Since writing this original blog post, the issue has been resolved to my satisfaction. Check it out…
(I’m pleased to report some great news on the V1 Jets front. My disagreement with the company over a recent jet charter has been settled to my immense relief and satisfaction. Company President Andrew Zarrow called me personally after being made aware of the problem. After discussing the outstanding issue with me at length, he promised to look into the matter and get back to me asap. Well, he was good to his word, calling me back the very next day to explain V1′s position and present a solution that has happily put the matter to rest. A stand-up guy! A big thank you to Andrew for wasting no time in stepping in, getting involved, and taking care of this customer.)
Private Jet Charter, Aircraft Charter, Jet Charter, Private Jets – V1 …
Over the course of the 4+ years I’ve been blogging, I’ve managed to build a fairly solid readership base. Thousands of visitors swing by this blog on a daily basis while who-knows-how-many-more check it out via RSS feeds, links, and countless forums worldwide. It’s nice to know that I’m able to reach out to so many of you on a regular basis and, with that in mind, I’ve tried my best to promote certain worthwhile but under-appreciated interests here on this site. Stargate comes to mind. as does my monthly book club (shelved for a few months while I attempt to gain solid footing here on the new show, Transporter: The Series) that seeks to introduce all you genre fans to the joys of reading and discovering new authors. This blog has, on occasion, also been a soapbox from which I’ve been able to offer my opinion on everything from film and television to the sheer impossibility of eating a mango. And then there are those rare occasions where I use this blog to rant. This, dear readers, is one of THOSE entries.
Today, I’d like to tell you about my experience with V1 Jets, a private jets broker operating out of New York. Now those of you who have been following this blog already know part of the tale but, in order to get everyone caught up, a little backstory should suffice:
After receiving news of Stargate: Universe’s cancellation, I planned to take some time off and relax – but, in January, a huge opportunity presented itself in the form of Transporter: The Series, a show scheduled to shoot in Toronto in 2011. And so, I set aside plans for cooking school, closed a deal for my writing/showrunning services, and prepared my big cross-country move. Easier said than done of course because I had a pack of small dogs I needed to take with me. After considering several options (renting a bus, driving across Canada, flying them in-cabin), I eventually decided to bite the bullet and charter a private jet that would fly us all to Toronto in one trip. I looked into several options and finally booked a plane through Victor at V1 Jets. He was very courteous, very kind, and with my departure date fast-approaching (I chose to fly out Saturday, March 19th as I had to be in the office for Monday, March 21st), he handed me off to the equally courteous Joe who instructed me on how forward them payment. Unfortunately, they didn’t take VISA and I don’t carry American Express (apparently, AE offers the company protection that VISA doesn’t), so he suggested a wire transfer of funds would be the best way to go. And so, that Friday afternoon, after several aborted attempts, I managed to send off payment.
I spent the night packing and, late that evening, just as I was about to head up to bed, checked my laptop and discovered a disconcerting email in my inbox. It was from Joe informing me that they hadn’t received payment and that the jet could not be secured until payment had been received. Needless to say it was a sleepless night. First thing the next morning, I headed to the bank to find out what the problem was. The Bank Manager informed me that, despite what I’d been told, the wire transfer would take several days. It had been initiated late Friday, so they would receive payment Monday, maybe Tuesday at the earliest. My Bank Manager was kind enough to get on the phone with a V1 Jets representative and assure them the money had, indeed, been sent – but her reassurance wasn’t good enough. And so, my plans to fly out on Saturday, March 19th were cancelled.
Annoying, but understandable. As amiable as I’m sure I sounded over the phone, they didn’t know me (or my Bank Manager) and they presumably didn’t want to chance it. Thus, the following day, Akemi and I flew out of Vancouver commercial, taking two dogs, in-cabin, on Air Canada. And, the following weekend, I flew back to Vancouver for another round. Again, annoying, but it all worked out in the end and I figured, hey, there was still the possibility I could charter a flight for my return trip to Vancouver in December.
On March 23rd, I received an email from Victor at V1 Jets informing me that they had received my wire transfer (on Tuesday, March 22nd) and to please forward him my mailing address and to whom payment should be made so he could forward the information to their accounts payable department.
I did. But when I didn’t hear back, I dropped Victor another email to get an update on the status of my refund. Unfortunately, he had no new information for me. According to Victor, he had forwarded my information to accounting and they typically batch out payables at month’s end. He suggested I contact the accounting department directly.
It was April 1st so I assumed the payment had already been sent but, just to be sure, I left a message with their accounting department.
My call was never returned.
After several repeated attempts to talk to a real, live accountant, I ended up connecting with Joe who assured me he would pass the message along to accounting. I awaited a response. In vain.
I called again and was told things had been crazy-busy there lately and that they would look into expediting matters. A nice sentiment but I’d rather have my money back for that flight I never took.
When no one got back to me by last Friday as I’d requested, I sent a strongly worded email to the folks at V1 Jets, making sure to cc both Victor and Joe (who I had already dealt with), along with company President and CEO, Andrew Zarrow, and Vice President of Sales, Xavier Williamson, detailing the outstanding issue and my desire to resolve it asap.
Their response?
No response. No “Sorry for the inconvenience.” No “We’re working on it.” Nothing.
Today, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Fondy called and spoke to Joe who claimed the accounting department was sick and, hey, maybe we’d accept a credit instead?
Seriously.
Tomorrow, I get my lawyer involved and start placing calls to law enforcement.
May this entry prove food for thought to anyone who considers using the services of V1 Jets. Do me a favor, all you loyal readers. Link back to this post via twitter, facebook, and whatever other sources of information dissemination! Get the word out!
Much appreciated.
So, what about you? Been ripped off, wronged, or otherwise taken advantage of by a company or business? I want to hear about it!
Funny you should mention it, i was ripped off just this night!!! I go to visit my favorite bloggers website and imagine my surprise……just kidding. That sucks i would definetly get a lawyer involved and even ask for more than you paid since you have been paying interest on this money while they make interest on it, loss of time aswell. Was this a reputable company or just a last minute one you found?
On a lighter note when can we see the return of Baron Destructo, Aloysuis P Hazzencockle and Cookie Monster? I sure do miss Cookie Monster.
I was afraid of this for you. They (big business) don’t like to return money. Typically, the bigger the money, the harder to get refunded.
I’m so sorry for your frustration.
Anne Teldy
Yes my family was ripped off and I called the local newspaper about it. My wife and I went out to purchase a bed for our two year old son. We paid around 600 bucks for the bed. At the time I inquired about a deposit but the sales guy was adamant we paid in full.
