The Cleveland Pet Expo refused to reimburse me. I had to cancel due to the event changing the place and date of the event and I could no longer attend.
Hello. I just want to warn anyone else working with this company. I was an employee that was screwed over. I resigned with the company because I felt they were being racisit and unfair. I was given a verbal warning and wrote up for commenting to another employee about the fact that I was being paid only half of my check and I would get the rest on Monday. The other employee was not written up despite the fact that she released information to me that she was not getting paid until Monday. I informed them that I felt this was a racial attack and they tried to dismiss that fact. I felt uncomfortable working there especially since the Manager Jenn Reiss would make racial comments about African Americans. She stated before going to a seattle show that she wanted to know if there were black people there and if so what kind.
Several employees made jokes and gave me the nickname the Big N and explained that the nickname was due to the fact that I was the only Black person that worked in the office. My first time being paid payroll was messed up and they had to give me half of my check on Friday and the other half on Monday which the check did not come with a formal paycheck stub showing calculations of tax deductions or my payrate information. I completed a time sheet upon leaving the company only for them to send me a check again without payroll information that bounced. I had to wait another 2 weeks after emailing Shiela Rilenge asking for an explanation of my time and paycheck stubs which I never gotten a response to and I was given only a portion of what I worked for. I worked 52 hours and was paid for possibly only 25.
I have continued to send emails and have not gotten a response. During a minnesota trip the manager Jenn Reiss offered to pay for my cellphone bill with her personal credit card due to the fact that it was off because of nonpayment. I explained to her that I would pay it when we got paid and she insisted exclaiming she understood difficult times and said I could just pay her back when we got paid. Nevertheless, after speaking with the accounting manager she informed me that Jenn Reiss had her take out the money I owed her from my check and therefore there is no money left over. Jenn Reiss then went on to explain that there is a policy in the company handbook that states something along the lines of if you borrow money from a coworker the company has right to take it out your paycheck.
I have asked for a copy of the handbook which I have yet to recieve. During my time there as an employee I was asked to lie to vendors telling them that they couldn't recieve their refunds due to our "billing company" we contracted with the vendors had to wait 60 days. There is no billing company we are just told to tell our vendors that. The company has a clause in their terms and agreements that states they can change the date of shows without notice and extending a refund. They change the dates of their shows and pocket the money which is why vendors have to wait so long to recieve their refunds. Beware. Do Not Do Business With This Company. They are unprofessional and they discriminate.
Hi, please contact me at [email protected]. I am a reporter covering Amazing Pet Expos and would love to hear more of your story. I can keep your name confidential if you wish.
Really don't understand how they can continue to play the 'poor us' card and blame everyone else when there are years and years of this, not just last year. Don't do business with these crooks as you will only lose money and time, if not the first time around be sure there will be a next time. From looking at the complaints you will see everything from 'credit card' skimming to outright lies. They have been sued so many times from iHeart Radio to Credit Card Processers. Don't be stupid and give them any of your hard earned money. If I could give 0 stars I would. They are unethical crooks who think they can play with people. It's time for a game over and no get out of jail free card. They need to be stopped.
For B2C I worked more than 2 years as a freelancer and during that time I always had trouble getting my money for completed work and that was sometimes more than 5 sites a day.
I was always pushed to work hard and wait for the payment more than couple of months, for payments that are agreed to be weekly, and to email a couple of times a day to notify the employer that he is late. He was always on some meeting and business trips and he never had time to answer promptly on my messages.
As all workers in this company kept telling me that I was doing a great job, even the ones that where laid off, I never suspected not to be paid for the hard work that I obviously did with no complaints and even the additional work I was not meant to work on,
Until March 2012 I was told that he needs to stop additional freelance hiring "until I can get caughtup".
Since then I never got a single cent and I had serious and long talks with my ex employer resulting in "you will be paid", and that has never yet come. I had to make this report
For all freelancer that are going to work for them I would suggest to BE AWARE, open your eyes and take your money in advance!!!!
