Comments on: Webmail and Interface IT are a bunch of scammers http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/ Blogger, Entrepreneur and Public Speaker on all things web Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:37:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Levin http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-2/#comment-54686 Levin Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:10:13 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-54686 This was very entertaining to read. I first dealt with these people back in 2000 when I was working for a Digital Markeitng company. They were chancers back then and I'm glad to see they are still scamming their way through life. The people that have Webmail accounts, this should be your first warning never to do business with them. Based on the irrelevant spam you get. This was very entertaining to read. I first dealt with these people back in 2000 when I was working for a Digital Markeitng company. They were chancers back then and I’m glad to see they are still scamming their way through life. The people that have Webmail accounts, this should be your first warning never to do business with them. Based on the irrelevant spam you get.

]]> By: Sabata Mereeotlhe http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-2/#comment-52252 Sabata Mereeotlhe Tue, 04 May 2010 15:29:29 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-52252 These people phoned me too, and sad to say what a waste of time, from the moment I walked into the company in Centurion, I sensed some secrecy about the way things are done, being accompanied by my business partner he was eager to sign away immediately, but before he could say that much, I interuptted the flow by mentioning a 3 nonexistent partner is the one that is the major shareholder and that the 2 of us collectively could not take any stance on his sale. He seemed rather determined to get us to sign instead, I again insisted we are only going to go back to the office to inform the man incharge ... what i suspected was in actual fact correct about this crowd ... they called my partner again and again and again to get him to sign ... whom after the meeting i explained why i rejected the sale and understood .. considering my 10 yrs experience in the internet industry and also with SEO ...while talking to my partner i chose to sit quietly and act as though i dont know what he was talking about ... and he got to relaxed and wrapped up in his lies and empty promises ... and i was sitting there having a field day punching holes in the gag ... as a reader/responder/commentator mentioned above they are too lazy to do simple research ... or perhaps google is blocked on the domain ... "If we catch anyone using Google you will be fired ... " LOL these guys are honestly a sad case study for what not to do These people phoned me too, and sad to say what a waste of time, from the moment I walked into the company in Centurion, I sensed some secrecy about the way things are done, being accompanied by my business partner he was eager to sign away immediately, but before he could say that much, I interuptted the flow by mentioning a 3 nonexistent partner is the one that is the major shareholder and that the 2 of us collectively could not take any stance on his sale. He seemed rather determined to get us to sign instead, I again insisted we are only going to go back to the office to inform the man incharge … what i suspected was in actual fact correct about this crowd … they called my partner again and again and again to get him to sign … whom after the meeting i explained why i rejected the sale and understood .. considering my 10 yrs experience in the internet industry and also with SEO …while talking to my partner i chose to sit quietly and act as though i dont know what he was talking about … and he got to relaxed and wrapped up in his lies and empty promises … and i was sitting there having a field day punching holes in the gag … as a reader/responder/commentator mentioned above they are too lazy to do simple research … or perhaps google is blocked on the domain … “If we catch anyone using Google you will be fired … ” LOL

these guys are honestly a sad case study for what not to do

]]> By: karen kruger http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-2/#comment-51945 karen kruger Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:25:15 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-51945 I'm with Jason. Also the damn justice (ahem - another topic?) system grinds so slowly that hiring a lawyer becomes incredibly expensive. This is EXACTLY what Webmail counts on. Also, the new consumer protection act has come into force and Webmail is in breach of this legislation that they'll end up being a case study for future law students! I swear I will show up if you end up in court and will happily be a corroborating victim and testify. I’m with Jason. Also the damn justice (ahem – another topic?) system grinds so slowly that hiring a lawyer becomes incredibly expensive. This is EXACTLY what Webmail counts on. Also, the new consumer protection act has come into force and Webmail is in breach of this legislation that they’ll end up being a case study for future law students! I swear I will show up if you end up in court and will happily be a corroborating victim and testify.

