North Carolina

From StoresOnlineExposed

On May 16, 2007 the North Carolina Attorney General's Office issued a release stating that StoresOnline and iMergent have agreed to stop doing business in North Carolina and provide full refunds for North Carolina consumers who file complaints with the Attorney General's office. On May 15, 2007 a Wake County Superior Court Judge signed on an order that bans iMergent, Inc and StoresOnline, Inc from selling or marketing products and services in North Carolina until the Attorney General's complaint is resolved in court. The order also requires the companies to provide refunds to North Carolina consumers who complain to the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General's complaint asks the court to permanently bar these companies from unfair and deceptive business practices in North Carolina and to require them to pay $5,000 per violation. According to the complaint, iMergent and StoresOnline failed to comply with North Carolina's law for business opportunities and misrepresented their Internet products and services as being easy to use for consumers with little or no computer experience. He also alleges that they failed to provide consumers with the proper written notice of their three-day right to cancel as required by law for sales made off premises, such as at workshops. This matter is currently pending.

As of May 17, 2007, North Carolina has prohibited iMergent and StoresOnline from doing seminars in that state. In addition, the company is required to refund customers who complain through the North Carolina Attorney General's Office.

[edit] Getting A Refund

From North Carolina

Call 1-877-5-NOSCAM (1-877-566-7226)

Or write

9001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
Telephone: 919-716-6400 • Fax: 919-716-6750
Consumer Protection: 1-877-5-NOSCAM

Visit the AG website

North Carolina Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Roy Cooper
Dept. of Justice, P.O.Box 629
Raleigh, NC 27602
Phone: (919) 716-6400
http://www.ncdoj.com/default.jsp

Some Comments from Dissatisfied North Carolina StoresOnline Customers

Raleigh: I attended the preliminary seminar and was very cautious and admittedly skeptical since I've learned that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But I decided I'd go to the second level of the seminar presentation which was for those who were more interested. I'm sure you know the story. Then I admit, the presentation was convincing and I decided to try it. And that's when it began. You never get to the end of what you need to know in order to be successful. [more]
RALIEGH: AT THE BUSINESS SEMINAR I ATTENDED, STORES ON LINE WAS OFFERING A PACKAGE OF THREE STORES. THEY HAD GUEST OWNERS THERE TELLING YOU ABOUT THEIR SUCCESS FROM BUYING THREE STORES AND HAVING ONE OR TWO OF THEIR THREE SITES UP, RUNNING AND MAKING A PROFIT. THEY EVEN TOOK YOU TO THE GUEST OWNER SITES OVER THE INTERNET TO SHOW THE VISITITATION, ORDER STATS AND ESTIMATED PROFIT FOR EACH SITE. [more]
Charlotte: We were defintely sold a bill of goods by Stores On Line. We have had a site up for over a year now, and have not had one hit on it. I did everything that Stores told us to do. I tried to use their support services, however that was a waste of my time. That person did not generaly know as much as I did. And were we surprised to learn that the support for out licences ran out 12 months after the purchase date, whether the licences were activated or not. [more]
Hickory: My husband and I attended a seminar that offered a way to earn money at home. We were told it was a very easy process that anyone, even those with no computer skills could do. They presented a speaker who had supposedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing it.They even brought in a hispanic woman who spoke in broken English who gave testimony of how easy it was and how successful she had been. [more]
RALEIGH: I am not satisfied with my storesOnline site I have spent a lot of money and not one sale on line. I struggled to build the site it took me from Sept to Dec and I was told at the seminar it could be done in a few days. I invested my retirement money and it has been almost a year and it is not working for me I thought I would be making some money by now but I am not. I called several times to the office and said I needed help I was told ok but no help came, and they did not call back either. [more]
Charlotte: I bought 6 websites thinking that I was going to get rich and have lots of time on my hands. It has been a nightmare! I really thought that maybe I'm just stupid. So after 3 years of pracatically studying everything that I could get my hands on, spending every dime I had, and working at **1** website, every waking moment possible, my website now, is doing worse than it ever has. I'm working a full time job to pay for the money that I have spent (ashamed to say how much) to just keep this website open. [more]
Hickory: I didn't realize that they don't help you market your product. They help you build your website but after that, you're kind of on your own. Unless you're into marketing, its kind of hard to figure out how to get it out onto the internet without spending hundreds of dollars more. There have been a couple of companies that contacted me regarding marketing my products but it would cost more and they were not associated with StoresOnline. [more]
Raleigh: We purchased 6 websites in April 2006. We were immediately contacted by one of StoresOnline's affiliates (PMI) to provide training, coaching and support. The cost was $15, 000 (over and above the cost of the websites)with the "guarantee" that our 1st website would provide more than enough money to cover the payment to the credit card that the $15, 000 charged to. The most we've made in a single month has been about $250. The payments to the credit card are $800 -- mostly going to interest. [more]
Greensboro: No contacts from the (supposedly) listed Webpage! None! Storesonline took my money...but delivered nothing! [more]
Greensboro: I attended a workshop hosted by StoresOnLine and subsequently bought 2 store sites. I was concerned that I was computer illiterate, knowing only basic capabilities, and when I voiced this more than once, I was assured that the company would educate and guide me sufficiently to operate my 2 stores, build a growing business, have fun and make lots of money. I was assured that there would be help available 24/7 and that experts would evaluate and recommend whatever was necessary to make the sites productive. [more]
Charlotte: Much more difficult than led to believe to get a website functioning. Extra costs are staggering. Online help is very unclear and causes operational errors. [more]
Raleigh: I have been working on a few of my websites for many more hours than we were told it would take. I have had a few sales with PPC, but the expenses were way more than the sales. We even spent an extra $4, 100 on the success team ( I think that's what they called it. It made absolutely no difference. So far after about 1 1/2 years we are about $25, 000 in the hole! Cindy R. [more]
Charlotte: In April of 2006 I purchased six (6) websites from Stores On Line along with ECI-Pay Merchant Account. The presentation made setting up and succeeding with several websites appear so easy that anyone could be successful.It took six laborious months for me to build and finally publish my first and only published website. I have had eleven sales in the year my website has been active. The cost to keep the website active is prohibitive. [more]