West Coast Seven WestCoastSeven The Tribe Road Warriors Ken Carole Michael Steinberg Misrepresented Themselves as a Professional Sales Rep Agency Asking for a Retainer Upfront Rancho Santa Margarita California
We were contacted by these clowns when we had an ad out to find sales reps for our business. They were originally asking for a $2000 up front retainer with 10% commission. They said they have 7 sales reps on the west coast servicing accounts like Anthropologie, Marriot, and various clothing/specialty stores.
They sounded professional on the phone and after some back and forth we agreed to a $1000 retainer. Something did seem off with their emails; they seemed to be a bit "pre-written."
I signed their agrrement and asked where to send samples/ their check to, a list of all their reps, and their W9 for me to keep on hand. They asked me to only send 2 sample kits to the address listed, and that their 'bookkeeper' was on maternity leave so they can't get the W9 until she is back.
I googled the address that I was sending samples to and it looked like a mail drop center. More searching led me to this site where I can see a story with the same details from 2012.
Luckliy we did not send any funds to these scumbags. Hopefully others do their due-dilligence prior to sending anything as well.
The contacts we has were Ken and Carole at West Coast Seven. But it looks like they've been pulling this scheme for a while with different aliases. The Tribe, Road Warriors, Michael Steinberg are some of the names that came up.