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BEWARE OF ERICA, NUSTAR SOLUTIONS, TOGETHER DATING SERVICES!!!!
I responded to an ad that was on Indianapolis Craigslist looking for people to post signs for this company each week. I was told that I would be responsible for posting approx. 200 signs in Carmel, Indiana each week. I was to go to Together Dating Services, located on Pennsylvania St. in Carmel Indiana to pick up the signs each week, return home to assemble them, and then place the signs at major intersections, on poles, etc.
The first week was great and I received my money without any issues. In fact, my money was deposited into my bank account one day early. The following week I was informed that we had placed the signs in the wrong town and that we were to cover as far as 40 miles AROUND Carmel, Indiana and the signs should be placed in each town that is written on the boxes. I explained that I called and asked if I was doing this correctly and was told yes. I thanked Erica for correcting me and assured her that I would make sure to do it as she informed me.
The second week of employment I was to post signs in Whiteland, Crawfordsville, Martinsville and Mooresville, Indiana (more than 55 miles away) I could not reach Erica at all when I tried to call the number to make sure she knew the towns were more than 40 miles away. Each time I have spoken with Erica, she calls me from a “private” number, so the only number I have to reach her is 646-593-7319, which is a Google Voice number. I left several messages and even emailed her. I finally heard back from her on Wednesday, 6 days later. I was told that I only had two visitors to the website for the signs that we placed that week, and she expressed that was not good and they were no longer going to stick with that market. I told her I have video and pictures that my husband and I took of us posting the signs and we did everything according to the instructions we received via email and by watching the video they have uploaded on You Tube. I told her the problem I see is that those towns are small, maybe the city removed the signs, or people are not interested because the towns are so small. Either way, I know I did everything correctly this time.
Bottom line, it was understood that I did not want to continue working for this company because of the conflicting information. I was told my final check would be direct deposited by 7AM Friday morning. Today, Friday, my check was not deposited. I began trying to reach Erica. No answer. Left message. Called Together Dating Service in Carmel to see if they had another way to reach Erica. I spoke with Andrea, the manager for the location in Carmel Indiana. She was pleasant at first and then began to use profanity. I told her to please calm down. She continued to be abusive and verbally attack me in a recorded phone call. She then hung up on me, telling me she would call the Attorney General and report me????? HUH? This lady is WACKO!
This call was also recorded. Low an behold, I contacted Together Dating Services corporate head office and spoke with Amanda, who was VERY professional, apologized for Andrea’s nasty behavior, assuring me she would make sure they dealt with that. She took my information and said she would pass it along to the president of the company. About 30 minutes later, my phone rings….It’s Erica. I told her my check was not deposited and I was upset. I told her I would take legal action if I was not paid. She then became verbally abusive, using horrible profanity. Telling me she would “stick our lawyers so far up your ass” and so forth. (ALL RECORDED!!!)
I asked her several times to stop using profanity and calm down. She told me she would not and she would “talk to (me) however she felt like”. WOW! She then told me she had proof my deposit was made and she would contact ADP, the company that does their payroll deposits and she left a message and as soon as they call her back, she will call me. I asked her to fax over this paperwork she has showing my deposit was made and she said she was going into a meeting but as soon as she is done, she would fax it to me. She said no matter what I would have my deposit by the end of the day and how their company is not interested in keeping a few hundred dollars when they make millions….NOT ONCE did I use profanity or be rude in any way! She tried to claim I called her over 20 times and how I called Together Dating Services over 30 times...she is insane. As I calmly told her, that is not true. I did not call them or her 1/4 of that many times! Although I do feel when it comes to my money, and the fact THEY SCREWED UP, I have EVERY RIGHT to call you until I am paid!
My experience is simple…. I have learned not only is this company unprofessional and rude, they are unethical, liars and thieves. I have reported their company to the Indiana and Florida Attorney General, along with all contact information I have, phone numbers and email addresses. I also have included Together Dating Service in this complaint. PLEASE! Do NOT become involved in this scam. I also found out that placing these signs are ILLEGAL in several states/counties. I could have been fined, gone to jail etc. Not Erica, NuStar Solutions OR Together Dating Service. That is how they get away with it. They hire people who do not know any better and put them up to performing illegal sign placements. Check with your county. They will tell you the signs are illegal!