]]> By: Donn Edwards http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-2/#comment-51943 Donn Edwards Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:55:33 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-51943 @Ricky: I have been taken to court because of comments on my blog, and it isn't much fun. BUT you can win, without ever appearing in court. 1) WAIT for them to file the court papers. They won't, but that's the first step. As soon as that happens, then its on the public record and the press have something they can quote without being sued. 2) Send a copy of the court papers to Noseweek, along with your email and other proof. Remember the onus is on Webmail to prove that they are entitled to the money. When Noseweek starts asking them and their lawyers for comment, they are screwed and will probably drop the case. 3) Consult a lawyer if you have to, but it is much better to do it yourself, *IF* you have the time and can stand the stress. Lawsuits are like playing chess by postcard. There are exciting moments an a LOT of waiting while nothing happens. That's the tough part. @Ricky: I have been taken to court because of comments on my blog, and it isn’t much fun. BUT you can win, without ever appearing in court.

1) WAIT for them to file the court papers. They won’t, but that’s the first step. As soon as that happens, then its on the public record and the press have something they can quote without being sued.

2) Send a copy of the court papers to Noseweek, along with your email and other proof. Remember the onus is on Webmail to prove that they are entitled to the money. When Noseweek starts asking them and their lawyers for comment, they are screwed and will probably drop the case.

3) Consult a lawyer if you have to, but it is much better to do it yourself, *IF* you have the time and can stand the stress.

Lawsuits are like playing chess by postcard. There are exciting moments an a LOT of waiting while nothing happens. That’s the tough part.

]]> By: karen kruger http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-51941 karen kruger Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:20:59 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-51941 Let them take you to court. I doubt they will. They threaten court action all the time but I've yet to hear of a case being actioned. If they do, represent yourself, present the facts and there is no way you can lose. Keep us posted because I swear I will show up in court as a co-plaintive or whatever they call it. In fact, I think this entire forum would show up and tell the court how Webmail screwed us all. I would love to have a moment to present my case. The press doesn't give a damn, the Direct Marketing Association doesn't care, the DTI doesn't care...... Let them take you to court. I doubt they will. They threaten court action all the time but I’ve yet to hear of a case being actioned. If they do, represent yourself, present the facts and there is no way you can lose. Keep us posted because I swear I will show up in court as a co-plaintive or whatever they call it. In fact, I think this entire forum would show up and tell the court how Webmail screwed us all. I would love to have a moment to present my case. The press doesn’t give a damn, the Direct Marketing Association doesn’t care, the DTI doesn’t care……

]]> By: Ricky Franz http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-51924 Ricky Franz Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:02:11 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-51924 I signed a contract with webmail for a mailing package that I specifically requested to put on hold until I gave final approval. The following day I e-mailed to say that I would not be interested in undertaking the contract and that I did not wish for a service to be rendered. They did not render me a service of any kind. I sent them no art work, they posted no adverts of any nature whatsoever. 6 months later, at the expiry of the contract they sent me an invoice for R51300. I told them I would not be paying it as no service was rendered. They now want to take me to court for the money. What can I do to stop this totally unfair demand. Please help Ricky I signed a contract with webmail for a mailing package that I specifically requested to put on hold until I gave final approval. The following day I e-mailed to say that I would not be interested in undertaking the contract and that I did not wish for a service to be rendered. They did not render me a service of any kind. I sent them no art work, they posted no adverts of any nature whatsoever.

6 months later, at the expiry of the contract they sent me an invoice for R51300.
I told them I would not be paying it as no service was rendered. They now want to take me to court for the money.

