#20
Sat, September 28, 2002
Listing your complaint on many Government links are no better than the BBB and are most likely just a waste of time, giving you false hope. Many government sites (like the BBB) just collect all information from you, the consumer, but never make that information available for all to see, so consumers will NOT be educated as to what exactly they should be looking out for. By these agencies not letting you see these complaints, making them public, you never know how bad the company or individual rip-off really is. On the other hand, many government agencies have and do come to the Rip-off Report for information. We have been assisting many government agencies for some time now, including the FBI and Attorney General offices from around the country.. Now that all these Rip-off Reports are out in the open for everyone to see, in a way, this embarrasses these agencies into doing something when they see so many reports on a Company or Individual, because they are now out in the open for all to see. Unfortunately, many (not all) Attorney General Office's and government agencies will not move against a rip-off unless there is going to be some sort of publicity on the rip-off. By reporting your experience on the Rip-off Report, is the next best thing to getting your story on TV or in a newspaper. Most national TV networks and many local TV stations from all around the country also come to the Rip-off Report for information they will not get from the BBB, Attorney General office's or any other government agency. Rip-off Report has instigated many local and national stories, resulting in help for victims' world wide, in one way or another. Most government agencies will never even bother with rip-offs unless it involves $50,000 or more. Now that the government is cutting back even more dollars for these types of programs, this number will even get higher and we can expect even less to get done, by even less people to work on all these rip-offs.
JO
Oklahoma City,#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, September 27, 2002
First do whatever is necessary to pay off your full balance to this company. (Have a garage sale, get a part time job, whatever you have to do.)
Then write to your state Attorney General's Division of consumer protection. Send a copy of all documents, including cancelled checks. Ask for a refund of all fees you have paid above the principal and interest.