attempt at extra income, I feel sorry for myself that had faith in a company and am now possibly left to fend for myself!



For those of you that set out to SCREW IT UP for the rest of us, congradulations you pitiful and sad people! Try working out your problems with words and reason, not with hate and vindication! YOU WON!

I read the above comments with suppressed laughter. As of today I used to work for the tech support company that handled these machines, now here's what the one's who make the most noise do NOT tell you.



1. There are two versions of the machine, an Italian one and an American one.

2. The American made one became a pile of crap after their chief engineer left V&L Tool in May 2004, none of their machines arrived in an undamaged state or should I say that their machines had a 95% installation failure rate.

Nothing our support company did helped, even paying the highest cost (out of our own pocket) to the owner of V&L Tool son to ship it. The machines he shipped also did not work properly out of the box.A surprise visit by UTS's GM to V&L Tool found 8 out of 11 machines already inspected by V&L and ready to be shipped were not totally assembled, missing parts etc.

3. The Italian machines had a 95% success rate of installation.(end of story)

4. UTS is not owned by AED (as far as anyone knows) and AED was not paying UTS all the money UTS was owed.

5. Most of the problems owners had included them trying to manipulate the software in ways it should not have been and damaging it themselves and instead of reformatting and getiing up and running asap, they wanted to WAIT and have UTS rebuild their databases (which is a time consuming process that takes away from other support that could be given).

6. I mentioned UTS was not being paid by AED and that a lot of the costs of repair and installation happened to come out of UTS's pocket? well guess what a lot of owners also got onsite services for software they broke on their machine or hardware they broke by moving the machine thmselves. Guess how much a plane ticket costs when you buy it at the last minuite.

7. With over 300 customers installed by UTS how many complaints can you find???????? What do you say to THAT SUCCESS RATE? A success rate because of the superb service of one company, UTS and its management.

8. I told our GM we should have said something sooner, but the "lawyers" wouldn't let us.

9. Well as I indicated I am a former employee because the FTC has shut down both companies. I think it is because of the stink of a few, for the majority were being helped and getting somewhere, now what? What happens to all of the customers who needs the software upgrade or some emergency support for their business? At this time there is none.

10. UTS laid off half it's technicians because the cost was too great to continue with the amount of techs on hand, but still was dedicated to the Business Owners whom we wanted to help.

11. Until this situation is resolved, guess what, youre on youre own.

12. Pity is I feel sorry for those people who would have benefitted from our existence, the naysayers have condemned your business.



I say find out who caused it (the naysayers) and sue their asses off for affecting your business.

I read the above comments with suppressed laughter. As of today I used to work for the tech support company that handled these machines, now here's what the one's who make the most noise do NOT tell you.



1. There are two versions of the machine, an Italian one and an American one.

2. The American made one became a pile of crap after their chief engineer left V&L Tool in May 2004, none of their machines arrived in an undamaged state or should I say that their machines had a 95% installation failure rate.

Nothing our support company did helped, even paying the highest cost (out of our own pocket) to the owner of V&L Tool son to ship it. The machines he shipped also did not work properly out of the box.A surprise visit by UTS's GM to V&L Tool found 8 out of 11 machines already inspected by V&L and ready to be shipped were not totally assembled, missing parts etc.

3. The Italian machines had a 95% success rate of installation.(end of story)

4. UTS is not owned by AED (as far as anyone knows) and AED was not paying UTS all the money UTS was owed.

5. Most of the problems owners had included them trying to manipulate the software in ways it should not have been and damaging it themselves and instead of reformatting and getiing up and running asap, they wanted to WAIT and have UTS rebuild their databases (which is a time consuming process that takes away from other support that could be given).

6. I mentioned UTS was not being paid by AED and that a lot of the costs of repair and installation happened to come out of UTS's pocket? well guess what a lot of owners also got onsite services for software they broke on their machine or hardware they broke by moving the machine thmselves. Guess how much a plane ticket costs when you buy it at the last minuite.

7. With over 300 customers installed by UTS how many complaints can you find???????? What do you say to THAT SUCCESS RATE? A success rate because of the superb service of one company, UTS and its management.