What can I do to stop this totally unfair demand. Please help
Ricky

]]> By: Pstech http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-51455 Pstech Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:44:21 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-51455 We were contacted by a sales rep, Derek Macik, from Webmail who was aliment that Webmail will be our solution to generating exposure to a target market audience. I explained to him that we are a young growing business and we had dealt with Webmail before and it financially crippled our business with no results in the past and was not interested. He informed me that Webmail had bad experiences of such nature in the past and that they have gone through a change of management and staffing structure and insisted on meeting with me. I accepted and made an appointment for him to meet with me. In our meeting he apologized for the bad experience that I had with Webmail and assured me that I shall not be disappointed and said that if I had any issues or problems to contact him directly. He also said that he has many clients that have a success rate and have contacted him for repeat signups. He said that their graphic design department would design a advertising image which would be used in their marketing campaign. I made it clear to Derek that our target is the corporate market and we don’t deal with home users. Derek said that it’s not a problem as they will then target the campaign to other several thousand other company owners and secretaries who are currently registered with Webmail as well as click through websites. Obviously he could not guarantee sales, but can guarantee a regular list of interested clients, and more so applicable to our company as our company is a one stop business solution company and that our products and services are so diverse. With this, we agreed to sign a 7 month targeted banner with 120,000 monthly impressions totaling 840,000 impressions totaling R23 940.00. Two days later, the graphic artist Kim Claasen forwarded me the artwork for approval, which was of such poor quality. I contacted Derek and expressed my concern and asked him if the graphic artist is professional as our junior artist designs better graphics. He apologised and got Kim to redo it. The second proof came through, which was not much better than the first proof. I got our in-house graphic artists to do the artwork for them and emailed it to Kim and Derek. I was notified on the 24 November 2008 that the campaign was launched that day. During the month of January, I contacted Derek and expressed concern that I have not received any stats nor contact from any prospective clients. He suggested that we “fine tune” the campaign and redefine the target. On 01 Feb 2009, I received my first stats reflecting Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted)) Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 21,428 ________________________________________ Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng)) Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 213,124 I tried contacting Derek and he was not available, I left a message to which he did not return my calls. I contacted the Campaign Manager, Alana Mundell, and informed her that I was told that I would receive emails from interested companies, and surely from 213, 124 impressions I would have received at least one email. She said that they have sent me emails of interested clients, and she forwarded me an excel spreadsheet with five prospective clients: Tuesday 02 December 2008 08:36:34 MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies - Webmail Response Form name: webmail surname: webmail tel: 0116289700 email: webmail@webmail.co.za comments: webmail Submit: Submit Friday 19 December 2008 10:46:51 MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies - Webmail Response Form name: tando surname: ngxiki tel: 0729420297 email: TANDO1981@WEBMAIL.CO.ZA comments: its a phone, life, office, the world at the palm of your hand. its worth having, honestly. Submit: Submit Wednesday 31 December 2008 12:56:19 MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies - Webmail Response Form name: Edward surname: Radingoana tel: 0835909385 email: jkrinvest@webmail.co.za comments: Quatation for creating a domain & website Submit: Submit Wednesday 28 January 2009 10:39:07 MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies - Webmail Response Form name: Itumeleng Shai surname: Shai tel: 0799160271 email: tumi.shai@webmail.co.za comments: Would like to know the cost of internet hosting for my website, I am a starting entreprenuer. Submit: Submit Wednesday 11 February 2009 09:25:06 MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies - Webmail Response Form name: abie surname: olivier tel: 0834680876 email: abieolivier@webmail.co.za comments: internet access Submit: Submit Contacting each of them, was evident that they have no idea as to what they wanted, nor had any clue. For example Shai was interested in a computer. Asking her what technical specs in terms of memory hard drive size etc, she did not know what I was talking about. She said maybe a 40Gb computer. I asked her for what is she using the computer for, she said for the internet. Edward who wanted a website, told him about the development process and information and graphics that he will need to supply us in order for us to develop the site. Judging from the conversation he was not in any business as he could not tell me anything about his “company” It was clear to me that the contacts are not from any campaign targeting a corporate environment. Several emails to Derek and Alana expressing my concerns went unanswered. Thus I forwarded an email instructing Webmail to cancel the contract and I stopped further payments On 05 May 2009 I received the following stats Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted)) Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 51,954 ________________________________________ Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng)) Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 548,736 On the 15 May May 2009 Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted)) Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 56,606 ________________________________________ Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng)) Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03 Impressions: 605,792 To which I received no emails from any prospective clients, nor any correspondence from Webmail . On the 06 April 2010, I received a call from Michelle Botha asking when they can expect further payments. I told her of the history and informed her that there shall be no further payments and that should they want to take the matter further, we will take the matter to court We were contacted by a sales rep, Derek Macik, from Webmail who was aliment that Webmail will be our solution to generating exposure to a target market audience. I explained to him that we are a young growing business and we had dealt with Webmail before and it financially crippled our business with no results in the past and was not interested. He informed me that Webmail had bad experiences of such nature in the past and that they have gone through a change of management and staffing structure and insisted on meeting with me. I accepted and made an appointment for him to meet with me.

