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UBarter? ITEX? Try Scam-o-La!Aug 09 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Scam artists, preying on naive small business owners. Run! Run away! A while back, I ran my own business out of my home. (I still do, though not the one in question.) After being in business for several months, a company contacted me about a financial service they offered: UBarter would send me a corporate credit card and help me set up a way to "barter" for business services (such as billing or payroll, etc.) in exchange for the services my business provided. Now, being slightly naive as to the ways of the business world, I thought a little mentorship might do me good. I signed up for their free trial period (one year), and had a look around at their site, since you couldn't get to the real "meat and bones" of the service's information unless you signed up. Really, there was nothing there for a small business. And -definitely- nothing that would assist a mostly-clueless business owner in navigating this strange world of bartering for services. I sent off an email to the customer service department of what was then UBarter (recently taken over by ITEX.com), and asked that my membership be cancelled. For the next six months, I was INUNDATED. Literally. They would call and ask if I needed help making trades. They would call and ask if there was anything with my account that I needed help with. They would send letter after letter saying that I hadn't yet used their wonderful service, did I need help? Each of these calls and letters would be answered by me: I don't have your service. I cancelled your service. Would you please remove me from your system now? Each time, they would say yes, apologize for bothering me, and hang up, only to call again in a few days or weeks. Nearly a year ago, when we moved to a new city, leaving the old service business behind, I stopped hearing from UBarter reps, though I'd occasionally get a forwarded account statement (always saying $0 balance) from my old address. Even those stopped after awhile, after I sent them an annoyed postal mail that stated that I'd cancelled the service more than nine months prior. Today, in the mail, a letter from ITEX -- the new name for UBarter -- was in the box. They're charging me $20 for an "association fee" and a service charge if their automatic bank withdrawl doesn't go through. I've attempted to contact customer service more than six times today, via email and telephone (no 1-800 number, either), to no success. I've never talked to a live human being. I have a very good feeling that they -will- charge my credit card for this "service", though I've never, ever used it, and the business that it's associated with is long defunct. And the worst thing? The company obviously had enough contact with me to know not to ever send the corporate credit card -- they've never sent one. Whether or not I would have used it isn't the point. If they don't know I haven't cancelled my account over a year ago now, then why wouldn't they have followed up and sent the promised card? I can't say for certain, since they're still in business they must be doing -something-, but I'd warn any small business owners not to do business with these people. At best, they're a disorganized bunch with very little customer support, at worst, they're scam artists taking $20 from every guppy who creates a login and password.  |
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