Complaint Review: Bluestocking Consulting

Beware! Dedra Bailey-Enskat is the leader of this company, Bluestocking Consulting.

This company works hard to gain your friendship and confidence from the onset! Then when you're not looking...wham! they rush in for the kill! I'm serious.

The ad will convince you to get them to help your organization. The contract looks innocent enough. After getting so "friendly" with the people who run the company (Bluestocking Consulting), you end up trusting them like you trust your close friends. So friendly in fact, that little clauses like "#8. Cancelation Fee" and "#9. Limitation of BCLCC Liability" clauses seem to just slip by you (thinking that, I won't have to be concerned about that one!).

Then they don't hold to their agreement to complete proposals according to their own set deadline and it's so smooth, that the NPO forgets that Bluestocking is breaching their own contract! And the NPO doesn't notice it until something didn't work out to their advantage (of Bluestocking's) - then you find out it's a problem and you should have spoken up when it was appropriate!

Soon afterward, you'll find out that your organization is getting sued for "refusing" to submit a grant proposal. However, in the Texas legal world, the word "refusal" can mean lots of things. Even if you don't even know that the proposal is somewhere in your building - but you aren't aware of its presence... it's still "refusal to submit a proposal." Very smooth! Innocent mistakes are not justifiable in the eyes of the courts or Bluestocking Consulting...after all they have obviously done their homework in order to make the most money that they possibly can. Integrity is optional with this company.

And to you, small and naive NPO? You might as well give up on trying to face them in court. Bluestocking Consulting will win... they have enough savvy to cheat you out of your money and the courts are right behind them in their support.

My advise to you is... NEVER consider any contract without FIRST asking an attorney to read it and decipher it for you. Try to temper your state of desparateness for funding. It's well worth the $250 an hour you might pay opposed to $2,900 (minimum) that will be judged against the NPO in small claims court. Bluestocking Consulting has done their homework. If you fall, hook, line and sinker for their tricks, you are doomed... sorry to say. But look on the bright side, what a valuable lesson to have learned for the future.

BJ
Plano, Texas
U.S.A.