Complaint Review: Great Expectations

This letter is written with the hopes of exposing and putting an end to the deception and conning that is carried out by Great Expectations, the matchmaking/dating service, specifically by Mitchell David Brandt and Michael S. Levine, owners of Great Expectations. My friend, JR, and I have been manipulated, deceived, and cheated out of our money by Great Expectations, and we hope that we can get the assistance we need to make sure that nobody else gets cheated and conned by this business.

In July of 2002, my friend, JR, was looking into joining a matchmaking service, and as a gift to him, we had agreed that I would pay for part of the cost of his membership. At that time, JR was living in Palm Beach County, Florida, and taking care of his grandmother, who had just come out of the hospital. He was looking into joining Great Expectations (G.E.), and the closest office they had to where he was living at the time was in Boca Raton, Florida. On July 15, 2002, I accompanied him to the Great Expectations office in Boca Raton, where he signed a membership contract with Great Expectations for a sum of $3,190, which we paid using both my credit card and his.

After using the Great Expectations service for only part of the summer and fall, JR moved to Leon County, Florida, because he was no longer able to live in Palm Beach as he originally planned. JR requested a refund from Great Expectations, since he was no longer able to use their service. Nina Emery (I believe her title is G.E. Member Representative), who sold him the dating service, pushed him into freezing his account instead of closing it. Nina tried to show motherly concern and asked him to put off the cancellation of his service because it would be best in his best interest to do so. JR complied after she told him to call her back in a couple of months and confirm that he did move to Leon County.

Towards the end of the year of 2002, JR asked for a refund once again from Nina Emery, but she said that she couldn't give him the refund because he had no proof that he was living in Leon County. So JR provided her and her company with the documentation they required, which was a driver's license, phone records in his name, and a copy of his lease in Leon County. He supplied all of this to her via next day mail.

At that point, it became hard for JR to get a hold of Nina Emery. This was disturbing to him, since she was the one who had told him that she had his best interests in her mind and heart. Several weeks passed before he was finally able to track her down after repeated long distance phone calls from his home in Leon County.

At that point, she said that they, Great Expectations, have a copy of his driver's license and phone records, but they've lost the copy of his lease, so JR sent them another copy of his lease. Again, he received no letter and no refund. As the fall and spring passed, it was then the summer of 2003. Again, he had a difficult time getting Nina Emery to return any of his phone calls, and Sheryel Aschfort (I believe her title is G.E. Center Director), told him to just call back, which he did, but to no avail.

During these last couple of seasons, JR had become very sick, and had been in the hospital for surgery, medical procedures, and many organic difficulties. It wasn't until June 4, 2003 that JR received a formal letter from the corporation, asking him once again to resend some documents, and they included an explanation of the balance due to him from their perspective. JR resent documents again, this time via a fax machine for confirmation.

Again, JR tried getting in touch with Mrs. Emery, who then seemed much more interested in interviewing potential clients than in helping him. After tracking her down again by having to call repeatedly, day after day, JR explained to her, very amicably, that he didn't mind her and her corporation holding on to the money, but if it took any longer to receive his refund check, then he was going to have to ask for at least 4% interest. He said it jovially, and Nina laughed with him and said that she was sorry, but that it was the corporation's fault for not writing the check. She said, I have requested it long ago. She couldn't remember exactly when, though. During the entire time of JR's refund requests, a period of about a year or so, she kept JR's profile on their computer system for ladies to look at, and would constantly try to set him up with another one of the ladies. This continued right up to late October of 2003. Each time Nina offered, JR thankfully declined the opportunities, explaining to the zealous Nina that he's in no condition to even consider dating.

Eventually, a refund check was issued to JR, dated September 22, 2003, in the sum of $1644.00. This amount was less than what should have been refunded. During that period, JR was performing his theological/scientific research proposal in Miami. JR had a business cell phone number in the Miami area during that period, which he used while performing his research there. Shortly after the refund check was issued, JR received a call from Nina about yet another girl, and Nina told him that since he had a business phone number in the Miami area, he was ineligible for a refund, even though his residence is in Leon County.

So she and the management, including Mitchell David Brandt, the owner of Great Expectations, and Michael S. Levine, co-owner of Great Expectations, stopped payment on JR's refund check. Nina remained resilient and relentless the whole time. JR explained to her that he thought she was behaving out of avarice and had been deceptive in her attempt to help him. She would no longer talk to JR after that conversation about her continued attempts to insult his intelligence. JR wasn't even able to find out if a request for another refund check had been made after Nina had issued the stop payment on the check.

At that point, Sheryel Aschfort commanded that if JR doesn't call her from his home phone and give her a valid driver's license, that she would not be able to talk to him, give him a refund, give him a copy of his contract with G.E., give him a status report with his service time with G.E., nor anything else, for that matter. JR gave up at this point, prematurely, due to all the undue stress and lack of overhead money so that he could focus on his research proposal. JR never lost his cool with Nina Emery, Sheryel Aschfort, or G.E., until they basically forced him to drive immediately to Tallahassee at night, after a research proposal meeting he had that same day, in order to get a copy of his contract, a copy of service status report that may eventually result in another check, and this one possibly being a more accurate refund. However, after JR humbly complied with Sheryel's demands and confirmed that G.E. received a copy of his valid driver's license, and after calling from his Leon County home phone and cell phone, he never received anything in return.

