ComplaintsforMultimedia Sales & Marketing, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We have been invoiced incessantly for a service we never agreed to, and a quick search of this company makes it clear that this is their MO.A representative from MSM, *********************, first contacted our VP back in 2022 in regards to radio broadcasts. Our VP confirmed he did talk to him but didn't expressly agree to anything. When we received the first bill we did pay it, with the thought that it was a misunderstanding. This same scenario played out a couple months later. The third time he was contacted, our VP was completely sure he did not agree to anything, but we still received a bill. I have sent letters to MSM explaining our refusal of this bill (I am the accounting manager). Now we've received a threatening letter from an attorney's office regarding this.

  Business response

  01/15/2024

  Dear *****, I am in receipt of BBB complaint #******* regarding Quality Mechanical Services which claims that the three orders your firm placed with MSM were unauthorized long after the first two invoices were paid. I am happy to get this issue resolved.

  While I will always admit that we are not a perfect company, our mission for the past 35 years has been to bring communities and local businesses together to promote social impact. One of my duties as President of MSM is to investigate such claims and take any internal corrective actions that *** be warranted. At the same time, if I feel the facts presented by the customer are inaccurate, I feel obliged to point that out as well.
  
  Despite your statement about MSMs M.O. of sending erroneous invoices to customers, I would like to point out the MSM sends out approximately ****** invoices every year and onboards approximately ***** brand new customers each year.  Approximately 85% of the invoices are sent to repeat customers, many of whom often buy these community-based programs multiple times each year.  Given that we send ****** invoices per year and have had just one complaint in the past year,and a total of three complaints in three years, we are extremely proud of our level of customer satisfaction.  Thats three complaints in ******+ invoices processed.
  
  As I understand the order history here, the first order Quality Mechanical placed with MSM was in September of 2022. The order was placed, the announcements aired, and the invoice was paid with no issue that I am aware of.  In January of 2023 our Representative contacted your VP again for another campaign sponsorship.  Again, the order was placed,the messages were aired and the bill was paid. During that payment process our Customer ********************** Department was informed that all future purchases would be accompanied by a purchase order.  Finally,in May of 2023 our Representative contacted your VP again for a third sponsorship.During this brief but friendly call, our Representative ran down the details of the upcoming summer campaign including the radio station, the air dates and the price. The authorizer was given the option of partial payments if desired and was told that the invoice and schedule would be forthcoming in a week or so.The authorizer very clearly gave his approval. Again, the order was placed and the messages were aired.
  
  The messages for this third order were aired in June of 2023, but all attempts to follow up on the past due invoice went unanswered until September when we received a letter from you stating you felt the purchase was unauthorized.  From that point forward,our Customer ********************** Department made no less than 14 phone calls to Quality Mechanical to discuss the issue but never received a response until about a week ago when we received a letter from you. That letter, along with this complaint, seems to indicate that there has been confusion on each of the three orders placed.
  
  What is unclear to me is why any question about the first order was not raised when the second order was placed.  And why when the third order was placed,questions about the first and second orders were not raised.  Now, our customers rarely use purchase orders,but if they do, it is our practice to let customers tell us if the purchase requires a PO number before the go-ahead is given. There was no mention of a PO at the time of this most recent sale.
  
  The BBB complaint states that the disputed amount is $1,460, but the amount due is only $855.  The previous two orders were placed, the services rendered (all costs incurred), and the bills have been paid.  I am uncertain where the $1,460 amount comes from. According to the BBB notice, the Desired Settlement is that you wish not to be contacted in the future.  If that is accurate, please confirm that you would like to be added to our internal do-not-call-list.  If so, we will make that happen as is our policy. Thank you for your previous support of our community programs.

  Customer response

  01/15/2024

   
  Complaint: 21115895
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  It is unclear to me if this is truly resolved and the bill has been reversed.
  They say we will be put on a do not call list, which is only part of the desired outcome.
  Id also like to reply back on some comments:
  They say in their response that questions were not raised before this... However that is not the case after receiving the second bill I asked our VP about it, and he said, just like the first time,that he got a call and talked with someone, but that he was unaware that he was agreeing to anything that we were going to be charged for. I called to dispute the bill, and at that time agreed to pay it based on apparent miscommunication. During that same call I indicated that any future orders would need to have an approved purchase order number from our company, NOT just verbal approval. They even make mention of this in their response.This did not happen- we never issued a PO for this. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Quality Mechanical Services, Llc

  Business response

  01/18/2024

  Dear *****,

  
  Let me start by saying that the open invoice for $855 has been cancelled and Quality Mechanical has been placed on our Do Not Call list.  Our mission is to make communities more supportive, not contentious. However, I too would like to clarify a couple points.  First, the Representative who handled all three orders has been with us for 34 years.   If he has had a complaint in the past, I cannot remember when. Second, I have no explanation for how three separate orders get placed unintentionally.  Finally,based on the work we do and how we do it, virtually zero percent of our customers use PO numbers. As a result, our Representatives never ask customers if they want to use a PO at the time of the sale.  As I mentioned previously, that is why we rely on the customer to stipulate that a PO is required before giving approval. In the case of this third order, the authorizer understood the terms of the sale and understood that an invoice would be forthcoming in about a week.  Our Representative thanked him for the order and the call ended with no mention of a PO.  For better or for worse, thats how we got to this point.  So again, we always try to resolve these infrequent discrepancies as best we can. So, the invoice has been cancelled, and you will not receive any further calls.  I apologize for the misunderstanding and confusion.If you have any other issues, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