Two weeks goes by and no bed. I call up and they tell me the following Monday. I call back that Monday and they inform me the supplier is going through a fabric shortage so it might be delayed another week.
So I drive down to the store and find notices of bankruptcy on the doors. Here’s a link to the story from our local newspaper;
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2873184
Thankfully another local furniture company read the story and within three days they donated a bed for our son 🙂
http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2876416
That being said Joe, it seems like the V1jets people are stalling similar to the people I had to deal with. The worse part is once they declare bankruptcy you’re S.O.L. you become an unsecured creditor.
V1 Jests .. sounds like they are in financial straights which means your money might be awhile in returning to you.
Tornado Office Supplies — a scam crew out of FL. They are “going out of business” or “need to eliminate stock for moving” and can offer you a great deal. Ha! rip off artists.
Are there any how-to book(s) you can recommend to prospective writers for developing their skills?
Have you considered developing any of your Stargate ideas into a novel ala Fandemonium has done with SGA Legacy series? Or does MGM own that material as well since you worked directly for the shows?
This latest series (SGA Legacy) feels like watching the show in my head. I can hear the actors voices and the characterizations ring true.
Once my favorite TV franchise got cancelled by some very mean TV network executives. I’d call that being wronged !!!
I’m so sorry for your troubles, Joe.
What a bunch of crooks! The whole thing really stinks and I hope you get everything resolved soon and get your money back. Maybe you should file a complaint with the FAA as well.
I don’t know anyone with the money or need to hire a private jet, but I’ll put some links to this blog out on Facebook.
Maybe they spent your payment to help maintain their spiffy website. http://www.jetcharter.com/about/v1.html Unfortunately, there isn’t a direct contact link on their page so we can’t spam them with email.
Unconscionable! Go get ’em, Joe!
We were!! It took six months to get resolved with a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and the threat of legal action. Two years ago, my mother-in-law passed away, and we found out we were due payment of a small insurance policy that was connected with a group connected to her former place of employment. We did all of the notifications and sent this group her death certificate. We then proceeded to wait and wait and wait and wait. (usually payments weren’t supposed to take more than six weeks to two months) Finally, five months later, we decided we were tired of waiting and filed a complaint with the BBB and also sent a letter threatening legal action if we didn’t have the check within a certain period of time. Low and behold, we received the check just a few days later. (Since this group no longer accepts new apps, I’m not going to name it–just wanted to let you know that we had had a similar experience.)
A little background:
My brother is the last born in our family and, hence, a little selfish. He has a history of not coming through for me when I need his help (a situation in which I was temporarily homeless comes to mind), though he’s very eager to accept favours. A philosophy student, he is skilled at using his philosophical jargon to dupe people — including himself — into thinking he’s generous, though everyone in our family sees through it. Oh, and did I mention he has an obsession with laptop computers.
The situation:
My brother IMed me using his cell phone to ask for a favour.
Brother: “Um, I kinda need your help. My laptop broke, and I need a new one for finals which are coming up in two weeks”, he said.
Me: “Uh, why don’t you just buy one from amazon?”
Brother: “I don’t want to order it using my cell phone”
Me: “Why’s that?”
Brother: “I’m just paranoid about ordering stuff using my cell phone.”
Me: “That makes no sense. Just go ahead and order it.”
Brother: “I’m paranoid about ordering stuff using my cell phone.”
[The exchange continued for 15 minutes, after which I gave up and ordered it for him]
Brother: “Thanks. I’ll pay you back when the checks I ordered from the bank arrive.”
Me: “Yes, you will.”
[A couple of days go by in which I get harassed by amazon identity verification because i am shipping it to his address instead of mine.]
[My brother nags me daily.]
Brother: “When will my laptop arrive? When will it arrive? When will it arrive?”
[The laptop arrives 5 days after I ordered it]
Brother: “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’ll send you a check as soon as my new chequebook arrives.”
[Three weeks elapse, and I am careful not to nag him about the cheque, since importuning is not in my nature.]
Me: “Hey man, it’s been over three weeks. Did you get your new cheques?”
Brother: “Oh yeah, I did.”
[At this point, I’m annoyed that he did not volunteer this information, so I kept my language as concise as possible. $900 was the price that I paid for the laptop]
Me: “Make it out for $900 and send it to me tomorrow”
Brother: “You sure can sound like a greedy banker when you want to”
[I’m incensed, but I keep it to myself.]
Me: “yeah, well, it’s always psychologically easier to accept money than it is to repay. Can you mail it tomorrow?”
Brother: “you can be a real d**k when you want to be”
Me: “are you going to pay me back?”
Brother: [philosophical jargon]
Me: “are you going to pay me back?”
That was a month ago. Since then, he won’t respond to my e-mails or phone calls. I suspect that he intentionally ripped me off and picked a fight with me to avoid re-paying.
The morals of the story (in my estimation)
1) be reluctant to grant favours to people with a history of not returning them
2) youngest children = selfish pricks
3) if you really must betray someone’s trust, do so for a far greater sum of money than $900
Well, I never got that Stargate Atlantis movie Brad promised a couple years back… 😉
das
Well, rest assured Joe, next time I charter a private jet, it will not be with V1 Jets! What a horrilble way to treat a potential future customer. “crazy-busy there lately” Sure, right. At least you have it in an email they admitting they owe you the money. Take your case to Judge Judy. She’ll straighten their butts out real quick! If you would just write that novel Stargate: Extinction, you would make tons of money and own your own jet.
Sorry to hear about your troubles with V1, Joe. If you’re serious about hearing complaints about companies, then let me tell you about Lennox….
I always considered them the “gold standard” in heating and cooling. I mean come on…Dave Lennox himself, endearing in overalls and cap, guaranteeing that a company that’s been around long enough to have had their icon wear 19th century clothing would only make the very best there was. What wasn’t to trust? So, when our 30 year old furnace/heat pump was giving up the ghost not quite 3 years ago, we replaced it with a Lennox heat pump and furnace.
That was our mistake.
Summer was fine. Sure, the thing was noisy, but hey. A/Cs are noisy, right?
Then came winter. Whoa. We thought a 747 was taking off outside our family room window. What the…? We called the local hvac people who’d installed it. They came and padded some pipes that were vibrating under the floorboards…which helped keep the dishes from chattering off the shelves…but still, the thing sounded like a lawnmower. The solution? A “sound blanket”, which was duly wrapped around the unit. Okay. That was *some* better…so we lived with it.
Then summer came and the A/C came on and suddenly…as Miss Clavel would say…something was not right. The repairman (still under warantee, thank goodness…) came out and said that the compressor shell was “nuclear hot”–sound blanket wasn’t a good idea, apparently. Anyway…it was fixed. And all was well and good. Except it was still noisier than anything.