As for the clients of UPW that I hear make complaints against them almost daily, and they don't bring much in public on rip off report. You can google ultimate pet websites in google and you will see really this time how many positive comments are there about them.
Also for the clients, please look for someone else, and read your contract carefully. Better stay safe than sorry!!!!
I wish I had never worked for them and I lost so many precious time and nerves for nothing!!!
PS
You really can't hide all your negative comments with SEO and SEM from users/costumers because there are really a lot of them, play fair we are bringing you money!!! Common sense!!!
As is the case with everyone, they owe me money, that I know I will never get. They make it happy to lie to customers and steal from everyone. They don't pay bills, and its just strange that they are still in business... under a different name of course. DO NOT BE FOOLED.... they will never change their ways.
These people screwed me over big time. I paid big money only to be informed that the show was cancelled. Refunds were promised to be prompt then excuse after miserable excuse now for over a year. Then come to find out they are STILL doing this to people. Why doesn't the law look into these crooks, I did a quick search and this isn't an isolated incident but a long , long history. Nobody should consider handing these people one dime, furthermore, they should not be allowed to continue doing business until everyone is paid back in full.
The owner of the company, Sheila Rilenge, still wants to "talk about it". Hell, I paid for an expo over a year ago that was canceled with short notice and I was never issued a refund. Yep, she threatened me with litigation from her lawyer as well. I say bring it on, I'm considering initiating a class action lawsuit. This is a fairly common lawsuit in which a group of people (usually at least 20 people) with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the defendant as a group. Please visit my website www PetExpoScam dotcom and fill out the contact form if you're interested in taking action. Thank you.
Amazing expos was supposed to have an enent in virginia beach in september of 2017 that they cancelled. all attempts to get a refund with this company has reached a dead end. and no one will call you back EVER!!!
Amazing pet expos A e group, llc) has owed me $4,674.67 since december 2014, and has not paid me as of february 2015, despite written promises to do so. They are no longer responding to any attempts to communicate with them or their attorney.
In june 2014 i paid $900 to reserve 2 corner booths at the sacramento pet expo scheduled to take place on 12/06/14. On or around 11/23/14, i purchased specialized marketing materials, graphic design work, display fixtures, products for sale, etc. On 11/28/14, one week before the event, amazing pet expos sent an email to vendors canceling. Later investigation by a reporter uncovered the fact that the event venue had canceled the event with ape for non-payment as of november 21, 2014, a week before i and other vendors were notified, and days before most of my event expenditures.
Sheila rilenge, the ceo of amazing pet expos, emailed me december 1, 2014 to say that my expenses I had previously provided her copies of all my receipts and a spreadsheet detailing my expenses) would be included in an insurance claim she was submitting, and emailed me on 12/12/14 to say that a $900 check for the booth fees would be mailed to me via ups on 12/15/14 Pending the other expenses being reviewed in her insurance claim). I did not receive a check or tracking number. After repeated inquiries from me, she emailed several weeks later to say that the check was not sent and that all further inquiries should go to her attorney. I emailed her attorney on 1/13/15 and gave a deadline of 1/27/15 to receive my refund. I have had not further communication from amazing pet expos or their attorney since that date, and received no explanation about why the ceo lied to me about the refund check.
I am in communication with other vendors who also have not received refunds. It appears that other pet expos by this company are also possibly being canceled with little notice.
I have attempted to resolve this directly with the company, without success, and am now forced to begin complaint processes Bbb, Scamion, etc.) and applicable legal filings.
I wish to receive a refund of my booth fees ($900) and of my other expenditures related to this event ($3774.67), totaling $4,674.67, since those expenditures could have been avoided with adequate cancellation notice, and since those products/services were for event-specific items. Based on the information i have, it appears the company did not behave in good faith. I am a small business, and this loss has damaged my business and represents a significant financial burden.
