Hit Web Design review: bad business to work with/for! abc4 news utah will expose! 528

Heritage Web Solutions : Unauthorized charges
by Polly

I spoke to Sepideh Hanks at Heritage Web Solutions on Friday (1/23/09) regarding website design and hosting. She sold me on their services over the phone and emailed me the contract to sign. When I received the contract it was entirely different than what was previously stated over the phone.

I immediately called back Heritage Web Solutions and was told Sepideh had left for the evening. I told the gentleman to cancel my account effective immediately. He assured me that there would be no charges to my debit card and that the account had been closed.

Today (1/26/09) I checked my bank account online and there was $170.00 debited to my account. I have been on the phone for the last hour with 6 different people from Heritage Web Solutions and they refuse to credit back the $170.

Anyone considering doing business with this company needs to beware. They are thieves!

Heritage Web Solutions
by loyall worker

Heritage Web Solutions is not a company i would recommend to anyone... They do not care about customer service in any way what so ever. They give you cheep pages and low initial sale and once you purchase you are obligated to either pay a bunch more for minor upgrades or have a cheep looking website. By the TOS you are obligated to keep the website, and anything you add on after that will cost you a arm and a leg.

I was a employee for Heritage a few months back and was appalled by the way that they treated their clients that i could not do it and feel good about it. Some of the many things i saw go on a regular basis and even did myself due to manager pressure to do so is:

1) One time a client wanted to ad a feature that was available... because we charged so much and were ridiculously overpriced he looked elsewhere. Found a company that did the exact same thing but for free.. He provided a HTML code for the designer to place in the website (takes a matter of seconds... no work at all included) Because he refused to pay the money and found the same thing for free else where, my manager made me charge him a $300 integration fee for pressing ctrl V on the keyboard. My manager told me strait up that he was going to have to pay 1 way or another.

2) When we initialy work with clients as a company they call them 2-4 times a week and try to "consult" with them... when in reality they are trying to up sell products. That is all they care about. If employees of Heritage try to do customer service we would get in trouble for wasting our time when we could be selling. Many issues on a daily basis go unsolved cause they are customers that will not purchase anything.

3) we have many products that are overpriced but a lot of them are plain scams. There is a gallery that we can include for free in a website it is called the standard gallery. We are told to try to sell it before we give it for free for at lease $100. there is also a rollover gallery that cost $200 what is the difference from the free gallery and the $200 gallery? You just have to change the code that is pre done from "no" to "yes". It is the exact same product. You use the same codes and same format but have to type 3 letters instead of 2.

4) By Terms of Service which most clients do not read you are obligated to host with heritage web solutions for at least 12 months... They say it is cause they do not make money off the design process that all products are at cost basically. This is what they teach employees and tell them to tell the clients. But that is not the case. A typical sale cost $120 per page $10 going to the sales person that leaves $110 . They pay the designers per page of $40 which leaves$70 a page that Heritage is profiting. they do have expenses i understand but they are far from designing websites at cost. The 12 months TOS is so you are stuck for 12 months. If you say you do not want to deal with them or found somewhere better you have to pay the first year of hosting to be released from the contract. And that is where the sucker sales come in. If you want a decent website you are forced to at least spent $500 additional... and that is for a basic site with minimal flash. Once you spent the thousands of dollars or keep the cheep looking one you have you are forced to host for 12 months. By that time most people will not be as upset and will just continue to swallow it. There are some that refuse and pay the fee and leave.. but at that time Heritage already has your money.

what to do if you find yourself in these situations

1) any client that goes to the Better Business Bureau and complains will get treated better by the CEO of the company. Only because they need to have all issues with the BBB resolved. And make sure if a offer is made or BBB contact you that you stay in contact with the BBB rep or it will be closed to no contact and resolved.

2) Make sure you talk to the right people. The problem with Heritage is even the managers will refuse to help you with any problems unless you purchase things since they are being hounded by upper management to sale just as bad as they hound the employees. You will need to specificly ask to speak with someone in the Priority Accounts Department, they are actually retention agents who are more open to helping you solve issues cause they are graded on a save ratio.

3) make sure you have EVERYTHING purchased before you agree to the terms of service. If you do not agree to the terms of service they have nothing to bind you by. Talk with your sales agent or the manager of your account and make sure all flash, galleries, databases... Everything you want is purchased. Then sign the Terms of Service. I would suggest you never sign them and work with someone else but at least make sure you have everything before

4) you can expect after you have bought everything to have less contact. You will not be contacted from your manager. Your designers all work from home all over the US and do not have schedules so they will be very hard to get a hold of. You will need to exert patience cause once you have spent all your money you go an low priority.

