Is The Online Hosting Network a Scam?

by on October 19, 2009

We received this comment from Antony (who never leaves a website address in his comments or we’d link to him) on Why Your Amazon Affiliate Site Is Failing Miserably regarding a place called the OnlineHostingNetwork.com and a terrible Amazon affiliate store we stumbled across.

Hey El Admin,

You have just uncovered another scam. I wonder if you realize that. How about making this one yet another cautionary tale for your readership?

The owner of the first site – dwlane.com is likely out a lot of $$$ right now. Far more than the few hundred $$ a month than the Google Cash types take folks for.

While dwlane.com doesn’t look like much, it cost anywhere in the neighborhood of $1500.00USD to $6000.00USD to have “developed”.

The poor owner of dwlane is an innocent who fell for the high-pressure sales tactics of a group called the “Onlinehostingnetwork” who promises to build you an “Amazon Store”, often with a banner or two from a couple of other popular affiliate programs. They also promise a minimum of say, 10,000 (useless) clicks to “get your business off the ground”.

Of course, as El Admin notes, dwlane’s store is not likely to generate much if any sales. dwlanes “Coach” at the “Onlinehostingnetwork” will soon offer “help”. The “help”? Well, because s/he only invested $1500.00USD for the “Basic” package, the “coach” will do a hard-sell to get dwlane to upgrade to the “Platinum” package for about $3500 which is absolutely certain to generate the promised riches — likely another banner or two and some more empty promises.

Of course, even the Platinum level will begin to wear down dwlane’s patience after a while. However having invested so much effort (read dollars) in this website, the Coach will aggressively suggest upgrading to the 5K “Gold” package.

Of course the “Gold” package will be similarly yield nary a sale. At this point, the “Coach” gets harder and harder to contact since the max $$$ have been taken from the unsuspecting dwlane and heaven forbid dwlane should contact an attorney or the FTC or the local DA’s office in Phoenix. These schemes seem to thrive in AZ, possibly because of some loophole in the law. Also the “Onlinehostingnetwork” is likely to undergo a name change if things get complicated and will morph into one a new company name among the galaxy of similar operations that operate in this cruel manner. Company names in these sort of schemes change faster than you change your undergarments.

IMO, this sort of high-pressure, heavy-duty, big ticket scam is much more pernicious than even the slimy “Adwords Riches” spam offers that are all over our Inboxes each morning. The Adwords type scams which will create the headache of cancelling credit cards are pikers on the scale of evil compared to the outfits that “helped” dwlane create that “store”.

Those “stores” often wipe out the life savings of the unsuspecting and folks desperate to make a living in this so difficult times. Contracts are signed, in-your-face high pressure “investment” tactics have been honed by the “Coaches” and the companies behind them.

It’s enough to make one almost thankful if they’ve only been taken by a “Google Millions” scam which I believe was the impetus for El Admin starting this blog to educate folks to the lies and just barely within the law “opportunities” that we’re inundated with.

El Admin, I think it’s time for a new thread devoted to these types of operations. While I’ve only read of angry folks taken by “Google Riches”, I’ve been brought near tears after reading of folks who “invested” thousands of dollars in a “store” like dwlane.

Antony

Wow!  Thanks for the tip Antony!  Now we can not say anything for sure about the Online Hosting Network as there is not much information on their website at all and we have not heard any first hand stories of any users of their service.  But, a quick investigation yields the following:

Bad Sign #1: No Information on the Online Hosting Network at the Better Business Bureau

There is no information on them at the Better Business Bureau that I could find, searching in both the US and Canada.  That makes any claimed refund policy very hard to trust, since there is no history on if they have actually honored it.

UPDATE:  OHN now has a BBB entry, and they have received an F.

Bad Sign #2: Onlinehostingnetwork.com Has a Private Registration

Try to do a whois lookup on onlinehostingnetwork.com.  It’s registered through the Godaddy proxy service which keeps registrations private.  There is no way to check on the businesses actual location or principal operators names or business history.  You really want to give them thousands of dollars?  Note that we here at The Electron Plumber have a private registration, but that’s to protect ourselves as some of the “offers” we call out have some very unscrupulous characters behind them.  And we do not ask you for anything or sell anything.  A real business that asks for your money through an online site should never have a private registration.

Bad Sign #3: The Website ohnlive.com Was Registered In June 2009

That’s about 4 months ago.  onlinehostingnetwork.com was registered in March 2009.  If they try to tell you they have been in business for longer than that, find out what their previous name and website was and let us know please.  Looks like they are either brand new or might be trying to hide something.  Either way, not instilling a lot of confidence.

Bad Sign #4: Plenty of Bad Reviews, Only One Good Review

Look around the internet and you’ll see nothing but people asking on various sites if they’ve just made a huge mistake by signing up with them.  You can find one glowing amazing review on a Google help forum which in my opinion is either faked by an employee of the company, or from someone who doesn’t realize how badly they have been taken.  That comment was written the day their website was registered, so maybe it’s a real customer who just did not realize yet.  They claim how the site is amazing and how it will be money in the bank.  Luckily they link the site name.  Go look at the site and it’s a total failure.  A bunch of affiliate links and direct links to Amazon.com pages, no content at all.  There is only one link to it according to Yahoo from one Ezinearticle that is on an entirely different topic and no traffic whatsoever according to both Alexa and Compete.com, despite being close to two months old.  Even a bad site with a tiny trickle of traffic should have been ranked by Alexa in two months, even if poorly.

Shoot!  I Paid OHN but now I want my money back.  What should I do?

  1. Don’t feel bad! Seems like hundreds if not thousands of people have been taken in by these sort of hard sell business tactics.  It happens to the best of us.
  2. Call the Online Hosting Network and explain that you want a refund.  If they won’t, explain that your next steps include disputing the charge with your credit card company and complaints to the BBB and the FTC.  Be polite but very  firm, ask to speak to a manager, and they might budge.  People have reported in the comments below that  they have gotten a refund of their basic package fees, but not other charges for “traffic” or “training”.  Try going the customer service route to being with.
  3. If #2 fails above call/write your credit card company, dispute the charges and change your card number.
  4. Click Here to Share this on Facebook! Warn your friends not to get involved!,  or Click Here to ReTweet this article.
  5. Report the Online Hosting Network to the BBB.  The BBB already gave them an F, the lowest score, so it’s probably pointless.
  6. Report them to the FTC by clicking here. The FTC has become far more strict on advertising claims, especially related to claimed earnings potential from online money making programs. They’d probably be VERY interested to hear your story, especially anything an OHN sales person said about earnings potential.

But it all sounded so good!  I’d love to make more money!

People keep asking if any part of the sales pitch is true.  Can you actually make money with a website online?   Yes, that part is actually true.  Real big companies like Amazon and Walmart and Target and BestBuy will pay you commissions for helping sell their products and people do make an honest living at it working out of the comfort of their own home.

If you don’t want to try to figure it all out on your on, I only suggest the following place to learn:

Affiliorama

Especially for you folks down under, since Affilorama’s offices are located in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Why do I suggest them?   There are lessons on their site, forums, and a ton of good advice, all completely free!  They have a premium membership too that you can try for a week for $1 after you eat up all their free lessons.

{ 426 comments… read them below or add one }

Isobel October 20, 2009 at 1:51 pm

OHN contacted me recently, the telephonist was a well versed sales person, she gave me a very fast intro which resulted in her playing an 8 minute audio presentation. After the presentation she came back on the line and asked me if I had any questions. Luckily I had made notes during the audio and as I proceeded to ask questions the telephonist appeared to be impatient and frustrated with me.

She gave me a website to look up, “Cook with Brian”, and told me that was a typical customized web site. Their back office would offer me support with setting up a site and would contact me on a regular basis. She also mentioned a 90 day money back guarantee.

After this, and without any offer of written documentation, she started to hard sell and practically demanding my debit/credit card details. I ended the call quickly since I was not going to hand over nearly £400 to a complete stranger for something which she had failed to convince me would be of benefit to me.

Maureen Hastie October 21, 2009 at 5:08 pm

I live in Canada, I too have had these guys call me 6 or more times. I said that at the moment I did not have the money to pay for any online business.He wanted $99.00because he was going to advance me $50. off my first sale!Adrian, Jim, John Frett, are the guys who called me. I refused the first time after listening to their 8 minute taped ad, then they called and I got him to direct me to their website, and I asked how much they needed to get this online business going?He wanted $99.00because he was going to advance me $50. off my first sale, he was very patient and I made him wait while I got him to explain things over and over! Then I asked him if I could call him back after I checked out his site….I couldn’t believe his patience! He actually gave me their phone number and his extension…well I am going to call and tell him to take me off his phone list and that I am not interested!! I was told that they had been in the business for years? now I read months?If they start screaming at me or are rude…I will go and put comments here and there and everywhere just to let them know..I am not as stupid as they think! More to follow after I call them back! I have talked to them and they are not rude yet! But wait!

El Plumber (admin) October 22, 2009 at 8:10 am

Maureen, can you give us any more information? How did they get your number in the first place to call you 6 times?

When you talk to them again, ask for two things:

1) A company history. How long have they been in business and why are their web addresses only 3-6 months old? What were the previous names?

2) A written proposal. What are they offering for the money? What do you get? And a money back guarantee in writing.

We’d love to see what they say.

Maureen October 23, 2009 at 3:08 pm

They got my name from an ad on Facebook about Governments Grants which is totally bogus and Read the TERMS & CONDITIONS!!! No they won’t give u anything in writing…but if you print out terms?? You can read it there. Also any adds on Facebook all lead to these predators.. Dazzlewhite…watch out as well. sent me a 14 day trial and in 14 days they charge you for trial and $79.28US($87.38) CDN and sent another 3…for another $79.28US and $16.83US for shipping!Cancelled order and more charges!!!

malcolm October 23, 2009 at 10:16 pm

Hey, I just got off the phone with Karl, from OHN who told me that online hosting network has been running for 7 years, when I told him that it looked like they had been trading for less than a year, he quickly brushed over the it and told me he had been working their for 7yrs and that it had always been called that! he also showed me the cook with brian page which I looked at, I asked to look at another client page but I was told that he only had permission to show me that one! I thought he would want to publicise other web pages as they may lead to sales also?
I was told that the fees to set up a page are $149 us – $477 us and my minimum income per transaction would be $100 how can that work if I only sell $10 items? after a short discussion of about 40 minutes I explained that this did not feel right for me and Karl who also gave me a free call number and extension thank’d me for my time and hung up.
they got my info from freestuff.com I refused the dazzlewhite link as I didnt want to give my credit card details for the postage, if its a free trail, it needs to be free!

El Plumber (admin) October 23, 2009 at 10:33 pm

I guess it might be true. Maybe he meant they’ve been overcharging for bad websites for over 7 years, just changing their company name and website every six months so no one catches on to them. Luckily, alexa.com and domaintools.com date info can’t be faked or reset. Onlinehostingnetwork.com is about 6 months old according to all measures we could find. Ask what their previous domain was next time they call.

Antony October 24, 2009 at 8:18 am

The only thing that has surprised me is the lowball figure for setup. Of course the sites this OHN has set up aren’t even worth $5.00 USD, but my gut feeling is that the hundred to a few hundred bucks these “salespeople” are talking about is just the tip of the iceburg. Or perhaps in these hard times, folks don’t have the thousands that I’ve warned many people off of in better times so the “value” of these schemes has depreciated.

When the site they setup fails, it’s likely they’ll say it is time to add on some extra “features” — and the features are rather pathetic and frankly free to anyone who does just a bit of research.

This OHN bunch are perhaps resellers of the original “product” trying to recoup their own losses by bringing new blood into the scheme, a la the MLM (pyramid) type schemes of old that make their money not by selling product but by recruiting new “sellers”

Your Admin has brought up a number of salient red flags but here are a few more eye-openers:

This site is handy for researching who else is on a given web server – provide either a URL or IP address and a lot is revealed:

http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/web-sites-on-web-server/#

If you start with dwlanes.com you will find that 958 pretty similar sites are hosted there. I didn’t check all 958, needless to say, but after looking at a few one can reliably conclude that all are likely equally devoid of content and are using the same minimalistic templates.

I notice that you cannot “View Source” on any of these sites in Internet Explorer. However in Firefox you can. What are they hiding? You’ll then see that these sites all belong to poor folks who overpaid for a page that was taken from a Free Website Template site. Looks like the buyer may have had a “choice” of 2-3 themes to pick from to start on their road to (no) riches.

All the sites on this server are registered in AZ to serveral different names. Don’t confuse that with the coincidental fact that DomainsByProxy which provides the private registration that your Admin wisely points out is another red flag for any “business” wanting your $$$ also happens to be in AZ. There is something about AZ law and these scams……

Looking at the source code for any of these sites I notice the /js (JavaScript as in dwlanes.com/js) directory is rather sloppily exposed to all. It appears all these “stores” contains about a 1/2 dozen scripts that provide code for news and weather feeds and a few other affiliate programs. Some sites have a couple of the feeds, some don’t. I suspect these are “extras” that will be pushed on “buyers” as they watch their initial site investments flounder. But guess what? These extras are also *free* to anyone who does but a little careful digging on the Internet.

So we’ve got a bunch who have gone into business with near zero overhead doing a hard sell of these 5 minute copycat sites.

Don’t try this at home though no doubt it is lucrative for the purveyors like Karl, Adrian, Jim, John Frett, et al — it ain’t worth the worry down the line about dropping the soap in the showers in a federal lockup.

Perhaps that’s a bit of wishful thinking though, it seems the more $$$ you steal the easier your time is. Actually they are likely to end up in Club Fed and the ones who talk first will walk first when Law Enforcement comes calling (;-

Shoplift an Ipod and you’ll end up in that county jail in AZ where the inmates live in tents wearing pink underwear in the 120 degree sun.

Who said life was fair? No one, though Mark Twain pointed out that far more $$$ is stolen with the point of a pen than the barrel of a gun. Perhaps we should upgrade that wise observation for the digital age.

But there is more!

Go back to the handy tool:

http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/web-sites-on-web-server/#

and type in Onlinehostingnetwork.com

You get 41 websites on that same server that don’t pass the smell test to put it mildly.

Sadly scammers are all around, they go by a million different names and employ a thousand different approaches to part you from your money.

Best to assume everything is a scam unless it meets certain rigid criteria. That’s perhaps a thread in itself.

Antony

Antony October 25, 2009 at 9:31 pm

And there is more — I forgot!

This group is so contemptuous of their clients that they cannot even tailor the META Tag for keywords for the pathetic sites they sell. Each site has the same poorly targeted set of

“shopping, bargains, free shipping, selection, dvd, music”

This is regardless of what the budding entrepreneur is trying to sell from the Amazon line.
dwlanes.com, for instance, is trying to sell cameras and related.

This Onlinehostingnetwork.com bunch (or whatever else they’ll call themselves soon enough) are unquestionably bad news.

While there is some debate over how much weight search engines put into the Meta Keyword Tag, c’mon! How much effort would it have taken to put a 1/2 keywords that are relevant to these crudely constructed sites?

Given everything discovered Onlinehostingnetwork.com with but a cursory glance at their methods, I think it is quite apparent that the victims of this scheme have no FTP access or any real control over their site content.

It’s also disheartening that Amazon cannot spot the obvious trends and red flags that such outfits (and there are many) are using to exploit what is a reasonable affiliate program that even the relatively website building neophyte can work with. That is without the “assistance” of outfits like Onlinehostingnetwork.com.

BTW, there are some fine tools available that can be used to truly help you build a “real” site around Amazon products. Perhaps more about that later.

Antony

Akrido October 25, 2009 at 10:14 pm

These latter-day snake-oil salesmen are stepping up their marketing efforts. Yesterday one of them hacked into one of my friends’ Facebook account and shared with me a link to one of their websites, another Google Profit (or something similar) scam-o-tron. They also posted an event on Facebook for an event called “Top Method To Make Money Online,” which contains links to “TVI Express” (tviexpress.com/) and “Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing” (fhtmus.com/portal01.aspx). To date, they have reeled in 2,722 suckers with this “event.” I’ve posted a link to Electron Plumber on the event’s web page; we’ll see if it does any good.

Clare October 26, 2009 at 8:25 am

On facebook Sunday morning, one click lead to another. Filling in a questionaire “would u be interested in starting up a home business?” I clicked on yes. Within the hour I had a phone call from Adrian, all the talk as mentioned above, I asked if there were any feedback from others who had started this business, were there any websites I could go to to check them out? I realise now, that I was fobbed off and he continued with his sales rhetoric. He gave me 10 minutes to talk it over with a friend and called back on the DOT! Bottom line is I handed over AU$407 and awoke last night ‘knowing’ I had done the wrong thing. My husband wants me to get a job to help our financial situation – I can’t tell him what I have done! I didn’t have time to do any homework – Wish I had done and found this website yesterday! I’m not usually a sucker – BUT I do want some income and he obviously knew how to play me. I went to Paypal tonite to request a stop payment – but they say it’s already gone and I should approach the payee – I went to their website and posted a msg on their Contact page and when I clicked send I got this : -
“”"”Fatal error: Uncaught exception ‘Swift_ConnectionException’ with message ‘The SMTP connection failed to start [localhost:25]: fsockopen returned Error Number 111 and Error String ‘Connection refused” in /var/www/sites/worldaffiliatesystems.com/lib/Swift/Connection/SMTP.php:309 Stack trace: #0 /var/www/sites/worldaffiliatesystems.com/lib/Swift.php(216): Swift_Connection_SMTP->start() #1 /var/www/sites/worldaffiliatesystems.com/lib/Swift.php(101): Swift->connect() #2 /var/www/sites/ohnlive.com/contact.php(52): Swift->__construct(Object(Swift_Connection_SMTP)) #3 {main} thrown in /var/www/sites/worldaffiliatesystems.com/lib/Swift/Connection/SMTP.php on line 309

Guess I need to go stand on a street corner and make the money back before my husband finds out what I’ve done ………………. BASTARDS!
I have written to the Dept of Fair Trading but assume they won’t do anything because it’s international? And I also guess I’m wasting time hoping anyone can retrieve my money????
(Give Osama their address)

Clare October 26, 2009 at 8:34 am

And one more thing ……….. why do Greencine and Amazon and Yahoo and Unbeatable etc stay affiliated with OHN when they appear to be scammers? Doesn’t it make them look undesirable also? I’m even p’d off with Paypal for sending payment straight away –
well – I have to blame someone else too, not just myself!

malcolm October 26, 2009 at 11:23 am

Clare
sorry to hear your story, I hope that you can prove that it can work for your sake, or at least get your money back! let us know how it all progresses!

Malc

denise October 27, 2009 at 11:14 am

hi i feel sick reading this info i just joined olnhosting now im worried i have waisted my money !
i had heaps of contact with them they sounded so believable and i rang them and they checked out ok they told me they hadn’t been operating for long at this not even 12months but the company that owns it had been in buisness for years??
so the 30day money back would be a lie as well ?? what do you suggest i do ?
thanks denise

El Plumber (admin) October 27, 2009 at 11:46 am

Denise, did you ask what the name of the company was that had been in business for years? Please do so we can check it out.

Since they have no record we can find with any Better Business Bureau, we have no idea if they will honor their return policy or not. I suggest you call and tell them you changed your mind and want your money back. See what happens.

Did you get anything in writing from them?

Maureen October 27, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Oh Boy you won’t believe this!! I have got another 2 calls from Online Hosting, they wanted to tell me all about how they would make me a million!! HAHA Well, I let her go on for about 2 minutes and then said,”What part of NO don’t you get? Please take me off your callers list!” I think her name was Adrian, and she hung up so fast that I had to laugh!! So to all of you out there if your phone rings and you get Arizona –602-343-4210 that’s OHN..just don’t answer or for a little fun….do as I did…Listen and then tell them that your really not interested! If we waste their time on the phone they are leaving some poor old sole alone!!!I told the second caller yesterday, That I have done lots of surfing and found that there was tooo many websites reporting their company as a SCAM!! the click was so fast after”" You have a nice day!!!”LOL
To Clare, email them a cancellation notice immediately, and copy and paste the above of the Error you got….use the customer support mail address, and at least you can make sure that you have proof that you tried to cancel…if you contact Paypal they will just keep billing it on Paypal. I really feel sorry for you because I know your intentions were true and honorable.BUT atleast sending them a cancellation notice proves you tried to cancel!!
Since I shared this on Facebook, I have had many of my Friends read this and let me know that they Read It and Thanks!!

Clare October 27, 2009 at 10:04 pm

Denise, our tummies are tumbling in sync i think! They rang me Tues as promised to find out what domain name I had chosen so they can start to build my website. I told her I had changed my mind and wanted to cancel, she said she’d inform the relevant department and they would call me today……………………………….. i am clinging to the hope that as they haven’t done anything yet they have no reason to keep the money and i will get a refund. It would be good to be able to put something positive here about them.
Maureen – I’ve tried to email them but only get that fatal error page. Having to rely on telephone at the moment which is a bummer.
Thanks everybody for your replies, it feels good to share this with someone who cares.

El Plumber (admin) October 27, 2009 at 11:31 pm

Interesting that they are located in Arizona, but so far most of the people commenting here have email addresses either in Canada or Australia. I wonder if they are purposefully targeting people in other countries since it would be harder for you to take legal action against them. That or more liberal telemarketing laws about who they can call.

Clare, please let us know if you are able to get a refund! We’ll be very pleasantly surprised if you do…

Maureen October 28, 2009 at 10:39 am

I tried to google the above Http://OnlineHostingNetwork and it appeared that the Google report said that the chain was broken….so I tried right from that to let google search it again and it works,Voila!!! they have a fresh new Website!! They have an office(empty) of course with a blue banner across the top with OHN, it appears to look fresh and new and very appealing!! I was trying to see if ( what ElAdmin) said might be the problem that they maybe have Canada and Australia blocked? Good Luck to all!!

Maureen October 28, 2009 at 10:45 am

Sorry to write again…..but when your on the phone if possible ask them to direct you to their website, they will tell you how to get there, then you would have the address right from them, if it doesn’t work they have some explaining to do!!

Jimbo October 29, 2009 at 4:37 pm

so i joined ohn yesterday and got billed $106 canadian dollars on my credit guard. I soon cancelled my card fearing that they were a fraud. which im almost positive they are. so i gave them my adress postal code and stuff to send me cheques. i hope i will not encounter any future fraud or something… help me out im a college kid in debt

catherine October 30, 2009 at 7:38 am

how great to have found your site. i am writing from Australia and have been in contact with OHN recently. they certainly seemed very professional and i was almost going to join in but somehow – and thank god – i did not have the cash readily available. i then decided to check them on the internet and found all sort of negative emails. So far only 1 positive comment. so i will not be joining in. i just can’ afford to lose US$4955 for the top package (by the way, when i hesitated that same package was offered to me at the special offer of US$3895). i read on another site that someone who hesitated to join at the standard package price of US$2495.00 was then offered the same package at a price below US$900. How can prices vary so much. and no – i did not get a receipt for the initial set up. i think i can forget abot getting a refund – although i will try.

So, for now – i am not joining. but if anyone is genuinely making money out of this i would love to hear it!

Clare October 31, 2009 at 3:01 am

******** !!!!!!!! ******** I HAVE EXCELLENT NEWS ********* !!!!!!!!! *******
When the relevant department called me to ask what domain name I had decided on so they could proceed to build my website I told them I had changed my mind, it is coming into such a busy time of year, I have a lot on my calendar and really want to do this but can’t give it my undivided attention until after Christmas holidays – could I have a refund for now? He agreed and said as I had paid via Paypal, they would refund me the same way and it would take around 5-6 days. I have been holding my breath and just now thought it is still too early but checked into my Paypal a/c to find the refund went in today (4 days)!
You don’t know how relieved and happy I am to bring you good tidings and hope for others.
(p.s. Thank You God)

Crystal November 3, 2009 at 9:12 am

I’ve joined the OHN for over 2 months, and their guarantee of making money within the first 3 weeks is a FAT LIE. I’ve invested $595USD in this business, and OHN’sales personnel are agressively calling me on a monthly basis persuading me to invest more in order to increase my site traffic. I’m starting to doubt I’ll be even making a money on this business at all. Whenever I asked about OHN’s contact information (such as phone number, e-mail…etc), they always refuse to give it to me. Whenever they call, their caller ID is unavailable. Does the company even exist?
I’m not going to ask for a return on my investment; I want my guarantee refund of $99 USD inital investment. If they fail to do as promised, I will not only complain about the company but badmouth the company via online blogs, forums, twitter, facebook…etc.

Malcolm November 3, 2009 at 4:03 pm

Crystal,

Can you supply your web address so I can have a sneaky peak at what OHN have created for you?

Anonymous November 3, 2009 at 8:45 pm

Beware of this company, they are now hitting Australia by phone. After initally refusing their first offer because I’m on a disability pension, they offered me the package for $150. My response was : ??? … What sort of BS scam is this ?. ( Hang up phone ). My advice to anyone reading : NEVER, EVER give money away to a company without first checking said company’s credentials, or you’ll be doing just that.

Catherine November 4, 2009 at 2:39 am

This is turning out to be quite funny really! So, the best price i could have would have been US$2,425. I now read that people were offered the same deal for well below $1,000. and the last entry on this was mid $500! How amazing. I know Australian economy is picking up but why make us pay potentially – that much more than anybody else. what a relief i did not join in!

Moany November 4, 2009 at 6:34 am

Thank you sooo much. Was about to join up tomorrow, but clearly that was a bad idea. I got a full name of the agent i was speaking with, i also got a toll free number plus an extension and a general location of Phoenix AZ. They have now officially hit New Zealand. Thanks again, saved me $263. Cheers

tom November 4, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Out of 27 comments there is only ONE OR TWO PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY JOINED Online Hosting Network? You people sound like a bunch of old lady’s sitting around complaining about what you almost did when you were younger. You are bitching about different pricing, a three week guarantee, saying the company does not exist, ARE YOU FOR REAL? THERE IS NOT ONE PERSON ON HERE THAT HAS A REAL COMPLAINT! JUST A BUNCH OF PEOPLE CRYING ABOUT WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED. LOOK, I AM SORRY THAT YOUR LIFE IS SO HORRIBLE THAT YOU MUST COME ONTO HERE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT NOTHING. HOW CAN YOU TAKE ADVICE FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER JOINED Online Hosting Network? HOW?
MY FRIEND TOLD ME ABOUT THIS BUSINESS, SAID HE HAS MADE A FEW HUNDRED BUCKS SO FAR, I THOUGHT I WOULD COME ON THE NET AND CHECK IT OUT, FOUND THIS PLACE INSTEAD. Life is about choices, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO JOIN DO NOT JOIN! But do not go online and complain about a company that you have never even been part of!! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SELVES!! YOU ARE THE TRUE SCUMS HERE. PS- CRYSTAL THE COMPLAINER- PLEASE GIVE US THE URL OR YOUR DOMAIN NAME SO THAT WE CAN VIEW YOUR SITE AND JUDGE FOR OURSELVES.

Geoff November 5, 2009 at 3:41 pm

Thank god I too hesitated about signing up and decieded to do a little more research online about this so-called “legitamate” company. I live in Canada, so they’re now agressively seeking new recruits, but fear not, “we’re not a pyramid scheme.” I work in the media, so I’m always very skeptical. When the “sales rep” asked what I did for a living and I said “I work in the media,” he suddenly changed his tune abit and was aksing why I was looking into this…almost like he was afraid they were being “investigated.” Well he puts me on hold, and low and behold “Ed’s” boss comes on the line, telling me that poor Ed is now tied up with a long call with someone who can’t wait to sign up. While I’m talking to this guy “Douglas” I’m checking online and low and behold find all sorts of people asking the same questions as me. 1. Are you registered with the Better Business Bureau? 2. What the heck are you selling from Yahoo and Amazon that they don’t ALREADY sell on their OWN very popular websites? Well I was told that they are indeed registered with the BBB, but he couldn’t tell me what their number or listing was. Oh, they’re also registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

My advice, as someone in the media who has seen these kinds of stories far to often suck in honest, unemployed people…stay away and save your money!!!

If anyone would like to call and get more “info” Ed’s “personal” line is (snipped, we can’t vouch for the number – El Admin)

Oh, and don’t ask for “references”…apparently people don’t like to be called at home…LOL Funny, arn’t they calling ME at home?

Going Going!!!! November 6, 2009 at 12:56 am

I have been contacted by OHNLIVE rep today, he palyed audio and offered me three packages. Basic $149 with 1 associates, Standard $288 with 2 associates,elite $477 with 4 associates VAST DIFFERENCE T isn’t it!!WHAT THEY USED TO CHARGE >$1000. But na!! i am not gonna join. Thanks you all for your feed back.
As a humanbeing we all are hoping one day there will be a genuine home based business on the earth

Bruce Brown November 6, 2009 at 7:35 am

I’m from Australia. I filled in a form from an ad on Facebook. 2 days later I got a call from a guy in the US called Randy Gohn’ of Online Hosting Network and he gave me the hard sell, played a tape then proceeded to try and extract $149USD for a basic plan, $288USD for a STD plan, $477USD for an Elite plan. I balked and said I’d need to check it out first but he was insistent. I told him I was getting angry so he backed off. He left a contact number of US 1800 637190 Ext 2260

In my research of them, I found your site and decided not to proceed with their scam. He called back this morning and I gave him the ‘not interested, goodbye’ **CLICK** Thank you for that.

I ran across the same ad on Facebook today and reported it. I kept the page the link led to open, and tonight I discovered it was gone. I hope I helped :)

By the way, for the technical types, their enquiry form ad page when I clicked on the ad in Facebook then disappeared sometime today showed up error messages with an IP of 69.50.196.187 amongst other error messages where the enquiry page used to be. It might help someone track them down.

Regards
Bruce

SANDY November 6, 2009 at 2:38 pm

SO SORRY TO SAY I WAS ONE OF THE STUPID PERSONS WHOO DID BUY INTO THIS.
i am now going to try and get every last cent i spent and if not i will use my web site to deter everyone who comes by.
i am a greta person abut a bitch when crossed and i am so angry that i could spit blood .

so i will keep you all informed and -DONT GO THERE !

El Plumber (admin) November 6, 2009 at 2:43 pm

Sandy, yeah that site you linked (everythingplace.net) looks like the rest of the sites OHN sells. Basically a bunch of junk links and ads. Can you tell us more? How much did you pay for it? Did they tell you what to do, or teach how you can add real content to your site to make it less… well… terrible?

El Plumber (admin) November 6, 2009 at 3:01 pm

Folks, please take “Toms” comments above with a large grain of salt. If you didn’t know, everyone who leaves a comment on a blog has their IP address tracked with the comment. So I can see that Tom’s IP is from Phoenix, Arizona, the home of the Online Hosting Network. Perhaps it’s a remarkable coincidence, but it’s very possible that he is involved with the company in some way.

There are plenty of people on this thread who actually did buy into OHN and did not like it. There are no comments here, that’s as in ZERO, from anyone who has bought an OHN site and have been satisfied with the results. The only “good” comment we have so far is from Crystal who did have her refund policy honored, so that’s a plus in your favor.

Tom, please give us the link to your “friends” site that he has made money with. We’d love to see it and prove everyone else on this thread incorrect!

For the “if you don’t want to join don’t join comment”, but when a pushy sales person is trying to get people down on their luck to pay good money for a business model that has very little actual value, and the money asked for varies wildly by a factor of 10, it starts to reek of something the FTC needs to have a closer look at.

Malcolm November 6, 2009 at 5:56 pm

yes Tom, please allow us the satisfaction of looking at your colleagues website

Bruce Brown November 7, 2009 at 2:41 pm

Attn: ADMIN

Here is their registration page after someone clicks on OHN’s Facebook advert which never mentions their name of course: wealthwayz1aunz.com

I completely understand if you delete my more detailed than usual posts. :)
Keep up the great work and thanks.

Regards
Bruce

PS. I posted up a link to your site on my Facebook wall in the hope others will be protected from the low life types who run scams. I hope you don’t mind. :)

Crystal November 8, 2009 at 4:48 am

Malcolm and Tom:

To prove I’m not making up my story, my website is 247elle.com. As you can see, OHN has included alot of uneffective ads on my web site.

I’m upset because someone called me a “complainer” when my sole purpose is to warn others of their scam so they will not become a victim as well. Since I’ve been there and done that, I’m sure my words are valuable in your decision making.

As stated earlier, I’ve invested $595 USD in this business. It make sense that I’m disappointed in OHN because they’ve taken “bread off my table”.

David November 9, 2009 at 4:01 pm

Hey everyone, I just got off the phone to one of OLH’s representatives.
It seemed like it might be a good way to make some extra cash, seeing as I’m studying at university at the moment.

When I explained that I would like to look into the company a bit more the rep started to get very aggressive. He insisted that I was not serious and that I wasn’t being truthful when I said I could afford the $149 (by the way, at no point in the conversation did I say I didn’t have the money)

Then when I told him I wasn’t interested in dealing with a company that felt the need to be so aggressive to potential clients, he told me I just wasted his time.
If a company won’t allow you time to think about an investment, stay the hell away from them.

Thanks for the tips guys, i’ll let everyone I know to say away.

Trish November 10, 2009 at 8:53 pm

Hi guys,

Thank you so much for this as I got a call from OHN today, I was on the phone with them for around 20 minutes, it sounded so convincing and professional I’m sure you would have seen the dollar signs in my eyes!!! I told them i would need to discuss it with my husband first they didn’t sound very happy and I know why now, so glad I found this website :) Unfortunately I’m sure a lot of others will be sucked into this unless they also do a little research, I found their website on Facebook which I thought would them make it a trustworthy site but I now know that is no guarantee, I hope a lot more people see this before they spend the money.

Trish

Trish November 10, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Also just to add these are the prices I was quoted here in New Zealand, it has to be a scam how can the pricing vary so much from country to country:

Basic package: $149.00 usd
Standard: $288.00 usd
Elite: $300.00 usd

Tom Williams November 13, 2009 at 5:10 am

I just got a call yesterday from OHN, I hadn’t clicked on a facebook ad, but I have been completing some online surveys with online survey firms, they must have passed on my details to OHN. Which I am pissed about!. I told the guy yesterday to ring back when my partner was home as he took care of the finances, and knew more about affiliate marketing than I. The guy rang back today but half and hour late, and my partner had left for work, he was so pissed off, rude, said I was wasting his time, said I couldn’t afford it obviously and I wasn’t serious about the business etc etc. I then found out that he had tried to put through charges on my debit card (thankfully there wasn’t enough in the account – and it was rejected). I have now had to cancel my mastercard. Stay away from these guys!!!!!

Theresa Leach November 14, 2009 at 10:57 pm

I too received a call from OHN. A person by the name of David Gray. He went through all the sales pitch about the 3 different level (basic, standard & elite). I listened to the tape. I told him that I had been curious to know some more about their online money earner that I happened to stumble upon when surfing the net. When he wanted me to supply my credit card details I put my brakes on and then in the finishing part of his conversation he told me off for wasting his time. I’m glad I have now done some investigation on the net and discovered this web link’s information. Thanks for being here for the net community.
Cheers from Theresa

Lucas November 16, 2009 at 1:21 pm

This website in total is a great help!!!! I have seen many scams on the internet before and this one i didnt see coming!!!! Thanks. Won’t try this scam, glad i checked here first.

Lysa November 17, 2009 at 6:06 pm

I am a NewZealander. I was actually on facebook and came accross online hosting network. I rang them and told the guy it sounded too good to be true. Said I will need to speak with my husband first because of the start up fee (we have 5 children so difficult). I came on here cause I was excited about it and really wanted to find out if it was THAT easy. I am incredibly glad now that I have found and read all the comments from real people like me on here. I will not even be pitching this idea to my husband, the information can all just go in the bin now. Thankyou all so much.

Lysa November 17, 2009 at 6:26 pm

In NZ I have been told slightly different prices to what Trish was in NZ. For the Elite package I was told $477 usd, which is apparently $636 nz. So Price obviously doesn’t just vary country to country. It must vary just anytime and any phone call they want it too.

El Plumber (admin) November 17, 2009 at 6:30 pm

Lysa, I strongly suspect they have some generic average housing cost and average family income for a given neighborhood or city. So they can see based on your phone number or address approx how much they can try and squeeze out of you. Thus the wildly different prices different people have heard.

Rick November 18, 2009 at 5:52 am

This is really helpful information I just wish I hadn’t given them my address details, can now expect spam up the boohigh. I must admit my BS detector went off the instant the link came back…

Millz November 18, 2009 at 10:02 pm

Damm… Those guys (OHN) are too good to be true alright … But they are soo good @ what they do, they know how to covince people to listen their offer and never give you a chance to think about it what you want to do, another example is that they want your credit card details ASAP without any hesitation SO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT PEOPLE !! They sound more caniving, untrustworthy alright, It’s amazing how an american voice over the phone can decieve you, who knows they could be running it from a correctional facilty (Jail), so I’m glad that I did my bit & did the research about them and to find out that they are a total scam!! Keep up the good work guys!!

Victor November 20, 2009 at 10:04 pm

Ha – so pleased I looked on here too – had a call from OHN about an hour ago – I am an experienced sales person and could see all the tactics a mile off… of course they are not going to ask you if you want to do it or not – but instead which level will you join at? and is this the address you want your cheques sent to? That’s more than assumptive selling – I actually laughed at him – don’t think he was too happy about that :) :)
On a good (ish) note he didn’t push for credit card details, I told him straight up that my partner has it anyway, and I had wondered why it was soooo important to have a major credit card. He said he’d call back next week – $20 says he know’s he’s been rumbled and wont even bother… on the other hand… will have soooo much fun if he does call back – hahaha :)
p.s – don’t let 1 potentially bad company put you off your search for a long term residual income – I am confident that there is more than enough money out there for everyone to live the life of their dreams – be positive and continue to excersise caution. :)

Kate November 21, 2009 at 3:14 am

Well I am one of the NZ almost victims – yup got taken to the site through face book and then get a Jim Garity on the phone with the sales pitch and easy income ….etc etc etc
So I asked about other web site’s and other clients and got fobbed off – asked again and taken to the Brain Cooking page ( not that inspiring)
Then he starts on about my credit card and the low price for making so much money by doing nothing – small alram bells now ring – mention hubby works for the police and would have to discuss with him – Jim then retracks and says he will ring again.
Jim rang the following day – (My hubby had already done his homework and said dodgy company, once they get credit card details they would probably empty account – thus leave alone) so I asked Jim about credit card safety – he says trust your bank – if you do not authorise payment they (the bank) have to pay – bit of a strange answer – asked for proof of company, other OHN clients etc and got the privacy bit so after about 20 minutes of their time on the phone said will talk to hubby again – their money not mine ( as in phone bill)
Then **** me a Reece rings about 20 minutes later and goes straight into the hard sell – so he got told where to go and how (my patients had expired)
I found this site purely out of interest by net searching for OHN etc – to much scamming going on out there.
In New Zealand we do have rules and laws about this type of practise. The relevant bodies are aware of OHN now so if you are reading this and are from OHN – bug off and try earning a honest living that does not involve stealing off people who actually do earn money the honest way

Suzi November 24, 2009 at 5:17 pm

Hi there, I had a call from David Gray at OHN about 3 hours ago, offering me the 3 packages, (Basic, Sandard and Elite) after completing a form on the net for more info about a ‘work from home’ internet based opportunity. Talk about sounding too good to be true! He was very good, but not good enough for this lady! He was very convincing about how easy it was, as a website would be set up especially for me, all I had to do was choose a name for it, follow a few simple links and instructions, post some adverts and sit back and watch the money roll in…………errrrr……….. I don’t think so – nothing is ever that simple! He was adamant there was no selling involved, and that this wasn’t a pyramid scheme but he was also very quick to want an answer as to which of the packages I was (not may be) interested in. When I said I would like time to think the whole thing over his response was ‘why wait, your website could be up and running within a few hours and this time tomorrow you could already be making money’ – mine was ‘another 24 hours won’t make any difference, I want to discuss it with my husband!’ He wasn’t very impressed as he questioned if it was my money or a joint account, but he remained polite and friendly all the same. In the end I think he knew he wasn’t getting aywhere with me right then and brought the call to an abrupt end! I can see how people could easily be taken in by this ‘opportunity’ and perhaps I would have been myself a few years ago, but thankfully I have become a little cynical with age and won’t be taken for a complete idiot too easily. In short, unfortunately you really can’t trust many people these days, least of all those who prey on the ordinary ‘man in the street’ who is just trying to earn an honest living with a decent income. It’s our natural instinctive curiosity to explore ways of making a little extra money but unfortunately there will always be someone out there dangling the carrot ready to rip you off at every conceiveable opportunity……….if anyone knows different I would love to hear from them just to restore my faith in humanity!!!

