Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  PriMedia solicited my company to do TV ads for my business. They charged my **************** $3450 on 2/22/24. By March 13th, I had no contact from them to set up my ads! I contacted them by email on 3/13/24 requesting a cancellation because I could not reach anyone to set up my ads. They finally contacted me a month after they collected payment and I started getting "leads" from the TV ads. The leads were worthless. Either the person had no idea why we were calling, or they were at least 100 miles distant from our business and said it was "too far to travel". I complained to PriMedia and asked for a refund! At this point they became very aggressive and even threatened to have their "legal department" contact me. Since then, No more leads and they stopped my ad campaign leads all together. So, I was charged for nothing and they will not respond to my emails.

  

  Business response

  09/13/2024

  
  Dr. ******* is in the business of providing weight loss services.  After discussions with our sales department, Dr. ******* entered into a contract with Primedia Network, Inc. on or about February 22, 2024 to advertise their services.  The contract, which is attached, requires a fee of $3,450.00 to be paid at the start of our services, which equals a total amount of 50 appointments at $69.00 per appointment.  Dr. ******* agreed to pay Primedia Network, Inc. $69.00 for each appointment generated by the advertisement. Dr. **** paid the sum of $3,450.00 for the services of Primedia Network, Inc.  The contract also states that orders cannot be canceled once placed and no refunds will be given on signed orders.  Further the contract states that chargebacks are prohibited and, in the event a chargeback is attempted by the client, all remaining sums on account are forfeited.  Finally, the contract does not guarantee performance or quality of the appointments.  A copy of the contract and authorization to charge is attached for your review.
  
  Per our standard procedure, an advertisement was prepared which Dr. ******* approved and the advertisement commenced on the services and in the areas approved by Dr. ************** According to our records, we confirmed seven appointments scheduled for Dr. ************** According to the conversations we had with the potential clients, and contrary to Dr. ********* assertions, the individuals reporte to our staff that either the services were too expensive or the response from ******************** was slow or non-existent. 
  
  On or about the end of March 28, 2024, Dr. ******* attempted to cancel the contract and demanded the return of all their money.  Obviously, based upon the contract terms, such action was unjustified and Primedia Network **** refused to comply.  Through various email communications, we informed Dr. ******* that refunds were not allowed under the terms of the contract.  Due to the fact that Dr. ********* business offered several different types of services, we suggested modifying their advertisement to attempt to sell a different service, but this compromise was refused.  
  
  Primedia Network, Inc. has done everything required of our company under the terms of the contract.  The ad was approved by Dr. ******* and it ran.  Dr. ******* was unable to turn the appointments into actual business.  This has nothing to do with our company.
  
  As of the writing of this response, an offer of settlement has been made to Dr. ************** We hope to have a resolution to this matter in the near future.
  
  If you require anything further from our company, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  Thank you,
  
  ***** *****

  Customer response

  09/14/2024

   
  Complaint: 22079341
  
  I am rejecting this response because almost everything they are claiming is untrue. It took them over a month to even set my business up for these "ads".  I had to email them twice to just get them to register my business!  After things were set up, they sent me customers from over 100 miles away from my office.  We contacted ALL leads within 24 hours of receiving the emails. I have proof of all emails and Phone records of when the "leads" were called.  We have documentation of each lead, what their response was, and the distance from their residences to our office based on their home addresses! The leads were simply worthless, is an understatement.

  Once I found out there were no refunds, I asked them to continue sending me leads, in the hope that I could recuperate at lease part of the $3750 investment.  They refused and responded by threatening to have the leads write bad reviews for my business and that they would file a complaint with BBB against my business in retaliation.  I have all those emails.  

  Now their legal team (Mr. ***** *****) claims to have sent me a settlement proposal as an attachment to his email! The attachment is blank! I'm not sure if he means they propose "NOTHING!" with this blank email attachment of "settlement proposal". I have responded to Mr ***** that his attachment was blank, in the hopes that maybe he truly made a mistake, and doesn't mean they are not willing to do anything for the money they took from me.

  As of this response, BBB is my only hope of getting any settlement, short of small claims court.  I am hoping the BBB will follow this to the end. I am not asking for a full refund, just provide services that I paid for based on our legal contract.  If they don't want to do that, then there should be some partial refund.

  Thank you,

  Sincerely,
  

  
  *** *******

  

  Business response

  10/11/2024

  Please be advised that, pursuant to my previous communications with the complainant, a settlement agreement has been forwarded to the complainant by email transmission a few moments ago.   I await response from the complainant with any modifications which Complainant may wish to make.  I hope to have this matter resolved shortly.

  Thank you,

  ***** M. *****

  General Counsel

  Customer response

  10/14/2024

   
  Complaint: 22079341
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I have responded to Mr. ****** with my attorney's recommendations to update the settlement agreement.  I am awaiting his response with the updated settlement with the added paragraph.

  once we come to a mutual agreement, I will close this complaint.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *******

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Prime media aka advanced medical is a deceptive company that misrepresented the quality of leads it would be able to deliver. The individuals that were referred to us seemed completely clueless as to the services my company offered which was initially agreed upon with prime media. They completely disregarded the arrangement and did as they saw fit providing random contacts that had very little if any knowledge of our services offered;. Once contract went into effect and payment was provided prime lost interest in appeasing my request to revise strategy to qualify leads.

