eGumball SEO marketing Fraud illegal contract Irvine CA
eGumball committed fraud in the following ways:
1) They called me and represented themselves as Google, which I found out later was untrue.
2) I distinctly asked about the contract terms. I was told month to month contract, able to be cancelled at any time. I clearly stated on the call several times that I would NOT sign any contract for long term after dealing with another useless SEO company.
3) They promised me a written contract I could physically sign. They said they could do that but I need to “click through some stuff online” to get my account set-up. I was rushed through a whirlwind on “click here” on various buttons. I was not given any time to read. I was told none of it was binding.
4) They started automatically billing my credit card. They did not deliver the promised paper contract for me to sign. After several months and I found absolutely no change with their “services”. In fact, I could not find them doing anything but hogging the ownership for my website. I called them to cancel the contract by the month to month terms I told on the phone. At that point I was told I was “locked in” for another 6 months – a 12 month contract.
5) I refused to pay for a company that does nothing but bill my credit card and lie to me on the phone. I cancelled the credit card and discuss their activities with the card company.
Now I have a lawyer calling and harassing my employees and disrupting my business.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Just ignore them
#3Author of original report
Wed, July 01, 2015
EGumball basic sold an illegal and unjustified debt from an unsigned contract to an unethnical and illegal collection agency in another state (Texas). After sending some certified mail stating they need to contact me by certified mail with a signed contract and they are in violation of the Fair Collection Act, they slowly stopped harrassing me. I supposely owe (if I had signed a contract, and eGumball had provided services) $1500. They don't have the evidence for small claims. Even if they did, they'd be open to the counter suit for harrassment.
My advice is to ignore them if they have nothing (signed contract etc.) and eventually they will go away. Unforunately Florida is an All-Party-Consent state for audio recording or I would have recorded the calls to prove harrassment. It won't help you in states that allow audio recording in civil cases but you can press criminal charges. I did complain to the police and they said they were unable to do anything do to them being out of state.
Flipoff
Springfield,Missouri,
USA
How did it turn out?
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, June 29, 2015
I echo everything you noted in your report. I last received a call from them offering me a "settlement" if I agree to it -- which I did not. Where are you at with this and did you end up getting it resolved? How? I contacted the BBB about them but that was fruitial.