Wayne D Butwell November 25, 2009 at 10:35 am

I am one of those people looking for way to make a little cash and filled out the form for OHN, was hooked from the start paid the fee started the website and hope for the best.
Next thing I know a call form my support team with a plan to advertise my site with three options : wow now I needed $4000.00 to continue : not happening : Joined this outfit in the hope of generationg a small income , it will take a lot of work now I need to gain the knowledge ask for help, they provided free sites so here are a few sites to help any others that have been caught up in the excitement. Good luck

kelly December 2, 2009 at 4:21 am

hi, well im a nz & i actually got sucked in, yes sadly these people just don’t leave you alone, they just keep calling & calling so i gave in, this is my 2nd wk with them & just yesterday my so called mentor frankie peterson said for US$99 i can send 2500 emails to generate some business to your site & get you some money, silly me said ok. He then tried to squeeze another US$400 out of me for some other crap but i said No i don’t have that kind of money so he settled for that & hung up. to date i have only seen US$2.41 in my earnings….after realising that i have given just under NZ$350 i want to get out as they are just clearing out innocent peoples bank accts.
I also rang them today to ask if i could read some of their clients stories of how they are doing etc & the guy told me to look at cookwithbrian which wasn’t what i asked, he quickly changed the subject & hung up, this is what made me rethink about what i’ve gone & done with these guys….i can only learn from this mistake & move forward…total scammers

Glen December 4, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Just thought I’d add a quick comment. I just got off the phone with these guys and a couple of thing that I couldn’t understand was 1. The lady (Dianna) told me to write down lots of questions, so I did but when it came time to ask these questions I was relayed to someone who just went straight into the sales pitch at the end when he was asking me what package I liked. I stoped him and said I have many questions I would like to ask first. I wanted to understand about the products and what choices there were, he wouldn’t answer any of my questions and kept trying to redirect me back to buying a package. 2. They said its not a multi level marketing scheme yet all he talked about was everytime someone signed up through my website I would receive a commision check. Not once did this guy ever talk about the different products you would be selling or advertising on my so called website. 3 When I said I’d liked to take another look at the web site he basicly said that the web site would tell me much and is only a tool to ask them to ring me. I asked why would I give you money with no infromation. He hung up straight away. I guess they should have told Dianna to ask me not to ask any questions. Oh the only quaifing question they ask is if you have a visa or paypal account. I havn’t seen anybody make $50,000.00 per month working 2 hours a week.

Carol December 9, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Same story.
In my opinion, these people seem to be pure scammers. I signed up for the standard package – cost $188. Spent hours setting up my ‘website’. Fortunately, I paid through PayPal. Unfortunately, I am out $188. The foll0wing week I was called by a hard-selling guy whose name I cannot bother remembering and for thousands of dollars I could be guaranteed advertising and many thousands of hits on my site. I didn’t like the sound of that—-no one is guaranteed thousands of hits on their site unless you are big-time sellers. He kept reducing the cost and value of the package. Someone else called back the following week and when I flatly said ‘no thanks’ he was pretty miserable on the phone. Stay away from this. If anyone hears more about them please post your comments.

Pat December 18, 2009 at 10:02 pm

I just want to comment on this company, I signed up with them in September and they promised me that I would get 15000 visitors to my web site that they had me to come up with the name. I did that I did not realize that they attach their own web site which is makemoney.daytimeincome.com and this is the site they promote off the money I spent with them to promote the site they issued to me which is daytimeincome.com. They also said that I would get training for 8 months will I spoke to this one guy three times since September. Currently this other site makemoney.daytimeincome.com has gotten 2737 hits and my site daytimeincome.com has only gotten 737 hits, this is not purchases this is where they have accessed the site I guess because if it were purchases I haven’t seen any commission. What they are doing is taking your money and promoting their business and not providing you with any information such as who they are sending these “e-mail” to and how do we get access to it to follow up. Of course this is what they say that they do and maybe they do but you will never know. I have sent them an e-mail today asking if I can use my on AutoResponder and I am sure they will not allow that because then I will have control over my own marketing. All I can say is that since September I have earned $6.47 and I have paid $2,683.00 and when I call in to speak with someone all I get is another sales pitch to upgrade to a better package, the last guy I spoke to needless to say I was not very nice to, then I am told if I order from the same sites I am advertising I will not get commission…. Who in their right mind would sign up for this if they disclosed it up front? I know I should have followed my first mind but what can I say I decided this time I was going to go for it… I hope one day I will be able to retract these words but as of today!!!! STAY AWAY!!!

Lance Goldsmith January 2, 2010 at 3:14 pm

OHN is registered with the Arizona State Corporation Commission (azcc.gov), previous names are “Traffic Designs”, and “World Market Systems”. The BBB is legalized extortion, so why would anyone pay them to say they have a good name if they don’t? Answer: It’s a hustle to make money which is exactly what OHN is.

JA January 4, 2010 at 2:41 pm

I got a call on the 31st of december 2009 from the Online Hosting Network talking of profit to be made if i signup with their program.Fortunately i couldnt conclude the conversation and had them to call me on the 4th of jan 2010.They explain the process involved but it all sounded too good to be through(standard, basic and elite package).He asked for a one-off fee and i became a little concerned and he was a bit too forward in constantly demanding for the payment and i said i would pay tomorrow but he insisted i pay today and then i became suspicious….cos why would any good businessman be soo quick and forceful in getting a one-off payment on d first time speaking…….i figured out its either whatever hes selling isnt good enough or its is all a scam!!!!!! hmm they say Nigerians are scammers but he sure didnt sound nigerian to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark January 4, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Hi, Folks just say a quick but a very big thanks for your comments!!! Just spoke to a guy called Richard and Exactly same story through…. what a scam!!! You guys saved me Today in a big time!. Yes, it was quite tempting indeed. I hope this is just a something you guys feel good about
- Thanks to you, another poor man escaped this unscratched. Take care all of you!
Kind regards,
Mark from UK

Ryan P January 6, 2010 at 10:00 pm

OH you are going to love this one… so the sad story… my life partner has been sick for the past while with cancer and I have taken time off work to help him out. I am also a Network Engineer so while I am listening to the 8 minute message I am googling like mad about this company. Well, now on to the fun… so I am not one to piss off at night. I speak to some John guy during the audio recording. Then get transferred to George Ybanez at x.2368 – this within itself gives me a giggle cause it was so quick even I was shocked. Then for some reason right at the start George has to change phones? Wonder why? I explain to him I want the dirt on how much this is going to be and why they have to have their banners on MY website. NO ANSWER. Then I ask if I can design the site myself. NO ANSWER. Then I ask if they could provide me their corporate phone number. he asks: why would you want that…. so I respond

OH I DONT KNOW… MAYBE TO DO A REVERSE LOOKUP ON IT CAUSE THE 602 NUMBER YOU ARE CALING FROM NOW IS NOT LISTED.

Needless to say he was not impressed and told me to have a good day. So what did I do… I called back HAHA. after speaking with some poor guy (btw it is george pretending to be someone else) for about 30 minutes, They admit that they are not at liberty to give out corporate information and yes they have been in business for 2.5 years but just got their own website under a year ago cause they have been focused on their customers…. YEAH RIGHT!!!

Anyways, this has been fun… I think I am going to call them daily with some desperate question in the hopes I will sign up… this is what they get for calling a cynical 30 year old gay man taking care of his lover who is very sick at home in bed… GOD I love entertainment.

PS, thanks all for this site… just made it easier to know they were fake

sabine putzug January 8, 2010 at 5:17 pm

same story paid a lot off money because i thought i make money with them aand since time are bad i saw a great opportunity in it wich was the biggest mistake i ever did so if someone from the OHN comes up to you and tells you about it don`t join ask them if you can see blueprints if they are listed somewhere and tell them that you only read bad stuff about them and that they are a big big big scam

Chrissy January 11, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Hi,
I was contacted today and had a half an hour phone call with an employee of the company called Online Hosting Network. I listened to a recorded message for about 8 minutes and then had another chat with the employee who was very good at marketing this product. Unfortunately I have lost quite a bit of money in the past by not doing my homework and I now search the Internet for any information I can find before jumping into any home business.
I have found this information about the company so THANK YOU!!
It is great to have the input from others who have been bitten so as not to make the same mistake.
I must say though that I do run a successful business and have done for 5 years.
Thank you again for your website.

cybersloth January 14, 2010 at 1:03 am

Hi everyone, I too have been contacted by Online Hosting Network, I have recently been doing alot of surveys and offers so now i need to find out who offerd a fraudulent business opertunity to me.

I have had the call, ‘Kevin Pasley’ was his name, (irony here is that there is a famous baseball player with the same name) he played a recorded discription of there ‘service’ to me and then proceded with the sales pitch.

he quoted the folowing prices:
$149US basic
$288US standard
$488US elete

I also recived an email that was flaged by the ‘Sender ID Framework’ within hotmail, so i called them on there freecalll number and asked them why this had happened, a guy told me that he could not tell me, he said he needed to get pen and papper to take my details so a superviser could call me back, I asked why he didn’t just put it in the computer, he said he didn’t have one, strange that an internet based company would not put computers in there call center.
I tryed calling back as i had not recived a responce, it is apparently out of there business hours now (1530h AEDST GMT+11)

I have included my email for the administrators of this site, I am interested in undermining decitfull scammers, people should not lie to me…

One final note, they have freecall numbers in many countrys, here is a list, someone must be paying for these numbers that redirect to the USA, maby all the hapless victoms?

USA/Canada – 888 230 0459
Australia – 1800 637 842
UK – 0808 101 7618
NZ – 0800 451 184
South Africa – 0800 982 163
Ireland – 1800 550 487
Chile – 1230 020 9238
Why not rack up there phone bill

The direct line is – 602 343 2217 but this won’t cost them money

this is the address they claim to have:
8050 N 19th Ave #214
Phoenix, AZ 85021

checked google maps, looks like some kind of business complex

I will report back with further developments

cybersloth..

Jaki January 15, 2010 at 12:10 am

Hello all.
Thanks to all your comments I did NOT join Online Hosting Network!!!!
I too had the hard sell from a Steve Brady. I live in New Zealand, so it
would have cost them a pretty penny for all my dithering around.
He tried to get me to pay by cc over the phone I said definitely not. Give me
a secure https site and I will do it online. He said the only way I could do it
online was with paypal.
Gratefully to Paypal NZ, it takes 48hours to set up an account and in that
time I found your blog and now I decided not to join.
A BIG THANK YOU.
Jaki

cybersloth January 15, 2010 at 9:56 am

Hello All

I’m sorry but it’s not enough that those few of us who are smart enough to know better dont get duped, thease ‘people’ ,for lack of a word that won’t be sensord, need to be stoped, somebody buy this clown a plane ticket downunder and tell em they won a holaday, and i’ll pick em up from the airport then get all “Wolf Creak” on there ‘bhind’ LOL

But seriously, they need to be stoped, legitimate business is fine, but lies and deception…..

cybersloth.

jimbo January 15, 2010 at 11:34 am

I subscribed to the online hosting network aout 2 months ago. Since then i have not recieved a single penny in earnings. I am tired of people posting comments about how they luckily decided not to join this scam. I want to hear about other people who made the same mistake as me not the lucky bastards who avoided it.

liz January 23, 2010 at 5:05 am

Foolishly signed up with OHNlive as a brand new newbie.
I have three websites with them (two they set up without my permission).
I can remove myself from OHN which is basically an affiliate connection
with Amazon BUT what can I / should I do with the websites which I paid
for ? I have spent a couple of days reseaching how to do this. Please help ?
Or should I approach GoDaddy ?
I was going to set up with Hostgator etc etc. I am nervous to do anything -
obviously way to techi. PLEASE HELP

a Huge List January 26, 2010 at 8:17 am

LIZ – re your question.
Assuming the domain names for your stores are in YOUR name not theirs it should be quite easy to set up with HOSTGATOR (I do recommend them as I use them myself for hosting)
You simply need to sign up with one of their hosting plans
Point your domain names to their server
Download your sites files and database from your current host and upload them to your new hosting – or, I’m pretty sure with some plans hostgator will move your files for you free (much easier if you don’t know much about websites.

For those of you stuck with one of these ripoff sites I advise that to salvage something from this you firstly add a blog to your website (you can download free from wordpress) and fill it as often as you can with fresh content (try reviewing your products or highlight great deals etc) and focus on your link building, submit to directories, link lists other blogs etc – put in enough time on this and you will get traffic and hopefully sales!

Art February 2, 2010 at 8:19 am

Work is really buggin me…tired of being used/abused there and am obviously desperate and weak right now.
All started with wanting to make a little extra money doing surveys……AND that was it.
The vultures find you. I’m usually careful and distrust everyone on the net….BUT i needed to believe….you know. So I did, and they got me through the first stage,6 or 7 hundred bucks down for a website I prob don’t even own. Where’s my paperwork for that site with it’s name and my name on it????? Anybody know if I can keep that site going??It’s crap man, I can just set up a site myself if thats what I really want.Every step you move on to they hit you with more charges, to advertise, then coach. I’ve been called by a Frank several times about advertising…almost paid them too. He asked for $2400 USD and I told him I could’nt afford that, then he dropped the price to $12965 USD …too easy.
Now I fricken check….feel like a real tool. They get us because we need to have more money, so are we too greedy….maybe.If you stop and think first you’ll save yourself alot of trouble. Nothings easy or free…NOTHING

liz February 4, 2010 at 3:06 am

Thanks to ElectronPlumer for emailing me with some answers and feedback.
ART – you are better than you think !! Every great inventor and every millionaire
made mistakes at the beginning. This is just the beginning for YOU.
Re OHN: I rang them and have had my web addresses released to me for my own use. This means that I am no longer connected with OHN (the site has been shut down) and can put my web site address to another server (Hostgator). You just need the DNS numbers.So, off I go again….as you can.
There IS FREE stuff out there to learn from – check out BumMarketingMethod.com – you will not be sorry..all FREE. Never, never give up Art-the best is yet to come. (I would hug
you if I could – yo can do it!!!)

LMO February 5, 2010 at 4:01 pm

Wow, I think we have been taken for thousands of dollars by OHN. My husband and I are not stupid, we have made successful investments in the past, and are well aware of scams and people being taken for a ride. We are also very careful with our money but this all seems so legitimate. But the more research I do the more concerned I get. They are about to phone us again and I think I am just going to cancel the whole thing.

El Plumber (admin) February 5, 2010 at 4:47 pm

LMO, you should be concerned.

What made you think it was legitimate? Now with hindsight, the warning bells should be ringing loudly. Did you sign anything or receive a receipt or are they just charging you? Did you check how long they have been in business? Find other users who were happy with their services? Get a second opinion from a company providing similar services? Have you received any real physical material from the company or just heard sales pitches on the phone?

Fee February 6, 2010 at 1:45 am

I too were fooled by their smooth talk, basically all the same as “dwlane”. Was told in business for 10′s of years. Expect a call from the “Tax Club” to transfer online hosting debt to their credit card and register as a US business etc … for $2,ooo+. Informed me they occupy the complete 60th floor of the State Empire Building, i declined and stated they will get no more money from me (i hope this has not scared them off as we all need more information about them). My coach all of a sudden disappeared and no longer worked for ohn and another lady will take over my training. I could almost write a book on them … and like our websites … all promises and no delivery!! They only deal with you by phone. I have lots of names and contact numbers … but for how long?

Art February 18, 2010 at 7:53 am

Alright Liz, you’re too cool……
I called OHN and asked for my money back…. they put me on to another person.Told him I wasn’t happy with the hard sell and more.He said I did’nt have to pay any more and that the free advertising dept would contact me. They did on Saturday, told them I could’nt talk and to call back another day. Still waiting, it’s been 2 weeks now ….no call back HHHMMMM????
They even mentioned this site??? Electron Plumber. That they were using tactics like bagging OHN and then offering things like , start your own online business ,other links. After whats recently happened their comment(OHN) got me thinking.BUT, maybe thats what they wanted.
So Liz you got your site from them well done you internet tycoon. What’s it called I’ll check it out. You think I can get mine from them? I just need the DNS numbers??????
way to go liz

El Plumber (admin) February 18, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Art,
We don’t provide hosting, or online services, or money making jobs at all here. We do have ads.

A better question would be to ask them where their testimonials are. It sure is easy to find many people saying that OHN isn’t worth anything, let alone hundreds or thousands. Where are the examples of people succeeding with it?

liz February 22, 2010 at 10:48 pm

Hi Art and everyone, Sorry Art I am not as cool as I thought (this time only). This is
what I found out. Its not a matter of getting the DNS details – sorry.
My OHN domain name ……. shows that it is registered through Registrar: WILD WEST DOMAINS, INC. which is who you would contact to have the nameservers updated. The domain name does show to be hosted by Godaddy but not purchased through them so they would not be able to change the nameservers. Only the registrar that you purchased the domain name registration from would be able to change the nameservers for you.
And so it goes on. This is what I have done after so so much time (& dollars). I
have rung OHN and asked them to close my domain/cancel the business (as they called it).
Then I cancelled the attempted transfer and new set up with a hosting company. (More time). Its up to you Art but this is the kind of thing you have to put down to experience.
Its not the end of the world, its just the end of OHN. Remember it was you (& me) that said yes to OHN.
When we succeed – rejoice, when we dont succeed – learn.
So – we didn’t succeed with this one but wow look at the great things we learnt. There is
some good stuff and good people out there in cyberspace you just have to find them – I
know you will …….. the best is yet to come !!! The trick in life is not to quit … a famous golfer once said that the NEXT swing is the important one. Even the greatest selling book of all time says ‘your adversity is working for you’ .
So – your goal for today is ………? Decide which swing your going to make – time is precious – I know, how about the NEXT swing – - you can do it !

kerrie February 23, 2010 at 7:58 am

Am from Australia. Had my first phone call from them today and the selling was amazeing. I can see why people fall for this. She wanted my credit card details today and was prepared to drop the joining price to get me in. I said to ring me again on Fri. Where do these people get off?

Joey March 1, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Was thinking about signing up. Decided to google it. Glad I did.

Margaret Anne Stevens March 1, 2010 at 10:23 pm

I am also from Australia (Kerrie Feb 23 2010). I paid a set up fee to OHN & set up a website, then came the hard sell for an advertising package. Phone call at 7am today – do they do this to catch you off guard? Told him to call back later, which he did. One hour on the phone with all sorts of ‘amazing’ offers when I told him I could not afford the asking price ($2795 – $5000!).
He tried really hard to get me to agree to the deal!!! Told him I needed time to think it through and not to call back.
I then decided to research the company’s authenticity, and came up with this website.
I plan to cancel the whole deal after reading the comments on this site. THANKS SO MUCH!!

Malcolm March 6, 2010 at 5:41 am

These suckers are now operating under the domain name of aismain.com. My mum got scammed into paying $200 for search engine positioning, which was billed as “training”.
These guys need to be taken out!

Malcolm March 6, 2010 at 5:56 am

Hey, I’ve done some snooping around and found this site listed for the same address as the office that is used for Online Hosting Network (aka Associate Internet Solutions).
Domain Name:YOURPRODUCT.ORG
(domain info removed, look it up yourself if you want the info – El Plumber)

El Plumber (admin) March 6, 2010 at 12:31 pm

This is how they seem to register sites at OHN. They register them in the person’s name, but with their address.

Shaun iTechPro March 6, 2010 at 11:37 pm

7/03/2010

Do Your Research

I had an interesting time with Onlinehostingnetwork.com, I’m very into Technology, I.T, Although I don’t have any proper qualifications just yet, (I just left school 1 year ago) I do my research and homework before I sign up for anything. That includes to decide to use Firefox or internet explorer browser or use Gmail or Yahoo mail etc etc. I suggest that all of you do the same, you will get the best product if you do.

OK, Back to topic, I just moved to Australia and was looking for a job. So i read the local Newspaper called Leader and in the jobs sections it had this Ad “Earn $250 doing a typing task” Well that sounded pretty true and I went to that website shown below “www.10wpm.com” Believe me I wouldn’t even go to that address if it was advertised on the internet website. But since it was on a local newspaper I was convinced, and thought it cant be fake.

So I went to the site and there was just a login “with no information”, stupidly enough i did the login, I would never do that if it wasn’t in the local paper. and I had email to confirm and I did and it took me directly to onlinehostingnetwork.com, They also had a just a register page (Now they changed the site, and it look different). But this time I felt a bit suspicious because this register because they asked for my name, last name, address, postcode, phone number, email, etc etc.. This is too much to ask from someone who knows nothing about what you are signing up for. (That’s your first clue) – But I did sign up. But with fake names and addresses, Only right information I gave was my first name Shaun. and after that It took me to a page with toll-free phone numbers. Since I’m in Australia, this relieved some of the suspicion as it wasn’t some American number. (Then I wouldn’t call them), So I did call and I cant remember the guys name. This guy sounded middle age and he had a clear voice and asked for my name, I didn’t want to give my last name so I said Shaun and he asked me to listen to the audio tape and it will tell me everything I need to know and that I can ask any questions at the end (So far so good).

Then I listen, and man trust me this was very very very convincing. All they asked on the tape was pay one time fee of $19 for the website and they do everything for you – setting up website, advertising, getting people etc etc, They also had a guarantee, (It said There is no reason why you wouldn’t make money) And it had big company names like amazon.com, So i was very convinced. but I also wanted to ask some questions and wasn’t prepared to pay them without thinking about it, and doing some research. (This research was going to be about how successful people are with this kind of selling, Not trying to check if this company is legit or not, because I was very convinced that this is a good opportunity to earn money). So after the audio tape that guy came straight after it finished and he said “Well now did you hear all that information, Shaun?, I said yes and he said. So you would definitely have a major credit card?” I said yes and he said “the money goes straight from to my account, and They will promote my websites, because they make money when I do” I said “It sounded good, but I have few questions” Now, a good legit sales person here would say “Yes, certainly, go ahead” or something like that because they are there to (HELP YOU), but this guy was just silent but it didn’t bother me so I asked the questions. I can’t remember all the questions but I remember asking the following questions:

1.Why do you need a credit card?
2.Why would people click amazon.com products when they can just go directly to Amazon.com and buy?
3.Is $19 for website hosting, a one time payment?
4.Where are you located?
5.Do I have to download anything?
6.Do I need any experience running a home business?
7.Can I call you back later to decide?

So for the 1st question he said, “Well, do you have pay-pal then” I said I don’t but I can create one
2nd question, he said, Amazon came up with this back in 1996 and No matter how big amazon is, its just one website, so the more websites that link their products they more buyers/users they get. (Now this is actually true. They do have this program with amazon. Go Google it yourself)
3rd question, Answer was Yes
4th He said, he was located in the United States and they company set up toll free numbers for UK, Australia, Ireland, and some other countries I can’t remember.
5th He said No
6th He said No

Now, for the 7th question, I asked for some time to decide and I wanted to call them back later on, Now I didn’t ask for a number yet, And he went, “Why do you want to time, You haven’t even heard over packages yet” ( He had kind of a Angry/disappointing voice) I said “I just have to ask my dad about these kind of stuff” Now my dad is an accountant but he has done, Share Market and that’s it. All I wanted was to do some research and ask for my dads opinion. But then he went ” Why would you ask your dad, you’re the one who listen to the tape, what is there to ask?” ( I got very Suspicious and I said well, my dad has done these kind of home business stuff and he knows about these advertising businesses (Which is kind of a lie, because he haven’t actually done home business on internet, other than share-market. ( But at the time It didn’t felt like a lie, I just honestly wanted some time to think)

And at the end he said, something so quickly That I couldn’t hear all I heard was ( blah blah…. Have a nice day Shaun) – HANG UP

I was so surprised. I really wanted to call back, I thought He probably thought, I was a kid with no knowledge because I said “I need to ask my dad” But I’m almost a 20 year old and going to study I.T Network Administration soon and there is nothing wrong with asking for a older more experienced person like your dad for a opinion.

Straight After that I went to my friend “www.Google.com” , Trust me, its everyone’s friend. and typed “Onlinehostingnetwork.com scam?” Guess what came up, This site with a brilliant article from Plumber and a lot of people who got scammed for $$$$ of dollars.

I know this Article was long, But to be honest I didn’t want to summarize it. I just felt like a type. This is worth a read if you are about to sign up with them Or to anyone who is not convinced if they are legit company or not. – If this doesn’t convince you, I’m not sure what will.

Shaun – iTechPro

Fee March 7, 2010 at 4:06 pm

I’ve written before. I’ve paid $6000 NZ for the 1st package, training, advertising for 1 year. I had to remortgage my house because i could not afford to repay the monthly repayments from credit card, which has now had to be shut down. Have had 2 training sessions, quite comprehensive but very daunting. I’m so “green” I’m unsure if I’m even doing this right! I figure I can’t get my money back, and have no idea how to even try, or whether I’m able, that i may as well get what i can from it. So i’ll keep you all up to date with my progress, or lack of it.
They’re encouraging me to set up my “niche” site for US$10 and assure me that it costs nothing else to add keywords/adwords etc as it is all linked through my main site. I hesitate here because where is the money being dragged from? Because I’m “green” i don’t know the appropriate questions to ask. Why can’t i develop the main site i already have, it is fully customisable, so this is what i’m going to attempt to do. It will be interesting to see what “flack” I’ll get from them by doing this.
I joined just prior to Christmas and have $12 owing to me through shares, no sales. I’m worried about the moral issues of allowing them to scam other people with the “make money from home” site. After all this waffle, i dare say there are cheaper alternatives and training to develop your own website (not that i can afford to do this again) so the big question i need to ask you all is …
Should i continue with this (deep down i know the answer)? Can anyone direct me on how to end all this without costing me more money and whether my personal information will be used by them somehow after i close everything?
Thank you all for reading this, it’s nearly driven me insane with moral worry, and it will be “taking food off my table” for many years to come. I know this amount is minimal compared to the loss others have had to endure.

aHugeList March 7, 2010 at 10:02 pm

Liz/Art/anyone who is having problems getting their domain.
WILD WEST DOMAINS is godaddy’s reseller company. (they offer private label hosting/domain accounts to people who want to run their own domain/hosting companies)

You do not need to keep your domain with them if your name is over 60 days old – you can transfer to a registrar of YOUR choice). The cost involved will be a new years registration with your new registrar – about $10-$15.
You do need access to your registrar account to either move it or to change your DNS settings. (OHN MUST provide this access to you by law)re changing DNS – they do not need to do it for you – its very simple to do – just a matter of replacing their dns settings with your new hosts settings.

The reseller domain company will (I’m almost 100% sure) be owned by OHN via weld west domains – so don’t trust them either – tell them if they do not give you access to your account you will file a report with ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) at http://www.icann.org/ as registering your domain in their name or not giving you full access is in breach of ICANN’s rules. Without ICANN’s permission they will no longer be able to sell domain names so telling them you intend to report them may make them jump into action.

*I have no experience with any of these companies personally – but I am happy to help any one that needs advice on changing their settings or getting their domain transferred over to a new registrar – I promise its not as hard as it sounds and once you have control of your name and your site files you can move on to cheap hosting and spend your money on real traffic and site promotion instead!
I can also advise you on free promotion methods for your website. There is no cost at all involved in this advise and I am not promoting any companies – I cant promise to fix your problems but I can provide basic instructions on how to do the things that may seem a little overwhelming to a newbie.

Shaun March 7, 2010 at 10:37 pm

Fee,

I have no idea why you continued to pay. Read my Article/Experience with OnlinehostingNetwork, below your March 7th comment.

My advise to you. I remember they told me on the phone that they had 90 day or something money back guarantee, (GET YOUR MONEY ASAP), if they really insist on doing that US $10 thing first. I suggest do it, It wouldn’t hurt your $6000 that you wasted. But before doing that try to get the money. AND if they refuse even after that, say that you’ll take legal action against OHN, and if they ask under what circumstances? say violating there policies (90 day money back guarantee and ripping your money off), In addition mention that your brother is a lawyer, ( this is a lie, unless your brother is a lawyer) but it will help you get your money. And also mention that you will complain their site (www.onlinehostingnetwork.com) to local authorities (police) etc.

Fee I moved to Australia from NZ, and I would hate to see a kiwi get ripped.

Good luck to you

Shaun – iTechPro

Matt March 8, 2010 at 3:11 am

I signed up in mid-January to OHN from a Facebook ad, for the standard package – $288USD with $50 given to me as “advance commission” for referrals to OHN. I live in Australia. I’m a house-husband with a casual job, and just wanted to utilize my time around my kids activities to make some extra and be a better provider. We have a bit of debt for various reasons. My associates are Amazon.com & Yahoo.com. I’ve created four packages with links relating mostly to Mountain Bikes & accessories. In 7 weeks I’ve had 563 hits – probably 1/3 of those are mine when I check my pages & hits etc.

I have three other pages given to me by OHN. I’ve been dropping leaflets, registered my website on as many search engines as I can. I started a blog with associate links to Amazon & my website. I started a Facebook Fanpage with links to my website. I try to update those as often as I can. In 7 weeks I’ve made exactly $3.83 in commissions from Amazon. Of course that big fat cheque has not come yet, but I’m waiting with bated breath :-) The six sales which have earned me the $3.83 I have since discovered were made by my mum & dad & one of my brothers – they like to encourage me like that.

I’ve been pushing my “makemoney. …………” site but not getting many hits, and earned no commissions from OHN. I’m going to persist to the 90 money back guarantee, and try to build some momentem, but at this stage I’m thinking it was an unwise small investment. I don’t know if it is meant to be a “scam” but the selling is aggressive, and it hasn’t yeilded the results I was led to believe I would acheive. You can’t expect to build a large income overnight, but so far it’s a bit disappointing. The various amounts people say they have been asked for or paid to sign up to OHN seem surprising and excessive compared to what I have paid, but I haven’t been getting the intensive coaching some say they have been paying for. Perhaps the smaller fry are overlooked in that department, though I can ask them for help via email or phone.

I’ll follow this thread with interest, and let you know how I go. Stay positive – it’s the people in your life that really matter, so if you’ve signed up and been disappointed don’t let it suck the meaning from your life.

Matt.

Matt March 8, 2010 at 3:39 am

Correction – should be “pages” not “packages”. Life’s like that.

fee March 8, 2010 at 8:31 pm

There’s been some excellent feedback from all this. “aHugeList” – will be following up on your suggestion of transferring site to another registrar (not that I know anything about it), “Matt” – you were extremely lucky, in that you have vast knowledge on how to promote your sites, I didn’t even know what search engines were … really embarrasing myself now! and Shaun, it was your article that prompted me to start taking action.
I will try and get my money back, but … what money can i claim for? I am too scared to ring OHN and ask what the money back guarantee covers, I’m presuming its only for the initial package. Here is a list of what I paid for (all US$):
*Advertising package $1425 (10,000 email blast, search engine blast, 2500 clicks – 110 used up, search bar on main site, electronics site – submitted to 1000 search engines)
*Training package $2,495 (Training centre, SEO tools, 30000 email blasts, search engine blast, 10000 clicks – 544 used up, tracking views, live training 12 months – 2 sessions used up)
*Elite Referral Program $377 (search engine blast, 6 websites each submitted to 1000 search engines)
Anyone know the legalities?
Cheers all

Matt March 9, 2010 at 1:07 am

Fee,

I don’t have that great a knowledge of promoting my site on the web. Like I said I’ve only made $3.83 in commissions (from sales to family) in 7 weeks from purchasing the OHN site. I do know that if you get yourself a google blog and update it with fresh material regularly it can increase your chances of being found by someone doing a search for your product. If you are linked to Amazon through your OHN site, sign into your associates page on Amazon & look at the tools they offer. You can link banners & widgets directly to your google blog – they have an arangement. If you are on Facebook, or some other Social Networking site you can put your website on your personal profile which I have done. I’ve also started a fan page with a pithy name (well, I think it is), and hopefully that will grow. Some people love becoming fans of funny groups, and again, you can promote your website, that’s free but you can also advertise your fan page to get fans faster for a fee. If you know someone with some IT know-how, ask for their help. It’s much easier in person than over the phone or via email.

I don’t really feel at liberty to link you to my blog in this forum. I’m sure OHN is aware of this thread so I want to give them a go before I start identifying myself. It would up their credibility if they would answer some of the complaints made here, and stop pressuring people into handing over money they can’t afford, for something they are new at – especially if they would refund your money Fee. Now that would give me more confidence to promote OHN.

If you’ve been with them for more than 90 days, and made no money, with all the advertising you’ve been promised and paid for by them then you need to attempt to have them honour their guarantee even if you find it hard. Take a deep breath & assert youself – “this is what I was promised, this is what I have made, this is what I want you to do about it”, without being abusive. And be persistant – call them for as long as it takes. Don’t take any grief you may be given personally – this is your money invested, your family – you have the moral high ground. Don’t let them blame you or make you feel guilty or inadequate. There’s no shame in being new to things – we all were when it comes to the internet (I still am in a lot of ways). You start somewhere and learn as you go – and you will learn from this.

If you can print all the information you put in your last post, and have your credit card statement, take it to a lawyer if you can – maybe they can advocate for you with a knowledge of applicable consumer laws. I understand that you probably don’t have a lot of financial resources to pay for lawyers and such. There are law firms in Australia who have a no win, no fee policy. Don’t know about NZ. Maybe you need to contact NZ’s government agency that deals with consumer complaints and rights.

Just for reference, here is OHN’s money back guarantee. I found the link right down the bottom of the “Help” page of my Back Office. If you go to a lawyer, take this with you as well.

“All you have to do is advertise as much or as little as you want each month and Online Hosting Network™ guarantees that you will start making money in your first 90-days or less, or you can call our office after your 90th day and we’ll refund your entire set up fee. (Printed proof of advertising is required). ”

I’ve stopped pushing OHN referrals until I see some real results from my website. If I were you, I wouldn’t give them anymore money. If you decide not to persist with your site, try to have them honour their guarantee. Get help in person if you can.

Also, if you want to learn about search engines, internet jargon and all that, wikipedia is often enlightening. If you delve into an online business in the future – learn my my mistakes, from others mistakes in this forum & yours & do some research. There’s no reason why you couldn’t have a productive online business – just need to do some study beforehand – patience, persistence, elbow-grease & research is key. I wish you well!

Matt

fee March 9, 2010 at 3:08 pm

Thanx Matt for your comments. Just to let you all know , I’m fairly sure OHN is following this thread. I have received feedback via my email (spam?) from Phoenix (this is where they’re supposedly based). What worries me is they have used my correct name. Am i allowed to name the site and address i received it from in this thread?

El Plumber (admin) March 9, 2010 at 4:34 pm

Feel free to name the site Fee. I don’t like people to post physical addresses since there are some VERY angry people out there that
might take matters into their own hands and I don’t want to be responsible for that!

Matt March 9, 2010 at 4:59 pm

As I said in my previous post, it would increase confidence in OHN if they publicly answered some of these complaints. My business & theirs depend on their good (or bad) reputation. It would also help to know from them, that if things don’t go as promised then they will either 1. Help you for no further charge & genuine concern for your circumstances. 2. No further high-pressure sales tactics. 3. No dismissive manipulation when people legitimately want to make sure they’re not going to lose their investment (i.e. complain that potential investors are waisting their time, when all the customer wants is to be sure it’s on the level). 4. In your case Fee, it would help OHN’s future prospects if they would admit that all the packages you bought haven’t worked & they give you a refund of your $6000.

Keep us informed Fee.
Matt :-)

fee March 10, 2010 at 11:28 pm

Here is the message that was sent directly to my email. I presume they’re referring to my comment from 7th March 2010 (niche site for US$10) …
Their email address: Easy Cash Sites [esozm@travelthebay.com]
* * * *
I know (my name) I couldn’t believe it either, till I saw it for myself.
A fully built, tested, profitable site for only 10 measly bucks??
(site banned by google and yahoo, link removed – El Plumber)
She must have lost her mind if you ask me because there is simply too much there for too little.
Go over there right now before she comes to her senses!
(You can thank me later) ;-)
(site banned by google and yahoo, link removed – El Plumber)

We have sent you this email advertisement because you requested to receive special offers. You can be removed from the specific offer above through the link provided, or permanently removed from all promotions from GreenFriends by clicking below. Also, you can be removed by simply mailing us at GreenFriendsToday, 515 E. Carefree Highway, PMB 831, Phoenix, AZ 85085. Please note that you may have multiple email accounts in our system. If you have multiple accounts with us, please opt out each of your email addresses individually. We process all opt-out requests within 24 hours of our receipt. Copyright 2009 GreenFriendsToday. All rights reserved.

If you do not wish to receive our advertisements to this promotion you can permanently unsubscribe anytime by clicking here:
* * * *
I hadn’t subscribed to anyone!
I’ve also sourced a couple of “international fraud” organisations, but i need to do a little more homework and check them out.

Ross March 12, 2010 at 3:51 am

Oh Shit, I just signed up for this today. I could say a few other words but will be polite. I haven’t tested their honesty yet. I signed up for the Elite (US$377)with them stating no first year hosting fee. What questions should I ask them? I am in Australia

fee March 15, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Ross, my opinion is not to buy into anything else they suggest you “need”, you’re talking thousands of dollars.
If you are knowledgeable on how to promote and redesign your site, then you are in with a chance … very slim one from what i gather … of making any money. This is certainly not for people who know nothing about creating and promoting their own websites, unless you are a very quick learner and know where to get the information you need.

Pam B March 23, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Hi,
As I fill out surveys for three genuine free (Australian) survey companies, was looking for more and inadvertently clicked on another site which I came across.
Wow! Within 24 hours I had four phone calls from the US. – two from OHN by high pressure salesmen with no patience in listening to any questions I had, although I was given an address in Phoenix and an 1800 number.
When my credit card details were requested I told them that the money was not an issue, but their credentials would be needed before I proceeded,- that’s when then guy turned nasty.
My gut feeling was saying “Don.t do it!” I got a very bad feeling about this company.
Thanks for reading this, would like to know of anyone who has had any dealings with this company.
Pam

Ross March 24, 2010 at 5:12 am

HI Pam,
Thankfully you did ask some questions and your sixth told you not to go any further. I did sign up before reading this blog. Since then I have had over 15 phone calls for the next stage of expense. If this keeps up I will change my number. Good luck.

