Complaint Review: Joe Smithton

I don't even know where to begin but the bottom line is the company is a scam. I have read so many complaints that coincide with what I'm currently experiencing and I doubt they will EVER complete my site. Here's how they operate. They provide you with a quote and then tell you they will give you a discount. They ask that you pay at least 1/2 upfront and then create a payment schedule for the remaining fees. Of course, they do NOT have any schedule on actually completing work. After paying half, you will called CONSTANTLY to purchase additional such as site maps, site tracking tools, and of course hosting. They tell you that your hosting will begin when the site is completed, however, your statements will say something else. When you ask them about it, they will always, don't worry about it, but will not change the statement. Then you will called repeatedly about paying the remainder of the bill and they will offer a discount. After you pay the bill, forget it. You will barely hear from them ever again. They will stall, apologize a lot when you do actually speak with someone. You will notice a signifcant amount of noise in the background when you are speaking with anyone there. When I asked what is going on, they claim they are celebrating a new release of a website. Yeah, right. It sounds like call center sweatshop. The Provo Utah office has done absolutely NOTHING up to this point and I'm approaching 2 months since I signed on. They outsourced the design which was completed in 1/2 day, indicating to me it was not customized. Without the code, I have a dead site. And when I say they have done nothing in almost 2 months, I mean NOTHING! They use stall tactics, there webcenter can only submit 1 statement to the customer at a time and it is usually about a product or service they are trying to sell you. If you do not respond (you must reject the request), they will simply let time go by without anything being done to complete your site. I could not even contact the person I was told who was supposedly working on the site. The customer service rep said they could not give out his number. So I have wait for him to call me, which he has NEVER done up to this point. I have left numerous voicemail, email, messages but it is always the same, no response. I feel like such a sucker. I should have done my homework before hiring them. Check out the better business bureau and their rating. D+ (based on my experience is a gift, should be F-).  Check out the number of current complaints through the BBB. When I brought this to their attention, they said the information was not correct. I responded by saying, who should I beleive, a non-profit company with nothing to gain or a company that has done nothing for me in 2 months? I am now faced with disputing all charges, contacting an attorney and filing a report on the BBB along with the thousands that already exist. Do not believe anything they say, they are all scam artists. It is unfortunate that consumers have to deal with companies such as HIT Webdesign, not sure how they stay in business and why something has not been done about this place. Stall tactics include changing the terms of your site (content) over and over again, so you have to keep rejecting, your account manager will inform that whatever task needed to be complete was not his responsibility. You would think as an account manager, he would actually manage your account! So you are sent on a wild goose chase trying to find someone who will assist you. And, of course, they all say they will, but never do. I will make this a personal goal to exhaust every avenue to get my money back. I hope my comments prevent at least 1 person NOT to use HIT webdesign in Provo Utah.  They are the scum of the earth (and that is a kind statement). Not sure how the employees sleep at night knowing the company they work for is in the business of ripping off consumers. I'm sure I rebuttal will be posted that is filled with lies. BEWARE OF HIT WEB DESIGN!!!!! ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR MONEY, YOU WILL NOT HERE FROM THEM AGAIN (unless of course some rep is calling about trying to sell you some other service or product)