Complaint Review: GSA Application Services

GSA Applications cold called me and told me that I was "eligible for a five year contract with the federal government".  I'd considered doing business with the government before, but it seemed really complicated.  They said they could guarantee me federal business, if I paid them a $7500 fee.   

I checked around with their competitors, and GSA Application Services' fees were less than half.  Some of the competitors charged as much as $23,000.   

I went the GSA Applications, and it was a painful process that went on for over 2 years.   They would not return my calls after they got my money, and I had to get my lawyer involved to get them to do the work I paid them for.  

When I finally did get my contract, it wasn't 'business', it was a contract to allow me to go get contracts.  In other words, after I paid them, I still had to go out looking for business.    I had to convince the government to 'use' the contract.  After a lot of hard work, I was able to get some contracts.  

After I had been working with the governmetn for 18 months, an auditor showed up at my door.   He went through all my paperwork, told me that a lot was missing, and told me that because of the shoddy work that GSA Applicaitons did, I owed the government a penalty of more than $85,000.   

I tried to contract GSA Applications for help with the audit, but they have not responded to my calls, and left me holding the bag.    

I thought I would save money by using GSA Applications, but in the end, I had to do a lot more work, I had to pay my lawyer, and I  had to pay the government.  My total cost is approacing $100,000.   It's been an awful experience.   

If I had just bitten the bullet and paid the higher-priced consultant with the real references, I would have saved a lot of money in the long run.