Ross

ned robinson March 29, 2010 at 4:18 am

OHN promise a refund if you dont make any money within 3 months,, yea right ,they have no intention at all to refund ,i have been asking for my refund for nearly 6 months now to no avail ,A very dodgy buisness who dont give a hoot who they take down or rip off , Dont give them anything as you will lose it,

fee March 29, 2010 at 3:13 pm

I have not asked for my money back yet, but have spent some time sourcing who can help with this. The best answer is laying a complaint to “Better Business Bureau” at http://www.arizonabbb.org they will be more than happy to help and they’re free. They act as mediators and also put companies on the “bad” list with Federal authorities. They are processing a complaint for me at the moment, and have advised me to contact the Attorney Generals Office with my concerns as well. Ohn’s methods of business are highly scorned upon in the US, but people with little knowledge find it almost impossible to get help with these issues.
Seen as how you have already requested your “refund”, your case should be straight forward and clear-cut. Give BBB a go and please let us all know how you get on (generally, they give OHN a month to respond)
Good Luck!!

wow March 30, 2010 at 9:04 pm

I do not believe half of the people on here. I worked for this company for six months. If you have a real complaint, and are a real customer of theirs, then why don’t you leave your real first and last name here, as well as your website address? We all want to see what you are talking about, and how exactly you were scammed. Not that you called them then found this site, Maybe they do watch the blogs here, and maybe, they will even contact you and solve your problem?? All that I see on here, are people using fake names, with no website address’s for the rest of us to look at. Right now, you are not showing any proof, it’s just your word, on a site (this One) that seems to sell the same kind of business as OHN does. It seems as if they want to make OHN, Googl, and other company’s look bad so that they can sell you their own Bull Squat. Not very nice of EL ADMIN. All that I can say is, I have seen a lot of customers make money with OHN.

Here is a great example, Mr or Mrs FEE, This is NOT OHN’s email : Easy Cash Sites [esozm@travelthebay.com]

If you want to contact OHN go to ohnlive.com

El Plumber (admin) April 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm

Wow, “Wow”. Thanks for that insightful comment! Have you bothered to read the article or the thread at all? Obviously not. The jist so far:

No one single person has stepped forward here that has made money with OHN.
Lots of people have written that lost money, some very large amounts of money.
Complaints have been made from customers that OHN does NOT honor their written Guarantee policy that appears on their site.
OHN appears to target Australia and NZ and not the US despite being based in Arizona, US. Why?
Many OHN websites are listed here, click on the names that commented. Many of the sites are now gone.
All the OHN sites we have seen are generic and valueless. My personal opinion is they could never possibly earn back even close to the investment people have talked about paying. Again, my opinion.
We don’t sell anything here at The Electron Plumber. Nothing. We don’t ask anyone for any money ever.
ohnlive.com appears to be banned by Google. Do a search for ohnlive.com and you get… nothing.
Go to ohnlive.com and find absolutely nothing regarding pricing or products. Some people are charged $1000+, some $100+ of for the same website.
Traffic to said sites appears to be promised for payment based on clicks and email blasts and other such nonsense. “Clicks” can be bought for $0.01 per hundred from China and “email blasts” typically mean spam. What about the real stuff, like backlinks and articles and social media?

Ok, got that? Now if you would kindly post your own name (since you asked others for the same) and one single OHN website that has earned more money than the customer paid you? One? Just one? Pretty please? We promise to leave that sites link here so it will actually get more traffic! Of course, we’ll also use the industry standard tools to determine estimated traffic and earnings (Alexa, SEORush, Quantcast, Compete.com, etc.).

If you’ve really worked at the company for 6 months, I’d strongly suggest you find a new job ASAP. The FTC will likely eventually catch up with OHN, and you don’t want to be in the building when they do.

ned robinson April 1, 2010 at 6:34 pm

OHN contacted me yesterday about my message on this site and after a long discussion about my refund ,they have decided to pay me back , this apparently takes 15 or so days ,b ut at least it is a start in the right direction, I will post again here with good news i hope, in aprox 20 days ,rgds Ned

aussiemum April 6, 2010 at 5:04 am

El Plumber thanks so much for this post , thousands of people are STILL being targetted , mainly via FACEBOOK ADS !

I think I need to setup a new site for victims , I will come back if so but I do believe many of us need to contact FACEBOOK and tell them to REMOVE the offending ads so that there are no other victims , and furthermore we need to somehow tell Facebook if they do not remove the ads then they will be held responsible , if not legally , through the media for allowing SCAMMERS to post advertisements on there websites that caused many facebook users to fall VICTIM ~!

Some information I have tracked down so far ;

OHNLIVE.com and OHNHOME.COM
are both godaddy domains on these servers ; CEWJRR.COM

CEWJRR.COM is what they are hiding behind claiming that it is there nameservers/hosting address.

over 1409 domains are hosted on the same web server as cewjrr.com , HOWEVER when you lookup CEWJRR.COM you will see that they also are a GODADDY domain name but supposedly hosted on ZONEEDIT.COM servers.
So the 1409 domains could all be linked to ZONEEDIT.com so that gets us nowhere.

This is where the trail ends , I contacted the people over at ZONEEDIT.COM and they do NOT HOST anything that belongs to CEWJRR.COM they are simply providing the DNS address / another words it is like a camouflage for the correct hosting address .

NOTE 1 clue is that people that get DNS addresses from ZONEEDIT usually run there own SERVERS from home and thats why they camouflage them , companies like Greenpeace.org do the same thing but so do a lot of shifty scammers because they do not want to be found !!!

ZONEEDIT naturally cannot for privacy reasons tell us what the real server details are.

BOY oh boy OHN are really clever people aren’t they ? !!!!

SO If anyone can find a way , a legal way to trace back the REAL server of CEWJRR.COM and find where it really is located , it might in fact be there own personal servers , then we will find an actual location to get hold of these OHN guys and have them charged and possibly convicted !

I will come back and post some more if and when I find it .

cheers

El Plumber (admin) April 6, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Tracking their servers probably won’t help much aussiemum. They are using a GoDaddy proxy service and GoDaddy will only give up their billing and contact information under a legal court order. Reporting them to Facebook is a good step, but probably also won’t help much. They’ll just hide their ads behind new names and new domains.

Which means you have four real options if you’re really serious.
#1: Call them and ask for your money back. Seriously. Some people here have commented that after much arguing, they finally received a refund from OHN. Threaten them with lawsuits, legal action, etc. if it comes to that.
#2: Report them to the Arizona Attorney General – OHN lists their address on their website as 8050 N 19th Ave #214 Phoenix, AZ 85021 (which appears to be UPSStore address that sells mailboxes, not a legitimate business address). This gives the Attorney General there the ability to go after them IF there was legal wrongdoing. The Attorney General is an elected position unfortunately, meaning he has little incentive to go after someone (OHN) inside the state of Arizona for the benefit of someone who lives in another country. Certainly worth a try though. The current Arizona AG can be found here: http://www.azag.gov/
Luckily for you, the Arizona AG is running for Governor this year, and a local Arizona news outlet like http://www.abc15.com or http://www.kpho.com might be very interested to hear about OHN and how the Attorney General’s office ignored your complaint if nothing comes of it.
#3: Report them to the FTC at http://ftc.gov. There are some very strict laws in the US regarding foreign trade, stricter in some ways than local trade laws. Again, IF there was any wrongdoing on their part.
#4: Take them to civil court in the US. This will cost you an obscene amount of money, probably on the order of $25,000-$100,000 in costs for discovery and legal fees just to find out who they actually are and get them summoned to court. Then even if you win 5-10 years from now, you’ll very likely never see that money again since they’ll just declare bankruptcy and reform as a new company name.

John April 8, 2010 at 6:01 pm

Just had a call from “Karl” as a result of my response issue to their advertising! Great presentation, very slick and plausible. Are now negotiable on the USD149, 283 & 477 3 tier packages. Fortunately I “bought” some time so I could do some google research. WOW! Thank god I did and have read all of the stories. So they are now targeting NZ again. My advice is NEVER commit to anything that sounds too good before you do thorough research as it probably is too good to be true. Well done to whoever started this awareness site John

wayne miller April 9, 2010 at 6:19 am

hello,
I signed up with OHN back in Jan 2010. I have paid $aus 1990.00 for the service. I to was called by a lady telling me to listen to a video. She then did the same as other people have said. Take the basic package out then update later. Then she tells me she has just spoken with her supervisor and he told her to give the next package up for a little less than she offered first. I was promised 4 months one on one training and have had some over a couple of months. Another man rang telling me he was a company manager and he was on the marketing side of things. He has made 9 appointments to give me a call and has not phoned me. Given that I live in Australia the time difference makes it hard to get calls. I need to get up at 3.30am in the morning to take calls from them. Unfortually these people did tell me that if I have not made money in 90 days they would refund my $1990. Going by what I have read above I will not hold my breath waiting for this if I decide to stop what we are doing. Please keep me informed on any outcome. By the way these people also reffered me to another place to register my bussiness. This place was called the tax club. I did get my money back from these peole after cancelling my contract after 3 days.

Luis Lozano Jnr April 9, 2010 at 1:55 pm

I signed up 21 Aug 2009, after filling out a form online, they rang me, hard sell etc. Paid my $180 from my credit card then cancelled the card. They rang me again trying to upgrade on my credit card as per the others ive read about, several times, because of the time diff here in Australia, they rang at usually 3am here. Check out the site (http://lastcallblues.com). It hasnt sold 1 thing yet, its a junk site, I had to do all the pics , banners etc to try to make money out of it, its complete and utter CRAP! Im waiting for them to take it down as they havnt tried to ring me since last time they rang I was at work and the phone cutout (my mobile) a few months ago. The guys name was Jim I think and Ive never been so happy to hear my phone die at the time!
PS Moral of the story… it cost me $180 Aus to find out how not to get rich quick!
PPS Theyve put under “Earnings” that ive got $100 coming back to me but I wont hold my breath…and I will be looking for them cause now ive got a hobby….hunting these lovely souls who think theyve gotten away, LET THE HUNT BEGIN JIM!

fee April 9, 2010 at 8:56 pm

I voiced my concerns to the Better Business Bureau and they passed this on to OHN. OHN then rang to discuss my concerns. They are happy to refund my referral package $377, but also stressed to give my site more time for it to start producing any results (it has been 4 months now, and no returns) as it was still too “early”. Because the guarantee does not cover any other money paid to OHN, it cannot be refunded. They have to employ people to do the ‘one on one’ training and therefore could not refund any of this ($2,495) … i’m a bit slow when it comes to ‘on the spot’ replies … i should have mentioned that they didn’t need to employ anyone for me as i was discontinuing, so therefore could refund the training i would not be receiving.
They have made quotes through their site i.e.,
“Even with no prior business or online experience, you can create an unlimited cashflow AND receive bonus checks, month after month! Achieve the lavish lifestyle you’ve always wanted!” (with no online experience you would most likely buy into their training package, as i did, because you’d be blown away by the different ways of advertising etc that i had never even heard of!)
“In fact, we’re so confident in our system that we’ll actually guarantee that you’ll make money, and fast! Because all you have to do is advertise your business as much or as litlle as you want each month and we’ll guarantee that you’ll start making money in your first 90 days or less” (this is an outright lie, as you need to advertise quite extensively otherwise your site will just sit there, unnoticed)
My next step is to cut my losses and ask for my referral refund. I will however further my concerns on the methods used to rope people in to this business, and the severe lack of transparency to inform people of exactly what is entailed to run this business etc. As a lot of others have mentioned, where is all the written information, even prior to signing up? People might actually ask too many questions, not like the answers, and hence not buy into this.

marilyn April 11, 2010 at 7:58 am

Hi,
another NewZealander here who was very tempted to join this scheme to make money.My son didn’t think it was a wise move to make and after reading all of the comments here I will not be tempted at all.
Thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences.
My quoted prices also were Basic $149.00 US
Standard $288.00 and Elite $400.77
I do not know a thing about having a website and would have relied on the coach to teach, but I wasn’t told I could have to pay for this.
Karl is ringing back again on Tuesday and given his attitude I am going to find it difficult saying no to their deals. But at least I have no longer any doubts about them.
Thank you .

aussiemum April 11, 2010 at 9:25 pm

to Luis ;

Important ; you have this on your website “PLEASE CLICK ON THESE ADDS, ITS THE ONLY WAY THIS SITE CAN MAKE MONEY AND IT WONT COST YOU A THING! THANX! ”

Take it off right now if you can , get it off , it is against Google terms to have anything at all telling people to click on your ads , if they catch you out and they will eventually, you will be banned and will never get back in ! You will need google for any future sites so I suggest you take it off ASAP – a matter of urgency !

patrick mohr April 12, 2010 at 11:39 pm

i don`t think OHN is a scam or a rip of or what ever you guys call it
i know a few people who sign up and they make money with it
if you expect sales going up and up and up without doing anything than you will never make a cent online . instead of searching the internet for programs that tell you make 5000000 dollars in five minutes you guys should get help in your niche give Ohn a call talk to one of there marketers they offer help for advertising and everything
if you don`t call they can`t help ya .And if your site is getting 500 visitors in a month than you should get more traffic to your site
almost every site is see on her has like 5000 visitors 500 visitors 2000 visitors ok you got the point

tip from me get help
brand your self and the products that you are selling and the services
join e-mail advertising and lead generation programs and ask your self this:
would i come back to my site?????
make it special put stuff on there that people want and need
if people like your site your content and your products sales will come but not over night I`m also with them and it went slow for me as well you have to give it some time
the big deal with this site`s is how you are advertise

OHN is no scam because they offer a 90 day money back policy
after the 90 days you are still able to get the setup costs back

they offer support
a trainings center where they show you what to do

let me ask you something:

if you change a part on your car just as an example
you have a repair manual that tells you exactly how to take that part out of the car and what bolts you have to loosen and later tighten again but you decide only to put 4 bolt in to it instead of eight and you make the hand tight instead of real tight
whose fault is it then when when you lose the part or it breaks

maybe you get the point
if you think you can buy a website and an affiliate program and five minutes later you make 10000 dollars than you are wrong

OHN is a home based business NO GET RICH QUICK SCHEME nobody told you that it would generate millions of cash
nobody told you that it is on auto pilot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for your time and sorry if my English is not too good its not my mother language

ps: badmouthing OHN won`t help ya to make money
is it worth it to write 30 min an article about ohn instead spend the 30 minutes and talk to Ohn and see how they can help ya

El Plumber (admin) April 13, 2010 at 8:10 am

Patrick, appreciate the comment. Please provide the OHN sites for your “friends” who are making money with OHN. Please. Pretty please?

Again, we have yet to see a single OHN site that would ever earn back what was paid for it, let alone more. Not one. Yet plenty of junk sites that people paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for.

Seriously. Provide a site!

Luis Lozano Jnr April 14, 2010 at 12:58 am

to aussiemum
I have taken them down, thanx for the help as this is the first and only site ive tried to make money online with and ive been trying since last August 2009 and its made next to nothing. Not 1 sale or commissiion etc yet!
Thanx again

Luis Lozano Jnr April 14, 2010 at 1:09 am

Wow…just checked my emails and have received one from a gentleman from OHM after so many months of no contact whatsoever. How odd that its arrived after posting here!? I think i read someone further up had the same experience and thought they may be checking here hey? Whats the chances?

aussiemum April 14, 2010 at 4:58 am

Oh I 2nd that ;

PRETTY PLEASE will you provide your friends sites !

marilyn April 14, 2010 at 5:42 am

Hi, Karl did ring on Tuesday as I asked him to do,so I could tell him what I decided.
He was very abrupt and got off the phone very fast and didn’t even give me a chance to explain why I was saying no.I had sent an email askinghim not to phone but he said he doesn’t get them and that he had done as I had asked and had rung which really had no relevance to what I was trying to say to him.That was the total conversation.

Dee April 14, 2010 at 10:20 am

Queenslander Babe
I to received the same ph call from OHN, Tracked from a Facebook survey.
I have been with the company since January still today only earned 12.99 Not sure where that came from.
I have paid for 18 months training with OHN and he ring me right on the time every appointment we have made.
I m really keen to build my website, but after reading all these email I m starting to feel sad?
What I am concerned about is I have had 1000 people click the survey.
with not one sign up.
I was lead to beleive ( not from OHN) just from Satistic that out of every 100 you would have 10% join
now 1.000 where is my commision?????????????
When I ask my trainer he says the same
You can led people to water but we cannot make them drink?
I read from one email that it does not get paid to us is this true????
(This is what in the back of my mind)
I have had over 7000 visit my site no purchases.
I felt the whole concept of OHN was so sureal and convincing as I have never sign up for anything before I no longer tell my friends about this site or advertise it.
Untill I earn good money.
After reading all these comments tonight not one has mention they have made money from a commision or Referral. out of us all one of us would have had a sign up.
So what can I say?/ Or have I just seen the light??
How Sad Is That??
I also Had a phone call from The Tax Club, I also canceled out with in the 24 hours
and felt that was no good as I was from Australia.

Good Luck and Thanks EL Plummer For providing this site

QLD

Wade April 14, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Me and my wife started a online business with online hosting network. That started out fine they built our website then we get a call asking for 3500 dollars for advertising. Ok normal business to advertise get our site out the each subsequent time they call we get high pressure sales to put out more advertising at 2000 dollars. Told them we were broke at the moment didn’t have the money proceeded to act as though I wasn’t putting forth an effort for advertising our site. and wouldn’t take not at this time for an answer. we called within the 90 days to cancel our membership and was told we had to wait until the end of our 90 days to cancel. I didn’t want to do this but wasn’t given any other option. we would like them to cancel our membership and return our money as was laid out on a recorded contract with them. a total of 4729.68 . Sent the following to the BBB.

m visser April 14, 2010 at 4:40 pm

I was just contacted by someone who told me all about the online hosting network , he was not pushy nor pressured me to sign up, he simply told me about the program gave me his number and extension if l chose to sign up with them. He never at any time tried to pressure me into signing up

aussiemum April 14, 2010 at 8:49 pm

To Wade I notice your site has received a total 180 visitors – and thats even after you paid thousands of dollars in advertising?
What was the form of advertising they were going to use for that much money?
I would love to know what the claim to use for that much money ;-)

M Visser – so what does that all mean ? your going to sign up with them ? you trust them and others should ? whats your point ?

Australian Web Sites April 14, 2010 at 11:44 pm

Not one of you have been provided a proper website, all you have is a webpage full of advertising. A site such as this will NEVER be successful – it has no content for the search engines and nothing interesting should a surfer actually find themselves at your website. I would reject a site like this from my directory as it offers nothing for visitors and is just a “spammy” page.

The traffic they sell you is very over priced – and no doubt (I do not know – just guessing) bot traffic or some script where real people never actually view your website.

You could build a “site” like this yourself in about 10 minutes with free or cheap web building software – the sites they provided are junk and not worth $1.00

This scam has been going on for months and I can’t believe these guys are still operating.
If you have been a victim its time to wake up to the fact that you are never going to get anything out of these guys – so report them!

I suggest if you are Australian that you lodge an online fraud complaint by phoning the ACCC Infocentre on 1300 302 502. The Infocentre is staffed between 8.30 am and 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.

The Internet Fraud Complaint Centre (IFCC) is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Centre. If you have been the victim of an offence committed by an offender from the U.S.A. then you can lodge a complaint via the Internet directly to the IFCC, who may forward the matter to the relevant jurisdiction for investigation.
http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

Scam watch : http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/reportascam
also has some good information for reporting scams.

They also advise contacting the police and making a report “Many scams that may breach consumer protection laws (those enforced by the ACCC, ASIC and fair trading agencies) may also breach the fraud provisions of various crime Acts. If you are the victim of fraud—if you have suffered a loss because of someone’s dishonesty or deception—you should consider contacting your local police station, especially if the amount involved is significant. ”

The Australian Federal Police enforces Commonwealth criminal law, and protects Commonwealth and national interests from crime in Australia and overseas. Their area of focus includes combating e-crime. http://www.afp.gov.au/page.asp?ref=/Crime/E-Crime/

If EVERYONE here who has been scammed out of their money with false promises from this company ALL file a report with all of these agencies surely something will be done?

It is so obvious that the “supporters” commenting on this site work for the company – and thats a good thing – your page here has worried them if they have bothered to do that!
Not one real site with real traffic has been provided as proof their system works – because it doesn’t – you would think with all the business they got (victims) they could offer dozens of sites for proof wouldn’t you – if it wasn’t a huge scam that is!

Good luck everyone – make those reports now and post back when you have done them – Its time to shut these jerks down!

Clare Norvill April 15, 2010 at 6:16 am

Hey, where’s Patrick disappeared to????????? No Reply???????
I’m sticking my bent little pinkie finger up at you Patrick…….
I was one of the very lucky ones who actually got my money back
and I have received a copy of all comments made on this site since I
joined (and thanks to this site for being there for me!). Everyone who
puts a comment sticking up for OHN are sooooo transparent and guess what
- everyone who finds their way to this site are more intelligent than you –
we see right thru your BULL. I hope you go down with the sinking ship!

Malcolm April 15, 2010 at 6:45 am

Given that everyone at OHN is so easy going, and not pushy, maybe they should stop posting pretending to be happy customers on here…
On another note, has anyone received a TAX INVOICE from OHN?
Just thought I’d check on that, as they seem to rort customers, they probably also rort the tax department as well…
Regards, Malcolm

Wade April 15, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Not even close I am 100% against them they only gave me $17 to shut me up.the so called visitors are called bots that scams send to your site to make it like they are doing there job why would i send that to the bbb of Arizona if i am happy with them.You must hate me to think i said all that for nothing ,Ps middlemountainlimited.com is the site i have with SMC and thats a whole other topic.

m visser April 15, 2010 at 2:24 pm

reply to aussiemom: No l was just stating that l didn’t get pressured at all, and no i’m not going to signup with them after doing many searches online as well as a search on the better business bureau site, l haven’t read any positive feedback about this company, they have a F rating with the better business bureau and 5 complaints filed, they are not a accredited by the better business bureau the reason for the F rating is that the better business bureau has had complaints concerning their refund policies and false information given about the business to people who have signed up

Clare Norvill April 15, 2010 at 5:59 pm

What a coincidence!!!!!!!!!, that M Visser “just happened” to have a “positive experience” with OHN but still had the presence of mind to search for this site which just happens to be anti-OHN to post a positive comment. Again – transparent. Too late visser, you are slightly outnumbered.

fee April 15, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Reply to Wade 14 April, refer to fee April 9, you won’t get any training or advertising money back.

I’d like to know how often they pay for our advertising, do they pay the full year in one lump sum for each method or monthly? If paid in increments, surely we can get part of our advertising money back … does anyone know how this works? Same with the training … if i have had 4 training sessions but have paid for 1 year, surely i should get a refund even though it is not covered under the guarantee. This is a question no-one seems to respond to.
Advertising and training paid for (refer fee 8 March 2010) this has the whole list of what’s included with the packages paid for, but i have no idea what search words they’ve used or what the content is of any emails etc.

Also i have received notice of my first referral sold … $9.90. Someone mentioned they thought they would get their $100 advanced commission for referrals back, i have a horrid feeling that this amount was deducted from your total package payment to begin with, so you won’t be seeing it!! I accepted the same offer.

Another handy mention is when paying by credit card, some banks will recover the money you have paid within 24 hours if you feel you have made a mistake signing up with OHN.

Luis Lozano Jnr April 15, 2010 at 8:42 pm

Last word… am abandoning the site and am not going to waste any more time on OHM. Good luck to anybody out there who tries this stuff but the last word from me will be – OHM , I will keep you in mind while I hunt on the net! Dont worry Aussiemum, Ill keep watch from the backlines and when they pop their heads up, I will have them in my sites and I will fire with both barrels! Over and out…

m visser April 15, 2010 at 10:48 pm

In response to Clare Norvill are you trying to accuse me of working for this company and trying to give positive feedback for them because l’m not l found this site through doing a search to get feedback on this company, l only said they hadn’t pressured me at all, thats not to say that once they figure out i’m not going to call them back that they won’t be calling me constantly. I told the guy l didn’t have the money to signup which l don’t right now, and so he replied i will give you my number and extension so when your ready to signup you can give me a call. I always like to check out any online business that l join i’ve been burned too many times before not to. I would just say to anyone thinking about joining this business do your research first before giving them a cent.
I’ve been searching for a good legit way to make money online for a long time and i’m beginning to think there isn’t one out there.

aussiemum April 16, 2010 at 1:34 pm

m visser;
Your wrong , there IS legit ways to make money online , I have been doing it for quite a long time , but it takes HARD work, persistance and patience .
Something not too many people look for unfortunately.

Luis Lozano Jnr April 16, 2010 at 1:59 pm

To aussiemum, I am in Sydney, Australia and if you could email me any advice or suggestions on how to make money online it would be greatly appreciated as I havnt found one yet after 2 years of trying I just keep finding dead ends. I’ve got millions of ebooks etc but theyre all pretty much runarounds.

m visser April 16, 2010 at 2:25 pm

reply to aussiemom- I imagine it depends on how qualified you are i’ve seen some jobs that peaked my interest but have no schooling or training to do them, and some things l have tried to make money at l never get beyond the signup sheet because they are strictly for those who live in the US.
I suppose if l had the know how and training in some area l might be able to find something, but as far as mlm businesses and stuff like that my heart isn’t in it anymore spent too many long hours sitting calling people only to have them freak on me when they had asked for the information to many hours work for nothing in return been there done that won’t do it again

Wade April 16, 2010 at 4:47 pm

Who ever works for them i have reported you to the fbi see you in jail assholes.

Clare Norvill April 16, 2010 at 6:53 pm

M Visser – I Apologise, I just re-read my posting and it was pretty harsh considering I was wrong! There have been some fakes here and I mis-read your email as one more of those. It ticks me off because essentially we r here to guide the misguided (of which I was one)., hope u can forgive me.

m visser April 16, 2010 at 10:49 pm

No problem Clare, funny thing is after l posted on here l received two calls from them, of course l never answered the first was the same number the guy called from when l talked to him originally the second one same area code just different number, really do they honestly think people are that stupid that calling two minutes apart same area code just different phone number l’d honestly not know it was them.
Coincidental that l start receiving calls as soon as l post on here, l think not

aussiemum April 16, 2010 at 11:43 pm

Luis I am in Sydney . I don’t have your email and don’t think its appropriate for you to add your email here as you are likely to get spammed by bots looking for email addresses. Hang in there , I am currently helping a few victims already from the scam , when I am done I have been working on a website especially for OHN victims that will provide free information and contacts for the proper way of setting up your own sites .
Remember though , there is no quick way of making money if you want to be legit and you want it to be ongoing . The key is CONTENT and VISITORS attracted to that content, and then and only then do you consider making money from the 2 combined!

What I suggest you do in the mean time and this is for everyone here ;
Go to http://www.wordpress.com or http://www.blogger.com and setup a totally FREE BLOG , at least have a look at the thousands of free blogs already there that others have created , this will give you an idea on what people do with blogs and how they can look .
These 2 sites are the best going for free blogs , they are very very POPULAR !
Now follow the steps over there , TAKE YOUR TIME there is no hurry , do not consider making money yet , do not consider putting ads on until you are more experienced and at least have visitors coming through !
Many of these free blogs actually make a heavy duty income from ads on their blogs but that is because they have great content and they have a huge following of visitors that come back time and time again.
As I said above if you can first write some interesting content (articles and stories via posts) about subjects you at least know something about or are very interested in yourself then eventually you too could be one of these very popular blog owners who makes a killing every month from small ads on there blog !
Think about something your good at in real life , or something that you do , some people love Golf or Cooking or Holidays or Sports or TV and have written some great blogs about them with helpful advice and then in turn they have thousands of visitors coming to their blog just to read what they have to say next . Whilst those people are there they might buy related items or click on some ads. NOBODY visits sites to click on ads , unless there is something in it for them , make that something GOOD CONTENT and you cannot go wrong !
I will come back when I have more information on the victims site but in the meantime i suggest you all have a go at creating a free blog because you have nothing to lose !
Have fun !

Luis Lozano Jnr April 17, 2010 at 3:00 am

Thanx aussiemum. Wasnt going to put email up here, maybe a temp email, but ill wait for your advice. Funny thing is your probably one of the few ive found on net who sound like they actaully care more than just the money making side of it.Ive had a there blog for a while, http://axis013-lastcall.blogspot.com/ If nothing, at least its fun and interesting doing it! until next time..chears m8!

aussiemum April 17, 2010 at 10:09 am

Here is another great FREE website service for you all to give a try ;

http://www.webs.com

This is pretty easy to setup a website and as your experience grows you can upgrade your free account at anytime to a premium account and even purchase a domain name through them for $20 a year with some free features.

I really recommend you all give something like WEBS.COM a go because it will cost you NOTHING . It will give you practice and experience in building websites before you decide to spend money or venture out on your own to build a website.

You can even setup a store and sell products there ! have a look around !

Nice April 20, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Hi, im from the uk and i saw this ”ohn” advert on 9th april and since it said that theyd only send me info, i was ok with it. Then on the 20th apri they call me and give me some speach about how i can make money, i told them ok lets hear the audio recording, (buy the way the only reason i didnt hang up straight away was because i had completly forgotten that i had anything to do with them LOL). Afterford they put me through to some lady named ”ruby cunningham”. First she was trying to get my card details, i told her HOLD ON dont i get to ask some questions first, so she cunningly said yes that what im here for!! I asked her questions after questions for 25mins basically trying to make them think that i had changed my mind but Cunningham cunnigly said to me that they wouldnt call other countries unless they were serious, at that point i belived them a bit more and thought id wast another 20mins asking relavent Q’s. She showed me the site, explained ”home back office” and so on. Eventually i caved and GAVE HER MY CARD DETAILS!!! after wards she said shed call back in 10 mins meanwhile theyd send me an e-mail with passward+username. 1 HOUR PASSED so i left a message on the PHONE NUMBER SHE GAVE (which she also used to entice me, Cunning biach!) 08081017620 and 2355. later on i found this website and shit myself for falling into a 50min long sales pich, and i dint want it at the begining!! She called back and i told her about what i had read and she was BS ing me by say that ”your breaking up” and i had read here how these ppl try there utmost to avoid you!! I thought for a second mayby il let her hang up since i try to be nice on the condition that she phones back immediatly, suprise suprise it didnt happen, no calls!! So i called the bank and told them i lost my card hahahahahahahahaha thats the last time i try to be nice!! That stupid cunning Ruby Biach!!!

Ned Robinson April 26, 2010 at 12:57 am

Further to my post about twenty days ago re promised refund from OHN ,i am thrilled to anounce that they have deposited in full my refund to my account ,it took many phone calls etc but they finally came to the party,i have also learned a short lesson ,never to invest money online without fully doing my homework,Thanx OHN ,positive feedback you deserve .
Ned from New Zealand

aussiemum April 26, 2010 at 10:12 pm

“thanx OHN positive feedback you deserve” hmmmmm well I don’t know if I would go that far, how long did it take you to get a refund? how much trouble was it? why do they deserve positive feedback?
I am having a bit of trouble finding your very first message here , I found the one on the 6th April (20 days ago) and that mentions a previous one , where is that?
I don’t mean to doubt you but there has been a few OHN people pretending to be clients getting refunds in order to restore there name.
So if this true then maybe you could help others get refunds by listing what steps you took and who you spoke to you and what you said that made them turnaround and give you a refund when there are hundreds of others that have been so far unsuccessful obtaining one.

cheers

PigeonNZ April 27, 2010 at 12:08 am

WATCH OUT NEW ZEALAND HOPEFUL HOME BUSINESS OWNERS!!!!
Unfortunately I’ve made the same mistake as dozens of you listed above: I registered with freestuff.com and applied for a few free samples, said ‘yes’ to more info on running a home business. Got the first phone call which I couldn’t relate to the freestuff site, listened to the sales guy and his recorded message, didn’t know much about Affiliate Marketing, was convinced into parting with the inital US$188 (NZ approx $260), for their ‘Basic’ Website. It came with your choice of Domain Name and three free DM, piggybacking on your site: “makemoney.(yoursitename).com”, “ystore.(yoursitename).com” & “shopping.(yoursitename).com”.

What you are buying is a WEBSITE TEMPLATE, you can change the DESIGN from a given selection, you can add guenuine AFFILIATE MARKETING LINKS, and you automatically get links and banners to the OHN naturally. I was told I would get $200 for each new sign-up to OHN found via my website, and a percentage of sales from my AMAZON & YAHOO affiliates – seemed fair enough.

Spent much time creating basic content, loading pics, banners, links, text etc, then was concerned NOT TO BE ABLE TO FIND MY WEBSITE VIA EITHER GOOGLE OR MSN (although I had suposedly been listed with 300 Search Engines!). Asking about this on the follow-up call with my Business Development Team Member, Frank, I was dismayed to be brushed off continually with “We’ll get to that later”, everytime I raised a question. All Frank really wanted to do was convince me to fork out US$1700 (NZ $2351) for their “Standard Advertising Package”, again with the 90 day money-back guarantee suposedly, I was promised being “listed with the top 300 Search Engines in seven countries..guarantee of 10000 people visiting your site…four months with Personal Trainer, Unlimited Online Training..” etc etc Warning bells rung when I asked for him to send me an email confirming what I was getting for the US$1700, to discuss with my husband, and was told he couldn’t do that “It’s all sent with your receipt”???? I’ve done Online and Telemarketing Sales and know that this is a totally reasonable request. Then I Googled “online hosting network scam” and found your site. THANK YOU at least they won’t be getting another cent out of this hardworking Kiwi household!

Any more suggestions regarding retrieving the money taken and black-listing this rotton bunch will be gratefully recieved. We were so enjoying building our little website and every contact with the OHN has been SO PROFESSIONAL, as an ex-Sales Person myself, I am usually pretty on to it – now the new motto in this house will be: NEVER, EVER GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS TO A COMPANY YOU HAVEN’T FIRST CHECKED OUT THOROUGHLY ONLINE FIRST! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED – DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME, MONEY OR ENERGY ON THIS LOT!

PigeonNZ April 27, 2010 at 12:13 am

LISTED PHYSICAL Address:
Online Hosting Network
8050 N 19th Ave
Suite #214
Phoenix, AZ 85021

Phone:
US: (888) 230-4019
CA: (888) 230-4019
UK: (0808) 101-7615
AU: (1800) 856-178
NZ: (0800) 451-069
ZA: (0800) 982-173
IE: (1800) 550-259
Other: (602) 343-4210

ohnmembers.com/help.php

Australian Web Sites April 27, 2010 at 12:38 am

Ned these scammers do not deserve your praise for doing the right thing and refunding YOUR money that they scammed from you – its what they should have done in the first place without any drama at all. I am glad you got some money back though.

They have not provided anyone with what they paid for (a website) they have only provided a webpage with adds/links – that is not a website and not what they promised in the first place. Anyone with the slightest knowledge could build a page like that in minutes and people with no skill what so ever could make something similar using a website building software – but no matter who built it and how, it will never be successful because it will look like a spam site to the search engines and offers nothing at all to your visitors.

I really hope some of you looked at my previous post and reported them to as many places as possible. As much as venting here is great for your sanity it is only by reporting these frauds that you will get them shut down and prevent more people getting ripped off.

Ned Robinson April 27, 2010 at 1:24 am

AUSSIeMUM. It took 3 months of constant phone calls after my initial 3months of membership to get refunded ,And please dont accociate me with being a member of OHN, Try putting up your Full name instead of a nondeplume on your posts So OHN know who you are to contact.(their not mind readers ),I did and immediatly got a call from them about my posts as they obviously monitor this site and checked my name against thir records , the rest is self explanitary , I thanked them here, as i said to them i would ,if i got my refund and being a man of my word that happened ,, The main thing i forgot to add to my last post was a very big THANK YOU to ELECTRON PLUMBER as without my posts here, with my full name i doubt very much my refund would have happened ,so thank you again EP your truly a top site ,And dont forget OHN are monitoring this , Cheers NED, NEW ZEALAND

aussiemum April 27, 2010 at 10:39 am

Ned Robinson please forgive me it’s nothing against you personally but as you can understand there are quite literally a lot of victims trying to get some kind of money back from OHN so if you don’t mind I will ask the question again as you didn’t answer it;
Who was the person you directly dealt with at OHN or what exact steps did you take to get your money back? This could really really help others.
Its got to be a lot more than posting your real name here at this site surely?
I mean OHN don’t have to be “mind readers” because they have already got there victims real names so why should it make a difference posting your name here? But if it is just that why haven’t the others that posted there real names here received refunds?
As for putting my real name here no I won’t be doing that , I am not obliged to, this is someones blog , not an OHN Support site in any way and like many other blogs and websites around the internet you should be very careful about what personal information you do post as it is visible to the entire world.
I really do hope you can pass on and share that contact information as it has had a positive outcome for you as you say and I think it would be really great for all the other victims of OHN to get some money back.
:-)

Justin April 30, 2010 at 8:07 pm

Hi I recently signed up for the basic package, I got the same sales pitch, eight minute audio etc and then the nice smooth talking but very eager to get my card details. I was hesitant, but then paid through Paypal. I thought what the hell get a refund after 90 days if it does not work! Now reading all these bad reviews, I am kicking myself I did not find this site before I paid! I cannot find one positive review about them anywhere! Once I saw the site they gave me, I thought this is not worth the $99 I paid. You can make a site like that yourself for a tiny fraction of the amount! I have requested a refund but got a long winded email back stating
“can only apply for that after 90 days, and that this is a viable business venture capable of earning you commissions with the proper attention and effort etc etc” He stated that it is not a get quick rich scheme, and ” I am confident that we can add you to the many who are earning referral commissions with us, but in order to make this happen I will need your cooperation”
I have also been promised free advertising from their ‘advertising department’

Now when you get emails back like that it puts confusion in my mind!!! I’m thinking well perhaps I should give them a chance? Or do I run? Thats how they suck you in I guess! What ever happens though I am not forking out anymore money to them. I am sorry for those that have paid more!

They also go under the name ‘WorldMarketSystems’ because I remember I got a phone call from that crowd last year, with the same eight minute audio, same three packages etc. Back then I refused but why I caved in this time round well I’m mad with myself! If you do a google search for worldmarketsystem, the same negative reviews come up! I wonder what their name will be next year?

fee May 1, 2010 at 2:09 am

Justin, how very interesting!! Just had a quick nosey at worldmarketsystems through google search and opened various tabs, very enlightening … i’m going to rummage around a little more.

Note: unsure where you come from but check with your credit card supplier and see if you can cancel the payment. Some will cancel within 24 hours of being informed that you do not wish to make that purchase. Get onto it straight away though. Otherwise you’ll just have to wait out your 90 days (if the site makes no money)

OHN Victims May 1, 2010 at 10:03 am

Forum is up and running if anyone has any information they would like to offer in regards to OHN , and that includes contact information , refund information , anything and everything really , please get involved !

cheers

Justin May 1, 2010 at 10:24 am

Fee I’m from Australia.