5) any feature or enhancement that is pitched by an agent if you negotiate will easily be brought down $100-$200. They will place you on hold saying they need manager approval but only in rare cases will they talk to a manager. Be sure to negotiate price and not settle.

I would not recommended this company to anyone. I have friends that still work there and they have informed me that the company is not doing good. They are falling behind with the cash flow. They were forced to cut all employees pay by 10%. Multiple times in the past few months my friends direct deposit was not able to be put in on time due to lack of funds. And the hosting is way over priced. You will pay $20-$60 a month for the exact same thing you could get for $9.99-$19.99 even though they will tell you it is different!

by Karma

I want to thank the former employee of HWS for writing this. When I read this, I found myself in many of the situations that were described. I have been offered things, after much complaining, that probably were in the standard gallery. Tech support always tells me to email updates to tech support with the issue I'm having. I thought that the whole reason that I was CALLING tech support was to get the issue resolved. Then I do the waiting game and completely get forgotten about. The last time that I called them, I needed to have a product removed from my online store. I had sold this item at a bazaar that I attended. Once again, I couldn't access my store admin because their server was down. I asked the tech to give me an aprox. time that the server would be back up and he told me, "hopefully sometime later in the day or tomorrow morning". I kept thinking, what if someone buys that item and then I can't deliver it since it doesn't exist anymore. I was angry and asked to talk to a supervisor, he put me on hold for a minute, when he got back to me he then told me to refresh my screen. The product was off my site... hmmm... I thought it would take a day or so. Seriously, 1 minute later my issue was resolved. The only reason that was done so fast was because I wouldn't let up on the poor tech who took my phone call. They don't have tech support on the weekends so if an issue arises Friday, after they're closed, you have to wait until Monday to talk to anyone. I know I'm on a low priority list because I refuse to spend any more money on my cheesy website. I've asked to talk to someone in customer service. Guess what, they say they don't actually have a customer service dept. They say that the dept that you've called can handle any issues you have. To not have a customer service dept. explains a lot about why they have such awful customer service. I just got 2 free months of hosting because of complaining but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the years of stress, neglect, disappointments, extreme lack of professionalism, waiting for nothing, etc., etc. When I first purchased my site, I was told that it would be up in 4-6 wks... almost 3 months later and after doing almost all the design work myself, my site was finally up. I've never been happy with it, the designer didn't listen to me at all. Now, after reading the former employees story... I'm wondering if HWS is going under. The only reason that I haven't gone elsewhere is because of having to start all over from scratch with a new hosting co. It would take me forever to start over. I have too many products to enter and I'd have to have a new design, plus paying the initial fees again. My experiences w/ HWS has left me feeling uninspired and fed up. I could go on and on w/ the problems that I've had w/ HWS but I think the former employees comments really sums up HWS hosting practices and I would definitely go with what they said. Once again, whoever you are... Thank you for the invaluable info about you ex-employer!

by rossmangifts.net

I have had my dealings with HWS also! Not good ones at all. I had a site that was started, when I sent back feedback as to problems I was seeing with the site, I never received resposes most of the time and none of the problems were fixed. I dealt with them on this for about a year and most of the feedback i did get was that my browser was probably not up to date because they didn't see the problems. This was a load of crap! Finally, I did get to the "Owner" of the company and things got rolling a little bit and eventually, I was "let out of it" with no refund and no real appology! All I ended up doing was losing about $1, 000 and a lot of time for a site that was never completed and never able to be put active to try to recoop any of the money I had sunk into it.

HWS is a very tough company to deal with and you will have to invest a lot of your own sweat and tears to get anything done, and done right (if it is even possible to get). In my opinion, you might as well try to roll a 30 ton boulder up a 45 degree hill before you think this is going to be a company that is out to help you. All they want is your money and then leave you hanging!

Ron Ross
Rossman's Worldly Treasures
rossmangifts.net

by ex-employee

I used to work for Heritage too, and everything that was written is completely true. From the very first day of training you are told to sell anything that you can, regardless of how you have to make the sale, and this includes lying to the customer. Once they have paid, they will never get all of their money back. The part about contacting the priority accounts department is good advice. Their direct extension is 1299.

Heritage Web Solutions : unauthorized charges
by Bobo

Heritage Web Solutions has not only *not* finished contracted work 2 months out from the stated finish date but they continue to put huge charges on our company credit card for which there was no agreement.

Otherwise called THEFT.

Credit Card company was notified and stated they "cannot stop the charging" you can only dispute them, even if they are reported as fraudulent in nature. Its a Dickensian nightmare.