8. I told our GM we should have said something sooner, but the "lawyers" wouldn't let us.

9. Well as I indicated I am a former employee because the FTC has shut down both companies. I think it is because of the stink of a few, for the majority were being helped and getting somewhere, now what? What happens to all of the customers who needs the software upgrade or some emergency support for their business? At this time there is none.

10. UTS laid off half it's technicians because the cost was too great to continue with the amount of techs on hand, but still was dedicated to the Business Owners whom we wanted to help.

11. Until this situation is resolved, guess what, youre on youre own.

12. Pity is I feel sorry for those people who would have benefitted from our existence, the naysayers have condemned your business.



I say find out who caused it (the naysayers) and sue their asses off for affecting your business.

I read the above comments with suppressed laughter. As of today I used to work for the tech support company that handled these machines, now here's what the one's who make the most noise do NOT tell you.



1. There are two versions of the machine, an Italian one and an American one.

2. The American made one became a pile of crap after their chief engineer left V&L Tool in May 2004, none of their machines arrived in an undamaged state or should I say that their machines had a 95% installation failure rate.

Nothing our support company did helped, even paying the highest cost (out of our own pocket) to the owner of V&L Tool son to ship it. The machines he shipped also did not work properly out of the box.A surprise visit by UTS's GM to V&L Tool found 8 out of 11 machines already inspected by V&L and ready to be shipped were not totally assembled, missing parts etc.

3. The Italian machines had a 95% success rate of installation.(end of story)

4. UTS is not owned by AED (as far as anyone knows) and AED was not paying UTS all the money UTS was owed.

5. Most of the problems owners had included them trying to manipulate the software in ways it should not have been and damaging it themselves and instead of reformatting and getiing up and running asap, they wanted to WAIT and have UTS rebuild their databases (which is a time consuming process that takes away from other support that could be given).

6. I mentioned UTS was not being paid by AED and that a lot of the costs of repair and installation happened to come out of UTS's pocket? well guess what a lot of owners also got onsite services for software they broke on their machine or hardware they broke by moving the machine thmselves. Guess how much a plane ticket costs when you buy it at the last minuite.

7. With over 300 customers installed by UTS how many complaints can you find???????? What do you say to THAT SUCCESS RATE? A success rate because of the superb service of one company, UTS and its management.

8. I told our GM we should have said something sooner, but the "lawyers" wouldn't let us.

9. Well as I indicated I am a former employee because the FTC has shut down both companies. I think it is because of the stink of a few, for the majority were being helped and getting somewhere, now what? What happens to all of the customers who needs the software upgrade or some emergency support for their business? At this time there is none.

10. UTS laid off half it's technicians because the cost was too great to continue with the amount of techs on hand, but still was dedicated to the Business Owners whom we wanted to help.

11. Until this situation is resolved, guess what, youre on youre own.

12. Pity is I feel sorry for those people who would have benefitted from our existence, the naysayers have condemned your business.



I say find out who caused it (the naysayers) and sue their asses off for affecting your business.

I read the above comments with suppressed laughter. As of today I used to work for the tech support company that handled these machines, now here's what the one's who make the most noise do NOT tell you.



1. There are two versions of the machine, an Italian one and an American one.

2. The American made one became a pile of crap after their chief engineer left V&L Tool in May 2004, none of their machines arrived in an undamaged state or should I say that their machines had a 95% installation failure rate.

Nothing our support company did helped, even paying the highest cost (out of our own pocket) to the owner of V&L Tool son to ship it. The machines he shipped also did not work properly out of the box.A surprise visit by UTS's GM to V&L Tool found 8 out of 11 machines already inspected by V&L and ready to be shipped were not totally assembled, missing parts etc.

3. The Italian machines had a 95% success rate of installation.(end of story)

4. UTS is not owned by AED (as far as anyone knows) and AED was not paying UTS all the money UTS was owed.

5. Most of the problems owners had included them trying to manipulate the software in ways it should not have been and damaging it themselves and instead of reformatting and getiing up and running asap, they wanted to WAIT and have UTS rebuild their databases (which is a time consuming process that takes away from other support that could be given).

