Progressive Business Publications
Reviews and Complaints

On September 26, 2016, I spoke with Kathy, a collection agent from International Credit Recovery (ICR). The companies number is [protected]. She indicated that an account for my employer was sent to a collection agency for non payment. After asking several questions, she alleged that invoices have been sent to the office and email address. She had accurate information for both even my birthdate (I have no clue how she obtained that information), but an invoice was NEVER received. They are attempting to collect a $249.00 payment.

I asked her to email me a copy of the invoice. She said that the company doesn't have the ability to email invoices only to fax. That seems strange for a company not to have an email address to send out information. She insisted they only have a fax machine.

I asked how could I cancel the subscription, she said she would let the company know. I then asked to get the companies information so that I could also follow-up with a call. She indicated that she didn't have it. How is that possible? How are you contacting them on "my" behalf then? I asked her to give me her method to contact them. She couldn't do that either. This company is a big SCAM.

Progressive Business Publications continues to invoice us for a one year subscription to Facility Manager's Alert. They claim our previous Plant Manager ordered this publication. He never ordered any such publication, nor was he here at the time they claim he ordered this subscription. He had moved to another plant prior to the time they claim he ordered this and could not possibly have spoken to anyone from these offices when he was 5000 miles from here. They have sent their invoices to aa collections cmpany called ICR in NY. They continue to call us and harrass us and tell us they're going to file these claims against us on our credit. They are hostile and rude and argue with our accounting department and purchasing department. I refused to speak with this "Bobby" on the phone when she argued with me and claimed that Progressive Business Publications is a legitimate company and that they have a legitimate claim against us. She refused to listen to me at all, so I hung up on her. We will not be taking any more of their calls and will also be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against Progressive Business Publications and ICR bot, Internation Credit of Vesta NY)
Something needs to be done about both of these companies put them out of commission! How can we make them stop the harrassment?

If you get a invoice from Progressive Business Publications all you have to do is e-mail... [protected]@pbp.com
Stop the bogus subscription. Keep the email and invoice as evidence.
Also send a copy of the invoice to the Malvern Police Dept and BBB.

Received an invoice for $495.00 for a one year subscription to Safety Training Tookit 3.0. No one here at our office ordered this. Furthermore, they used my name as the person ordering. This is a scam! There's not even a phone number on the invoice!

Company is sending harassing letters indicating that my wife had ordered one year of business publications when no such order was placed. In fact we have never heard of PBP. Yet their letters indicate that we had been mailed 4 issues and that we are receiving our second notice. They are billing us $195 for something we have never ordered.

I got a call from “Steven” today (September 28, 2011 ) for a free trial subscription for a newsletter for Managers (not sure of the “real” name). He said the name of the business was Communication Bulletin and they are out of Malvern, PA. I verified our business mailing address, my name and my month and day of birth. He said I would get 2 newsletters: one on Oct 7 and the other on Oct 21. If after reading those I was not satisfied just send back invoice saying cancelled. If I liked them then the one year subscription price of $94 dollars would be billed and I would receive 24 newsletters. Also gave the guy my business email so that he could send me a confirmation. He said he would send it right away. I did not get the email so I thought SCAM and I goggled some stuff. Below is what I found after looking at various sites (including this one). I complied to try to help anyone else.

If you get a call asking for payment and you did not ask for a subscription here is some info for you.

Some general advice after reading. Ask for invoice to be faxed, ask for voice recording of confirmed order, ask for dates, ask for their address, and ask for their supervisors /managers name. When they will not give the info to you tell them you believe it is a scam, ask them to not call you again and hang up. After that call PBP and see if they will help (some readers have gotten them to call off the collection agency). If that does not work report them to the BBB and the Attorney General. Other ideas follow. Above all read the info so you are prepared.

Disclaimer: I may have some info listed under wrong business etc as all of this info is taken from other posts. Also I have no proof that any of this info is correct or if it works, just had some time and the inclination to help myself and others. GOOD LUCK

International Credit Recovery Inc.
300 Main Street P.O. Box 992 Vestal, NY 13851
Phone [protected] fax [protected] web: www.INTLCREDITREC.com
Caller ID numbers [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected]
Callers also say they are from United Credit & Collections, International Credit Collections Agency, International Credit, Olde City Financial