  

  Business response

  07/08/2024

  The pdf file containing the response to the chargeback was not a complete copy.  Attached please find a full version of the response to the fraudulent chargeback.

  
  

  Thank you,

  
  

  

  Customer response

  07/08/2024

   
  Complaint: 21622996
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As I originally stated in filing the complaint prime media misrepresented the legitimacy of the services offered, yes indeed they had me sign there iron clad contract covering every deceptive angle in case the services are disputed in order to comply with credit card legal guidelines. This does not absolve the fact that they used deceptive advertising practices and once they processed the payment had no interest in working with me  to receive credible leads, these individuals had no idea what they were calling about!!!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

  

  Business response

  07/11/2024

  Unfortunately, ************ continues to respond with fraudulent representations about our companies conduct.  The only truth to his rejection is the acknowledgement that he signed the contract.  He once again fails to address the fact that he did obtain appointments through the advertisement that was utilized and placed after he approved it.  He also fails to address the facts raised in our response which raised his inability to sell his services to the individuals who made appointments.  ************ has a history of failing to take any responsibility for his own inadequate efforts.  Further he continues to attempt to blame our company for his inability to sell his services.  Common logic clearly tells us that advertisements do not guarantee sales.  **************** non-sensical arguments seem to misunderstand this.  He was unable to sell his service to those who made appointments, and, instead of trying to determine what he did wrong, he decided to blame the advertisement which he approved to run and the people who created it.  The contract he signed clearly states that there is no guarantee as to the performance of the advertisement.  No advertising agency would ever guarantee results.  A guarantee is an impossibility.  Primedia Network, Inc. fully performed all obligations required of it pursuant to the terms of the contract.  The failure to turn those appointments into paying clients is solely due to the actions of ************.  

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  - About $9000 in television advertising services not rendered for launch of new retail location..- Primedia Network, Inc. received full payment, up-front, but received only $890 in advertising in return - When refund for the difference was requested, emails and contact ignored by Primedia Network, Inc., so we will end up going to court, in the near future for full reimbursement.

  

  Business response

  09/01/2023

  To Whom It May ******************* ********************* was an original lead that came into our firm via ****** on 9/14/2022.  He claimed to own a firm called Smart Economic Technology, LLC and was looking to advertise his business on Local Network TV See Exhibit A
  
  In May of 2023, ************** spoke with an Account Rep from our firm, *************************, and stated that he would like to move forward See Exhibit B
  
  On June 1, 2023, ************** electronically signed off on a Media Buying Agreement with our firm and then also paid our firm a deposit retainer of $2500 See Exhibit C
  
  On June 6, 2023, ************** electronically signed off a Local Network TV Media Order with our firm. On that agreement it clearly states the following See *************** 1:
  
  Media Insertion Orders cannot be canceled once insertion orders are signed and funded.  There are also no refunds on signed orders.  In addition, clients who choose to pay with a credit/debit card wave any and all ability to chargeback this media purchase and if client does attempt a chargeback, they will forfeit any remaining dollars on account.   After each broadcast week, clients will receive a Media Clearance Report from PRIMEDIA to show spots ordered and spots cleared/run.  Client may elect to run make-goods on the same stations and/or move the remaining balance on account to other stations in the PRIMEDIA Network.  Clients also understand that in certain times of the year low-cost media buys such as this can be heavily pre-empted by political or holiday ads.  In addition, while PRIMEDIA strives to bring clients the lowest broadcast media ad spot rates, PRIMEDIA makes no claims to the performance of the media purchased and past performance is no guarantee of future results in regard to CPC, CPA and/or ROI.
  
  On June 6, 2023, ************** also electronically signed off on a Payment Authorization Form.  On that agreement it clearly states the following see *************** 2:
  
  Cardholder agrees to pay the above total amount according to card issuer agreement. There are also no refunds on signed orders and all sales are final. Clients who choose to pay with a credit/debit card wave any and all ability to chargeback this media purchase and if client does attempt a chargeback they will forfeit any remaining dollars on account. 
  We were then told ************** would be supplied a TV commercial to our firm to run on his companys behalf.  This did not happen and until the beginning of July.  At that point we were instructed by ************** to run his campaign over the next 4-5 weeks.  We did as instructed and placed the media on the clients behalf.  See ************ 4, 5 and 6.
  
  I week after the start of the campaign, ************** emailed our Account Manager, *************************, to pause his campaign See *********. This pause had nothing to do with our firm, but an issue with the client and his inability to secure a college venue for his teaching program.
  
  10 days later, ************** emailed his original Account Sales Rep,*****, and demanded a refund ************** made a claim that we did not run his media as ordered.  This is completely not true.  His media was in fact ordered and put on hold because he had issues on his end.  He then made threats of filing complaints, filing a lawsuit, and making erroneous statements online that we took his money and did not do as instructed.  Again, this is completely inaccurate.  Because of the threats made by **************, our Corporate Counsel, did get involved.  Client was emailed and called and to this day has not responded.  See Exhibit F.
  