Ned Robinson May 1, 2010 at 8:42 pm

OHM originally wouldnt give me a refund after 3 months when i ased for it because they said I had done very little advertising my end and wanted proof of any advertising i may had done,They then at their expence ?? put advertising up for me, to help me out ,which bought in about 1500 hits (people looking at my webpage) within the next three months ,so now 6 months passed ,still no money earned and still no refund . I rang again and got them to replay their phone audio back to me and it states YOU CAN ADVERTISE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WANT ,and after hasseling them on this point and many other issues, they finally refunded,I wasnt going to let them go back on their word.
They refunded me ,and if you give them enuff stick, they may refund you ,Best of luck Guys
NED nz

help May 3, 2010 at 2:26 pm

FEE, what is your website address. You seem to be the expert on here.

fee May 3, 2010 at 4:37 pm

I’m hesitant on leaving my website address. What information can be gained by knowing this? I’m asking this honestly, as i do not have a clue.
Another note: I was told through the original package i bought, i could expect UP TO $300 per referral. I then purchased the advertising and training package, this i was told could earn me UP TO $500 per referral. My account does not reflect this … it still states $300, but I have not queried this either so can’t grizzle about it.
Since submitting my concerns to Better Business Bureau, and then being directly contacted by OHN i have made 2 referrals. Guess how much i made from both referrals? … $18.90. They stress that it is the referrals that make your site money, but at $9.80 commission each? Not as exciting as they lead us all to believe.

Ned Robinson May 3, 2010 at 5:06 pm

Sorry dont have a website now as OHN removed it 20 days before refunding me
mustangned =at= gmail.com
Ned NZ

Axis013 May 4, 2010 at 1:12 am

To Justin Im from oz to m8 and these yanks are needing some head kickin! No offense to nthe ones helpin, but ure cowboys are really shi- tt- in me!

Vero May 4, 2010 at 1:26 am

Hi there,
1st/ thanks for existing
2/ thanks for aussiemum and her info about differrent ways to create a website.
I am in NZ right now.
I actually just starting to look around…I have a great niche idea for a while but I was thinking I would have to find a way to earn money from it …so I ‘m looking and I got a call from OHN and their new website is discoverohn.com.
So I had a very quick chat …because even I was very interested ….I feel it was just blabla ..nothing behind. It was easy tu put him off balance ..I just say where are you calling from ? Are you american ? He said yes he got caught …strange I am french and have a very strong accent myself ..being around the world for the last 10 years I can differenciate some accent (american is not the most difficult anyway ;-) )

Anyway he sounded quite uncomfortable after that and just give me the website and told me that I would have all the information needed. Really?!?!?!?!!!??!?!?????? There is nothing there that could help me to choose.
He did ask me if I had a paypal account a credit card ..I was quite vague.. si he asked me if I’ll have around 200bucks ..I answered maybe in 2 weeks or so.

I don’t like being pushed so here I am checking on line and found you guys….lucky me.

I tracked them with who is and ping and tracert… so far got to goddady only.
I have the feeling I won’t have any news…I let you know If I do.

I’m still looking the best way to create my website.

Good luck and thanks
V

Vero May 4, 2010 at 2:04 am

Hi
me again… I just realized How I got contacted. I actually filled a form on lifemadeezy.com after I went to a friend’s website who was talking about what she had just started so there is a link somewhere with OHN.
and if I compare her webstite with 247elle.com which was given not long ago it looks so similar it’s scary….

How many are they? Each time we’ll think we find something would it be always the same people ?

Online Hosting Network May 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm

Online Hosting Network provides websites and support for people interested in making money from home. As with any large business, we realize there will be some customers that have questions and concerns. Online Hosting Network works very hard to provide the best platform and customer support for its clients.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Online Hosting Network directly between 6am – 9pm MST. Please click the following link to see the current time at Online Hosting Network: (link removed – El Plumber)

(lots of OHN phone numbers removed, no way to check their authenticity – El Plumber)

Sincerely,

Customer Support
Online Hosting Network

BeachBoy May 4, 2010 at 6:37 pm

I have been receiving calls from these guys for about 2 weeks (persistent!) and finally I answered a call to see who was calling me from overseas. Apparently I filled in an online form somewhere and they called me through this. When I asked where the guy mentioned Facebook although I don’t remember… and I certainly don’t remember their website!

Sounds pretty expensive for what they do (which seems to be not a lot in the support area), would be cheap if it worked as they say it does, but after reading comments on here it obviously doesn’t; and they have only been in business for a year. Hiding behind a proxy server so noone knows who you are is not conducive to being open and honest either!

To summarize…. I wouldn’t touch there guys with a 40 foot barge pole!

And when I told the 2nd guy that I wasn’t interested for the 2nd time, no courteous “well thanks for your time, I appreciate your honesty OR I respect your decision even if I think you are making a mistake”… nope, none of this, the guy just HUNG UP without a word! Haha!!

BeachBoy May 4, 2010 at 6:38 pm

BTW, I’m not sure what nationality the 2nd guy was but I couldn’t pick the accent!

These guys could be based in Nigeria for all we know!

turki May 5, 2010 at 11:28 pm

people from australia call ACCC or 1300 300 630 and complain about thim
i called thim and give all information about thim

Luis Lozano Jnr May 7, 2010 at 6:06 pm

Just a little update and free advertising for OHM since they’ve been so lovely…
Stats from 08/21/2009 to 05/08/2010
DATE IMPRESSIONS CLICKS EPC EARNINGS
08/21/2009 0 2 $0.0 $0.0
Totals: 5067 34 $0 $0

Check your OHN referral earnings here!
You are currently on Standard Referral Program
Payment Description: Up to $200.00 for every new customer.
Commission Advanced: $100.00.
You do not have any referred customers yet.
Total Earnings to Date: $0.00
Thanx so much OHM…now I can retire!
Hows that for a glowing report?

Luis Lozano Jnr May 7, 2010 at 7:54 pm

more goodies
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200907/1248220951.html
and turki, complaining does nothin…..get a hobby…hunt OHN

Dee May 9, 2010 at 3:49 am

I have been with OHN since January, still no income, Im still have calls every fortnight, to helping with setting up my site. I paid for the 18 months training package.
I keep asking my trainer, that I have had 1000 interested people in the site, not one sign up
I,m now after reading all your scams, blogs Im really concerned as Im not a person that would hand money over so quickly like I did that day, Sounded so good.
Yes yes I have heard the saying if it sounds too good then there is a catch>

In all theses site I have not heard of one person that have made any thing, if it was above board then one of us if not all would have had a return by now.

I will keep doing up my site and praye that it will come good
Good luck to you all

rookie May 10, 2010 at 7:21 pm

Question for Ned:
What cotact number did you use to get in touch with OHN to get your refund. I believe you are in NZ, I am as well.
I have been trying to reach them through their 0800 number, yet I ALWAYS get a recoreded reply that all their customer support representatives are busy.

Cheers

help May 11, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Luis Lozano Jnr AKA wanna be rock star.
What is your website even about? All that you have on your site lastcallblues.com is news and an Amazon banner. Who the heck would want to order anything from your website? You need to make some changes, or add some banners or something. Your site looks so sad, my 10 year old could do a better job.

Luis Lozano Jnr May 12, 2010 at 12:29 am

Yes, “help” , you’re so right…I wanted to be a rock star… I had banners , links and everything on you could put on the crappy site, advertised it , the full 9 yards…guess what , NOTHING . It was still crap because they’ve hooked you up with no c panel, no way of properly changing the site so it doesn’t look like the other ones they’ve sold all the other poor souls who spent a hell of a lot more time and effort. I have since abandoned it. Thanks for the help. Your not from OHN by any chance are you?

help May 13, 2010 at 1:53 pm

I wish, If I were, I would look up your address so we could Jam out on my pretend drum set!
I wanted to be a rocker too!

Zankaj May 19, 2010 at 3:58 am

Have you seen these they lead to a busniess with the same name.

news9courier.com/?t202id=7116&t202kw=online+business+system

bizzopcentral.com/?affiliateid=JV6XD4U&subid1=793976962&programid=HBB107

John (UK) May 19, 2010 at 9:14 am

Hi Guy,s
Thank god for places like this. I had a run in with OHN last night. Noticed the ad with “Kelly Richards” from Bristol, England and thought em! must have a little look at that. Phoned number, spoke to Tom Vu (???) on 0808 101 7620 ext 2250. Got the Mr nice guy stuff, listened to the recording and he was back on the phone. gave me all the spiel about the website $19.95 PA Hosting and a start up fee of $149 – $477 to set up the web site depending on what package i wanted. Told him i was already in involved in Home business (very successful business) and that i would be doing some background checks on his company before i parted with any of my hard earned cash. Wow ! did his attitude change, suddenly went into Mr “Hard Sell”, so i strung him along for a while and then told him that i would not be doing business with him until i had done my due diligence on his company, he was not a happy chappy. Before i forget i got sent to Brians site as well.
So, for what its worth – PLEASE do not get involved wih these people.

If you are looking for Home Based Business check the following:
1. How long have they been trading
2. Find people who are or have been involved with the company and get their feed back.
3. Check the product, who develops it,how long have they been in businesss.
4. Check for things like Turnover, number of Distributors, countries they operate in.
5. DO NOT get involved in just one phone call, or sign up on line until you have had all your questions answered.
6. If the person who you are talking to cannot give you the answers or the time to do your own checks then Run like the wind.

Our company has over £40 million turnover, operates in over 42 countries, has a 100 year old company developing products for us. over 350,000 distributors. So we must be doing something right.
REMEMBER – There are NO GET RICH SCHEMES. You have to work hard to become successful.
Good luck to everyone out there who is trying to make a difference to their lives, the righjt opportunity is out their, you just have find it.

Koonzt May 19, 2010 at 6:05 pm

wow, so glad I found this site, i was sitting here trying to convince myself and hubby that it may just be a good idea…. ha I can see it’s not, it was so funny to read when someone wrote that the john guy got on a “long call” and now you have to deal with this other dork. I am so glad for all of you who wrote all of this and saved me some money! Thanks to everyone who tells the truth about scam sites.

Koonzt

PigeonNZ May 20, 2010 at 1:50 am

Thanks for your tip: fee March 29, 2010 at 3:13 pm :

“…have spent some time sourcing who can help with this. The best answer is laying a complaint to “Better Business Bureau” at http://www.arizonabbb.org they will be more than happy to help and they’re free. They act as mediators and also put companies on the “bad” list with Federal authorities. They are processing a complaint for me at the moment”…ME TOO – BBB ARIZONA are straightforward to deal with, and interestingly, they had at the time of my complaint, EIGHT comaplaints RESOLVED with OHN “customers”/victims! OHN has an “F” rating with the BBB – speaks for itself!

I am hopeful of receiving my refund, as for the first time OHN have offered one IN WRITING (via their reply to BBB). On the down side: I have been having DAILY HARASSMENT CALLS on my answerphone from OHN, and they are steadfastly REFUSING TO REPLY TO MY EMAILS. OHN also made me out to be lying through my teeth about the agressive manner of their Sales Reps, but I am sticking to my guns and hope that with MORE PEOPLE LAYNG OFFICIAL COMPLAINTS WITH BBB ARIZONA, the apropriate authorities may clamp down on this bunch of charletons! All the best for your collective refunds!

John (UK) May 20, 2010 at 5:12 pm

Hi Everyone

Had my first follow up call from OHM today. Guy was quite chirpy until i told him i had done some checks and was not interested. He was quite offended, bet not as much as all the people who have lost money with them. I was lucky, how many out there got sucked in and gave them their details.
Anyone out there who wants a real home business with a proven track record, great products
then drop me a line to (email removed) and i will send you the web address. You can look at the info in you own time, i will send you my details in a return email. I have nothing to hide from anyone. All i want to do is give people a genuine opportunity to make money. Remember you only get out what you are willing to put in, I am a surveyor to trade, married 3 kids, ex forces. I take my integrity very serious. So if you want to know more get in touch.
If you don’t want to know thats ok as well, I wish everyone best wishes in their future endevours. Keep safe and lets look after all Home based working people who are trying make life better for them selves and others.

gregw May 21, 2010 at 1:26 pm

I found that Associate Internet Solutions is related to Online Hosting Network and that they are both the same kind of scam. Once you buy into them they try to upsell you on a better package than the 1-5 page site or whatever it is for $29.95 a month.
It is also being promoted by the people that own the scam flogs, Kevin Hoeffer being the most famous of the fictitious characters behind the Google Money Scams, like EasyGoogleProfit, GoogleCash, EarnFastCashwithGoogle, GoogleProfitKit, and GrowingRichWithGoogle, to name only a few of the hundreds.
A link to the site Googleincome.info is being advertised all over Craigslist claiming to be giving away free items and then eventually leads to Aimmain.com.

gregw May 23, 2010 at 3:14 am

Hi.
I mistakenly wrote the wrong address in the last post it is aismain.com not aimmain.com.
The two people that alerted me to this scam placed ads on Craigslist to warn people and have had their ads flagged by Craigslist for removal.
It is interesting that if you place an ad to warn people of scams your ad gets flagged and removed, while the free scam ad remains. I do not understand the logic in this.

Mike Palms May 25, 2010 at 6:22 pm

This is a real, genuine, good faith attempt to rectify a series of oversights by OHN; this email is being written by an employee of OHN, Mike Palms, and can be contacted at customercare@onlinehostingnetwork.com

On behalf of OnlineHostingNetwork we want to apologize to any customer that has felt unwanted, no listened to or otherwise feel we have misled them. Between Oct 09 and May ’10 there have been many that may feel this way that have taken it out on this webboard. It is our sincerest goal to work with everyone that has made a complaint and resolve any open issues you may have. As with any business venture there are bound to be risks involved. We understand that sometimes things just don’t work out and if you want to complain directly to us we can discuss things together.

If you want to email us please do so at customercare@onlinehostingnetwork.com and we will strive to get these issues resolved. We hope that the “electronplumber” will accept our show of good faith to reach out and solve these issues with our customers and not delete this message for any random reason. All emails will be returned quickly.

El Plumber (admin) May 26, 2010 at 8:23 am

Ok Mike. If this is a good faith attempt to try to clean up your act there at OHN and it’s not just lip service, please answer the following questions for our readers:

1) What are your prices and why is your pricing structure not in writing on your main site? Many people are offered or charged for similar products at vastly different prices. What services exactly are provided for those prices?
2) Who are the principal business owners at OHN and what is their background providing successful services at building websites for people?
3) Why are no example or testimonial websites for OHN listed anywhere on the site? Do you have happy customers somewhere we can contact?
4) Why are you charging some people 10 times what other places charge for far better website setup and tools?
5) Why does OHN seem to do most of it’s advertising in Australia when it’s based in the US?
6) Your business seems based around a hard sell on the first phone call. Is it because you know that if they get off the phone and do some research they’ll find your services and sites are not well regarded by past customers? Why do they receive no written material or instruction? Or do they and we just don’t know about it?

The sad thing is, OHN isn’t that far off the mark. Put your customers money towards a better site design with less trash links right to 10 different affiliate programs. Provide focus and strong call to action buttons on one or two offers. Provide them some original content (20 articles at $10 a pop or something) and a way to drip those articles onto the site over time. Provide an inexpensive link building service to link to those articles to drive traffic. Suddenly, BAM! you’d see happy customers rather than the anger management session you see here.

Mike, if you want a model to go by that works, click here for an example of a company whose main site answers all of the questions above and far more.

Malcolm Souness May 26, 2010 at 8:26 am

Has anyone received a tax invoice from the OHN folks? I think it is time that the IRS makes sure they are declaring their ill gotten gains and taxes them…

Mike May 26, 2010 at 11:32 am

El Plumber

It would be great if you put this comment up as is. There is no direct competition between us even if you favor a different product so nothing really prevents us from working together to create a better business model for @home businesses.

I am happy to answer any of those questions and I have forwarded then on to get that done.
1. I have an answer for you
2. We are owned by a venture capital company from Australia that does not wish to be revealed. As a private company this is their right according to the US govt. Despite my deepest desire to help former clients I am bound by what I am simply allowed to say on this as I do value my job.
3. Testimonials & examples will be placed on the new OHN website due to launch this week. However testimonials can always be fabricated so I never really put much stock in them.
4. I guess this really depends on what you consider “far better website setup and tools”. This is a very judgmental question. Some people think GoDaddy is the best domain registrar out there..some people dont. But they do have like 2million clients so they must be doing something right..right? Same thing for us versus others. We wouldnt be still in business if we didnt have satisfied clients. We cannot just print more money….
5. We like Australia..several of our initial founding developers are from there.
6. We provide written instructions via email to any client that signs up for the training courses. This is fairly standard practice..Coming from GoDaddy I know that they offered 2 different types of websites 1.) built it yourself through a template with little help 2) build it with training and help through a more WYSIWYG program. They charge less for the first, and more (plus monthly hosting) for the second. Some of these are home businesses, some are bakeries..some work, some dont. But there doesn’t seem to be a thread on your website bashing GoDaddy…I am sure there are all kinds of peeved off customers there.

Everyone has complaint’s against them..EVEN Site BuildIt!
(But I still think it is probably a pretty awesome product and company and I dont slam it on blogs and websites) http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sitesellcom-c59380.html

I am not part of the design/development team of OHN; I was hired to deal with the online reputation and to help some people that have had an unfortunate experience with us. The reality is that this blog shows only an extremely small portion of our extensive network of users. If this system has not worked that OHN does truly apologize and we want to make it right with each person that posts here. I have convinced my boss’s that this site is not just a slash and hack job against any @home business that ElectronPlumber is not affiliated with. So they have authorized me to seek out these former clients and work with them privately to quench their concerns.

If you want to contact me about your issues please email me customercare@onlinehostingnetwork.com and we can get this started.

El Plumber (admin) May 26, 2010 at 12:56 pm

Wow Mike, good info, but some of it seems like spin and fluff. I do GREATLY appreciate the effort you are putting in here and it does show that OHN is not just a fly by night operation by reaching out like this, so kudos to you on that.

Some followup questions:
1) We are all eagerly awaiting your pricing and products. Until then, customers are still in the dark and only buying based on the hard sell pitch on the phone.
2) OHN is owned by people in Australia, but registered in Arizona USA? Is there a legitimate business address in either the US or Australia that your customers can actually come visit and speak with someone in person?
3) Testimonials are only valid if backed up with real info and sites people can go check and evaluate. Will the new OHN site have successful OHN sites to evaluate?
4) Opinions are opinions, but my opinion is that every OHN site I’ve seen so far is without value. They are generic cookie cutter sites filled with ads and affiliate links that would never return on the investment put in. Every single one. Are all the examples we’ve seen listed here wrong? Mishandled by the users? Again, this is an opinion, but a very educated one and shared by many. You could VERY WELL still be in business without satisfied clients if your business model is one based on hard sales tactics on the first phone call where you take large sums of money on promises that are never delivered. You won’t be in business forever, but for a few years, until the word gets out, you can keep finding new “customers”.
5) I like Australia too.
6) Yes, all large companies have complaints, but mistakes happen when dealing with large businesses. Godaddy has millions of customers, SiteBuildIt states publicly that it has 40,000+. Both have A ratings with the Better Business Bureau to show that they do address the complaints that happen and the complaint numbers are within industry standards. What is OHN’s rating with the Better Business Bureau since they are a US company?
7) That SiteBuildIt thread on Complaints Board has a number of happy users that actually cite their successful sites. We have yet to see or hear from the happy OHN clients. Where are they? Can you send some over to post here and show off their sites?

My estimates based on your ohnlive.com and onlinehostingnetwork.com Alexa ranking of ~3,000,000 vs Godaddy’s #122 and SiteSells #427 is that your “extensive network of users” might be in the low hundreds, which would make the complaints here a very significant portion of your “customers”. Alexa isn’t the end all be all, but both Compete.com and Quantcast.com show similar ratings. Are there other more traffic heavy OHN urls we can evaluate that might provide a better hint as to your size and traffic?

Start fixing the complaints and addressing questions I’ve outlined above, and I’ll be happy to write a new OHN evaluation article.

Again, Mike, thanks for the response. If I sound combative here, it’s because I’m still not seeing the proof of possible success with OHN yet based on these questions above. Maybe your new site will address these. The Electron Plumber is not a slash and burn unaffiliated online business opportunities site, nor a whiny complaints board. We just hope to provide objective evaluations as much as possible.

I’ll make sure anything you post here is approved without edits (as long as you don’t start swearing or linking adult sites, etc.)

ahugelist May 27, 2010 at 3:22 am

Doesn’t sound good to me mike, I have seen many of your so called sites and they are worthless. Im not being mean, but they are not websites, they are badly made webpages with no content at all.
No matter what arguments you put forth for the company that is paying your wages it does not change the fact that you do not provide websites that stand any chance of making money to your clients – you rip them off – its as simple as that.

At the end of the day prospective clients would be better off paying for a years worth of budget hosting and sticking up a FREE wordpress site.

Tom May 28, 2010 at 11:55 am

I have been with OHN for over a month. These sites are delivered to us (customers) as a template site. As customers, we have full control of our websites. If the sites look to plain, (which it does when you first get it) you can add some content to the site for free. OHN gives you full control of your website, and also gives you all of the tools to build a great website and get the job done right. If you refuse to follow OHN’s advice, that’s ok. However, if you refuse to work on your website, and leave it as is, then you will end up with a worthless website just like some of the sites that have been posted on here. Do you really think that you dan have a plain website and still make money?
This is a real business that needs to be worked like a real business. Most honest work takes some hard work to get the job done right. Ask any business owner, if they just sit around and wait for the checks to come rolling in without working their business. I am sure that most business owners would look at you as if you were crazy, and laugh in your face . Running a business is hard work, no matter what type of business you are in. The people on here that have shown us their websites, are obviously also the people who refuse to do anything with their websites. It seems to be, that these are the only people actually complaining on here. Think about this… If you put forth as much effort to work on your website, as you have done by coming onto here and complaining, your website might actually look good enough to be making some money. If you do nothing, and still expect to get good results, you are either higher then a kite, or crazy as hell! Why is it, that the only sites that are posted on here, are plain template sites? (they look just like my site did when I got it.) So, one thing here is obvious to me, after looking at all of the comments on here, the people on here who have posted their website here, have done absolutely NOTHING AT ALL TO THEIR WEBSITES SINCE BUYING THEM to try and improve them. I have an idea, try and work the program first by actually doing some work, if that still doesn’t work, then you can always come back here and complain if need be.
Good day.

El Plumber (admin) May 28, 2010 at 12:16 pm

Folks, note that the IP address used to make the comments for “Tom” is the same IP address as those made by “Mike”, indicating that they are very likely either the same person or are two people at the same physical location sharing one IP (i.e. at the same company). Geotracking the IP shockingly comes back as located in Fountain Hills, Arizona, which is right outside Phoenix.

“Tom”, if you aren’t actually Mike in disguise, you just destroyed any credibility Mike had. Either you’re one person and don’t know enough about how computers and IP addresses work, or you work for OHN and posted this on your own thinking you were helping (which you’re certainly not). Either way, if I were to pretend I though you were a real OHN customer my questions would be:

1) How much did you pay OHN for your website and any training?
2) What is your website URL so we can go check out all the hard work you’ve done to change your site from the template.

Luis Lozano Jnr May 28, 2010 at 7:31 pm

O.K Tom …youre right. BUT…I worked on the site for over 8 months with not a single buy( 4793 hits to date!…from where?). I put banners , links, put it on countless search engines lists, probably more than the amount the seller said they had list them with if he even did. Everylittle thing I could get on the site. I even went so far as to change the messages, extra pages and sections …nothing. Its a store front in the dead end of town! And yes Ive abandoned it because I just dont need any more hard sell bs talking Yank on my phone and dont wanna waste anymore time on the peice of rubbish! Live n learn….

Mike Palms May 28, 2010 at 7:49 pm

Well, since my last post I’ve gotten a bit of an education. As I mentioned, I’m new to Online Hosting Network which has over 100 employees. First, I need to correct a couple pieces of info from my last post. A co-worker had mentioned thinking that the company had something to do with a venture capital company from Australia. I should have verified that with management before posting, but you are right, Online Hosting Network is a US company. My apologies for the error.

You asked why we seem to do most of our advertising in Australia. I inquired and found out that we only do about 25% of our advertising in Australia. I think the reason you see posts on this site coming from Australians is that the time difference can make communication difficult. We now have support reps in the office until 9:00PM to have more time to help Australian customers. We post a link on the contact page of our website that lets our customers see the current time at our location. We also include that link in every email communication so customers will know when to call us if they need help. There has been some discussion about going to 24/7 support, so we’ll see how that goes.

I should point out that since we acquire customers by phone and not through our company website, our website is not going to show the kind of traffic that a purely online model like Go Daddy or Site Build It has, but I know we have thousands of customers and most of them are very satisfied with us.

I think Online Hosting Network’s platform is very easy to use. It includes tools for customizing your site, a nice selection of templates, complete instructions and a getting started demo video. It also has a decent HTML guide. I hear the support staff working with customers all day and they seem very thorough.

You asked about pricing. I noticed a post that mentions us charging thousands for start-up packages. Our Basic website package is $149, our Standard is $288 and our Elite package is $477. These fees include website hosting and maintenance for the first year. After that we charge only $19.95 a year which includes domain name renewal. All prices are in US dollars. I’ve seen a lot of programs and I think OHN’s prices are fair, especially considering we charge no monthly hosting fee.

By the way, I passed your suggestions on to management and they were very well received. I really think our customers can expect to see some of the new services you suggested available to them soon.

PS. I just saw the post from Tom. Yes he’s an employee and he’s been disciplined. His explanation was that he gets frustrated with people that post complaints because they expect to make money without any effort. Of course that’s no excuse for a false posting like this and as I said, he’s been disciplined.

Luis Lozano Jnr May 28, 2010 at 7:57 pm

OOOH kaay….El Plumber, just got round to checking out the link you put up above …holy hell! I wish I had of gone there first. Gotta be one of the best ones Ive seen in a long time and I got so much help out of it. Thanx heaps for the ups!

Mazdak May 30, 2010 at 1:10 am

Hi every one
I’m from vancouver CANADA and i joined OHN almost a week ago. I found this site today and wow, i was having lots of doubts. WHAT HAVE I DONE…. BUT after some consideration honestly I’m still not convinced that they are fake. I made about 25 dollars in my firs week and working hard to get more visitors into my site.
oh I’m on elite plan $377. But lets see how it goes. Honestly that Tim guy was right, you can’t just make one simple site and do nothing & wait for fat money.
I’ll update you guys later. Wish me good luck and bless all of you

El Plumber (admin) May 30, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Mazdak, it’s not that your site is “fake”, the problem is that your website has absolutely NO redeeming value to it. It has no original content, just a bunch of affiliate links. Why would anyone go there? Why would any search engine drive traffic to your site?

Reread all the comments above. Take Luis for example. The first week or two you tell all your friends about your site, post it to Facebook, etc. You make a little money. Then it all starts to dry up because of what I said above. Your site is a generic template with no content. What “work” are you going to do to get more visitors to your page when 99% of them will leave the second they get there?

Mazdak, what is the “Elite” plan? How is it different from the “Basic” plan? Did you get anything in writing? Have you been asked to cough up additional money to buy clicks or email blasts or other such nonsense?

Mazdak May 30, 2010 at 7:42 pm

Thanks for comment but if you are looking at it like this then most of the websites gonna be nonsense. I know it’s not a very valuable site but it’s my job to work on it and make it interesting and attractive. It’s the websites owner responsability to create smt neat not a server or whoever. I know you are saying that it doesn’t worth the money for a service that I get BUT if I was a professional or computer geek then I could creat the site by my self and I didn’t need any help. My problem is that I’m not an expert so I choose them to do a job for me and so far I’m glad what I did

El Plumber (admin) May 31, 2010 at 2:09 pm

I guess what I’m trying to get you to realize Mazdak, is that not all site or hosts are created equal. Using SiteBuildIt or creating a Wordpress site is just as easy, less expensive than what you paid (and will pay) OHN, and far more likely to succeed. It’s like opening a store on a busy street corner. It’s much easier to get people to take you seriously, link to your site, rank well in search engines, sell your site someday, etc.

Using OHN, is like paying more to open a store in the middle of a swamp on top of a burial ground in my opinion. And they have the sales tactics to boot. The sites look like a junk link farm to search engines, other sites won’t want to link to you, you can’t take advantage of free plugins (like a Wordpress site) or a large community of users (like SiteBuildIt) and driving real traffic to your site will be extremely difficult. Have they asked you to pay more money yet to get traffic?

Put a years worth of hard work into one and you’ll have an exciting and profitable store. Put a years worth of hard work into the other and you’ll not only be out the money you put into it, but also the years worth of hard work.

Again, this is my opinion, but it’s an opinion based on easy to check information. OHN has no physical business location you can visit, they don’t list their official pricing anywhere, there are many complaints against them on this and other sites, there are no OHN customers I’ve ever seen post anywhere that they are making money with OHN and willing to share their site so we can evaluate if they’re real successful customers (like SiteBuildIt users do all the time) and they have an F rating from the Better Business Bureau.

OHN BBB Rating: http://www.bbb.org/central-northern-western-arizona/business-reviews/work-at-home-companies/online-hosting-network-in-phoenix-az-1000007637/

SiteSell BBB Rating: http://www.bbb-bec.com/main.cfm?p=421&l=en&page=1&MembreID=580&critere=SiteSell

Mazdak, you likely paid them $377 based on a single sales phone call, right? They told you how great it would be, all the financial freedom you could have, and you had to do it now now now before getting off the phone and having a chance to do some research, correct? Why do you think that is?

Joti lal May 31, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Hi,I’m one of the stupid people who got trapped with their lies there’s no terms and condition I bought training package for $3ooo.00 which includes traffic .It’s a biggest mistake I ever made when you call them they are rude.I requested for a receipt so I can claim in tax from custom service they stated we don’t do it.There’s no terms and condition I would like to withdraw since its 18 months contract.Was told $500 for new refferal had one referral got paid $18.00 ,amazon $9.00 it’s not worth ,I received call last week from Adrian with request of more money Told him no money you are liers he even tried to arrange credit card for me.I regret why I didn’t research about them anyway I’m from Australia.

Luis Lozano Jnr May 31, 2010 at 10:42 pm

Joti lal OMG!!! Man , I got the same speil n smoke n mirrors over the phone , with the push for further credit card debt… “dont worry you’ ll make heaps!” the most unhelpful SOB on the planet raved on! I said, no! A few more tries from various other OHM peeps and then luckily my mob phone cut out while he was given it his best shot at me. Cancel ure credit card, try to get as much of ure money back as u can, and get on with the lesson uve just learnt m8! Or go a hunting OHN……

Joti lal June 1, 2010 at 1:40 am

Thanks Luis I’m not alone its hard to get over it ,I would like to share twice when OHN rang two different people claiming to be my business consultant pestering for money the phone cut off both that time.I will ring tomorrow,today I rang the message stated they finish early due to memorial day.

cheers
Joti lal..

Marco June 3, 2010 at 12:07 am

Hi to all, I had Karl Carter ring me today, listened to audio sales pitch on phone, his number is (removed), wants me to pay for basic package $222AD, he ringing me tomorrow for credit card details and set up my new site within hrs of paying to start earning $$$, after reading all posts about OHN!!! It sounds like “Oh Here’s Nothing”
Think i will tell him what i think!!!!!!!! like to THANK YOU ALL for your honesty about this scam!!!!

Marco- single dad of 3 children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aussiemum June 4, 2010 at 1:35 am

Marco just to give you an example of a really basic site that only takes 20 minutes to install click on my name , that one would cost no more than $50 a year including the domain name and full hosting for a whole year.
All that would be left to do is to advertise it or promote it and there are many ways to do that . If you get your hosting at Godaddy.com then you get a free $50 advertising coupon to use over at Facebook Ads. Facebook is a good way to get some traffic these days as you can target your audience of who you want to see the ad for your site.
If you want some more free help post again with some way of contacting you , the site i have used as an example is the most basic easiest site to setup – but it is far far better than any OHN website I have seen so far.

maria June 6, 2010 at 2:42 am

I got an Email from the OHN people because I enter some competitions on line and do surveys- I am situated in Australia. i got a phone call from some American Guy by the name of Anthony Keys Phone number 1800637190 x2234.
I listened to the Audio Spiel and then asked him questions like “why do Amazon and Yahoo need me to sell products on my Website when they have their own and advertise on thousands of Websites fo Publicity already.Since when did big Conglomerats share their Profits with the little people”?. His answer was that for the same reason Mcdonalds franchises out its Restaurants. I said that it madew sence for Macas to frasnchise as these were builings with people who needed human attention but what he was suggesting was all Web based and did not make sense.
He went on with his hard sell and offered to get me a webpage and stated the 1st year was free adn after a year , I would have to pay the $19.95 for the Domain name – i asked if there were any added costsand he said no.
I asked for his full name -contact number and Website which led me to thisd -i am going back to my Email to advise Heidi to remove me from her calling list .
thank god i have not given any Bank details at his point.

Luis Lozano Jnr June 6, 2010 at 7:28 pm

Thanx 4 the updates Aussiemum. On an little off note, just watched “Robin Hood” starring Russel Crowe. A little wisdom in a not too bad movie… on a sword he gets from a dying man it has an inscription on it “Rise, rise again, until lambs become lions…” Some of the lambs on this blog may turn into lions OHN if you get my drift…with a little help from the Aussiemum and others…

Marco June 6, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Thank you very much AUSSIEMUM!!! you are great value, take care. Marcoxxx

Marco Di Lisio June 7, 2010 at 12:01 am

AUSSIEMUM!!! you can contact me on marcodilisio@live.com.au, would love to chat with you about this. hope to hear from you soon. Take care, Thanks again.xx

aussiemum June 7, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Marco and Luis the offer stands to give you 2 guys a hand for free. I have spent the best part of the last 2 months helping another victim by training him in every step for free but its a little time consuming so I won’t have time to do that again BUT I can and will set u guys up a site if u want me to. All u need to do is give me an idea on what you want, then go and get your own domain name (aim or focus on keywords) and hosting in your own details and we can go from there. I will have some time on the weekend so if interested let me know here by then , I will come back and check in a few days.

johnny June 7, 2010 at 11:49 pm

got a call today just like the rest have said, wanted credit card details i said i dont have a credit card so he said use pay pal, i told him my computer was not working and ill have to get back to him, he seemed a bit frustrated thats when you know there dodgy. also kept pushing to pay even tho i said its not happening. his name was john morgan ph 1800 637 190 extention 2345, also email went straight to junk mail enough said. location austalia

Luis Lozano Jnr June 8, 2010 at 1:07 am

Yes Aussiemum, I would definitely like to get in contact as any help in this business is greatly appreciated. I can be contacted at luislastcall@hotmail.com . Again thanx for any help and hope to hear from you soon.

PaulineR June 8, 2010 at 8:14 pm

Hi All.
Yup, my partner just got ‘the call’ I was lucky enough to stumble upon your website while on the phone with him. I ended up chatting with him for near on an hour, and although he offered that we could contact him at any time via telephone, was in fact very reluctant to give his phone number. Was very “anti researching” information on the internet, advised me that you couldnt believe everything you read on the internet. Hmmm and you can believe everything someone is trying to sell you over the phone????
Anyway his name was Michael Rothstein phone 1800 637 190 extension 2279.
I didn’t purchase anything nor was I offered a website to view, and certainly received no email. We are located in Australia.

Joseph G June 10, 2010 at 2:36 pm

HAHAHAHA, so glad I found this website. I filled out the online form, and called the number. It all sounded a little too good too be true, so while I was on the phone with them, I did some Googling. VERY HAPPY I DID!!!! I wasn’t on the phone with them for more than 5 minutes and they already wanted CC info, or PayPal, upon finding out I had neither, I was simply told to set up PayPal and call back. So I did. Once the “lady” found out I had PayPal setup, right to the recording, then right to the sales pitch. Up until they found out I had PayPal setup, they would not answer a single question. I told them I was a little skeptical, and they directed me to “Cooking with Brian”. Uh Huh. Still didn’t cut it for me, so I called upon my good friend Google. This was the first hit after the OHN site, and am very glad I did my research. THANK YOU SO MUCH ELECTRON PLUMBER!!!! You saved me $477US. I hope these arrogant BASTARDS get dealt with properly by the law. Again, thanks plenty, if you want me to try to get info from them, send me a e-mail @ jgroves85@hotmail.com, or post it here, I will be checking back soon! WATCH OUT FOR OHN, F***ING CROOKS!!!!!

Thanks,

Joe

charlie June 21, 2010 at 8:15 pm

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=123284874360125&v=wall

I came across this that’s where I filled on the form and I got a call from OHN but did not join and then I found this forum

Pam June 23, 2010 at 10:10 pm

I have just been speaking with John from OHM, Fortunately I said I would call him back after I had considered his offer, Maybe he was having a bad day because he let me go quite easily , I expected some sort of challenge but got none! What a relief, Finding this site and reading these comments. My best wishes to you that were not so lucky, I hope you manage to recoup your investment.
But is there any way to EARN money on the internet?
I have my own business, but whilst I am at the computer I have time to be working at something else. I have started to look at on line surveys, but I can’t see how they could make very much more than pocket money. I have a web page but am not sure if I want to turn it into an advertising site. I do not seem to get much traffic and wouldn’t know where to start.
Cheers for your great site

Carina June 24, 2010 at 3:55 am

Thank you soooo much for your informative website, what a gem!!!
I too got the very same phone call and was really thinking about it too, but noticed
the indifference in his voice when I said I’d get back to them because i wanted to
think about it. Started getting straight to the Visa Card bizo, but finally gave up and offered his number and extension.From Phoenix, Arizona he said…Robb on 1800 637 190 Ext 2262,
sounded too good to be true to me and I thought the website looked too clean and empty.
Something felt amiss to me.
Thanks again Electron Plumber!!!

Carina June 24, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Hi to Pam,
I tired surveys about 3/4 years ago and found it a real waste of time and money. I invested in a survey site thankfully only for around $40 to join and went around various sites, the amount of surveys I did just wasted so much valuable time and no gain and no money. I eventually gave up and waved goodbye to the money invested. Not stimulating and certainly a lot of time answering surveys!! Forget about them in my opinion Pam!
Maybe look for alternative ideas.

David June 29, 2010 at 12:33 am

I was looking at survey sites yesterday when I came across ohn – and feeling reckless filled out the form including my phone numbers, it sort of looked legit as they had a local toll free number (I’m in NZ) but I didn’t call it (I’m a terrible procrastinator), so imagine my surprise when I get a phone call this morning on my mobile … I was at work so I asked if they could call back when i got home – which they did, and I got to hear the audio spiel. It sounds like a pyramidish type scheme to me, but they were not overly pushy – and I got off the line without too much trouble, then decided to look them up and found this site – great!

If they call me back, I think I’ll offer to do it, as long as they set me up for free, and I can then pay them back out of all the thousands of dollars I’ll be making…..

paul June 29, 2010 at 8:09 pm

well this is a good site i have read the entire page must have taken well over 2 hours..lol
i am lucky to escape, i filled in the form and waited a few days and decided to ring the free number. i got through to a guy sounded ok asked if i had paypal or cc then he played me the audio which quite frankly didnt give any information on anything.
the guy then asked for my address to send the checks i gave him my name but then stopped him and queried about what it is they exactly are doing. he sent me to discoverohn.com where he sent me to the cookwithbrian site. it seems to me that they are offerering just a web building service and even though they say you can make thousands people here have made little amounts and i too asked them for sites or examples of sites but they couldnt give me one link. im not sure if this is the right place but i too have a very good idea but have no clue as to costs of such a plan for an online business and have searched many pages but it seems you have to learn html and the like. i was just curious as to how much it is to get a domain name, a place to host your site, and how much it is to stream, if it runs into thousands then its a no brainer. anyways i just wanted to tell you about my call to ohn and my idea thanks for reading

Dee July 1, 2010 at 7:43 am

I have read all your comments and I feel the same OHN trains us to set up a web page with all the training, I have signed up for 18 months, I feel I have had over 2000 people sign the survey and they tell me not one as signed up for a referral fee to be paid to me.
Im now starting to beleive that we will never earn a dime from this site.
I have tryed to set up my site regular and change it around
thanks all for your comments? i enjoy reading them all

Tammy July 1, 2010 at 8:39 pm

So very disappointed in Scott Phillips phone 1800 637 190 ext 2315 from OHN. A very pleasant and charming man, until i found this site and said that i wasn’t interested. I asked him to take me of his list and he was rather cranky.
Thank you all so very much for the heads up.