NY State Division of Corporations IRC of Vestal NY is "Inactive" and "dissolved" for not paying franchise taxes. They are NOT a member of the American Collector’s Association
Caller Names - Many report that the voices sound a lot alike and these are supposed to be fake names
Laurie Appleton
Valarie Oliver - supervisor
Lynn Gregory
Katie Dotman or Gotham
Amanda Sprague
Kathy Rema or Reemer
Chris Bennett
Tiffany Jones
Kelly Fountain
Becky Morgan
Amber Gates or Yates
Janice
Lindsey Bezek
Sam (girl)
Angel White
Cynthia Thomas – Manager Powell is suppose to be real last name
Bobbi (girl)
Heather
April Bair
Jaime
Doddie or dobbie Philtrop
Jim Miller – Manager
KARLA AKEMANN

Progressive Business Publications
370 Technology Drive P.O. Box 3019 Malvern, PA 19355
Reported Phone numbers [protected], [protected] or [protected] Peggy (extension #219)
Email addresses: [protected]@PBPInfo.com ~ [protected]@PBPInfo.com ~ Corporate [protected]@pbp.com
Business also been seen as Business 21 Publishing, Institute of Business Publishing and others

Who to contact to file complaints

NY State Attorney General Office [protected] (Andrew Cuomo)
One person reports satisfaction by filing a complaint online with them and this is the guy who responded in July 2009
The NY Attorney General's office contact information.
Joseph Kelly
Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection
44 Hawley St. Binghamton, NY 13901
PH:[protected] Fax [protected] web; http://www.oag.state.ny.us

Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General,
16th Floor Strawberry Square Harrisburg, PA 17120 phone [protected]

Consumer Protection [protected].

Better Business Bureau, Check out a Business, owner, contact info; file a Complaint: http://www.bbb.org/us/
Specific Info in NY where the company is located
Better Business Bureau, Inc.
100 Bryant Woods South Amherst, NY 14228
File a complaint on-line http://dc-easternpa.bbb.org/
One person got an email back from a complaint saying that they believe a complaint had been satisfied and they received it from
Terry Hodgson
Trade Practice Consultant
[protected]@upstatenybbb.org
Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov [protected]
File complaint online: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov that is at www.ftc.gov

US National Do Not Call Registry, file complaint: https://www.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx

Federal Communications Commission
Telephone toll free: [protected] http://www.fcc.gov/contacts.html
File complaint online: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumers.html http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
FCC Abandoned Calls Complaint form: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/1088D-R.pdf
email: [protected]@fcc.gov

One persons advice from Fair Debt Collection.com
Send them this letter via certified mail DEMANDING validation of the alleged debt they are calling about with return receipt requested. Per the FDCPA they have five days to respond. If they can't (or won't) provide proof that you legitimately owe it and continue calling, you can sue for statutory damages of $1, 000.00 PER violation. Be sure and keep copies of everything you send:

Today's Date

Your Name
Your Address

International Credit Recovery Inc
300 Main St
Vestal, NY [protected]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL

Dear {insert name of collector or company},

I am writing in response to your (letter or phone call) dated {insert date}, (copy enclosed) because I do not believe I owe what you say I owe.

This is the first I've heard from you, or any other company on this matter therefore, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 809(b): Validating Debts:

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.

I respectfully request that you provide me with the following information:

(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) Provide a verification or copy of any judgment (if applicable);
(4) Proof that you are licensed to collect debts in (insert name of your state).

Be advised that I am fully aware of my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For instance, I know that:

Because I have disputed this debt in writing within 30 days of receipt of your dunning notice, you must obtain verification of the debt or a copy of the judgment against me and mail these items to me at your expense;
you cannot add interest or fees except those allowed by the original contract or state law.

You do not have to respond to this dispute but if you do, any attempt to collect this debt without validating it, violates the FDCPA.

Also be advised that I am keeping very accurate records of all correspondence from you and your company including recording all phone calls and I will not hesitate to report violations of the law to my State Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.

I have disputed this debt; therefore, until validated you know your information concerning this debt is inaccurate. Thus, if you have already reported this debt to any credit-reporting agency (CRA) or Credit Bureau (CB) then, you must immediately inform them of my dispute with this debt. Reporting information that you know to be inaccurate or failing to report information correctly violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act § 1681s-2. Should you pursue a judgment without validating this debt, I will inform the judge and request the case be dismissed based on your failure to comply with the FDCPA.

Finally, if you do not own this debt, I demand that you immediately send a copy of this dispute letter to the original creditor so they are also aware of my dispute with this debt.

