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Movie Facts
Des Plaines, IL
Incident
Movie Facts called and asked if we wanted to advertise in their brochure. I said, 'absolutely not,' and thought that was the end of it. (I do quite a bit of advertising between my businesses, but have found that advertising at the theatre is not productive. I am in charge of all of the advertising we do.) Sometime later, they called and my husband answered--they asked him to VERIFY info--and asked him the simple questions first. Company name, phone number, etc. Then they snuck in the, 'as agreed, the fee will be x number of dollars for 6 months. But, if you buy 2 more months now, we'll give you an additional 2 months for free. Are you interested?' He said that he wasn't (thinking all the time he was simply verifying information and a contract I had agreed to.) Fast forward to 2 months later. Several hours of phone conversations later with Erica and Betty, until I said, 'Look, I am not wasting any more time on this. You have the facts of the case. One of your salespeople fraudulently claimed we'd agreed. My husband is guilty of believing what he was told, namely that this was an agreed-upon contract. We will not pay you anything and do not want your advertising. The only further contact I expect from you is an apology for wasting our time and for employing fraudulent salespeople. Goodday.' Betty said she had nothing to apologize for and we hung up. Multiple abusive phone calls followed, and now the legal department is threatening action. We have been in business for decades and NEVER failed to pay a bill. I refuse to pay this on principle--I am not going to reward someone who took a page out of the phone companies slamming techniques. Because the bill is only a couple of hundred dollars, my guess is that most businesses pay rather than deal with the exhausting bouts of abusive phone calls.
Damage Resulting
The repeated, abusive phone calls are obviously a huge waste of time, to the extent, now, that they are expensive as both I and my husband have waited to try and work this out, missing other business appointments.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
i worked for this company for some 20 odd years, some as anindependent contracter and also as an actual employee. i sold thousands of ads for this joke of a company.they made it a routine to always find ways to rip me off on my paychecks.in the 2 offices i worked in, the des plaines office and thedavenport, ia office. a lot of my co-workers, yhe sales people are nothing more then a bunch of drunks, drug addicts and flat out liars. i can honestly say that to my knowledge 99.9% of all the businesses i sold over the years that not one ever got there moneys worth. this company sucks from top to bottom. since leaving this scam of a company in aug. of 2011 my health and outlook on life has improved dramatically. one of the testimonials i read from a sales rep made me want to throw up. this particular proffessional liar has been serving time in a iowa prison for maufactoring and selling of crstal meth.i believe he was sentenced to 14 years in prison because he manufactured the meth with his 2 minor children present. countless other reps have come and gone over the years, hundreds of them, thousands of them, the movie facts managers attempt to give 'the new starts' motivational speeches to no avail. even the 'new starts' can smell a rat. i really feel sorry for all the busineses that get sucked into this worthless advertising company. from a fee of $120.00 up to $900.00 to advertise, well most likely they'll never see a penny in return. what a wasted investment it is to just line the pockets of the greedy in charge in des plaines. frank comelli, former employee. davenport, ia.
I was also taken by this company. After the sales person called and talked me into it, I changed my mind and called them back less than an hour later and said NOT INTERESTED at this time. I later recieved a bill with a copy of the brosure with my name on it. When I called them to complain, he just said it had already been printed, so I paid for that month to be fair and told him that I had canceled my mind on this that day, so don't print it again. THEY didn't cancle it and now again, another bill. DON'T DEAL WITH THIS WORTHLESS COMPANY!
Obviously Jesse111111 is a movie craps employee looking to protect their fraudulent job. This company & their waste of paper ad brochure should be shut down.
My ad has been running for 28 days with no responses. My same ad in another publication gets about 10 calls a week, which I am happy with. I called some of the other advertisers in the same pamphlets as mine, and most have never received any responses either. Plus they charge way too much for their advertising. I called to negotiate a deal to cancel my ad, and they refused to budge, so I'm just not going to pay. If they start harassing me, I will send them a certified letter stating they need to "cease and desist" and they will have to stop.