I have never seen dealt with a company that so consistently flirts with fraud and outright fraud so persistently without being busted.

by Pat Reich

Yep everything you read about any of the complaints is true. Don't trust this company. I signed them up to develop a website that was botched so badly I cancelled the project after just 5 weeks of working with them. For that I got bilked out of $1, 340. This company is run by crooks.

by ITor

Same here,
9 months after the happy happy sales person sold me on a promise of a 4 to 6 week completion date
{without any explanation mind you about project size or intricacy -sneaky huh? I didn't hear about that till a MONTH after I signed my contract, though I gave them an outlined design and explanation of what I wanted on day 1- otherwise how could they quote me a price?}
and 700 dollars plus tons of stress and anger later. I had to walk away too.
I finally figured out they were never going to give me a site that worked without issues. This, after I'd lost my momentum, integrity with my peers {who were promised a completion date numerous times that came and went}, and the desire to even have a website.

My experience with this company sucked so bad it's almost unbelievable. I have no idea how they are in business. I have my own business and if I pulled any of what they pulled on me during that 9 months I'd have my ear yelled off. And rightfully so.

It's insane. They must have magicians and [censored]e working for them somewhere. Only their magicians can't finish websites.
Be warned.

by HORITAGE WEB FRAUD

WILL SUE HORITAGE WEB SOLUTION, WHO WANT TO JOIN ?

I paid almost $3000 for custom programming, they keep on saying they have people work on it, after half years nothing was ever done, and they are charging hosting fee everything month. we cant wait for any longer for our website to go live, business has to run. we called to cancel the service and get money back for the works which not finish, but they said THEY DONT HAVE TIME LIMITE TO FINISH THE WORK ON THE CONTRACT, AND THEY HAVE RIGHT NOT TO ISSUE REFUND, and they said they will cancel our website, we need to look for other company to host it. we cant file dispute with credit card company after 3 month, WTF we lost $3000 for nothing. We are looking an atterney to sue this company, I can join you guys if anybody else want to sue this company, please contact me johnli7777@hotmail.com

YOU GOTTA READ THIS COMPLAINT
YOU GOTTA READ THIS COMPLAINT
YOU GOTTA READ THIS COMPLAINT

Heritage Web Solutions
by Minimike

Internet Web building fraud and scam
www.heritagewebdesign.com

This company is the truest of crooks... PLEASE SAVE YOUR SELFS. There is no lower ### then a company that feeds and steels from new small business owners. Heritage Web Solutions specializes in getting your money and frustrating you until you leave. I have hundreds of emails and documents and over 200 hours of wasted time to end up out $1, 300 to Mark Strong who has stolen tens of thousands of dollars from people like you and me. He will simply send a copy of his terms of service. HERITAGE WEB SOLUTIONS TERMS OF SERVICE is over 50 paragraphs of your out of luck. It even says they don’t have to finish the site at all if they don’t want to. I am not kidding. AND BE CAREFUL! THEY SLIP IT BY WHEN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT FOR A WEBSITE... AFTER THAT YOUR OUT AT LEAST $59 PER MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS IN HOSTING FEES PERIOD!

I will paste a letter he sent me below that says if you want to go to small claims court you need to come to Utah. You See he knows its not worth the trip and bam he keeps on steeling! This ### offered me and my business partner $200 because the other $1, 100 should be his for having to email me?

AGAIN SAVE YOURSELFS FROM PURE HELL AND ###!

SEE LETTER FROM CEO MARK STRONG BELOW.

Mark Strong Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 4:04 PM
To: michael rose
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Delete | Show original
Dear Mr. Rose,

When you accepted Heritage's Terms of Service http://www.heritagewebdesign.com/tos.html on April 2, 2008 you accepted the essence of the third (3rd) paragraph in the Account Termination Agreement. See Section 41.

The purpose of the Account Termination Agreement is simply to put in concise terms the provisions of unwinding our relationship. Heritage doesn't need an additional signed Account Termination Agreement. It is as much for your protection as Heritage's.

It is now your call as to what you want to do. Our position has already been stated: $200 refund and release of Heritage's work to you. If this is not acceptable, then have your attorney communicate with Heritage at:

Heritage Web Solutions
1460 N. Moonriver Drive
Provo, Utah 84604

Attn: Legal Department

As a professional courtesy, please make your attorney aware of Section 43 of the TOS. It establishes the courts in the State of Utah as the courts having jurisdiction in all legal matters. It states:

43. Jurisdiction.

This agreement shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the State of Utah, USA, without regard to any conflicts of laws provisions thereof, as a contract entered into and performed entirely within the State of Utah. The parties herby expressly disclaim the application of the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods. Any disputes between the parties relating to the subject of this agreement shall be submitted exclusively to the jurisdiction of the state or federal courts located in the State of Utah, Counties of Utah or Salt Lake, and the parties expressly consent to personal jurisdiction and venue therein and waive any objection based on forum non convenient or otherwise.

