They’re ALL trying to rip us off
Today’s Adventure in The Biz Opp Jungle:
‘In which Charlie reaches breaking point, gets into a fight with his freeholder, and wonders if everyone is trying to rip everyone else off, plus he reveals who to trust and who to avoid’
Hi,
I’m not one to drone on about ‘the current economic climate’ like a boring old hack...
But things are getting ugly on the streets. Everyone seems to be ‘one the make’.
And I’m sick to my back teeth of it.
As you know, my wife and I bought a ground floor flat in Hackney last year. We, and the two other flats in the building, each own a leasehold.
The freeholder – the guy who technically owns the patch of land we’re on and the shared outside area of the building - is a right pain in the proverbial.
Not only does he act like we’re tenants on his property, he thinks we’re some kind of “instant cash cow” whose collective teats he can milk when he needs cash.
He comes up with some kind of job that needs done on the house. He gets a cowboy to do a botch job on the cheap.... then charges us top whack prices.
The tradesman gets their measly share. Our happy freeholder (sorry, WEASEL) pockets the difference...
...and then the job needs doing again 12 months later.
On Friday morning he drops off a letter saying that the windows at the front of the house needed repainting and work would start on Monday. The letter says he’ll invoice us the week after.
No mention of the price. No consultation period. No discussion.
That very evening at 6:30pm as I’m playing with my daughter in the living room, an old bloke appears at my window, tottering on a ladder with paint brushes.
This was not a professional London painter and decorator. This guy looked like the elderly caretaker from The Shining. He claimed that he was starting at 6:30 because he’d been “at work all day”.
What?
So we call the freeholder and tell him this isn’t on, and that we want quotes for a PROFESSIONAL job and estimates FIRST.... and that we don’t wish to have some doddery moonlighter staring through our windows all weekend.
Reluctantly he turns up and says that he’s told the poor old painter to go.
Half an hour later, we hear scraping and hammering and find The Shining’s caretaker outside our baby’s bedroom window with tools, carrying on his work, telling us if we didn’t like it we should ‘call the boss’. He snarls at my wife, and refuses to leave the property.
Arguments erupt... I’m shouting ‘Get orf my land’... this is “my f-ing house”...
Chaos.
Mr Weasel is now claiming that this is HIS house, and he doesn’t need to give us ANY notice and can simply turn up, do jobs on our home whenever he likes, and charge us whatever it takes.
In a fury, I’ve spent all morning researching my leaseholder rights on this instead of looking at the biz opp I was going to write. (Sorreee!)
But it actually ties in with biz opp... sort of....
This guy is desperate for money and trying to fleece us in our own homes. And he’s not the only one. The scammers and dodgy dealers are out in force these days. You need to be extra vigilant. And you need to know your rights.
In my case, the freeholder by law needs to give us 30 days notice for any job, and allow us to propose any rival quotes. We also have full rights to look at the accounts and fees.
So the fight is on.
In a separate wrangle, a mate of mine and me were trying to do a deal last week. A company had a job lot of alternative health products that needed shifting and they hadn’t got the online expertise to do it.
For hardly any outlay we could take the stock and try and sell it through websites.
Great!
Well, almost...
This company then turned round and said that any refunds on the product would have to be paid for us by us out of our cut. This meant if we went out and sold THEIR product and the customers didn’t like the quality, WE would take the hit.
EH? What planet are they on?
Surely, it’s an internet marketer’s job to sell, and the product developer’s job to have a decent product? Isn’t it?
Madness.
Anyway, in the midst of all this I went to my Biz Opp Jungle inbox today and found about 20 versions of the same dodgy email.
Please, for your entertainment, read this carefully, and perhaps try a comedy oriental accent. (This is exactly how the email appears, except I’ve removed the actual link for your safety).
---------------------------------------------
Dear friend:
I recommend to you a very good shopping site (LINK)
The quality of product is had better, the service is perfect,
and price is had better, the speed of the deliver is very fast.
