StoresOnline.com - poor service experience - have asked for refund of $10,284

# 12 for May 3, 2003

December 12, 2006 - Business Reply:

StoresOnline is committed to customer satisfaction and is constantly improving its products and services. StoresOnline is eager to satisfy its customers by fixing problems and overcoming misunderstandings. If StoresOnline has problems with its software or its services, then a detailed complaint about what is wrong is necessary for StoresOnline to remedy the situation. General postings made about StoresOnline’s products or services are often unclear as to what consumers want StoresOnline to do. StoresOnline’s products are constantly improved when customers identify specific glitches in the software or shortfalls in its services. Indeed, the latest version of StoresOnline software, introduced earlier this year, is a result of detailed and clear feedback from StoresOnline customers. We urge you to contact StoresOnline and identify your concerns. Please provide your full name, address, telephone number, and StoresOnline product license numbers. StoresOnline will respond to your email and will find a resolution to your questions and concerns. Other useful information about StoresOnline can be found at its website at www.storesonline.com. StoresOnline provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with eServices to help their customers successfully market their products and services. Whether a company wants to extend an existing business to the Internet, or launch the next big idea, StoresOnline's eServices are there to help each step of the way. From education, to training, to eCommerce-enabled websites, StoresOnline seeks to be the best in the business. StoresOnline's software platform has continuously developed over the past decade, evolving to fit the needs of the dynamic, global economy. Today, the development platform (StoresOnline Pro) sets the precedent as small business owners and entrepreneurs offer their products and services to the world. StoresOnline's records indicate that Ms. Wisdom contacted StoresOnline for a refund in 2004. StoresOnline's records further show that Ms. Wisdom was issued a refund. StoresOnline considers this matter closed.

Sincerely,

Customer Service

Complaints.com received the following on May 2, 2003:

From: Alice Email User

RE: StoresOnline.com - poor service experience - have asked for refund of $10,284 In late November 2002, I received a card in the mail stating that I was invited to a seminar with a Free meal at the Holiday Inn. I went along with my daughter-in-law. This was for StoresOnline.com. The representatives intrigued us with their presentation and I ended up paying $20 for us to attend the "workshop" held on November 25, 2002. Actually, the workshop turned into a sales presentation to lure the people attending into signing up for 3-6 or more electronic storefronts. They were sold in packets of 3.

The people described a number of state-of-the-art features that I had never heard of and due to my lack of experience in the field of website design and internet marketing, it sounded like a true winner. I wanted very much to have an internet based business that would be profitable. Who could lose when partnered with the knowledge, experience and technological equipment provided by StoresOnline. Since I have worked all my life with very little to show for it, I was very interested in the fact that an individual with no knowledge of computers or website design and internet marketing could with the backing of StoresOnline actually make $40,000 to $80,000 a month selling just about anything on the internet, including dog poop and tumbleweeds.

It was assured to us that even if we chose to design and built our own sites, the StoresOnline professionals would review the store front to ensure no mistakes went through to publication. We were sold. We had a number of ideas for some online stores. Using my credit card, I purchased 6 electronic storefronts for $5,199 on November 25, 2002 at the seminar/workshop. I had no doubts that as stated by the speakers that within a month of publishing my first store, it would begin paying off this debt.

We were promised 200=400 links to each store through Links4Trade. We got less than 20 from them and posted many of our links ourselves.

In December, I was called and told that we had been chosen to be the StoresOnline's Texas Success Team. For $4,518, we were signed on with what I expected to be a sure thing with the Storesonline backing. For this additional investment, we were promised a lot of things, but all we actually got was 10 approximately 20-30 minute phone calls in which we were told to go to this website or to that website, learn this, learn that, buy this or buy that. Sign up for these search engines etc.

I ended up spending another $1000 or more doing what they told me to do on top of the additional $50 to publish a new store and have them host it for $139 a year. The professional help promised was never as good as my own abilities. I designed and built 3 stores using their program; however, every time I asked for help, I was told to go to this website and you'll learn how to do that. Or, we charge $50 an hour to do that for you. My stores went public with poor design and errors. Even when someone did look at our stores from StoresOnline, they were not critiqued too closely and improvements were never done or even suggested.

The program used by StoresOnline was very difficult to learn to use and so I learned through trial and error. Time consuming and costly. They indicated that even if you did not know what a mouse was, you'd be able to use their program. Not so. Plus when you do build a store using their program, you are tied to their program because to move your site elsewhere means to have to redesign and rebuild much of it. The Online Chat did not work for me because of my computer; however, when I was able to access the Chat Line using my laptop, I would be told to go to this website to get that help or they were completely lacking in any ability to answer my questions.

