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Incentiverewardscenter, EMarket Reseach Group ripoff! Don't answer e-mails, promised free gift, deleted my name from gift status database. Delray Beach Florida
I answered an e-mail ad offering a free* laptop computer. I spent all morning going through the steps, completed the 6 offers, including ones I didn't really want (like longevity and daily vitamin pills). Ended up signing on for satellite TV since on the last page I had to choose 2 out of only 4 choices, all of which required money! by the way, all of the offers I signed up for delivered what they promised, and seemed to be legitimate. It's just the incentive reward that I haven't received.
I checked the website daily, and it showed that I had completed 1, then 2, then 5 of the necessary 6 offers. Then one day (about 2 weeks after starting the process), I checked my gift status again and it reported that I still had to fulfil all 6 of the necessary offers (it no longer showed me as having completed any of the offers, although I had). I wrote an e-mail and got no response.
A couple of days later I checked again and now my e-mail address was NOT EVEN IN THE DATABASE! I sent an e-mail to them again, and again got no response.
When I found this site, I found another report on them with the phone number, and I called them this morning. I feel like such a fool to have trusted them!!! Anyone want a box of Longevity vitamins (one of the offers I ended up getting)???
Debra
Oakland, California
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Rob
Jersey City,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
Be informed and aggressive
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, February 25, 2005
I've posted it before, and now that I've received my laptop, I'll post it again. Be aggressive! Their whole game is to push people until they give in, so once you make it clear that you will not give in, they will send you your gift. They are smart enough to know that if this ever goes to legal action, they will lose. They would rather spend a few hundred $$ to give you your gift than jeopardize the $1,000's they are probably making right now.
Play hardball, but just don't make empty threats. Use the information on this site to your advantage. I took a slightly more hostile approach than Jon, but basically said the same thing. Here's a template you may want to use, whether you want to send an email or leave a voicemail. I didn't have to send them any proof of anything or even send in their voucher to get my gift. They already have the proof so don't believe them when they ask you to fax or mail a receipt or whatever. But here goes:
"I have read many complaints about your company on ripoffreport.com and I am aware that you seem to avoid sending gifts to people. I have documented proof that I fulfilled all of the requirements stipulated by your promotion, but I'm sure you have already received proof from your "sponsors" of my participation. I am ready to file (or have already filed) complaints with the NC Attorney General's office (or other appropriate agencies). If you do not fulfill your obligation to send me my [laptop, ipod, etc.], or provide an otherwise satisfactory response by the end of the week (2 weeks, 5 days, or other reasonable amount of time) I will be compelled to take further action against your company."
Optional paragraph that I personally used, and that I think was what did it for me: "I have already reported your activity to your "sponsors". Additionally I am considering filing formal complaints against these "sponsors" for being involved with your fraudulent operation, contacting attorneys for possible legal action, contacting media to publicize your "promotion", and disputing all charges related to your "promotion" as fraudulent charges with my credit card company. I don't think it would be in your best interest for me to take any of these actions. I would appreciate it if you would stop playing games and just send me my [laptop, ipod, etc.]"
These actions would either 1) create bad publicity or 2) have their "sponsors" coming after them, many of which are large, powerful, deep-pocketed companies they would not want to make enemies of, or 3) get investigations started by credit card companies. Just something to think about for all of you still waiting. Hope this helps your fight.
Jon
Jackson Heights,New York,
U.S.A.
Resolution for free merchandise issue (ipods, laptops, etc.)
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, February 25, 2005
Thanks to the advice that Todd from San Francisco left on this site, I finally have resolved this situation and received my ipod today. This is what I did, and strongly suggest you do the same. It took only a couple of phone calls and wasn't too much of a hassle (less hassle than fulfilling the requirements!).
Call the customer service/fulfillment department directly as listed HERE (ignore any customer service contact information on their site - it's useless):
Emarket Research Group (aka; TheUseful.com, Incentiverewards.com, etc.)
Jilliane Quiroz
Fulfillment
jquiroz@marketresearchsite.net
(561) 306-1915
(Note that this company goes by several different names and has many websites/email addresses.)
I got a voicemail when I called this number. I left a (semi) polite message stating this:
a) The website is not showing the offers as redeemed or is showing them in the wrong tiers (same "technical issues" as most of you are having).
b) I have made several unsuccessful attempts to resolve this issue using the customer service options on the website. I have never received a reply from anyone.
c)(AND HERE'S THE CRUX THAT WILL GET THIS RESOLVED FOR YOU) I strongly suggest that you call me back as soon as possible to resolve this situation, or I will be yet another person to report your company to the North Carolina Department of Justice. I sincerely hope that will not be necessary."
I received a call back within a few hours from someone in fulfillment. I re-explained the issue to her (she was quite nice). She said that she would allow me to forgo the rest of the process (sending in the request form once the site shows you as eligible) and was sending an order to have the ipod shipped.
At the end of this conversation, I told her that, considering all of the problems I have had so far, I would feel more comfortable if she would send me an email confirming this. I did have to call back twice to get that email (which I think came from someone else). But, DO get it in writing, don't let a voicemail assurance do.)
A couple of notes: the website never showed me as eligible, and a second account, with zero offers completed, came up under my email. Don't let that bother you, I still got the ipod. It did take the full 5 weeks for them to ship it after that conversation. I did not call back during that time. They sent an email with the FedEx tracking at the time they shipped.
Best of luck to all of you. I wish there was some way we could get this out to everyone!
And if it doesn't work, here's the North Carolina Dept. of Justice info:
Contact info for the NC DOJ:
State of North Carolina
Department of Justice
Consumer Protection Section
9001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
Ph: (919) 716-6000
Fax: (919) 716-6050