Have many emails from them promising to pay the fees back for the expo's they cancelled but to no avail. Never answer phone calls or emails. I am going to hand over to my attorney.
As an exhibitor in Amazing ZPet Expos Denver Expo in 2012, I was offered a "discount" for preregistering to be an exhibitor at their 2013 show, which I took them up on. Shortly after the Expo in August of 2012, my company situation changed and I requested a refund of the fees paid- at this time, I had also discovered they went directly into my bank account and withdrew the amount I was promised plus $100- totaling $500.
Since Oct. of 2012, I have been constantly trying to attain this refund. I have spoken with no fewer than 6 employees, as well as both owner William Rilenge and his wife Sheila. Both assured me they would see to it my discount was issued; Sheila at one point stated in an email and by phone she planned to cut me a check the following morning-this was 3 months ago. I have sent repeated emails, some conversation threads lasting 15 or more communications long, before I no longer receive responses to my inquiries.
All start out optomistic, friendly, and determined to help, but wind up not returning emails and passing me along to the voice mailbox of someone who "just left the office" to leave messages that will never be answered. Totally unacceptable treatment of a client who had in good faith thought they would follow through on their promises.
I suppose $500 is a drop in the bucket to a corporation who owns two successful businesses (that's right, shocker- they also run Ultimate Pet Websites; a company I see several complaints about!) but to a single person small business, $500 is a significant chunk of money. I'm sure they think they are above reproach as most folks probably don't go to the bother of retaining an expensive attorney to get back money at a net loss- hmmm...part of their business strategy?!?
I cannot believe a company with this track record continues to operate, and making a comforable profit, I'm sure! Taking advantage of people with their atrocious business parctices as they go- ideally they would be serving time. But since they are roaming free to do this to others- pay heed- I warn you to not do business with William, his wife, or their employees in any capacity!
Amazing Pet Expos Reviews
The Cleveland Pet Expo refused to reimburse me. I had to cancel due to the event changing the place and date of the event and I could no longer attend.
Hello. I just want to warn anyone else working with this company. I was an employee that was screwed over. I resigned with the company because I felt they were being racisit and unfair. I was given a verbal warning and wrote up for commenting to another employee about the fact that I was being paid only half of my check and I would get the rest on Monday. The other employee was not written up despite the fact that she released information to me that she was not getting paid until Monday. I informed them that I felt this was a racial attack and they tried to dismiss that fact. I felt uncomfortable working there especially since the Manager Jenn Reiss would make racial comments about African Americans. She stated before going to a seattle show that she wanted to know if there were black people there and if so what kind.
Several employees made jokes and gave me the nickname the Big N and explained that the nickname was due to the fact that I was the only Black person that worked in the office. My first time being paid payroll was messed up and they had to give me half of my check on Friday and the other half on Monday which the check did not come with a formal paycheck stub showing calculations of tax deductions or my payrate information. I completed a time sheet upon leaving the company only for them to send me a check again without payroll information that bounced. I had to wait another 2 weeks after emailing Shiela Rilenge asking for an explanation of my time and paycheck stubs which I never gotten a response to and I was given only a portion of what I worked for. I worked 52 hours and was paid for possibly only 25.
I have continued to send emails and have not gotten a response. During a minnesota trip the manager Jenn Reiss offered to pay for my cellphone bill with her personal credit card due to the fact that it was off because of nonpayment. I explained to her that I would pay it when we got paid and she insisted exclaiming she understood difficult times and said I could just pay her back when we got paid. Nevertheless, after speaking with the accounting manager she informed me that Jenn Reiss had her take out the money I owed her from my check and therefore there is no money left over. Jenn Reiss then went on to explain that there is a policy in the company handbook that states something along the lines of if you borrow money from a coworker the company has right to take it out your paycheck.