Finally getting fed up with my own lack of abilities and not wanting to pay hundreds of dollars more to StoresOnline, I hired a lady who was profiecient in designing and building websites. I told her to work with the StoresOnline programmer who had eventually been assigned to more or less appease me and keep me quiet as he never actually did much as far as help on my web sites.

She was told to contact Customer Support who promptly ignored her and when the new site was completed, she had no idea how to upload it to StoresOnline. This was promised at the seminar to be easy and in no way a big problem. However, her efforts to get help with doing this were basically ignored. With this, I became completely and totally exasperated with StoresOnline and told them for about the third of fourth time that I wanted a total refund of all my investment into StoresOnline and that I would then go elsewhere. My third store, designed and built outside of StoresOnline, is now being hosted by the designer who has done a beautiful job and who also has been very helpful and supportive in my endeavors to build an internet business for a fraction of the cost that StoresOnline was paid.

I have asked that StoresOnline refund to me the $10,284 total. So far, I have heard nothing back from them. On 3 separate occasions, I wrote to StoresOnline stating how dissatisfied I was with their program and requesting a refund. The first 2 times, I received a call and was again convinced that I had not given it a fair trial and that things would be different as StoresOnline provided a lot for the money.

This time, I have already put into progress moving my stores elsewhere where we will be given the support and professional experience needed. Almost all of the money paid to StoresOnline was paid using my credit cards, which from their point of view, would be paid off before the credit card company even began to collect interest. I want my money back and I think StoresOnline should be stopped from proclaiming success with their backing, as they provide noen. I already knew or had access to much of what they did provide (a program to build a site) and information on how to market your site. All of which is available in books (I have them) and on the internet for FREE.

I do hope you can help me in retrieving this, as I definitely will not work with StoresOnline and have taken the steps to get out. The following 3 stores will be located at another hosting site. The last one, ravenswingmassage.com has already been transferred and will be available within 24 hours.

Have a nice day!

Alice

Comment On This

I hav been with StoresOnline since 2004 and am quite happy with the product. My sites: www.HealthyHeartHelp.com and www.AllNaturalElements.com do well in the search engines. I ven appear on page one of some searches with plenty of competition.

StoresOnline sells a tool for use in your business and provides web hosting. The monthly fee is your hosting while the bulk of the money was for your store builder. While GoDaddy will give you a site for free, they certainly don't give you a builder to build it for free. You also won't get all of the statisticas and other reports that help you manage the business.

Part of the problem here is that most of you don't even know what you paid for. How do you dish out that much money without undrstanding what it's paying for? it's sounds to me like you all jumped on an idea of being rich but didn't want to put in the work required. Those of you "stuck" with your sites, why don't you at last try to make it work? You might surprise yourself.

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Ditto here! I am a 31 year old college professor and I feel so dumb that I got so ripped off. The platform and the customer support are absolutely horrendus!!! I hate this stupid rip off company so much.

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YES!!! Stay away from SOL - One of the biggest scams out there. Just do a search for Storesonline scam and so many stories to read about. Its a shame they are still around. We were scammed to and our claim has been reported to the Texas Attorney General's office and they are currently (11-2008) investigating it. If any other Texas residents want to file a complaint please contact them ASAP! Their link also comes up in the search as Texas has dealt with SOL before - 2005 - very intersting reading especially for the non-believers =)

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Alice,

Thank you for posting your experience.

You have saved me time, money, and

aggravation. I had thought about going

to their seminar, but will now disregard it!

Thanks again, Kay

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Amen, ditto,ditto,ditto.

We were also suckered into this scam. Loosing in excess of $8,000 not including interest on cc's since April 2006. Still paying on cc. Isn't there something someone can do. I've been searching to no avail.

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My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I also went to the seminar. My husband got sucked into the trap. He kept asking me what to do and since we weren't married at the time I told him that it sounded kind of fishy to me but do what you want. He got sucker punched and bought 6 websites that sit in our babys closet collecting dust for over $8000 and I have been trying to get our money back since 2006. Two months after my husband bought them. They did absolutely nothing and want to charge $24.95 a month after you open your webstore. That is what go-daddy.com charges a month with out buying websites first. That is the charge a month for one website from go-daddy. It is a scam and I am going as far as finding out when the next big seminar is so I can go and make (or not make)a big scene about getting my money back, by selling to the next (no offense) gullable person who takes the bait, and if they try to stop me I will squiel. They have no right to not give refunds. All of us who have been bambuzzeled by Storesonline should ban together and sue Storesonline. We should get our money back.

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Well, then I am not alone. I got sucked into this even though I work as an IT professional. I ditto all of the above. I hope someone creates a law-suite and I can dip into it as I have lost over $8000 including interest on my CC

Thanks