Fast forward 14 months. Summer# 3 (just over 2 years since installation). Suddenly…lots of air but no conditioning. Hmm. Labor warantee has run out by now (1 year only!) and the repairman says the unit is low on freon. What? In slightly over 2 years of use? He agrees it’s odd…but can find no leak in the heat pump itself. He suggests running a dye pack through once cold weather comes and we turn the heat back on. We pay for the freon and the repairman kindly charges us no labor for his return visit to charge the unit.
About 6 months later…mid-Ohio-Winter…6th coldest/snowiest/whateveriest on record…our heat pump looks like an iceberg. Channelling Miss Clavel again that something is not right, I call the repairman who agrees with my assessment. But…it’s too frozen over to even work on. So we run on emergency heat all thru January. And February. And March. And our electric bill is making the local electric company very happy (I think we alone are responsible for them exceeding their profit targets for the first quarter of ’11…).
When the thing finally thaws enough to assess the problem, guess what? The freaking thing is out of freon…again! We’re told there’s probably a leak in the coil itself (whatever the heck that is…) and that it will be $$$$ to find it and repair it. So we’re offered a cheaper alternative: a $150 can of Easy Seal that will find and plug any holes. Sounds good. And the repairman still isn’t charging for the half dozen visits he keeps making to see if he can fix the dang thing.
So we shoot in the sealant and he partially fills it with freon, we let it run, he comes back and puts in more freon. But we need some really nice warm days before we can fill it all the way…so we wait…. Then…suddenly…there are funny noises coming out of the heat pump. It starts to come on…the fan blades twirl around…and then it stops. Tries again…stops. I call poor Tom the Repairman…he comes out and replaces…something. I forget. But I’m not home and we don’t test it until later and then we find that not only is it still not working…now the blades won’t even spin. Turns out it’s the compressor….shot to heck. :/
By now, we’re all a little frustrated. *cough* Tom the Repairman has been doing a little research and has found out that these units are, in a word, crap. I too go on-line and find page after page of complaint. The good news is…the compressor itself is covered under the 5 year parts warranty. The bad news? The labor to install it…amounting to about $1100…is not.
So I call Lennox. With complaint after complaint piling up on internet sites about units that all came out in the same time frame, you’d think they’d step up to the plate and admit that maybe some of that out-sourcing of parts they didn’t didn’t work so well….
But no. They’re terribly sorry…they’ll send a new compressor…but the cost of installing it is all ours.
Tom the repairman tries calling them…explaining that this unit has been crap since almost day one….
They’re terribly sorry…they’ll send a new compressor…but the cost of installing it is *still* ours.
So…yeah. Somewhere Dave Lennox is turning over in his grave, I have no doubt. We’re hesitant about putting another compressor into a unit that’s been such a pain in the mikta from day one…especially when it will only come with a 2 year warranty (to fill out the 5 year parts warranty that came with the system originally). Yet the thought of ripping it out and wasting the $7000 it cost to buy and install it initially isn’t exactly thrilling either. Our local HVAC people *are* working with us to make some ammends, but really, the onus ought to fall on Lennox for putting out such a piece of…well. You know.
So yeah. Telling all my friends and relatives to avoid Lennox products. They don’t stand behind their product and their product is crap. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen Dave strutting his overalls on TV for a while now. Maybe that should have been my first clue. When you ditch the old family spokesperson, can quality be far behind???
Ahhh. Joe. Thanks for letting me vent!
Wait. Hazzencockle’s name is ‘Aloysuis P.’??? That’s dangerously close to Aloysius Pendergast… (Sparrow, what do you think?? )
das
I’ll have to give your question more thought…when Harry Callahan isn’t on tv. Of course, I have the Dirty Harry box set, but I still can’t resist these movies when they show up on tv. (And imagine that, Clint isn’t even an albino!) 😉
das
@So, what about you? Been ripped off, wronged, or otherwise taken advantage of by a company or business?
I can honestly say I haven’t, at least not in a business way anyway. Never had to esculate anything beyond a phone call to the right people to sort something. It’s nice to just be able to resolve stuff like that.
Now, taken advantage of, maybe once or twice in my life. But then again that’s a learning experience, I think everyone has at least been in that situation before, be it via your career, or socially in friendships or relationships.
Anyway sorry to hear about your problems Joe, sucks majorly when it comes to stuff like money, I can imagine you being more frustrated than you sound on this entry but you’re a nice guy and have kept it PG family friendly with your opinion of that company lol
@Dappy Sorry about your brother, but please don’t brand all youngest with such titles. I hope you go confiscate the computer.
I have indeed been ripped off, and I make sure when I am that I give them enough bad publicity to make sure they lost more than they got. For what it’s worth, I posted this blog link to facebook. Actually, I should to to their site and call them stating I will never use their service and will tell all my friends. We should all call. Multiple times a day. 🙂
I’m sorry you’re being aggravated Joe. I do know the feeling.
I can add a short warning note… two words … Home Depot.
Bought a new entranceway consisting of: fireproof door with decorative side windows, separate weather screen door and the services of installers. Who I assumed were professionals, who could accurately measure the space for the custom-sized entranceway. Of course when you deal with sub-contractors, which Home Depot uses as installers, you sign a little contract. Then you present a credit card.
In the end, my doorway leaks when it rains, a draft flows nicely through, allowing all manner of bugdom easy entry AND they overcharged me, refusing a refund, because of that little contract, dontchaknow.
It took a face-to-face confrontation with the store manager followed by 2 written letters: one to the CEO and the other to the regional manager. In the letters, I spoke of legal action and a forthcoming letter to the editor of my large local newspaper. In the end, I got the over-charge refunded, alas, no correction of the door leakage.
Partial success is better than utter failure.
FYI… I can also be found here:
http://twitter.com/2cats11
g’night and good rest Joe, things are better in the morning 😉
2cats
Oh god… the blu-ray player…
So my mother decided to go high-tech last year. All new HDTVs and the only thing that was missing… the HD player.
So that year I got a few extra bucks to spend on SG-1 DVDs, so I went down with my mother to Best Buy to save gas. This sales rep pulls my mother over and starts hawking this floor model blu-ray player. The only problem is that it doesn’t have a remote.
“But that’s OK,” says the dude. “This player will work with any universal remote.”
We get it home, start programming the universal remote for out DVR that we got from our cable company, and guess what? It doesn’t work.
So my mom calls Sony, the people who made the Blu-ray, and they say that it won’t work with any universal remote, the sales rep was full of shit, and they will only work with a special Sony Blu-ray remote, and they’ll ship it out for $100.
She sends the hundred bucks, and they say it will be about two weeks. Three weeks later, no remote.
