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Companies to AVOID as you succeed in your FASTLANE...

Lex DeVille

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@Lex DeVille - per your request, feel free to link to your PayPal and Siteground horror stories.

Gladly!

I used PayPal for nearly 20 years. They recently turned to trash. This was before they threatened to steal $2,500 from user accounts for "misinformation."

In early 2022, PayPal placed multiple holds on my account for unclear reasons. They made me jump through the most insane hoops to get my account unsuspended and to unlock my cash. Shortly after they did it the first time, they did it again with the same client and made me jump through similar hoops.

After that, another client sent a payment for copywriting services. PayPal showed the money as available in my PayPal account and allowed me to withdraw it to my bank. Then something happened with the client's bank and the money didn't finish processing from them to PayPal I guess. PayPal then opened a dispute, demanded I return the money, and billed me a $15 fee for the service. I contacted the client and found out they were not in dispute and that there was an error with their bank. So only PayPal had a problem, and they decided to make it my problem and bill me for it. I returned the money to PayPal and paid the fee. Then I told them to f*ck off and deleted my account. After that I made this video.

I replaced PayPal for client work with HelloBonsai.com.


Siteground web host is another service that has degraded over the past several years. They ditched Cpanel and went with their own internal set up. Their customer service dropped off a cliff. They increased their prices to double the rates of similar services. To top it off, they made simple tasks (like turning off rebills for all domains) hard as hell (by requiring you individually turn off rebills for each domain one by one and by clicking through multiple pages to do so each time). When you have hundreds of domains... it's a problem.

Earlier this year I took my domain names and moved them to Namecheap for way less.

This morning, Siteground billed me for a domain I didn't want to renew. I asked for a refund. They've processed refunds for accidental renewals in the past. This time they said no. Can't do it. I said fine... My hosting is set to renew next month for another $320, so I'll take my hosting elsewhere.

Over the past 8 years, I've paid out tens of thousands of dollars to Siteground for services. But they were willing to lose a customer for just $17.99. So now I've officially moved to ChemiCloud.com and will never use Siteground again.


I'm tired of these shitty companies treating their customers like crap. I'm done with it. From now on I'll vote with my money and move my entire business elsewhere.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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By request, companies who should be avoided as you succeed.

This list need not be business related.

Please share your experience, preferably with a story.

Entries posted here are the opinion of the author, and not necessarily the owner of this forum, MJ DeMarco, or any of its affiliates.

I'll start...

As you know SONOS is dogshit. I'm sure they make a decent product, but they are backstabbing bitches.

MailCheat(Chimp) by Intuit.
Quickbooks by Intuit
Anything by Intuit, or that Intuit buys.
Anything by Adobe.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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No "don't do business with" thread would be complete without Comcast, or XFinity.

Unfortunately, my move to Utah forced me into doing business with them, and I can confirm they suck balls every day of the week, from shitty internet service, to unresponsive, non-English speaking reps. I swear to freaking God, I have to call them every few weeks with some freaking problem that just repeats. They employ the same type of "reps" as Intuit -- they exist to coddle and check off a necessary business box, not to solve problems.

Why don’t you like quick books?

Because when my payroll hangs in the balance, I don't like waiting on hold for 45 minutes only to talk to someone who is completely incoherent as they read one script after another.

Then when I tried to integrate payroll with bookkeeping, it took 4 calls, 4 hours, and still, the problem was never solved.
They only have service reps there to answer phones and coddle customers, not to ACTUALLY SOLVE problems.

Intuit and Xfinity's Customer Service Philosophy: What do I have to say to get this customer off the phone as quick as possible, even if I have to lie, make shit up, or not actually solve any problems?
 

fastlane_dad

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I like the theme of this thread. I don't think we stumbled into any 'major' hurdles with companies that I can think of the top of my head in 15-20 years of building up various businesses (or my memory is just THAT terrible now :playful::playful:)

- BUT @MJ DeMarco we can get a similar thread going on giving out recommendations for services and software that helped us out along the way (and how we used them!) that helped us EXPAND the business 10X over.
 

Walter Hay

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In early 2022, PayPal placed multiple holds on my account for unclear reasons. They made me jump through the most insane hoops to get my account unsuspended and to unlock my cash. Shortly after they did it the first time, they did it again with the same client and made me jump through similar hoops.
After using PayPal for years I found them becoming more and more difficult to satisy, until lo and behold one day I got this message:
Get a quicker payment experience on trusted devices
We've made it quicker to pay with PayPal​
Since we recognise this device, you'll stay connected for quicker PayPal transactions.

OH YEH???
Every time I log in I have to go through the same verification process as always, including receiving a text message to my international phone, costing me time and money as the call travels through various channels. That would not be so bad if the verification code actually arrived first time, but most times it doesn't, and sometimes I get as many as 3 texts that have codes that don't work!

SOLUTION. To avoid the risk of my money being tied up, I have for the past year or more been transfering out my balance via instant transfer (free) every time I get a notification of a payment received. Now most of the time I have a nil balance.