6. I mentioned UTS was not being paid by AED and that a lot of the costs of repair and installation happened to come out of UTS's pocket? well guess what a lot of owners also got onsite services for software they broke on their machine or hardware they broke by moving the machine thmselves. Guess how much a plane ticket costs when you buy it at the last minuite.

7. With over 300 customers installed by UTS how many complaints can you find???????? What do you say to THAT SUCCESS RATE? A success rate because of the superb service of one company, UTS and its management.

8. I told our GM we should have said something sooner, but the "lawyers" wouldn't let us.

9. Well as I indicated I am a former employee because the FTC has shut down both companies. I think it is because of the stink of a few, for the majority were being helped and getting somewhere, now what? What happens to all of the customers who needs the software upgrade or some emergency support for their business? At this time there is none.

10. UTS laid off half it's technicians because the cost was too great to continue with the amount of techs on hand, but still was dedicated to the Business Owners whom we wanted to help.

11. Until this situation is resolved, guess what, youre on youre own.

12. Pity is I feel sorry for those people who would have benefitted from our existence, the naysayers have condemned your business.



I say find out who caused it (the naysayers) and sue their asses off for affecting your business.

I am also a recent purchaser of the AED machines and have certainly had my problems and issues but I will say that once a technician is contacted they have been very helpful in fixing any problems and have found them very knowledgeable.



On the other hand I would agree with the comment to "take care of your distributors".



You will sell more machines thru better marketing support better location dept. and enough of unexpected expenses i.e now a large

cost to download trailers.



Mr MacArthur I think you have the opportunity to build a great company all I would ask to improve upon it is that you personally monitor the ethics of your sales people and help your distributors create a contact list of people that our already successful in this venture so ideas could be shared to help grow this business even faster.



Thank You

Greetings,

I have reached satisfactory agreement with AED and I am completely satisfied with the company and their solution. Therefore, I will negate my prior statements.

Obaid Amir

Phillip and Darrell,



This is Diane..you responded in general to my earlier "report". Although I had a terrible customer service problem on my 1st delivery, I am over that and now operating more smoothly. However, despite various marketing methods I am not seeing results similar to those AED verbalized (of course they make no written projections on income. That would only get them in trouble) nor seeing results that would make this large capital investment a worthwhile investment. I would be very interested to learn what types of locations you are in, estimated daily foot traffic and how many rentals you average per week. How long did it take you to start realizing what you now consider "good results". To those of you that feel you are doing well your definition of "well" is greatly appreciated. Marketing hints are appreciated also.



CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.



Also, to those of you that are doing well and still interested in pursuing this business, I have a brand new AED, Riello machine, still boxed, that I may sell at a price much lower than the current AED price. Jim, I would assume that AED would still honor the installation and service on this machine.

Phillip and Darrell,



This is Diane..you responded in general to my earlier "report". Although I had a terrible customer service problem on my 1st delivery, I am over that and now operating more smoothly. However, despite various marketing methods I am not seeing results similar to those AED verbalized (of course they make no written projections on income. That would only get them in trouble) nor seeing results that would make this large capital investment a worthwhile investment. I would be very interested to learn what types of locations you are in, estimated daily foot traffic and how many rentals you average per week. How long did it take you to start realizing what you now consider "good results". To those of you that feel you are doing well your definition of "well" is greatly appreciated. Marketing hints are appreciated also.



CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.



Also, to those of you that are doing well and still interested in pursuing this business, I have a brand new AED, Riello machine, still boxed, that I may sell at a price much lower than the current AED price. Jim, I would assume that AED would still honor the installation and service on this machine.

Phillip and Darrell,



This is Diane..you responded in general to my earlier "report". Although I had a terrible customer service problem on my 1st delivery, I am over that and now operating more smoothly. However, despite various marketing methods I am not seeing results similar to those AED verbalized (of course they make no written projections on income. That would only get them in trouble) nor seeing results that would make this large capital investment a worthwhile investment. I would be very interested to learn what types of locations you are in, estimated daily foot traffic and how many rentals you average per week. How long did it take you to start realizing what you now consider "good results". To those of you that feel you are doing well your definition of "well" is greatly appreciated. Marketing hints are appreciated also.



CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.



Also, to those of you that are doing well and still interested in pursuing this business, I have a brand new AED, Riello machine, still boxed, that I may sell at a price much lower than the current AED price. Jim, I would assume that AED would still honor the installation and service on this machine.

AED and fellow operators,

First I want to thank AED, personally for being so responsive to my past questions and concerns with my machine. I have a machine that is far more capable than my understanding and AED has helped me with my learning curve. This a very new concept which requires operators to have patients. I have over twenty-two years in machine tool automation processes with the automotive industry, along with a Bachelors degree in marketing. The automation that AED is offering is in my opinion the best of its kind in the world. Many of you do not realize the importance of this as I. You have the opportunity to compete head to head with the largest corporations in the world with two of the most important aspects of video rental, which is "Convenience and Cost" for the customer, and for you the merchant, "Place and Price". It is not possible for Netflix, Walmart, Blockbuster, Cable, Satelite, Video-on-demand, downloading, ect..to compete with my pricing because all are very expensive processes that require enormous "Overhead".

This is a business that requires operators to act responsibly and take advantage of this great opportunity. AED will help tremendously.

Take Care,

I sign on to ripoffreport.com from time to time to check out all kinds of different companies and their overall reputation. I was surprised to see AED on the website.



I became a distributor back in Dec. 2003 (aka: machine owner) Since December I have purchased two more machines. I can honestly say I hate salesmen tactics. I can relate to feeling pressured while they qualified me as a serious buyer, or just a window shopper.



Because of interest in the product I chose not to write them off right away, and I decided I would personally visit their corporate office and their technical division in order to make my final decision. After I did so, I completely understood what they mean when they say the response and interest levels are extremely high, and they are simply differentiating between those who have funds available for this opportunity, or those who wish they had funds available.



If for any reason I felt dissatisfied with their customer service skills, or I received an empty box, or the ability to make extra $$$ was not there, I definitely would not have purchased 2 more machines. I agree with the gentlemen who said locations are the key to success, and I know that I have not seen these machines everywhere YET. Therefore, leading me to believe that great locations are still available! As for the people that can not fathom making money with these machines, I guess they are not aware of the popularity and somewhat monopoly Blockbuster has.



I guess if they had a machine that had all new releases and games in either, their apartment building, office building, supermarkets, University etc. they would still opt to drive to their local video store. I personally believe that bringing convenience to consumers brings me success.



As for the patent infringement gentleman the machines that I bought are manufactured in Europe. Although AED has the exclusive rights to sell them in the US. The same company has been manufacturing these machines and successfully promoting this automated way of renting movies for over a decade. I did my research!!!



I welcome any person out there who would like to ask questions regarding my experience with this company. I have received great support and have confidence in AED. Trust me, if for any reason I was dissatisfied, you would have seen my posting back in December. Post your comments below.



CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Dear Mr. MacArthur,

Mr. MacArthur



I can understand that trying to get everything going in a new enterprise is the same as separating cats in a bag...



It does sound like that with all the competing areas, manufacturing, financing, marketing, legal and customer service, it was customer service that (as usual) got the short shrift.



I know that it is important to begin cash flow. However, as you mentioned, your company can't succeed if your cusomters don't.



Your relationship with your Distributor will be the most important and finding out that your representitives need to go back and train after the roll out shows where the focus of management needs to be applied.



Thanks,

Response From AED



My name is Jim MacArthur and I am the President of American Entertainment Distributors (AED). In response to the recent Reports from Obaid Sayed and Diane, who have both purchased our Box Office Express machines, we regret that there was any possible confusion about our product or it's capabilities.



Obaid stated that we ask for payment for this very valuable machine in advance.

AED is a Business Opportunity and the high cost of a machine requires pre-payment to cover the potential loss of a machine. If we lost a machine it would wipe out the profits from the sale of many machines. Obaid also said that we were not responsive to his calls or emails. I would like to ask Obaid to please call me directly at (866) 669-4371 and I will make sure that proper responses are given to any questions. I will look into Obaid's comment about shipping an empty box. Machines and accessories are usually shipped on 2 pallets. I trust Obaid refused the shipment of the empty box.