Signature here
Your Printed Name

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/Disputing ... ute-letter.html

As a form of reference here are the sites that I looked at to compile info- I think I included them all!

Web Article
http://failuremag.com/index.php/failure_analysis/article/progressive_business_publications_and_international_credit_recovery/
Very similar text http://www.zimbio.com/member/QAWXPbC64/articles/1821803/Beware+Progressive+Business+Publications+Malvern
[redacted] International Credit Recovery
/link removed/
Progressive Business Publications
/link removed/
Found Complaints at these Sites
http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=INTERNATIONAL%20CREDIT%20RECOVERY
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/6077484686
http://www.insiderpages.com/b/15240951621/international-credit-recovery-vestal
http://binghamton.citysearch.com/review/7709203
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-607-748-4686

They called me and told me that they will send 2 free letters and then you can cancel if you don't like our publication. I looked for a phone # to call for cancelling before my second letter but didn't find any. They they sent me an invoice for $299 even though I didn't wish to continue. I am sending them a letter to cancel. But this should really be stopped. This is a total fraud and nuisance. Why is government not shutting them down?

We received a sales call fom this company asking us to purchase a subscription to their safety training web site. I informed them, as I always do, we don't have the budget for any purchases, and weren't interested. They asked me if I wanted a free trial, and I declined, telling them that I wouldn't be able to purchase anyway. Now months later I received an invoice for $795.00 thats due for our annual subscription. NO phone number, NO fax number, NO email address. We've filed with the BBB already, I'd tell anyone receiving a call from this company to hang up immediately!

I answered a call from a collections agency today demanding a payment for $290 for a series of Internet Marketing reports I have never received. They claimed that I signed up for a free report and gave the company my date of birth, which is binding. I emailed PBP months ago to notify them about receiving an invoice for something I never signed up for but they refused to acknowledge it. This company follows a bad, unethical if not illegal business practice and should be reprimanded for it. It paints a terrible picture for us marketing professionals.
.

well I just got a call from ICR from Angel at my work...she stated that I owe her $94.50 for a years subscription to supervisor saftey buliten. I told her I have never agreed to this and will check with our company's billing office to see where this is coming from. She told me that it doesnt matter the claim is against me. WOW! hung up from her and did a little serch online...well all be...I am not the only one who is getting tried here! I called her back and demanded the company that was submitting this claim she told me the PBP and I asked her to fax me all aditional info. she stated she would have to call me back she needed to rap up another call. I took a number off this web page from other complants (THANK YOU!) I called [protected] and #3 for a real person who was Cindy extention 413, I told her I will have to have all documents faxed to me before I will pay a dime, she went through this whole deal telling me all the ways they tried to contact me(LIE!) I said "Look Cindy I am a supervisor and have been doing this same job for 20+ years and never once have I agreed to any telemarketing for myself or on behalf of my company, I want the papers to take to my company billing office." "I have looked online and see I am not the only one that is having issues with this company" she told me she has privilage info on me that varifies I othorized this...my DOB...wow really I said well a monkey can look my DOB on line so that is BS and untill you can show me in writing where I signed for this I am taking it to the Atturney Generals office and will get back to ya! Cindy only had this to say" its under $100.00 so we will just write this off, have a good day!" Good luck to you all out there DONT GIVE THEM A PENNY!

I have had this company call my family business for the past 2 weeks. THANK GOD FOR THIS WEBSITE AND ALL OF THE INFORMATION PEOPLE HAVE PROVIDED HERE ABOUT PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS. I am writing this because they have been calling from a blocked number and asking who is a HR person and if they can speak to them I ask them who they are they give me a name and then I have to pry about where they work. I have called their 1(800) number and told them to take me off the list. They told me that they took me off but I have to tell each caller to take me off the list. I thought I did that in the first place calling their customer service. Well they don't stop calling! So I called the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and they told me that after I contact them and asked to be removed from their calling list to then file a complaint with my Attorney General first (I forgot to mention I am from Oklahoma), and my Attorney General's office would be in contact with them. Start taking notes everytime they call and file a complaint in the end, though it might take awhile, it will be taken care of. Here is a link to a document from the Federal Communications Commissions about how crummy they really are! http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2008/FCC-08-145A1.html
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2006/DA-06-1818A1.html

Both of these should help you get them off your back.

