36 Responses to “The Gift Assistant to be Sued by Ohio Attorney General”

1. Rik Panganiban on November 21st, 2006 12:06 pm

   Wow, that’s great news. Thanks for sharing this.

2. Joshua Allbright on November 22nd, 2006 11:21 am

   I contacted the AG’s office in Ohio and forwarded all of the information that my company has collected from our experience. I recommend that everyone else do the same.

   If it wasn’t for Aaron Forgue standing up on this, we would never have been aware of the extent of the fradulent activities.

3. Don'Yelle K. Triplin on December 13th, 2006 8:15 am

   I purchased 50 gift cards to provide as settlement gifts for my Real Estate clients. I have been unsuccessful in activating the cards and the toll free number is not working. I would like for my information to be passed to the Attorney General so that I can be included with the others to get a refund for a product that could never be used. Thank you for having this website; now I know why my attempts to reach the Gift Assistant have been unsuccessful.

4. Michelle Shanks on December 18th, 2006 2:43 pm

   I was given a card from our mortgage company for referring them to another client. In return they gave me a Premiernetwork personalized gift card. I cannot use it. The phone number is disconnected and I cannot download their web page. What should I do?

5. Alison Crawford on December 22nd, 2006 8:29 pm

   I also got two gift cards from my realtor. I’m not sure how I can go about collecting the money from these cards. I live in MA and am not sure that the Ohio AG can help me. Any information regarding who to contact would be most helpful.

   And thanks!

6. Henriette Douglas on December 27th, 2006 7:39 pm

   I was given a gift card from my friend at a mortage company for referring another client. I made several attempts to redeem the gift card by accessing the website and calling the number (877) 443-8770. The website link does not work and the phone number has been disconnected. Please advise.

7. Joanie Heighes on January 7th, 2007 11:30 pm

   Thank you so much! How do we go about making sure that we are on the list of “victims”?

8. Adam Jones on January 8th, 2007 1:34 am

   I was given a gift card from my realtor as a thank you for two separate referrals. It had $800 on it. It took nearly 4 months to receive 2 $100 gift cards for Home Depot. Then shortly after I was planning on retreiving the other $600, but the website doesn’t exist and the phone number is disconnected. I left a message on the Ohio AG line, but since I’m in Hawaii I don’t know if he can help. If anyone has further information please post, so I can know what to do next.

9. Carin Nguyen on January 17th, 2007 11:56 pm

   I am a REALTOR and I purchased a few thousand dollars in gift cards from The Gift Assistant as closing gifts for my clients. I used them without any issuses for over a year, however, starting in October of 2005 I began receiving complaints from clients that they were not receiving the gift cards they redeemed. I disputed the charges with my credit card company, however, The Gift Assitant responded that they had issued the cards.
   Please advise how to submit a formal complaint and/or file suit.

10. Jaya Janardhanan on January 24th, 2007 4:08 pm

    I would like to reiterate the question asked before by

    “Joanie Heighes
    January 7th, 2007 at 11:30 pm Thank you so much! How do we go about making sure that we are on the list of “victims”? ”

    I was defrauded out of $50 by them more than a year ago.

11. Aaron on January 24th, 2007 4:31 pm

    I would recommend getting in touch with the Ohio Attorney General’s office. They are linked in the post.

12. Valerie Denton on January 28th, 2007 7:19 pm

    I purchased a gift certificate over a year ago and have not been able to redeem. The website didn’t work. Add me to the list.

13. Patricia Kline on January 29th, 2007 12:22 pm

    I was given a gift card, tried to redeem it only to find out that the phone number was disconnected and the web site unavailable. The realtor that gave me the card was a great disappointment and this just adds to the frustration! I was taken advantage of twice.

14. Debbie Kelly on February 13th, 2007 10:23 am

    I am a Realtor also, and purchased about 50 cards. Everything was fine and my clients loved it, however I recently started received complaints from my clients that they could not activate their cards, or were not receiving response from customer service. I had no idea.

15. James Poteat on February 14th, 2007 11:21 pm

    We purchased a $50.00 gift card over a year ago. We contacted them and told them we wanted a Bass Pro Card. 4 months later we recieve a email saying they had encountered an unexpected event that had a major negative impact on their company and as a result, had fallen behind on there customers. They ensured us that we would recieve our gift card as soon as possible. We have not heard from them since.