I have asked for a copy of the handbook which I have yet to recieve. During my time there as an employee I was asked to lie to vendors telling them that they couldn't recieve their refunds due to our "billing company" we contracted with the vendors had to wait 60 days. There is no billing company we are just told to tell our vendors that. The company has a clause in their terms and agreements that states they can change the date of shows without notice and extending a refund. They change the dates of their shows and pocket the money which is why vendors have to wait so long to recieve their refunds. Beware. Do Not Do Business With This Company. They are unprofessional and they discriminate.
Contact Me
Hi, please contact me at [email protected]. I am a reporter covering Amazing Pet Expos and would love to hear more of your story. I can keep your name confidential if you wish.
Never Do Business with Them
This company is pure garbage. They lie and steal. That's all they will ever do.
Scams/Lies and more
Really don't understand how they can continue to play the 'poor us' card and blame everyone else when there are years and years of this, not just last year. Don't do business with these crooks as you will only lose money and time, if not the first time around be sure there will be a next time. From looking at the complaints you will see everything from 'credit card' skimming to outright lies. They have been sued so many times from iHeart Radio to Credit Card Processers. Don't be stupid and give them any of your hard earned money. If I could give 0 stars I would. They are unethical crooks who think they can play with people. It's time for a game over and no get out of jail free card. They need to be stopped.
For B2C I worked more than 2 years as a freelancer and during that time I always had trouble getting my money for completed work and that was sometimes more than 5 sites a day.
I was always pushed to work hard and wait for the payment more than couple of months, for payments that are agreed to be weekly, and to email a couple of times a day to notify the employer that he is late. He was always on some meeting and business trips and he never had time to answer promptly on my messages.
As all workers in this company kept telling me that I was doing a great job, even the ones that where laid off, I never suspected not to be paid for the hard work that I obviously did with no complaints and even the additional work I was not meant to work on,
Until March 2012 I was told that he needs to stop additional freelance hiring "until I can get caughtup".
Since then I never got a single cent and I had serious and long talks with my ex employer resulting in "you will be paid", and that has never yet come. I had to make this report
For all freelancer that are going to work for them I would suggest to BE AWARE, open your eyes and take your money in advance!!!!
As for the clients of UPW that I hear make complaints against them almost daily, and they don't bring much in public on rip off report. You can google ultimate pet websites in google and you will see really this time how many positive comments are there about them.
Also for the clients, please look for someone else, and read your contract carefully. Better stay safe than sorry!!!!
I wish I had never worked for them and I lost so many precious time and nerves for nothing!!!
PS
You really can't hide all your negative comments with SEO and SEM from users/costumers because there are really a lot of them, play fair we are bringing you money!!! Common sense!!!
Former Employee Here - Yes... it's a scam
As is the case with everyone, they owe me money, that I know I will never get. They make it happy to lie to customers and steal from everyone. They don't pay bills, and its just strange that they are still in business... under a different name of course. DO NOT BE FOOLED.... they will never change their ways.
A bunch of Liers and Theives
These people screwed me over big time. I paid big money only to be informed that the show was cancelled. Refunds were promised to be prompt then excuse after miserable excuse now for over a year. Then come to find out they are STILL doing this to people. Why doesn't the law look into these crooks, I did a quick search and this isn't an isolated incident but a long , long history. Nobody should consider handing these people one dime, furthermore, they should not be allowed to continue doing business until everyone is paid back in full.
They still owe me $450
The owner of the company, Sheila Rilenge, still wants to "talk about it". Hell, I paid for an expo over a year ago that was canceled with short notice and I was never issued a refund. Yep, she threatened me with litigation from her lawyer as well. I say bring it on, I'm considering initiating a class action lawsuit. This is a fairly common lawsuit in which a group of people (usually at least 20 people) with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the defendant as a group. Please visit my website www PetExpoScam dotcom and fill out the contact form if you're interested in taking action. Thank you.
Amazing expos was supposed to have an enent in virginia beach in september of 2017 that they cancelled. all attempts to get a refund with this company has reached a dead end. and no one will call you back EVER!!!