DO NOT become involved with these companies. Together Dating service has a HORIBLE history and record of scamming customers and ripping innocent people off. Just do a simple Google search. While I can not vouch for their services, I can say that the Carmel Indiana Manager Andrea was rude, nasty and VERY unprofessional in a recorded conversation!
NuStar Solutions is also mentioned all over Google for illegal signs and ties to Together Dating Services. I only wish I would have checked that before I went to work for them. While I have not found any other complaints from people not being paid, I know if they did it to me, they will or have done it before.
Even though I FINALLY received my money this afternoon, it was only after making several calls, using the threat of the Attorney General and BBB that got me paid. I have every intent to continue with my complaints and expose this company for who and what they REALLY are! Believe me! It really pisses me off that this company allowed me to have my electric disconnected on Saturday and 2 check bounce this morning because of their screw up! I have a family member who is a lawyer in Florida and am having him look into this company more as well as use his buddy who is a PI do some digging with the info I do have. We have already closed the bank account and withdrew my funds. The bank was also notified of the situation. So if this place tries anything, they will really be in trouble!
I also am sending copies of the recorded calls to the FTC and filing complaints against them for their abusive, nasty, poop-filled mouths.
On 10-23-09, I received a phone call from a guy named Louis. He claimed that Erica broke company policy and was now in trouble for trying to help me. WHAT???!!!! He then told me if I called or emailed one more time I would not be paid until next pay period. He also told me that they spoke to their lawyer and were advised to not pay me until next pay period, however he understood that I am a single working mother and desperately needed my money and felt “sorry” for me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? You call me and try to BLACKMAIL ME? Um, let me clarify that NO WHERE in any emails I received, NOR on their company website does it indicate that if they mess up a pay check the employee must wait until next pay period. Not only that, what real employer would do that to their employee??????
These dummies made the mistake….not me!
Among several statements that were made, I was told Erica was in trouble. I asked how she was in trouble for trying to wire transfer my paycheck. I was told it was against company policy. I then told Louis I have a recorded call with Erica telling me she is the VICE PRESIDENT of this company and did not need “permission” to send a wire transfer, which IS something I asked her. (Specifically asked “Are you sure that is okay? You won’t get into trouble”?)
He then became very quiet and said he was not aware she said that and would address it with her. Hmmmm. Seems fishy to me. I was able to pull the headers from the emails I received from both him and Erica.
Both IP Addresses come back from the state of Florida. I already have contacted my law enforcement and phone company and a trace was placed on my phone to intercept their calls.
When Louis called me today, he gathered my account number and so forth and indicated my money would be posted today to my account. Now the phone company and police have the information they need to track these people down. This company is a joke.
They are in cahoots with Together Dating service all over the country and are illegally posting these dating service signs. I was also able to do more research on this You Tube link they sent me for their “training video”.
The account is registered to a Frank Tedesco. I viewed his profile and it shows him and his family, among other stuff which I found useful to show to the police. Below is the original email I received from Erica. It clearly indicates their procedures and methods.
If you are contacted by this company DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM!!!! Avoid them at all cost and think of it like this, if you get hit by a car, stopped, ticketed or arrested, are they going to be there for you?
I told Louis and Erica that my electric company allowed me to make payment arrangements with them and I set it to coincide with my pay day. Because the arrangement was final, if I did not pay the agreed payment, my electric would be disconnected. They did not care. They did nothing. I had two checks bounce in my account because my check was not there and incurred NSF fees because of it. I will be throwing out all of the left over signs and stakes I have in my possession as well.
I just hope I have helped people understand how shady this company is and why they must avoid them. If you become involved with this company even after reading my story do not be surprised when you see the same stuff I saw and are treated the same way I was. I am sure this company will probably rebuttal and respond to me on here but the fact remains that I have all conversations, EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE. And those do not lie and they show you the true character of these companies and these horrible people.
IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE CALLS OR INFORMATION I HAVE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY. HERE IS THE EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM ERICA:
From: Manager <mailto:manager@nustarsolutions.com>
Subject: Sign Placement in the Carmel Market
Importance: High
Dear ,
We will want you to place approximately 150-200 signs each week for the Carmel market which includes all surrounding cities and towns. As long as you follow the attached Guidelines and spread out the signs as much as possible, you will do a great job. The signs should be placed at major traffic intersections, entrances and exits to busy shopping centers and malls, on and off ramps to freeways, and major entrances/exits to the area from all directions..
We would like the signs to be spread out as much as possible so that they do not attract negative attention from citizens in the area. We do not want all of the signs placed at different intersections along the same road…it is best to place them at 1 or two major intersections on multiple main roads. I can’t stress enough the fact that the more the signs are spread out, the better the results. If you are not familiar with an area, look at Google maps and know the area before you travel there to place the signs. The best planning you can do beforehand is to look at Google or Mapquest and see the major roadways into the town you will be placing in from North and South, East and West. It is best to cover the radius around the town as well as the town itself. In addition, put the signs at areas that are harder for government employees, street cleaners, etc to pull them up – places where the town worker actually has to get out of the car to pick up the sign. In addition, when you do shopping centers and malls, do the entrances and exits which are public property, not on mall property inside the mall area.
Just remember, you can place the signs anywhere on public property but town workers can also remove them so try to make it harder for them so the signs stay out longer. One thing which is very important to the number of leads we get is placing signs on poles. You should place approximately 30 signs out of every 100 on poles. This means telephone poles, not directional signals such as stop signs. You can use hammer and nail or staple gun. We will reimburse you if you need to get materials…you can just fax me the receipt and I will add it to your payroll. The reason we place about 30% of signs on poles is twofold. Some people’s eyeline is higher and some people’s eyeline is lower so if you mix up the placement of the signs, it increases the number of people that respond. Secondly, if they do lawn maintenance in a particular area, they are obviously going to remove the signs. If you have some signs on poles, these will stay up and continue to generate leads.
On a regular basis, we like to get the signs placed at the end of the week so we can insure that they are out for the Saturday and Sunday traffic. You will be paid every Friday for your sign placements that week. It is $1.00 per sign. If you have to travel 20 minutes to less than 40 minutes it becomes $1.25 per sign and 40 minutes or more travel to get to the city is $1.50.
Payment is done through expressed checks which are sent through the US Postal Service Priority Mail or sent via Direct Deposit to the account of your choice. I need to have confirmation that signs have been placed by Tuesday at 5pm in order to include them in that week’s payroll. Any signs placed and confirmed after that will be on the following week’s payroll I have attached the forms that will need to be filled out in order to be on next week’s payroll. You will need to fill out the 8821 regardless and the Direct Deposit form if you opt to do direct deposit, which I recommend because then your money is guaranteed to be in there by 7am on Friday morning. I will need your forms faxed back to me at (888) 818-2986 by Sunday at 9am in order to have you on next week’s payroll and I will have to have confirmation of sign placement by 9am Sunday.
Please keep in mind that we do give pay rate increases based on performance. Basically, the more leads you generate by placing the signs very strategically, the more money we make, and thus, the more money you make.
As promised, I have attached the “Guidelines for Sign Placing” document which you should review thoroughly before placing your first signs this evening. Please follow all strategies and recommendations to ensure that you are doing a good job. I have also pasted a link below to a brief video created by one of our sign placers that actually shows you what you should be doing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCzmDeswzy4
Every time you place the signs I will need you to send me an email immediately afterwards with the following details: 1. how many signs were placed 2. when they were placed – date and time 3. what the exact website address on the signs was 4. if there was any driving beyond 20 minutes required The address of the office where the signs should be picked up is as follows:
Together Dating
11495 N Pennsylvania St Suite 220
Carmel, IN 46032
The most important thing to remember is spreading the signs out! I will send out reports every other week so you can see exactly how many leads you are generating with your sign placements.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Kindest regards,
Erica
646-593-7319
Corporate Singapore Office: NuStar Solutions, S.A. 32 Maxwell Road #03-07
White House Singapore 069115
phone: +65 6722 8818 fax: +65 6725 8459
Panama Office: NuStar Solutions, S.A. El Cangrejo, F Street Building No. 13,
Main Floor Panama City, Republic of Panama
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