Making a Complaint about the International Speakers Network or Willow Mist

Several people have asked how they can effectively make complaints about their experiences with either or both the ISN (David Wright's Innovators Group, Book-a-Speaker, etc) or Willow Mist which is Brenda Keefer's organization, separate from David Wright's organization.... Brenda used to work at ISN before... well... you can read about why Brenda's relationship with ISN terminated.

Here are some options for making your complaint as of early 2012:

•  Complain to the Knoxville, Tennessee Better Business Bureau.  You should know that ISN / Innovators Group changed their name, probably around 2010.  When they were still called ISN, they had an F rating but now they just have a string of complaints, all presumably resolved.  I'm going to guess that they were resolved like mine was - meaning - they lied to the BBB about my case and the BBB closed the case.

Willow Mist / Brenda Keefer currently has an F rating.  Be warned.

•  File a Ripoff Report  They already have a file on ISN.  They have several reports as listed under Innovators Group.

• File a report with the Complaint Board  They have a file on ISN and Willow Mist here, too.

•  File a report with the Tennessee Attorney General's office.  You can do this for either the Innovators Group or Willow Mist.

•  Willow Mist - one man in California is interested in having Brenda arrested for interstate web fraud.

Grief Saved and Grief Explained - Some End of Year Statistics and Notes

As 2011 comes to a close, I thought I would share some statistics with you about this blog, Burned by ISN, and its impact.  My report comes on the heels of receiving yet another report of someone who was almost taken by ISN.  It's always so good to hear from others who have been saved from their bad, and often illegal, business practices!

It's been almost 5 years ago that I started blogging about the International Speakers Network and how they burned me by taking almost $1000 of my money, then never producing what they promised.  I signed on to get their support in building my speaking practice, I was supposed to be a part of a "Five Featured Speakers" program - which never materialized.

Not only didn't it materialize, but they sent me falsified materials trying to prove that it did!  You can learn more about just how they duped me on this blog's first post.

But I'm a true believer in karma, and sometimes it's important to put karma into motion.  Thus this blog, and dozens of posts over the years that have inspired even more comments from either people who have found us in time to save their grief, or others who have found us too late, and realized when they found us that they, too, had been duped by the International Speaker's Network.

What has transpired during these years?  A few statistics for you:

Number of posts:  49

Number of visitors: you can see on the right hand side of this page. As of today:  10,824

Number of comments:   66 published, plus one that is unpublished.   The one that is not published was sent to me a few years ago by a young woman who had just been fired because she had uncovered the ISN's wrongdoing.  We have been in touch and I continue to hold her information in case it's ever needed.

Number of names that ISN has used over the years:    6 - or there may be more I haven't found.  So far I know about ISN, International Speakers Network, ISNWorks, Innovators Group, Insight Publishing, Book A Speaker.  If you know of others, will you let me know?

About Willow Mist Professional Services:  Around June 2008, Brenda Keefer left ISN and started Willow Mist Professional Services.  Evidently that's when David Wright, the owner and her boss at ISN, discovered Brenda was still on probation for stealing about $250,000 from a previous employer.  So now Brenda is "helping" (or more like helping herself to the money of) people through her own company, Willow Mist.  David Wright was smart to fire her. But now Brenda is making his life miserable.  Perhaps more karma?

(Just FYI - I hear from as many who have been duped by Brenda Keefer as I do from people who have been duped by ISN - the emails run about 50-50).

Number of Lawsuits against ISN:  I have no idea. I have heard reports, but haven't been able to take the time to research them.  This comment from a reader explains the one about those famous authors they promise to pair you with.

By the way - don't let that BBB Accredited Business logo on their homepage fool you.  In late 2010, The International Speaker's Network changed their name to The Innovators Group - and that meant their old track record at the BBB, an F rating, went away.  Now they have an A+ rating through the Knoxville Better Business Bureau - but if you look at the record you'll see that many complaints have been "resolved."

I have to wonder whether those complaints were resolved as mine was - meaning - they were ignored, then lies were told, and in the end who knows?  I call this my "naked picture theory" - meaning - someone is holding something over someone else's head.  Once the BBB told me my complaints were 'resolved", and what I knew was that nothing had been resolved, and somehow my complaints had been swept under the rug, I lost all respect for the Better Business Bureau because of the way that was handled.

As long as I continue to hear from readers who have either had their money stolen like mine was, or realized ahead of time that they should not do business with ISN or Willow Mist because they found this information, I will continue to post from time to time.

What information would you like to share about ISN Works (or whatever they are calling themselves these days?) Shoot me a quick email:  BurnedbyISN - at - hotmail.

ISN is now The Innovators Group - Reinventing Themselves So You Won't Find this Blog

The International Speakers Network must have done another one of their emails. I can usually tell because I watch the hits to this blog rev up (see the numbers below) - and I begin to get comments from people they have burned. But there's a new twist - their new names - The Innovator's Group and Insight Publishing.

I got a heads up on this in a comment from Alex - in which he says, "ISN keeps re-branding and changing its' name, to avoid showing up in threads like this one, and the folks that work for them adjust their e-mail addresses for the same reason."