Should you decide to litigate in any other jurisdiction, HWS will engage legal counsel in that jurisdiction. However, HWS will not litigate the merits of the case. Our legal counsel will have the jurisdiction referred to Utah. This “Jurisdiction” provision has been challenged in the courts before and the courts have consistently upheld this provision.

It is hoped that we can terminate this relationship amicably and promptly.

Please advise.
Respectfully,
Mark Strong
Chief Quality Officer
Heritage Web Solutions.

.

by Anonymous Coward

Well, I work for these guys. Their setup is a lot different than you think. Here's the lowdown.

1) They take on jobs and place them in a queue with the name, location, type of job, and the price paid.

2) Contract developers in the relevant field and at the relevant skill level take on the project.

3) It is up to the contractor to get the job done while the bean counters at the top try to protect their investment.

4) The contractor is supposed to contact the client (and stay in contact) and have it done by the "due date" (for each segment, depending on how complicated and large the project is).

5) The site must be approved by the supervisor at each stop (graphic, php, database, HTML, etc) and then by the client.

6) Lastly, the webmasters at the very top of the food chain must approve the job.

This is a very redundant system that relies on the honestly of the developers (contractors), the supervisors, and the management. They do have serious quality control standards.

When you have trouble with them, it's usually because either your project didn't get picked up or the person who did pick it up was a flake. I make a pretty penny picking up "dropped" projects, getting paid the entire price for a few days of work.

When I take on a project, I always put my best effort into it, making sure the client is especially happy with the product. That said, I've also seen more than one developer flake out after getting hired by a "real company". We don't make that much money either BTW, maybe the equivalent of $15 - $20hr.

So, we're taking it on our end as well. I can't blame you for being angry, nor can I blame a poorly paid developer for going after a better paying job. That's just how the world works ... everyone's trying to make a buck.

I hope you all have better luck in the future. Using any "discount" service is definitely hit and miss.

.

by MemyselfandI

Oh i'm over hear really really upset now. I have been thinking the were playing us all a long and reading all these things confirms it. They're ### and they're big lairs. They made promises to do things that they didn't finish. They promised two months of free hosting and we still have no finished website? How is that truly free? I wonder if we all can join together and get a lawyer to do a class action law suit. It just makes no sense that someone can continue to cheat people out of their money like that.

by ITor

If anyone decides to sue please contact me also. I have my entire 9 month case documented { My business partner was a lawyer- I talked him out of suing months ago out of naivety and I feel too bad to go back and ask him now...BUT! my entire case is highly organized anyway as a result. I also have a signed contract from the CEO with a clearly stated deadline that was ridiculously missed.}

I'll check back here periodically. Please leave me a note. I'm interested in being involved.
If only to help other people who are still out there to get taken advantage of and stressed out beyond belief and have their impetus stomped, as we've had.

Remember that gut clenching feeling when you first realized who Heritage Web really was {after the first or second time the dic-ed you around blatantly} and you realized you were so screwed? When all you wanted was a freaking website- and you were paying for it too!
Ugh.

I don't think this company has any intention of changing.

Leave me a note.

by SorryConsumer

Let say that I am also among the unhappy customers that have been cheated by a web site designer company. In a few words, I have payed 100% of the cost and I got nothing in return. It looks like the contract that I have signed is very one sided (the company can deliver, charge and make changes of the contract at their pleasure) and litigation is actually a binding arbitration. Anyone knows what can be done in these cases, the cost might exceed the site value and I do not know how arbitration works in these cases where a company, even when it does not deliver, is quite protected by a one sided contract. (Even if it did not deliver the product)

by James

I implore you to NEVER to use Heritage Web Solutions. They start charging you hosting fees from day one. I ordered my web site in March, and it is almost July and it is still NOT finished. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER use this company. They are eager to take your money and then do nothing but sit on their ### and offer excuses... "we are adding more staff... we had to let go of that person... your site will be up and running today...