Diane mentioned that the software did not perform the tasks that we advertise. I would respectfully ask Diane to call me so that we can make sure that Diane understands how to maximize the potential of the software. In order to improve the training of our Technicians we have been routinely sending them to Italy, where the machines are manufactured, for extensive training. We did have some delays when we first began shipping machines that were mostly due to delays in US Customs and manufacturing concerns due to the overwhelming response and demand for the machines. Fortunately today, we are not experiencing the delays that we had when we first started.



We at AED are striving to improve and we encourage any and all constructive criticism. In many ways we feel that we have a partnership with our Distributors. The machines will not run themselves. Our Distributors must market their machines as they would in any business. AED is committed to satisfying our customer's needs. We plan to participate in and stay abreast of the rapid growth of Video Rental Vending Machines for many years to come.



Jim MacArthur- President of American Entertainment Distributors.

Phil seems to be very happy and he says he had a great support from AED. He could be. Since I posted this report, I have had more than 25 emails from individuals, who have had experiences similar to mine with AED. I think the number people, who are happy is handful. Good for you Phil that you are happy...

I have seen the commercials for this product and it always makes me laugh. It can only be a matter of time before they are sued for Patent Infringement. This video rental/sales vending machine concept and device was originally developed and marketted by DIEBOLD (famous for bank valuts, ATMs, Bank Drive thru's, etc)in the late 80's early 90's. The only difference being that at that time it was VHS tapes. I do not believe that AED's unit is unique enough to not be considerred a knock off just because it is dispensing DVD's instead. It is still the same technology involved.



Also, for anyone thinking about investing in AED's units consider the following. DIEBOLD's unit never proved profitable to manufacture or to the small number of companies that purchased the units. There is just too much competetion and availabilty through local rental chain stores and pay per view. The only market a unit like this might be well suited for is in the Hotel and resort industry and only if the hotels would likewise invest in installing VCR's or DVD players in their rooms and they likewise already service pay per view movies and games.



Save your money on this folks and invest in a coke and candy machine in a business office. You will make more.



Note: I worked for Diebold for a number of years on this product, Banks systems, and other products.

I too have seen these commercials and as a former video store owner, I just could not fathom how these could make any money. Videos/DVD's are very expensive...too expensive to pay off in short term rental time.



I'm just wondering what you paid for the machines and videos and just how this whole operation is supposed to work.



Thanks.

Regarding comments made by American Entertainment. I am currently a distributor/owner of a Box Office Express machine and doing well with my unit. I will admit, the road was bumpy at first, but that is to be expected with a start up of any sort. The biggest problem I feel AED had was the response was over whelming for the machines, and I just feel they did not expect that many people had the resources to spend such an amount on a "Vending" machine.



Tech support has been wonderful. When they installed the unit in my location, the Tech took 2 days with us, 1 installing and another teaching. When he left, things went great for 2 days, then one of the Modem's froze. I made a phone call, which took around 2 hours of trouble shooting (a bit much), but when they could not fix the problem over the phone, a tech was flown out in 2 days, with a new modem, and the problem was resolved. The machine has been perfect since.



I feel the attack against AED is unfounded and is merely an opinion of 1 or 2, when they have many satisfied distributors. Everyone must do reasearch on a busienss venture. It may not be for everyone.



If anyone has a comment or question, from someone actually owning and operating a unit, my e-mail address will be replaced when I pay Rip-off Report for the use of this space..

AED claims that they are a full support organization to place distributors in business and provide full support in making their businesses successful. The management software does not perform as promised. Technicians are untrained and take inordinate amounts of time to resolve questions while promising that the business will only take several hours per week (you could spend that amount of time on one tech call). They promise "state of the art" software that tracks movie sales & rentals...no such software exists. Promises of inventory managment software, none exists. Money is required upfront for machine purchase. Delivery of machine takes 3-5 months. They hold your money while you lose the time value of such money. They provide 1-2 references...I question whether they are valid references. Verbal income projections in two differenct environments have proved false.