Katarina Montgomery tried to sweet talk me into giving them a one time fee of $704.0 dollars,  plus $98.00 a month fee to supply employees of the state of AZ with discounted services, and be the sole supplier of these services. She is very good!
I have filed a complaint in to the AZ attorney general and asked them to also report this to the NY attorney general, where the scam is apparently based from.
JP

Dear xxxx
I am working with UDEA (Utilities District Employees Association) located in Oakland, CA. I am looking for a Tax Service that some of their employees and family can use and save money. You will be featured in newsletters, updates and on the private web page we are designing for them. The employees will also have a new free mobile app to download so they can search your business from their smart phones. If you can offer a discount/incentive and want to work with their employees please contact me ASAP!

Sincerely,

Rene Arias
Program Administrator
1-888-836-7686 ext. 117

They were very pushy. 'This is not advertising' Paying to be on a perks card sure sounds like advertising.

Very percistant about talking to the owner and only the owner. Not the person that handles advertising, not the manager. "Sorry the owner does not run the business" to which they reply "Perhaps you could contact them, and we can still discuss this with them"

How is it that these folks are still in business? They ripped my company off 10 years ago and then called me again yesterday with the same scam, regarding Northrop Grumann. Thieves! flush your money down the toilet. You'll get better results than dealing with these liars...

I forgot to add that the company was to be "Express Airlines in Atlanta.

Happy to answer any questions....

Peace!

Hmm... got an email and a hit on my site.....I got excited that someone was interested in my business, so I called and left a message.
Katarina Montgomery called me back and gave me a speech about ExpressJet needing an exclusive provider.  We spoke for quite some time.  I became suspicious when she sent me forms that I should get soon.....in a couple of days, but they were also being sent to my email..... i did not have a fax number available.
In the meantime, "How can what card would you like to use to handle this charge?" it was $495 or $595 ?? I actually lost interest once I was told I was needing to pay them.
Still ...now I wanted to see where this was going. I shared that I wasn't comfortable not having seen the paperwork yet. Then it became very evident that this was definitely not for me. Now...I was told that I needed to complete the transaction quickly, as there may not be an opportunity if I delayed.  So, I insisted that I would rather see the forms first.  Katarina said she would call me back in 30 minutes to see if I got the forms. I did not find the forms in my email(but was contacted this way) and I did not call her with a fax number so that she could fax (her first suggestion).  She did call me back a few times.... i did not pick up, as I had not done my research yet.  I did feel that if it was legit and a benefit to me,  it would still be available give o take a few hours.  
Katarina fed off of my enthusiasm for what I am passionate about. As I go back over the entire phone conversation, it was purely based on my buying into the proposed concept. It WAS great had I not been expected to pay for a service I never asked for in the first place. I was also contacted on my business sight through my client intake form.  


The email.....

Katarina Montgomery <kmontgomery@perkscard.com>
9:33 AM (16 hours ago)

to me


To Whom It May Concern:

I am working with Express Jet Airlines located Atlanta, GA. I am looking for a wellness coach that some of their employees can go to and save money. You will be featured in newsletters, updates and on the private web page we are designing for them. The employees will also have a new free mobile app to download so they can search your business from their smart phones. If you can offer a discount/incentive and want to work with their employees please contact me ASAP!


Sincerely,


Katarina Montgomery
Program Administrator
1-888-836-7686 ext. 152

Just pay attention and remember... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always check out the legitimacy of businesses that contact you.  Follow you instincts and do not be tempted by fast money.

Peace and blessings!

As a last resort, call your credit card company and report it as lost or stolen. They will cancel your card Immediately... You will have to wait for a replacement card, but so what.? You avoided the SCAM.. I too got the call. They left a message and before I took another call I googled em.. It brought me here in addition to MANY other sites where people were scammed..

Hi- I just signed up but then decided that I didnt want to move forward.  I asked to cancel and I was told by Catarina montgomery that I would have to speak to customer service who could only be contacted on monday.  Can I cancel? I am trying to get my credit card to not accept charges?

I received an email and a phone call from a Katarina Montgomery from Perks Card stating that Bloomberg Inc. in San Francisco, CA. was looking for an exclusive Home Staging company to provide discounted services for their employees. My interest peaked when she said I would acquire numerous new clients. However, I couldn?t comprehend what the benefit(s) would be for my company if I were paying PERKS a fee for Staging at a discounted rate? Further into the conversation I gave her my e-mail address to send me documentation for review because I thought it might be a scam. I was shocked when I read they wanted $800.00 up front. Wow!!, $800.00 is a lot of money to put up front to someone who just cold called me out of the blue, and I knew nothing about them?!?!?! When I pushed for names at Bloomberg, Inc. with whom I could verify the data included in the documentation, I was put on hold, and eventually disconnected..hmmmm???
I suspected this was a scam and I started to do some research on this company, and have come to the conclusion that this is definitely a scam!!!! My suspicions have only been heightened after reading the comments posted by many others.
BEWARE OF PERKS CARD!!!

