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Dear experts, I am 81 years old and lost my entire 40 year savings retirement fund to a very convincing lier in 1996. Now living on Soc. Sec. plus qbout #500 a month from part time security job. Money has become so tight I am basicly desperate to find an additional income source. On May 29, 2012 I found a home bussiness advertised to give a course and teach me to learn to buy and sell drop shipped items on eBay. I needed a job so bad I let them sweet talk me into puting up $7000 on my credit card with constant assurances that one would be able to pay off the credit card in about 3 months and deduct the $7000 as business expense. I then stupidly signed a contract with a 3 day opt-out period. After two days I could see this was going to be more dificult than they made it look like. I sent a opt-out letter in plenty of time, but was called and reassured anyone could do this businness and the did not accept the opt-out letter. I tried very hard to start learning the lessons furnished but kept getting calls for more and more money. No one mentioed that this business required more than the 6 hours a week I told them I had to dedicatre to it. Also not mentioned was that I would need to incorporate ($2800 plus $50 a month for CPA work) Then they called and told me I would need $1000 to $2000 to align with a company that could find me the good drop ship companies. At this point I called the company Horizon Learning and told thim that I had been badly misled and I would appreciate at least a $5000 refund to my credit card since theyt had actually spent very little time with me to this point. Sent them a Fax onJuly 2, with no answer to date. My question what are my options to prove these people are not fair in there dealings with customers and give such a short opt-out period one has no idea what he is getting into until weeks later when all the calls come in for more money. Do I have any hope of recovering all or part of my money since they have a contract? Should I contact the Attorney Generals office of Texas? Should I threaten to sue (probably wishful thinking since I have little money)? Thank you My Email XXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX
Need basically a one time answer as to my best route to try to get a refund from Horizon Learning Was not really interested in signing up monthly. Will the price still be $59 and how should I proceed ?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Texas Already Tried: Sent a letter telling them that there was no way I could go into shch an extensive incorporated business as they were trying to put me in and said I had told them repeatedly I did not have extra money and that I told them repeatedly I have a limited amount of time to do a home business
Hello and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.You may have a few options.(1) You may be able to argue that you canceled the contract within the required 3 day window and that you are, therefore, entitled to a full refund. The problem with this argument is that you apparently continued with the program even after sending the cancellation letter, so they can argue that you basically voided your cancellation letter.(2) You may be able to argue that the company misled you in order to entice you into signing the contract and that the contract should be void on that ground.(3) You may be able to argue that the company committed Fraud.Please note that this short list is not meant to be exhaustive. Since I don't know all of the details of your situation, I am only throwing out obvious possibilities based on what you wrote here. The unfortunate problem is that in order to make any of those arguments, you'd need to sue the company, which will cost you more money out of pocket in legal fees if you use a lawyer (which is recommended). Of course, you can certainly sue without an attorney if you feel confident.Filing the complaint with the Texas Attorney General is a good idea, though you should note that the AG generally will not handle individual cases. Rather, they usually look for large cases of fraud, etc., that impacts numerous people. This very well could be such a situation, but the AG's involvement may not result in individual reimbursement. Still, it's certainly worth trying.If I were in your shoes, I would likely file the AG complaint, and also send a letter to the company stating that I canceled within the applicable window, that the contract is void, and that I demand a full refund. I would also state that if I do not receive the refund within 10 days from the date of the letter, then I will be forced to take all appropriate legal remedies, including filing a lawsuit if necessary. If you really want that type of letter to have teeth, then it may be worthwhile to pay a lawyer a couple of hundred dollars to write and send the letter for you since threatening letters from attorneys generally get more attention than threatening letters from consumers. If you would like any additional information or need clarification, please do not hesitate to ask! Also, I strive to be as helpful as possible so that you are satisfied. Accordingly, please remember to give me positive feedback (doing so does not end our discussion). If you feel the need to rate me poorly, please stop and instead of rating me, reply via the REPLY or CONTINUE CONVERSATION button with the issue that you have. I will be happy to continue our discussion and do everything that I can to provide you with the service that you seek.Thank you.
Experience: Licensed to Practice Law