There are own warehouse and store,
there is customer in the whole world, receive customer very high praise.
-----------------------------
Okay. So who exactly does this type of luncheon meat work on, then?
I admit there’s a kind of comedy poetry here. But does anyone buy after reading an email like this?
Is everyone insane?
Is everyone on the make?
Are we all fair game to any huckster who comes along?
Who to trust and who to avoid
I’m feeling so cynical at the moment, I find it hard to recommend anyone who isn’t in the stable of publishers I know and trust.
When readers send me an opp from an unknown company, with no sign-off name or phone numbers, I think “Just don’t risk it, they may be good guys, but let’s treat everyone as a crook til THEY prove otherwise.”
There’s so much stuff emerging at the moment, it’s hard to keep up.
So here’s a guide to staying safe.
First, let me give you the names of some publishers you can trust. I know the people are real and run proper companies. I’ve met them, dealt with them, and know they give you the money back if you return products during the trial phase.
They are...
ADK Publishing, Canonbury Publishing, The Good Life Letter Ltd, Agora UK, Fleet Street Publications, Streetwise, Oxfordshire Press, FSM Ltd, Lazer Marketing, Future World UK.
Of course, there are always disputes and problems with any company, but these are some of the publishing companies I can vouch for. You can also trust clickbank products – while they sell a lot of dross as well as some fantastic stuff, refunds are guaranteed within 60 days.
To AVOID?
Well, AD Associates, Cybercode, Prosperity Networks, MCI Technologies. Check my website for more on these at http://www.bizoppjungle.com
For everyone else, make sure you go through this checklist first...
1. Is it signed off by a name or by a proper company? If not, treat it as suspicious. Every good operator will sign off the letter or sales page with an individual’s name or on behalf of a company (usually with some details too).
2. Does the sales pitch offer any specific details? By this I mean does it have figures, dates, theories, testimonials, evidence or interesting ideas? If it's ONLY about how you could live like a millionaire, end your money worries, be your own boss - but nothing else, then tread carefully.
3. Is there an UNCONDITIONAL money back guarantee? If not, no deal. It doesn’t matter how big the promise or how slick the pitch. If you're unsure, phone the company or write to them to check the offer.
4. Do you get enough time to trial it properly? If it's daily betting service you need 10 to 14 days to check it out. If it’s a book or manual you need at least 28 days to read it and see if it's for you. If it's a trading opportunity, business opportunity programme or long-term part work, then I suggest that 2-3 months is a more realistic time to check it out fully.
5. Is this from a foreign country? Unless you’re being recommended this from a trusted source, be more wary than with a UK opp. You may find it harder to get refunds from, or make complaints to, overseas companies. Unless it's a VERY well-known or established US company, I'd be careful with the pricier stuff.
6. Is it saying you've won money? Then throw it away or delete it. They're LYING to you.
3 more steps you can take
If you’re still unsure, then try these 3 steps..
· Go to http://www.bizoppjungle.com and see if it’s reviewed or mentioned there. Either look at the review list on the left, or go to the “search” tool and enter in the name or the product, or the ‘guru’ or the publishing company. Try all three to make sure.
· Go to http://www.bizoppjungle.com/forum and see if other Biz Opp Junglers are talking about the opportunity on the forum. Again, you can use the search tool on the forum. Or if there’s nothing about it, register and start a thread asking for feedback from your fellow seekers.
· Still nothing? Then email me at Charlie@bizoppjungle.com and ask if I can put it on my list of review topics.
I can’t give you an immediate review of course, but I do use these requests as spring boards for my research. They’re what guide my investigations. And if I ever find something juicy, I put it into one of my newsletters, and onto the website.
Hope all this helps. Like I say, you can find details of everything I’ve ever reviewed, scam-busted or written about on my website. Check out the latest here:
Right, I’ll be back at the weekend with the review I was MEANT to write today until I got too angry and tied up fighting for my rights!
Later alligator
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle