Complaint Review: Consumer Research Group - CRG2000 - Ontario Canada

 This is in response to the complaint on our company from an individual who supposedly received a letter in the mail from "CRG" (?) stating they had just won $65,000. The following are simple, researchable facts so as not to waste more than the necessary amount of time on the publicizing of this slanderous complaint:

1. The Consumer Research Group based out of Raleigh, North Carolina is a Nationally reputable market research firm, specializing in Mystery Shopping for companies such as Sears, McDonald's, Wendy's, Panda Restaurants, Seattle's Best Coffee, Subway Restaurants, Taco Bell, Wolf Camera, just to name a few for over 21 years.

2. The Consumer Research Group is in no way or fashion related in any manner to a "Gooseberry Patch", PNC Bank or any other such entities.

3. The Consumer Research Group does NOT send out any unsolicited funds in any form, including cashiers checks. NOTE: Cashier's Checks are a popular tool used by scam artists, con men (and women) and other low life individuals usually operating outside of the U.S. borders.  

4. Had this person contacted us through our website: www.CRG2000.com , they would have noticed  a bold warning message about scams involving cashier's checks.

5. Our company name and logo along with many of our competitors were stolen off of the internet several years ago and continue to be used today.

6. The name and mailing address of the complaintant was most likely gleaned from a readily available mailing list. 

CAUTION: If you receive a letter stating you just won thousands $$$ in a lottery you didn't enter, simply destroy it or better yet, turn it over to your local attorney general's office or the Post Master in your area.  

WARNING: Do NOT be so foolish as to risk legal action, which can include but not be limited to fines, court costs and even incarceration for making slanderous, ill founded threats, comments or statements against innocent, reputable companies when you surprisingly discover you did not win the lottery!

Don Bode, President and CEO
Consumer Research Group of Raleigh, North Carolina
America's Premier Mystery Shopping Company

 This is in response to the complaint on our company from an individual who supposedly received a letter in the mail from "CRG" (?) stating they had just won $65,000. The following are simple, researchable facts so as not to waste more than the necessary amount of time on the publicizing of this slanderous complaint:

1. The Consumer Research Group based out of Raleigh, North Carolina is a Nationally reputable market research firm, specializing in Mystery Shopping for companies such as Sears, McDonald's, Wendy's, Panda Restaurants, Seattle's Best Coffee, Subway Restaurants, Taco Bell, Wolf Camera, just to name a few for over 21 years.

2. The Consumer Research Group is in no way or fashion related in any manner to a "Gooseberry Patch", PNC Bank or any other such entities.

3. The Consumer Research Group does NOT send out any unsolicited funds in any form, including cashiers checks. NOTE: Cashier's Checks are a popular tool used by scam artists, con men (and women) and other low life individuals usually operating outside of the U.S. borders.  

4. Had this person contacted us through our website: www.CRG2000.com , they would have noticed  a bold warning message about scams involving cashier's checks.

5. Our company name and logo along with many of our competitors were stolen off of the internet several years ago and continue to be used today.

6. The name and mailing address of the complaintant was most likely gleaned from a readily available mailing list. 

CAUTION: If you receive a letter stating you just won thousands $$$ in a lottery you didn't enter, simply destroy it or better yet, turn it over to your local attorney general's office or the Post Master in your area.  

WARNING: Do NOT be so foolish as to risk legal action, which can include but not be limited to fines, court costs and even incarceration for making slanderous, ill founded threats, comments or statements against innocent, reputable companies when you surprisingly discover you did not win the lottery!

Don Bode, President and CEO
Consumer Research Group of Raleigh, North Carolina
America's Premier Mystery Shopping Company

I thought I might as well begin adding much more truthful headlines. It's been 5 years or more and I still see the search engines bring up "Ripoff report" as though these incidents happened yesterday. The sad fact is the search headlines don't begin to tell the truth of the incidents, just the blaring "Rip Off Report" header. It does'nt matter how many times we bring up the facts that the incidents involving our company were all stemming from cases of identity theft by foreign con artists.

No, sadly the headers keep appearing with our name. The irony is, anyone can smear a reputable company with unfounded, unconfirmed slanderous lies that can literally as in our case cost us years of effort and expense in building a reputable company, only to have it all destroyed.

The past five years have gradually brought our company to the door of desperation, thanks to your misguided, un-substantuated tales.

And I am quite sure, this factual rebuttal will never be published.

Don Bode, Founder
Consumer Research Group

I have responded to these ill founded claims based on lies and misrepresentations made by criminals posing as representatives of the Consumer research Group. Our corporate identity was stolen about 4 years ago by scam artists operating in "cells" in Canada, England and several mid eastern countries that literally protect these criminals.

Even though our web sight www.CRG2000.com posts a clear warning about this scam, as does the Mystery Shopper Providers Association on their web sight, we still get people that get confused. Many people actually believe if they get a fraudulent (illegal) offer in the mail and it has our name on it, it must be legitimate, not bothering to consider it might not actually be from the Consumer Research Group, but actually thieves operating in a foreign country.

What is hard to believe is many of the victims NEVER go to our REAL website or bother to contact us! They actually call the people (with fake names) at the phone number (foreign area code) and ask them: "Is this a scam?" To which the con artists reply: "Oh, of course not!" Hard to believe? Nearly everyone submitting these claims (81 at last count) to the Ripoff Report admit to this. And sadly, yet understandably will never contact us and admit the suspected it was a scam all along. Each of them admits they are well aware of the saying "If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is!"  The victims usually contact the authorities and the bank first who simply inform them that it is a simple case of identity theft from the real Consumer Research Group. But, thinking they are protecting the consumer, the Ripoff Report takes their unfounded and totally falsely targeted claim and posts it as fact for millions to read. This act right here has cost our company untold revenues.

Notice to administrators of the Ripoff Report site: Please duplicate or link this rebuttal to the other 81 complaints as we do not have the time to waste on this digital lunacy.

The ironic cap to this tale is we had a call from a person stating his name was "Ed Magedson" (founder of the Ripoff Report) and for a rather large sum, he claimed he could make the Ripoff files "go away".  All we had to do was send them a cashier's check!  Where does it stop???

Don Bode
Consumer Research Group of Raleigh, North Carolina
America's Premier Mystery Shopping Service.

   

I received a letter from CRG today in the mail saying that I had won $65,000.00 and a check was inclosed for $3950.00 from Gooseberry Patch on PNC Bank out of Columbus, Ohio. I called the bank and they said that there was fraudulent activity on that business. I then contacted Gooseberry Patch in Columbus, Ohio and was told that they had checks stolen from there company and that this is a fraudulent check and that this has been happening to them since early December 2011. They need to catch these people and put a stop to this now. And what is so bad I did not enter into any sweepstakes or mystery shopper program, yet they got my name and address.  Canada and the USA need to work together to put a stop to this. It has been going on for many years yet no one has put a stop to this. I faxed a copy of the letter and check to Gooseberry Patch so that they can use it to catch these people. And I think anyone else who receives these letters and checks should do the same so that we can all put a stop to this NOW. This financially hurts the businesses that the checks are on and the people who attempt to cash the checks. We need to put a stop to FRAUD NOW!!