So she calls them back and they basically say oh crap we screwed up, but we’ll send you a universal remote that we tested and so we KNOW it will work.
It works, but you literally have to push the buttons point-blank to get it to work. What a ripoff.
So if you are going to get a Blu-ray from Sony, just get the full PS3. It’s far easier.
I can’t imagine ever using a private jet company, nor even my much richer friends, but I’ll make sure if it ever comes up to pass it along. I’m sorry you’re having such difficulties with them and good for you for pursuing it. I hope everything works out in your favor!
Don’t get me started.
Joe another place you might want to file a complaint with is The Federal Trade Commission. They will not solve your problem but they will look into the Charter company’s history. There’s nothing like a company coming under the attention of the US Government. I would link their website for you, but I’m your stupid commenter. So here it is:
http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
SO maybe this will count,, we decide to replace our a/c unit, we could qualify for the federal rebate, a nice amount, well when it came time to collect, (i had previously sent in al required forms) we get a call from our gov’t representative, saying that the date we got our unit was past the date they had changed the new date to, to qualify, WTF?!? and if we could verify it had been done or we contracted it b4 we actually wrote on the form, give them a call back and they would see what they could do for us.. can you say rip-off….
And then we just got a letter from our homeowners insurance that said when our policy expires, they will no longer be insuring homes in Fl.(no its not statefarm). They assure us that we are still insurable(never filed a claim), but that all the hurricanes??? have made them change their coverage.,…Duh?! what hurricanes, nothing around me? SO now I am stuck trying to find a good insurance company… and oh yeah, we have our cars with them, and I can see that changing in the near future, even if they only specified the home owners crap changing. other than that it has been an ok day.
Hope you get you money back with interest Joe.
Ok. I’ll see if I can manage to link your website onto my FB page(I don’t post there very often, so I’m not used to putting up links). don’t have enough followers on twitter to bother posting there, but I’ll keep an eye out to see if word is spreading. I approve you you utilizing this venue to strike a blow for consumers everywhere. big or small, companies need to learn that there are consequences to trying to shaft consumers.
No stories on this front to match the tales of woe I’ve seen from others, though I will say I can sympathise with Dappy. I hope you will soon be able to post a story of victory, with the company at least attempting to make amends (as in appropriate grovelling as well as full repayment).
Hey Joe,
I was just wondering, with the SG1 & SGA movies seemingly going to be shelved and no SGU wrap up, have you guys ever thought of continuing this amazing franchise via a less expensive medium, such as novels? With the scripts practically done, the stories are practically halfway to being novels already and it would provide us fans more of what we crave– new Stargate stories.
Cheers,
Ashling
I’ll tell you about my story, it’s a good one, but i’d rather not have it posted it for a few reasons (legal mainly). Is there a private way to send you something, or alternatively, if I wrote it here and then you moderated it out..that’d be fine too. I think you’d like it.
My dad got ripped off several years ago. He had one and purchased a pick up truck off ebay. he tried to hire some car hauler truck business to pick it up and bring it here to ny state from texas. he made a deposit and after several day of phone tag gave up on them because they couldn’t settle on something.
in the end he took a train to texas and drove it home.
one time i got screwed by the postal service i had something i won on Ebay and received an email from the seller saying the postal service contacted them saying the item got separated from the package. all in all that’s why i insure everything i buy from ebay.
Thats terrible, im so sorry to hear about that joe and im pissed off for you. i hate when companies do something terrible like that. what a joke.
they have no right keeping your money for services not rendered, and to be in contact with you before receiving your money and all of a sudden ignore you after getting your money is down right rotten.
hang in there, you’ll get your money back, and you should definitely file a law suit or soemthing.
My mother was ripped off by a company that does replacement windows in Florida. The salesman, who turned out to be the only company member, took her $6000 deposit. With out going into boring details, the windows were never installed and her deposit was never returned.
The man is now in jail. You don’t cross my mom.
Lessons learned:
-Always pay by credit card. Never cash or bank transfer. You can dispute a charge on you credit card.
-Always keep copies of everything.
-Be suspicious.
Advice for you:
-Contact the company – which you did
-Better Business Bureau – which you did
-Police – they defrauded you
-the news (TV, Newspaper, Radio)
-Lawyer – to sue
I will disseminate the info with a link to you blog.
Good luck,
Slam
Quick question…how did the survivors of the “other” Destiny gate to any other planets? In Twin Destinies, Telford told everyone that they weren’t bringing anything but the “shirts on their backs” because of the force of a 9th Chevron arrival. So where did they get a remote? Eli did grab a kino off the console before he ran to the gate, did he have a remote with him as well?
Hi Joe,
Sorry to see all the trouble you’re having; hope V1 wasn’t one of the ones I linked for you!
You may also want to consider filing a complaint with the FAA:
http://airconsumer.dot.gov/CP_AirlineService.htm
While Part 135 Operators are not “Airlines” in the strictest sense of the word, they are Commercial Operators under a license from the FAA.
I’m not sure how much help it will be since V1 Jets is agent rather than an operator, but it couldn’t hurt…at the very least, it might give some of the Part 135 Operators that work with them some food for thought.
I got ripped off once with a money order, and even after the bank admitted it had not been signed properly, they still would not do anything about it. Sucks.
On a brighter note, that last episode with our heroes descendants was nothing short of brilliant and had that old SG-1 feel.
I am going to miss it.
Sounds to me like they don’t have the money to pay you back. That sucks, but hopefully something will work out.
I don’t remember having anything really terrible like you’ve experienced, just the run-of-the-mill credit card number stealing. Some idiot in December tried to use our card online to order stuff like posters and Disney DVDs. I kid you not, Disney DVDs. I get this bill in the mail saying we hadn’t paid for this. I call them up and tell them about the incident in December. That was when the order was placed. They wouldn’t send out the order unless they had the correct address and all that stuff on the back of the card. Well, these bozos didn’t have any of this stuff. Lady on the phone was very nice and didn’t try to sell me anything.
Hubby several times has not been paid for work he has done. That’s a big headache to collect.
I almost got ripped off a whole lot of years ago on a photography magazine renewal. I know the amount involved was nowhere near what you would have paid for a private jet but it should still count.
I had originally subscribed using a cheque drawn on a US dollar account I had at the time so when renewal time came around, I sent another cheque on the same account for a 3-year renewal. It was returned with a note stating that payment had to be in US funds. I sent it back after highlighting the words “US Dollar Account” on the cheque. The magazine again sent it back stating it had to be drawn on a US bank, so I sent it back to them saying it was good enough when I first subscribed, it should be good enough now. It was sent back a third time with a note asking for a money order or a bank draft in US funds. I told them where to go. About a month later, the magazine ceased publishing. Guess they just wanted to get the cash and to hell with the customer.
