I can literally say my story is like yours word for word! Good old "Michael" told me the same story as he told you. I did go a step further and promised to press fraud charges on them. I'm working on that now. The fraud case will be about the promised advertising as well as the refund. I look at it a little differently than good old Michael at eperks. They had MY MONEY and didn't do anything with it other than buy junk food and porn. They didn't invest MY MONEY in advertising as they promised so now they need to give me back my money! So sorry about your pay cut Mikey, I guess this tough economy is even hurting the thieves! December 23, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Amanda, Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry you're going through this horrible experience. You'll probably get a slew of comments here after the holidays, but until then, just realize you're not alone. Do your best to breathe deeply, count your blessings, and have a great holiday time with your family! December 23, 2008 at 6:16 pm

Bankruptcy, huh? This evidently is not stopping them to go ahead with a new startup: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/20/leapfish-launches-another-meta-search-engine-no-one-will-ever-use/ They are charging their advertisers about $500+ per keyword on their new "search engine". I wonder if they have a refund policy for their new start up. December 23, 2008 at 10:02 pm

Amanda, I am so sorry this is happening to you. Did you put it on your credit card? Call right away to put it in dispute. It might help. December 23, 2008 at 10:44 pm

As I was reading this blog, my phone rang; i looked down at the screen and could not believe the phone #appeared 9252259806. The caller identified himself as Mike, as he tried to explain the company woe’s I chuckled as I continued to read this blog, He must think highly of himself and the company as he tried to explain the reason Eperks did not get their government bail out. Who are these people? I have had better explanations from small children when they were trying to reason with me that the dog eat their homework. He offered me the two options, option B breaking up the amount of 1,394.78 into 12 payment with the assurance that they would be in BK and I receive nothing, or option A sending me 20% of the amount I am owed. I asked him calmly would he be this nice if the phone call was reversed and I was having difficulty and that I did not get my government bail out, what would he say to me. Mike honestly could not answer and avoided the question. I asked him again would the company be so forgiving or would they take me to collection? He never was honest with me. He claimed the would send me a new agreement and after I signed it they would cut me a check. We will see. I think the whole thing is a scam and next week they will be some other company promising something different. Is there some way to report them? December 24, 2008 at 11:47 am

Hi Amanda, Becasue you described my experience with ePerks to a tee, I'm compelled to add that in my opinion, eperks are lying, cheating bastards who should be shut down by the Ca Secrtary of State...only, they can't be found on the Secretary of State's website. If anyone wants to take this to State Boards of Real Estate and Attorneys General, count me in! Thanks, Rand Rubin December 30, 2008 at 3:29 pm

Same story with more damage. I did get them up to 30%, but am giving them 24 hours more before turning to an attorney. Has anyone received their refund yet? January 5, 2009 at 6:03 pm

Okay, so here's an update. Just talked to Michael w/ePerks again. He said I was approved for a 50% refund. I guess I'm stubborn or something b/c I want my full refund- like they promised. The ONLY reason I stayed for the 8mos was because they said that was the only way I'd qualify for the refund. Now, I'm still not getting it. I still don't understand how someone can work for this company & feel good about their job when they are taking money that is owed to other people. Michael (the eperks michael) said that he saw my blog & I must not care about him either. Well Michael, since you are reading my blog: you have a choice- you are choosing to work for a company that is doing its customers wrong & not standing by its promises. That is your choice. My only choices right now are settling for less than I am owed? Sorry, no thanks. And please stop telling me that you guys are filing for bankruptcy, especially when I find out that another company is being started.... My money was due back to me by Dec 15,2008 & not one day later- if you have not already filed, then send me back my money! January 5, 2009 at 6:48 pm

Amanda, The CEO of ePerks is threatening to sue me if I do not retract a post in which I commented on them possibly filing for bankruptcy. He in insists that ePerks never filed for bankruptcy nor they plan too. Did they ever clarify this to you? Feel free to email me to the address I am leaving with this comment. January 7, 2009 at 1:18 pm

Somebody needs to get and email or the settlement contract with ePerks claims they are going out of business and post it ASAP!!! January 7, 2009 at 7:29 pm

Vlad- I am not sure what you have going on w/eperks, but Michael(or Mike) did tell me on numerous occassions that they were filing for bankruptcy- if they are not, then that is his error, but that is what I am being told & apparently (based on the posts) so are many others. I hope that they do not have to file for bankruptcy & can then keep their commitments-I don't know anything accept what I am being told by their rep. Eric- in order to get that contract you have to agree to the settlement...not sure if anyone has been willing to do that - maybe Steven from post above? January 7, 2009 at 7:41 pm

Question for all of you reading this blog: Has anyone settled w/eperks? Has anyone signed and accepted the settlement letter that they send you where you ultimately sign away all of your rights? If you signed, did you consult w/an attorney first? Just trying to get opinions on this, but I am guessing that if you signed then you will not reply.... January 15, 2009 at 8:32 am