I feel so stupid for being duped by them, but I would really be an idiot to keep paying them!
I was constantly called by this company, did some investigating on my own. They brag about the other businesses in the area in their pamphlet & all paid different prices. When I confronted the sales person the following week when they called they stammered, struggled, could hear them asking a supervisor what they should do & started dropping the price drastically. These people are uneducated fools, probably calling from a jail. I thought used car sales people were the worst, this company yakes boiler room sales to a whole new low. Just keep hanging up they'll get the message & stop calling.
CAUTION TO ALL READERS OF THESE “COMPLAINT BOARD” MESSAGES:
I've dealt with Movie Facts on a couple occasions and found them to be quite upfront with the terms of the agreement. Yes, a sales rep called to discuss advertising and went over price and ad copy. Yes, another person called back to confirm the information that the previous sales rep went over with me. The second person who called me told me very clearly they were calling to confirm the information. They do charge a setup fee with the first month, which was stated during our conversation not only in how much the setup fee was, but again in what the total charge for the 1st month with setup fee would be and by the setup amount being included in the total charges for all months. It was obviously a script she was reading to me. I was very comfortable with the process, especially when she asked if there was anything discussed with the sales rep that was different from what she told me or that was not covered by her. At that point I questioned a couple discrepancies, which she resolved with further explanation. I feel the company was fair and operated truthfully from the beginning. It was of course up to me to pay attention to what she said, which I always do on a phone confirmation. This isn't the first time I've done a verbal agreement on the phone. Other companies have confirmed on tape for services as well, like the time I accepted a “free” trip to Fort Lauderdale in exchange for attending a time share meeting. I don't sign a contract without reading the fine print and I don't do a verbal agreement without paying attention to what is said. If they explain everything and you don't pay attention, but say yes to it anyway, that is not deception. If a company provides service that was agreed upon by both parties, it’s not harassment or abuse that payment should be expected. I expect my customers to pay me for what they purchase, and I expect to pay for that which I purchase, even if I decide later it wasn’t a good purchase choice. Websites like this invite disgruntled individuals to post their complaints in a slanderous libelous way, instead of trying to work out their issues responsibly through communication or by actually paying for that which they agreed. ANYONE can post a negative comment about your business or any other business on this website WITHOUT proof of their allegations. You can tell by reading some of the comments above how exaggerated the allegations sound. For example, is the comment from XXX7 from a dissatisfied customer or a disgruntled employee? The complaint is clearly all over the place. READERS BEWARE OF COMPLAINT BOARD INFO!
Also each department at Movie Facts operates from a script designed to get you to "impulse buy" in the sales dept. to get you to feel at ease in tge verification dept. To scare you in collections. They operate on the premise that business owners are meat & not that smart & will impulse buy & be bluffed into payung. So many complain & know they get no business from the ad brochures. There's a readon they're free, no one uses them. Another mind trick they play is put a coupon in & track your advertising dollars at work for you, at the end of the ad run it's too late just pay the bill they're not interested in retaining accounts with so many smakl businesses to con.
Don't pay tge bill, they have no legal department or leverage. Their sales people inclyde felons, crackheads, & drunken coke heafs that do anythibg to get a sale even if you say no. Recently they had an incident in their office where crack cocaine user threatened to cut another salesperson's face. These markets have been saturated by their bothersome calls yet they call & call again. They won't go after anyone legally as litigation will cost them much more then a few hundred dollar bill. They can do nothing but make cheap threats. Their employees are paid minimum wage & are forced to sell, verify, & collect or be replaced. It's a revolving door employer that looks for felons & people in desperate situations for jobs. They're not interested in making solid sales just bill it & collect it. Even they laugh at & know their brochure & advertising gimmick is worthless.