  Exhibit G shows the initial media placement.
  
  Client is still under contract with our firm as he has not cancelled his Media Buying Agreement.  Client also very clearly agreed to our no cancellation no refund policy.  We fully understand clients may have issues with their business, but making threats against our firm and purporting lies will simply put not be tolerated.  Client paid $9785.98 to our firm and $850 in media has cleared to date.  Client has $8935.98 on account and can use those funds on any type of media we offer local network TV, cable TV, ***, Radio, Billboards. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Thursday, October 20, 2022 we paid Primedia Network $8,775.00 via ACH for an insertion order to run ** spots. The next day when we called *************************** the company's VP, she was off that day and I asked for a Pre-Log for the upcoming ** spots, she said she would call back on Monday and did no. After chasing ******************** down and speaking with her and her President a new rep was assigned to us still refusing to provide a Pre-Log and Post Log's to run the tv ads that we paid for. The Pre-Log and Post- Log's a par for the course in advertising because a client can track to make sure the ** spots were aired. Primedia Network has refused to provide these. To date, no ** spots have been aired and upon asking for the money back through our bank they responded via fax and blatantly lied to **** of America by claiming that they have spoken to the **************************** (no record of this) and threatening to file a theft of services criminal complaint. The theft is against us, ******************* and in their response they claim that Surety Health does not exist. We would like a refund of our money in the amount of $8,775, since they have failed provide services that we paid for.

  Customer response

  02/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 18598259
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  Primedia Network's response although quite lengthy is NOT TRUE and a bunch of fluff.  Surety Health was referred to Primedia Network through ********************* however **************** does not own or operate ******************** has no authority over payments or banking activities what-so-ever.

  Primedia Network is reporting falsely regarding the *** return. I specifically told the Vice President at Primedia that if cannot provide us Pre-logs and Post-logs on the media that we purchased, then we would request an *** return. Primedia Network has stolen money from Surety Health and has done nothing for the money that we paid.

   

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  03/03/2023

  BBB Team
   
  We have responded multiple times to this complaint, but the client is not satisfied with our response.
   
  In addition, this client is making defamatory statements and flat out lying about what transpired.
   
  With Business to Consumer you can say things like The Food was no good at said restaurant that is an opinion and you are protected by the first amendment in your free speech.
   
  In Business to Business you can also have your opinions of a company, but what you cant do is state things like They stole my money and then also make claims that are completely inaccurate.  This is defamation.  And this is what this client is doing in said BBB complaint. 
   
  Flat out this client is not entitled to a refund he signed off on paperwork stating such charged back his order filed a false theft report with is bank and now has gone online and has made numerous defamatory statements not only with the BBB, but on Rip Off Report and Google. 
   
  And as a company we have a right to protect our interest and reputation against clients and business who pose illicit actions against our firm.
   
  A representative from our firm will contact you tomorrow to figure out the next course of action on this client and if this cant be resolved then this will be turned over to our legal department. 
   
  Schedule a Meeting
   
  *********************

  Customer response

  03/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 18598259
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Primedia Network never ran the commercials that we paid for and refused to provide a pre-log and post-log report proving that the commercials would be or had been run.  This is "par" for the media advertising industry.  They have provided tons of paperwork, conversations between a referral to their company and numerous excuses.  There is no excuse for taking money from a start up company and not honoring their end of the bargain in a manner that is above reproach and full of integrity.  

  We asked for our ACH back because they refused to be honorable and follow media industry standards.  

  
  Sincerely,

  
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In January I paid a total of ***** dollars for TV ads to get leads for my home buying business. Took a couple weeks to finally get some leads. Then it went cold again for a few weeks. They claimed they were having issues buying the spots. Finally the pushed to change to radio which wasnt what I wanted. I didnt get anything. Communication became less and less. Then I was told a supervisor would reach out. That call never came. I totally got robbed by this company. No offer to refund funds that werent spent. Nothing. I truly cant believe there isnt more complaints for this company. I found one on another sight a few months ago. ***** is a tough pill to swallow. It would be nice if I could recoup some of these losses. Buyers beware!!! Oh by the way. People I dealt with are *************************** and *************************. Zero integrity. White collar crime is how I see it.

  Customer response

  12/15/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On March 12, 2022 I paid Primedia Networks $2225 to deliver 2-5 "Live Call Transfers" weekly to our office. This is for marketing purposes. The Network company was to run tv media that would produce incoming phone calls of potential clients. Our verbal/written agreement was for 30 calls in a period of 2 Months. We were transferred 6 calls in late March into the beginning of April. When I reached my representative and asked for standard reporting on the lead information. The lead information would contain name, phone numbers of lead that were generated as part of our agreement, these reports were never provided. When I did reach my representative by phone I was told that there was and error in the marketing placement and we would "start over" my 30 live call transfers. This was on May 24th. This was two weeks ago and we have not received any calls since, when I have tried to email, call, leave voicemails with my representative. I get no response.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