Amazing pet expos A e group, llc) has owed me $4,674.67 since december 2014, and has not paid me as of february 2015, despite written promises to do so. They are no longer responding to any attempts to communicate with them or their attorney.
In june 2014 i paid $900 to reserve 2 corner booths at the sacramento pet expo scheduled to take place on 12/06/14. On or around 11/23/14, i purchased specialized marketing materials, graphic design work, display fixtures, products for sale, etc. On 11/28/14, one week before the event, amazing pet expos sent an email to vendors canceling. Later investigation by a reporter uncovered the fact that the event venue had canceled the event with ape for non-payment as of november 21, 2014, a week before i and other vendors were notified, and days before most of my event expenditures.
Sheila rilenge, the ceo of amazing pet expos, emailed me december 1, 2014 to say that my expenses I had previously provided her copies of all my receipts and a spreadsheet detailing my expenses) would be included in an insurance claim she was submitting, and emailed me on 12/12/14 to say that a $900 check for the booth fees would be mailed to me via ups on 12/15/14 Pending the other expenses being reviewed in her insurance claim). I did not receive a check or tracking number. After repeated inquiries from me, she emailed several weeks later to say that the check was not sent and that all further inquiries should go to her attorney. I emailed her attorney on 1/13/15 and gave a deadline of 1/27/15 to receive my refund. I have had not further communication from amazing pet expos or their attorney since that date, and received no explanation about why the ceo lied to me about the refund check.
I am in communication with other vendors who also have not received refunds. It appears that other pet expos by this company are also possibly being canceled with little notice.
I have attempted to resolve this directly with the company, without success, and am now forced to begin complaint processes Bbb, Scamion, etc.) and applicable legal filings.
I wish to receive a refund of my booth fees ($900) and of my other expenditures related to this event ($3774.67), totaling $4,674.67, since those expenditures could have been avoided with adequate cancellation notice, and since those products/services were for event-specific items. Based on the information i have, it appears the company did not behave in good faith. I am a small business, and this loss has damaged my business and represents a significant financial burden.
Have many emails from them promising to pay the fees back for the expo's they cancelled but to no avail. Never answer phone calls or emails. I am going to hand over to my attorney.
Vendor ape cancelled show with no notice in 2016. After many requests and many promises for refund none has been received.
As an exhibitor in Amazing ZPet Expos Denver Expo in 2012, I was offered a "discount" for preregistering to be an exhibitor at their 2013 show, which I took them up on. Shortly after the Expo in August of 2012, my company situation changed and I requested a refund of the fees paid- at this time, I had also discovered they went directly into my bank account and withdrew the amount I was promised plus $100- totaling $500.
Since Oct. of 2012, I have been constantly trying to attain this refund. I have spoken with no fewer than 6 employees, as well as both owner William Rilenge and his wife Sheila. Both assured me they would see to it my discount was issued; Sheila at one point stated in an email and by phone she planned to cut me a check the following morning-this was 3 months ago. I have sent repeated emails, some conversation threads lasting 15 or more communications long, before I no longer receive responses to my inquiries.
All start out optomistic, friendly, and determined to help, but wind up not returning emails and passing me along to the voice mailbox of someone who "just left the office" to leave messages that will never be answered. Totally unacceptable treatment of a client who had in good faith thought they would follow through on their promises.
I suppose $500 is a drop in the bucket to a corporation who owns two successful businesses (that's right, shocker- they also run Ultimate Pet Websites; a company I see several complaints about!) but to a single person small business, $500 is a significant chunk of money. I'm sure they think they are above reproach as most folks probably don't go to the bother of retaining an expensive attorney to get back money at a net loss- hmmm...part of their business strategy?!?
I cannot believe a company with this track record continues to operate, and making a comforable profit, I'm sure! Taking advantage of people with their atrocious business parctices as they go- ideally they would be serving time. But since they are roaming free to do this to others- pay heed- I warn you to not do business with William, his wife, or their employees in any capacity!