Complaint Review: Hometown Productions - Internet Texas

--SCAM ALERT--

If a telemarketer from a company called "Hometown Productions" calls, trying to sell your business advertising on a local map being made by your community/chamber of commerce HANG UP AND RUN AWAY!!

Our situation;

My company's owner received a call from a telemarketer, claiming our local (small town) Chamber of Commerce had already approved the project of creating a 2012 street map, promoting local businesses. They gave my boss the option of having the entire back cover of their supposedly 4-color map for $500.

My boss declined, and the telemarketer kept dropping the price to keep him on the phone until it reached $250. My boss said no, since he wasn't even familiar with the project in question and said he would have to see a proof of the product/ad before making any decisions whether or not to advertise.

My boss then transferred the phone to me to get the telemarketers email address, etc. She refused to give any and kept insisting we needed to provide a credit card or draft of our checking account to pay for the advertising immediately. She claimed that was the only way their company did business, and I told her we refused to pay anyone over the phone for a product that we had not even committed to yet.

I hung up and we contacted our city's local chamber of commerce (who Hometown Productions) claimed they were working in conjuction with. The C of C personnel denied it, claiming the chamber never signed a contract with this company for the 2011-2012 map year. The C of C put the word out to other businesses that this SCAM was being targeted to our local businesses in Tuscola County, Michigan.

Then we start receiving "proofs" of this ad for this unapproved project. The emails stated it its impossible to "cancel" the ad by replying to the email address from which the proof was being sent. Cancel what?? We never APPROVED of the ad in the first place. And the "proof" that was sent to us had all incorrect information - Names and phone numbers incorrect - simple things anyone could have copied down from our company's website.

THREE TIMES my boss has called into the Hometown Productions to tell them we never approved the ad in the first place and won't be doing business with them. Hometown Productions sent us a copy of a supposed signed contract with our local C of C, approving the project. Only problem was, the contract sent to us was for a PAST YEAR, and did not have a signature on it of our local C of C person.

Today 11/14/2011 we received an invoice for the ad WHICH WE NEVER APPROVED. It's a total joke - there's a website to visit for "customer service." At the website, your only option is to pay with a check or by credit card. There's no "Contact us" or "About us" information. No way to correspond with these people. No email address.

So today my boss AGAIN called Hometown Productions and complained that we are getting billed for a advertisement that we NEVER APPROVED AND NEVER AGREED TO. The telemarketer screamed at my boss that we will continue receiving invoices until we pay, and that if we don't pay, they'll just turn us over to collections.

HOMETOWN PRODUCTIONS is a TOTAL SCAM. If you get a call from them, DO NOT EVEN TALK TO THEM!!!