  
  *************************, President
  Multimedia Sales & Marketing
  *********************************** 

  Customer response

  01/19/2024

   
  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,
  
  Quality Mechanical Services, Llc

• Initial Complaint

  03/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Multimedia Sales and Marketing has invoiced our business with fictitious charge (Radio Ad) that was never authorized by us. My husband actually hung up on the individual who called and there was never any follow up or contact until we began to receive harassing invoices and emails every week. I urge you to review the similar complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau about this company. This company obviously has a track record over the last three years of this type of unethical practice. It is unfortunate that this company has now retained a lawyer in an effort to intimidate us for $225. This attempt to charge our company is a scam, and I can only imagine that there have been some who have succumbed to their threats, harassment, and intimidation. Shame on you! Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7

  Business response

  04/04/2023

  Dear ******************, I am in receipt of your complaint # ******** submitted to the BBB on March 27, 2023.  I am also in receipt of a letter from *********************** dated March 27th,2023. Both claim that the invoice you received for the Child Safety Awareness messages MSM broadcast in good faith on behalf ******* ************* was unauthorized.  Both also referred to the legal letter you received, which is something routinely done on invoices that are substantially delinquent.
  
  While I will always admit that we are not a perfect company, our mission for the past 35 years has been to bring communities and local businesses together to promote social impact. One of my duties as President of MSM is to investigate such claims and take any internal corrective actions that *** be warranted. At the same time, if I feel the facts presented by the customer are inaccurate, I feel obliged to point that out as well.
  
  Despite your statement about MSMs questionable track record, I think the fact that we have had only one other complaint filed in the past 24-month period is an excellent track record, especially given that we placed over ****** orders for our customers last year alone.  85 percent of those orders came from repeat buyers who often buy these programs multiple times each year.

  
  As to the claim that this order for *********************** was unauthorized and that ***************** hung up on our Representative, our records indicate that ****************** spoke to our Representative for 4 minutes. During that time ****************** was read a sample broadcast message and was presented with two price packages, one of which ****************** selected then asked where he should send his payment.  At that point our Representative confirmed the details of the purchase, the billing address, and a description of the schedule and invoice that were being mailed to him.  ****************** gave his approval multiple times.

  
  Regarding the claim that *********************** did not hear from us after the original call, I cannot state whether you did or did not receive your original invoice in the mail. I can say, however, state that ****************** confirmed the mailing address,and that neither the original invoice or any subsequent invoices, reminders and letters were ever returned to our office as undeliverable.  The collection letter from the law office,however, clearly did arrive at the same address and got immediate attention.

  
  Again,our corporate mission is about making a social impact in communities across the country. Our focus is on making tens of thousands of businesses happy, not making one unhappy.  Therefore I have instructed our Customer ********************** Department to cancel your open invoice and cease any further collection efforts.  Furthermore,they will put *********************** on our internal do-not-call list so as to prevent any future calls to the numbers we have on file.
  I am sorry you had an unpleasant experience dealing with our company, and as always, we will review our internal processes to see what we could have done better to prevent this from happening. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  04/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a call from a agent at msm (multimedia sales and marketing ***** the phone discussion was regarding a advertisement for my business. I informed them I would be shutting down for Covid and a remodel so I didnt want to air a ad at that time but they could call back to discuss it at a later time and potentially do an advertisement then. It was of no interest to me to place a advertisement during a shut down as that is not beneficial in any way. Several months later suddenly Im receiving invoices for a ad I never authorized or approved, that allegedly air during a time when my business was not even open. Now I am also receiving harassing phone calls from this company as well even though I have informed them multiple times I did not authorize this advertisement. Okay his seems to be a going theme with this company and all their above complaints are centered around the same exact issue Im currently facing.

  Business response

  04/08/2022

  Dear ****************, I am writing today in response to your complaint #******** for Whistle Stop.

  Please allow me to take a moment to introduce my company and our mission. Since **** MSM has been working with local businesses nationwide to promote awareness of important community issues like Drunk Driving, Drug Abuse, Breast Cancer Awareness, Blood Donation and many others.   We simply produce radio spots which contain positive messages that are sponsored by the local businesses and aired on local radio stations across the country.  We have contracts with approximately **** radio stations nationwide, including some of the countrys largest broadcast chains.  Since inception, MSM has produced and aired more than 4.3 million awareness messages on behalf of more than ******* customers across *****************. More than 80% of the messages we air are for repeat customers who believe that our campaigns make a real impression on the residents of the communities we serve. 

  
  On September 16, 2021, you were contacted by one of our most senior representatives about sponsoring First Responder messages on the local radio station. I personally reviewed the conversation and could tell that both of you are strong advocates for first responders, particularly doctors and police officers.  And while you did mention that you were planning to shut down for remodeling, when you were presented with various packages you clearly stated Ill do the $221.  You then confirmed billing terms, the billing name, and the billing address.  By virtue of what we do as a company, I understand these calls can be emotional.  However, based on the dialogue above, I believe the representative was correct in submitting the order as an authorized purchase.

  
  While I cant claim that our small company is perfect, I am pretty proud that we are BBB A+ rated, process an average of ****** orders each year, and have had just two complaints in the past three years. Our theme is community service, not complaints.  With that in mind however, our mission is to make communities safer, not more contentious.  Therefore, I have instructed our Customer ********************** department to cancel your invoice and place you on our internal do-not-call list so you do not receive sales calls in the future.  If you have any further questions, you may contact me directly at ************.  In the meantime, I think you can get a better idea of our company and our mission if you visit our website www.msminc.com.  Thank you, and again I apologize for any inconvenience.
  
  *************************, President
  MSM, Inc.

*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. ↩