Our eperks friend Mike has his script down well. Like Amanda, I stayed in for 8 months to qualifiy for the refund. I sent in the required proof (of no closed business, in my case, no leads at all) last Spring and received a certificate promising the refund in December, 2008. I am owed $1087.04. Per Mike, I can have 20% now or 1/12 of the amount per month until paid, but if the company goes out of business, I won't get any more payments. He implied that eperks was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. When I said I wanted to think about which option to choose, Mike said that agents were calling every day and the "fund" available to pay any refunds is steadily shrinking. I asked if he meant that if I did not decide immediately whether to choose 'Option A' or 'Option B', there may not be any money at all he indicated that was a possibility. Now he is supposed to be faxing an agreement. I'm afraid it is too late to file with my credit card company as the last monthly payment was March, 2008. Like Amanda, if I could get 50% instead of 20% it would be better, but we both signed contracts prominsing FULL refunds! Since owner Ben Behrouzi was one of the 2004 Class of Millionaires, and is now starting up another company, he should be able to honor the contracts we signed! Any advice on how to proceed? January 15, 2009 at 7:19 pm

Michael Andres called me yesterday, January 16, asking if I had signed the agreement to accept $217.40 in lieu of my full refund. When I said that I had not signed because I want to consult my attorney first, he told me that attorney fees would be significantly more than the entire amount I am owed ($1087.04) and that the availble pool of money for refunds is shrinking quickly. I stated again that I think it is unfair to offer only 20% refund since I faithfully satisfied all of the contractual obligations to qualify for a full refund. We were at an impass when I ended the call. Does anyone else have an update? January 17, 2009 at 6:06 pm

Hi Jackie- some attorneys give free consultations.... TO ALL: Instead of posting exactly what else has happened to me in this horrible situation, I'd like to hear more comments on what everyone else is doing. Are you taking the settlements? Are you still being told that eperks is filing for bankruptcy? Has anyone actually seen anything filed in the courts or been provided w/a case # for the bankruptcy? January 19, 2009 at 7:55 pm

Hey guys. Well, I haven't received my full refund yet.... I have just contacted the CA Attorney General's office via their website and filed a complaint. Maybe that will work. Here is the link should you like to file also. http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL This may not help get the money we are owed back, but maybe it will help with this company not being able to do this to more people. January 29, 2009 at 3:02 pm

My attorney recommends that I file in small claims court. I will also check out the website above. Thanks, Amanda. January 29, 2009 at 5:41 pm

ePerks' founder is completely quiet about ePerks in this interview by Fox: http://tinyurl.com/cpk8kv Unless of course that was not a true "news" story but some sort of advertorial. Wonder how much did it cost him? Did the money came from Realtors like Amanda? February 12, 2009 at 2:10 pm

I contracted with ePERKS in October of 07, stayed with the company for 8 months with NO LEADS, cancelled and asked for my guaranteed refund which they verified I was due. However, they took another month's payment after I had cancelled. When I tried to resolve this and asked for a credit they refused and said they would add it to my Refund Certificate which they said was in the mail. I received the certificate but ...surprise... the amount did not include the overcharge! And, the date of refund was another 8 months away. I could not get any satisfaction dealing with ePERKS so I called my credit card company and disputed the charge which was credited back. Now this is important for those of you who think you might not be able to dispute your 8 months of charges with your credit card company. When I inquired about the entire charge with my credit card company because I had no faith that ePERKS would still be in business 8 months down the road they told me that I would have to wait till the date on the certificate before I could dispute it because that date would be the start point for the 30 day dispute requirement. Now get this...several months go by and then I get a collections notice for $151.88 the exact amount disputed on the overcharge. When I call the company to try to resolve this I am told that I nollified my refund because I had a delinquency! A delinquency on a something that was not owed them...how convenient for them. I fulfilled all the requirements for a refund - paid faithfully for 8 months, etc - now any refund is denied - not even 20%. I am now working with my credit card company. I recently sent 19 pages of documentation to them. Hang tough guys. Can't let an immoral, disruptable company get away with this scam. February 23, 2009 at 3:47 pm

I feel for you! I have read another blog that sounds similar to your situation. I only wish I had seen all these blogs before signing up. There are so many complaint w/the BBB and on rip-off report.com that I can't believe this company is still operating. I really appreciate all of your support! Since I filed w/the AG's office I have received no communications from eperks which is disheartening, but I did hear back from the AG's office and they are investigating. I guess I have given up on getting back the money. At least I still have my integrity. February 24, 2009 at 2:28 pm