Sounds like V1 Jets may be doing something similar, although, for your sake, I hope not.
Also, I note that their website indicates that they serve “as an agent in obtaining air charter services” and is “not a direct or indirect air carrier” and “flights are operated by Part 135 air carriers.” Guess they are basically a flight brokerage outfit.
As for the wire transfer not being able to be completed for several days, that’s a load of crap. I had to wire a boatload of cash to a bank in California a few months ago for someone. Took me an hour between two banks here (had to get it from one bank and sent it from another) and the money was in California and ready for pick up about two hours after that.
@Dappy: Sue him. Unfortunately, that’s what I ended up doing with one of my brothers, but taking him to Court was the only way to settle the matter. Or, since you paid for the laptop, go to your brother’s place and “repossess” it. After all, you paid for it on the condition that you be reimbursed, which hasn’t happened, so it belongs to you as it wasn’t a gift to your brother, and he has no right to keep it.
@StellaByStargate: Have you talked to a lawyer? I would think that there would be an implied warranty from Lennox that the product supplied would be merchantable and in good working order, which, by your comments, it obviously wasn’t and you have the repair bills to prove it. Just getting a demand letter sent by a lawyer can go a long way toward settling a matter. Anyway, good luck with sorting out the mess.
@dasNdanger: (And imagine that, Clint isn’t even an albino!) But, with his physique, he could be. All you need is for him to get a little older so the hair is nice and white and voilá. 😉
That’s nuts, Joe. Yes, I would be getting a lawyer involved next, too. Consider the word spread.
Terribly wronged: Most of you regular bloggers know about the battles I had with my son’s school district: Conroe Independent School District. It gets pretty bad when you lose consciousness in their driveway and instead of calling an ambulance for you (because they know you have a brain aneurysm & another neurologic problem) they wheel you into the nurse’s office, let you rest for an hour and then make you sit through a 5-hour meeting that you then have very little recollection of because it is the last day of school and they need the meeting to end on that day or else they will have to disrupt their precious summer vacations (despite federal law that says I can call a meeting any time I want).
Then there was the 2 months without my dryer despite the fact that I had a replacement warranty purchased with Sears. My washer died on Sunday and I was out Monday buying a new one. I will tell you I wasn’t feeling too great about purchasing that extended warranty, but I had Patrick with me and he lasted about 10 minutes before he had a meltdown.
But on Monday, I had many kindnesses from many businesses. Suncoast came out to look at my washer to tell me it was dead and didn’t charge me. Not only did they not charge me, but the guy looked at what I thought was my soon-to-dying refrigerator and fixed a minor problem and didn’t charge me. Later, in the day, Kainer Vet Clinic gave me a 3 week supply of Maddie’s flea medication for free. With my work situation, these thoughtful gestures were very much appreciated.
Did you guys lose an Asguard prop?
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/a-youtube-video-showing-the-body-of-a-dead-alien-found-in-siberia-has-become-an-internet-sensation/story-e6freuy9-1226042012505
Wow, that sucks. I’m assuming we’re talking about a fairly substantial amount of money, too, so it’s not like something you could even just grit your teeth and let go, like it was the price of a DVD or something. Let’s hope this blog post lets them know you’re not someone to be so lightly trifled with, not that someone should need a public forum like this to not be ripped off.
Thankfully, I can’t remember being ripped off much in my life. One that comes to mind that really irritated me was in my teens, when I was dabbling in modeling, and I did a hair show that I was supposed to get paid like $200 for. My agency (and I’m still not convinced they were completely legit) set it up, so I figured they’d make sure everything was set. Time passed, and I never got paid. When I called later, they informed me the company who’d done the show had gone bankrupt, so I just wasn’t ever going to get paid. They acted like this wasn’t any big deal, and apparently they weren’t ever going to inform me of the situation on their own. I’m pretty sure I broke ties with that agency after that.
In sweden we had this tvshow called “Plus” that was VERY polular over the 20+ years or so it aired. It was basicly a nice and older man who showed last weeks worst complains about businieses that had failed in regards to installations, promised quality, warranties, refunds etc etc.
Ppl called in and told their stories, and he followed up the worst ones. It ranged from lethal baby strollers and shady car repairs to failed medical insurances and some failing caretaker for old ppl.
The show was so sucessful that it became a real force for the normal consumer to use it. Like if you had troubles with for example you car repair, you could call up the company and just say “if you dont fix this like you promised, ill call Plus!”. And it worked. No company wanted to risk become that embarassed on national television.
You must have had similar nationwide successful shows in US?
Ps. Common descent was so kickass, theres no name for it! Just WOW.
Hi Joe:
Well I actually got ripped off for around $70,000 in 2005.
I had sold a pizza shop that I had owned for about 13 years.
I sold it to 2 middle eastern men that seemed like very upstanding people.
So the deal was $40,000 down and the rest would be finaced with the entire store as collateral.
Well at the closing at the lawyers office I noticed that on the closing papers there was nothing in the paperwork about the note being guarenteed by anything.
So I had to write it in the paperwork.
Well this had been my 5th business I had sold, so I figured I would do this one without the help of my own lawyer. (That was a big mistake)!!
After the papers were signed I asked for my copies of the sale.
Well the lawyer took thee papers out of the room and came back with copies.
I was a dummy and did not look over the papers again.
Well after the first year of constantly having to hound them for a payment each month, I ended up moving several states away. Once I did that I never saw another payment again.
So I contacted a lawyer to see what I could do. Well when he went over the closing papers it turned out that somehow a switch -a -roo was done to me, and the papers I had did not have anything in there garunteeing the loan, plus I was tricked into the way the sale was worded. I had sold the store to their corparation , and not to them personally.
So I had no way of getting that money back !
I had another lawyer look atthings to get a second opinion, and they said the same thing.
I am still very upset about this becuaser right now I would be getting my last year of $1000 a month payments !
That’s about the worst thing I could think of with getting ripped off…
good luck with your problem, I hope you get your money soon.
I bet once they find out what you are doing to get the money backl, it will light a fire under their asses and you will get paid right away.
I would also make sure the money is an offical bank check, not a hand written one !
Take care !
Hey Joe,
Goodluck getting your money back!
i hope they go out of busnes because of the retweets/reposts and other bad news about them!
ofc. after you get your money back 🙂
the only thing i’ve been ripped off from is money and dvds, friends who borrow it and never return it.
i decided not t loan anything anymore to any one.
Especially DVD’s, those i never see again.
i allso have 2 small questions
1.) Have you heard anyting about Echoes? that new ex-stargate project ? i’ve been looking on the web but without result.