Frank July 6, 2010 at 1:22 pm

I got the call and being a pensioner I told them that with the rising costs of utilities (gas,power,water etc) I was looking for a way to make some extra money. Well, the promises flowed like there was no tomorrow. I am currently looking at my credit card statement and the 3 withdrawals of US$149 – US$1995 – US$790 = AU$3307.06 and they want more money US$2300 to set up the account which included the equivalent of an ABN in the US which meant that I would have to file a tax return with the US tax office. As you can immagine us pensioners in Australia don’t get all that much and their latest demand was too much, so much so that I have stressed out and have now turned to switching off my home phone from midnight to midday so that they won’t keep calling me. They didn’t even send me a receipt for the monies I have paid out even though they have my home address. I have just read all the notes from those above and realise that I have been taken in by smooth talking people who have little regard for the elderly. I thought the people in the US were supposed to be friends of us Australians but I am sadly mistaken. I honestly don’t know how I will ever pay the credit card debt. I feel that I will never get a refund, judging by the comments posted, even though the time has been less than 90 days. To all of the unlucky ones who are fighting back, good luck and God bless.

Mike July 6, 2010 at 11:48 pm

I am from Australia. I am so glad that I read articles on this website! I saved myself from jumping in the hole becuase I stick to principles like: (1)don’t rush into giving out credit card info just because they said MONEY-BACK (2)Have everything written for the contract that you will sign into (3)Search on google about bad publicity about this offer (4)It’s better that you can just call them back after you do your homework. I have to admit though, it takes time and learning to sort things out. I myself is a technical person doing programming and systems as a living and I know the technology and schemes behind Internet marketing. Yet it is still dangerous for me to make a decision on this because there are still so many different approaches that people find ways to make a buck on Internet. You just cannot be too careful about this.

Former employee July 8, 2010 at 7:08 am

I’m a former employee of OHN and still have friends that work there so I will remain anonymous . . . . but would like to offer some clarity if I can. The sites (however junky) are real and so are the programs. There has to be the potential for making money because some of their members were making ALOT! When I worked there, I witnessed lots of small checks (from a few dollars to a few hundred) that we were sending out to members, but I also saw some very big checks for the more established members, in the thousands. I think the biggest I ever saw was $16,000 and change. I know that was for a month as well because that’s how they pay. You become familiar with certain member numbers when you see them all of the time, and every lead has the members number (that place the ad or referred the prospect) printed on it and there were several numbers that you saw all of the time on the leads which meant that they were going to get credit for the sale if the prospect bought a package). I can’t tell you what those members did to make that kind of money. I don’t know if they used OHN’s advertising (which a lot of people complained about) but there were some members making what would be a whole lot money for me. Of course that wasn’t the case for everyone and I was not close enough to the members to know because I wasn’t in the sales dept. I also know that we gave a lot of people refunds but I think that was mostly to people that had recently signed up. I took some of those calls and it was usually within the first 2 weeks that people would try to cancel if they were going to. Some of the salesmen make it sound too easy and some of them realized it was going to take actual work, and a lot just got scared like the people on here and were afraid they couldn’t do it. I think for some, they knew what they were looking for in a site and OHN’s wasn’t it and they realized that once they saw their site. Whatever the case OHN did refund everyone’s money if they pushed hard enough. And I think it’s good to talk about stuff like this because people get ripped off from Internet scams all of the time and I don’t know what your definition of a scam is so I can’t tell you if OHN is or not. I know they gave everyone’s money back if they really wanted it back bad enough and I also know first hand that some people made money and in some cases like I said, very good money. Are there salesmen that lie and make false promises there, I’m sure of it, it’s a pretty big company. But I know the owner personally and he and his wife are great people. They always gave refunds to people that we’re really put out by there decision to get a site and the sites and programs are real so I don’t really think they are scams. I would just not believe anything that sounds too good to be true and a lot of people complained about the advertising so maybe that’s the scam part. I don’t know much about it. Sorry. So for what my comments are worth, I hope they help someone.

John (UK) July 8, 2010 at 3:44 pm

Hello everyone

So glad to hear every one that has been saved from this awful company. I had a really lucky escape, you can read my post on this website. They tried to call me again, but i told them that they are under no cercumstances to call this number again or contact me by email. So a sugestion to everyone, post OHN as a “DO NOT TOUCH WITH A BARGEPOLE” on face book, twitter etc. Lets tell the world. If anyone out in the world is looking for a home based business that actually works in over 50 countries with a maximum investment of £50 or £9.50 then contact me. You can visit my website http://www.1stscentofsuccess.com or contact me at john@1stscentofsuccess.com or you can call me on 0044(0)1383 414567. So you have my home number, email address and personal website. I dont even have a compulsory capture page on my website (I switched it Off) there is a contact tab if you want to contact me. So you are free to look and noone will hassle you. Thats what i call real choice. This is a great business, fantastic product, have a look you will be suprised. Wishing everyone in the world good fortune. Remember not all people are bad, some of us actually care.

Peterjay July 9, 2010 at 12:20 am

I received a phone call from John Frett this morning. I obtained my phone number through my registering to participate in on-line surveys. His deal was the same as many of those above i.e. $149, $288 or $477 with the initial cost only being $99 if I signed up straight away because he would credit me with my first $50 commission when I signed up. He was very persuasive. I must admit that I was very tempted. I told him that I didn’t make decisions to spend money that quickly because there were so many scams out there and I wanted to think about it first. The main basis that I work on is the “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”. I Googled his name and ended up on this site. I’m glad I did. Sorry John, I’m not interested.

Ron Gilchrist July 9, 2010 at 12:08 pm

I had a phone meeting with Bill last night, my business adviser. I have been with OHN for 10 months and I live in Ireland. Initially I was sucked in to buying a website for $147 and as I knew nothing about affiliate marketing, the idea seemed perfect and yes I would work hard on my website. Here are the names of the people I dealt with; Dustin Prince; Karl Summers and Zack Green. Before I knew it, I was out $2,900 and had bought training for a year and 2,500 guaranteed hits and 30,000 emails, anyway, you all know the score by now. My OHN website is http://www.loveinlingerie.com and has yielded 0.0 cents.
Back to Bill: Bill became very aggressive during this phone meeting, maybe because I queried the value of this website and that the counter bore no resemblance to the hit list in the back office and I didn’t want to do what he wanted to do.
For the last 6 months I have been under no illusion that OHN is a SCAM operating as a business, but I wanted to try and squeeze for as long as possible to see if a little miracle would occur. After last night it is now obvious that they want rid of me because I ask too many questions.
There is no transparency to OHN, no written documents. Affiliate links to Ystore etc are registered to someone else?? Not me. There is no way to know if they have been payed and whether any money will be passed back to you. Especially with their Moneymaking link, where I am supposed to get $300 for any new person who signs up. Yeah RIGHT! This is a single level marketing system (SLM). This is where their money comes from.
They have a slick operation, with toll-free numbers around the world and training, which is just dragged out to bid the time until you’ve had enough and quit. Like me.

However, I am going to commit to warning EVERYONE through every social network, blog and forum that I can to get my $3,000 worth, as it is too difficult to prosecute them from Ireland. Boards.ie is a powerful forum in Ireland. SO at least I can save a few souls, who don’t have money to lose.

Roz July 10, 2010 at 2:59 am

Well I feel like a real mug as I got taken in by the smooth talk and promises. I was seduced by the lure of making some money towards my retirement and they caught me at a time when I was looking after a sick grandchild and wanted to get off the phone quickly, fortunately I only took the basic package at $ A 188. Now I guess I should cancel my credit card which is an absolute pain as I have a number of direct debits which will need to be reorganized. I did ask a lot of questions but all the responses sounded genuine. Bottom line is if someone promises you an easy or quick way to make money that sounds too good to be true , it actually is too good to be true. I don’t have the energy to make phone calls or complaint as I doubt I will get any satisfaction without lots of persistence and stress. I will write this one off as a lesson to not be so stupid again, I should know better at my age. I will register a complaint on arizonabbb.org though. Glad I found this website before I wasted a lot of time on a scheme that appears not to generate a return. Good luck everyone. I am in Australia and they got my info from an online survey I filled in.

Ron Gilchrist July 11, 2010 at 9:03 am

I have found an agency in the US – Internet Crime Complaint Centre – that has been set up to deal with internet fraud/cyber crime. They can be found at:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

I have submitted a complaint through them, which is quite lengthy, but the more complaints they receive regarding OHN, the quicker these guys may be removed from the map.

Remember – “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Mark July 11, 2010 at 10:22 am

I am from QLD Australia. I found this page when on my OHN backoffice I was unable to enter. OHN rang me after I had completed on-line Surveys. I now concerned after reading comments as I have just signed up about 2 weeks ago. I have received over 2,500 hits on my website and no sales/interest. I have already placed my other links and put in extra pages etc and still nothing happening money wise. I am concerned that at present that the hits onto the website are going down in number since I have not taken up the next advertising offer. I also didn’t do my homework properly as OHN sales people are so informative and helpful that I really thought it was going to work. I am disabled and really needing to work from home so this was a good opportunity I thought. But now I feel I have been robbed in day light hours. I hope I can get my money back and from the Elite Referral Program. Any tips how I can start to get my money back as I really need this money and can not afford to loose it on the spam! HELP!!

janusz July 11, 2010 at 1:02 pm

I just discovered this website & I am absolutely devastated about what I have read.I spent thousends of GB pounds on it.How much I can’t tell you now exactly,I wanted to check it on Home Back Office site but I can’t log in.I joined them in May 2010 after having a calls from OHN .These peaple are so convincing and although I had a doubts I mad a decision.Now ,it seems very bad decision
I’ve checked some websites which were generated by OHN and they look the same like mine.I would like to thank to all for an informations given on this site and will try to get my money back.If anyone wants more information about my case I promise I will write everything I remember

sharon July 11, 2010 at 5:46 pm

Well i hate to admit but I too have fallen victim. I saw an add on TV advertising make money from home and went to the website and filled in forms the next day i received a phone call told all the sales pitches asked lots of questions would cost me $147 but give me the $50 discount so i handed over my $97 that cost me $116A. so far no earnings and i see today that i can not get into the back office it just tells me that internet explorer can not find the site. This is a lesson I really didn’t want to learn being a single mother thinking i could make a little extra money. What should i do now i relise i wont get my money back as promised with their 90 day trial. I also am in Australia

Monica July 12, 2010 at 2:48 am

I have been reading your posts and now feel quite sick. I joined OHN in May after coming across an ad from an on-line survey. I was trying to make some extra money after losing my job earlier this year. I have not made any money so far. I must admit I was a little suspicious at the beginning, but was assured by OHN that if I didn’t make any money after 90 days I could get a refund. So I decided to give it my best shot and signed up for the training. So far I have had 5 training sesssions and the girl was quite helpful and rang reliably every week. My suspicions were aroused when I couldn’t get into my back office. So I decided to do some further research and came across your website (something I should have done at the beginning). I do not seem to be able to log on to the OHN website and in fact when trying to google OHN they seem to have been taken off the air. I then ran my website through Google Analytics and I received a message saying “The tracking code has not been detected on the homepage of your website” even though my website was verified. I guess they have shut up shop and have moved on or changed their name. I cannot see anyone getting their money back.

The only thing we can do is complain to the American authorities, but as I am also in Australia, I am not hopeful that anything will come of it. If anyone has any luck in pursuing these people with the authorities please let me know.

Jim July 12, 2010 at 3:22 am

After reading this site I have realised that I have lost just over $4000.00 for being so stupid to trust OHN and I probably deserve it for not doing some research on them before I gave them my credit card details. There is no easy way to make money online unless your a scammer yourself. I find it incredible that there are so many scammers on the internet. How these people sleep at night amazes me. All I can say is lucky for them they are in USA and not here in Australia, I would deal with them personaly!!!

Ron Gilchrist July 12, 2010 at 5:58 am

Former employee – I don’t think so. Any former employee of OHN would have to think very seriously about putting this job on their resume. Any discerning future company who did a background check, may see their names come up on this website and others and have to conclude that these individuals were of an unsavory character and without any integrity. Also, if they are associated with OHN, there is enough evidence on the business to assume that all employees have to have no respect for customers to work there, which is not what a reputable business is looking for. End of job.

Graham July 12, 2010 at 5:59 am

This may help a few of the people on here. Yes I have signed up with these people and to date I have a few comments, The chap I spoke to at ohn said that a special adviser would help me pick the name for my niche web site, as I do a bit of web design and SEO I was surprised when he said myfirstcamp.com would be OK, this is because the title has a stop word in it “my” but as a web designer I new I could change the title tag. NO YOU CANT ON THERE SYSTEM. also one has very little access to the meta tags to change them, there is a lot of clutter I would want to take out if it were possible. Yes as above the ccs templates are all from a free site, but the chap at ohn told me they owned the free css template site. Don’t know if thats true or not. I made a request for my personal training person a Jenna Weed to call me at 17:30 gmt waited till 17:55 before ringing them and leaving a message about being ignored and not getting a call back.
Tryed to log in today at there “back office” and got this
Failed to process request to MYSQL server. Please report to Administrator

Warning: fopen(/var/www/customerdb/lib/logs/mysql_errors.log) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/codebase/lib/QueryControl.php on line 45

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /var/www/codebase/lib/QueryControl.php on line 48

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /var/www/codebase/lib/QueryControl.php on line 49

This is not the first time, On what I have learnt from this is simple DO IT YOURSELF get yourself a cheap web site from any of the buy a domain site’s I use one.com, go to Amazon and so on join as an affiliate then write some content on your site add the banners, and like me you will be getting more hits on your new site than I get from my ohn site. but guys n galls site content + meta tags + a sitemap.xlm + google verification code are a must. Do some research and do it yourself :)

At ohm they think a sitemap.xlm is the same as a verification code from google so they are good sales people but really not clued up on the way a site works. On google web tools you can generate a sitemap.xml but you cannot put it on you ohn site as one does not have acsses to do this.

ditchy July 12, 2010 at 7:48 am

SCAM SCAM SCAM they,re all scammers.and we,re all victims,or are we?Think about it for a minute,there are people who make stuff and others who buy things .in between are wholesalers,retailers ,advertisers and everything else including the government,all falling over each other for a bigger piece of the pie.Im no different Im a single dad of a small baby and this letter is a blatent attempt to get you to my website and give me your commission.Ohn will supply you with a website like mine together with support to get you up there scamming with the best of them .but ultimately the onus is on you to succeed.visit me at xxxianxxx and give me your money .Ian

ditchy July 12, 2010 at 8:26 am

To the host of this site.why don,t you put the newest letters at the top of the page?perhaps it might encourage a debating platform.Good luck Ian.website xxxianxxx.com

Sam July 13, 2010 at 1:22 am

I’m not exactly how I got caught up in this. I registered with a couple of legitimate work from home sites here in Australia earlier this year. Recently I completed some on line surveys, and when I received the call I mistakenly associated them with my legitimate registrations. I’ve been done for $2500USD. I’ve cancelled my credit card, logged a complaint with the ACCC, as well as the Better Business Bureau in Arizona: This was thier reply today: I will come back and post any updates:

Your complaint has been received and routed to the following BBB: BBB of Central, Northern & Western Arizona (Phoenix, AZ)4428 N. 12th Street Phoenix, AZ 85014-4585Phone: (602)264-1721Fax: (602)263-0997Email: info@arizonabbb.orgWeb: arizonabbb.org Please contact the BBB directly if you have questions about your complaint.

I have also contacted A Current Affair & Today Tonight, if you live in Australia please contact them, we need to get word out to our fellow Aussie Mates to prevent these @#$%! stealing anymore money from the people who can least afford it. When you think about it, how many wealthy people are looking to make money from home.

Kim July 15, 2010 at 7:26 pm

Thank you all so much for this information, I was contacted yesterday and was actually thinking hard about it’s legitimacy.
I had asked the coach to call me back this morning and thought to do a google search before I gave her my details. After I asked a few questions and made her realise I wasn’t going to be an easy target she actually said that out of ‘good will’ she would waive the Basic Package fee for me (which meant she would lose her commission portion) to prove her commitment to me… OMG if this isn’t a warning sign I don’t know what is.
I’m educated and no fool but was so close to falling into this trap, I feel very embarrassed!!! Thank goodness I found this site! You may have saved me thousands of dollars by the sounds of things.
Thanks again
K

Lisa July 18, 2010 at 10:50 am

Hi

I’m afraid i have bum out as i already paid for the basic website of $114 and for the special deal package of $1,035. I have been in contact with my bank and now in the process of trying to get receipts of them and if that fails then off to the fraud department and then i will announce it everywhere what a horrible bunch of nasty fraudstser OHN are and i will stop at nothing to make all the people that are in my circle and the wider community to be very very aware and not to deal with them . I’m hoping against all hope that i will get my money return but i don’t fancy my chance but i will at least try…i have already got the CC cancelled so no-one will ever get any of that details from me ever again not even them.

I am in remission for two lots of breast cancer and had a heart operation and not to mention 3 clots on my lungs so this will be the last thing they will ever do to me…i’m a figther and i will spread the word around everyway and they will be so sorry that they mess with me.

I feel so sorry for those that may have paid more then me and it’s just awful and especially those that are struggling and you get scums like that…so over it with these scammers.

Like the last person’s post i feel so embarrassed and very stupid for getting suck in like that.

Thanks for listening as it’s so late here in the land of downunder (1.45am)

Take care and kick these scammers to the kerb and warn everyone you know too.

L

Mo July 20, 2010 at 10:25 am

Was fooled into the $477 package, and was even more suspicious when they asked for more than $3,000 for training and promotion purposes!!
How awful I feel for myself. I’m expecting a baby in two months, and I thought I could save some money to purchase baby stuff.
I hate Online Hosting Network scammers.. when they call they lie alot. They tell you (hang on I have another customer on the other line), when in fact they are talking to their supervisors about how hard you are as a customer to convince and find an alternative solution.

OHN spent more than an hour and a half to convince me into paying around $3000 for training and promoting my website, but obviously they failed and the guy on the phone got a bit aggressive at the end and started saying inappropriate things and asking some personal questions!

If I don’t make any cent on the next month, I’m going to get my money back the easy way, the hard way or the impossible way. Even if I had to spend $2000 to go to their office in America, being in Australia myself.

clare July 20, 2010 at 6:06 pm

MO………………………… I had been conned into giving it a go too………. Have they actually made your website yet??? After taking my money they said someone would call me in a few days to organise setting up my website……… In those few days I panicked, my gut feeling was that I had made a mistake. So, when they called me I had an excuse ready, it was the end of 2009, I said “I’m really excited about this and I really want to give it my best shot – but it’s Christmas/New Year time and with the children home for 10 weeks school holidays I don’t feel I can give it my all, can I get a refund and you call me again say in February and we’ll go for it then”. I was shocked but extremely grateful when I received my full refund within the week! GIVE IT A TRY – Your excuse is obvious – Let your hormones do the talking :-) I wish you well in getting your money back and with your new baby.

Lily July 20, 2010 at 8:45 pm

well , looks like OHN are really targeting australia. same deal- a bloody 8 minute audio played to me by some Arizona cowboy , thank god my landline rang to distract me enough to just hang up half way through it -( not wanting to be rude or anything! lol)
How the hell did he get my mobile phone number ??

Lisa July 20, 2010 at 10:40 pm

So Sorry Mo, how bloody awful is that and your expecting a baby soon, yeah they did that to me putting me on hold too, i have aready sent them an email as for receipts trancastions of my payment and yeah you guess it, no reply…so the banks have told me to write a written letter to hand over to the fraud department. But i have manage to get the transactions of my payments that is on my account in their Back Home Office, hopefully that will be enough to take it along with my credit card statements and letter. I’ll keep you all posted. Oh by the way…as for the ” Former employee” 8 July post…get real, you expect us to believe what you have written….as for the owner of that company i personally don’t give a flying shit about them…they ought to be in jail as should the rest of their employee, lucky you got out as you could have been in jail with the rest of them. By telling us is only because you are watching out for your own Karma and i tell ya Karma eventually catches up with you as no one escapes it especially those that have done seriously wrong to others.

You can tell i’m furious and will always will be and poeple like you (scammers) makes it very hard for those that are having very legit business….just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Let’s us know how you go Mo with your baby when he/she arrives and good luck to you.

quila July 23, 2010 at 8:43 pm

Thanks guys for all of your input. I saw the ad on the web and went after it. I got the sales pitch after listening to the tape basic, standard, elite. opportunity. I was also asked if I had a credit card and referred to a cooking site as an example. Said I would talk it over with my hubby before commiting. Oh boy am I glad I checked on your site first. great input. I just can’t believe people who have signed up have been asked for more money, that is what stopped me from going further there and then.

Sorry you guys got bitten, it’s sad that people stoop that low taking money from others who are looking for more opportunities to make more money. Thanks for sharing your stories, wish there was a way for you to get your money back.

Lisa July 27, 2010 at 1:18 am

Hi Everyone, My bank have told me to get in touch with them to see if i get my money back. But you guess it…i have left messages here and there you name it done the works just about then finally when i told them (manager named Gary Minor) this is the reply i got back in an email, he was telling me that he has been calling my number a few times so i rang the customer number line in Australia and she said yeah he has been trying to get in touch with you and also he has left me 3 emails.

This is the email i got after letting him know of my complaints and how i ws seeing the fraud department tomorrow.

“You just called in on Thursday and were told that someone would call you back within 24-48 business hours. I emailed you on the same day, and today will be the 48 hours.
You signed up with us on June 18th 2010, and are only 40 days into this business. What is making you want to cancel so soon? Keep in mind, we do offer a 90 day guarantee, which I have posted below.

Terms and Conditions
For as long as you remain in the Online Hosting Network™ online business system, your account will receive credit from Online Hosting Network™ for every client you refer. Referral fees become payable 30 days after any bona fide client that you refer joins the Online Hosting Network™ online business system. Online Hosting Network™ issues referral checks after the first of every month for all fees earned and payable. All you have to do is advertise as much or as little as you want each month and Online Hosting Network™ guarantees that you will start making money in your first 90-days or less, or you can call our office after your 90th day and we’ll refund your entire set up fee. (Printed proof of advertising is required). ”

Fair enough i have to wait for the 90 days and so be it….but what really concerns me is this stupid thing on “Printed proof of advertising is required” ummmmmmmm how is that possible when no one wants to train you and set it off the ground and get it advertise…what they think that is gonna save them from payingme back so i was so furious that i wrote him back an email and told him i’m still going to my fraud department tomorrow no matter what.

Theya re saying they rang me today but i have been home sitting by the phone and nothing so i gave my phone a call from my mobile and guess what it bloody works fine…she was saying it’s not that it isn’t ringing just that you haven’t been home…i said to her “Listen here…i have been home all day with the phone right next to me while working on my computer…told her i don’t believe him so she said she put me through to his voice mail again and tell him a good time for him to call and i said yeah whatever…so i told Gary you better ring at 8am my morning your afternoon and i said to him i’m out the door at 8.30am as i have an appointment at 9.30am.

So guys and girls…will keep you posted to how it all goes…but i may have to wait the 90 days…i told Gary in my email it better be the full amount not just the basic price i paid for, i want the whole lot.

Cheers Lisa

El Plumber (admin) July 27, 2010 at 12:42 pm

Lisa, look through this thread. There are contacts for the Arizona Better Business Bureau, the Arizona Attorney Generals office, the FTC, and various news outlets in the state of Arizona. In my opinion, if you really want your money back, either:

1) File reports with the BBB, the AG’s office, the FTC and the news outlets and make a giant stink.
2) Call OHN and threaten that if you don’t get all your money back immediately, you’re going to do #1.

Some people on this list have reported getting their money back from OHN, so it might be possible. I can’t say for sure if they’re real people or not. If they are, I have to give OHN kudos for that. However, they don’t seem to make it easy…

Emma July 27, 2010 at 6:50 pm

Wow I cannot thank anyone who contributed to this thread enough! I know the original article is almost a year old but I recieved a call from onlinehostingnetwork today (after missing about 2 other calls from them) and my experience was much like those others mentioned in the thread. I gave them my email adress after RealFreeSamples.com sent an email with their details, thinking as it is simply an email adress and telephone number I shouldn’t be in any danger if I simply ask them for more information without revealing my credit card details.

When I was called this morning, the salesman was VERY pushy. He asked why I was interested in setting up a business and I explained that I am a university student and very pushed for cash. When I told him that I was very wary of online businesses he immediately began speaking louder and faster, claiming that while others may be scams, OHN is not and had been operational for years (I now find out that it is year. Singular.) This was a red flag to me.

After playing the audio which consisted mostly of why the OHN is great and had very little information on the real content of the site, the salesman came back pushier than ever. He began asking for my credit card details and told me he would advance the first $50 to make it cheaper (as someone else has also claimed near the top of this thread). What he did not ever do was convert the money into NZ$. This made it sound a lot cheaper than it really was, and the only time he did this was when I asked him to. Though I already explained I was a student and had little money in my account he kept trying to start me off right away, growing VERY pushy when I said I didn’t have much in my cheque account and would need to move some from another account. He kept pushing saying surely I had $200, or $100 and that if I sign up now I can make money immediately and not have to worry about spending so much. He tried to make me set up a paypal account even after I dismissed the idea.

In the end I lied and said I had to go to classes, as other attempts to end the call were met by attempts to make an instant sale. Really, I looked up “onlinehostingnetwork” and “scam” and “money.” The first site I found was a full page glowing review on what appeared to be an independant website. Looking at the fine print I found that this was written by the cheif blogger for OHN. Thankfully, this was the second site I found!

aussiemum July 27, 2010 at 10:27 pm

Lisa also consider that if you wait the 90days then the guarantee expires after that.
I would not be surprised if they then say to you “sorry there is now no guarantee,goodbye”!
I would suggest you do all you can as El Plumber posted and do it as soon as you can.

Lisa July 29, 2010 at 3:39 am

Hi AussieMum,

I’m not so sure anymore….everything is getting very confusing….i told this manager of OHN about a site that was addressing them as being a scam and he wrote me an email and spoke to me on the phone saying that this was set up because El Plumber was to discredit them big time…blah blah…i can honestly say it very hard to prove otherwise….i got a guarantee written email letter about my 90 day money back quarantee….he is giving me two trainers to help me get it where it should be…i have already warn him that i have printed everything out even the gurarantee email and i said to him i’ll believe it when i see it when he said i will be seeing my earning grow. I told him also there will be no more money getting handed over by me…told him it will all be coming out of my website. I told him that i will notify my bank of is happening. So thanks El Plumber, AussieMum and the nice other chap that email me too.

I will keep you posted.

cheers

El Plumber (admin) July 29, 2010 at 5:07 pm

- insert sarcasm – Lisa, you are the only real person on here. The other 200+ comments and stories coming from unique IP addresses (mostly from Australia oddly enough) were all written by me in my copious amounts of spare time. I really have nothing better to do. Really. I traveled all over the world using different people’s computers to write them too and made up all the many web sites and email addresses linked as well.

In addition, the following sites also aren’t real:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/online-hosting-network-ohn-c307771.html
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090819125728AAxa5SR
http://www.youneedabudget.com/forum/off-topic-chat-f11/topic5661.html
http://www.ohnvictims.com
etc…

- stop sarcasm –

Lisa. Don’t get confused. It was crystal clear until you sat on the phone and listened to the fast talk wasn’t it?

In my opinion, don’t trust emails, don’t trust phone calls. GET DOCUMENTS IN WRITING. That’s all that counts. Receipts, instructions, etc. Good old fashioned paper. Think about it. Have you ever received anything from OHN in the mail? Any sort of receipt? How much have you paid them so far? Do they spend more time helping you with your site or trying to squeeze more money out of you?

Luis Lozano Jnr July 30, 2010 at 7:42 pm

Got a message from OHN…the lovely people that they are…
Re: about renewing my
Customer Service to Luis Lozano on July 26, 2010, 2:44 pm

We have added a domain vredit to renew it at no charge to you. If you have any questions Please feel free to give us a call.

—————————————————–
Original Subject: about renewing my “domain”
Sent: 2010-07-24 02:47:13.818501
>> Total Earnings to Date: $0.00
Just to help them out Ive changed the message on the “site” to-

Welcome to Lastcallblues.com for the worst bargain internet shopping sites online. Here you will find nothing but a giant con designed and ripped off for OHN. We are always looking for new suckers for the best way to fleece you of your hard earned dollars…
I hope they appreciate my advertising their wonderful company…LOL
Gotta get some value for the money I threw away on them and having a larf is about all you will get back from these…um….run outa words to call em…LOL
Have also replied-
You are currently on Standard Referral Program Payment Description: Up to $200.00 for every new customer. Commission Advanced: $100.00. AS the site has not made any profit, how would I go about getting this commission? Luis Lozano Jnr
I wonder if I’ll get it?

john gibson August 1, 2010 at 9:30 am

well boys and girls,meet the latest sucker to be fleeced by OHN.they got me for $2400au and believe me,i could just about commit murder on the person of JIM GARITY.he really got me in,probably because i have been on welfare for about 3 months and just jumped at the chance to make some extra money.so much for the phone numbers,1800637190 ext2260 and 1800856178 for customer service,all you get is leave a message and hope they will call back,which they do not.my so called money making venture lasted all of 11 days which equates to minus $218 a day.i wonder if there is a worse business idea out there on the net,i would love to hear about it.oh well,i suppose i just put it down to experience.

Graham August 2, 2010 at 1:37 pm

I have just try-ed to ring them and can not get through !!!!! anyone else got this problem? or have they moved.

Wary August 4, 2010 at 11:16 am

Hi guys,

I joined them too. It’s early days so I’ll reserve my judgement. I’ve made $6…a little carrot they give you. In any case there is remedy if you paid via credit card. Most credit cards refund your payment if you have suffered a fraud. Please avail yourselves of this if you feel that this has been a scam. I’m giving it a little while before I take this action. The only reason i went ahead with it is because I knew I had this up my sleeve.
Good Luck everyone.

Steffi August 10, 2010 at 3:37 am

Hi out there
I cannot believe I fell for this but they are good , very good at fleecing money. What concerns me is that on the site that i first had the misfortune to see concerning them the banner at the top mentioned very respective companies that had done (supposedly) articles on them in uk such as channel 4 and top rated papers plus some student who claimed to be earing £5 K a month!!. I was very suspicious when this VERY patronising American rang me but still I ended up parting with the money!. I now had in inconvenience of cancelling my card and the bank say that they’ll attempt to get it back . Some hope!?. They told me they would e-mail me within three hours to guide me through the process etc. No e-mail but I got another call from some other person in the US and I initially said “I’m waiting for an e-mail”. She said “we don’t email and then realised I’d spoken to someone else and said “oh, welcome aboard ” and was gone! Well sometimes you learn the hard way and its been quite a lesson. I shall see if the money arrives. What concerns me is that these people are well organised crime and are using well respected company names in there ads. Surely some organisation some where needs to investigate this. I agree with the others on this thread who suggest contacting various bodies in the US but someone needs to tell Channel 4 TV and the others mentioned. Surely the very way they have behaved thus far prove them to me a sophisticated bunch of fraudsters.

Tony August 10, 2010 at 11:30 am

Boy am I glad I found your site – I might just have responded to their email and got into the proverbial stuff. Your comments have possibly saved me money – thanks.

Oh, by the way I am in England so presumably they are targeting other countries as you feared.

Houki August 12, 2010 at 2:30 am

I signed up recently, regretting the following day, even though I hadn’t found this site yet.
I just started to google they after the set up fee, and received another phone call today telling me they could do all the advertising for me and what packages i can get etc.
So he just started introducing all these packages ranging from $300~600 and kept asking me whether i would do it or not.
I must say, thanks to my laziness i already lost my interest in like a week, so i didn’t fall for the advertising trap.
And then out of curiosity i googled, and here i am.
Great to see the so called “satisfied customers’ friends” here, still waiting to see a OHN site that actually works.
I guess i just spent money on crap. Now i just have to try to get my money back. Any suggestions? I paid via paypal.

Carina August 12, 2010 at 10:19 pm

Hi Houki,
If you act quickly, you should be able to contact Paypal and organise a freeze on the money or something like that. I have in fact got my money back on another occasion for something before, that’s why Paypal is so safe to use. They’re pretty good. Try going to your Paypal account and having a look inside for refunds, etc, you should be able to do something. Good luck!!!

Luis Lozano Jnr August 13, 2010 at 1:00 am

Their answer!
Customer Service to Luis Lozano on August 2, 2010, 11:45 am

That was the discount given to you when you initally set up the program. If you have any questions on this Please make sure to give us a call.
—————————————————–
They cant even be bothered to use a spellchecker!
Good luck trying to get any money back peeps!

Monica August 13, 2010 at 8:37 pm

I contacted OHN this morning requesting a refund. My site has been going for 90 days now, and you guessed it, I haven’t made a cent, apart from the $12 sweetener they offer you at the beginning (a one off shares payment). They advised me that I can only get the set up costs refunded. The other money I paid for advertising, training etc will be money down the drain. When I tried to check the alexa ranking of my website a message came up advising it wasn’t ranked. I have paid big money for search engine blasts, advertising etc. I wonder if any of this ever happened. I am glad to be getting out and will chalk this one up to experience. I have decided to go it alone.

Bryan (UK) August 15, 2010 at 10:54 am

OMG.. what can i say.. i’ve been commited to this OHN for a month now and I’m still hoping to earned some money from the site, and just now i came across this page and telling me its all a scam.. pity me:( i didn’t do research before committing to OHN.. I’m just a working student whose struggling to save my money to go to college because i don’t have anyone to rely on but just by myself, to mention my work I’m a CARER and i know you guys know my work nature… i have a doubt that its all a scam at the first, but i still wanted to believe that this could help me from my struggles to save money for my college.. Now i don’t know what to do, if i cannot refund my money in 90 days, what shall i do? i cannot even go to college next semester if i can’t refund my money:(

Luis Lozano Jnr August 15, 2010 at 1:43 pm

Well folks…looks like they’ve gotten tired of me…the site has disappeared and I cant log in anymore. Oh no , I was hopping to keep working with good old Jim’n'Co. LMAO. They were good entertainment value for a while and I guess Ive lost them more than the $180 I paid em for doing nothing! I know you’re reading this OHN people, and I’ll still be looking for you! Lets go hunting OHN….

Bryan (UK) August 16, 2010 at 7:42 am

look at this website ohnlive.com and aismain.com the same site what a jackass… i think i can find some more similar sites…

romina August 17, 2010 at 5:20 pm

thank you for all the information, as mentioned i got a call from a mike who gave me a lot of BS which i quite believed, i was convinced that i was on to a really good thing but wanted to run the idea through with my husband, he went on and read all the comments and was prepared to ask questions…lo and behold Mr david grey called and on my husbands asking about getting some policys in writing he retorted that we were not on the same page and that we should have a great day..and then wham end of story… this is definitely not a legitimate business proposal…PLEASE PLEASE BE WARE.

Houki August 18, 2010 at 9:32 pm

Hey Carina,
it’s too late, cause the e-cheque has already gone through. (i paid with my bank account so now i can’t even cancel it).
Guess what? Ever since I requested a refund, i never heard from them anymore. I’ll just sit back and wait for my 90 days and see i can reach them then.

Carina August 19, 2010 at 12:09 am

Hey Houki,
Sorry to hear that, doesn’t look good really does it. I suppose everyone would be better to report this to: http://www.scamwatch.gov.au and onsumerfraudreporting.org and see what they can do.
I’m one of the lucky ones and found this site before joining. Guess we really need to check everything first and the other safety precaution is, is by paying with Paypal, we then have more security. I got money back once for something else because I used Paypal. Always research the business first, even check the websites’ name to see if it is legitimate first, or even Goggle the company’s name first.

BIGMAMANNA August 20, 2010 at 10:55 pm

Hi all
I am from New Zealand and I have in the past came across with OHN spoke to a Peter back in Feb 2009. Decided not to sign up as I said to him it’s not the write time and did not wish to pursue it. Still had phone calls after that but I kept telling them when I am ready I will get hold of them.

To date I am receiving there (junk mail) through some of the trusted site I get my newsletters from now I have to mark them as spam. Today I rang and not knowing who they really were until I had listen to the audio and said I have came across with this in the past and I would have to talk to my partner first. Of course they give you the option for different packages: Basic – US$149, Standard US$288 and Elite US$477 but when I said I need to talk to my husband, he quickly added if you start with the Basic we will offer you US$50 off and you only pay US$90 which is around $138 NZ dollars. Skeptical, I search the internet and I read this thread and read most of what was written in here. I have written some question and you guessed it I didn’t get a straight answer and mostly was interrupted.
One highlighted question I asked was…..
Are there any other cost involved such as customising the website or product and advertising??? He didn’t know because your coach will go through that with you.
Ok…. there’s the glitch…. you have to buy into the system first to know whether you have to pay more or not cause you aint going to here from a coach until you are in…
I told him that if they don’t hear from me that means I am not interested
So A BIG THANKS FROM ME … TO YOU ALL AND EL PLUMBER FOR HAVING THIS POST UP CAUSE I HAVE PUT IT ON MY FACEBOOK TOO…..

James V August 21, 2010 at 7:55 am

Hi i signed up to OHN as well. Is this company a scam I received a call from guy named Randy Gohn. They got my number and details from a website form i filled out in regards to a internet money making opportunity for a business. Next thing i know i signed up paid $188 set up fee. I received a call later on from another guy named Carl Summers who is apparently a business development consultant with the company. He then told me to upgrade to the Elite program i f i wanted to make even more money, which i paid an additional $595. Overall I paid $783 total how can i get a full refund. I live in Australia and if this company is a scam it should not be in business at all. On the OHN website they said there’s a 90 day set up fee refund, though it doesn’t mention a full refund of all costs and do you have to wait 90 days.

El Plumber (admin) August 21, 2010 at 10:00 am

James, read all the comments here. People have reported that OHN will only refund your original setup fee, nothing else.

You can try to have your bank stop payment or if you were smart enough to use a credit card, report the transaction as fraudulent.

Janette August 25, 2010 at 2:39 am

I drafted a long reply but a lot has already been said. I am trying to be balanced here, because it is easy to label something a scam, but it is important to express sound reasons.

First – is a product or service being provided? That seems debatable.
Are claims and promises being upheld? Again, it seems either debatable, or simply not true.
Is the business being carried out ethically and professionally?
Well I have to say that my own experience was not that bad. The salesman was polite, friendly, informative. I warned him upfront that I probably was not looking for what his company provides, but he was not put off. He also was not overly pushy. Still moderately high pressure, though. Where I finally began to have concerns, was when I said, “I’m not sure a website is a good thing for me right now,” and he said, “Try it to find out, before you decide that.”
Well I had my reasons for not wanting a website and I didn’t feel he took them on board; he seemed more interested in making a sale and that is when the pressure ramped up. But he did stop pressuring when I said I needed to consider all he’d said and that I never make hasty decisions. That is to his credit, I feel. But overall – I personally had no problem ethically with what I experienced. However, I wasn’t comfortable and never make a business decision without doing my homework. That’s how I found this site.

