Goleta-based Bargain Network to Close Call Center

Vertrue Inc. and its subsidiary, Adaptive Marketing, is a fraudulent enterprise that has been sued by the AG's of at least six states. Having been stung by at least two of its "membership" plans (which I never signed up for), I frankly rejoice at any bad news for this enterprise, its phony plans, and the deceptive marketing practices that it represents. Now, perhaps, we might see some bad news for 24ProtectPlus and BusinessMax as well.

good for vertrue!

as an insider at the company for many years (having left at the time of the sale) i'm glad to see vertrue moving out of santa barbara and to texas. after all, why continue to till over $50,000,000 (year in and year out) into the local economy when continuously branded a nuisance.

i feel for the hundreds of employees who will suffer as a consequence of SB's unfriendly environment. i also feel for the hundreds of businesses in SB that rely on the $30,000,000 payroll that'll be removed from the local economy.

bargain is a high-volume low-ticket company. when you talk to over 10mm callers per year and acquire over 1,000,000 NEW customers every year, it isn't hard to imagine that 80-100 complaints with the BBB would result. that's a ratio of 1 complaint per every 100,000 callers!

i do miss santa barbara. you can't beat the weather, the topography and wonderful people. it isn't however, a business friendly environment. hindsight is 20/20, and my bet is that the town will miss bargain.com.

Working at Bargain Network has been a rite of passage for lots of local youths. It has been a job that pays enough to pay the rent and put food of the table while giving kids the opportunity to explore their personal values and goals. What other employer in the area provides this?

I am a Santa Barbara youth that tried working at bargain networks because i needed some money. My training class was half college students and half foreign students who really needed a job. I spent 3 shifts on the floor before I walked out. It really does make your soul feel dirty.

Imagine this, someone calls you because they want to buy a car for $500, but you have them sign up for a free trial subscription to like 3 or 4 things, it takes 20 minutes to read all the legalese and then if you can get their credit card information, you know they are going to be sent a bill for a couple hundred dollars the next month because its almost impossible to cancel.

Im glad they are gone.

A shining example of business ethics: ripping off old ladies for information that is free anyway? Then working their credit cards over after? Shame on you! Easier for kids to sit on their asses and lie to people than to actually work? There has got to be a better way to keep people around here gainfully employed. Don't let the door hit you in the ass to hard.

Here's some karma for ya: Wouldn't it be great if all of the hundreds of thousands of cheated consumers showed up at the private residences of Christian Hunter, Thomas Adams, Antoine Bordeaux and other "executives" of Bargain and demanded refunds on the spot? In 2000, eight years ago, the FTC had these people nailed and none of them were ever supposed to collect credit card numbers again for the purposes of billing consumers. Too bad the feds didn't enforce this diligently. http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/05/settlement...

Not surprisingly, the Santa Barbara News-Press always treated Bargain, a big classified advertiser, with kid gloves lest they rock the boat. Here's a typical valentine article from the Business section dated June 30, 2002: http://www.bargain.com/news-06-30-2002.h...

I came across this company and started to investigate it what i have seen is a poor example of people taking advantage of other hardworking individuals! There parent company is vertrue.com take a look that company supports of all things lava life!

The whole business model of Bargain Network is a sham - basically tricking people into using their credit card to charge them and making it very difficult for them to opt out of being charged again and again. It is a total BS scam. Anyone who works there for any length of time is participating in consumer fraud. It is embarassing to think that college students get their first part time job experience with a fraudulent outfit like this - it twists one's perspective and probably makes any college kid working there cynical, thinking that all businesses are a rip-off. I am amazed that neither the Independent of News Press, who relied on their ads, never ran an expose on these rip-off artists. Every script a sales person uses is carefully designed to thread the needle legally - the place was almost shut down in the past by the Attorney General of the State of CA - but apparently the founder Christian Hunter, got his father, a judge, to intervene. Anyway, what a slimy, soulless place Bargain Network is/was - hope they never come back and hope the parent ripoff company fails miserably.