This has to be the worst company in the history of the world... do NOT give them a dime. You will regret it if you do.

by Anonymous

WHY ISN'T ANYONE DOING ANYTHING ABOUT HERITAGE! THE STATE, THE BBB, THE FEDERAL TRADE COMISSION? WHY IS THIS ALLOWED TO OCCUR? WHY AREN'T THE SEARCH ENGINES REMOVING THEIR ADVERTISING? EVERYONE IS AIDING AND ENCOURAGING THIS COMPANY TO CONTINUE. I TOO AM A HERITAGE VICTIM..WHO DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE AN "IN" WITH?
IS THERE ANYONE IN WASHINGTON WE CAN CONTACT...HOW ABOUT THE FBI? WHAT ABOUT INTERNET POLICING? WE WOULD NOT ALL BE VICTIM IF THIS COMPANY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING? ITS LIKE A CONSPIRACY. IF YOU GOOGLE ANY OTHER WEBSITE HOST COMPANY UNDER COMPLAINTS...NONE COME UP WITH THIS MANY COMPLAINTS...WE ARE NOT CRAZY!

by Bill

-**if you press "I Approve" on the site and later discover a mistake they made, updates will charge you to correct it ! (no joke, this is true!). That is completely unethical. If I approve of a brake job from
an auto place which later fails on the interstate, is it my liability because I approved the work they did? I don't think so. This is a horrible "gotcha!". It is my one very serious complaint.

-front loaded; very eager to sell initial services but then some drag feet on the delivery if complications develop, which inevitably occur.

-integration is quite expensive with this company. If you need to do different things across the board for your customers and want to manage their email addresses, this can nickel and dime you to death. They say they can do it all, but usually site integration of many services results in a lot of custom programming.

-quote one price but then charge you more later (multiple times) - e.g. We will sell you a feature for x$ but then hit you with z$ for a feature of the feature or w$ for different features. They give the impression when you buy a web feature the price includes it all. No sir, there is serious nickel and diming. For any HWS customer ask up front for this or that feature "are there any other potential costs".

-Problem employees. I guess every place has them. Problem is its not so great when the space cadet is in charge of an aspect of your site! This can seriously bottleneck your business. If the name sounds unprofessional, and the emails are full of misspellings and run on sentences, and things said multiple times aren't getting done, you better start sweating.

-disengage/re-engage - their employees are so busy pushing the load work will be done then you won't hear from them for a while.

To sum it up: if you are a person who has great patience and are willing to work with others through the entire process, HWS is okay. However, is you are expecting a high degree of customer satisfaction with little interaction in getting the desired product, you are screwed. If you want to toss the deal everytime a snag develops, don't do it. HWS is a clearing house; you have to be prepared to go to market to get the services you want. **Problem is, it can get so expensive, you might do just as well to hire a website developer just for your project at ODesk (outsourcing) or other custom place where they can focus on you with less hassle...

Heritage Web Solutions
by Foosie

I assumed this company was legitimate because they had an impressive looking website. I was fooled by glitter. If you are thinking of getting a website I would strongly suggest you look locally. I learned the hard way. My advice is to stay away from Heritage Web Solutions. Don't be fooled as I was with a good looking web page. I am surprised someone hasn't brought criminal charges against them by now.

by ITor

Call the company and ask to speak to the CEO.

Tell them you have been struggling for 9 months and now have what's called a priority case.
Tell them that you have paid hard earned money for a site that still looses information.
Let them know that at this point you've have had many direct promises and due dates broken.
- In fact tell them that you have a signed contract from the CEO himself,
that you got 7 months in to your project, after you'd documented all of the things that had gone wrong with your site {a huge unnecessary task in itself that you should have been paid for- what a headache} and the shoddy handling of your case and were finally ready to SUE.
As I was, and like I'd finally gotten.

{My site was supposed to be completed by september 9th 2008 a full 7 months after I began the process. I have that in writing.}

And I bet you still cant talk to him.
I sure was denied.

Now I understand CEO's are busy, nature of the game right? Sure. But if someone had been screwed by my company for 9 Months in a hundred different ways, {you see I'm a CEO too}, I'd get on the horn and handle it.
Especially if I'd signed something I put my personal promise on.
You see, I have integrity.

What can you do though, when the foundation is weak how's the structure supposed to stand?

It doesn't.

This is a greedy greedy company. Disorganized, lax on business morality. Ultimately they don't get that our money is in exchange for a promised product.

Please, don't waste your time. Go elsewhere. And investigate all companies first.

by rossmangifts.net

I really wish I had found this thread a year+ ago before I got roped into the HWS Scam! I too have had a bad dealing with them and am right now getting things together to go to the BBB and start a lawsuit against them! This is one of the poorest companies I have ever had dealings with and when you get virtually nothing for the hard earned money you spend trying to get a little bit ahead, it is very dis-heartening! I have been spending a few minutes every day trying to spread the word to everyone that they need to steer clear of this company unless they are just looking for write-offs or just looking for somewhere to waste a lot of money and time for nothing but hard times in return.