Thank you so much, all of you who have posted. ALL of you, including the OHN people posting their own little bits. Most helpful although not perhaps in the way you intended.

Now, in my various working lifetimes, I have also studied statistics. In reading every post I very quickly recognised the name I was given for my salesman – he’s clearly been around for 18 months. So have others. So this is either a big company which uses the same few pseudonyms, or it is much smaller and these same names are not employees, but site owners. A small workforce handling all the queries that come in from around the world (or even just Australia, NZ and Canada) could not handle a workload that had my bloke, for example, talking to me on my mobile phone at peak rates for over half an hour. That is expensive, especially if the call came in from the US via an Aussie toll-free line. He could at best only make 16 such calls a day, 80 in s week. Not enough for the number of enquiries they must be getting. Who is footing the recruitment bill? They have to pay for it from somewhere.

Below is the list of names that people gave, for the name of their sales person. I have listed all names people gave and the frequency. Not every post gave a name. The initial number is the number of times that name appeared. Where there is no initial number, there was only one recurrence.

I counted 27 different names given, in total. It is possible that a couple of those were the same person, without surname given. However, where surnames have been given it’s easier.

Below are the names and frequency of the names given:

3 John Frett (Canada 2009) 1800 637 190 ext 2374 from Aust contact, Aug 2010

2 John

4 David Grey

2 Adrian [male] (Oct 2009, two different people) . Canada

1 Adrienne [female]

1 Dianna

3 Jim Garity (Canada, NZ 2009; Aug 10) 1800 637 190 & 1800 856 178

1 Jim (?)

5 Karl [Summers?] (Oct 09, April 10, July 10)

1 Ed (Nov 09)

1 Douglas (Nov 09)

2 Randy Gohn (nov 09, Aus)

1 Richard

2 Frank

That makes eight, possibly nine, names who appear more than once. One appears five times – he’s a busy boy! This is out of a total of 27 names given. The total number of mentions of names is 42.

Given this, I estimate there cannot be more than 60 salespeople worldwide over the past 18 months. Some of these people may have been transient employees which would reduce the company workforce size considerably. My estimate could be skewed of course, because possibly more complaints come from one country than another. Maybe us Aussies are a whinging lot. But if this company can follow through on the money promises they claim, to the extent that they offer advance royalties (as a reduction on what you pay them), then they must be making money in large lumps form somewhere. They also must be making a lot of money from somewhere, to afford the phone calls and call diversions that must be happening. It would not be an inexpensive business to run.

If this is a scam, you need to check the laws in your country or state, and determine if any laws have been broken. If you believe they have, you still may not be able to do anything because when a company is based NOT in your country or state, you may not have any recourse. Others posting here haver advised Aussies in trouble to go to ACCC or Dept of Fair Trading – well, I rang them. They can’t take any action although one commented that this company’s name is like a rash in the “don’t touch them with a 40 foot pole” category.

If you are not happy, be sure of your reasons. Keep good records (in business, you always should). That includes keep a sort of business diary – who did you speak to, when, what about. Back up any communications (especially those which constitute a business transaction or agreement) with a confirmatory email or snail mail by registered letter. If you want your money back and believe you are entitled,d then follow through on your formal request (again, keeping written proof) and if this means you have to get creative in tracking them down, take notes of all that, too. Notify relevant authorities when you DO find you have to get creative.

Always, basic business practice should apply:

Get receipts. Ask for receipts. You need them.

Never give your bank details to someone who you haven’t checked out. Never do business with someone who won’t let you check them out or who insists “do it now or lose the chance.”
If in doubt – don’t. Life is full of risks and you should take your chances with your eyes wide open, all options carefully considered. Never leap off a cliff while blindfolded. Better still, don’t leap off the cliff.
Contrary to popular opinion, you make money by hard work and considered, calculated choices.

And finally, the science fiction author Robert Heinlein put it as an acronym – TANSTAAFl. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Look for where the money gets made and don’t believe it comes out of thin air. Ever.

Janette August 25, 2010 at 2:56 am

Sorry, in my list of names I left out few:

1 Ruby Cunningham 08081017620 ext 2355

Anthony Keys 1800 637 190 ext 2234

John Morgan 1800 637 190 ext 2345

Michael Rothstein 1800 637 190 ext 2279

Mike

Robb 1800 637 190 ext 2262

Scott Phillips 1800 637 190 ext 2315

Zack Green

Dustin Prince

Peter

I also noted that the same toll-free number kept showing up. That seems to indicate that there is some continuity of business activity, t least for the last 12 months or so. But the extension numbers all begin with “22″ or “23″ which means there can be no more than a maximum of 200 staff, probably less because some of those numbers are probably linked to faxes and ancillary staff (such as the tea lady) as well as the trainers and the people developing the websites, plus the ones working on the advertising goodwill. No, there has to be a lot less than 200.

That’s worldwide.

Also, some of the names that came up multiple times, did so from different countries. This confirms for me, that they are handling it all via international hook-ups. Which makes it more expensive again, so it would only be done if the payoff to the company makes it worth their while.

A company has to cover its own costs, before it can pay its shareholders. So a company that says, “If you do X for me, I can give you $Y” has to work out how much it costs to make its money, before it can afford to pay out a cent.

The lack of receipts or anything in writing a a huge red flag, I feel. The biggest.

Trouble is, you can’t even dob them in to the Tax Office, because you have to earn something before they’re interested! And if the company itself isn’t making money in Australia for itself, ATO won’t want to know.

So never say yes to a deal which seems too good to be true, because chances are all you’re doing is helping someone else to make money out of you.

El Plumber (admin) August 25, 2010 at 9:31 am

Janette, good analysis! Note a couple of things:
1) International calls no longer cost lots of money. Internet calling has made it virtually free to talk for hours between countries.
2) I personally think of the OHN people as less “sales people” and more telemarketers. They make a commission if you buy in, probably thousands for getting someone to buy a big package. Sure, there are probably some of them who make more than others.

It’s very likely OHN is really just a large room in a cheap office building with a bunch of people sitting talking on phones trying to get you to pay thousands of dollars for websites and “email blasts” and “website hits” which you could do yourself for around $20.

Kim August 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm

I also wanted to add the name of the telemarketer I spoke with – her name was Autumn and although she had an American accent told me she was calling from Sydney.

Janette August 25, 2010 at 8:22 pm

Thanks, EPlumber. I was smacking my own forehead when I realised that of course they will be cutting their call costs by using skype or similar.

As for them being telemarketers – I was trying to express it in as balanced a way as possible, but you are correct.

I actually had to do some telemarketing in a previous job and was enlightened as well as horrified by the boss’s cynicism and harsh demands. We had to maintain a certain call rate, even though we got better success if we had longer calls (got to sweet talk the customers!). From memory, we had to have 10 calls an hour, and aim for about four subscriptions an hour. Commission was $10 a success. I was on staff, but all the other telemarketers were Irish backpackers working purely on commission. The calls were only within Australia but she hired Irish tourists preferentially, because the accent would get customers in. I had been promised commission, but never got paid for any of the subscriptions I got.

At that time it was easier for me to walk away; there wasn’t enough money involved to fight for, and it felt dirty to me anyway. I needed to dust myself off and feel CLEAN again…

As a result of this experience, I tend to be nice to telemarketers even as I say, “No, thank you.” Telemarketing is not a job that people tend to stay in – a documentary on Indian call centres showed how it is considered a lucrative job in India because it pays well, even doctors have dropped practising medicine to go work in a call centre. But they also tend to burn out in the job and there is a fairly high turnover.

But with my findings on the recurrence of names over a long period of time with OHN, is that if the same names keep cropping up, they may be more than ‘mere’ telemarketers. Instead, they could have bought in somehow to some level of ownership, some form of profit-share. This would tie staff to the company for longer (keeping skilled sales people, reducing training costs, saves reinventing the wheel) but also give a deeper level of commitment to the recruiter (is that a better term?).

The 8 minute audio begins with “This is not a pyramid scheme.” In my experience, when someone rushes in to assure you of this, it generally IS a pyramid scheme at some level. Now, for the customer buying in to have a website, they aren’t involved in anything remotely Egyptian and triangular, but maybe the staff are?

Of course, this is pure conjecture. But it is based on a combination of my own statistical observations as well as long experience of human nature and the telemarketing industry.

Pyramid schemes make a lot of money for those at the top. The higher you go, the fewer people to share your level of wealth. But down at the bottom of the pyramid, a lot of people slave away for little or no profit return. They can either cut their losses and walk away, or aspire to get higher up the pyramid.
Eventually the whole structure gets too big and unwieldy, and topples.

Always never forget Bernie Madoff and how he fooled all of the people for most of the time. He fooled some very intelligent people because he was able to make it sell.

Getting caught up by this does not mean you are stupid. Often you are not cynical enough, because you are too honest and therefore cannot believe in dishonesty or subterfuge in others. But remember the rules –
ask for paperwork. Ask for stuff in writing. That 8 minute audio should be available for people to download. And when you spend money, you should get a receipt.

Never spend money on a business decision, without checking it out first. If someone puts a short time limit on you, walk away. They have a good reason for not giving you time to think. If it’s a sound business decision for the next five minutes, it will remain a sound business decision for the next five days. And frankly, from OHN point of view (or any other business we are applying this rule to), it surely must be a waste of energy and money to have to set up accounts, and then cancel them when people change their minds and ask for their money back under the 90 day guarantee.

And to that 90 day guarantee – if the 90 days are not up and you have changed your mind, you are well within the guarantee period. You are entitled to change your mind. If you wait until after the 90 days, you risk them saying, “Sorry, the 90 day period is up. Live with it.”
DO NOT ACCEPT that you have to wait out the 90 days!

Also, a message to OHN staff – honouring the 90 day guarantee does NOT mean “only pay the customer if they complain long enough then threaten legal action.”

liz August 31, 2010 at 3:29 pm

HI, just now delving into this site looking for info on OHN as my sister said she’d spent money (on credit) hoping to get herself out of a financial pickle. Now I can see she has got even deeper in debt, as it looks like there would have been 1. very little, or zero return. 2. ditto for any refund. On top of that she now has a serious health problem and needs to travel interstate so needs every cent she can get. I can see by some of the mail that she, like others , probably has been scammed. Undoubtedly, she is very vulnerable at the moment, so I can’t really blame her for falling for it as she knows very little about computers, and was relying on some pretty intensive training to get it to work.I will be trying my best to get her that refund very soon – rather than later. WISH SHE HAD FOUND THIS INFO BEFORE SHE PARTED WITH THE $$$

rick September 1, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Discoverohn.com have been in touch with me only half an hour ago, and gave me the same hard sell that others have come across, a very polite man with the name of robert frost. he is expecting me to ring him back at around 10 to10/30 uk time, after all i have seen on this site i will not be be takeing them up on any offers. i have contact details for robert. if u would like to test his hard sell, i will give u my name so u can see first hand there abilaty to not let u get a word in. thay gather your email detales from the like of yeslones,one of the biggest internet and phone blaggers on the planet. keep your cards in your wallets.

rick September 1, 2010 at 5:26 pm

discoverohn.com aways answer this number 0116023432217 ,u should have your caller id turned off thay will have a swich bord black list if your number is on it u wont get through.

Frances September 17, 2010 at 4:42 pm

I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid and when I’d googled the number and discovered this site everything rang true and when I rang to cancel, John was busy on line signing up a new customer and customer services who he told me to speak to had to speak to his supervisor, etc etc. This type of scam should be illegal. Thank goodness I only took out the basic package – I wish there was a way of warning people before signing up not after. Frances

Ken September 18, 2010 at 7:32 pm

Hi to everyone on here ! Thank goodness i found this site , I have just come off the phone talking to a rep from[O.H.N.] ONLINE HOSTING NETWORK CORPORATION [ This is the latest version they call them selves] This bird calls herself Kyle Whifield ph # 0800451097 extension 2260 She was using a sale pitch, We make money When you make money, So they do there utmost to get you to make money so they make money, [Does this sound familiar] or is this a new angle and approach ? anyway i use a visa debit account which does not have any money in it , un till i can prove that whom i am dealing with is legit. So they did`nt get any money out of me , Thanks for your feedback on here it was a life saver .

Frances September 19, 2010 at 6:37 am

Hi Everyone, follow up to my earlier message, ‘John’ who signed me had his supervisor call to discuss my request to cancel, he said I had a 90 day cancellation agreement,but I told him wanted to cancel immediately, however, is was extremely difficult to communicate as he wouldnt let me speak, I told him I didn’t need another sales pitch, just cancel my payment. He said I had started a business and couldn’t cancel – I insisted so I am hoping that my credit card has been credited with the amount. Is there nothing that can be done about this dreadful scam. Bizarre they all have the same phone number and extension. Frances

Jogn Doy September 21, 2010 at 6:16 am

As a former employee of Online Hosting Network that recently declared “whistle blower status” I am so happy this website exists in order to warn people of this terrible money stealing organization. If you want to know any information about this company please check out this link http://starpas.azcc.gov/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/names-detail.p?name-id=15149937&type=CORPORATION which shows all the details and names of their corporate officers and how you can file a grievance with the state. This company terminated me because I knew too much about their inner workings and I have since advised several law enforcement agencies about their deep corruption. Do not purchase anything from Online Hosting Network. Due to my own safety I cannot publish or disclose my real name or information. They have their fingers in many pies and I value my anonymity.

Frances September 21, 2010 at 10:50 am

Hi, well done for doing what you’ve done but my concern is about being able to warn people ‘before’ they become involved rather than after they have committed. I am still waiting to find out if my credit card has been credited. I will do everything I can to file a grievance. Good luck.

Janette September 21, 2010 at 7:50 pm

Frances, sites like this one do their best to warn people, but you can’t blame Electron Plumber for not injecting this much-needed information directly into the brains of those likely to be contacted by OHN. Even if this were possible, I suspect it would have to be made illegal, or businesses like OHN would use this marketing method themselves, as the best form of advertising.

At some level there needs to be personal responsibility – never say yes to a business proposal until you have had the opportunity to check it out thoroughly. That has to be Golden Rule No 1.

Golden Rule No 2 – If the business opportunity is only available for a few minutes, then you should automatically say no. Someone doesn’t want you to have time to think about it, or check it out. This should tell you that the offer really will not stand up to scrutiny – a worry.

Never be afraid to say, “I need to think about this.” Or you can say, “There’s someone at the door; can I call you back? Or can you call me back?” If the offer is genuine, they will call you back. And in the meantime, THINK. Make yourself safe.

I am still seeing offers coming in via paid survey sites, for “Earn money working from home.” I don’t know if this is OHN or not – it makes sense that others would be learning fast how to make money this way, from desperately broke people. Sadly, the more desperate you are, the more vulnerable to exploitation you are. ALWAYS check it out. If they won’t give you the time to do so, MAKE the time to do so.

Regarding the paid survey sites – some are legit, some are thinly disguised routes of advertising, also trying to cash in on YOU when you choose to subscribe to something, or sign up for a new credit card. I only recently began this and found out the hard way, just how easily you can say “yes” to something without realising it. I have been taking detailed notes of everything I clicked on, but I still have had phone calls and emails from people thanking me for asking them to contact about aluminium cladding, or a free psychic reading, or buying wine in bulk, when I had (according to my notes and my memory) done nothing of the sort. At some point I have completed what I thought was a genuine survey, and my responses have been interpreted (I don’t know how!) as an expression of interest in these things. Again – I politely said no, they were mistaken. I have not been bothered again (besides, who wants aluminium siding on a caravan? And the annexe is not big enough for bulk wine storage).

Yes, it would be better to not get burned in the first place. But if you get burned, then it’s still not necessarily too late to fix it. The louder the noise that gets made, the more people will hear it.

Dee September 27, 2010 at 6:06 pm

I have been with On line Hosting Network since January and have only received $12 so I would advise to all do not invest in this company I did pay for 18 months training and no longer receive any calls from Bill who was supposed to be training me. I am now out of pocket over $5.000 so save your money
I have not heard from any one now for over 3 months.
My site is still up, Im now convince they send my web page out and people that reply I have had over 2000 hits and they say I have not had one sign up. I now beleive that they must keep the sign up money for themselves. I feel Im now over the Internet Marketing and feel riped off
I will now remove all my hard work of setting up this site so if it goes out that I may stop others from Joining up

Melanie September 29, 2010 at 9:21 am

Hi,
I am a Canadian and I to spend 600$ on OHN… its been 3 month and I am going to try and get reimburse the 477$…

because they said I can be reimburse… on there email…

”Actually the guarantee states that anytime After the 90 days if you hadnt earned any income you could call in and request a refund. Now we can get you submitted to the Ad Help Department- They do not do any sales but will be able to go over many things that you can do from home to promote your site. Please give us a call if you have any quesions or would like to be submitted to the Ad help Department. Thank you. ”

So wish me luck!!! I will get back and tell the result…

RICK September 29, 2010 at 1:17 pm

Melanie my dear canadian frend, please do try with all you have to get a refund, be ready for a big disapointment. u must have heard of bob hope. well he has more hope of of takeing a breath. than anyone geting anything like help or money back from OHN. THAY ARE BLAGGERS.

Monica September 29, 2010 at 11:56 pm

Hi Melanie

I too was one of those scammed by this company. My website made no money, so after 3 months I contacted them and asked for my money back. I did not get all of it back, as I had spent thousands. But I did get the initial set up costs (about $400) back. Of course they tried to talk me out of it. Be firm and insist they refund your money.

Good luck

Monica

Belinda October 1, 2010 at 7:31 am

I have been sucked in because it sounded like they were handing me my dream. I am waiting for a call back from them to get a refund of my money. It has been a real learning experience if anything. Now I am more wary of any sales people and honeslty the only way to get anywhere is to do it yourself.

Moha October 6, 2010 at 1:11 am

Maybe not a scam after all?

I see many people who actually got refund for their initial setup fees, as per the agreement on the credit card.

I have signed up with OHN, and I paid USD377 setup fees, and I have posted here before as being concerned that they’re scam.

After more than 90 days of my setup, and not making any dollar, I sent them an email via message center in OHN back office. And they called me after 3 business days, and asked me what sort of advertising efforts I have done, so I told them. Later on, the friendly lady (Jean I think?) told me that she’ll submit the refund request, and I should get the money back within 15 business days. She told me that this business happens to work for some people but not others (which was quite nice conversation I had with her, unlike the previous ones which tended to be aggressive at times!!).

I haven’t gotten the money back yet, because she only called me today, so if I don’t get it within a month I will let you know– otherwise it means I received it.

People probably complain about the training and promoting costs not being refunded, the guy told me before that this money is not refundable and that’s why I didn’t pay it.

I just thought I would share my experience, because I feel I was a bit unfair to OHN before.

Best Wishes.

Melanie October 6, 2010 at 12:25 pm

Hi…

I am awaiting my refund in 15 days… I received this email from Jade :

Melanie,I will be refunding the set-up fee as per out guarantee. My accounting dept generally handles refunds within 15 business days of receipt. Thank you for the reply and good luck on your future endeavors. If you have any further questions or need assistance
please call or email me.Warmest Regards,Jade

I will keep you inform…

Melanie October 6, 2010 at 12:26 pm

But for me I paid 477 US…

James October 6, 2010 at 11:46 pm

I wanted a refund of my set up fee and training. The guy i talked to told me a refund of the training and advertising costs are non refundable. I did not know this as it was not explained and the guy managed to talk me in to spending more money via upgrading . His name was Carl Summers. The guy who called me said the spending on advertising is always non refundable and i authorized it though Pay Pal. I’m not sure if I will continue to try and make some money with my site or cut my losses from this bad investment decision. They told me i should try and do advertising myself, has any one done any advertising themselves for their site.

Aussie Mum October 8, 2010 at 4:15 pm

Right, so after you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on advertising they tell you that YOU should try advertising yourself?

Luis Lozano Jnr October 8, 2010 at 9:52 pm

Finally got somewhere people out there, been meaning to get back here, but they finally gave me my money back. How I did it or why they gave in to me, I don’t know. All I do know is I kept on them online everywhere I could find them and gave em hell! Yes OHN I know you’re reading this and I fully encourage the good people out there to keep up the hunting and take your rippoff machine appart till its dead!

Aussie Mum October 9, 2010 at 1:53 am

Genuinely glad that people are getting refunds but would be better if people can post that they definitely have been refunded and what for exactly , rather than posting they are expecting a refund or have been promised one.
Also I would like to reply to a previous post where it said “maybe not a scam” in that you need to think that perhaps without the work here of this blog and the dozens of people that have come here to vent there anger and losses , then you would quite possibly not be getting a refund at all.
Let’s remember that up til now OHN had a very bad track record of giving refunds!!
Let’s also remember that perhaps they LOST a lot of business because of blog posts like this here and around the net about them and there scamming people. And maybe , just maybe they have thought if they refund some of those people that have already posted, then those people would go back and post something nice about them , giving the impression to NEW customers that OHN are not that bad after all…………….something to think about people but as I said if you got a refund great I am happy for you but post when you have actually got that refund and what it was for , lets stick to the facts for those thousands of other customers looking in on this post!
cheers

Luis Lozano Jnr October 10, 2010 at 1:37 am

Well said Aussie Mum! Sorry I cant explain how I got the refund other than …maybe they wanted me to leave them alone. As for them being a scam….they are nothing but thieves! This blog post is essential in the war against this kind of ripoffs and I have only but praise for it as I fully believe it was the number one factor. I only got the initial setup cost , I wouldn’t give them anymore after that and it did take a good 12 months of giving them as much hell as I could. I even advertised on the “website ” they set up what thieves they were. After a while they took it down , then a month later I got the money back into my account…maybe they thought I would stop. Not a chance OHN ….You still owe me for 12 months of wasted time! As for the rest of you who are owed money, keep at them and don’t give them anymore!

S October 12, 2010 at 8:59 pm

I wish I found this sooner :(

It’s unfortunate that I didn’t look this up while the OHN guy was badgering me into buying a package. I am college student. I just bought the basic package today ($149USD), mostly because the guy on the other line was kind of backing me up into a corner. I’m glad I have this incredibly accurate gut instinct. I instantly looked it up, found this site and called VISA. They said I can dispute it. I called OHN directly (using the 602 number) because the toll-free number was getting me nowhere (waiting for >15min). I got hold of someone nice (Jessica) and she said they would call me back for the refund. I didn’t think they would, but 2 minutes later, I get a call from their manager (Tim or Tom, I can’t recall). He tried to understand why I was leaving so early (just purchased it hours ago). I told him the basic truth: I’m a college student who needs to pay my tuition and so forth, and every penny is a penny a need. This VISA is my only hope of survival. After trying to wangle me with “let me wrap my head around this — you forgot to pay your tuition and purchased a business?” I politely responded with “I really can’t afford this; I have to pay in installments” and I suppose you would call him gracious for saying, “I’m really sorry you have to leave us so soon, but I’ll get your refund processed. School is important. You should have it back within the next couple of days, or next two weeks.” (Essentially, not verbatim.)

So… Now, I’m waiting. I really don’t trust them with my account information. I feel really stupid for going through with it, but glad I figured it out within the next hour or so. If I don’t get a refund within 15 days or so, I’m calling VISA to dispute the matter and then cancelling my card.

When/if I do get my refund, would it still be advisable to cancel my card or inform VISA instead (if they care)?

john gibson October 14, 2010 at 10:21 pm

I have posted this comment on 2 other sites as well and so will do it here in the hope of denying ohn another sucker to scam.
The first time I heard from ohn was around the 20th of july 2010 and I had the dubious pleasure of meeting Jim the supersalesman who initially scammed me for $1500au for a website that was going to make me so much money that I could work from home and make a living.
This was all good at the time and so a week later I got a call from another guy who managed to get another $1100au out of me for so called advertising.
Then the following week I got another call from someone else who said that if I paid another $1500au I could have the complete training package and when I said that there was no more money he hung up and I didn’t hear from them again until a couple of days after I had posted a blog on the Complaints Board and this time it was a call from a very appologetic woman who said that she was giving me free lessons with my own teacher to finish my website and was called the following week by Dennis who,after telling me all of his problems,gave me a total of about 5 minutes teaching and his second and final lesson a week later was about the same so big deal about his teaching abilities.
So far my total earnings from the website,http//:ausishop.net is a grand total of $6.29us for an outlay of $2600au,big bucks eh.
If anyone reads this blog and is serious about building a website then contact a host provider in your own country and sit down with them and you will find that the initial setup costs are nothing near what ohn says,the total cost is no more than $250 plus your own time but be careful because the biggest problem that I have had is advertising because Google,Amazon and Yahoo have some very strange rules that must be adhered to if you want to advertise an Affilliate Marketing Website and at the present time my website that has cost me dearly so far is not being advertised because of these rules.
I hope my comments help at least one person out there and just remember the old saying that applies to people like us that get scammed by ohn and others…..God loves stupid people,thats why he made so many of us.

Good Luck to All John

Jason Prince October 21, 2010 at 5:29 pm

Hey John Gibson, sorry to hear about you getting scammed, OHN is a bunch of jerks. I am building an affiliate marketing site and I was wondering what are these weird rules that Google and Yahoo have that you speak of? Do you just mean the rules about new content, no pornography, etc, ie the regular rules? Or do you know of other weird rules that are keeping your site off the search engines? Thanks, Jason Prince

James October 26, 2010 at 2:17 am

I’m not sure if I’m too continue to promote my site as this website has clearly stated that OHN is a scam. Can you get the refund before the 90 days are up. I tried getting a refund and cancelling twice but they keep telling me to try and advertise first, do you need to do that and show proof of it or will they just refund the set up fee costs to my Pay Pal. Every time i read this there’s another person saying they expecting refunds but only for set up costs.

Moha October 26, 2010 at 10:32 am

To follow up on my earlier post, I have received the refund on the 19th of October, and that is 13 days after the request. I’m very happy for receiving my initial setup cost of USD377, although the US dollar is cheap now in comparison to Aussie dollar, so I can say I lost around AUD38 due to currency fluctuation.
The refund was only show in my credit card statement today, which must be something related to the bank.
Another strange think is that the refund came from something called: myadminspace.com and not OHN website.
Anyway I’m so happy to get over with this business, and I do thank the guys at OHN, and I’ll just think of a different business that doesn’t involve affiliation and is more fun to do.

Melanie October 26, 2010 at 10:59 am

I received my reimbursment for my initial fee as requested… good luck to everybody… I lost 165$ US… but retreived 477$ US…

Pauline October 29, 2010 at 9:10 pm

Hello to all…I am in Australia and have been through all of these answers on here and agree with all of them…Call me stupid but I checked on line and as well as with ASIC before hand and couldnt find anything to say they are a scam so I committed to the whole deal ($7,000) and have built the site and followed all of their suggestions and had 3 training days….it has been a month since I signed up and I have rung them twice already to cancel and been talked out of it again. It is olnly the last 2 days I have found this site and today I called the commonwealth bank and reported this as a scam, the bank firstly said it would investigate but it would take 45 day or so as it is an overseas thing, they would investigate them by giving them 30 days to prove they have given me what I have paid for. In the time it took for her to go away, putting me on hold, to cancel my card , she came back and said the investigation was already approved and the money would be credited to my account by 3 days end. That includes any payments made to” myadminspace “as well as international fees. I asked why it was approved so quickly without investigation and she said it could be that they are already listed as a scam. I did not put in any calls to OHN at all asking for my money back. So I am writing this in the hope that it will help anyone else in AU…
DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM..
I will further go on to report them to ASIC and any other overseas authority that deals with this type of fraudulent business practice and there are many. It shouldn’t be long before they are OUT of business.

Titomike November 3, 2010 at 12:47 am

I am in NZ. I contacted OHN today; I was quoted $US288 for the basic set up & $US477 for the top one. The sales pitch was well delivered. I am glad I checked this site. The opinion that prices fit the place, are obvious when compared, & an axiom is created, namely;” the well heeled, do not seek work from home”, hence the logical target are those on the other end of the see-saw Also the operation has a very telemarket call centre operation ring to it

Lisa November 4, 2010 at 1:36 am

Hi,
Let you all know that OHN has refunded me the money without any dramas whatsoever. I had a written proof with an email that if i were not happy with any of the website or not making any money by the 90th day they will refund my $$ so i’m happy to say they did live up to their word. Sorry to hear about others that are having or may have problems but i can honestly say i am very please to see it being refunded back into my bank account. A big bonus in time for Christmas for me. Take care.

Lisa

Lisa November 4, 2010 at 1:59 am

As AussieMum has said is correct so i have decided to let you know that on 26/10/2010 i got refunded from MyADMINSPACE.com of $99 us dollars and from OHN.com $447.50 us dollars…i didn’t get the total full amount back because they made a extension of time because of the lack of training i didn’t get in the first 90 days from when i first got start back on 18/6/2010…so after much email back and forward with the manager i manage to get a written proof of gurrantee of returned $$ of the above only because of the extended time to work on the site with my personal trainer which would last anywhere between 15mins to half hour…truly not enough time to learn the ropes of it…after only earning on a lousy $6.29 i decided to pulled the plug on it and when that 90 day rock up on 8/10/2010 i sent the person who promise me the refund an email saying i want out and i want the promise money you said be refunded. I got a call from the manager and he understood and said he would send it over to the head department (adminstation) and that i will see the money refunded in 15 or so business days. So yes they do refunded…just wasn’t happy about them trying to weasl you out of getting your full money refunded but i have to be grateful at least i got a little over half the $1000 that i had first fork out for it.

James November 4, 2010 at 11:09 pm

Hi, i want to know how to get the refund of the set up fee , im realising now i just going to cut my losses from the money I’ve invested in the so called training and move on from this experience. On the terms and conditions it says you have to show printed proof of advertising is this true for anyone else who has asked for a refund after or before the 90 days are up. I don’t want to do any advertising if it’s is helping OHN continuing to scam people.

rick November 5, 2010 at 10:37 pm

I read with intrest all coments about OHN and i think that thay may know about this site. and may be trying to make all you poor people like me think that there may be hope of a refund, dont be a twat like me and a whole heep of other muppets. and this may sound like a smack head. but just say no. if thay had the answer to all our problems, there would be no need for any of this. wake up people and tell the bleeders to fuck off. befor thay bleed you. mesage to OHN. we know what you are. enough is enough. go back to your families and stop trying to rip off your people.

Houki November 7, 2010 at 11:34 pm

my 90 days is up and i sent them a message that i wanted a refund, still haven’t heard anything from them. Gonna continue sending and giving them calls. How funny is that? Before the 90 days, when you send them an email asking for a refund, they call you up immediately to try to talk you out of it. Now 90 days is up, you email them asking for a refund, you stop receiving calls from them.

Ange November 8, 2010 at 9:05 pm

Dear Pauline
Your post was like a guardian angel to me and I cannot THANK YOU enough! I’m from Australia and stupid me fell for this scam and I lost just over $1000.00. After trying to deal with these scum to try and get my money back I read thses comments in desperation and saw your comment THANK GOD. I’m also with the Comm Bank so I rung them and straightaway this lovely lady Melissa said they will refund me in three days just like you and I have cancelled my card. I was feeling so sick about this scam and CBA are fully aware of it and they are going after these scum. I urge everyone else not to bother contacting the scum that is OHN and call your bank! I cannot thank you enough Pauline!

Ange

Lisa November 10, 2010 at 4:05 am

Houki, go to your bank and get them to deal with them and get a new credit card while your at it. Good you went to CBA Ange and i’m glad that they are fully aware of them…it has to be stop in its track.

Lisa

Judy November 14, 2010 at 11:43 am

This company is MOST certainly a scam! I can tell you because I know people that work there… I can’t believe they are still in business! They are hard to keep up with because they keep changing their name every few years, pay their lawyers hundreds of thousands of dollars to find loopholes and have broken off other divisions to help the 25 year old floor managers make their own companies… I believe on is called Online Marketing Solutions or something like that. I know it’s located in Cave Creek, Arizona…

Soooo, you will not make any money with this company. It’s a scam.

On top of it, these people are uneducated, a lot of them were on drugs, drinking during the day and well, are just plain bad people who don’t care about taking money from cancer patients, single parents or people with lost jobs. In fact, those are the people who light up these workers faces…. because they know they will get an “easy sale.”

If you have ever tried a business before and failed, WALK AWAY! You are who they are marketing to! They want somebody that feels bad about past attempts but feels THIS could be the one! Don’t be so stupid!

Here is an easy analogy… People who want to lose weight who buy every 100 dollar workout system, buy all the books, watch Biggest Loser but don’t exercise, have fancy gym shoes, an expensive bike and all the other weights/resistance bands DON’T LOSE WEIGHT WITH HAVING THESE THINGS! One needs determination, strength and smarts to lose weight. They need to get back to basics and move more and eat less.

For all you people NOT from AZ, here are some facts…

AZ is one of the dumbest states education wise. They are ranked 48 out of 50 states…
They have the highest STD rate for children 13 years old.
Have more hate groups in one state than any other state.
HOME OF ASSHOLE JOHN MCCAIN- that lying cheating piece…
They only made Martin Luther King day a holiday 5 years ago- way behind the times…
THEY LOVE THEIR MONEY!
HOME OF THE SCAMS! There are more fake businesses here than in any other state.
In fact, I believe they encourage it.

DON’T DO ANYTHING WITH THIS COMPANY!

Don’t you think it’s funny they are now across the seas selling this stuff? It’s because Americans, some of them, have caught on! Don’t do it! Don’t do it!

IF you have any questions look up 24HourCashFlow, MoneyMarketingSystems, WorldMarketing something or other… Trust me, it’s a scam…

Get a normal job, pay attention to your kids and the family you have. We are all lucky to have what we have. We cannot bring our money with us when we die. Get over it, open your eyes and realize you have more than the majority of people in the world!

Judy November 14, 2010 at 11:59 am

Oh and packages… Here are the details I think:

Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond
149 can be dropped to 99
299-399 can be dropped to 199 or so
499 can be dropped to 399 or something

THEY ARE ALL CRAP!

Once you get those you will be told about search engines. This means nothing!
The most you can buy at this time is 1400 I believe for legal reasons. Just so you know, the person selling this gets a lot of money from this, A LOT!

After that you are supposed to get a “coach.” This is just more advertising that doesn’t work, even if it sounds like it would. they are banking on the fact you don’t know how the internet works. Don’t fall for it…

You will have a coach offering “hits” or “traffic” for around 4000, 3000, 2000, 1000 and really they have more power over their numbers… So they could even sell you 100 dollars worth of “email blasts.” Something totally pointless… Or even 50 dollars of something if they are desperate.

After that you think you are done. You could have spend 1400 on the front end, 3900 on the back end… AND THEN you are going to get another call from a “reloader” who knows what they call themselves and they will ask you for around the same amount of money as your coach saying it’s a good deal, something special “just for you.” LOL HA!

So now you can spend another 3900! LOL Oh please don’t do it!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sorry people are out there stealing your money…
But it’s your own fault if you are trusting in somebody YOU don’t know.

Internet businesses are not what they used to be. They are not legit. Don;t you remember the .com crash of the early 2000s?

You have a better chance of making money blogging and that is even way past due timewise. The internet moves fast, and I promise you, AFFILIATES are a joke! They are free to set up. In fact, the only thing that really costs money is a domain name, which I think they say you pay for… do your homework people…

In fact, most people only made 20-50 dollars… to keep your hopes up and not cancel within 90 days. They will give you your money back. But you gotta threaten them, call them every day. Call every number and yell. The coach, the re-loader, the person who sold you the package. They have ALL their calls recorded since they are so shady and I know they are listened too. Call customer service and just swear up a storm. Read this email verbatim to them and say you want your money back. No demand it back.

If your yelling tapes that are TRUTHFUL about their scam of a company leak out the public (call Channel 5 news invesitigators in AZ) they are done. And probably will be sued for the past 10 years of this crap. Keep fighting, and get your money back.

More importantly, get the first and last name of EVERY PERSON you talk to. They are all independent contractors and if anything, you can sue them DIRECTLY. That will scare them and I know you can…

OH PLEASE- GET YOUR MONEY BACK! Fight for freedom and stay away from these evil money sucking babies… They will get what is coming to them someday, honestly. They will. In the meantime, ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS. If you answer yes, then I guess you really are too dumb to care, have self esteem issues, want to fail or need therapy. Spend the money on therapy, get better and then go and be somebody great as God intended….

Can i make money from doing nothing?
Can I make out with a movie star simply by wishing?
Can I make my waist smaller by using bubble wrap?
Will drugs like Meth make my skin look better?
Do anorexics have life figured out?
Does eating McDonald’s every day help me lose weight?
Does running away from a problem make me a winner?
CAN I MAKE MONEY FROM PEOPLE I DON’T KNOW?
DOES GIVING OUT MY CC INFO MAKE ME A BUSINESS OWNER?
DO THESE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT ME?
DO I UNDERSTAND HOW EXACTLY I MAKE MONEY WITH THIS SYSTEM?

Good luck. Get your money back. GET YOUR MONEY BACK YOU DESERVE THAT MUCH!

Judy November 14, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Oh and once you get their names, I urge you to go to Facebook and look these kids up…

They are money grubbing, going on vacation ALL the time, young hard right republican kids… It’s sad really, but I mean, you will see the mass majority of them have never even set foot in a college. They will tell you they did. But these people are liars.

LIARS!

mumto3 November 16, 2010 at 10:41 pm

Hi there, I am a single mother to three from Australia and working hard to get back at these scammers called online hosting network , please send your complaint to
http://WWW.ARIZONABBB.ORG. the more complaints about ONLINE HOSTING NETWORK in PHOENIX the more chance we get our money back. PLEASE it only takes a few minutes . As Arizona BBB will not do anything if they do not get more complaints.

thanks

Lisa November 17, 2010 at 9:47 pm

Hey, i am no longer part of the OHN and i did get 3/4 of my money refunded BUT i have just found out that my web site is still up and running and i can still get into my home back office…so i want to know what is going on? are they still running and making money of it in a different way and redirecting it into their pockets instead of mine so by law it is my name site as i owned it because i did paid for it with the cost of $10 australia dollars. Also wondering has anyone else who has been lucky enough to get their money refunded notice this also with theirs???….go type in your website name in the address bar and see if it comes up and also if you are still able to get into your home back office. I’m just curious as i have the money returned and shouldn’t it be shut down or at least have no access to your home back office…i check it out and i haven’t made any money on it as it still stands at a lousy $6.90 LOL i’m getting it framed as i never got it cash in…it will be a constant reminder for me of all the scammers that we seem to be coming across. If it’s too good to be true then it’s not!!!

Monica November 18, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Hi Lisa

Yes I found the same thing. I was refunded my set up costs but my site is still up and running and I can still access the back office. What I have noticed, however, is an increase in junk email. I assume they are selling our details to third parties. But I don’t know why our sites would still be there as they make zero dollars. Perhaps someone else knows the answer. It worries me that they have have all my personal details.