Got my letter from ePerks today (actually the response that they sent to the AG in California and cc'd me on). They claimed that my blog is inaccurate and that I am causing them damage. Even said that they did not deny me my refund. The only thing I have to do is sign their release. Apparently that is why I have not been sent my money. They forgot to tell the AG's office the details and the timeline and all that has happened BEFORE they offered me the refund in order to get me to pull the blog (per Mike). I mean, forget the fact that they lied to me to try to get me to settle for 20% even though I had a 'guaranteed' refund owed to me. Forget that they didn't get it to me by the date on the guarantee. Seriously? They accuse ME of lying? wow. I am aware that if you have signed the release document then you cannot even post a comment here so I am not expecting many comments anymore. As far as my blog being inaccurate- everything I have written is exactly as it was....and surely an intelligent person can tell that if there are this many people with the same story then someone at eperks is using a script! Surely we are not to believe that this many people would have the same story and be untruthful. Plus, there are hundreds of other blogs with horrible stories. I apparently need to clarify based on the letter to the AG's office from eperks...I NEVER said that eperks didn't refund money to ANY agents/brokers- I know for a fact that some people settled for much less than they were owed and that some got 100%(because I've talked to some of those agents personally)...but they received the money well after the "due" date and IF AND ONLY IF they signed this release form that has been created after the fact where they sign away all of their rights to make any comments or pursue any additional action against the company. Wish I still had a copy of that form that I hadn't made notes all over so I could post for you guys, but I don't. I realize based on a few conversations that some of you are wondering why I didn't just sign the form and take the money. Truth is, I didn't think that they'd send it even if I did that and my attorney said I already fulfilled my obligation w/out signing that form. Now that I have spoken w/a few Realtors that have signed and received money then I think you can get your full refund if you keep trying. I am not sure that filing w/the AGs office helped since eperks' letter basically says that they did nothing wrong- they said that it was me. Who knows, the more people that give accurate accounts of their situations the better chance of keeping this from happening to others. I have spent too much time and effort dealing with this and have decided that the money I'm owed isn't worth the stress that this has caused, so I wish you all a successful year in Real Estate & I'd love to chat about something positive! March 4, 2009 at 8:11 pm

ePerks.com is a part of a ponzi scheme... now the same group of imbeciles started website called LeapFish.com. Berny Madoff can learn a thing or two from these scam artists. April 22, 2009 at 10:27 pm

John, re: your post: "This evidently is not stopping them to go ahead with a new startup: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/20/leapfish-launches-another-meta-search-engine-no-one-will-ever-use/" ---- I just got called by Jason from LeapFish.com. They want you to buy a specific (usually broad term) keyword to be at the top of their aggregate site along with the organic results from Google, Yahoo and now Bing; however, I just tried searching for major keywords in various niches and nobody's buying. My keyword for third place (and they will only sell 3 places, which are suppose to be permanent), would cost $599 and then 5% of that price per year. Probably a flash in the pan; I've been called by a similar business which had no PR, nobody linking to them, and no traffic stats, and nothing about them could be found except that they were a scam. I don't know if LeapFish.com is a scam yet, but I'm not paying my money to find out. Also Jason would not supply me with any performance stats, stating the company is only a few months old. But apparently, there is nothing new about this particular scenario. Not buying. July 1, 2009 at 11:46 am

Hi Everyone, I am a victim of leapfish. I feel like such an idiot because I never do this sort of thing. I usually hang up quiickly. But they got me. I paid $652.69 for a keyword. There was a slick answer to every question I asked. One of the things that got me was the sample ad they showed me. By typing "movers" in the search box, Mayflower and United Van Lines came up. That made me think it was legitimate. The sales pitch was very high pressure, and I gave in. Within minutes of hanging up, I googed Leapfish. I found only positive comments and "articles" placed by the leapfish people themselves. I also found enough negative comments to realize I made a mistake. I immediately called back. Of course, no answer, so I left a message telling them I could not afford it and asked that they not post the transaction. I got 4 emails one of which told me to respond to confirm my order. I did not respond, but in the others I requested a cancelation. The next day I got a phone call. The man informed me there were no refunds, and that I was guilty of "chargeback fraud." Nothing was said about their terms in the phone call, but somehow they are claiming I agreed, I got an email from them telling me they would file papers in the Alameda County courthouse charging me with chargback fraud if I did not release the funds. I am filing a dispute with my bank, but after reading all of your posts, I believe this will not be easy. I also found in the Better Business Bureau site that there were 3 complaints in the last 36 months with BBB. Two were resolved and one had some administrative resolution. I plan to go to small claims court, call 7 on your side in the Bay area, file a complaint with BBB, and work with any other consumer advocate I can find. I intend to be relentless. If they do not resolve this, I will use thier ad to warn others, but I am sure that will be another "violation." I will check back and let you know what happens, ad I would appreciate any suggestions from you as well. Thanks. July 26, 2009 at 3:26 pm

I would like to update my post. leapfish has granted me a refund. Marie Rodgers July 31, 2009 at 5:53 pm

wish eperks would send me mine! July 31, 2009 at 6:30 pm