Caller ID: 631-870-4339
Caller: Katarina Montgomery

Hey, folks,

I did give up on this, as I feared the possible negatives (or even neutrals) outweighed the positives. Yearly rollover (paid) renewals, and "exclusivity" for a shooting employees of a hospital - even a 2200-strong one - doesn't guarantee anything.

In any case, I was to have called them back if I were interested (which I didn't, and wasn't) - but that didn't stop them from calling me.

They weren't able to produce the stats I requested (only for members) regarding advertising, growth, and membership, and said that there were no exceptions.

So, "buh bye" to them.

Thanks for your responses, all.

Honestly , If you give your credit card over the phone you must feel Comfortable and Confident enough to do it ( I personally never do it or I use a Check that takes a long time to clear and gives me time to read the fine print).

If you prefer to do you research that's great , That's what the internet is for! great good for you, here's a cookie!
But for all you people that got a phone call or an email , you can't go around calling other companies a scam because you don't understand how they work or even did any intensive research on them; then alone not even spoke to anyone at that company.


I was Contacted by Abe Delgado , Nice guy, great pitch. I did not feel Comfortable , it was just not for me he asked for 1495.00 and I told he right away and that's the conversation was over. But I am not going to go online and bad mouth a company I knew nothing about until I fully researched them .
All I am saying is  Something's work for some people other things do not, Just remember Someone could be online posting negative things about  your company and calling it a Scam for something that was lost in translation or just a person that was uninformed and had a bad attitude.


There are so many Businesses who are Victims of Ignorant people who just post crap online.
Now as business owners we now that not 100% of our Clients are going to be 100% happy with the services. And for perkscard to only have 8 complaints with 22 years in the industry and over 1500 Major nationwide know Clients  and I don't know, about  a Million Perkscard users ? Come on .

Do your homework , don't get fooled and don't believe everything you hear online. Common sense

Perkscard total SCAM you will see no customers and they will rip you off for as much money as they can squeeze out of you.

The call is misleading. No legitimate business pressures you to make decision on the spot. That' s usually a sign that there is something wrong.
Don't do anything with these people.

I worked for perkscard too. Do not fall for this scam! There are no pros or "perks" to this program. It is an awful, brainwashing, money stealing company. They'd take money from your 90 year old grandma if they could.  I had to get out of that unethical god forsaken company. Even the interview process is a brainwashed approach. These people are scum!! Don't fall for it! It's a call center that will do anything for a buck. And whenever there's a sale someone rings a bell and they all clap because some poor business owner out there fell for their pathetic scam. I don't know how these people sleep at night.

I worked at perkscard for over a year, it was an absolute scam, They have a whole pitch set up where they name competition in the beginning which is never true , they just pull up random names from the business pages or yellow pages. they try to build rapore with the business owner to make them feel special and how the employees would love their business. They go on and say you will be mentioned in newsletters and emails. The whole conversation takes about 30 minutes or so and they hit you at the end for $995 and then they say they spoke to the other competition in your area to make you feel stupid and would you want these employees using them. They have a list of categories to choose from, each person chooses a categorie to call, they even make some up! The newsletters are very tiny and goes to hr eventually, to be on the front of the card thats 3k, which is insane! The emoployees will never see these cards. None of you will ever see these employees.. They have a whole list of objections, going back and forth. You can negotiate with them , they say they have to talk to a manager first. Do not waste your money, because you will never make it back!! After they get your credit card info, your screwed they charge it right away!  Bob dowd the owner is a prick! he only cares about buying another low end mercedes for him and his wife. In this economy businesses are struggling and its not right to take their money. When you get a call from augeo or perkscard!! hang up !! send this to everyone!! It may sound good , but its not.  They train people how to sweet talk the owners and gain rapore wih the customer. They only want your money at the end and thats it , and they ask for referrals which even cracks me up more!  They sound nice and excited on the phone because they are being recorded on the other end. They actually have a  person coaching them on what to say, everybody is brainwashed and told what to do step by step. I felt bad taking money from these people, it was wrong! especially start up companies.

