29 Apr 09 Coolessential.com Ltd – Proposal to strike off

I decided to check the Companies House record of Coolessential.com Ltd – and was surprised to see that there is a Proposal to Strike Off the register.  Well, perhaps surprised is an exaggeration as there has been no sign that the company has filed reports, etc.  I amn’t sure if the proposal to strike off is instigated by the Registrar or the company itself.  Anyway, it may affect a lot of people – so thought you might be interested.

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

26 Apr 09 Cold calls from advertising agencies

Since my poor experience recently (see posts about coolessential, I decided that it would be a good idea to make myself (and anyone else who might be interested) a check list of ways to avoid being scammed.

First of all – remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That was what I forgot.

My second experience with an advertising agency calling me was much better than the first – it was a company who are authorised by google.co.uk to manage sponsored advertising links on the google search engine. When they called at first, they mentioned their own web site and then proved to me that they had the correct authorisation from google to carry out the work on my behalf. They provided phone numbers and email addresses – but, most of all, they sent paper contracts and had physical return addresses for that.

So, here’s a quick list of things to look out for when someone phones you:-

1. Ask for contact details.
2. Do not agree to anything straight away.
3. Ask for proof that the company is authorised to carry out the work.
4. Do not pay for the work on first contact.
5. Ask for a proper invoice to be sent to you, even if you subsequently pay by credit card over the phone.
6. If the company is in the UK, check that the invoice has a VAT number if they have added a VAT amount on to your bill.
7. Check on the search engines – search for “the company name + problems” (obviously replace the company name with the real company name) That should reveal any disgruntled clients.
8. Ask for references – ask for a phone number from two existing clients.

That way, you will be doing much more than I did – and, while it might not save your bacon (… er, hard earned cash) – it might save you from some of the grief I have experienced over the coolessential issue.

24 Apr 09 Coolessential.com

Hi – a few days ago I emailed the company and asked for a refund of my payment to them.  I was surprised to see that I got an email back saying that the credit card card was being refunded – and I am currently waiting to see if that has happened.  So far no sign of refund in my bank account – I’ll add more information if I see the money back in my account.

I am going to put together a small hotsheet of how to deal with pushy advertising companies who want credit card information over the phone.

Margaret

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

23 Apr 09 Coolessential updates

Hi – just a quick note to thank the people who contacted me about this company.  I appreciate your support.  The information which has come to me so far has not been particularly positive.

M

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

16 Apr 09 A cached copy of an old advertisement for coolessential.com

Now that coolessential.com has got my attention, I have been trawling the search engines for further mention of this company.  I have also been wondering about the telephone answering service that this company is running – and how they recruit their staff.  A little digging around revealed this old advertisement showing how the company recruited their staff in the past (it’s difficult to specify the exact date of this entry – I certainly hope it isn’t current).

I’d love thear from some of coolessential.com employees …..

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, working for coolessential.com

14 Apr 09 Coolessential.com – further information

I thought I would just post this here as it is relevant to our previous posts on coolessential.com

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/59013/pages/5227/page.pdf – this link was posted in a comment on a previous article – and shows the details of an interesting bankruptcy -

PANNU, Phopinder, also known as Jospeh Singh and Jkoseph Pannu, formerly trading as Cool Magazine, and residing at Peckers Wood, 31 Queens Court, Ellesmere Road, Weybridge KT13 0HX and lately at 32 Churchfield Road, Walton On Thames, Surrey KT12 2SY. Court—KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES COUNTY COURT. No. of Matter—600 of 2008. Date of Bankruptcy Order—20 January 2009. These proceedings where previously advertised in The London Gazette under the description: Phopinder Pannu, also known as Joseph Singh, occupation unknown, residing at Peckers Wood, 31 Queens Court, Ellesmere Road, Weybridge KT13 0HX. Official Receiver—2nd Floor, Sunley House, Bedford Park, Croydon, CR9 1TX.

However, as I monitor the domain names of companies in which I am interested, I noticed yesterday that coolessential.com has been updated -

Registrant:
Cool Comm
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB

Domain name: COOLESSENTIAL.COM

Administrative Contact:
Pannu, Terry  Terry.pannu@coolessential.com
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB
447770407597
Technical Contact:
Pannu, Terry  Terry.pannu@coolessential.com
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB
447770407597

The domain registration has been updated until 2014-04-13 – so obviously a bankruptcy is no hindrance when it comes to having an online presence and taking money from people.

Wow!

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

07 Apr 09 Coolessential.com – update 7 April 2009

What a bloody stupid mistake I made when I signed up at coolessential.com

I’ve been contemplating starting an affiliate program for my Scottish Gifts web site and, because I also promote affiliate products elsewhere, I more or less had decided that I would use one particular company for this program.  That company is Shareasale – I will publish a case study about my experience later on.  However, from an affiliate point of view, they pay promptly, they run a tight ship – and they have some great tools which make it easy for people to promote products.  Additionally, although I don’t know how many people work as affiliate marketers through them, my guess is that the number is substantial.

So, when the opportunity to put my products on coolessential.com came knocking at my door, I guess I was in a more receptive mood than I should have been.  I have had no receipt for my payment to them; I have had no notification of their VAT number;  no products have been listed on their web site;  I have no contract from them – or letter of any description.  The last contact I had from Mr H was on 30 March 2009.

Enough is enough.  It’s charge-back time.

I’ll keep you posted.

Tags: affiliate marketing, promote products, shareasale

25 Mar 09 Coolessential.com – an update

A quick update about coolessential.com – so far, no phone calls from my contact there.  Also, checking the UK Companies House details for coolessential.com suggests that although incorporated, they have not filed information

Accounting Reference Date: 30/11
Last Accounts Made Up To:  (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
Next Accounts Due: 26/09/2009
Last Return Made Up To:
Next Return Due: 24/12/2008 OVERDUE

… not looking too good at present.

M

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

23 Mar 09 Coolessential.com – a review

As a retailer, I am always on the lookout to expand my shop’s internet footprint.  I was recently contacted by a company, Coolessential.com – and this is a history of my experiences with them to date.

Firstly, I have had no previous contact with, or indeed knowledge of, Coolessential.com.  My first reaction to their proposal was that I was interested but skeptical.  The proposal was that I should register with their site for an annual fee and that they would upload my products to their portal which was being advertised in various UK national papers.  Any sales generated through the site would attract a commission to Coolessential.com – and I would receive payment for goods directly into my bank account.  So far, so good.

The coolessential.com representative who contacted me (Mr H), showed me how one of my products would look on the site – and this was accomplished in the blink of an eye.  It appeared to be set up within a few minutes.

After some discussion with my husband, I decided it was worth a go to open up some more marketing opportunities.  So, to date, coolessential.com have received my setup fee – and that was approximately two weeks ago.  Since then, progress has ground to a halt.

There are some big red flags now all over this transaction – and I am waiting with bated breath to see how we proceed.  My experience of phoning to progress the contract has been unsatisfactory – the service phones are certainly answered; however, no progress is visible on the publication of my product feed.

I would be hesitant to recommend the company so far.

I will keep you updated of further events.

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com