Complaint Review: Student Relations Inc And Mike Martoe - Delray Beach Florida

The following is a post by 'AndrewG' of Portland, ME. This was posted earlier today after a positive and constructive conversation took place between us: UPDATE TO MY POSTS REGARDING STUDENT RELATIONS Wednesday July 30, 2008 After being harassed by Louis Victor upon turning down an job offer from Student Relations I have felt that I deserved an apology from either Louis Victor or whoever was in charge of things at Student Relations. I have posted here about my experiences with Louis, and my intentions of exposing the issue if I did not receive an apology. Earlier today, Mr. Martoe contacted me and sincerely extended an apology on behalf of SRI to me for the way I was treated and harassed by Louis at the beginning of the year. I may not agree with the way SRI handles its business or its recruiting process, however, as a professional I accept Mr. Martoe's apology he has extended on behalf of SRI. Accordingly, I sincerely apologize for any comments I have made to/about Mr. Martoe, his character, and/or SRI on this website; as I have also accepted his apology for any comments he has made to me about my character, family, or professional career. I also thank him for the high level of professionalism he was able to exhibit during our phone conversation this morning. I will make no further posts, positive or negative, regarding Student Relations in any way on this or any other website. In addition to this, now that I have my apology, will cease any motion for this issue to be featured in any type of media publication. Also, as long as I am no longer being harassed I will make no further complaints to any law enforcement agency regarding this issue. Finally, for effective clarity, I repeat, that I have accepted Mr. Martoe's apology he has given me and agree to cease communication and part ways neutrally too encourage no further loss of time or prosperity. I wish Mr. Martoe and SRI the best of luck in their future ventures. I will be giving this statement and only this statement to anyone who has already or will be contacting me in regards to this issue.

mike i know you read these because you have mentioned them during your harassing phone calls and death threats. *** IF YOU CONTINUE TO HARASS ME I WILL TAKE OUT A FULL PAGE COLOR AD IN SCHOLASTIC COACH AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR MAGAZINE WHICH WILL CONTAIN NOTHING BUT A LINK TO THIS WEBSITE AND THESE LEGITIMATE POSTS MADE AGAINST YOUR COMPANY.***

LIES LIES LIES they are based out of florida check with the florida bbb. who cares what their standing is in the arizona bbb when the company is based out of florida. thats like an alaskan company telling you to check them in the hawaiian bbb.

LIES LIES LIES they are based out of florida check with the florida bbb. who cares what their standing is in the arizona bbb when the company is based out of florida. thats like an alaskan company telling you to check them in the hawaiian bbb.

LIES LIES LIES they are based out of florida check with the florida bbb. who cares what their standing is in the arizona bbb when the company is based out of florida. thats like an alaskan company telling you to check them in the hawaiian bbb.

LIES LIES LIES they are based out of florida check with the florida bbb. who cares what their standing is in the arizona bbb when the company is based out of florida. thats like an alaskan company telling you to check them in the hawaiian bbb.

You'll see that they clearly state that any person can write anything they want and call it a ripoff against any company. Ripoff Report.com cannot stand behind and endorse any of these false allegations - even though they appear to be by continuing to allow folks to post nonsense. I still don't quite understand entirely how a website like this can exist without any rules that would include a person being libel and responsible for their words or actions without a burden of proof or evidence to quantify their comments. This is dangerous. Don't you think? The reputation of my company & my name are at the mercy of the people who read this site. Now, I do not doubt - not for a moment - that there are cons and untruthful people and companies out there. But, the bottom line is - either you are right or wrong. This website creates an ungoverned gray area that is ambiguous at best. But, when you are a company like ours who uses the web as an avenue for recruitment, naturally any intelligent person would or could simply do a Google search and be directed to this site and see what amounts to outrageous lies and stories that simply are not true. We can, in fact provide proof (in writing) that ALL COMMENTS made about our company are simply not true. Ripoff Report.com claims they NEVER remove posts or comments. Seeming as though doing so would sacrifice their integrity or credibility. They say, "...just be nice and deal with it....." So, should we post, "Yes, you are all correct. We are exactly what these angry people claim. We did it all. Spot on."? That is insane! But it almost seems like that is what Ripoff Report.com wants. Well you will not get that from us. Lies are lies and proof is proof and evidence is evidence. Folks who work with us sign a simple Independent Distributor Agreement written in 11th grade English. Listen to the tone of the complaints. Read the above rebuttal from the editor of this site. In America, you must have the burden of proof in order to successfully prove what some of these people claim. Otherwise it is considered NONSENSE! Let me ask you to do this: try to call Ripoff Report.com. You can get several numbers to reach them from the Arizona BBB. You'll not get a live person to talk to. Ever. It is designed that way. What does that say about the source. You can call us anytime. We have more customers and clients than this site has reports filed and we still have the time to speak to EACH PERSON WHO CALLS LIVE AND IN REAL TIME. Remember, don't believe everything you read and consider the source. The funny thing is that if you do call Ripoff Report.com there is an option that says, "to have a report removed, press (a number)." We did that and were instructed by an answering machine to send them a detailed email. They never responded. I provided every means available to contact us and the only response to our email is the above post from this site's editor.