Monica

Zheng November 18, 2010 at 9:37 pm

A scam and rip-off, they also own all these websites:

1. 300dollarsagain.com
2. Aismain.com
3. Associateinternetsolutions.com
4. Auhomebizmatch.com
5. Auhomebizsearch.com
6. Bethnet.com
7. Canadianincomeconnection.com
8. Canadiansworkathome.com
9. Cashwayz1australia.com
10. Csgcenter.com
11. Dedicatedhostingnetwork.com
12. Discoverohn.com
13. Eliteworldsystems.com
14. Foxbusinesssolution.com
15. Greenfriendstoday.com
16. Homebizwayz.com
17. Homecashmaster.com
18. Homecashpower.com
19. Homecashpoweraustralia.com
20. Homecashpowercanada.com
21. Homecashpowernz.com
22. Homecashpoweruk.com
23. Homecashpowerza.com
24. Homeincomeagency.com
25. Homeincomelocator.com
26. Hssadmin.com
27. Hsshosting.com
28. Hsshosting.net
29. Hssihome.com
30. Hssihosting.com
31. Hssihosting.net
32. Instantglobalnews.com
33. Instantincomenews.com
34. Instantincomenews9.com
35. Internetsolutionsource.com
36. Ishosting.biz
37. Isshostsource.com
38. Issibackoffice.com
39. Isswebhost.com
40. Llewbot.info
41. Lstpics.com
42. Makingmoneywizard.com
43. Moneywaysonline.com
44. Monthlywebfee.com
45. Myplaceforhosting.com
46. Net-consulting-company.com
47. Netconsultco.com
48. Netconsultingcompany.com
49. Nethostassn.com
50. Newzealandworkathome.com
51. Ohnlive.com
52. Onlineaffiliatecenter.com
53. Onlinegoldminekit.com
54. Onlinehostingnetwork.com
55. Powerhomeincome.com
56. Powerhomeincomeaustralia.com
57. Powerhomeincomecanada.com
58. Powerhomeincomenz.com
59. Powerhomeincomeuk.com
60. Powerhomeincomeza.com
61. Serioushomebasedbusiness.net
62. Superrxmall.com
63. Thefreebucket.com
64. Universalwebconsulting.com
65. Uwccorp.com
66. Uwcmain.com
67. Uwctools.com
68. Wayztocash.com
69. Wealthwayz1.com
70. Wealthwayz1aunz.com
71. Wealthwayz1can.com
72. Wealthwayz1de.com
73. Wealthwayz1fr.com
74. Wealthwayz1ie.com
75. Wealthwayz1uk.com
76. Wealthwayz1za.com
77. Webhostfee.com
78. Workathomeau.com
79. Workathomeie.com
80. Workathomeunitedkingdom.com

An address I have for them is :

World Market Systems
3039 w peoria ave c102-167
Phoenix, Arizona 85029
United States
888 231 8526
and

Jonathan Andersen,
Traffic Designs, Inc
PMB 831
Phoenix, Arizona 85085
United States
888 230 7557

and
Justin Murray
515 E. Carefree Highway #223
Phoenix, Arizona 85085
United States
(623) 261-1093
mjpm713@aol.com

All these are taken from domains thye own using domain history to reveal ownership prior to use of domain privacy but within current registration period.

Their webhost is:
ATJEU PUBLISHING LLC
1515 West Deer Valley Bldg C-103
Phoenix, AZ 85027
800-996-4960

Lisa November 19, 2010 at 6:55 pm

Thanks Monica for your reply and input…i will be writing to Gary today and try and get answer about that as i too am extremely concern about our privacy of our information that is on there…although my credit details have change but it’s the other stuff that i am concern with…once again thanks, i will keep you posted to how i go.

Zheng, thanks for your information too, very handy to know and to keep an eye out, gee they are so sneaky aren’t they…….

Lisa

James November 20, 2010 at 2:31 am

ATTENTION: Beware did anyone else sign up from a paid/ free survey site, OHN advertise there as well. False promises it makes on the Survey sites landing pages are:

People all over New Zealand and Australia are making month after month. This system is so simple that anyone with a computer can make money FAST! If you qualify, you will be paid just for helping promote companies like Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and more.
If you then fill in your details on the form on the right you then will get a call from a representative from the heartless scammers The Online Hosting Network.

It says on the survey sites that is it is a valid home business.

geoffrey fisher November 21, 2010 at 5:30 am

Hi well another near miss thanks to your website i have been contacted by a John Palka who tried to enrole me into this company for 100 dollars or £63 i told him i did not have the funds to go ahead and would think it over since then i have received an email offering me an advance on my sales for the full amount of setting up the site. You can understand my disbelief and started searchig for this site when i came across yours amongst others having read the emails fron numerous people i will not be contacting this company and will be delleting them from my email address.

Zheng November 25, 2010 at 7:50 pm

They even use a fake news site to promote their scam (this is not an affiliate site OHN own it)
instantincomenews9.com/

Other sites they own are listed here:
http://domainsbyip.com/69.50.212.8/

If you have been a victim of this company then I recommend filing a complaint with the FTC: https://ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

@James If you search for a sentence or two from that survey site scam you will find that they are all over the place:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=This+system+is+so+simple+that+anyone+with+a+computer+can+make+money+FAST!+If+you+qualify,+you+will+be+paid+just+for+helping+promote+companies+like+Amazon.com,+Yahoo.com+and+more.

Steve November 28, 2010 at 8:51 pm

I may have been born at night, but I wasn’t born last night! My wife got a call from a guy calling himself James Furman from OHN. Smartly, she told him to talk to her husband when he got home. He did. Needless to say, it was the same pitch I’ve seen on your sight here, and I knew the bells were ringing in my head, from this guy being evasive about answering questions, to trying the hard sell. My due diligence has paid off in discovering this site. Thank you folks for being at least this honest about this bait and switch con-game. One more thing…Never, Ever give your personal financial information to a stranger, or over the phone, or net. Need more be said? Merry Christmas Everyone!!

James November 30, 2010 at 7:05 am

Hi Everybody.

I got a call from a guy today who name is Hugo, who told me he was going to refund my set up costs. I’m not believing anything this guy says until i see some money back into my Pay pal account.The reason why i think he called was because i filed a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about Online Hosting Network. I advised everyone who got scammed to file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Anyways how long did it take for anyone to get a refund in to their pay pal account?

Victor Humphries December 1, 2010 at 7:48 pm

I Fell for the con and lost $188, I should have looked at this page first, a very nice lady Renee
advised me that to get thing moving I must advertise ,which they could organise ,and after the explanation that us$2500 would get the website paying. I expalined that i was a WW2 veteran on a pension, she said how about a us$400 advertising campaign, which has worked for 119000 OHN clients, I cant afford $400, But I do have a way to make them feel sorry for scamming decent people.

Bill Ishman December 6, 2010 at 10:39 pm

Its amazing how foolish people are to fall for a scam such as OHN.

Houki December 8, 2010 at 3:49 am

hey guys.
Guess what? I got my refund for my set up fee. I don’t know why they just decided to send me my refund all of a sudden. All i did was sent 2 emails demanding a refund and used the site they gave me to promote how “OHN” scammed me.

I’m so glad i did not pay anything besides the setup fee and didn’t give them my credit card details .Guess i learnt my lesson, now i will more careful.

James December 8, 2010 at 5:59 pm

Houki how long did it take for you to receive the refund, they told me it would take 15 days to process. Did they send the money back to your pay pal account. I’m still waiting for my refund, hopefully i get it soon, i let you all know.

Houki December 10, 2010 at 12:15 pm

James,
my first email was sent out on the 2nd or 3rd of November. So it took about one month before i received my refund. I closed my paypal account after this scam (but i have other accounts). They sent the money though paypal notifying me via an email that someone sent me money, and i had to claim the money through my other paypal account.

Hope you get your refund soon

James December 15, 2010 at 6:52 pm

Hey everybody i just want to say i finally received my REFUND of $369AUD after emailing them about it a few times. Maybe the reason they refunded my money was because i filed a complaint about OHN to the Better Business Bureau in Arizona. It took around 15 days or so like they said to receive it to my pay pal account. However i only received under half my money back. The full amount of the set up fee, less than half of the training/ advertising money package, they told me was non refundable. I’m just glad they sent back some money. My advice to everybody to get a refund is file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau on their website.

louis December 15, 2010 at 9:01 pm

They took 130 e from me.Gave me great promises that i would make money.I have had over 120 hits on the web and not a cent.They are thieves.its been 7 weeks now.

roy December 20, 2010 at 8:16 pm

thanks so much guys for the info they tried calling me and gave a pretty good pitch it was like 190 for the basic 280 for the standed and 500 for the elite hes name was everitt squirne and his number was 1800 637 190 ext 2237 and he was baced in phoxnix arizona they are also called my place hosting but if you look on the last page it says in small writting ohn im so glad i didnt join but i did find one that wasnt a scam and seems not to bad they are called obc pro they are in australia usa new zealend and othere countreys but they have a ton of succses stories and no bad reviews iv looked everywhere tring to find one but i cant find one
if anyone heard anything bad about them please post a comment and tell me where so i can look it up :)

Janette December 20, 2010 at 11:37 pm

Roy, is nothing you’ve read here screaming loudly to you? I’m smacking my forehead again…

OK, none of what has been written above is about your new interest – OBC Pro. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… it doesn’t matter if it’s a different breed of duck with a different owner, it is still a duck. As Chico Marx said, “Why a duck?”

I will repeat the Golden Rules:

First Golden Rule – if it looks too good to be true, it probably is a rip-off. You will get burned.

Second Golden Rule – if you are pressured to sign now or lose your chance, walk away. Anyone putting a time limit on the offer does not want to give you time to think, or check things out.

All sound business decisions are made after careful consideration. Nobody gives money away for nothing – if it’s such a brilliant business venture, what is this person doing spending time on the phone trying to talk me into signing up? He should be holidaying in the Bahamas… but no, he’s talking to me on the phone. Why is this?

And where does the money come from? The company has to have associated costs to pay for and the money has to come from somewhere. They will always pay their own people first, before any profit-share gets paid out.

Roy, you asked for reviews on a different system which may or may not be a similar problem. I looked them up. I admit I didn’t look far, I have better things to do with my time. But I felt a need to reply to you, since my previous words apparently did not sink into your brain.

So here are my findings, based mostly on my examination of the following website:http://laziest.wahlees.ever.com/

OK, there are big clues here. This may be an honest concept, but it does not appear to me to be very well-developed and professional business. My reasons are very superficial but I speak form past business experience.
First – there are a lot of typos, especially grammatical ones. All the punctuation (comma; period) replaces a space. This indicates to me that the business is amateurish, not professionally scrutinised, and lack of careful development here often reflects lack of professional development elsewhere.

Second – the wording is waffly and non-specific. I’ve come across this before and have learned to run a mile when I see it – someone trying to sound good uses a lot of jargon, but actually doesn’t say anything of substance. If you try to break it down to information, there really isn’t much at all.

Third – the article mentioned 4Life – I have researched that one in detail and can tell you, THAT is a scam. It is at worst expensively useless; at best potentially life-threatening. I know someone who has a milk allergy but who was told to take 4Life in order to treat the allergy. But 4Life is based on cows’ milk! Very expensively-packaged powdered milk…
So by association, I would not touch any business connected to 4Life. I don’t know why TGA haven’t thrown it out of the country.

Fourth – the article refers to the basic level of ‘membership’ as free, but the ‘Pro’ level as costing money. This is sounding more and more like OHN, or something made in its image.

Roy, the company you are curious about may be OK. But as I said, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… but hey, it’s your choice. If you have read everything here about the warning signs, then you have heard of something else that you desperately want to try (because it looks like easy, free money) and you still want to go ahead – you go ahead and make your decision. Companies like this really love people like you.

Chris December 29, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Hi folks – I am the latest victim of this scam (just before xmas to try and make a few bucks to cover my expenditure – not a get rich scheme, just an income trickle – stupid me!!) and have reported the ‘business’ to BBB in Phoenix, the FTB in the US, ACCC here in Australia and also to KPHO CBS 5 News Channel in Phoenix. My biggest gripe is that these people know the web-page builder they provide is free (no cost) from http://www.freecsstemplates.org and due to the poor structure of the code within the document, will never raise any interest from any web crawler. So given the poor response from any visitors to your ‘web site’ – the cs team step in and offer amazing training & advertising packages, again knowing that the money you outlay is going into their coffers and not providing you with much help at all (All this money could have been directed at a professional Web Site builder and get more bang for your buck) The email blasts only work if the recipients have signed up to accept this type of thing and more often than not they are a just SPAM – illegal!!! These unethical and low morality people have another 83 domains (web sites) on their servers, all conducting the same type of unethical business and using the same web page templates (I have taken the time to visit each and every one of these web pages and dig deeper) Go to this web site – http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/web-sites-on-web-server/# and type the following IP address into the ‘Remote Address’ box (69.50.212.8) and then have a look at the familiar pages – all 84 of them – which one did you sign up from? From my other ‘digging’ about I discovered about 1500 domains (the same free web site templates) located on the one server that have been created and probably getting visits but no affiliate sales. Multiply the 1500+ by the 83 other businesses and guess the dollar amount generated by these bozo’s. On another note, the cookies from some affiliate businesses only last for 24 hours, so your visitor has only that time to make a purchase (and for you to receive your 4% to 10% commission) before it expires – then you have to wait for the next visitor to your web page(s). From information gathered from the I/net, most web crawlers (used to find/index your web page) gloss over pages filled with banners/ads, exactly like ‘our’ web sites. I entered their address into Google Maps and came up with a shopping complex and their business name does not appear on the complex business directory – probably a USPS Postal box in one of the shops. Their business registration also lists this address, they hide their servers/domains behind a Proxy service called GODADDY.COM along with other mysterious domains (including XXX content sites).
If anyone has bothered to ring their customer service phone line you will notice it is not answered with the ‘business name’ – just “welcome to the customer service centre” or words to that effect – probably not cost effective for them to have a phone line for the other 83 business names they have registered (or not).
I have asked/demanded a full set-up fee refund – $288USD (I did not spend any more and refused outright to spend any more money on a scam) I paid with PayPal (and requested same through PayPal). I have received confirmation from the FTC that my complaint has been registered and entered into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide and the BBB has informed me that they have issued correspondence to OHN for a ‘Please Explain/ Issue Refund Notice.
Now I can only hope that this business is either shut down (and pops up again under a different guise *cynical* or is made to be up front – that’s transparent with projections, fees, realistic sales performances etc. (And I don’t fall for this type of thing again)
Happy New Year to All :)
Chris

rick December 30, 2010 at 7:35 am

Nice chris, a lot of info there for people, sorry to hear that you fell for there blag aswell, look forward and good luck.

Tom December 30, 2010 at 10:43 am

I too was contacted over Christmas. I made the inquiry from my home in Canada after connecting to the link at a seniors site I was checking on, the original link through Facebook. Withing minutes I received an email message to call a certain number to listen to the 8 minute tape. I did not call. With 2 hours I received a phone call to answer any questions (these guys don’t let grass grow) and when I told the fellow I could not talk now he became rude and insistent. I told him I was busy and couldn’t talk but wanted to learn more. He changed back to pleasant saying he understood and asked me to call back when I had time to talk.
Yesterday I called the number to check this out. I got David. As usual he was all excited and immediately started the sales pitch. He got the 8 minute demo up and then came back to me with the “so now you are ready to make money from home?” (remember Amway?).
I made it clear that I was checking this out and would talk to my wife first. He resisted this suggestion and started the pressure speech. When I wouldn’t buy immediately he wanted to make a call back tomorrow (today). I told him I was going away for New Years and that’s when he started the insulting speech, “why would you pass up 50 people making money for you while you are away?” He knew from his training that a fish does not go after the line twice once off the hook.
I made it clear to David that after a 31 year career in policing I check things out. After a couple more minutes of trying to end the call politely I finally said “I have to go”. With a huff in his voice I got the “well do your due diligence” and he disconnected.
High pressure sales over the phone always always always means SCAM. When they can’t take hesitation you know that a fraud is underway. Thanks for this site confirming my suspicions.

Judith January 6, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Hi,

I am very grateful for this thread. Just spent half hour of my existence with a woman talking me through this. My gut said “con” so thought I would check it out. I am in the UK. The link I clicked was an ad on the top of a New York Times webpage which looked like an innocent quiz into test your intelligence or something and had a fun look about it. It must be some sort of rubbish “agency” because I have since had about ten stupid business ops in my mailbox, gambling sites etc…

... January 9, 2011 at 11:17 am

I’m from Australia and just spent more than my savings for OHN. After reading this website, I wish I could get the money back. I signed up just a few weeks ago.

Ed January 9, 2011 at 11:43 pm

Hi think I have hit the same con as other’s above.But there’s an add-on or two not mentioned.Oh by ther way I am UK based.
Having signed up with OHN reasonable fee for site set up.Then come the aggressive marketing deals xxxxxxxxxxxx number of dedicated email blast,website training and so on.
Next comes the reconmended USA based company for legalizing your business,these guy’s dont hit you gently like OHN there in your face 3k set up plan EIN,LLC and before you even recieve the articles marketing is on to you for another 7.5k.
Personally thinking I might check with FTC and IPCEN if any chance of getting some money returned but not holding out much hope having found this page.
Plumber if want more details names and company’s I have a bad habit of taking notes during unexpected phone calls.
Regards
Ed.

Barbara January 14, 2011 at 5:19 pm

Well! To think that I just fell for it. We are not used to deceit here so are easy meat. Called back to cancel and asked for money back as per promise, and was told that a business manager would contact me within 24-8 hrs. Called them again to ask to speak to a business manager and was told that the note was on my record that I would be called back ……. I suppose I shouldn’t hold my breath for the refund.

Keitha January 14, 2011 at 10:43 pm

Wish I’d researched more quickly while the salesman was on the line – I could have avoided losing $99. However at least I have had a chance now to realsie it’s a scam and stop any further costs. I have emailed customer support to remove me from their email list and phone list. I am hoping to get my set up refunded but if I don’t, well I guess it’s my own fault. I too wascontacted by them through a click on another site about online surveys. I had been super careful up till now about anything online – should have kept on that track. Thanks El Plumber for all this info. I am interested in online business, web site set up etc and I will follow your blog and your advice from now on so that anything I do go into will be worthwhile and all my own work.

michelle January 15, 2011 at 10:05 am

i fell for the scam too. Was so excited about it too. the company i had was my place for hosting then some how came across my admin space then also now the online hosting network that are all the same company. feel sick! will be trying to get my money back, will let you know.

James January 15, 2011 at 9:48 pm

Hey Michelle and everyone,

Like you and alot of people here i fell for this scam.

Getting back money from these people seems to be hard but you have to be persistent as they will try everything to keep you like saying they will help with traffic and other stuff. They will also ask you if you have done advertising yourself as that is a requirement to get a refund of set up costs but don’t worry too much of that. I made a complaint to the better business bureau on their website in Phoenix Arizona, so i anyone you to do that. I did eventually get the refund back in to my paypal but not the full amount money as i paid for the training as well. Cut your losses from money you have spent for this scam before you are in to deep. After you have filed a complaint on the better business bureau website you will get a call from a representative from OHN which is intimidating as they will try to make you stay like they didn’t do anything wrong. Like a lot of times in my life saying yes to opportunities before doing my due diligence has costs me time and money. Having the power to say no is more powerful but at times can be hard. I guess that is a lesson about money, time spent and lost and of life.

Ed January 16, 2011 at 7:49 am

A big thanks to James,for the info about Arizon Better Business Bureau. I found it and checked there rating for the company F (there lowest rating) also a compliants history.Seems there would have been many more if we above had known about this state bureau previously.

Michelle January 16, 2011 at 9:23 am

I rang my bank today comm bank and they are refunding money within 3 business days. Thankgod! So anyone having trouble getting money out of them also try your bank too if you didn’t use paypal. Also left a few lets just say unhappy messages on so called tom’s answering machine! And rang customer service and when she asked me why I wanted a refund and I told her she couldn’t even say anything but I will get a manager to call you.boy! Did she cop a mouthful from me.anyway went into my back office and deleted or hid all the contents, banners and links so there is none of their crap on there.so has anyone come across the my place for hosting? Is it one of their new names, how many do they have? In the meantime I am learning a lot of stuff. I just don’t know how these people sleep at night!

Michelle January 16, 2011 at 9:33 am

Just realized zheng you have a huge list there of all their company names. Omg!

El Plumber (admin) January 16, 2011 at 11:58 am

Ed, note that the Better Business Bureau is a company, not a governmental agency. They are powerless to do anything but give ratings that help consumers decide who to do business with. Most people don’t even do a quick Google search for information before handing over their bank info, let alone hunt down the local BBB office for a company.

James January 16, 2011 at 6:33 pm

Hi Ed,

You and everyone here are welcome about the information about the Arizona Better Business Bureau. I agree there would have been many more complaints if people here knew about this company.

Keitha January 16, 2011 at 8:59 pm

My bank is going to dispute the charge as I called them only an hour after the payment went. I have cancelled the account, cancelled everything that they have on me. I keep unsubscribing toevery email I get from online “clicks” for free stuff so with a bit of luck I will free of it all soon.
It should be illegal.

... January 16, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Hi Michelle! Good on you! I also rang commwealth bank last week and was told they can’t do anything about it as I have authorized the company to get my money. So I went to my local branch to speak to a staff in person and was told they would investigate the matter which will take up to 45 days.

Brit Chick January 17, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Evening all, I was nearly a potential victim! Thank God I listened to my inner radar that was screaming “No, run run!” Told the “lovely” lady I would get back to her! Needless to say I know she will call me back. It’s times like this when I just love that function on my phone called “reject list”! ;-) )

Keitha January 17, 2011 at 7:54 pm

Has anyone else been phoned by the management of OHN ? I ws called today to ask why I had pulled out and why I had posted on Electron Plumber !!!! I believe I was polite, but that I did not wish to eceive any urther communication other than a refund.

michelle January 17, 2011 at 9:11 pm

today my $99 was returned to my account didnt even take 3 days. thought i should ring bank regarding the $396 as it was still pending on my account as they said i should get that back too. because the bank never ask if i authorized this and i did authorize it, i started to wounder if i would get it back, so called bank they told me to ring the company and get them to fax through to the bank to remove the authorization charge ect ect. i thought if i ring them and ask them to do this are they gunna say yeah yeah and not actually do it, which bank said you will be lucky if they do, so i decided to voice record the whole conversation for evidence so when they answered (josh) which i noticed for a so called professional company didnt even state his name, company ect only answered hello, so i asked for his name who he worked for ect, anyway got put through to hugo asked also for him to repeat who he worked for ect so i had it recorded. he then said it was too late as at his end it had already gone through.he then asked why i decided this ect and blar blar blar he started getting very rude, mind you i wasnt too nice about it either, the company name my place for hosting came up which i have been using this whole time he said he has never heard of that which he didnt sound convincing, he said no i work for ohn, told him i never had heard of ohn till now, i then asked why i could log in using several diff web names. he said he didnt know what i was talking about and change the subject. i told him i was recording the conversation for proof of my request. he then said he would refund my money within 15 days i told him i didnt want half as other people have said they only got half back and made him repeat these words . i “blar” from ohn am refunding you $396. that was it. so someone tell me why wouldnt he have known about my place for hosting? am i insane, i know i’m not that smart but it sounds to me they are just getting themselves in deeper and deeper. he also went to say ” we have been in this company for (pause)uh a long time, i said how long exactly? um ah since about 2009. actually hearing him say it didnt sound like he knew at all. i hope these guys go down.

michelle January 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm

Question? why would you send out email blasts ect. before your web page is actually set up the way you want it? why would’nt you get the training to set your page up as best as possible and then do the email blasts ect?just wasting money on advertising for people to get to your page and say oh thats crap its not even finished wont buy anything from that site.! what do i do with the web page now? its still mine isnt it? i am going to request them to get rid of my back office i deleted as much of my personal info as possible and saved the changes. we’ll see

Kelly January 19, 2011 at 8:35 am

Aussie mum :Thank god for this site!! I nearly fell for this OHN! This Jim Garity guy calls me up and goes blah, blah blah, with the tape, then Q&A and finally when it came to credit card details i told him, sorry i gotta check with my hubby as he is the one who pays the bill! So he said he’ll call me back in 2 days time and speak to hubby instead!Well i wanted to buy more time just to check them out. So ditto..here i am and really grateful for all your reviews. I almost thought this was too good to be true!! Hmmm….

bren January 21, 2011 at 1:17 am

Oh Jeez.

I fell for this tonight… such smooth sales people. A few days ago I signed up for the web hosting. Today the advertising guy calls… and yeah, he knew his stuff and it made sense… you obviously need advertising to get it out there.

Then I thought about it, it was all to fishy. I called mastercard like 20 minutes after it $1400 went through. They said they couldn’t do anything, it was approved. And they could only put in a claim if the business doesn’t deliver what it’s promised. I sent an e-mail to the guy who sold me the product, tried calling..

On the “Myadmin” they want an E-Signature for the account updates. I have not signed that.

I’m an idiot, gah!

Canada.

PS – I know of about 3 people who did get small cheques of 9$ $28 and $110.

... January 21, 2011 at 9:49 pm

Bret, don’t worry. There is still something you can do. Ask refund from them. If they won’t give it, talk to your bank. When I first rang my bank, they said they couldn’t do anything about it as I authorized them getting my money. But I talked to them again, filed a dispute, and just today, I got some of my money back. Tell them you signed up for something and that after doing so, they kept calling you to ask for money. I’m still waiting and hoping to get back all of it.

Barbara January 25, 2011 at 12:16 am

Update – Have just had a call from “Hugo” who was somewhat terse and insisted on explaining that they had such a poor rating from BBB because they would not pay to join the bureau. I stood my ground, told him I had notified the NZ Commerce Commission, and got a promise of a refund of only the set-up cost, not the “training payment” as “after all, they did the work releasing emails and submitting my site to the browsers”. I asked him to prove that they had actually done that and was told that I could access the browswers myself but there was no “receipt” type proof. Ah well, perhaps I will, at least, get the initial setup fee back. I live in hope.

Barbara January 25, 2011 at 12:18 am

P.S. Forgot to say that I did send a series of very assertive emails to every email contact I could find related to the business.

... January 25, 2011 at 2:23 am

they tell u different things, ey? When I first asked for refund, they told me to wait and give time for my business to grow. They said I had nothing to lose as I could ask for my money back if it doesn’t within 90 days. I have read about people saying they only got their initial setup fee back so I asked them if the money-back guarantee includes the training and all the things that I had paid for. And they said “yes”. I still filed a dispute though and glad to say I got all my money back today.

Michelle January 26, 2011 at 2:40 am

Got every cent of my money back which was $99 + $396, so keep trying everyone I kept ringing them and the bank. If they say they won’t give it back it’s bull! Why did I get a refund and others aren’t. Something is def not right! Good luck.

Jo January 28, 2011 at 5:27 pm

I’m in the UK and just had a call from Forest at OHN (got my details through a survey I completed on Facebook a couple of weeks ago). I did what everyone else did and listened to the recorded message and then spoke to Everett, who answered a couple of my questions and then launched into the ‘packages’ patter. When I said I wanted to talk to my partner first, he got annoyed and said I had told Forest that I had the money to pay today. I said I never said this, but had told him I had the means to pay, just not today. He then told me I could pay by credit card, but I said I don’t have one. He gave me a call back number 0808 1017620 ext 2237 to ring back when I had the money.
No doubt I’m going to get a lot of calls from them now!
As soon as I got off the phone I put the phone number into Google and found this site. So glad I did as I was tempted, but luckily I would never sign up to something without a little research first (especially when it sounds too good to be true). I feel like one of the lucky ones, but good luck to everyone who have been duped by this company and hope you get your money back.

Ann January 30, 2011 at 5:25 am

I joined up in Oct. It wasn’t until late Nov. that I came across this site. I then started requesting my set up fee and advertising costs. I was told I would have to wait until the 90 days were up.
I reported them to the BBB in Arazona, and got a phone call from OHN shortly afterwards still stating I would have to wait for the 90 days.
The 90 days were up at the beginning of Jan. I phoned them and was told I would get my set up fee back but only half of the “training/advertising” fee, as this was for 6 months and I had only used it for 3.
I still haven’t received any money yet. I also now wish I had insisted on a full refund for the training…which was non existent.
As a matter of interest, I also, have received a massive increase in the number of scam emails since joing them…approx. 150 a day! Any hints on how to stop getting them?
I live in Ireland and I was contacted by them through a site called “Ireland Free Stuff”

Stephen February 1, 2011 at 8:05 pm

Like everyone on this site has been saying, THANK GOD I FOUND THIS SITE!!! I have just been in touch with “Karl” and it may have been my imagination but he didn’t sound very American. I now know to expect mutiple phone calls and lots of spam in my email! Also the deal was sweetened a little when I was on the phone, not only was the basic package half price but he was willing to give me $50 upfront to put towards my set up fee. He also told me that there would be free advertising, to which I doubt would happen. If something looks to good to be true, it usually is! Thanks again for all your comments on these people!

Sylwia February 2, 2011 at 3:08 pm

I am glad I found this site!!! Nearly went up for it after a very long conversation with this woman. I have to say she was very persistent. I always like to see things in black and white, on paper, which of course I was told they don’t do that. Only phone calls. Got speaking with my husband and he told me straight away it is a scam don’t pay them and then I started looking for some more information through the net and here I am. Thank you guys. I am sorry for those who went for it and lost money. Take care and thanks for your valuable comments!

Maria February 3, 2011 at 6:16 pm

So glad I found this site. Just had a call and WAS tempted but told ‘Autumn’ I would do some research and have an answer tomorrow. Thanks to you people and this site I will decline! My granny always said ‘if it don’t feel right-it aint’.

Maria

vitus phoenix February 4, 2011 at 2:12 pm

i ve just got a call from myplaceforhosting.com
and they were patient at first.
i mean they wanted to advance me $50 so that i only have to pay $99 since they say that they are confident that i make the return..
but i said that i would get back to them once i thought it through..
but their patience ran out as they kept on insisting that i make the deal today as they somehow have my card number and wanted to confirm my payment even though i havent agreed to anything…
that when i remembered about all those scam cases on the net. thanks for affilorama…
i would like to know more really..

Christine February 5, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Well I got scammmed big time. I fell for their sales pitch. (I’m a stay-at-home mom and just wanted to help out a bit financially). What a mess. I tried to get a refund after thinking it over and deciding in end that this venture wasn’t for me. They told me I couldn’t get a refund. I’m now in talks with my credit card company hoping that I can recover at least some, if not all of my money. I should have listened to my gut and told them I wasn’t interested right from the begining. Unfortunately, lesson learned the hard way.

Anonymous February 7, 2011 at 10:32 pm

OHN is a total scam. I worked for them as a dialer for a year because I was desperate for a job. Arizona’s job market is failing, so these parasites are looking everywhere for people to victimize so they can fill their own pockets, without regard for the people they defraud. Needless to say, I am choosing to remain anonymous due to the fact that just about everyone who works there is on drugs. They also have criminal records. You can check out anyone you might talk to here: http://www.maricopa.gov and make sure you get their real name. Ask them for it specifically! Most of them lie about their true identity. For instance, “Richard Crantz” is really “*personal info removed*” here is his Facebook page: *personal info removed* *name removed*, a supervisor at OHN has an extensive criminal record. Here is her Facebook page: *personal info removed*

Hope this information helps all of you. Take it from someone who knows first hand, the people you talk to at OHN are ex-cons, drug addicts and worse. Don’t give these people your credit card numbers or your bank account information. They don’t even have an office at the address they give out on their website, they are located at 35th Avenue and Peoria.

I should also mention, this is the brainchild of Forrest Webb, and he changed their name from World Market Systems to Online Hosting Network in July of 2009. Other names this company has operated under are Traffic Designs and 24 Hour Cash Flow.

El Plumber (admin) February 8, 2011 at 12:22 am

I removed a bunch of personal info from that Anonymous posting. We have no way to tell if those people and their facebook pages are people that work at OHN or random people the poster is mad at.

Larry Stahl February 12, 2011 at 7:31 pm

This will be my second attempt to enter a post here. “ElPlumber” must not have liked
my first attempt. I had the nerve to question his “plumbing ” credentials. I am a retired service plumber with 42 years experience.

People think that if they don’t get rich overnight by spending $99.00 or whatever for
a website that they have been scammed. Stop being idiots. Name a business that makes you instantly rich with no work for $99.00. Get a grip.

A successful internet business takes hard work. Period. Research, SEO, keyword optimization, quality content, a viable backlink program, a product/service that people want, ad infinitum. If all you ever do is complain you will do nothing more than maintain your current state of affairs.

This very website is monetized and making money for its operator. See all the ads?
Doesn’t matter. This won’t get posted, anyway. “ElPlumber” would feel too threatened. That’s ok. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Larry

... February 12, 2011 at 9:34 pm

Larry, it is true that this website is monetized and El Plumber is not denying that. See the “About” page. And with regards to the $99 scam, I have given OHN $14000. (Luckily, I got my money back by filing a dispute.) It doesn’t mean that we think we don’t have to work on it. I bought something better, with really good quality training and amazingly much, much cheaper than what I paid for OHN. Clearly, OHN has ripped me off. $14000 is not worth it! Even their $3000 training is not worth it with such inferior quality.

El Plumber (admin) February 12, 2011 at 9:36 pm

Hi Larry, thanks for the comment. I don’t check the spam filter here very often your last post got caught since it included a link.

It’s true that a successful internet business takes hard work. I haven’t done much monetizing on this site except for the three Adsense blocks you see and a couple of affiliate programs I like. And really very little SEO on this site yet, I let the keywords drift where they may. I could probably make more money panhandling a couple hours than I make in a month on this webiste, but it does pay the hosting bill at least. My sites that actually make money are very different. This is really just a place for me to vent.

As for plumbing, I’m an electron plumber. My real life liquid and gas plumbing is at the “Ask This Old House” level. I did install my own radiant heating system in our kitchen, including the water tank and an outdoor shower that’s been leak free for 4 years now, but that’s all. ;)

Not everyone is going to be as street smart as you might be about running a business on the internet. I wrote a post a year ago about blaming the victims. Give it a read: http://electronplumber.com/google-kit-scams-are-breaking-the-law-dont-call-the-victims-names/

fee February 13, 2011 at 5:56 pm

How do i close all my sites from OHN? I did not renew my main web page so all have expired.
I joined Dec ’09 and received $300 for referrals (this is less than my elite plan payment). I will endeavor to get a refund for the remaining amount … also …
has anyone got a refund for training (I paid for 12 months, did 3 sessions only) and advertising (views and traffic did not reach capacity paid for, also pay per clicks).
I’m from New Zealand and wonder if anyone has had success from over here or anyone know of “free” international outfits that would handle this.
I laid a complaint with BBB at the beginning of joining, but received a call from OHN and they convinced me to stay with it a bit longer (they should not have contacted me directly concerning the complaint, but they do it to everyone) so as far as BBB is concerned complaint had satisfactory outcome … far from it!!!

RB February 16, 2011 at 4:12 pm

HI, i was scammed real bad by OHN. i cant believe i fell for it. My bank is busy investigating the situation at the moment as they wouldnt give me a refund. When i rung them all they tried to do was give me more free advertising. Next morning what do you know! My site has be deactivated! I have also lodged a complaint to the BBB. Will let you know how i get on

RB February 17, 2011 at 4:05 pm

Hi All
Gary has asked me to tell you that OHN have offered me a $7500 refund from the $9961.95.

RB February 17, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Oh yes and i hung up on him four times as at this point i prefer all correspondence in writing.

Crae February 22, 2011 at 9:22 pm

Oh no…hahahaha I think I have just been duped myself. Well I signed up for the basic packet less than 6hrs ago UK time. The agent John seemed okay not really pushy but a little too quick to take my details. I paid approximately £92.85p which is just under a 100 quid so I am not crying but still thinking whether I should try and dispute it after reading the many helpful comments on here. Problem is I paid by Debit Visa which my cause a problem when trying to get my money back or telling my bank to dispute it. If someone could give me the heads up on this I would appreciate it.

I can and will say they will not get another penny out of me if I don’t get my money back I am quite stubborn and tenacious like that :-) I do wish I would have come across this site before sealing the deal though. Hey we live and learn right????

Debs February 23, 2011 at 12:45 am

I would like to start by thanking you for running this site. I received a phone call from OHN today. As I was talking to them I mentioned that I had just come in from a 16 hour shift but they didn’t care and went on. I listened to thier tape and when Adrian came back on the phone I queried if they belonged to the BBB ( I may live in Oz but I emigrated from the US !!!)LOL They tried to tell me the BBB was nothing more than a fee paying club and that they don’t believe in that. Lie number one. Then when asked if I could have something in writing I was told they call people and there is nothing to be read. Lie number two. Then of course she pressured me, trying to make me commit. I asked her for an email address as I really needed to get some sleep and lie number 4 came out … wait for it … We don’t have access to email!!! LOL I said ‘You’re an internet business and you don’t have email access?!’ She quickly recovered and said ‘I spend my time on the phone instead’. What a joke. Then I asked for a telephone number and was given a US number of 1800 637 190 ext 2249. Of course the pgone number is missing a digit. Of course we know it too would be bogus. As I was talking to Adrian I was googling them and found your site. I didn’t sign with them. What i did do though was to utilise the reverse IP lookup link you supplied and found their website http://onlinehostingnetwork.com/ Which was not available other than by using the results link. I went to the contact us tab and called the phoenix office on (888) 230-4019. I told the fella that I was in Australia and that I was also on a do not call register and that any further calls would be reported. I also asked and submitted a request via their page (email – which they don’t have) to never contact me again! Thank you for putting this page up, saved me heaps of strife!!! I hope those of you who have signed up get your hard earned money back!!! Good luck all!!

Jacq February 25, 2011 at 1:46 am

Just hung up from pushy american accented “Steve Johnson” from myplaceforhosting.com, then did a quick scam check and found this very helpful site – thanks people! Is myplaceforhosting part of onlinehosting? Their website looks sort of legit but when they are insisting that I purchase the product there and then it just doesnt make sense that the product has integrity. I mean who asks a stranger to just hand over $ after one quick pushy conversation – apart from the product amounting to nothing why would I even want a stranger calling out of the blue, to have my card details??? Right now he’s expecting to call me back after Ive seeen their site and buy the basic package – but rather than just ‘thanks but no thanks’ I’ll say something a bit stronger. I think we need the government would run a daily tv ad stating NOT TO HAND YOUR CARD DETAILS OVER TO A STRANGER AFTER JUST ONE CONVERSATION!!! It is our dumb fault if we do, but some of us are so dumb that maybe we need to be reminded on tv to think for ourselves!?! Maybe its just the price we pay for being foolish.

liam February 25, 2011 at 1:55 am

I agree – I think that in an era when so much communication and purchasing is happening over the phone and online, we need schools and governments via mass media, to do a bit of basic education on this, even if its just regular friendly reminders.