In our meeting he apologized for the bad experience that I had with Webmail and assured me that I shall not be disappointed and said that if I had any issues or problems to contact him directly. He also said that he has many clients that have a success rate and have contacted him for repeat signups.

He said that their graphic design department would design a advertising image which would be used in their marketing campaign. I made it clear to Derek that our target is the corporate market and we don’t deal with home users. Derek said that it’s not a problem as they will then target the campaign to other several thousand other company owners and secretaries who are currently registered with Webmail as well as click through websites. Obviously he could not guarantee sales, but can guarantee a regular list of interested clients, and more so applicable to our company as our company is a one stop business solution company and that our products and services are so diverse.

With this, we agreed to sign a 7 month targeted banner with 120,000 monthly impressions totaling 840,000 impressions totaling R23 940.00.

Two days later, the graphic artist Kim Claasen forwarded me the artwork for approval, which was of such poor quality. I contacted Derek and expressed my concern and asked him if the graphic artist is professional as our junior artist designs better graphics. He apologised and got Kim to redo it. The second proof came through, which was not much better than the first proof. I got our in-house graphic artists to do the artwork for them and emailed it to Kim and Derek.

I was notified on the 24 November 2008 that the campaign was launched that day.
During the month of January, I contacted Derek and expressed concern that I have not received any stats nor contact from any prospective clients. He suggested that we “fine tune” the campaign and redefine the target.

On 01 Feb 2009, I received my first stats reflecting
Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted))
Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 21,428
________________________________________
Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng))
Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 213,124

I tried contacting Derek and he was not available, I left a message to which he did not return my calls.
I contacted the Campaign Manager, Alana Mundell, and informed her that I was told that I would receive emails from interested companies, and surely from 213, 124 impressions I would have received at least one email. She said that they have sent me emails of interested clients, and she forwarded me an excel spreadsheet with five prospective clients:

Tuesday 02 December 2008 08:36:34
MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za
xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies – Webmail Response Form
name: webmail
surname: webmail
tel: 0116289700
email: webmail@webmail.co.za
comments: webmail
Submit: Submit

Friday 19 December 2008 10:46:51
MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za
xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies – Webmail Response Form
name: tando
surname: ngxiki
tel: 0729420297
email: TANDO1981@WEBMAIL.CO.ZA
comments: its a phone, life, office, the world at the palm of your hand. its worth having, honestly.
Submit: Submit

Wednesday 31 December 2008 12:56:19
MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za
xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies – Webmail Response Form
name: Edward
surname: Radingoana
tel: 0835909385
email: jkrinvest@webmail.co.za
comments: Quatation for creating a domain & website
Submit: Submit

Wednesday 28 January 2009 10:39:07
MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za
xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies – Webmail Response Form
name: Itumeleng Shai
surname: Shai
tel: 0799160271
email: tumi.shai@webmail.co.za
comments: Would like to know the cost of internet hosting for my website, I am a starting entreprenuer.
Submit: Submit

Wednesday 11 February 2009 09:25:06
MailTo: sales@pstech.co.za
xsubject: Pro Solution Technologies – Webmail Response Form
name: abie
surname: olivier
tel: 0834680876
email: abieolivier@webmail.co.za
comments: internet access
Submit: Submit

Contacting each of them, was evident that they have no idea as to what they wanted, nor had any clue. For example Shai was interested in a computer. Asking her what technical specs in terms of memory hard drive size etc, she did not know what I was talking about. She said maybe a 40Gb computer. I asked her for what is she using the computer for, she said for the internet.

Edward who wanted a website, told him about the development process and information and graphics that he will need to supply us in order for us to develop the site. Judging from the conversation he was not in any business as he could not tell me anything about his “company”

It was clear to me that the contacts are not from any campaign targeting a corporate environment.

Several emails to Derek and Alana expressing my concerns went unanswered. Thus I forwarded an email instructing Webmail to cancel the contract and I stopped further payments

On 05 May 2009 I received the following stats
Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted))
Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 51,954
________________________________________
Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng))
Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 548,736

On the 15 May May 2009
Campaign code: 20026994 (Banner (Targetted))
Start /end dates: 2008-12-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 56,606
________________________________________
Campaign code: 20026995 (Inbox Tab (Gauteng))
Start /end dates: 2008-11-03 / 2009-07-03
Impressions: 605,792

To which I received no emails from any prospective clients, nor any correspondence from Webmail
.

