Complaint Review: Printers International - Pottstown Pennsylvania

In May 98, I placed a telephone order for some business cards and 4-color flyers with Printers International: 433 Chestnut St., Pottstown, PA 19464. The person I spoke with was Mr. Marlon Palmer, Sr. VP of the company.

The total cost of this job, including shipping and handling, was $1,745, which I paid in full at that time. Right from the start, this job was a complete disaster, filled with lots of mistakes and delays.

In August 98 (3 months into a job that was only supposed to take 3 weeks), Mr. Palmer delivered just 10% of the job, then actually demanded I give him a positive recommendation before continuing. When I refused, he retaliated by flat-out refusing to print my business cards, or deliver the portion of the flyers he had already printed, unless I sent him a notarized letter stating that his sloppy work was exceptional.

He then raised my shipping charges by hundreds of dollars, and threatened to bring criminal charges of harassment against ME if I dare tried calling him to complain about any of this! As if that wasnt bad enough, he then put all of this in writing on falsified criminal court documents--documents he himself printed to make it seem as though he had the backing of the court behind him. Ive had those documents checked out by both the criminal and civil courts, and even the police, and everyone assured me that not only were they 100% fake, but 100% illegal.

Eventually, because I wouldnt comply with his outrageous demands, he had my flyers (which were already bought and paid for) destroyed. I complained to just about every agency you can think of, including the Secret Service and the FBI.. I even contacted the local paper in Pottstown to give them my story. However, they told me Mr. Palmer has such an infamous reputation around town as, The Local Character, that a story about another one of his crazy antics would hardly be considered newsworthy.

Since I was unable to get much assistance from anyone, I finally had to take my case to the Pennsylvania Small Claims Court. Since I live in New York City, this meant I would have to take a 3-Hr. trip (each way) to Pottstown, PA. Mr. Palmer didnt even bother showing up for the trial, so I automatically won the case by default.

On Sept. 15, 1999, one year and four months after this nightmare began, I was finally awarded a judgment for almost double the amount I paid for the job. Until paid, this judgment will go on Mr. Palmers credit record as an outstanding debt, preventing him or his company from obtaining any loans or credit. Based on what I know about Mr. Palmer, I think its highly unlikely Ill ever see a dime of this award. Believe it or not, Im O.K. with that, in fact, I couldnt be happier. You see, at this point, my goal is to do as much damage to this company as I possibly can.

The fact that I now have a REAL judgment from a REAL court, makes my story much more attractive to a number of media outlets. The damage of paying me the few thousand dollars they owe me, is nothing compared to the damage of losing a twenty, thirty or fifty-thousand dollar printing job from a potential client who happens to hear about this story.

As I continue to spread the word about the illegal activities of the company, its only going to be a matter of time before Printers International is reduced to little more than a nasty memory! WARNING: This is just the tip of the iceberg of all my problems with this company.

If you, or anyone you know, are shopping around for a commercial printing company, you owe it to yourselves to remember the names: MARLON PALMER and PRINTERS INTERNATIONAL. What happened to me may not necessarily happen to you, but as the saying goes: A Word to the Wise is Sufficient.