Doreen Watson March 10, 2011 at 7:39 am

Hi,
I, like a few others, have been caught up with the On Line Hosting Network scam and today posted the following on the Home Page of my affiliate site:

” I thought I was pretty savvy about most things, but, as I have learned to my cost, I am not.
One evening, about 11 months ago, I was on my laptop when I came across a site about an amazing on-line business opportunity where, through this company, On Line Hosting Network (www.onlinehostingnetwork.com), an extra income could be made through associate marketing.
Like a fool I contacted them and was then given the sales patter, 15% could be made on every sale through Amazon plus there were many more associate sites that could generate sales. With their backing I could see my site on the first pages of major search engines. I have since Googled MP3 players and trawled through hundreds of pages to see if I could find where my site appeared as selling MP3s, I couldn’t find it! I would like to add that I have also tried advertising http://www.poppyspicks.com on Google Ads and they won’t touch it – “the site doesn’t comply with their Landing Page or Site Policies” which practically speaks for itself!!
During the sales pitch I was given the option of three prices for the type of site you wanted – Basic, Standard or Elite. I opted for the basic site set up fee of £98 ($149) and was then asked was that because I couldn’t afford the higher priced options!!
On payment my first step was to choose an Internet address for my new business. Once this was completed my website would be live on the Internet within just a few hours.
About a week later I received a call from On Line Hosting Network advising that to take my site further and advertise it I would be required to pay more money. This money would pay towards advertising and generate 100,000 emails, thousands of views on the site, upgrade changes to commission etc.,etc., etc.,. I have NOT SEEN any of the advertising that was supposed to have been issued – I HAVE ASKED! I would also receive 12 months live training with this money!! This training consists of approximately 30 minutes per fortnight by someone who has as much interest in your site as I have in football.
In total this site has cost me about £3,200 ($5,000, I have received a cheque as an income from shares for $13!!
This site, through On Line Hosting Network, is really a Pyramid selling site. They want you to encourage family and friends to use the site and hope that someone as foolish as I was to contact them.
My advice to you is simple – learn by my mistakes -DON’T TOUCH ON LINE HOSTING NETWORK”

It wouldn’t surprise me to find that OHN delete the site. I have lost money but maybe this will be a lesson to others, think very carefully before you take up with this company.

Zheng March 18, 2011 at 10:39 pm

If you were scammed /ripped off by online hosting network then please file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General using this online form:

http://www.azag.gov/consumer/complaintform.html

You can see from the official Arizona state public records that the President/Directors of OHN are as follows:

Director Information
JONATHAN ERIC ANDERSEN
DIRECTOR
27922 N 9TH LN
PEORIA, AZ 85383
Date of Taking Office: 03/26/2009
Last Updated: 08/10/2010

FORREST L WEBB
DIRECTOR
34915 N 46TH ST
CAVE CREEK, AZ 85331
Date of Taking Office: 03/26/2009
Last Updated: 08/10/2010

TIM THOMAS
DIRECTOR
35808 N 3RD ST
PHOENIX, AZ 85086
Date of Taking Office: 03/26/2009
Last Updated: 08/10/2010

Source: http://starpas.azcc.gov/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/names-detail.p?name-id=15149937&type=CORPORATION

You can see complaints here about their previous company called World Market Systems also run by Forrest Webb of Phoenix Arizona:
http://www.reviewopedia.com/world-market-systems.htm

Online hosting network complaints can be filed with the FTC at:
https://ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

and with the Arizona Attorney General at:
http://www.azag.gov/consumer/complaintform.html

Jared March 25, 2011 at 9:56 pm

Glad I ran into you guys
just got off the phone to “Ruby”, $149 was what it would cost me to join,and from what I’ve been reading it would have been cash down the drain. I’m down in New Zealand, and was quite surprised at the speed they contacted me. What made me nervous and somewhat curious was how fast Ruby became irritated (after listening to her 8 minute recording) when I explained that because I didn’t have spare cash that I’d need to think carefully before deciding if I wanted to go ahead with it. Admittedly after reading so many horror stories, I won’t be.

Ken March 26, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Jared from NZ , ? how did find this site ?
Kind Regards Ken Invercargill New Zealand

Suzanne March 29, 2011 at 9:22 pm

Think I just got this scam – had a call from Dustin Prince who told me the same – I could have a free wesite set up with free support and can be making money within 4 hours. They said Amazon, Sony. Realnet, Unbeatable sales and DVD Planet want us to sell there good and get up to 15%commision. Would also get $300 per referral on you website from others. You can buy the basic standard or elite package. Was told to buy the best then changed to basic – listed to audio and then he came back and said would give me $100 up front referral fee and would costg me $399 USD to buy the elite package. I asked questions and he advised they are a worldwide company and were legit. Much of the speil was fast and convincing. I was promised the information and help within 1 hour. Now this hasnt happened – they did provide the phone numbers to call but whats the point. I have probably lost the $377 and will have to cancel my credit card shortly. I was stupid and now feel so small. Well will see what happens.

Cassie April 2, 2011 at 12:17 am

I live in Austrakia & I am fuming! :( feel absolutely stupid! My mother in law has been known to fall victim to scams but has for the past few years been a lot wiser and rejected any suspicious ‘easy money’ offers. Unfortunately, this particular offer is almost irresistable. I recieved an e-mail from her saying “CHECK THIS OUT”so I read it. I opened the link & paid $5.00 on my credit card for filling out the form. After that I expected to be navigated to a page saying something a long the lines of “thank you for your payment, you are ready to make money!” but it went back to the ‘make a payment’ page. Straight away I thought to myself how strange that was and I wouldn’t continue as it’s probably a scam.. I considered myself lucky for only having lost $5… no more. Then, the following day I recieved a call from a yank named Hank Crosby saying he noticed I filled out a form to find out more information about making money from home with your own online business. I continued with the phone call thinking it must be a good, real thing if they’ve called me so quickly after my payment.

He let me listen to a 7.50 minute audio explaining a little more about the business & money making opportunities. They called it Associate Marketing which sounded like a great thing to tell my friends, I’ve only ever been a check-out chick in the past! After the audio he said “I’m happy to answer your questions but first I’ll talk with you about the packages we have on offer.” The first one was the basic package for $149 which offered 1 out of the 4 associates and $100 referral commission or something (didn’t quite understand the $100 thing). The second package, the standard, offered 2 out of 4 associates and $200 commission on every referral for $289. The third was the elite package which offered the whole 4 associates and $300 commission for $477.00. I was told the 4 associates are Amazon.com, Sony, Realnet(?) and UnbeatablePrices. 2 of which they knew I’d be familiar with. After hearing the prices I knew I couldn’t afford even the basic package so I said very nicely thanks for the offer but I can not afford it. Then he said that especially for me he would lower the price of the basic package to $99. I said I could pay for it the following week on Thursday when I get paid. He was fine with this, very happy actually and agreed to call back on Thursday. I thought about it through the week and decided when he called back I would decline and say goodbye. Which happened! He called me when I was driving and I told him I can not afford it ever and I am not interested. That was that.

My partner found the info written on a paper. He asked about it and after talking about it some, he said we could try it. So I planned to call Hank Crosby back on the number & extension 1800 637 190 ext 2262 later that day. To my amazement I recieved a phone call from the same company offering me the same thing but a different person, Debbie Rogers. I asked to be transferred to Hank Crosby and he talked through it all with my partner. After paying the $477 for the elite package, Hank continued to offer more deals including 1000′s of search engines which would help boost marketing and advertising which thankfully, my partner declined. BUT!, just for ‘hearing him out’, we were given DVD Planet as a 5th associate with 1000 search engines free of charge. That seemed pretty good to us :/

We were told we would receive an e-mail containing our log in details and all we need to know to get our online business activated. So we got off the phone and checked our e-mails. Nothing was there so we figured being a busy business we’d wait a few hours. Still nothing. So I rang Hank Crosby twice and both times got his answering machine. I left a message. Then we thought to check out the website he gave in his voicemail message & just in typing the web address in the search bar we came across complaints sitesand more…. the guts flipped as we read through all the negative feedback and claims this was a scam :(

My partner will cancel the transaction and hopefully receive his money back in full. I will post warnings to everyone I can think of and hope these dishonest people get found & shut down.

Like many others, we are a one income small family struggling to make ends meet and thought this was a way out of our problems. It’s very heartbreaking to discover that there really are people out there who can’t wait to take your money and run. This man was even relating to me about how great children can be. Also, I was able to contact him ever-so easily BEFORE I had paid money (being a potential sucker) but within 4 hours of paying for the elite package I was hard stuck trying to contact him!

Justice must be served, these scammers need to be punished and the poor victims need thier money back. I wish I could do something to help.

Cassie

Bill Burke April 7, 2011 at 3:23 pm

I have been scammed by this company too.I retired last May and i was looking for a way of supplementing my pension.I replied to their online ad. and was contacted almost immediately by O.H.N. U nfortunately i fell for their sales patter and parted with almost $14.000.00This was to include setting up my website,training,email blasts and advertising.I have received some training(none for the past 3 months as there was an illness in my family).To date i have not made one “red cent”.To make matters worse i was contacted by a company called the Tax Club,who told me that i would have to form a company and register it in USA, if i were to hold out any hope of making any money.I had to part with another $4000.00 to do this.The regristration of the L.L.C. was not completed until mid January of this year.I now own a limited liability company registered in Wyoming,U.S.A. The Tax Club are working in tandem with O.H.N. and if you are as stupid as i was and fall for their high pressure sales pitch you will end up like me.I have invested a considerable amount of my life savings in this venture and i now feel as if i have lost everything.I am trying to get a refund but i don’t hold out miuch hope.Is there anyone out there who could help me with my predicament?

Tony April 8, 2011 at 6:00 am

Sorry you got caught, you should, stating the obvious of course, have held firm to “if it seems to be to good to be true it probably is” and done some research before parting with your cash.
However, a number of people who found themselves in the same predicament have had some success in retrieving their money, so check back on the comments left on this site for some solid advice. Good luck.

Dee Luxe April 12, 2011 at 11:03 am

I like to tell you a TRUE STORY to all you skeptics out there.I too was scammed by OHN.Luckily i only invested $200 dollars.
When they asked for $2500.00 on my credit card,red flags went up.
They kept bugging me for more money .I wouldn’t give them any more money.I did scout for customers on my own.By six months I had about 1000 hits on my site and narry a dollar to be seen No earnings.Zilch.
So I send an e-mail to my contact aka “Warren Marsh”just this week demanding my $200 back.This “Warren Marsh” did phone me a while back pretending to be someone else with another company.i recognized his voice.He finally admitted,you got me, then i hung up.When i demanded my money back i got really pissed and he hung up.The next day i got a call from this”warren marsh”pretending to be someone else from a different city with a different company.I recognized his voice immediately.Isaid,mr “marsh i want my”$200 back. i know you are “warren marsh”,you can’t disguise your voice.it was very distinctive.Anyway he immediately hung up.But this time around he had an unknown number.Either he’s stupid or he thinks i’m stupid.I’m not stupid.He’s scammin the wrong person.I guess i won’t hear from him in a long while.DO NOT,I REPEAT,DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE onlinehosringnetwork ANY MONEY .The are a total scam, period.

El Plumber (admin) April 12, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Dee, thanks for the comment. But you need to change your way of thinking here. You say, “luckily I only invested $200 dollars”. Luckily? Invested? Hell, think about what a kick ass 5 star meal with drinks you could get for $200! Do whatever it takes to get that $200 back. There are lots of links here on how to report them to the various authorities. Call them every day and tell them who you will be reporting them to tomorrow unless you get your money back immediately, the Attorney General in Arizona, your local news station, the FTC, the BBB, etc. In the US if they make a refund guarantee they have to honor it, plain and simple.

They put the following right on the sidebar of the OHN website:
“We’re here to help you make money, and we’re so confident in our online website system that will GUARANTEE you’ll make money, and fast. All you’ll have to do is advertise your business as much, or as little as you want each month and we guarantee you’ll start making money in your first 90-days or less, or you call our office after your 90th day, and we’ll refund your set-up fee. It’s that simple!”

Others here have had luck getting their money back. Just be persistent.

Peter Cyr April 14, 2011 at 8:47 pm

Hi,

Thank you for the re-affirmation that, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

I spent about 40 minutes on the phone with Helen Sitgraves from OHN this evening. I was referred to the same “Cooking with Bryan” site that everyone else seems to have been directed to and quite frankly, thought it looked mickey mouse. Helen’s inability to explain how the advertising of the site worked, other than to say, “We make money when you make money so we are going to work really hard for you.” didn’t cut it for me.

Thanks again for confirming what felt like a scam already. I am sure I am going to hear from them again and if I have the time I think I will have some fun with them. Anything anyone wants me to ask them ?

Peter

Jack April 18, 2011 at 12:02 am

Hi,

First I want to tell you about that I’m not mad at you for using ads to pay your hosting bill, because what I think is you’re not charging the people to help them to avoid the scams here I don’t think, so it seems like that would take so much time for you and my perception of the vlue (like the IM people like to say) is that it’s really valuable for you to do that and probably 100 times more valuable than piddly-pence you problaby make from the ads here.

I just want to thank you for fighting for us little guys just trying to make a buck online with integrity. Too bad you don’t get paid per word like mr. Charles Dickens did in the old days – you’d be a rich man by now!

Suzanne April 30, 2011 at 8:02 am

I rang my bank and advised of the scam cancelled my credit card same day and the Bank has refunded my money within 5 days…i still recieved calls from a Wayne at OHN and I asked how he slept at night knowing he was working for a scam company and advised had reported them to our authorities in Australia. He continued to tell me I was wrong and I said he was not working for a legit company. They have not called me since…

John G. Aust. April 30, 2011 at 9:58 am

It is 9 months since I posted my first comment on this site and I am amazed that ohn is still scamming people and getting away with it.If it is of any interest to anyone I didn’t get my money back,I guess I just didn’t push hard and long enough.Also,I have proven that you can start and run a small business on the internet and the cost was a total of about $1600.00 for the complete setup,ecommerce website built from scratch plus advertising and all and it is hosted by a reputable aussie company,not a crowd of mongrels from the country that is so good at business,ha ha,that they nearly succeeded in sending the rest of the world broke.
If anyone out there still wants to start a business on the internet,there are plenty of reputable web hosts that will do it for you,at a price of course,but believe me,once you have taken the plunge and started either selling your own products or someone else’s products you will be amazed at what you can do on the net,but take my advice and give affiliate marketing a wide berth unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands,like about 25 hours a day.
For those of you who have the time and a bit of computer savvy you can get a basic website for about $250.00 and set the whole thing up yourself so why not make a small investment in your own abilities and give it a go and the worst thing that can happen is you will lose $250 dollars,not the thousands that ohn says it costs.

John G. Aust. April 30, 2011 at 10:15 am

One more thing.I just looked at the cooking with brian website and noticed that there is no link to ohn.Maybe brian got wise to them as well and gave them the boot.On ya brian.

Aussie Mum April 30, 2011 at 10:59 pm

Hosting total about $150 a year.
Domain name $10 a year.
Upload and setup your own wordpress site – zero cost.
$1600 is way too much still, you need to shop around, you need to study all options before buying, its the only way.
Plenty of wordpress sites out there that are full online shopping stores with the help of free plugins. Advertising is better done with social marketing and social marketing is free.
1.Domain
2.Hosting
3.Wordpress Install
4. Add all your content including plugins.
5. Facebook page setup and add fans.
6. Twitter setup and add followers.
7. Plugins to push your content to Facebook and Twitter.
8. Visitors start pouring in.

total cost can be as little as $160 a year IF you do it all yourself – this is what I specialize in so I know!

I also know some sites where they will do it all for you as I have setout above but not including the facebook and twitter integration and they charge anywhere between $300 right up to $5000 for some very professional businesses.
Some people charge $500 just to create a facebook page which could also be done by yourself. The difference is the level of expertise and the quality!
If you don’t want to outlay too much money again , go to http://www.wordpress.com and create a free wordpress site , even if it is just to get used to the wordpress platform you should do it because it will cost you NOTHING!

John G. Aust. May 1, 2011 at 1:06 am

Thanks Aussie Mum,I took the lazy way and got it all done for me,but it goes to show that whether you are prepared to do it yourself or get someone to do it for you,you can have your own online business for thousands of $$$’s less than the scammers say.

Guy G. Montreal Canada May 5, 2011 at 7:41 pm

Well, I should have read about you a couple days ago,
first Davd Gray gives me 100$ in advance comissions so I need the money And I put 377$ on my credit card.
Two days later Tom calls, and he says we now have a store, we need to advertise, the packages are like you already know, 5000$, 4000$ and 3000$. It mad sense to me to advertise, but could not afford 3000$, so he gave it to me for 680$ on the credit card again.
I told them I would not invest anymore until I see a return on my investment.
So a week went by, and now Lorenzo calls, and he just wants to explain to me what I bought and how helpfull advertisement really is.
It took two minutes before he started trying to sell me thos 3 packages again.
I guess I pissed him off, he finally hung up.
I will try to get my money back, any suggestion how I could aproach my credit card company? what do I say?
Thanks
from another guy finding it hard to get out of debt but easy to fall deaper into it !!

bren May 5, 2011 at 8:40 pm

I posted earlier and paid a bunch of money for this…. I called HUGO / customer service line and asked for a refund. I got refunded $1200 for the advertising but not the website/upfront cost. It took about 40 days to reappear on my card but it did..

Lesson learned.

Doreen Watson May 11, 2011 at 2:53 pm

Here is an update on my Online Hosting Network complaint, I have received quite a bit of my money back. After posting on this site I received a call from OHN as they had seen my moan. I told them that I was unhappy with the site etc and was in the process of making a formal complaint to the Arizona Attorney General. The person I spoke to rang off and about 30 mins later I received a call from a Bill Sivadon who listened to my complaint and asked what would make me happy, naturally it was the return of my money. He promised to return $3,000 and guess what – he has! It arrived in my bank account about 2 days ago. I am still a little bit out of pocket but not a lot and am now very happy with the outcome and an awful lot wiser.

Rob G., N.Z. June 10, 2011 at 11:00 pm

Kia Ora

I am another New Zealander with an interest in these proceedings. I notice that Elite World Systems is part of this OHN thing. I have sunk a fair whack of money into EWS. I am writing this because Nethostassn, which also belongs to OHN made a NZ$39.03 transaction in May without my prior knowledge, much less, consent.
I have cancelled my credit card so that Nethostassn cannot take any more off it, and told EWS that they didn’t have permission to give out my details. I have not yet decided if I am going to take action against them because so far they have kept all of their training dates and everything has thus far gone to plan on my website.

Eric July 1, 2011 at 6:12 pm

Hey to whoever gets this far!

I realize a lot has already been said, so I’ll make this fairly short with a few main comments. I did fill out the form and call myself, so it wasn’t unsolicited. First thing in the call, he did give me a number, so that was good.

After listening and chatting for a while, I asked about the guarantee, and he explained that “if you don’t make any money within 90 days, you get a full refund for your initial package fee”. This sounded pretty good, but I pushed a bit and asked, hypothetically, if my site made $5 on the 89th day, would the guarantee be void. He said, yes, that would be the case, but in the “four years” of his working there (which doesn’t add up with the 2009 date of the company), he had “never seen that happen”.

I told him it sounded pretty decent, but at the moment I couldn’t talk any longer, could I continue later. He said that if I waited, that’s time that my site isn’t working for me, and that within 15 more minutes, he’d be done talking, and within 90 minutes of finishing the call, my site would be up and running. Well, I didn’t have 15 minutes, so I said I’d like some time to think about it, especially to talk it over with my wife. “Oh, I didn’t realize you needed permission!” he said. Which I didn’t particularly care for. “Let me just say, as a married man to a married man, if I make a decision without asking my wife, that ends up benefiting our marriage, she’ll be happy with me…wouldn’t your wife be happy with you stepping out and taking your role of leadership as a man, and making an investment for your life together?” I definitely didn’t care for that pressure push. I explained that, even if I had decided to go ahead, and even if my wife didn’t agree, I preferred to talk to her first to at least let her know what I was doing. He finally said that would be fine, and to call him back “once I got permission”.

Needless to say, especially after reading so many comments from this site, I will not be calling back, and if I end up hearing from them, I’ll simply inform them that I am not interested…we’ll see how well that goes.

Nomusa July 16, 2011 at 1:48 pm

I signed up with OHN in August 2009.To cut the long story short,I never got anything in writing regarding terms and conditions ,got a cheque for six dollars in September,sacrificed my holiday so I could work and earn as much as i could.90 days came up my account was still empty.Told Bill Silvadon we were not making any progress and I wanted my money back.He referred me to Jade (Quality Manager-have her email address if anyone needs it)Got the refund for the initial set up for elite package.I had a conversation with Jade how rubbish the whole thing was and she promised to use company resources to make it work for me ie she was going to advertise or spamm more people at the company’s expense until I earned money.By this time I had counted my loses.Towards the end of June I decided to sednher another email reminding her of her promise which has not been delivered.Same day I launched a complain with the FTC and informed all my Facebook that OHN is a SCAM.

On the 28 of June $3.690 was deposited into my paypal account.They have since taken the website down and the backoffice.

steve July 25, 2011 at 7:20 am

yet another unsatisfied customer.
when i asked for a refund was told i need to provide proof of advertising.
Have lost $377 will take steps re attorn gen in Arizonia,BBB,FTC & local news station till i get satifaction will keep you posted

reg August 8, 2011 at 3:28 pm

Hi, have received the ‘$100 advance’ offer, and a couple of calls. Thank goodness I found your site before I went any further! How are these people still operating?

Noble - N - Bliss Ef4ort August 11, 2011 at 8:17 pm

Hi guys thanks for all your contributions . I live downunder I got a call from these guys a week ago Friday evening (Arizona time ) telling me about associate marketing different from MLM and they made me listen to a pre recored audio message over the phone telling me about how I will be selling products for big marketing companies such as Amazon , Real Networks Sony and Global.com from a website they will build and host for me for a price and i will be getting commissions for every sale made . I will only have to pay an unspecified fee. After listening to the audio recording the contact person promised to be back online but never did for some reason or other . Maybe my phone was protective of me by hanging like a computer during the call .
I noted the call was live or active on speakers for almost one hour while i do other stuff and patiently waited as prompted.
I hung up afterwards expecting a follow up call from the company but nothing came to date so i called up the number showing up on my cell phone +16027737961 and the customer service reps gave me the name OHN which i traced to this website via google and behold all the comments here .
I was genuinely interested in doing business with them as an associate marketer but after learning about other’s peoples experiences on this site. I will have to tread with caution and be more alive when next they call if they do. I will keep you posted guys . cheers

James August 23, 2011 at 5:51 am

Your Transactions:

# Sale Date Product Price Status
1. Mar 22, 2011, 11:13 pm Domain Renewal

9.95 Success
2. Mar 22, 2011, 11:11 pm Domain Renewal

9.95 Declined
3. Mar 22, 2011, 11:09 pm Domain Renewal

9.95 Declined
4. Mar 22, 2011, 11:08 pm Domain Renewal

9.95 Declined
5. Oct 13, 2010, 4:04 pm (50000)
Email Blast (50000)
Emails that will be sent to opt-in email list with an advertisement
that links back to your website.
Included Success
6. Sep 7, 2010, 5:39 pm (50000)
Email Blast (50000)
Emails that will be sent to opt-in email list with an advertisement
that links back to your website.
Included Success
7. Jun 22, 2010, 4:50 pm (30000/18 months)
Traffic (30000)
Visitors we will send to your website to help increase
your website’s popularity.
Included Success
8. Apr 20, 2010, 10:21 am Search Engine Blast
We will submit your website address to the top search engines.
NOTE: Search Engines receive tens of thousands of submissions from around
the world every day and it may take up to several weeks for your website
to be crawled and recognized in a search on some search engines.
Included Success
9. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm Advertising Package
The Advertising Package line shows the price of the Advertising services
you have ordered.
3,500.00 Success
10. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm (100000)
Email Blast (100000)
Emails that will be sent to opt-in email list with an advertisement
that links back to your website.
Included Success
11. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm Search Engine Blast
We will submit your website address to the top search engines.
NOTE: Search Engines receive tens of thousands of submissions from around
the world every day and it may take up to several weeks for your website
to be crawled and recognized in a search on some search engines.
Included Success
12. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm (10000/18 months)
Views (10000)
Additional visitors we will send to your website that will spend at least
25 seconds on your website. You are not charged for any of these
additional visitors that exit your site in less than 25 seconds.
Included Success
13. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm Make Home Page
A feature added to your website that offers visitors the opportunity to
set your website as their browser’s Home Page. NOTE: On some browsers
this feature will ask visitors to bookmark your website.
Included Success
14. Apr 13, 2010, 5:08 pm Electronics (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
15. Apr 13, 2010, 4:33 am Unique Domain Name (Submitted to 1000 SE)

9.95 Success
16. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm Training Package
The Training Package line shows the price of the Training services you
have ordered. Training packages may include supplemental advertising
products if shown on this invoice.
4,695.00 Success
17. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm (Unlimited)
Training Center
The Training Center provides online access to dozens of how-to articles
and videos covering website development and marketing lessons.
Included Success
18. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm SEO Tools
Search Engine Optimization tools including meta generator,
keyword analysis and XML site map tools.
Included Success
19. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm (12 months)
Live Training
Live one-on-one training with a certified ecommerce Trainer covering
website development and marketing strategies for your business.
Included Success
20. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm (100000)
Email Blast (100000)
Emails that will be sent to opt-in email list with an advertisement
that links back to your website.
Included Success
21. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm Search Engine Blast
We will submit your website address to the top search engines.
NOTE: Search Engines receive tens of thousands of submissions from around
the world every day and it may take up to several weeks for your website
to be crawled and recognized in a search on some search engines.
Included Success
22. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm (30000/18 months)
Traffic (30000)
Visitors we will send to your website to help increase
your website’s popularity.
Included Success
23. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm (5)
Coop Shares (5)
Share(s) of a percentage of the revenue generated during the current month
from company advertising.
Included Success
24. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm AccuTrack
This tracking system has been added to your back office. You will now
be able to better monitor traffic and activity on your website.
Included Success
25. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm Pharmacy (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
26. Mar 31, 2010, 6:16 pm Accelerated Elite Program

Included Success
27. Mar 28, 2010, 3:41 am Unique Domain Name (Submitted to 1000 SE)

9.95 Success
28. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Referral Site (Submitted to 1000 SE)

Included Success
29. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Search Engine Blast
We will submit your website address to the top search engines.
NOTE: Search Engines receive tens of thousands of submissions from around
the world every day and it may take up to several weeks for your website
to be crawled and recognized in a search on some search engines.
Included Success
30. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Ystore (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
31. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Unbeatable Sales (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
32. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Real Networks (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
33. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Movies (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
34. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Amazon (Submitted to 1000 SE)
An additional associate program to increase you revenue potential.
Included Success
35. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Main Website (Submitted to 1000 SE)

Included Success
36. Mar 24, 2010, 10:36 pm Elite Referral Program

477.00 Success
TOTAL: $8,224.85

——————————————————————————–

James August 23, 2011 at 5:55 am

Oh my goodness..what have i done….

My wife said i always to trust worthy

We were even promised we would get double the money back we paid to
this company if we did not get 30.000 visitors to mumsbabiesntots.com in the first 18 months of operation

Please Please some one help…we invested $8,224-85 and we have a return of $17

James

Jesse August 24, 2011 at 11:38 pm

I just singed up today, lol. Thank you so much for this post.

It saved me from dishing out $200 to these people. I got talked into it, but thankfully I haven’t setup my paypal account for instant transfers and used an e-check (I don’t have, like or plan on getting credit cards for reasons like this). Now that I know how untrustworthy this company is I canceled my subscription. Just to make sure they don’t get any of my money I am going to withdraw the contents of my bank account out because I don’t believe they will cancel the transaction.

Rob G., N.Z September 4, 2011 at 12:06 am

Kia Ora

In the nearly 3 months since I posted on 10 June I have come to the conclusion that Elite World Systems and Nethostassn are part of the Online Hosting Network because some dishonest and otherwise misleading practises have emerged. I am NZ$8000 down with probably little chance of seeing any of it again.

Elite World Systems and Nethostassn have been reported to the NZ Ministry for Consumer Affairs for misleading practises and I was told they have the hallmarks of a scam. I am going to give them one opportunity to refund me, or they wil be reported to the Better Business Bureau in Arizona.

Brendan October 5, 2011 at 3:14 am

Biggest scam I have ever been involved with.
Goodbye $3000

Laureen October 6, 2011 at 2:53 pm

I’m not going to cry over spilled milk – it’s far too late for that.
Thought I would offer some additional facts. I’ve been “working” with OHN for two years now. I should qualify that statement: I spent $4200 CAD [dec 2009] to establish a website with OHN in hopes of earning income to supplement the extreme financial situation here. I worked with a trainer for several months, earning a dividend cheque of $12.95 CAD after one month. Continued to work at designing my site (site owners do all the work – the trainers just tell you how) and changed it drastically three or four times with hopes of earning more. NOT happening!
In Dec 2010 I contacted OHN and spoke with Gary who did refund $1000 to my credit card and extended my training (actually 8 months). I still have not received any income cheques – surprise, surprise.
Online Hosting Network training officers work out of a centre whose email address is @bstcenter.com This makes me think that the BBB name they operate under could be similar to this. I have several employees full names – seems there are a lot of them.
Wish I had seen your website so much earlier! I could have saved lots. The site I have built (hosted by OHN) does not really meet my needs, so I added more of ‘my flavour’ myself on the first and last tabs. Feel free to check it out : http://www.pozestbydesignfashions.com. I intend to make more changes that will suit my needs. I have added keyword metatags that are more closely aligned to my business but it really hasn’t helped much. I guess I still have lots to learn.

Garith October 26, 2011 at 4:28 am

OHN is an organised scam run by FORREST WEBB who was trained and worked for DON LAPRE YOU WILL NEVER MAKE MONEY DONT WASTE YOUR TIME PLEASE this business is exactly the same as DON LAPRE’S If you want your money back 1.Go to your bank and tell them to start a fraud investigation,2.ring BILL the manager or Gary Minor or James Taft demand ALL OF YOUR MONEY BACK AND ACCEPT NO OFFERS Ring 1800 838 176 from Australia tell him his boss is FORREST WEBB and was trained and worked for DON LAPRE look what has happened to DON LAPRE NOW HE HAS BEEN CAUGHT RECENTLY FOR DOING THIS EXACT SAME BUSINESS HOW LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE AMERICA TO CATCH FORREST WEBB AND HIS WORKERS?3. Contact The Attorney General of Phoenix Arizona fill out the online complaint forms and they WILL reply to you,then take the reply to your bank.4.Keep ringing OHN yell at them for RIPPING you and your friends and families off KEEP ringing them constantly do not give up tell them you mean business DON LAPRE HAS BEEN CAUGHT FOR THE EXACT SAME SCAM AND LOOK WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW WE NEED EVERYONE TO CONTACT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF PHOENIX ARIZONA I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY STILL LET FORREST WEBB OPERATE THIS SCAM It would be different if we were ripping off America then you wouldnt hear the end of it.DO NOT BOTHER TRYING TO MAKE MONEY BECAUSE YOU WONT they only let 1% of people make money this is how they get away with it. THE SAME WAY DON LAPRE DID NOW HE HAS BEEN DONE.Keep fighting for your money SHOW NO FEAR YELL AND SCREAM AT THEM RING THEM CONSTANLY COME ON DO IT NOW IF YOU WANT YOUR MONEY BACK DO IT DONT BE GUTLESS RING THEM NOW !!!!!!!!!!!

gareth October 26, 2011 at 5:49 am

This is the same scam as DON LAPRE he was the trainer of Forrest Webb who owns OHN I tried to leave details how to get your money back YOU WILL NEVER MAKE ANY MONEY DONT WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING

John November 5, 2011 at 10:50 pm

IMPORTANT: If you got scammed by these folks, file a complaint online with the FTC.

The more people that complain to the FTC, the more likely they are to shut them down:
Complaint form:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?lang=en

All the company info on OHN is here:
http://starpas.azcc.gov/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/names-detail.p?name-id=15149937&type=CORPORATION

Unsure November 13, 2011 at 9:26 pm

Hi all, I am from Australia and have been with Elite World Systems since early November. Could someone who has actually made money and have had a had a positive experience with this company please let me know. I know there are a lot of people out there who have been burnt. I have read the posts. I know you have to put the work in to make a website work. So I am looking for people who have actually taken the time to work on their site and actually made money. Thanks.

El Plumber (admin) November 14, 2011 at 8:45 pm

Unsure, go read the other 400 comments here again! Yes, turning a website into a revenue stream takes hard work. But you can’t build a business foundation on rotten wood. And you’ve been sold some very very expensive rotten wood.

What it should cost:
Hosting at Godaddy or Hostgator = ~$10 a month
Wordpress software = FREE
Really Good Online Training = ~$50 a month

So for ~$100 you can have something MUCH better than what OHN tries to get you to spend $2000-$5000 on.

gareth November 14, 2011 at 11:40 pm

Hi Unsure from Australia Elite world systems is the SAME company as OHN mate REFER to my previous instructions on how to get your money back it works believe me YOU WILL NEVER MAKE MONEY DONT WASTE YOUR TIME IT IS A SCAM!!!!!

John November 17, 2011 at 4:39 pm

They are currently advertising on Facebook – clicking the ad takes you to this Facebook page which links to a fake news site: facebook.com/pages/GET-PAID-59Hour-Working-Online/307578859252162?sk=info

The fake news site [times-inside.com]
is owned by:
Andrew McPherson
Made2Lead Media Ltd
45 Henley Avenue
Thornhill
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 0LN
Phone: 07525473504
Email: ajm1988@googlemail.com
http://domaincoleta.com/whois/times-inside.com

The fake news site leads to Home Working Connection with the almost impossible to read text hidden at the bottom: homeworkingconnection.com/?publisher=MUNDO&sub_id=CD3195

Filling in (fake) contact info took me to the payment page and contained in the text there is a phone number: (0800) 098-8507 in one version and (0808) 234-3438 in another version.

A Google search shows that this belongs to Genesis Consulting Group genesisonlineconsulting.com and a reverse ip on that brings up: acceleratedwebsolutions.com associateinternetsolutions.com homecashwayz.com homeincomeagency.com homeincomelocator.com hostingsolutionservices.com hsshosting.com myplaceforhosting.com nethostfee.com ohnlive.com onlineaffiliatecenter.com onlinehostingnetwork.com universalwebconsulting.com uwccorp.com wealthwayz1fr.com dedicatedhostingnetwork.com eliteworldsystems.com myplaceforhosting.com foxbusinesssolution.com

Unsure November 17, 2011 at 5:21 pm

Hi El Plumber, I have read- as much as I can- the replies and I hate the fact that companies knowingly rip people off. I actually mentioned to the guy at Elite World Systems that people out there are giving them a bad rap to which he referred to this site and said that El plumber is a rival company…..hmmmm…there must be 400 rival companies linked to you!!!! :) He mentioned that other webhsosting companies don’t give as much support as there’s does….
I’ve started up a free blog using blogger based upon some really good advice from the great people I’ve been chatting to (and actaully referred me to this site). Thru my blog I’ll advertise Amazon!! Save myself the $29.95 a month!
Thank you Gareth, I’ll locate your previous email and make it my mission to get my money back from these rip off merchants who sounded so nice!

Thanks guys!

John November 21, 2011 at 9:40 pm

Sadly, it seems some of the people who have been scammed/ripped off are not even aware of it due to their lack of knowledge – take for example this 1 review (positive) on the BBB page for Elite World Systems:
http://www.bbb.org/phoenix/Business-Reviews/business-consultants/elite-world-systems-in-phoenix-az-1000014047/Customer-Reviews/

However if you look at her site (mentioned in the review) you will see that it is just another cookie cutter banner farm affiliate page which will never earn any meaningful revenue from Amazon. :( Therefore any advice or coaching she received while it may have been “friendly” and “patient” is clearly very bad advice as it is wrong and worthless. So she has paid (overpaid) for a very poor website and very bad advice/coaching.

Sadly people may see that one review and that it is positive and go ahead with Elite World Systems /OHN despite the F rating – so if anyone with experience of Elite World Systems has the time to leave a review on the BBB site you may prevent other people from falling into the same trap.

Rob G., N.Z. December 3, 2011 at 6:25 am

Kia Ora

After spending around NZ$8000 on Elite World Systems, and not being satisfied with what I paid for, I asked for a refund and came to an amicable agreement with them that they would pay US$3500 (NZ$4500 or there abouts). Per our agreeement I agreed to put this message up when they finished paying out. This they did in mid-November.

El Plumber (admin) December 3, 2011 at 2:18 pm

So let me just get this straight here Rob G. You paid them $8000 for a junk cookie cutter web site, and were refunded $4500. So essentially you paid $3500 for a junk cookie cutter web site. And somehow that’s a good thing? How is that ok?

fee (New Zealand) December 4, 2011 at 2:23 pm

Rob G. (NZ)
I joined in December 2009 and spent thousands. After complaining that my site was not making any money and i was going to ask for my refund they told me to “hold off” and then started “pumping through” commission sales (of which most only returned $10 each), but still never made enough to cover the cost of my elite package.
They kept me hanging on a thread for a year and then i forgot to renew my site (funny they didn’t go out of their way to remind me of this).
So being inactive for a year, should i be able (or within my rights – HA) to ask for a refund? I did 3 training sessions (paid for a year), paid for views/traffic which did not reach the target paid for, and “pay per click”.
Are any of these scenario’s similar to yours? I’d like to know what they will try and “hit” me with!

Gareth December 4, 2011 at 5:58 pm

This is how to get a FULL refund 1.Go to your bank immediatley and tell them to start a fraud investigation this is a fraudulent company run the same way DON LAPRE ran his he has been caught google his name along with FORREST.L.WEBB the owner of Elite World Systems this company has many other names all leading back to Online Hosting Network of Phoenix Arizona 2.Contact the BBB of Phoenix Arizona fill out the complaint form online 3.Ring them and ask for JAMES TAFT james@ohnlive.com he is the boss under FORREST.L.WEBB tell him all you know about thier fraudulent business demand a full refund and accept NO OFFERS …PLEASE AMERICA THIS IS GOING ON TOO LONG JAIL THEM ALL LIKE YOU DID TO DON LAPRE SAME BUSINESS SAME SENTENCE.

John December 13, 2011 at 7:37 pm

They are also currently advertising on Facebook. The ad reads:
Now Hiring. Careers with Us
£28.57/hr Data Entry Jobs. Must have a computer. Limited Positions.
and the ad goes to Money at Home Today:
moneyathometoday.com/fb/?publisher=FBAPP&sub_id=UKI205

Kiri December 19, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Hey um i filled out the info need to look at the website but i never actually paid anything or agreed to anything, does this mean i’m in the clear?
And does anyone know a way of making sure they don’t call me?

Rob G., N.Z. February 1, 2012 at 5:24 am

I didn’t say it was a “good thing”. That said, US$3500 back is definitely better than $0.

I talked to the Commerce Commission in New Zealand who said that I was unlikely to see any of my money again. I told Elite World Systems that I wanted my money back (US$6150 – which was then NZ$7600). After agreeing to lift the refund from US$3000 to US$3500 I got confident I would get it all back. E.W.S turned down an attempt to increase it further. The US$3500 returned is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and it leaves me about US$2650 out of pocket. But it’s better than nothing.

RYAN ... IRELAND February 9, 2012 at 3:47 pm

I just came off the phone from a sales rep for this so called internet marketing company. i thought he was very pushy about payment and i ended up finding this site as a result of my own fear of it been a scam. now reading the stories from above i think i have been in contact with either them under a new name or some company very alike. Phoniex arizona based, selling amazon products etc. gold, delux, and ultima packages. very exp! but i too give bank details to pay $2.95 joining fee but did not agree to pay anything else. am i at risk now of them taking money from my account, should i report this. please help. pissed off with my on stupidity and nievety…

gareth February 10, 2012 at 11:43 pm

Hi Rob G if you want ALL your money back you have to contact the B.B.B of Phoenix Arizona keep ringing them ,tell them about DON LAPRE and Elite World Systems boss FORREST.L.WEBB being business partners dont give up they will give you a full refund believe me I have done it.Ring E.W.S
constantly ask for Bill or Gary or James Taft tell them to refund ALL your money dont be GUTLESS

El Plumber (admin) February 11, 2012 at 12:34 pm

Ryan, what was the new name they are using this time? It would be good to warn people that they keep changing their name.

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