2.) this one is actually for your readers and you joe,
Do you have a suggestion for a good space based tv show?
something along the way of
-stargate
-startrek
-Defying gravity (sucks that they killed it after 1 season)
-firefly (a shame aswell 1 season for such a good show)
-Battle Star Galactica
-Docter Who
-Farscape
-V
or a good comedy will do.
i’m now watching an old serie called Homicide: Life on the streets.
its kinda like The Wire but older.
I’m usually just suspicious about everything, all the time! Like, LOADS!
The only time I did get ripped off was when I tried one of those “Unlock your phone, only 2.99!” dealy things.
— They’re a rip off, don’t use those! —
But I knew going in that it was probably a rip off, but that the 2.99 wouldn’t be anything much to lose, so, I don’t really feel bad about it. And I did get ’em reported, so that’s a plus!
I can’t imagine the cost of a Private Jet is something you can just ignore, though!
Go get ’em, Joe!
Air Canada comes to mind… after my three hour layover turned into just under one hour because of a mechanical problem taking off in Frankfurt, I missed my flight. This, because there was no sorting of the customs line to see whose flight was leaving soonest. After waiting for over one and a half hours in a line of a whopping five people (two of them let me cut, as my flight was sooner), I was informed, at four in the afternoon, that I would not be able to continue my flight that day. The very unfriendly customer service agent claimed she had looked into flights from all airlines, but their simply wasn’t even one more flight to Detroit from Toronto, when I asked about a flight listed on the board hanging next to her desk she insisted that wasn’t possible either, apparently I couldn’t even be wait-listed. I was then not given a phone call to inform my father that I needed a pick-up the next day not this day and sent to a hotel with two meal vouchers both worth less than the cheapest meal the hotel served. My complaint to Air Canada was answered with “Sorry for the inconvenience…but it wasn’t our fault”
On a cheerier note, have you started “Wise Man’s Fear”? I am 650 pages or so in, and finding it every bit as good as “Name of the Wind”.
P.S.
Thank you for your thoughts on “The Hunt” I loved the episode and agree with all of the sentiments that it is at once wonderful and saddening because it showcases just how much remains to be explored. Does your offer to talk about “Stargate: Extinction” mean that that movie is also definitely not being made?
Joe is Victor is Xavier is Accounting is Andrew.
Coucou Joseph!!!!!!
ça va bien? Woaou quelle histoire O_O …j’ai jamais vue de ma vie une compagnie aussi incompétente!! Comptez sur moi pour leur faire de la mauvaise publicité ..j’ai déjà commencé sur Twitte et je ne suis pas la seul..personne n’embête mon Joseph adoré!!!!!!
J’espere que cette affaire va s’arranger.
Gros bisous!
Anais.
Joe,
Sorry to hear that, it’s just rotten, scandolous.
Hopefully a scary letter from your lawyer will get your cash back, if not, give em hell.
Bloody Chancers!
Go get them and Good luck!
Wow… Times fly…
I’ve been following your blog almost on a daily basis for God knows how long. It kinds of tears my heart into pieces to see the end of the Stargate Franchise…
However, Transporter is saving the day, it means that (I hope) you’ll be doing the same type of blog entries that you use to do here with Stargate !!! Please say you will.
You see, every morning when I get to the office, the first thing I do is read your blog (good way to start a day) I call it my wake up call…
Long life to your blog and your new project…
Robert
There is this huge part of me that likes to believe the wrongs done in this world…were not intentional. But there are other times…no matter what the intent…the outcome is devastating.
There was a time when a client went bankrupt and took us down intentionally. We had to sell my car to make payroll that month.
There is also the time our Mazie Dog was diagnosed with cancer. The vet assured me there was a research team working out of Salt Lake City that had a cure for the type Mazie Dog had. As time went by…and many calls…the result…Mazie Dog died in the arms of my 10 year old daughter Becca. Now who was at fault…or how angry we were…nothing could comfort our sorrow.
There are so many stories to choose from…but these are the ones that came to mind. They both were devastating in their own way…loss of a huge sum of money…or the loss that never leaves your heart quite the same. I have taught my children…every time they would say “THAT’S not fair!” I would say in reply “This is a BIG truth in life….it is NEVER going to be fair!”
Fair never plays a role…even in a court of law. We often seek justice…only to find ourselves caught in the middle of broken promises and lies.
Yuck! What a bunch of ratbags! Post tweeted, FB’d 🙂
I’ve been ripped off, mostly small time stuff, but there was an epic chase through a market where a workmate and I chased down our boss and finally cornered him in the loading bay so that we could get paid 🙂
It was like something out of a movie. We had spotters and everything, because he knew he was going to come into the office and leave before anyone had a chance to talk to him.
The minute we saw him, he darted, and we were off! I took the route through the market, chasing him through fruit stands and little kiosks, while my number 2 dashed around the outside to the loading bay and got between him and his truck.
We ended up with him cornered out there and with some threats and shouting, finally got paid. And then we quit 🙂 Very satisfying.
Ratings for Common Decent
Stargate Universe (SYFY, 9pm)
0.6 HH, Viewers: 0.861 million, 0.3 A18-49
Must say I’m really dissapointed, I would of hoped to of seen an increase after that unfortunate news days before, but as you can see, it has become a decrease. I guess some people can’t get over their petty hate and support the show in it’s final hours, which just so happen to be the last of the francise.
@randomness: I don’t think its hate. Maybe people are not so interested in watching a show that will never come to a conclusion. I’m still watching, but I record it for later viewing so I’m probably not counted.
@Joe:
Yikes, some of the folks here have been majorly ripped off! There have been several times that I was not paid for work I did. We won’t go into details here – trust me, you don’t want to know.
And when it comes to family, I don’t ever really expect to be paid back. Helping out someone in need is something I’m glad I can do. However, if my brother ever wins the lottery I might remind him of past favors. 😉 And if he had ever pulled a stunt like Dappy’s brother, I would have taken the computer back as soon as finals were done! (go get ‘im, Dappy!)
@das: Maybe ol’ Hazzlecock’s mom and AXLP’s mom were delivering their babies at the same time and that name was all the rage. Or maybe AXLP is moonlighting under an assumed name!
@Randomness: Syfy changed the time back an hour this week and didn’t, once again, inform people well enough. That could be the majority of that issue.
I don’t necessarily think it was petty hate, but rather some people were so incredibly sad that watching the show right now might have been painful to them, knowing there would be no conclusive end. People don’t like to have shows end on cliffhangers. Maybe when it reairs on Friday night, they’ll tune in, having had time to cry and grieve.