Well that was a funny read.........what a coincidence that all these reports came out from different people in different parts of the country. They use to operate as Students of America and if you research that company you will see all of the reports filed against them as I did. Now they are Student Relations and after the reports biuld up again, they most likely will change there name.....again. These people are not nice peolple they do not come straight forward with you on a professional manner when you try to communicate with them (see above reports). To this day I still am getting numerous phone calls from disgruntled merchants who paid for an ad and the company did not publish the material. When I finally called the very first school I sold for back in August/07 they told me they just recieved the folders (in Janrary) and only got one box of 150. WOW a really great deal for the merchants. I don't think so and either do they. At least I got out ($600 short in paid commissions) when I did so my reputation in the advertising world doesn't get tarnished anymore. Make you research this copmpany's history before signing up with them and save yourself the headache. It took numerous reports, letter from my Attorney etc. to get partially paid. These are the facts.

Well that was a funny read.........what a coincidence that all these reports came out from different people in different parts of the country. They use to operate as Students of America and if you research that company you will see all of the reports filed against them as I did. Now they are Student Relations and after the reports biuld up again, they most likely will change there name.....again. These people are not nice peolple they do not come straight forward with you on a professional manner when you try to communicate with them (see above reports). To this day I still am getting numerous phone calls from disgruntled merchants who paid for an ad and the company did not publish the material. When I finally called the very first school I sold for back in August/07 they told me they just recieved the folders (in Janrary) and only got one box of 150. WOW a really great deal for the merchants. I don't think so and either do they. At least I got out ($600 short in paid commissions) when I did so my reputation in the advertising world doesn't get tarnished anymore. Make you research this copmpany's history before signing up with them and save yourself the headache. It took numerous reports, letter from my Attorney etc. to get partially paid. These are the facts.

Well that was a funny read.........what a coincidence that all these reports came out from different people in different parts of the country. They use to operate as Students of America and if you research that company you will see all of the reports filed against them as I did. Now they are Student Relations and after the reports biuld up again, they most likely will change there name.....again. These people are not nice peolple they do not come straight forward with you on a professional manner when you try to communicate with them (see above reports). To this day I still am getting numerous phone calls from disgruntled merchants who paid for an ad and the company did not publish the material. When I finally called the very first school I sold for back in August/07 they told me they just recieved the folders (in Janrary) and only got one box of 150. WOW a really great deal for the merchants. I don't think so and either do they. At least I got out ($600 short in paid commissions) when I did so my reputation in the advertising world doesn't get tarnished anymore. Make you research this copmpany's history before signing up with them and save yourself the headache. It took numerous reports, letter from my Attorney etc. to get partially paid. These are the facts.

Well that was a funny read.........what a coincidence that all these reports came out from different people in different parts of the country. They use to operate as Students of America and if you research that company you will see all of the reports filed against them as I did. Now they are Student Relations and after the reports biuld up again, they most likely will change there name.....again. These people are not nice peolple they do not come straight forward with you on a professional manner when you try to communicate with them (see above reports). To this day I still am getting numerous phone calls from disgruntled merchants who paid for an ad and the company did not publish the material. When I finally called the very first school I sold for back in August/07 they told me they just recieved the folders (in Janrary) and only got one box of 150. WOW a really great deal for the merchants. I don't think so and either do they. At least I got out ($600 short in paid commissions) when I did so my reputation in the advertising world doesn't get tarnished anymore. Make you research this copmpany's history before signing up with them and save yourself the headache. It took numerous reports, letter from my Attorney etc. to get partially paid. These are the facts.

