Complaint Review: Horizon Technologies - Tempe Arizona

Located in Arizona, a state fast becoming known as the telemarketing capital of the world, is a telemarketing company named Horizon Technologies. Their address is listed at 2741 W. Southern Ave., Suite 6-8, Tempe, AZ 85282. Phone 866-586-1770 or 602-344-7777. Horizon Technologies, however, is not their real name. The real name of the company is Angel Star Sales, LLC, headed up by Mike Angel and his wife, Toni. Other names that the company uses are Angel Star GPS, Horizon Technologies, Inc and Millennium Plus, LLC.

There really is a company named Horizon Technologies, Inc., but it is not this company. There is also a legitimate company that sells a product called Millennium Plus, but it is not this product. Mike Angel apparently saw fit to borrow these names to give authenticity to his aliases. (See contact info at www.HawkeyebyGMB.com and www.mplusGPS.com). The only name listed with the Arizona Dept. of Corporations is Angel Star Sales, LLC.

The company operates out of a boiler-room environment, using telemarketers, who despite making good money; consist of men and women who appear to be down on their luck. Most of them, however, possess extraordinary abilities to persuade people to buy products over the phone, usually on the first call. The company receives leads from websites or TV programs that advertise job opportunities. These people are then incessantly phoned by the telemarketers between the hours of 1:00p and 8:00p, regardless of the time-zone and regardless of the Do-Not-Call list. Some of these people almost beg to not call them anymore. The telemarketers are encouraged to make the calls by being paid commissions and also receive spiffs, which are cash inducements paid daily for extra effort and sales accomplishments. In addition they use a private phone number so that the people called will not know who they are.

The typical sales technique is for the telemarketer to dial until he or she finds someone that will listen to their pitch. They will then explain the program and when they find someone that is interested, they will then typically have a closer seal the deal. This person will be either a manager or one of the experienced telemarketers who will take over the call and by claiming to have special authority, such as identifying himself as the national sales manager, will offer the prospect special incentives such as 50 free brochures, or if necessary, will drop the price in order to get the sale.

The pitch is that Horizon Technologies is a legitimate marketing company representing a GPS product that tracks vehicles, mainly emphasizing auto's, but also including boats, motorcycles, motor-homes, etc. The fact is that this company is just a reseller of a GPS unit made by a company located in California. The name of the manufacturer is never used and little known. The telemarketers encourage the people to go to the Company website (www.mplusgps.com) and try out the demo. They are told that this is a working GPS unit attached to one of the technician's automobiles. What is interesting is that the demo never changes the data that the company claims are being received from the satellites.

The business opportunity that Horizon Technologies promotes is that they will create a website for the person being called. The fact is that the website is already created and just has to have a domain name assigned to it. The cost of the website is $995.00, the so-called business & consumer licenses are quoted at $495.00 each, and the GPS unit is sold at $399.00, in addition to a $25.00 hosting fee. The total price of $2,409, plus the hosting-fee and the monitoring fee is known as a full-boat. If this is sold, the telemarketer will receive approximately $600.00 in commissions.

The prospect is told that the website will do all the work of selling the GPS units. All that the IBO (independent business owner) has to do is advertise and promote the website. They are told that each unit sold at the recommended price of $599.00 will generate $200.00 profit for the IBO, plus they will receive a percentage of the monthly monitoring fees which range from $8.50 to $36.75. The initial cost of the program can range anywhere from $500 up to $2,409 or more. A reduction in price is called a drop. They start out by quoting $3,609 and immediately reduce that figure $1,200 which is suppose to be the fictitious advertising coach's fee. It is then dropped down from there. The difference in price is primarily used to determine the compensation of the telemarketer plus, and of course, gain additional profit for the company. The real purpose, however, is to just get someone into the program and get their credit card information. That's when the scam gains momentum.

The company has experienced telemarketers who are known as reloaders. Their job is to sell advertising to the people who purchased the program. The advertising consists of postcards, brochures, direct mail, etc. All this can run into a cost of thousands of dollars. Some people are even encouraged to refinance their homes and end up spending 10's of thousands of dollars to pay for the advertising materials.

What's wrong with this scenario is that many of the people who are persuaded to sign up for this business opportunity are people who can hardly afford to feed their families, much less sign-up for a pie-in-the-sky dream. Most of them, for many reasons, will never produce a dime of income from this so-called business opportunity.

The telemarketers will use every means available to tap into the credit-cards, even exceeding the credit-card limits, if possible, to try to sell them the website and the advertising material. When they purchase the website, they are told that they will be contacted by advertising experts, through conference calls, etc., to assist them in running the business opportunity What a farce the only people contacting them will be trying to sell them advertising material. Most of these people will not be able to afford any of the advertising material, even if it could effectively be used to sell the GPS units. If they can't or won't purchase the advertising material, they will be tossed aside like a hot potato. If the company does find someone with money, however, the reloaders will practically fight over them, because this is where their big money is made. The likeliness is that after people pay for the website and/or the advertising material, they will make little or no attempt to sell the product and chalk it all up as a bitter experience.

While there might be an iota of legitimacy with this company, if anyone wants to do business with them, they should check it out thoroughly before authorizing a deduction from their credit card. Also, find out if the GPS even works before they try to sell it. Be suspicious of the company because the boiler-room is furnished in such a way that it could be packed up and moved overnight. In addition, the Arizona Department of Corporations should look into why this company is using false corporate names. The Attorney General's office should also check them out to see if they are in violation of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act.

Jason

Scottsdale, Arizona
U.S.A.