So I looked it up and sure enough: Insight Publishing, a division of the Innovators Group - fomerly ISN, the International Speaker's Network. In truth, they've used these names for years - but now they are trying to shed their ISN ripoff image.

I found several other new businesses and people's names, too, as follows:

ISNworks - that's their longest standing Twitter handle
InsightISN -- that's their new Twitter handle
TracynDalton - is the twitter handle for Tracy Dalton who has worked there for awhile
donamerritt -- is the twitter handle for Dona Merritt - she's been there since they scammed me in 2007!
Wendy Tapp, is signing those famous "we need a speaker" outreach things. Interestingly, I found her on a website that talks about speaker information and scams.

(I wonder if any of them ever worries about being carted off to jail for their participation with ISN?)

It also looks like they are still using BookaSpeaker (got that from Wendy Tapp).

And don't forget the henchman - David Wright - who runs speaker workshops in the East Tennessee / Knoxville / Gatlinburg / Sevierville area. He's the owner or CEO of this entire Insight Innovators ISN mess.

If you go to any of their many websites, don't let that Better Business Bureau Accredited Business logo fool you. They've run way from the names they've used to distance themselves from this blog, and from the people they have scammed. But they can't change their stripes.

Here's the link to their old F rating - now removed:
http://knoxville.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=57&bbb=0533&firm=11488

Here are a few more links - others who have had comments to make about ISN, Innovator's Group, BookaSpeaker or Insight Publishing - whatever their name is:

From Cynthia Brian: http://www.redroom.com/blog/cynthia-brian/scam-potential-warning-for-authors-and-speakers

From Chuck Gallagher: http://chuckgallagher.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/motivational-speaker-scam-insight-publishing-something-is-not-right-in-sevierville-tn/

From Ripoff Report: http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/Insight-Publishing.aspx and http://www.ripoffreport.com/advertising-deceptive/insight-publishing-i/insight-publishing-innovators-c99ed.htm

And for anyone new to this blog, you are either:

1. Checking ahead of time to see whether your money is well-spent with ISN or Brenda Keefer. The answer is NO. Run, don't walk, from anything they tell you.

or

2. Checking after you have already been burned because ISN or Brenda made a promise to you, you gave them money, and they didn't follow through on their promises. I am so sorry. This blog won't make you feel any better about it.

Hope this has saved ANYONE some grief.

.

Never Ending Comments - Still Coming in for Both ISN and Willow Mist

Some new comments have come in over the past few weeks... Best just to link you to them:

I am sad to say I fell for the scam. Maybe is was hope. Maybe just thinking
she was a nice person. But, I fell for it. Out good money too. I guess my hope
is for others to NOT fall for the same scam. If I can save one person $, I will
at least know my loss had some reason. I finally stopped the payments a few
months ago, but wow, was I wrong. My gut said don't do it, but all I can say is
I fell for it - hook, line, and sinker. Thanks for the BLOG

- can be found in response to this post:
Brenda Keefer, Willow Mist, a former ISN employee -- Still Ripping People Off

..................................

Be wary of Tracy Dalton at ISN Works as well. She reps for International
Speakers Network, and her e-mails come from ISNWorks.com. I've blocked her
numerous times with my spam filter, and she still seems to find her way in! The
formula is much the same. You're asked to pay a "reasonable" fee for mailings,
one-sheet, etc. without any guaranteed results, and then more fees are requested
for "premium marketing packages", "quarterly meetings", etc. You can rack up
quite a chunk of change in a short time without realizing it, and without seeing
return on the investment. The caveat here is that bureaus asking for
application/membership fees and/or different pricing tiers for marketing
packages can be SCAMS. Be sure to investigate anyone who approaches you, and
seek as many testimonials as you can. Best thoughts to all!

- in response to this post: This Time It's Brenda Keefer and Willow Mist

....................................

I did sign up as a member and have NEVER received any benefit. Thanks for the
warning although they have my inital membership money!

in response to: Getting Back at the International Speakers Network

Brenda Keefer, Willow Mist, a former ISN employee -- Still Ripping People Off

The International Speaker's Network hates that I'm still talking about Branda Keefer on this blog -- but she was such a player in my own rip-off story, and she worked for ISN for so long before she started Willow Mist, that I still see them as one in the same.

Two comments to share with you:

From someone who heard from a new ISN employee -- Tracy Dalton -- an email received in April as a "call for presentations" -- which is no doubt as bogus as any of their recruitment pieces.

Here's the sad part about that. Tracy Dalton is probably a young woman who is sincere and thinks her new job with BookaSpeaker.net or the International Speaker's Network is a good one. She doesn't yet understand that she's working for a company that takes other people's money and doesn't deliver on their promises.

A second comment regarding Brenda Keefer and Willow Mist:

I will report Brenda after reading comments. An ebook that I contributed to seems not to be getting published either. I am out $110 and much work. Such a pity that she claims to be such a Christian woman too. A page out of Tammy Faye's book.

Still up to her shenanigans, I see!

Thanks to all of you who feed me information. Both ISN and Brenda make sure I never show up on any of their lists -- so all info comes from those of you who have found this blog.