16. Tammy C. Moody on February 22nd, 2007 11:42 am

    I am a Realtor with RE/MAX and I purchased several cards from this company. I had problems from the start. I had a few clients lose their cards and the company would not transfer the money to a different card. Also a few clients told me they would never use it and the company would not transfer the money to another card and I have had a few clients recently try to use the card and the website no longer works and the 800 number is just a busy signal. Please let me know what happens. Thanks

17. Robin Bradley on March 4th, 2007 2:08 pm

    I received 2 gift cards from my real estate agent for a house closing back in August 2005. One was worth $100 and the other one was worth $25. I used the $100 one on their internet site to purchase a Lowe’s gift card and after it never arrived I called and emailed several times to find it a dead end. I never received anything from them.
    Please let me know what I can do.
    Thanks.

18. Suzin Letourneau on March 5th, 2007 8:46 pm

    I ordered $240.00 worth of gift cards of which $200.00 were not redeemed due to fraudulent practices of this company. They even exchanged one of the gift cards for a zero balance Auntie M’s Pretzel card. Imagine waiting over 6 months because they said they were out of inventory on that retailer then sending you a card that dosen’t even work. What should I do to collect, I originally paid by credit card but am unable to dispute due to the time lapsed.

19. T. Spivey on March 25th, 2007 9:45 am

    Thanks for sharing this information. I too, received a gift card from my realator, with no luck accessing the website and when I call for the balance of the card, I find only that the phone number has been disconnected.

20. Jennifer on April 9th, 2007 7:19 pm

    I have received a $280 card to redeem and never received any of the gift cards of my choice. I have left messages online and never got a response.

21. Art Hoppe on April 10th, 2007 5:21 pm

    I’m a Realtor in Virginia…

    I, too, invested in Gift Assistant cards that my clients could not activate - - and now it appears that the company has ‘disappeared’…

    Any suggestions???

22. Beth Hall on April 12th, 2007 2:32 pm

    I am a Realtor and my partner and I purchased cards from the Gift Assistant. I have had no complaints until today. A past client said they tried to use the card, and it would not work. I went to their website to check the status and nothing would pull up. I then found out what is going on. I have about 10 clients that I gave these cards to but am not sure if they were able to use them or not. How can I found out and what can I do if that is the case?

23. Mitch Kove on May 7th, 2007 5:55 pm

    I’ve also been scamed. I purchased 8 gift cards to provide as settlement gifts for my Real Estate clients. I have been unsuccessful in activating the cards and the toll free number is not working. I would like for my information to be passed to the Attorney General so that I can be included with the others to get a refund for a product that could never be used. Thank you for having this website; now I know why my attempts to reach the Gift Assistant have been unsuccessful

24. Gene Florest, PLLC on May 11th, 2007 5:11 pm

    I am a REALTOR, about a year ago I purchased several Gift Assistant cards for clients which I give away only in certain instances at trade shows etc. an individual that had one the card at a drawing many months ago and someone that I only occassionally run into at various shows or networking events recieved the card and as far as I knew all was well, I recently ran into this individual and asked him if he had recieved the card. He said he recieved the card from me but had not tried to redem it until several weeks or so after he got it. He said he went on line and followed the instructions and it took all his information but he never recieved the actual gift card from “Lowes” that he had requested. It wasn’t until today that this issue came up as the result of me looking through one of my REALTOR magazines that made me remember to check into the situation for him. I went on line and tried to access the web site and found it was down and that was the first time I was made aware that they had been closed down. The Gift Assistant advertised full page ads in the REALTOR magazine and I think it would have been pro-active of the AG’s Iffice to have something published in the magazine to alert all of us involved in real estate to be made aware of this. Does anyone know how we can file our own complaint, I went to the AG’s website but the Gift Assistant or Norwood Company isn’t listed and didn’t come up in the search. I would also like to get my money back not only for the cost of printing cards but the activations.

    Thanks

25. Mark Schwartz on May 16th, 2007 1:16 pm

    The Gift assistant card given to me by Remax in Pembroke NH does not work. Suzanne Tasker the realtor should get a refund.