Student Relations, Inc. does not have any employees - only Independent Contractors/Distributors who are under contract with us. We currently maintain approximately 130+ Area Distributors out in the field and are spread out over 41 of the 50 states. They sell advertising space to local merchants in local territories they maintain. The advertising appears on products that we publish for local High Schools, Colleges, Universities and other institutions including other divisions of our organization. We currently publish for over 8,000 of these institutions, nationally. The folks who work with us and publish for us have over 30 years of industry knowledge. Some of the above allegations regarding non-payment of revenues due an Independent Contractor or the non-delivery of a product is simply false. We have no judgments against us with any Department of Justice. Since we've been in business, we've had exactly 6 complaints and all were resolved in a timely manner and in our favor. Please see for yourself by following this link to the South Florida BBB: http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=11011302. You'll notice after reading this report that we have a satisfactory grade and report. Ripoff Report, which operates 2-3 websites, has unsatisfactory reports on the Arizona BBB (where Ripoff Report is based out of): http://data.phoenix.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=27004436&language=1&bureau=&bbbid=. And this: http://data.phoenix.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=3008667&language=1&bureau=&bbbid=. So, you also need to consider the source. The folks who posted above are people who disappeared on us, kept our accounts and materials, and misreported or kept and returned funds belonging to us. These are all serious violations of their contract with us. Find out more about us. Please visit our website: www.nationalstudentrelations.org. If you have any questions, please pick up the phone and talk to us. We're nice people! Thank you. Student Relations, Inc. ================= ================= In response to the above comments made about this website. COMMENTS FROM THE EDITOR Is Rip-off Report listed wirh the Phoenix Arizona BBB with an unsatisfactory rating. Yes, it's true. Why?? Many companies listed on Rip-off Report filed complaints against us because Rip-off Report refused to REMOVE any complaints about their company. Most everyone knows, Rip-off Report has a uniform policy to NEVER remove a Report. Ever. Below is some of what we tell those who ask us to Remove a Report, and this is a small part of what we told the BBB. YOU CAN FILE A REBUTTAL(S) FOR FREE We DO NOT author the Reports. Consider yourself lucky the customer did not make up some sucks.com website on your company located in some 3rd world country where you could not respond to the charges like you can on Rip-off Report. We think if you handle your response in the correct way, that will say it all, and in your favor, turning that negative into a positive, taking the high road. If responded to properly, any half intelligent consumer will know the deal. The nicer you are, the more you turn around the possible negativity of a Rip-off Report. We live in the Internet age. Unless Al Gore pulls the plug on the internet, we are all stuck with it. :-) Deal with it, and show what a good business or business person you are: put your best foot forward, go beyond the call of good customer service, then the Rip-off Report will work as a positive advertisement you will want ALL your customers to see. Better yet, Rip-off Report is a lot cheaper than those costly full page ads in the paper, advertisement on the Internet or on TV. Once you see this is working as a positive for your company, maybe you will think about donating some of those advertising dollars. As you will see, Rip-off Report WILL GET YOU NEW FOUND BUSINESS, if, but only IF, you handle the Report in a positive way. Anyone thinking of coming after Rip-off Report (filing a lawsuit) will get nowhere and will only, more than likely, get even more bad publicity, spreading bad will about their company, as that lawsuit will be passed around because that lawsuit just became public information and can be posted all day long, everywhere by anyone ... without legal liability. Rip-off Report has no way of determining whether you or the author of the report is correct or if you are telling the truth. We encourage you to post a rebuttal explaining your side of the story, but we have a uniform policy against removing reports posted by consumers. Why WE DO NOT Remove a Rip-off Report: If we remove a Rip-off Report, we would be no better than the BBB. Although we do not remove reports, we do provide for the Author of the Report an UPDATE feature that allows the Author of the Report to supply additional positive or negative information regarding your business dealings. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND OUR PHILOSOPHY: If Rip-off Report removed a Report every time a business threatened, consumers would be back to where they were before. There would be no history of how the business took care of past problems. This Report on the business or individual can work as a positive or as a promotional tool if they respond properly and do the right thing by taking care of their customer. Consumers will see this and will want to do business with them in spite of what has been written about them. ... That is why we supply a REBUTTAL feature so that the company reported has a chance to respond by agreeing, disagreeing, or apologizing and explaining what will be done to fix the issue. By allowing consumers to view the original report, updates, and rebuttals, consumers will be able to make informed and educated decisions. This is mainly because consumers will be able to see how the company in question deals with complaints. All business get them from time to time. Regardless, as a mater of policy, we do not remove a submitted Rip-off Report, and we never will. We have been offered as much as $50,000 to remove just one Rip-off Report, but we declined because doing so is in violation of our policy, and more importantly, goes against what we what we stand for ... Please understand our position. Remember, all businesses will get complaints ... ALL! ... as stated above, at least file a rebuttal that is pleasant and, if you wish, mention that you support this forum and freedom of speech -- even if you disagree with what was said. Whining to consumers about how bad and unfair Rip-off Report is will only sour their opinion of you. Also tell what the situation was at the time the Report was posted, even if it's a long time a ago and how you made improvements to your company to avoid this and similar things from happening again, and other positive comments about your company ... that is free. You can turn that negative into a positive! Consumers are probably finding your business on search engines that would never even know about you! If handled correctly, this can come permanent positive advertisement! .... ED Magedson - Founder [email protected] www.ripoffreport.com Rip-off Report badbusinessbureau.com PO Box 310 Tempe, Arizona 85280