Walter
 

Lex DeVille

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@MJ DeMarco

I agree that PayPal is dogshit, the amount of times I’ve had to verify myself is ridiculous. But there’s no real alternative, at least that I know of.
There are several alternatives to PayPal. Which one you choose mostly depends on what you need it for.

For freelancing, I switched to HelloBonsai.com. It's more of an all-in-one solution for freelancers, but they have their own internal payment processing and it comes with fewer fees than PayPal.

Stripe is another common alternative.

Payoneer is regularly recommended for people in countries where PayPal isn't available.

There's also Google pay, Apple Pay, Authorize.net, Cash App and other processors that I know nothing about.

In short, there are plenty of other ways to accept money from people without using PayPal.
 
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biophase

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I think you can add Cox and Directv to that list just because they make it so hard for you to talk to a real person and their business model depends on you forgetting to “pretend to cancel every 12 months” so that you get that special discount.

And also LA Fitness for making you certify mail a form in to cancel your membership.
 

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EIG, Endurance International Group, now called Newfold digital I think.

If they buy an internet company that you love the service of, start looking around for a new one.

80+ Newfold Digital Hosting Companies (Formerly EIG)

It was years ago that they bought one of the 2 big website management services, maybe managewp? And it went from being one of the best to garbage pretty quickly. It's not just hosting I think.
I have a feeling that this type of thing is the reason many companies go from being great to bad. They silently get bought out by some private equity group. The sad part is that, speaking from personal experience, I don't even think it's all about greed. They just turn into incompetent bureaucratic messes.
 

David Fitz

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FedEx. I will never use them again. When importing products into the country they held everything for weeks. Took an extra payment of around €1000 out of our account one time. I had to ring and ring and email and email until I finally found the CEOs email online. I said F*ck it and sent an email calling his company scumbags and a few hours later his personal assistant had the problem sorted. Then when deliveries were supposed to be delivered they were always late or a driver would say there was no one home when this was during lockdown when everyone was at home. Switched over to DHL and their service was much better.
 

MJ DeMarco

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@MJ DeMarco interested to hear your issues with MailCheat(Chimp) or anyone else’s issues.

They were only holding my account hostage, and my lists, they wanted me to pay them $500/mo in ransom to unlock an account I rarely use, or email. Of course, my ransom notice didn't come until after Intuit bought them.

And then don't get me started on "expiring credits" -- "oh, I paid for credits and didn't use them timely so now we will steal them back from you!"

F*ck you.

I paid for them, they're digital, and they should not expire. It's the same type of BS corporations pull with gift-cards, "oh you didn't use your $1000 gift card in one year? Sorry, it's not worth anything now"

Double F*ck you MailCheat(Chimp).

They're just as bad as PayPal.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Any company that K Oleary endorses.
 
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biophase

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I think you can add Cox and Directv to that list just because they make it so hard for you to talk to a real person and their business model depends on you forgetting to “pretend to cancel every 12 months” so that you get that special discount.

And also LA Fitness for making you certify mail a form in to cancel your membership.
Just to update you on my story of canceling my LA fitness membership a few days ago.

According to the LA Fitness website you have to print out a form and send it by certified mail or you can walk into an LA fitness with the form and give it to an operations manager.

So I printed out the form and walked into an LA fitness on a Sunday and there were no operations managers on weekends so I could not cancel on that day. No big deal since I was there to work out anyway.

The next day I went back and handed the form to the person at the front desk and she said oh you cannot hand that form in here. We do not accept paper forms.

I then said I need to speak with the operations manager and she said that she was the operations manager but could not except the form.

I then asked her how I was supposed to cancel and she said I could just cancel you right here in the computer. A couple keyboard clicks later and she said I was canceled.

The irony of this is that on the website it says you have to give 30 days notice so the cancellation date on my form was December 3. I was already to pay an extra month of membership fees.

However in person the operations manager canceled me on November 3 so I did not pay that extra month of fees.

So they could’ve gotten an extra month out of me if they would’ve just followed what was written on their website.
 
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Get Right

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I would like to reiterate the many posts above "anything Adobe". What a crap company. They actually charged me to cancel a free trial...wtf.
 

MJ DeMarco

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BUT @MJ DeMarco we can get a similar thread going on giving out recommendations for services and software that helped us out along the way (and how we used them!) that helped us EXPAND the business 10X over.

We do have that already, its a treasure trove. It's how I found Canva many years ago.

 
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Speculatooor

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Windows

Since having switched to mac a few years ago, and having to help my friends/family with their windows issues, the difference is big.

Windows is bloated with data sucking bullshit. User experience sucks. So many unwanted pre-installed programs. Horrible.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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What do you use currently?

Gusto for Payroll.
Zipbooks for Accounting.

I love Zipbooks and its a local company here in UT. Gusto is vastly improved from QB Payroll, which was once, Intuit Payroll.
 

MitchC

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Interesting.

I like namecheap.

Their support has always been helpful.

Domains are cheap, and they include the domain privacy for free that Godaddy tries to charge for.

I hate Godaddy, their checkout process and all the upsells is revolting.

Sounds like you are a victim of cc fraud, call your card company.
 

TonyStark

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By request, companies who should be avoided as you succeed.

This list need not be business related.

Please share your experience, preferably with a story.