Our company recieved an invoice for 249 stated that we had order a report from this company. There was not phone number on the invoice and we assumed it was fraudulant so we did not pay. Then we recieved other invoices and recieved a call from IRC trying to collect by getting a credit card. When we contacted the business they stated that they had talked to our Executive Director and she confirmed the order with her birthday. We ask them for the date they had on file and it was incorrect. They do not have any email or tape recording that the product was order. Once we told them that we believe that this was false, they immediately offer to credit our account and notify the collection agency. We filed a complaint with the NC Dept of Justice. Also we sent a letter to both the collection agency and to Progressive confirming our converstaion. Advise to others - do not pay, contact your state dept of justice and file a complaint. This business needs to be shut down.

I recieved an invoice in the amount of 795.00 for a Safety Training Toolkit 3.0 I did not order nor recieve.

Our corporation never agreed receive their "newsletter" nor did we receive it. What we did receive was threatening communications from Cathy Rema at International Credit Recovery. I explained to her that even if PBP had contacted our HR person, he does not have the authority to bind the company in a contract for services. I explained she was on notice that the contract was invalid and that to pursue payment would make them liable for a false claim as well, but she insisted our HR person should have told them that at the time which made the contract valid. Her reasoning baffles me. This company is a scam, pure and simple. Avoid them if you can.

On 11/29/10 I receieved a book in the mail and an invoice from this company that I owed $299. The invoice only had the address correct. My name and all other information was incorrect. I have never ordered this book from this company. The invoice did not have a phone number on it. After serach the internet and finding them on http://www.complaintsboard.com I found many complaints on this company and a phone number. I called to tell them I did not order this book. They insisted I did and after I told them did not several times they agreed to cancel the invoice.

This company has a reputation of 'filling orders' that no one has every placed. You know it's a scam when you receive an invoice with no phone number or website.

If anyone needs their fax number it is [protected]

I RECEIVED AN INVOICE FROM THIS COMPANY FOR $299.00 FOR A SUBSCRIPTION FOR A "CONTROLLER" ALERT PUBLICATION. THE INVOICE STATED THAT I ORDERED IT AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE MY CORRECT LAST NAME. THEN I REMEMBERED THIS COMPANY FROM ABOUT A YEAR AGO WHEN I HAD THIS IRC COLLECTION AGENCY CALLING ME CONSTANTLY. THEY STATED OUR PRODUCTION MANAGER ORDERED A "SAFETY TRAINING" PUBLICATION WHICH HE STATED HE NEVER ORDERED. THERE WAS NO PHONE NUMBER ON THE INVOICE TO CANCEL SO I GOOGLED IT AND SAW ALL THE COMPLAINTS OF FRAUD. I FOUND THE PHONE NUMBER ON ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS AND CALLED. THE ONLY TIME YOU GET A REAL PERSON IS WHEN YOU SELECT TO MAKE A PAYMENT. THE REPRESENTATIVE ARGUED WITH ME WHEN I TOLD HER I DID NOT ORDER, STATING THAT I GAVE THEM MY INFORMATION. AGAIN THEY DIDN'T HAVE MY CORRECT LAST NAME, I ASKED HER IF SHE WENT ONLINE TO SEE ALL THE COMPLAINTS OF THIS FRAUDULENT COMPANY, AND SHE TOLD ME THEY WERE IDIOTS THAT COULD NOT CORRECTLY CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTION. THIS COMPANY IS A FRAUD AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT!

False claims of product orders, send out free publications then claim they are trials and that you "were sent invoices that you were supposed to cancel". Claiming multiple notice to pay were sent, requesting prompt payment, and unpaid bills will be referred to a "collection agency". No official signed orders, no credit card information taken. Attached invoice - sensitive information removed.

We received a billing for $ 795 for a one year subscription to
a "Safety Training Toolkit" . None of us at our business ordered
anything akin to that from Progressive Business Publications, and
we certainly do not want nor desire any product this "company has to offer.

Stephen Navara, owner, Jakes Pizza of Wells, Minnesota.

I have tried on several occassions to have these people quit contacting us. Several of us have called, have returned their mailings, invoices, and CD's. Yet they NEVER stop.

They told us to return their items telling them we do not want any communications. They DON'T STOP. They tell us to fax them a letter on our company letterhead stating "Please suppress us from the marketing list" at fax [protected]. That doesn't help either. Is there no any type of policing company that can regulate and terminate this company? I am tired of the harrassment from this company, the 3 calls a day, the mailings that will range from 2 letters a week to 3 letters a day.

Do not do business with them. But god forbid, you better return that invoice they send you with a rejection of service or they will automatically start sending you crap and it will never end. Ever.