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Incomplete service!
by Anonymous

www.hwsinet.com

This Company has many complaints already. And mine are, of course, strikingly similar. But for those of you who have been involved with this firm, Heritage Web Solutions, how about either a suit in Small Claims Court in Provo or a class action suit against them? Really, they need to change their practices. Of course, we can allow nothing to happen, and see more small business owners treated unethically. I think eventually, their unscrupulous practices will create real trouble for them. However, if we pull together to stop this kind of business practice, maybe we will save a few other business owners and help the owners of HWS to come to their senses. If this is something you are interested in, go to Small Claims Court of Provo, UT. Can someone of this group can think of a way for all of us to communicate directly?

by Bryan Boe

How funny that CEO Brad seems that his blanket comment to go under each complaint thinking he has rectified customer issues.
Why don't you prove yourself Mr. Brad Stone. I Bryan Boe want you to refund my money completely. Then I want you to pay me for damages for what I have lost in watching my whole program go down the drain as I have had to cancel every promotion, event, presentation loosing more than 90+k. Words are cheap! I have waiting for almost 7 months and you and your company have failed us miserably.
Show me you mean what you say and I will let people know that you delivered. I doubt that will happen. I have seen the list of lawsuits filed against you since 99 and some of them you did not even respond. You could care less. The attorney that I have been speaking to said any decent company would never allow that to happen and would rectify the problems, refund people. You are a greedy man and you will be held accountable one day for the dishonest money you generate to put in your pocket.
Show us that you mean what you say because I have been trying to get your inept company to finish my project with nothing but empty promises and in the end after months and months of listening to your folks that are completely disconnected promise me that my project will be completed to then have them come back to me after 6 months of the worst hassle I have ever experienced to say "Oh we can't do that without us having to charge me 10+ thousand $$$ to hire outside professionals to complete my project.

This is after from inception, all you programmers and sales reps and account managers and designers have all promised me that it will be done and are so apologetic as to my projects unacceptable delay.

Anyone who has been screwed by HWS please call me. I will work to organize a large class action suit. HWS cannot continue screwing up peoples live and businesses while they sit fat and happy in there $$$$ and rip off people.

Bryan Boe
[protected]

by heritagenoservice

Totally agree with how you feel Bryan. I will be calling you tomorrow.

Their name recently changed to Hit. Why did they change names? Heritage had a bad enough name? Wonder how long it is going to take Hit to get a bad name too? Bet they are already working on the next "New" name for the company.

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Terrible experience!

www.hws.com

I have had the same problems as described by so many other people out there. Heritage Web Solutions never did complete or even begin a design on my "package deal" and then continue to charge my credit card for hosting fees after I paid to have the domain released over 4 months ago. I wish I had checked the Utah BBB and then I would have known before hand that this company has a HORRIBLE record to put it mildly.

Companies such as these simply take advantage not so savvy consumers and get away with it everyday. I learned my lesson and also lost about $800.00 to boot with absolutely nothing to show for it other than a domain name. I say, STAY AWAY unless you have money to burn.

by Bryan Boe

HWS is a fraud and SCAM. The only thing they are good at is running your credit card and collecting your money. This has been the worst experience I have ever had with a company and the worst run around ever. HWS has financially ruined us as we have been completely unable to promote out program that was suppose to be completed back in June! Now 5 months later I have nothing. All our funding has been lost. Presentation, promotions, major events etc. have all been lost. We have lost at least 90k not including other opportunity costs and HWS could absolutely care less.

I want to gather a group of very unhappy customers and file a class action lawsuit. I'm not one to go this route but HWS does not care. For months I have had to plead and beg them to finish my project and I have nothing to show for it. I have been bounced back between a dozen or so people and for months I seem to be saying the exact same thing and still they do not deliver but promise that it will be done.

I finally spoke to an attorney today and I'm not going for the smalls claim garbage. I'm seeking damages. Brad you and your company has destroyed us. We put our complete trust and confidence in what your sales and Account reps told us and to this day after almost 8 months ago we have nothing.

It really sucks that you have a business that brings in money for yourself but when other start-up or small business go to you and accept what you promise and put their good faith in a company that prides itself as being #1 and then SCAMS them and puts them out of business, you should not be able to get away with that.

You should have worked to make sure that your customers are getting what they are promised and are happy. This world has so many crooks and they have somehow justified themselves and constantly convince themselves that they have done no wrong. Where are your ethics?

You have a bunch a sales folks who celebrate and ring bells in the back ground when a sale goes through and you make sure you collect your$$$ but I don't hear any celebrating or bells ringing once that customer has been satisfied.

