I
signed up for their Advanced Mentoring Program in May 2006 to find and develop
an Internet niche market. The cost was $8000.00 US (it came to over $8800.00
CND after the currency conversion), $7000.00 for the program itself and an
extra $1000.00 for building a professional website. I had to postpone the
program until June 2007 due to my lack of Internet Service at my office, at
which time I resumed the program.
The
package covered coaching sessions over the telephone and by Email, domain name
registration and building a professional website. After I chose my niche
market, I told them what kind of business I had in mind and they had no
objections.
It
went well for the most part, but the real problem was in building the website.
Their webmaster, Bron Fieldwalker of Syndicate Digital did not build it to my
exact specifications, wanted to charge me extra money for things that should
have been included in the package, and finally posted my site online without my
permission and refused to correct the many problems with it. I had other web
designers examine the work Bron had done and they concurred that it was
basically a Mickey Mouse job done with cheap templates and no layering. Totally
inadequate for the business I had in mind. They checked the sites of the other
listed entrepreneurs who completed their program, and they found the same
thing.
The
people at IMC waited till later in the program to object to the things I wanted
done and they seemed surprisingly ignorant of basic web design.
For
example, I told my mentor from the beginning that I wanted to build an online
store. I understood that certain things like a site manager and a database
would not be covered, but the basic site would be. Later on, they told me that
shopping carts were not included in the package. I thought they were going to
reneg on their promises, but my colleagues told me that PayPal offers free
shopping carts. I was relieved, but also perplexed. These people who work for a
company that claims to have pioneered Internet marketing since 1996, didn't
tell me this fact from the beginning and caused me to worry unnecessarily.
Outrageous. On top of that, I had to hire another webmaster to do the work that
should have been done properly the first time.
In
addition, I suspect Bron of trying to sabotage my website. I had some words
with him, and told him I flatly refused to pay additional money to him and
basically ordered him to give the the files used to create the site, which
after some arguing he did. When my new webmaster has working on the site, he
couldn't login to the hosting account. The company used by IMC at the time,
Hostica, doesn't keep track of who logs in and when, so I can't prove it, but
the rules of evidence, namely motive and opportunity, point squarely at Bron.
I
signed up for their Advanced Mentoring Program in May 2006 to find and develop
an Internet niche market. The cost was $8000.00 US (it came to over $8800.00
CND after the currency conversion), $7000.00 for the program itself and an
extra $1000.00 for building a professional website. I had to postpone the
program until June 2007 due to my lack of Internet Service at my office, at
which time I resumed the program.
The
package covered coaching sessions over the telephone and by Email, domain name
registration and building a professional website. After I chose my niche
market, I told them what kind of business I had in mind and they had no
objections.
It
went well for the most part, but the real problem was in building the website.
Their webmaster, Bron Fieldwalker of Syndicate Digital did not build it to my
exact specifications, wanted to charge me extra money for things that should
have been included in the package, and finally posted my site online without my
permission and refused to correct the many problems with it. I had other web
designers examine the work Bron had done and they concurred that it was
basically a Mickey Mouse job done with cheap templates and no layering. Totally
inadequate for the business I had in mind. They checked the sites of the other
listed entrepreneurs who completed their program, and they found the same
thing.
The
people at IMC waited till later in the program to object to the things I wanted
done and they seemed surprisingly ignorant of basic web design.
For
example, I told my mentor from the beginning that I wanted to build an online
store. I understood that certain things like a site manager and a database
would not be covered, but the basic site would be. Later on, they told me that
shopping carts were not included in the package. I thought they were going to
reneg on their promises, but my colleagues told me that PayPal offers free
shopping carts. I was relieved, but also perplexed. These people who work for a
company that claims to have pioneered Internet marketing since 1996, didn't
tell me this fact from the beginning and caused me to worry unnecessarily.
Outrageous. On top of that, I had to hire another webmaster to do the work that
should have been done properly the first time.
In
addition, I suspect Bron of trying to sabotage my website. I had some words
with him, and told him I flatly refused to pay additional money to him and
basically ordered him to give the the files used to create the site, which
after some arguing he did. When my new webmaster has working on the site, he
couldn't login to the hosting account. The company used by IMC at the time,
Hostica, doesn't keep track of who logs in and when, so I can't prove it, but
the rules of evidence, namely motive and opportunity, point squarely at Bron.
Joel Joseph
LaSalle,#2Author of original report
Thu, December 10, 2009
The people at IMC finally contacted me and a resolution was agreed upon. They refunded me the website-building portion of the mentoring program, 1000.00USD. They initially offered me 500.00USD, but when I pointed out the original price for the webdesign and they verified it, they offered me the full refund.
The key is to do your homework before investing in any Internet Marketing program. They may have been the first ones to pioneer this field, but now they're a dime a dozen. Often, you can find someone who can do a better job for way less, like I did.
Make sure they're clear about what they're offering you. If they're not willing to go the extra mile for you after you've invested a small fortune, they're probably not right for you. If they don't live up to your (realistic) expectations, let them know. If they can't resolve any issues in a timely manner, then file a complaint against them.
Stacey Melquist
Vancouver,#3UPDATE Employee
Thu, December 10, 2009
To provide an update on this complaint; IMC has resolved this issue.
After speaking with this client and understanding the issues at hand, both IMC and the client came to a mutually agreeable resolution, to which both IMC and the client were satisfied.
Sincerely,
Stacey Melquist
Customer Relations Team Lead
The Internet Marketing Center