On the 06 April 2010, I received a call from Michelle Botha asking when they can expect further payments.
I told her of the history and informed her that there shall be no further payments and that should they want to take the matter further, we will take the matter to court

]]> By: Chris Lochner http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-50599 Chris Lochner Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:27:09 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-50599 Sadly I'm also one of those that fell for their hard sales tactics. In 2006 they used to call me just about every week untill I agreed to a meeting, within 30 mins their rip artist had me sign their contract., and left with a cheque dep for R2000 in the pocket. Fortunately I never signed a debit order or signed off their proposed banner. In other words I never made use of their service at all, as I was still in the process of getting my website ready. Then after the first month they started pestering me for money (even though no service was rendered) and pissed me off to such an extent that I decided I will have nothing to do with them. I also realised, albeit late, that all their statistics and clicks are just sales talk and they could give me NO evidence from other sources than themselves to back these. Even after I made it clear to them I consider our contract null and void their Sales Dept still called me to sign up, and quite a few times ! The number of calls from themselves and so called debt collectors have long ago passed harassment level. Take me to court if you like, if you don't have the guts to do so STOP HARASSING ME. Webmail was just bad news to me, and continue to be so. They must be real hard up for money to carry on like this. Beware of Webmail. Sadly I’m also one of those that fell for their hard sales tactics. In 2006 they used to call me just about every week untill I agreed to a meeting, within 30 mins their rip artist had me sign their contract., and left with a cheque dep for R2000 in the pocket.

Fortunately I never signed a debit order or signed off their proposed banner. In other words I never made use of their service at all, as I was still in the process of getting my website ready. Then after the first month they started pestering me for money (even though no service was rendered) and pissed me off to such an extent that I decided I will have nothing to do with them. I also realised, albeit late, that all their statistics and clicks are just sales talk and they could give me NO evidence from other sources than themselves to back these.

Even after I made it clear to them I consider our contract null and void their Sales Dept still called me to sign up, and quite a few times ! The number of calls from themselves and so called debt collectors have long ago passed harassment level. Take me to court if you like, if you don’t have the guts to do so STOP HARASSING ME.

Webmail was just bad news to me, and continue to be so. They must be real hard up for money to carry on like this. Beware of Webmail.

]]> By: Rick http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-50288 Rick Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:20:43 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-50288 I have a small upstart company, and unfortunately fell for WM sales. I have not recieved one response from my add campaign that is running for allmost a year now, due to cashflow problems, partly due to adverts with webmail not working :) i have run behind with payments. If you think their sales tacticts is bad wait till you have to deal with the lady at their debt collection , my staff and i have been verbally attacked and abused that you can not believe. I have a small upstart company, and unfortunately fell for WM sales. I have not recieved one response from my add campaign that is running for allmost a year now, due to cashflow problems, partly due to adverts with webmail not working :) i have run behind with payments. If you think their sales tacticts is bad wait till you have to deal with the lady at their debt collection , my staff and i have been verbally attacked and abused that you can not believe.

]]> By: Donn Edwards http://www.jasonbagley.com/2009/07/13/webmail-interface-it-scammers/comment-page-1/#comment-50059 Donn Edwards Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:11:18 +0000 http://www.jasonbagley.com/?p=538#comment-50059 I assume the company paid part of the contract. In that case tell them that you will use the amount paid to send a mail to all their subscribers explaining about the law suit. That should make them change their mind. Also, if you have received any legal papers from them, scan them to a PDF and send the information to Noseweek, and publish it on your blog. If you don't have one I'll put it on mine unless Jason wants to do so first. Also, post a complaint on HelloPeter.com and getclosure.co.za The more publicity it gets, the less likely they will proceed. I assume the company paid part of the contract. In that case tell them that you will use the amount paid to send a mail to all their subscribers explaining about the law suit. That should make them change their mind.

Also, if you have received any legal papers from them, scan them to a PDF and send the information to Noseweek, and publish it on your blog. If you don’t have one I’ll put it on mine unless Jason wants to do so first.

Also, post a complaint on HelloPeter.com and getclosure.co.za

The more publicity it gets, the less likely they will proceed.

]]>