SGU fans are great supporters of this show. I think if they didn’t tune in, it would be because of one of the two reasons above versus anything else.
Forward this on to the Consumerist; they have gotten action on a few things for me in the past.
they messed with the wrong guy, hope your lawyer can kick some serious corporate ass. keep us informed.
also could we get some estimate dates for final casting, trailers and airing of t:ts 😀
With a name like ‘V1 Jets’ they are destined to bomb.
@Sparrow_hawk
@PBMom
Sorry I guess I wasn’t clear in my comment, I wasn’t speaking about the SGU fans, the ones with or without Nielson boxes currently watching, I was speaking more about the ones that have stopped watching the show for one reason or another because they simply don’t like it.
This weeks figures are back in line with what they were the week before last, in a way I was just hoping the people who ceased watching due to hate would rally behind the show and give it one last decent send off, because quite simply this is it..
For reference on the ratings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Universe_(season_2)
Loosely put I think my expectations that more people would tune in to support Stargate on a whole were greatly misplaced sadly.
I believe some of the news media like toronto star or even CTV has a contact person who’s only job is to provide justice for those who have been ripped off. The scare of a story airing nationally on TV or newspapers usually does the trick.
If not, then at least you’ll get more famous 😀
I currently rent from a landlord who has ignored complaints about the heat and plumbing leaks from myself and other tenants. When I complained to the housing authority he tried to evict me. That’s still ongoing. Plus, he built an illegal addition onto the apt building & has the power set up in an illegal way where you pay him for your power rather than having your own meter and paying the power company. I looked up the rules governing this and he’s in clear violation there.
I’m suing him but I’m having to go Pro Se due to certain income considerations. All things considered…I think I’m doing a pretty decent job of it. Canada’s legal system is somewhat different than the US from what I gather, right?
(I’m in the US, NC to be specific)
@ Randomness
I think ascribing lower ratings to hate is rather naive. As others have said, maybe some people just aren’t as interested, knowing it’ll end with no good conclusion. Maybe some people are recording them to watch later, to stretch out the time it takes to watch them. Or maybe people just lost interest and plan to finish it at some point in the future. There’s no need to ascribe nasty motives to huge numbers of people you don’t know.
@Randomness I tuned in, and no doubt, many other countries tuned in. How many people here watched SGU? I don’t know. But I can say that I know of at least eleven people that watches it. And this country has 300,000 people. And there are hundreds of people here that watches only syfy.
Maybe Joe can help us, but please, some one, let’s convince MGM, that we the fans want to save our beloved show and would be willing to donate money to this endeavor. Let MGM be the means of receiving the donation. And we mail dollars or dimes to them; EVEN DIMES. DAMN IT! We donate millions to charities and relief funds, why can’t we donate to a show that will inspire our children to reach the stars, and colonize them like the conquerors we are? GLEE and dancing with IDIOTS, can’t inspire jack spit. If Joe can arrange for it, I’d meet with Bill Gates if it would save our show; and convince William that, this show is more important than anything else on television. Sure I’ve been critical of it in the past, but even when I was critical of it, it was still the greatest show on television. Sure I don’t have any money, but I can shave a few coins if necessary, put it in an envelope and mail it to MGM, or to Joe, or Robert, or any one who’ll get our show back on the air. Or online; even if it has to be product placed up the wazoo.
LET’S SAVE OUR SHOW PEOPLE, LET’S SHOW THE NETWORKS THAT THEY COULD ALL SHOVE OFF. Besides, we can always promise that whichever person or organization saves our show, we’ll have their products all up in SGU’s buttocks, no shame in whoring if it provides the green.
@Shawna Buchanan
@I think ascribing lower ratings to hate is rather naive
Not really, considering the past 17 episodes havent really got anything above 1 million viewers besides one episode.
@There’s no need to ascribe nasty motives to huge numbers of people you don’t know.
Well considering the huge numbers of people that hate on the show on random websites, it’s not really a stretch to assume that.
I think people were neglecting to realise that not watching the show in huge numbers will do nothing to help the Stargate francise on a whole, again I’m not speaking about the fans of the show, be it on here, Gateworld or twitter, I’m speaking about the haters, or those that simply have given up on the show.
It just irks me in a way that these are some really good episodes, but no one seems to want to give the show another chance anymore, well those with Nielson boxes anyway, the fact this show was cancelled to begin with is disgusting.
There’s just something very wrong when a show of this quality is getting under 860,000 viewers some episodes.
I know how the show ends by the way.
to Ponytail; good idea bout The Federal Trade Commission. & don’t feel bad, i can’t do links in comments either.
not only would i sue V1 jets for the return of the money, but for the stress you suffered while scrambling to make other arrangements.
Joe, I feel your pain.
And the worst part is, the more expensive something is, the more painful it is when it sucks, because naturally we tend to assume that more expensive things should be of a higher quality and include better customer service.
My worst rip-off story was from when I drove an Audi TT. It was the first year that they offered it with the 3.2l engine and the DSG transmission.
Within the first week of the lease, I started to have transmission issues. It always happened the same way: After being at a stop, I’d accelerate, and the transmission would make a “thunk” sound, then disengage…while I was trying to get through an intersection or pull onto a highway.
You can imagine how not-so-very-good this was: The first time it happened, I was pulling through an intersection while a semi was coming toward me on the cross street at about 50mph.
In the 30 months I leased the car, this happened over a dozen times. In fact, at least three times, I was able to get it to the dealership while something funky was going on.
Once the car was “stuck” in 2nd gear, and a tech from the dealership (Schaumburg Audi, Schaumburg, IL) was in the car with me, with the diagnostic computer hooked up, and the computer said that everything was normal.
I tried everything to get them to either replace the transmission or the whole car, but they refused. I talked to Audi USA and they said that the dealers are franchised and it was up to the dealer.
Then I got my lawyer involved and that barely helped, except that b.s. replies from Audi USA came more swiftly. For instance, at one point, when the “Lemon Law” was brought up, Audi USA said that because they’d never been able to diagnose the problem, and because they never TRIED to fix it, it didn’t qualify as a lemon, and they still refused to do anything about it.
The entire ordeal was exhausting. I often didn’t feel safe driving the car, and I certainly wouldn’t let my wife drive it because I was afraid she’d forget and get in a wreck because of it.
I finally gave up a few months before the end of the lease, as it obviously was too late by then.
Oh, and I was also intrigued by the fact that something like the first 254 TT’s from that model year were recalled due to a transmission issue, and my serial number was like 2 or 3 after the last one in the recall.
But the whole thing just pissed me off to no end. Here’s what should be a premium brand in terms of the product quality and customer service, and while I accept that mistakes are made by anything involving humans, if you make a mistake, own up to it and fix it.
