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Mailing Equipment Scam Artists

Published: November 28, 2018

If you have been in direct mail advertising and the mailing equipment industry long enough, you have seen a lot of people come and go. Some that should go, possibly to jail, all too often, turn back up. Using a new business name and new website. How they are still in business blows my mind!

I started in the mailing equipment industry back around 1992. A few of the same old scam artists never seem to go away for long. Pulling the same old scam. Send me a check and I will ship you the equipment. STOP! Now I can understand companies not wanting to pay the credit card fees. However, if a company will not give you the option to pay via credit card, PayPal, or lease. That is a big warning sign saying, DON’T DO IT! You may never see the equipment. If they answer the phone after the sale, you will probably get all kinds of excuses. NEVER send a company that you do not trust a check! And don’t trust them just because they have a nice looking website.

A reputable mailing equipment company will often ask for a deposit, on a credit card, to hold the machine if they can not ship it within a few days. That is understandable, a deposit lets the seller know you are serious so they don’t sell the unit to someone else.  Once they have the deposit, they do some testing on the equipment and make any final repairs that need to be made. Normally this should not take any more than a week or 2 if they need to wait for a part.

All For Mailers & Supplies For Mailers BBB Business ReviewPLEASE, check the seller’s reputation before making a purchase! You are about to spend a good bit of money, check the Better Business Bureau and Ripoff Report.  When you search these sites, search by the business name, and the owner’s name, salesman name, phone number, and website. Too often the worst offenders, close one company and reopen under another name and website. The BBB will let you search the entire USA! And I would recommend doing so. You can even take the website name and search the entire USA. Don’t be confused if results pop up under another name. The BBB will often group complaints under the last known name, phone number or Owner. They will also list previous names, websites and phone numbers. Also, do a general category search in the area the business claims to be operating from. Search Google for the company name, the phone number, and your contact. If you search google for the company use quotes “All For Mailers Inc” EXAMPLE

Taking an hour or 2 to do some research, can save you a lot of money and aggravation! Why aren’t they in jail? Simple, 99% of the time it’s not worth hiring a lawyer to go after them! You sent a check for $2,800 to some scam artist in another state. They never shipped the machine and now will not return your call. Now, what!? Sad to say, we hear this complaint FAR TOO OFTEN! Hire a Lawyer!? Dollar wise it may not be worth it! And that is exactly what they count on! It will probably cost you more money than you already put out. If a month or 2 goes by and you can’t get a refund, you must fight back! File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and Ripoff Report. Review them on Google. Call the police where the business is located and ask to file a report. Then go to the FTC https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0221-billed-merchandise-you-never-received and contact your State Attorney General.

Consider your experience with the company or its general reputation before you order. If you’ve never heard of the seller, enter its name in a search engine with words like “complaint” or “scam,” and read about other people’s experiences with the company. In addition, contact your state Attorney General, and local consumer protection agency to see if any complaints are on file.

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