Approached by "PerksCard"  


Have any of you been approached by the business called *PerksCard* to become the "exclusive [fill-in-the-blank] business partner to [fill-in-the-blank] institution"? For fair disclosure, it does appear that they are used by a number of large education, corporate, and government institutions, including the Univ. of South Carolina, AOL, and the FBI.

Let me explain.

I fielded a call this afternoon that began as if it were a solicitation for me to cover a pool of folks various needs over the coming weeks - from portraits to wedding to special event coverage. About halfway through the phone call, our discussion became "an interview" to see if a fairly prominent DC hospital would consider selecting me as the sponsored "go to" photographer for the needs of its personnel. Suspicious of the proposition of being cold called to qualify for on the call list of 2200 people - from orderlies to doctors - I wanted to see where the discussion would go.

A company called PerksCard (PC) essentially offers a service that institutions pay them for to vet local businesses that are inclined to discount their services for the promise of "huge" customer bases. For example, the representative made reference to attorneys, planners, consultants, etc. Apparently this year, this hospital wants to add "photographer" to the trusted business associates' list.

Of course, it costs $995 to become a part of the service.

With competition in the DC area very tight, a legitimate service such as this (not saying that *this one* is legitimate) could certainly help on the marketing front (something akin to this, in fact, my wife and I have recently discussed). I have shot a number of jobs on my own, and love the prospect of adding a larger clientèle, but I must say that this smacks of a scheme wherein PC would charge the up front fee, and then not play any further role, effectively moving on until renewal time (12 months). After all, one cannot make someone use a photographer - or select me even if they wanted one. So, if I ended up with 0 customers as a result, they're not accountable for anything.

I've made a list of pros and cons, but - in the light of how poorly companies such as Bella are regarded in the photography industry, and especially in this forum - I was hoping to learn if any of you have been approached by, or have signed up to use, the services of PerksCard.

General Pros:
-If legitimate, the fee could easily be paid for in a session or two.
-If legitimate, the customer base could certainly increase from its present size.
-If legitimate, it would be nice to further enhance the customer base beyond just hospital staff, to their friends and family, etc.

General Cons:
-The slightly manipulative call, along with blanket lauding of my work was without conviction.
-The fee, without much to show for it (no trial period, no stats backing up their "increased customer base", etc) is troubling.
-Just like the car dealer says, the deal "won't last long", as the CSR suggested that I get on board by tomorrow morning or others in the area would likely snap up the position.

In short, I'm inclined to run for the hills. But then, what of the list of companies who *do* use their services? (Maybe it's not much of a risk for them, considering their budgets!) Any comments?


Reply !

No, you will only pay for the $39.95 a month.  There are different programs.  Good Luck!!

I am a massage therapist who signed on as a provider with Perks Card yesterday.  There was no mention of a 995 dollar up front fee.  Only the monthly fee of $39.95 was mentioned.  Is there a $995 hidden fee somewhere?
Thanks for your help.
rondee0375@gmail.com

Go on your credit card website and file a chargeback saying that you did not authorize this charge.  If the CC company contact you tell them that you did not authorize this charge, and that you dont know how they got your information.  You may or may not win in the end, but you should fight for your money.

David, you hit the nail on the head with your post.  Its is really just an expensive click-through campaign, with plenty of uncertainty as to the delivery of the campaign.  I am not saying that it does not work in theory, but in practice I would expect a negative return on investment.

hahaha, exactly, look at all those amazing things they are doing with their perks card. stupid.

Hi,

I am a small business owner in Burbank. I got a call from Augeo / Perkscard too. I made the mistake of signing up with them for $945 because it sounded so great. I fell for every shady marketing tactic in the book. After finding out that they scammed me out of a $1000 I called my credit card company trying to stop payment and they did nothing. They said that I willingly sign up for the services Augeo sold and it was my responsibility to check their credibility before agreeing to do business with them. All true.

Now I am stuck with having to pay $1000 and the services that I actually signed up for with Augeo / Perkscard, are actually useless.
AUGEO PERKSCARDS are a HUGE scam. Please save your money.