26. Deanna on July 23rd, 2007 3:21 pm

    I’m a Realtor, I too purchased 40 or 50 personalized gift cards from the Gift Assistant for client gifts well over one and a half years ago if not two years ago now. I had activated two of them to give away to start, only to find to my embarrassement that my clients never received the gift cards of their choice and I am out quite a bit of money. I had tried contacting The Gift Assistant via phone and e-mail. They never answered the phone, and never returned any of my calls when I left messages for them, or any of my e-mails.

    They had told my clients when they called them that they were still processing the cards and they would be receiving them shortly. That was about 6 months after they chose the gift cards! The last time I tried contacting them, I was directed to a voicemail box that was full and not taking any more messages. I’m glad that I didn’t put money on any more than the two cards. The first two that I activated was a trial to see how well they worked.

    I would like to be added to any lawsuit started, so that I too may recover my stollen money.

    Thanks,

    Deanna

27. Larry Newton on September 22nd, 2007 11:07 am

    I live in Michigan and I received a $35.00 gift card from my Realtor but the phone number is disconnected and so is the website. If anyone knows how to get on the list for a lawsuit please let me know.

28. Tara Hollaway on October 31st, 2007 8:36 pm

    I received (what I believe was a $75) Gift Assistant card from my realtor. After trying to check the balance, I find out they no longer exist. Please add me to the list.

29. Aleyta Coffey on November 21st, 2007 2:57 pm

    I guess the joke’s on us…. It says on the back of this card that it does not expire. I’m a little behind in the finance department this year so i thought I would use this card to help me out with Christmas coming and all. I was going to use the card once before in late ‘05 early ‘06 and called the number on the back. I got an operator that told me that the card was only redeemable online and that it would never expire. I am forwarding this page on to my realtor. I believe his company deserves all their money back! This particular company in Cheyenne, WY went out of their way and bent over backwards for every customer. I wouldn’t want their solid reputation tarnished by something as deceptive as this.
    Thanks for your time.

30. Pat Simental on November 26th, 2007 11:56 am

    I am a REALTOR® Here in Cheyenne WY and was recently made aware of the Fraud that The Gift Assistant is involved in. I purchased Several Cards as closing gifts about 2 to 3 years ago thinking they would be a nice way to give something back to my clients as a thank you. I am disappointed to find out that there are some clients that are not able to us my gift do to the practices of The Gift Assistant. I was able to print out a list of clients that received my cards before their website went down a year or two ago. The last thing I want is any inconvenience to my clients. I would like my name included with the suit, So that my clients can be compensated for the inconvenience that card has caused them and me.

    Thanks,

    Pat Simental

31. Bruce Vaillancourt on March 26th, 2008 10:44 am

    I just noticed this web site about The Gift Assistant. I was given the card as a gift and have not been able to redeem it, now I know why. Please let me know if any lawsuit actions have transpired and the outcome, if any. Thank you.

32. Monnie Heisler on July 10th, 2008 11:30 pm

    I too would like to be added to the lawsuit. We too have not been able to redeem our $250 dollar giftcard. Please let us know what we need to do. Thanks, Monnie

33. Nina Reeves on July 20th, 2008 4:33 pm

    I to received a $100.00 gift card from my realtor. I called the 1-877-443-8770 and found out that it had been disconnected. I have e-mailed numerous times, but no response. Please let me know what I can do.
    Thanks, Nina Reeves

34. Kathleen Holroyd on August 7th, 2008 9:57 pm

    I received a gift card from my realtor for 100.00 and let her know it was not redeemable. I feel so sorry for these realtors, etc. that spent good money on these cards and were scammed.

35. Lisa Kunz on October 7th, 2008 5:15 pm

    I am a Realtor and I received an email from my client that the Gift Card I gave her wasn’t working.How embarrasing! I have four cards ($25.00 ea.)in my desk - apparently worth nothing.Is there any way I can at least recoup the $100? I would appreciate any advice you have…

36. Wanda Fears on October 7th, 2008 5:51 pm

    They got me for 2000 several years ago… I tried to file a complaint in Va. But could get no notice.

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