The Selling Advantage

I received a voicemail from a lady named cynthia thomas on 4/9/19 and she told me I need to call them right away because a claim is being filed against myself and the company I work for. She called back the next day and told my coworker she has been trying to reach me for some time now and hasn't get through to me, which is a lie! That one voicemail was the first I have ever received. So when I get transferred the phone call she begins to tell me that my company and I have a claim against us for a past due invoice in the amount of $650. She told me she was calling from a collections agency an behalf of the selling advantage. I explained to her that I canceled the trial membership just like the instructed me to but somehow they still kept sending me their monthly issues! I never received any invoices and this is the first that I hear it is past due. A respectable company would give you the opportunity to settle your debt before sending you to collections. Not this place. When I told her I refuse to pay for this invoice because I canceled this service right away and I even called to cancel, she asked if I have proof of the call. Of course not! The harassing sales call was 6 months prior to this call. I told her I don't have proof so she said that without proof, they have no way of knowing who I talked to and that I actually canceled. I told her that just because they cant keep that information I shouldn't have t pay for it. She then said that the best she could do was reduce the invoice to $180. I said there was no way my company or myself was going to pay for this service we didn't want. She then asked me to confirm if my birthday was correct, which it was but they try to use that as a scare tactic to get you to pay. Do not by any means pay this disgusting company. They will tell you anything to get you to pay but it is all lies. They have no way of sending you to collections with the information I provided, which was my name and birthday. I told her she can do whatever she wants but I refuse to pay and then I hung up. This morning 4/11 I get another phone call from her! She said she wanted to give me one last chance to pay for the invoice before being sent to collections otherwise she would talk to my vp of sales at the company to get them to pay. I told her to [censored] off because this is a scam from a shady company and I will be reporting them, so do not ever call back and then I hung up. She tried reaching out again but I told my staff to deny the call. They will continue to harass you if you let them. That is their job. Please do not fall victim to their dirty tricks.

On September 22, we received a call at our business from Becky Morgan of "International Credit, [protected] ex 4939." She said that she was calling to collect on a debt my business has. When I asked for simple information like who the bill was owed to and an invoice number, she refused to answer and said that she could only speak to the other owner, my husband, Richard. When Richard called her back today, she said the company we owe is "The Selling Advantage." We have never done any business with this company. When Richard asked for information about what we supposedly received from this company, Becky refused to give him any information on what we received. She said Richard had given them his e-mail and his birth date (which of course, he did not) so that made him liable for this imaginary debt. Richard replied that he would not be paying and he believed the whole thing to be a fraud. Becky hung up on him.

I was solicited by a salesperson by phone. They asked if I was interested in receiving their product and I politely declined. Needless to say they sent it any way and they also sent us a bill! Shocked by the Selling Advantages Audasity I wrote them a letter explaining they had made a mistake. Today I received another shipment of their product that I have no use for and did not want to begin with...I just want them to stop sending me something I have never agreed to receive.

I personally, and the company I work for, has had this same pattern happen over and over again for at least 5 years running in our collective memory. We've made a file because we've had so many people in our company assaulted by this smarmy group. Apparently they've developed a disgusting process that begins with an innocuous-sounding offer "Would you like a free trial subscription to The Selling Advantage?" You agree and they confirm by asking for your birth date and then the fun begins! They send you the publication which is basically recycled fluff related to marketing and sales. Theoretically you decline by writing "cancel" on their invoice but they don't send an invoice timely - they hope you'll just continue to receive it "proving" you want it. I think you'll eventually get an invoice - but I'm not sure any more! In any case you can't call or contact them or get through to anyone to decline the subscription. Next you get a call from a collection agency. I always consider this suspicious because a respectable vendor would call you first and give you the chance to make good on your debt. Not The Selling Advantage! For whatever reason they seem to think they have an advantage over you and try to scare you or shame you into paying their invoice! I just hung up on the guy that called - but they're used to that. This is their M.O. They expect to do a certain amount of collection I guess? I don't know. My advise - avoid this company unless you want low quality newsletters and harassing phone calls.