ComplaintsforUnstarving Artists, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I'm submitting this complaint against ******************************* (owner of Unstarving Artists, LLC, previously ************ LLC) for deceptive marketing and unfair business practices. In October 2022, ******************** stopped providing a business coaching service for which I had paid him, and refused to give me a refund.DETAILS:(1)I paid ******************** $2800 USD in 2 payments (on 3/24/21 and 4/23/21) for lifetime access to his business coaching service. Before I paid him, ******************** told me on his sales call that lifetime access meant Id have access to his service for at least 2 years.(2)However, on 10/6/22 - 5 months before the 2-year point (3/24/23) - ******************** told me that he would no longer provide me with the service and that it would end on 10/12/22.(3)When I requested a partial refund to account for the shortened time frame, ******************** refused and said he would no longer respond to my emails. (4)I only paid ******************** based on verbal and written statements he made about his service. On 3/15/21, on a recorded sales call, ******************** told me:"It's lifetime access. So that's the life of my service. I love what I do. I have no plans to change it. If you want to be conservative, you could say something like 2 years."******************** also put lifetime access in writing in the recap email he sent to me after the sales call. (5) When I brought the above documented facts to his attention, ******************** said lifetime access meant the life of the service and that life of the service meant he could end the service whenever he wanted despite what he had told me on his sales call. *This was deceptive.*Had I known that ******************** had no intention of honoring what he said on his own sales call, I would not have paid him. Because ******************** ended his service before his stated 2-year time frame, I did not get the result I paid him to help me achieve: $10K/mo in revenue in my business. I want a refund of the $2800 USD I paid ********************.

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  *******'s quote of mine speaks for itself:
  
  "It's lifetime access. So that's the life of my service. I love what I do. I have no plans to change it. If you want to be conservative, you could say something like 2 years." 
  
  Life of the service means life of the service and not life of the customer. As long as the service is being offered, the customer retains access. When we discontinued the service, *******'s access discontinued as well.
  
  I did my best to help make this transition easier for her. I offered other coaches she could optionally work with. I allowed her to retain access to the training portion of the program for a meaningful amount of time after the program was officially discontinued. Perhaps months but I don't recall off the top of my head. 
  
  I'm sorry that my statements led to miscommunication and frustration on *******'s part. Since this time, we've gone to using contracts with every client that they sign so we make sure there is as little opportunity for miscommunication as possible. We also don't provide estimates of how much time of access a customer could expect. I wish ******* nothing but the best in life and in business.

  Customer response

  09/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20572641

  I am rejecting the business's response for this reason:
  

  On the sales call, ***** himself defined "lifetime access" to his coaching as two (2) years. So I paid ***** $2800 USD for 2 years of his coaching.

  Harrys communication about the specific length of time was clear:
  The sales call recording (which I have) on which ***** clearly commits to 2 years of coaching, and the written email that ***** sent after the sales call confirming that commitment, together constitute a documented binding contract for 2 years of coaching.

  In closing the coaching before the 2 years, ***** committed breach of contract.

  Despite his claim to the contrary, ***** was not at liberty to discontinue the coaching before I received 2 years of coaching.
  I am seeking a remedy for breach of contract.
  *I also wish ***** the best, but he is responsible for fulfilling his obligations under the contract he established.
  

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  The email chain we engaged in after our strategy session is the written agreement we established. The written agreement states lifetime access which again was defined as the life of the service. I have adhered to the terms of the agreement as the service life has ended. I'm happy to offer Nkiruka 5 additional months of access to the training content and videos if she would like.

  Customer response

  09/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 20572641
  
  

  I am rejecting this response for this reason:

  The email chain we engaged in after our sales call in combination with the sales call recording is the entire contract that was established: Specifically, the term lifetime access that ***** used in the Offer Recap email he sent to me only has meaning in the context of the sales call recording in which ***** defines it. That email and subsequent email exchange combined with the sales call recording together constitute the entire documented contract. To be clear, the contract includes: 1) ****** own words on the recorded sales call 2) The email exchange. 
  In particular, in the sales call recording, ***** verbally defines lifetime access as a minimum period of 2 years. (****** exact words on the recording: "It's lifetime accessIf you want to be conservative, you could say something like 2 years.") ***** then repeated the phrase lifetime access in the Offer Recap email referring back to what he says in the sales call recording. Thus, in purchasing Harrys coaching, I agreed to ****** definition of lifetime access as being a minimum of 2 years. The contract was executed after I completed my payment to ***** of $2800 USD, per the price stated in the email exchange.
  Unfortunately, ***** breached the contract by ending the 2-year coaching he committed to 5 months before the 2 years had elapsed. Due to Harrys actions, I had to find another coaching program. I did find another program, which I have been enrolled in as of January 2023. This was the only coaching program I could find that fit the needs of my unusual business and niche. The cost of this program was $6000.
  TO SUMMARIZE: 1) ***** breached the contract by ending the coaching 5 months shy of the stated 2 years 2) I am now in a different coaching program for which I paid $6000 USD, more than twice the fee for ****** program.
  For these reasons, I am decidedly *not* requesting 5 months of access to ****** coaching. Im afraid the only remedy I can accept is a financial one. Since ***** provided no reason for breaching the contract he established, and since this breach resulted in a significant additional cost for me, I request a refund.
  
  

  Customer response

  09/25/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .********, , and find that Mediation is necessary.

  Regards,

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

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