Indiana
From StoresOnlineExposed
From IMergent's 2006 10k[1]
- On January 13, 2006, the State of Indiana filed an action against iMergent, Inc. and StoresOnline in the Marion Superior Court, Case Number 490070601PL001792. The petition alleged that the Company sells a business opportunity and alleged violations of the Indiana Consumer Protection Act. The petition sought refunds totaling $32,292 together with statutory damages. The Company contends that it does not sell a business opportunity under Indiana law, and further that it has not violated any other Indiana statute. The Company is in discussions with the Office of the Attorney General and is providing information to support its position.
On March 19, 2007 a Consent Judgement was entered into between the Indiana Office of the Attorney General and the defendants Imergent, Inc. and StoresOnline, Inc. The Consent Judgment does not constitute an admission by the Defendants of any wrongdoing, nor shall it be construed as an abandonment by the Attorney General of his position the Defendants violated the Indiana Business Opportunity Transaction Act and the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. The Defendants are permanently enjoined from making the following representations
- the investor may or will earn an amount in excess of the initial payment as a result of the investment;
- a market exists for any goods to be made or services to be rendered by the investor;
- the seller may buy from the investor any goods to be made or services to be rendered by the investor;
- the seller or a person referred by the seller to the investor may or will sell, lease, or distribute the goods made or services rendered by the investor; or
- the seller may or will pay to the investor the difference between the initial payment and the investor's earning from the investment.
The Defendants shall pay: $19,261.48 for distribution to certain investors; $2,708.00 for the Attorney General's costs of investigating and prosecuting the action; and $9,841.64 to the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Fund for a total monetary judgment in the amount of $31,811.12. The Defendants also agreed to cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General in the resolution of any future written complaints the Consumer Protection Division receives.
Office of the Attorney General
Steve Carter Indiana Government Center South - 5th Floor, 402 West Washington Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone: (317) 232-6201 http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/
Some Comments from Dissatisfied Indiana StoresOnline Customers
- Indianapolis: What was presented in the seminars and what actually came into being were two different things. The seminars were very misleading in how easily your web site would be to build. Someone with computer knowledge but not web design will find success extremely difficult. In following the handbook, along with additional training did not prove to be successful. To date there have been no hits on the site. EVERYTHING costs above and beyond the initial exorbant fees. [more]
- Indianapolis: I was initially very excited and enthusiastic about the stores online purchase. Even though it is understood at the initial seminar that this is not a "get rich quick money scheme", it was stated many times that with the expert instruction and "hands on training", that even though they can't guarantee a specific income number; the people at stores online say they will stand behind you and guide you step by step to make a nice income if you commit to a certain number of hours each week to your websites. [more]
- Hammond: They promisettd several benchmarks that would be met before more money was taken from my account. These benchmarks were never met! They sent some reports that supposedly showed progres on our position on the search engines - but no orders. I even tried Internet Advancement And another service that was supposed to power up our site on 4greatbuys. That didn't help either. I have spent a lot of money for nothing. I just had a liver tpansplant and cannot afford to waste any money. [more]
- Merrellville: I purchased to build six web sites. Two were developed and activated on the internet. I have not earned one penny from a customer via the internet. [more]
- Fort Wayne: We wanted to start a home business. We received a letter in the mail from Store On Line for a free seminar , we decided to check it out. They made it all sound so easy and with lots of help and that there websites were at bargain prices. So we bought 6 website before we left the building. We could not figure it out so the next $15, 000 went to training from EMS that Stores had call us and then the Tax Club more thousands of dollars and then set-up business license from Advantage. [more]
- Indianapolis: I went with SOL because I was wanting an extra income. It sounded very easy, and a sure thing. Boy was I wrong! I spent months building each website. I had to learn HTML. I had the hasslees of people associated with them calling, and hawking for more money. we had to get incorporated, had the extra cost of setting up a merchant account, hassles with the IRS and business taxes, etc. Then last year they decided to start charging monthly, for each website, a $24.95 fee. [more]
- Indianapolis: I bought 3 Storesonline licenses in November, 2005. During the next few months I concentrated on the details of getting a site up & running. To complete the site I needed to be incorporated (costly w/monthly fees forever thereafter, $49.00 each mo.) Then I needed a credit card clearing house so I could accept credit card payments. More expense. The site (just4karts.com) went live & exists today but mysteriously, things change that have to be corrected over & over. [more]