I will not stop. I will make sure everyone knows that your company rips people off and that they should stay far away from you.

You want to make things right as you say? Call me. I have been waiting for you and other reps but it seems that you guys only call back people to get their money.

Anyone who has been scammed by HWS call me and we can somehow file a class action suit against Heritage Web NonSolutions.

Regards,

A very dissatisfied customer.
Bryan Boe
[protected]

by TheRossman

I had to laugh when I saw the comments from Mr. Stone. That must be some sort of form letter that he has saved, because I have seen the exact duplicate more than once. That should be a sign right there, that a company CEO has a form letter to send out to all the complaints on their company...

Anyway, I will be brief and just say that I too have been scammed by HWS! They got me for almost a grand total. If you like throwing money away, please give it to charity instead of HWS, atleast it will do someone some good.

Ron Ross
Rossman's Worldly Treasures
www.rossmangifts.net

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Dishonesty!
by Adsf
www.heritagewebdesign.com

I did design for Heritage Web Solutions for almost a year. At first, I really loved the job and believed in what I was doing. Over time though I came to dislike Heritage for many reasons. To start with, the hosting plans are ridiculous. HWS offers hosting packages up to $60/month, giving you 20 GB of space, with a 1 year contract. 20 GB of space is a lot, but 99% of sites will NEVER need more than 1 GB of space. Taking this into consideration, I'd like to note that GoDaddy's economy plan gives you 5 GB of space for $4/month, no contract. That's $56 less a month for everything you will need. Who would you go with?

Also, don't expect great customer service. For starters, the sales team's pay is based almost entirely on commission. They will promise things that are not true, commit to deadlines that will not be met, do whatever it takes to make sure you sign up for a 1-year contract with the company. I know this, because I dealt with the lies at my end--doing design. By the time clients got to me, 80% of the time, they were highly dissatisfied, and said I was the only person in the company that would talk to them.

Finally, I worked at HWS for almost a year, and not ONCE did I have a manager stress quality in my work--not in general, not for a specific project, not ever. To top this off, instead they took the time to push me to make sales to my clients. How many companies make their websites developers make sales for them? They even have a sales quota. If you don't squeeze enough money out of your clients each month, you're gone. Sometimes I was forced to pitch sales for things I wouldn't even buy for my own website.

In conclusion, don't go to HWS, whether you're a client or a potential employee. Many of my friends at HWS are trying to get out as soon as possible. I will say that I loved working with the people there. I miss them, but besides that I am very glad I am no longer associated with Heritage Web Solutions.

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Lack of Service
by mike sullivan

We had Heritage Web Solutions design a website for our new business. We gave them all of the information for the design of the site. They promised to get the site designed and functioning in a timely manner. After more than 30 days and many phone calls they had not started the design of the site. I asked for a timeline to complete the site and they decline to give me one. Shortly after we discovered a few charges that Heritage had put on our credit card for services that we did not order and they did not perform. They admitted the charges and reimbursed the money. After all of this we completely lost trust and confidence with Heritage. We are now in dispute with Heritage over the first payment. We feel they have breached the contract by not creating the website reasonable expected time frame that cost our company several thousand dollars. Heritage has refused to return the money, even though they had not performed any work. The only time anyone spent on the website was when we called to complain about the lack work being done.

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Repeated Phone Calls
by mkeym

These people just don't get it. My caller ID registered:

1). 16 calls from this company during the month of May
2). 27 during the month of April
3). 31 during the month of March
4). 6 during the last two weeks of February

When is it ever a sound business practice to harass customers into purchasing a product or service?

Originally, my business information was forwarded to Heritage Web Solutions when I enrolled my business online with another site. I figured I'd have someone design my website, to free me up for other things.

At the onset of the conversation, the price was $199; However, by the end of the conversation, the price was inflated to $400. Nevertheless, I was still interested... but because of other priorities, I could not give half immediately as he requested. Instead, I asked if I could do so in two weeks. After placing me on hold to "speak with his Vice President", the answer was no. So, I told him I'd just call back when I was ready.

I didn't.

I got to thinking: What a poor decision it is to allow a customer out of your grasp because you're not willing to work with them! So, when I finally received the cash in hand, I decided that I'd rather make the sacrifice and work on the site myself. I did - and saved myself $400! Judging from the negative feedback on this company, that was the best decision I could have ever made!

My advice? Stay clear of Heritage Web Solutions!

