THE CARROLL COX SHOW

NEWS AND COMMENTARY

Carol Nielsen Gilbert documented the following regarding Leo's  sales tactics and what he said to her:

We're not sales people, we are seeking help with an air quality survey

To thank you for answering our survey, we will give you a 20 lb bag of rice

Do you believe in God?  We are members of the New Hope Church on Sand Island Access Rd (meaning Leo and Liz).  Could you donate 10 cans of food?  (I gave him 10 large cans of corn and beans).  They don't belong to that church I've been told.

He said my couch was full of dust mites and they are dangerous to breathe into your lungs...no dust mites, just dust and dead skin (I'm old) and I have a dog.

Big lie:  I'll come back every 2 weeks to clean your house...How about every other Sunday?  He wrote this down and told me his boss paid him to do this and he would take me out to breakfast occasionally.

He called me Aunty every time he began a sentence.

He covered the upper portion that showed the purchase terms when he asked for my signature...All I knew was the price was
$89 a month ... Which he changed to $98 later before he left.

He never said he was selling the contract to a credit/loan company.  He NEVER mentioned the 3 day return policy (How could I write a return request letter when the address was vacant?).  I asked him to take the vacuum back...it (the cost) was causing too much anxiety since I couldn't afford it.

He led me to believe he would come back the next day...the 3rd day after the purchase...Of course I never heard from him again and he never returned my daily calls.  He never showed me how to use the vacuum...I don't know how to hook up the vacuum to the water base and I don't know how to hook up or properly use the the attachments

Carol's letter to Leo asking for action:

RE:  PURCHASE OF RAINBOW VACUUM CLEANER   

Dear Mr. Laban:

This is written in regards to the vacuum cleaner that I purchased on July 27, 2015.  As you know, I was visited by you and Liz(?) who represented yourselves to be conducting an air quality survey.  I agreed to participate in the air quality survey, as I was assured that you were not selling anything, and allowed you to come into my home.   The “survey” led to an air filter demonstration.  You also demonstrated the benefits of the Rainbow vacuum cleaner.  I was very impressed by the cleaning demonstration that you performed on my couch.  I agreed to purchase the Rainbow vacuum cleaner.  In part, what lead to my decision to make the purchase was the fact that you agreed in writing to come to my home every two weeks to clean my furniture.  This commitment by you is documented on the attached receipt. 

Though you had paperwork so that the purchase could be financed, I preferred to purchase the vacuum cleaner and air filter outright so as not to have monthly payments with interest of $1,608.24.  A check for $3,141.36 was sent to Preferred Credit on August 15, 2015.

After you left, I started to think about the purchase, my fixed income and the need to have such a costly vacuum cleaner.  I decided I had made an unwise purchase and decided I should return it.  On July 29^th, I informed you of my decision.  I explained to you how it physically was making me ill and unable to sleep because of not being able to afford the purchase.  I was left with the impression that you would come the next day to retrieve the vacuum cleaner.  That did not happen.

Since that time, I have made daily phone calls to contact you regarding this matter but without response.

It has now been three weeks.  You have not upheld your commitment to come every two weeks to clean my furniture. 

Preferred Credit, Inc. has contacted me notifying me of the assignment of my contract.  Since I paid in full $3,141.36, it is unclear why they are demanding $98.95 in interest for something that should have no interest since payment in full was made three weeks after the purchase date.

My neighbor has contacted the customer service department for Rainbow at their Rexair World Headquarters in Troy, Michigan (248-643-7222).  Aqua Dynamics is a distributor, and as such is not an employee of Rainbow.  However, they are interested in what is happening with this matter as there seems to be fraudulent activity associated with their product.  I will be copying them on all correspondence.  Customer service did inform her that the signed contract had a paragraph in it stating that I would have to write a letter to return the product.  I had never been told that a letter was required by you when I talked to you about my wish to return the system.  If that was required, that should have been made clear to me during our conversation.

You represented yourself as a godly person attending the New Hope church near your Sand Island office.  At your demonstration, you even asked me if I believed in God.  Your sales approach to attract my trust based on the belief in God is disheartening.  The lack of regard for the stress that I have been caused does not seem Christian to me. 

I will be contacting the resident manager for Ridgeway to inform them of the scam that is happening in our neighborhood.  It makes me sick to think that some of my neighbors may fall victim to the lies that have troubled me for three weeks.

If I decide to pursue this matter in court, I not only will request reimbursement for the $ 3,141.36 that I spent but also any fraudulent interest collected by Preferred Credit and compensation for the emotional distress I have experienced

You have a choice.  You can act like the Christian you appeared to be, reimburse me my money, and pick up the vacuum cleaner which remains untouched in my living room where you left it.  The vacuum cleaner is still in its original package as I have no idea how to assemble it.  The matter will then be closed.

If you decide not to respond to this request, I will be submitting a complaint to Rexair’s Headquarters, file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau, contact KHON2’s Action Line as well as seek legal representation.

Sincerely,

Carol Nielsen-Gilbert

Cc:  Rexair World Headquarters, 50 W. Big Beaver, Suite 350, Troy, MI  48084

       Mr. Joseph A. Erwin, Aqua Dynamics

       Preferred Credit, Inc.