The phone calls were of no use, so he was forced to truck his decrepit body another 600 or 700 miles back down to South Florida. JR arrived on October 28 at the G.E. offices, tired, sick, frustrated, with a speeding ticket, and low on funds, but Nina Emery and Sheryel Aschfort would not talk to him nor help him. This was strange, because he did exactly what they commanded him to do, but there was no reciprocation. JR brought in his research material to read while he waited to meet with Michael Levine.

When Michael Levine was done with his morning business and then his lunch, he then had a minute for JR. JR asked if he could videotape around the G.E. offices, but Michael Levine exclaimed that he absolutely could not, and JR again complied with the G.E. decision makers, hoping to deescalate the tension and allow for rational decision-making. JR asked for the refund. Michael Levine asked for the required documentation. JR was astounded. JR told Michael Levine that he had sent it to G.E. over 3 times, and the last time he sent it, he confirmed that Michael Levine and his corporation received it. JR then asked if Michael Levine once again required the documentation. Levine said yes.

So JR opened up his files and gave him the documentation. Michael Levine looked at the new valid driver's license that Sheryel and Nina told him to obtain, and then Michael Levine said that this is a Tallahassee address and that JR never lived in Palm Beach. JR then showed him the copy of his original driver's license that he possessed in July of 2002, with the old Palm Beach address, that he provided in order to join G.E. Michael Levine gruffly responded that it was not good enough. JR asked Michael Levine if he could inquire about the compensation system he utilized, and Michael Levine responded proudly again, absolutely not. JR asked him if he was anxious about small claims court or bad press, and Levine joyfully responded that he had sold the company and is well protected, and that those reporters cannot have a deleterious effect on him or his corporations.

JR continued to probe for more, but Michael Levine would no longer verbalize his thoughts. He wouldn't respond nor return any of JR's messages about obtaining a letter from him and his company concerning why JR still, at this point, after more than 15 months, doesn't have a refund or a proper response from G.E. During that last month of interacting with G.E., JR has been put through severe emotional distress that was clearly visible just by looking at him.

JR has already lost more money by having to contact his lawyers to help represent him. No common person has the professional background to fight this legal battle since G.E. has multiple owners and multiple corporations, and not one person anywhere in any of the companies is in a position to be honest with him.

The reason why this letter is so critical is because, out of the three branches of government, none of them have helped us get our justice from this business. Regarding the law enforcement part of the government, after we called the police and explained to them our issue, they simply said that this is a civil business type of issue, and that they can't do anything to help us out with our situation. The irony is that when we called the business owners, Mitchell Brandt and Michael Levine, they yelled, cussed, and were very disrespectful and condescending towards us, but when we responded to their verbal attacks with truthful feedback, they called the police to file a report on us, and the police then told us that we were forbidden from calling or passing by the business anymore.

Since these two men have been in small claims and civil lawsuits over a hundred times, and yet continue to con innocent people out of their money, it appears that the judicial branch of our government is reinforcing their behavior. The numerous complaints against them and the lawsuits in which they have been involved have often been the result of their misrepresentation, deceptiveness, and fraud. It appears that Brandt and Levine are misusing and manipulating the judicial system to their favor, as they are wealthy and well counseled, and they may have connections within the system, which allow them to go in and out of courts with such ease.

Meanwhile, the majority of us are small, middle class families, living from week to week for our groceries. We don't have the resources to obtain expensive counselors to fight lawsuits that are under $5000.
As for the legislative branch, it has long ago made it illegal for there to be duels, even boxing duels, where padded gloves are worn. There are no laws that provide legal assistance or education on the laws that we have that could help protect commoners like us. These two, Brandt and Levine, are running under the radar and are circumventing the honor and integrity of our legal system. If people were apt to lose more for cheating and conning others, they wouldn't be so willing to blatantly cheat people in this way.

Moreover, people that work in these types of businesses, such as dating services, should be even more sensitive than normal to the clients, since, unlike other types of businesses, they are dealing with people's innermost parts, especially their emotions, feelings, and trust. So many little people have been hurt and continue to get hurt by these guys, but hardly anyone speaks up against them.

The molar question now is does the little guy always have to lose in the contemporary legalistic society? Maybe before all this legal maneuvering today, dueling decades ago may have been in part a good idea. At least this procedure would ensure disagreeing persons were both serious, instead of one party hiding behind corporate protective barriers, all the while conscious of their bad deeds. Why would a culture rather fight without honor just to protect physical assets on earth? Maybe if a culture believes in more of a destiny in heaven and not just on earth, this type of problem would not be so prevalent. JR may lose legally, but not ethically or morally. The hands of justice wind slowly, but there is always justice.

Peter
Tallahassee, Florida
U.S.A.

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