Entries posted here are the opinion of the author, and not necessarily the owner of this forum, MJ DeMarco, or any of its affiliates.

I'll start...

As you know SONOS is dogshit. I'm sure they make a decent product, but they are backstabbing bitches.

MailCheat(Chimp) by Intuit.
Quickbooks by Intuit
Anything by Intuit, or that Intuit buys.
Anything by Adobe.
Why don’t you like quick books?

And I also agree that PayPal is shit. I’m permanently banned from making accounts with them. They tried to withhold about 30grand from me one time, and also had a lot of shady customers on eBay file fraudulent disputes that PayPal would bill me for. They’re garbage. I stay away from them like the plague
 

MattR82

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EIG, Endurance International Group, now called Newfold digital I think.

If they buy an internet company that you love the service of, start looking around for a new one.

80+ Newfold Digital Hosting Companies (Formerly EIG)

It was years ago that they bought one of the 2 big website management services, maybe managewp? And it went from being one of the best to garbage pretty quickly. It's not just hosting I think.
 

Walter Hay

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There are several alternatives to PayPal. Which one you choose mostly depends on what you need it for.

For freelancing, I switched to HelloBonsai.com. It's more of an all-in-one solution for freelancers, but they have their own internal payment processing and it comes with fewer fees than PayPal.

Stripe is another common alternative.

Payoneer is regularly recommended for people in countries where PayPal isn't available.

There's also Google pay, Apple Pay, Authorize.net, Cash App and other processors that I know nothing about.

In short, there are plenty of other ways to accept money from people without using PayPal.
I am one who would recommend Payoneer, which I have used for years, but unfortunately they are not suitable for eCommerce businesses, and in particular for my business book sales site.

Walter
 

MJ DeMarco

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Express VPN.

Oh man, I had a horror story from them a few years ago. Everything that advertised was false, and I went through hell trying to get a refund.
 

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By request, companies who should be avoided as you succeed.

This list need not be business related.

Please share your experience, preferably with a story.

Entries posted here are the opinion of the author, and not necessarily the owner of this forum, MJ DeMarco, or any of its affiliates.

I'll start...

As you know SONOS is dogshit. I'm sure they make a decent product, but they are backstabbing bitches.

MailCheat(Chimp) by Intuit.
Quickbooks by Intuit
Anything by Intuit, or that Intuit buys.
Anything by Adobe.
Nominating GoToMeeting.
I had an older account with unlimited storage space for recorded meetings (seminars in this case). This was the reason that I kept the more expensive account.

They changed the storage time to one year without any warning and although I had stored urgently important recordings by other means, everything else was gone. Nothing could be done to retrieve any of the recordings. Umlimited cloud space, but limited time - a deal that sucks.

Now I am in the process to switch to zoom… so please keep me posted on bad experiences with them .
 

RicardoGrande

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I'm tired of these shitty companies treating their customers like crap. I'm done with it. From now on I'll vote with my money and move my entire business elsewhere.

Appreciate this perspective.
Only on my second year of SG, first year at "full" pricing and thought the 320$ number for a year of hosting was a bit steep.
I'll have to go find a new provide that has good security/migration plugins like SG did, but I've got time for that.
 
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MTF

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There are several alternatives to PayPal. Which one you choose mostly depends on what you need it for.

For freelancing, I switched to HelloBonsai.com. It's more of an all-in-one solution for freelancers, but they have their own internal payment processing and it comes with fewer fees than PayPal.

Stripe is another common alternative.

Payoneer is regularly recommended for people in countries where PayPal isn't available.

There's also Google pay, Apple Pay, Authorize.net and other processors that I know nothing about.

In short, there are plenty of other ways to accept money from people without using PayPal.

Wise and Revolut are excellent options, too.
 

MJ DeMarco

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New Paypal Policy Lets Firm Fine Users $2,500 for Spreading ‘Misinformation,’ ToS Condemned and Called an ‘Abomination’ – Bitcoin News

I haven’t used PayPal in years since they confiscated and held hostage 5 figures from me a few years back. Even after providing evidence.

I’m sure you all get those “updated terms” PayPal emails every so often.

Well now it looks like they can steal $2500 from you for spreading “misinformation”. I kid you not.

I think they backtracked on this policy after a big outrage.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Are you still happy with Zipbooks? Seems like they've been having problems lately. Mine hasn't imported any transactions since last month. They say they're having issues with a backlog of transactions and are working on it, but I'm starting to wonder if I should look at alternatives.

Yea, it's pretty sad to see all the problems they've had recently. I'm gonna stick with them and see if they can sort it out. I really like their interface, but if the connections fail to work, it sort of ruins the experience.

But yes, if these anomalies aren't fixed before the end of the year, I'll have to start looking again.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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@Lex DeVille - per your request, feel free to link to your PayPal and Siteground horror stories.
 

MitchC

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View attachment 45668

Lol they won’t let me close my acct.


That explains them reintroducing the fine. They have a plan to stop people boycotting them this time, just don’t let them close their accounts.

Their stocks dropped massively last time they tried and it serves them no benefit to have this fine, yet they reintroduce it.
 

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