I worked at perkscard for over a year, it was an absolute scam, They have a whole pitch set up where they name competition in the beginning which is never true , they just pull up random names from the business pages or yellow pages. they try to build rapore with the business owner to make them feel special and how the employees would love their business. They go on and say you will be mentioned in newsletters and emails. The whole conversation takes about 30 minutes or so and they hit you at the end for $995 and then they say they spoke to the other competition in your area to make you feel stupid and would you want these employees using them. They have a list of categories to choose from, each person chooses a categorie to call, they even make some up! The newsletters are very tiny and goes to hr eventually, to be on the front of the card thats 3k, which is insane! The emoployees will never see these cards. None of you will ever see these employees.. They have a whole list of objections, going back and forth. You can negotiate with them , they say they have to talk to a manager first. Do not waste your money, because you will never make it back!! After they get your credit card info, your screwed they charge it right away!  Bob dowd the owner is a prick! he only cares about buying another low end mercedes for him and his wife. In this economy businesses are struggling and its not right to take their money. When you get a call from augeo or perkscard!! hang up !! send this to everyone!! It may sound good , but its not.  They train people how to sweet talk the owners and gain rapore wih the customer. They only want your money at the end and thats it , and they ask for referrals which even cracks me up more!  They sound nice and excited on the phone because they are being recorded on the other end. They actually have a  person coaching them on what to say, everybody is brainwashed and told what to do step by step. I felt bad taking money from these people, it was wrong! especially start up companies.  If you do sign up , you have 3 days to cancel..

Perkscard was very willing and helpful while they were trying to get us to sign up. However, once they processed our credit card (within the next 24 hours of our signing the contract), the customer service went downhill. We have tried to contact them several times and couldn't get a hold of anyone or have anyone call us back. The sales rep who was ever so accessible, even at 6 at night, before they landed the sale, was no longer as accessible after they got our money.
We signed up for different features such as a logo and printable coupon and did not receive what we were promised. We are now trying to get this straightened out with them.
We will definitely be filing complaints with consumer affairs. We feel very much taken advantage of as a merchant with our experience with this company so far.
Without a card/account (which means paying for the $995 base fee to become a merchant), there is no way to see anything on the perkscard website, not even anything about the company. www.perkscard.com
We felt that it was a gamble before with signing up as a merchant with perkscard, but went ahead with it anyway as a small business that is just starting out. I wish we would have known what we were getting ourselves into.
The way the company treats their paying merchants is just awful. We feel very taken advantage of.

We received zero business and the sales tactic was shady. We filed our complaint with the NY Better Business Bur and you should do the same if you feel their marketing tactics were misleading. They responded with some bogus contract statement saying their contract states that results are not guaranteed regardless of what is said. Why the need for that if you are selling the product without deception. They may have you sign a contract, but I don't know any court that holds up a contract that is created based on misrepresentation or a misleading party. I'm thinking of taking it as far as a class action. There seem to be many pissed off business owners that have been scammed. Click below and file your complaint. Don't let other business get scammed. Also make sure you respond to the remediators comments until you get a refund otherwise it will close the case automatically.

Wow - Adam Fool, Looks like you worked there too. I got alot of money from unsuspecting business owners with "pipe dreams" that PerksCard would help. I mastered the sale, you probably remember me. I feel really bad that business owners that paid to be the "Exclusive (fill in the business type here)for(fill in # of employees here)of(fill in employee group here)to go to to buy (fill in products & services here)" THEY NEVER SEEN 1 NEW CUSTOMER! Shut up the salespeople quick - just ask if there is a guarantee that the employees will actually receive these "Perkscard" by their employer, and if they register, will they be required to give personal information. If you are an empoyee that gets a card, register it with a "Spam Catcher Email", just to see how your personal information would have been used.

PerksCard is a huge scam! They train their people to manipulate business owners for money right over the phone. Mosty of the employees are brainwashed to think these sales tactics are ethical. If you are a business owner, read the fine print on the agreement that is faxed to you! PerksCard stays in business by finding all of the legal loopholes. The end result that they promise, employees using their custom PerksCard, rarely if ever happens. Sales people: apply someplace else, with a strong legitimate track record!!!!!

It sounds like this company is a SHAM! I've heard about PerksCard and how they steel money from real successful businesses. Watch out. You may hear a telemarketer says these profound words in their introduction..."Hi, I'm looking for a pet store to send Bob Dow to for food, home, and shelter. Do you know who I can speak with to set up a discount for his boarding? You may have seen him wondering around town; He's a pig with a large gap between his teeth and has con artist tendencies. What do you think you can do for him? Not much huh? Well do you think you could reccommend a dentist for Adam's teeth?

Do the Math People


If you knock $10 off your price, that means you need 100 customers from this source to break even. Gee, what happens if you knock $20 off? Or $30?

If it's really a good deal, it'll be a good deal tomorrow, too. Sounds like a scam. They have no numbers to back up their claims. If they're so good, why haven't we heard of them before? If they're just starting out, do you really want to be the guinea pig?!?!

The style of cold call is alarming, too. Do you want that type of salesteam putting YOUR name out there? What if people associate their pushy attitude with YOUR business! YIKES!

In the immortal words of King Arthur: "RUN AWAY!!! RUN AWAY!!"