Audi should’ve either replaced the transmission or the car, yet all they did was a whole lot of nothing, and give me one excuse after another, explaining in careful detail why they weren’t going to do a single thing they weren’t legally obligated to do.
Terrible customer service, both from Schaumburg Audi and from Audi USA.
And it’s the reason I don’t drive an Audi anymore.
I forgot to mention that this week’s SGU was really great. I always like time travel (or time travel-related) stories, and this was a pretty great one.
I loved the arguing about Novus and Futura, too, heh.
And, without giving anything away to those who haven’t seen it yet, the end was pretty fantastic.
Je ne sais pas si je vous en avez parlée..j’ai créer une page Facebook sur vous pour tout vos fans:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.178773735506798.59628.165581103492728&saved#!/pages/Joseph-Mallozzi/165581103492728?sk=info
Bon, pour l’instant ont est pas beaucoup, c’est juste parce que je n’ai pas encore eu le temps de diffuser l’information.
Bisss
The BBB is good, but the FTC is the platinum card of US consumer agencies; you can file a complaint online, and it’s great that you have all the names/dates/tel of the shady dealings with V1 Jets.
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
Also the behavior of their bank sounds shady too; the FDIC comes down very hard on shady bank practices; they were great at helping my sis get her money back after her checks were stolen:
https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp
Sorry, one more comment.
I know filing a complaint with the BBB often makes you feel better, but honestly, I don’t think it does anything.
The BBB is a business, not any type of “official” agency.
And for all intents and purposes, they’re a marketing agency more than anything else. One that markets itself as a consumer advocacy group.
The trouble is they’re actually a bit shady themselves.
When my company first moved into our current office, the phone number we were assigned was, as often is, the phone number of some previous telco customer.
One of the first phone calls I got was from the BBB, saying that about 15 “potential clients” had researched my company through the BBB and would we like to buy a membership so that we could see who they were.
I started asking questions, only to be told that you really can’t get any valuable info from them. For instance, I was told that I would NEVER be allowed to see who the actual requesters were (the people supposedly researching us through the BBB), because that’s anonymous and they can’t give out the info.
When I asked how I was supposed to verify the info, the lady on the phone said “Sir, we’re the Better Business Bureau…we wouldn’t lie.”
Uh huh.
The more I asked, the more annoyed I got.
“How’d you get this phone number?” I asked, considering we had literally had it less than 24 hours.
“We file information requests according to your phone number,” she said.
“Oh,” I replied, “because we just go this number yesterday. We just moved offices.”
“Yes, that’s fine,” she said. “It’s still accurate data.”
“Ok,” I continued, “How can you be sure those requests actually had to do with us, since we JUST got this phone number yesterday? Can you at least tell me the name of the business that the requests were filed under?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, “we can’t give out that information.”
“Really?!” I asked “You can’t even tell me, for sure, that the requests were really for my company?”
“They were.”
“How do I know that for sure?”
“Again,” she said, harshly, “We’re the Better Business Bureau. Why would we make up information like that?”
“Because you want to sell memberships?” I suggested.
“No, sir, these were definitely in reference to your company. They all had to do with construction.”
“Um,” I said, “we’re not a construction company. I think the last company that had this phone number was a contractor.”
“Well, what type of business are you? Because I”m sure there have been at least 15 requests about you recently, and that’s why it’s important that you start your membership asap,” she said.
That’s when I hung up.
I got ripped off by Cuddle Buddies…those little neck pillows. I ordered, they took my money but the goods never arrived. I dealt with the company via email a few times. They said they would investigate then nothing.
I waited but by the time I contacted Paypal the time had elapsed and they could assist.
I contacted Consumer Affairs and they helped me. The company had changed hands and the new people didn’t know who had orders and who didn’t. I eventually got my pillow thanks to Consumer Affairs.
I don’t care ‘cos I’ll never buy from Cuddle Buddies again.
Chev
~drive-by posting~
sam/jack + confirmation = sgu?
~drives off quickly~
Agree with Lou above: the BBB is an agency you pay to join. So for a business to say they’re recommended by the Better Business Bureau, just means the BBB agreed to cash their check.
@Randomness: I think I understand what you’re trying to say, but it sort of comes across–to me–as you saying those who don’t watch the show now are just being petty. That’s a pretty broad stroke. Isn’t it possible some viewers just lost interest?
@Expletive:BMP: your enthusiasm and dedication are admirable.
Re: books: Didn’t Fandemonium do an SGU novelization of the premiere? If there are to be more SGU novels, Fandemonium would need to see a bump in sales of current novels, or MGM Licensing would have to make an active pitch to a publisher. I don’t know of any major publisher who will start publishing novels based on a canceled series (the original Star Trek notwithstanding, as that was a rarity in the world of branded merchandising.) If MGM or whomever controls SG licensing doesn’t even display the property at the International Licensing Show in NYC each spring, then it would take one extremely dedicated and influential individual at a major publishing house to pursue the property.
In general–based on my experience in 15 years of licensed publishing–for adult books, 1 million viewers translates to less than 10,000 copies sold. And most major publishers–the ones who can get enough copies into B&N to be faced out on the shelves, or pay for a display at the end of an aisle–won’t even hit the “print” button for that few copies. Sorry to be a non-pollyanna. I just wanted to give some background info for those asking about books.
@Vigs
Not really my fault that some people didn’t grasp a point I thought was pretty obvious, and on that subject I wasn’t intending on debating that point for so long, nor did I intend to cause offense to anyone.
So on that subject, consider the subject dropped by me. Sorry..
I was just thinking maybe you guys can make SGU radio play podcast? For example torchwood made some with all the cast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfTUsarlqnQ
That would be awesome if you could do that with SGU 🙂
Another radio drama is Zombie Podcast
http://www.zombiepodcast.com/The_Zombie_Podcast/WereAliveEpisodes.html
That’s something to think about 😉
Joe,
So sorry to hear of your hassle. Have you spoken to your bank? I’m not sure about Canadian banking laws, but occasionally in the US, wire transfers can be reversed depending on how much time has gone by.
Two words: EMINENT DOMAIN
Can’t say more in public forum.
its me dreaming or i’ve seen your dog on that bank episode of sanctuary? did you borrowed that picture for Amanda?
I can’t understand how in one breath you say this is the worst company after getting a run around for days,weeks,months of not getting your $$$$$$ back and no contact – just run arounds-and then you get paid and are praising them and the President – these are people who tried to screw you and probably did by not paying you the full amount owed……same thing was done too a lot of other people also- shame on you -very strange…..!!!!
v-1 jets is a complete ripoff. wired them 26k and never got a plane.. will let you know how it goes in court