4/23/2010 8:40 AM (PST)

I was also scammed by South Bay Office Products. They sent me return labels. Make sure you don't get stuck with the return shipping costs.

4/23/2010 10:45 AM (PST)

Hey KP,

Did you use these labels to ship the product back? If so, did you stop hearing from them?

4/23/2010 10:59 AM (PST)

Monica,

Yes, I did use the labels South Bay sent me to ship the boxes back to them. UPS just picked up the boxes today, so I don't know yet what the outcome will be. Call 954-834-5370 to request return shipping labels. If they give you any problems, tell them what Bill told you say; make it clear that your company refuses to pay for the supplies and the shipping costs. The FTC website also offers some information and advice on office supply scams.

Good luck! By the way, did you order from South Bay online or over the telephone? I notice they now have a website, but don't give an address or telephone number, so I'm just curious.

4/23/2010 12:12 PM (PST)

Hi KP,

I ordered over the telephone and I already have the shipping labels. Took one month for them to send me the labels. I was not aware they had a website. They probably recently created it to look more believeable. I noticed on the shipping labels, the address to ship the products back to is 1100 S. Powerline Rd., Suite C, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 and the remit to address to send the check for payment is the same address but Suite 101. That's why I was wondering because I have a feeling they will refuse the boxes and they will come back my way again.

4/23/2010 12:23 PM (PST)

Monica,

If that does happen, we simply refuse the boxes. Did they also send you tracking labels for you reference? I would suggest making copies of the return labels as well; that is what I did.

4/23/2010 12:35 PM (PST)

kp,

Yes they did send me Return Service Customer Receipts. I already made a copy of all the labels before I put them on the boxes. Thanks for replying back and answering my questions. Let me know if they kept the boxes in your tracking process.

5/28/2010 10:39 AM (PST)

I was just scammed by this company!!! Have you had any problems with the boxes coming back to you? Did you ever receive a call back from anyone at this company??

5/28/2010 11:08 AM (PST)

Valerie,

No, the boxes didn't come back and, so far, we haven't heard any more from the company. I'm sure they're very busy fielding complaints while trying to recover their losses by scamming yet more unsuspecting businesses.

Have you received the supplies yet? If not, simply refuse the boxes when they arrive.


KP

5/28/2010 11:17 AM (PST)

Valerie, I sent my boxes back as well with the shipping labels they provided and the tracking states they did receive them and I have not heard anything more from this company. As KP said, if you have not received the boxes, just refuse them upon delivery and if you have received the shipment, demand return shipping labels to return everything.

8/24/2012 11:25 AM (PST)

DON'T PAY WHATEVER YOU DO! I just had to deal with the same crap. A company calling themselves a collection agency was telling us they bought a debt from Business Supply Services, that we supposedly ordered toner from. It's the same scam. Here, this may help... Protect Your Organization You can protect your organization from paying for unordered goods and services. Here’s how: 1. Know your rights. If you receive supplies or bills for services you didn’t order, don’t pay, and don’t return the unordered merchandise. You may treat unordered merchandise as a gift. By law, it’s illegal for a seller to send you bills or dunning notices for unordered merchandise, or ask you to return it — even if the seller offers to pay for shipping. Further, if the seller sends you items that differ from your order in brand name, type, quantity, size, or quality — without your prior express agreement — you may treat the substitutions as unordered merchandise. Unordered services are treated the same way. However, first consider the possibility that the seller made an honest mistake. The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule offers additional protections in business-to-business sales of non-durable office or cleaning supplies and most sales of goods or services to individuals, groups, or associations. The Rule requires telemarketers to tell you it’s a sales call — and who’s doing the selling — before they make their pitch. They must tell you the total cost of the products or services they’re offering, any restrictions on getting or using them, and that a sale is final or non-refundable before you pay. It’s illegal for telemarketers to misrepresent any information, including facts about the goods or services being offered. 2. Assign designated buyers and document your purchases. For each order, the designated employee should issue a purchase order — electronic or written — to the supplier with an authorized signature and a purchase order number. The order form should instruct the supplier to note the purchase order number on the invoice and bill of lading. The buyer should send a copy of every purchase order to your accounts payable department. Keep blank order forms secure. 3. Check your documentation before paying bills. When merchandise arrives, the receiving employee should verify that it matches the shipper’s bill of lading — paying special attention to brands and quantity — and your purchase order. Refuse merchandise that doesn’t. If everything’s in order, the employee should send a copy of the bill of lading to your accounts payable department. Bills for services should be reconciled the same way. A supplier should not be paid unless the invoice has the correct purchase order number and the information on the invoice, the purchase order and the bill of lading match. 4. Train your staff. Train everyone in how to respond to telemarketers. Advise employees who are not authorized to order supplies and services to say, "I’m not authorized to place orders. If you wa