Monday, July 15, 2013

My name is Brad, and I recently got a letter in the mail from Preston Lord Enterprises.  I initially put the letter aside as junk mail, but my mom said it sounded like a good idea, so I reread the letter.  I want to share (1) what the program is, (2) research I did about the company, and (3) the conclusion I reached about the company.

1.  Preston Lord Enterprise Program.

 The letter I received says that if you will stuff envelopes for the company, you will earn $10 for every envelope the company receives.  The letter seems to say that you will send the letters directly back to the company, because Preston Lord employees can't handle the volume of envelopes to stuff.  However, you earn $10 for every person who responds to, and pays for, the offer you mail out.  You mail offers to potential customers; not directly back to the company.  I raised my eyebrow when I realized the text was misleading.

In order to sign up for the program, depending on how much mailing material you request from the company, a "one-time, refundable start-up fee" is required--anywhere from $99 to $399 dollars.

2.  Research.

 After reading the letter, actually excited to make a lot of easy money with the company, I decided to get online to see if other people have had success with the program, and to find out more about the company.  My attempts to learn more about the company included (a) searching the general Internet, (b) searching YouTube, and (c) phoning the company directly.

a.  General Internet.  

I tried to find a website for Preston Lord to learn more about the company, such as what Preston Lord Enterprise offered for a product or service.  I couldn't find a website for the company; I couldn't find a wikipedia page about the website.

b.  YouTube Videos.

I also checked the YouTube reviews to see what people had to say about the company.  I found three videos about the company that seemed legitimate at all.  Two of the three movies "bashed" Preston Lord Enterprises before promoting their own services.  I did not find those videos credible.

I found one YouTube video that seemed like it might help.  It was a movie made by a user named Stanley Masterson.  Stanley advocated Preston Lord Enterprises, and even showed a check for over $1000 dollars in the video.  Stanley starts the video by saying that he has been "trialing" companies similar to Preston Lord for over 30 years, and has been sharing his findings with the public, free of charge.  I couldn't find any reviews of companies, or anything relating to Stanley Masterson's  past reviews when I did a google search; I only found lots of "Stanley Mastersons" on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, whitepages, etc..

Stanley Masterson, the YouTube user, only has one YouTube video posted: the review about Preston Lord Enterprises.  He ends the video by advising investigators to start by purchasing the $399 dollar plan, the largest that Preston Lord Enterprises offers.

c.  Contacting the Company Directly.

Other research aside, my concerns about Preston Lord Enterprises could be laid to rest by speaking directly with someone at the company.  I tried (i) contacting the company with the number provided in the "recruiting" letter, and (ii) to get the "second customer service number" mentioned by Stanley Masterson.

i.  Letter From the Recruiting Letter.  The number for the company was included in the letter I received.  I was searching this material out late at night, but I decided to give the number a call anyway, just to see what would happen (Stanley Masterson said the company has unmatched customer service, providing customer support at very odd times).

I called the number (1-800-446-7419) at 2 a.m. and received the following voice recording:  "Due to an unusually high volume of calls, we are only helping paying customers.  Please be sure to send your payment in quickly."  An unusual volume of callers at 2 a.m.?  I also noticed the voice on the recording sounded a lot like Stanley Masterson from the YouTube video, only because Stanley Masterson's voice is so distinct.

In order to find out more about a company I know nothing about, I need to pay money, in cash, to the company I am trying to find information about?  I raised an eyebrow.

ii.  "Second Customer Service Number."  I was still willing to give the company a chance if I could get in touch with them.  Stanley Masterson said in the YouTube video that after you join the program, a second customer service number is provided to members.  I decided I would write a message to Stanley Masterson in the comments of his video to ask for the second number for the company, just to speak with someone at the company to prove to myself that the company was real.  (I had noticed that Stanley Masterson responded a lot to questions from other YouTube users in his comments; he also comments on the other YouTube reviews in a way that makes him seem more vested in Preston Lord than a concerned community user of Preston Lord.)

My question to Stanley Masterson in the comments of his YouTube video was not only ignored, he deleted the comment.

I have not been able to get in direct contact with the company.

Conclusion.

 Although I would enjoy making easy money as proposed in the letter I received from Preston Lord Enterprises, I will not be joining the program because of Stanley Masterson's involvement in the program, my inability to contact the company, and the slightly misleading text in the Preston Lord letter.

a.  Stanley Masterson's Involvement With Preston Lord.  As a recap, I believe that Stanley Masterson is involved with Preston Lord Enterprise at a higher level than a concerned community-user envelope stuffer for the following reasons:
  1. The YouTube user Stanley Masterson has only one YouTube video, the video reviewing Preston Lord.  Often if people want a sense of anonymity to something they post on YouTube, they will create a new YouTube user account to publish the anonymous material.  If Stanley Masterson has been reviewing companies similar to Preston Lord for over 30 years, he may have published other reviews about other companies on YouTube.
  2. I was not able to find any reviews of any other companies by Stanley Masterson when I google search his name.  Unless he is new to computers, his '30 years of opportunity-discovery' work has not been widely published on the largest, most available information exchange method available today--the Internet.
  3. The voice of Stanley Masterson and the voice on the audio recording at Preston Lord's 1-800-446-7419 are similar.  This is not a huge piece of evidence, but Stanley Masterson's voice is distinct, and the voice on the recording matches some of the distinctions of Stanley Masterson (deep, articulated, and slow).
  4. Despite being a 'concerned community member,' reviewing companies/opportunities for the last 30 years and freely publishing his findings for the good of the opportunity-seeking community, Stanley Masterson ignored and deleted my request for Preston Lord's second customer service number, available to paying members.  I wanted the number so I could speak with someone at the company to prove to myself the company is real.  I wonder if the second number exists.
b.  Inability to Contact the Company.  Any company interested in bringing new customers/investors on board will always put their best foot forward in the form of attractive web pages or rapid customer support response on the phone.  I could find no website for the company, and the only number I found for the company tells me I need to pay to learn any more information about the company.  If Stanley Masterson, or another paying participant from Preston Lord, would provide the "second customer service number" with "unmatched customer service," I could speak with someone at the company and lay this concern to rest.

Despite my research online, I still don't even know what Preston Lord does for business besides collect sign-up fees from potential new members like I had considered becoming.

c.  Slightly Misleading Text of the Letter.  I only raised my eyebrow when I realized you don't make money just for stuffing envelopes as the letter suggests.  You make money when people respond to the offer you mail out to people.  The dollar amounts they say you'll earn in the letter are actually much less.  I would still actually be interested in the offer with the amount of money Stanley Masterson suggests you can make, even though the amount is less than advertised.

Concluding Remarks.

Despite my research, my arguments could be refuted by providing the following:
  1. A number to contact Preston Lord Enterprises.
  2. Past reviews about other companies conducted by Stanley Masterson.
  3. A member of Preston Lord who has been successful--who can be validated by the company or otherwise.
People can be quick to call a company a "scam" or other inaccurate names when they are unfamiliar with the service or product a company offers.  I find most reviews and articles written about companies on pissedconsumer.com or the nameless other equivalents to be dross and not worth reading.  However, I am interested in verifying the credibility of the Preston Lord Enterprises based on a few staple requirements of any functioning business.  I would actually be interested in participating in the Preston Lord Enterprise offer if the company is valid, even if the actual earnings are much less than advertised in the "recruiting" letter.



Sources:


Stanley Masterson’s YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1GntVPAsPk
The two, less-credible YouTube videos:



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