this company is not legit and harm the integegrity of its employees and Merchants that do business with them...Some in law enforcement needs to get a handle on these people and the company.

Well it took this report, reports to the BBB in Fla and NJ, reports to the DAG office in FLA and NJ and reports to Consumer Affairs in FLA and NJ to actually have a check sent to me $688 short of what they owed me. The problen is and was, when I called them to get an answer or anything I got the "runaround". They lied to me and dragged this on. Well since then I contacted the Schools who are supposed to be distributing the folders I sold ad space on, and not even the first assignment I did back in August has receieved anything which means the merchants who advertised wasted their money. Again the problem lies with Student Relations instructing me to tell my customers when the folders will be distributed. LIES, LIES and more LIES.

LET'S SEE, AFTER STUDENT RELATIONS REQUESTED THEIR MATERIALS BACK I SENT THEM FedEx AND HAVE A DELIVERY CONFIRMATION RECEIPT SIGNED BY MIKE MARTOE. I ALSO HAVE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION RECEIPTS OF THE (PACKAGES) WHICH INCLUDE PAYMENTS, ARTWORK AND CONTRACTS, AS WELL AS COPIES OF ALL DOCUMENTS. AS FAR AS THE DOCUMENTS IN QUESTION ARE ALL PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND HAVE ALL DOCUMENTS TO PROVE WHAT I SAID.

Brian D was an Independent Distributor for Student Relations, Inc. for a few weeks. He then disappeared with our accounts, payments made to our company and all of our materials - without any notice. All of these are violations of the Independent Distributor Agreement he entered into with us. He still has all of these funds and materials in his possession. Regarding his post, the Title and the Updates - they are fabricated and slanderous. We currently have a legal team in New Jersey investigating these serious and slanderous allegations. By implying that our company was formerly another while they both still exist and then further stating that our company's performance is that of another's is illegal. Brian D chose this path and public medium to lie and misrepresent himself and our company. This matter will be resolved by my company's end legally, not publically. However, if anyone reading this or Mr. Davidson's post/s has any questions and would like to contact me or our company, please do so through our website, www.studentrelations.org. Thank you. Michael J. Martoe Student Relations, Inc.

I checked with the BBB in Florida and New Jersey as well as the District Attorney's Office in both Florida and New Jersey and found a total of 40 complaints in the BBB and 16 complaints filed with the District of Attorney's office as well as other complaints on Rip Off Report.