We'll find out if I wasted my money. I know the sales rep told me she KNEW what wordin g to use in my ad... Well, SHE DIDN'T and I'm telling them that since I'm not satisfied with the ad, I'm taking a $45 discount on the amount of the ad. They may not like it but that's what I'm going to do. And if they give any abusive calls, I'll put them on hold... I'm going to go check to see if they are at the theater. If they aren't, they are in breach of contract and it will prove to be a scam and they won't get a dime from me. And their legal dept. can shove it! We'll see.
I, too, have worked for Movie Facts, Inc for 22 years and counting. I have seen a lot of changes over the years, none more so than in the area of quality control and ethical standards. The ads in the brochure are roughly the size of a business card, not a postage stamp, and we use an outside, commercial printer to produce the end product. Yes, the ads are in black and white, but the front cover and other parts of the guide "pop" with bright, seasonal colors. Not only are the brochures distributed as promised (I've seen them at my own theatre every time I go in there), but some of our readers enjoy the content so much they request "subscriptions" so they can keep up with the games and coming attractions that are included in our Guide to the Movies. NO media can guarantee response, not even the Yellow Pages. The idea behind advertising is exposure and name recognition. Just because a customer comes through the door without a coupon in his hand, doesn't mean he didn't recognize the business name from "something he read somewhere" and that's what prompted him to come in. That kind of response can't be monitored, but it does exist and is therefore, advertising in Movie Facts is worth the considerably low cost compared to other advertising media. Additionally, it is only when customers refuse to pay for the service they ordered that our collections department becomes involved, using the same tactics any other bill collector might have to use to satisfy the debt. Our employees and vendors need to be paid for the work they did to get that advertising into the theatres as promised. This is not to say Movie Facts has never made a mistake with an order, but we always work with our customers to correct any problems that may arise and compensate accordingly.
I too was duped by their pushy sales tactics. They promised me a color ad the size of a business card. What I got was a blurred black and white the size of a postage stamp. Not one call. Not even one. They are also threatening me. I have since paid them, however i am going out there to tell everyone I can. Movie Facts = waste of money! Just throw your money away it will be faster.
I have worked for Movie Facts for over seven years. They are a excellent company to work for and do not tolerate any rude behavior towards customers. I love working here. I enjoy working with my customers and working for the company.
I have worked for Movie Facts, Inc. for over 13 years now. There will always be unhappy customers with any business or sevice. However, as far as "tricking" our customers, or dishonest salespeople, that is completely untrue. We record the second party verification for that very purpose. To insure that the customer receives exactly what they want. No overcharging, or misrepresentation by the salesperson is possable because its all recorded for the customers protection. Just check out our website @ www.moviefactsinc.com and you can see testimonials from past customers. And pick up our publication in a theater today. See you at the movies.
I work for Movie Facts Inc. and have never ever seen them be fragulant to any customer or employee. When I sell an ad to a customer it is because they want to do it. I enjoy what I do, working with customers and also working for the company. They have been around for 35 years and this is the only complaint I have seen when googled. I would say that is pretty good odds. I am sorry for what happened to you, but as a Sales Rep I can vouge for myself and my office that this does not happen. It is a great product, an inexpensive way to get your name in front of 1000's of movie goers. And if it is not for you, then than is your right. We will find someone who it is. God Bless
Hello all! I am the real Dan Hanners! - This previous e-mail is not from me! I googled my name and to my surprise-found this article. Yes, I worked for Movie Facts, Inc., The experience they provided me was a great launch into my professional career. I was pleased with the opportunities Movie Facts provided me. I am sorry for others poor collaboration either as an employee, or as customer, but leave my name out of the mix. Trust me I worked with the printer and demanding print deadlines, I know these are at the theatres. No complaints - just setting the record straight for whoever is using my name. Thanks
I worked at this company and know they do this. They are awful to their "prospects" as well as their employees. They tape the phone conversations. This is how they trap their prospects. Also, the brochures are awful, and I have never even seen one in a theater.