________________________________________

Dave ... Comments ?

by rossmangifts.net

When I first started reading your comments, the first thing that ran through my mind was that if you want them to stop calling you, purchase a website from them... lol After I decided to give them a shot, it was virtually impossible to get a hold of anyone to talk to about problems. Even emails were rarely answered. I am thinking a great deal of that may be that there is high turnover on the employee front? It seemed everytime I tried to get a hold of someone with problems, I would be told it was "in the next phase" of production and they would have the person working on it get a hold of me, which was their "polite way" of telling me TOO BAD ?

This company is a crock and I feel sorry for people who are trying to make it on a budget and try to deal with them. I have gotten to the point that i think they only really cater to those who are willing to invest thousands of dollars with them, if even that?

by mkeym

WOW. You've got to be kidding. I guess all of these complaints are true - there's no way all of these companies could be telling an untruth!

I just want them to cease calling me. After the first three phone calls, I made up my mind to run in the other direction! It makes me nervous when I am approached by companies that exhibit such urgency. ... it's almost as if they're desperate. If you have a great product or service, you don't have to beg for people to do business with you!

by Nick Xxx

heritage uses zencart free software and charges for additional items that come free with the software
advertises custom design no templates...uses zerncart template and charges for a custom design.
for over 1, 000 you can get a true custom design from any designer. plus heritage designers use your pics and no designing is involved. it is just putting a reusable template together. I would expect this for 199.00 but not for overe 1, 000 and paying 49.99 a month for hosting. sales people lie when they say custom design and no template. they do not let you cancel from the start. creates havoc when it gets to the point that you see you website and find out it is a free downloadable software system. Not truly a custom design! TOS is against the law. Violates freedom of speach. Plus who the hell reads a TOS that is like a 265 page book!

In order to get your money back if you have not used your website yet, charge them for the time and energy it takes to get your money back. If you have a business license...this is justified. I plan to charge at least 35.00 per hour it takes me to work on getting my money back.

_______________________________________________________________

Ryan, can you open you law books and see if this false under false advertising ?

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Absolutely the worst web company out their
Michelle W.

These people are not good for ###! They did wrong to my cousin who has a business opening next year

They took away here fears that she would not be ready to open up as scheduled because of Heritage Web Solutions!

If there was an award out for: "Web Scam of the Year" they would all be on the stage with their black and white suits!

I really believe that all of America would vote for them too.

Hey Heritage, "How do you sleep at night"

Heritage: "With a pocket full of your money!"

Brian Potvin

I agree with everyone else, I wish I had found this site before I gave money to Heritage web. Their high pressure tactics & smug attitude are an every day thing. They claim their software is user friendly but every time I try to use it I have to call one of their Techs. Then I have to wait a week before the problem gets fixed, it took them 5 months to build my site. Was I being charged for the design & a hosting fee? YES! When I asked for my money back they said I was under contract, but if there is no site there is no contract. Do not do business with these people.

by Suzanne Lloyd

ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT WRONG. THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM!

by Pamela O'neal

I feel the same way, These people are full of it!

by ITor

I also signed a contract with Heritage Web and after 9 months of on and off promises to complete a website I was told would be finished in 4 to 6 weeks, I finally gave up. It was a complete headache, killed the momentum I'd worked so hard to garner for my business. Promises that were made to rectify mistake after careless mistake without fail we're not kept.
In the end I walked away from my 700 dollar deposit because I had no other options. They'd dicked me around in too many ways and I'd just had it. I never even want to look at my shoddy half a site they put up again. Ugh. Totally killed my dream of having a website. Worst experience ever.

by Renee Barley

I agree with each and every COMPLAINT here, and beleive they are true. Like my self I got out when the getting was good. And lost only the start up fee of $200.00, thanks to Wells fargo Bank. This Web company has the worst customer service I ever have seen. They make big promises and do not deliver any thing but bull ### .

Heritage Web Solutions Complaints - Don't waste your money and time
by unknown

Business owners, if you really really really value your MONEY and TIME: Stay AWAY from these LIARS!

Heritage Web Solutions is the ### of the earth and all deserve to be in JAIL!

by Pat Reich

Previous customers who air there complaint on public forums are the ones that have reached an indescribable level of frustration with Heritage. The company hides behind its terms of services contract that is written to favor only Heritage and alleviates Heritage of any responsibilities for such a despicable levels of service that Heritage should be embarrassed by the way some of their personnel managed projects.

If you don't like people posting negative comments simply refund their money and move on instead of trying to justify keeping portions of it. $500 means a lot more to the small business then it can possibly mean to Heritage so when you go out of your way to retain these moneys it is an insult to the consumer, and for a mere $500 dollars you have created lifelong Heritage haters. It would be so much easier to address the problems head-on then to deal with them the way you do. I hope all of the negative press is worth the $500.