As of today, almost 7500 people have found my BurnedbyISN blog. While I'm sure the great majority found it AFTER they lost money, I have no doubt we've saved many others the headache of dealing with ISN or Brenda Keefer.

A Typical ISN or Willowmist Email

Submitted by a blog reader who hopes it will help all of you realize why these folks aren't helpful.

If you have received this email, or one like it, you can see how to break it down from this earlier post on this blog.

Bottom line -- these conferences either don't exist, already took place, or ISN or Willowmist don't have any connections to them anyway. Yet they want you to pay upfront for marketing services that many people report they never receive -- including me. Great frustration. I would still love to have my money back.

Thanks to the person who shared! Here's that email.

We have a Property Management Group who is looking for 2 speakers for a Multi-housing Conference. Event will be June 9th & 10th, 2010. Need a keynote motivational speaker for each day. Attendees include apartment industry employees, managers, leasing, maintenance, regional directors, property management owners, executives. Looking for something motivational geared toward business. Wants someone fun and uplifting with info they can walk away with. BUDGET: $5000 plus travel expenses. DEADLINE TO APPLY: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2010.

Girls Scouts need a speaker for their Volunteer Retreat. Audience consists of troop leaders, volunteers, and parents. Event is October 9, 2010. They need someone who can talk on communication, diversity, teambuilding, leadership, etc.; any topic that would be helpful to a group of leaders. BUDGET: Negotiable. DEADLINE TO APPLY: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010.

Organization for High School Technical students needs motivational speaker to speak to 1500 students regarding on a topic that can be customized to relate to going to college, the job market or leadership. Event will be April 14th, 2010 – April 16th, 2010. BUDGET: $2500.00. DEADLINE TO APPLY: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010.

Leadership Conference for Christian leaders needs 3 speakers who can talk on various topics to restore, equip and inspire Christian leaders with new tools they can implement to be better leaders. The budget is negotiable. Attendees will be pastors, Christian leaders in the workplace, ministers, and church staff. There will be a total of 250 attendees. BUDGET: Negotiable plus all travel, hotel and transportation fees paid. DEADLINE TO APPLY: MARCH 9, 2010.


Association of Student Nurses needs a speaker to talk to 800 student nurses at their annual convention. They need someone with great personality that has a background in the healthcare field. They are wanted topics related to careers. BUDGET: Negotiable based on level of expertise. DEADLINE TO APPLY: APRIL 6, 2010.

In order to be submitted for an event with our firm, we do require that you are a participant of one of our marketing programs. If you are not a participant and would like additional information to become available for submission on any of the above bookings, please contact us at 865.366.7155 or respond to this email with your questions. You can also visit our website, www.willowmistpro.com. If you are already a member, and wish additional information, just drop me an email and request the submission form. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Brenda Keefer
Willow Mist Professional Services
P.O. Box 1312
Kodak, TN 37764
(865) 366-7155
www.willowmistpro.com

ISN Responds!

Found in a comment to the last blog post about Brenda Keefer.... this one from ISN where Brenda learned how to run a speakers network:

I am compelled to comment as there are so many facts not being stated here and harming our reputation.

Fact 1: Brenda Keefer is not and employee of ISN and hasn't been since March 4, 2008. Nor does her business Willow Mist have any association with our company.

Fact 2: Start a blog titled Brenda Keefer and Willow Mist and stop placing false information on this blog. She cut her teeth by being a bad individual and apparently doesn't plan to change her spots. That said our company should not be targeted for another companies faults.

It is unfortunate that you feel burned but presenting false information is a crime and unfair to ISN.

And you know what? They are right. It's unfair to blame ISN for Brenda Keefer's current modus operendi. She's been on her own for almost two years.

However -- ISN -- how do you explain the lack of follow through while Brenda was still in your employ? Or the dozens of other comments made by dozens of other people YOU have taken money from without delivering since Brenda left?

You don't want to be painted with the Brenda brush, but how do you explain all these other people who have felt scammed in the two years since she left? And how do you explain the many filings with the Better Business Bureau?

Sorry -- but Brenda's departure doesn't explain any of those, does it?

Looks Like Brenda is On the Hunt

A comment today from a previous post about Willow Mist and ISN, International Speakers Network -- reprinted here:

Thank you all for your posts. I was just contacted by Brenda herself with a list of several venues that "could use my speaking expertise". I was asked only for a $95 upfront fee in exchange for 15% of the booking fee and 5000 emails sent out on my behalf. I had already filled out the paperwork and was about to push send, when I recognized the address was Tennessee. I remembered the scamming international Speaker's Network and decided to check for comments. THANK YOU ALL. We NEED to warn speakers and authors. People lost thousands with International, but no one wants to lose $95. How can we eradicate these predators of the fair and good?

You're welcome!

One more person saved from this grief!

Yet Another Scammed Speaker

I heard from Annabelle (not her real name) with the following...

Thanks for taking the time to let me know that others have been scammed by ISN and Brenda. I was scammed by both. It is a shame that they are allowed to stay in business. I have been a professional speaker for 21 years and wanted to spread my wings into another category since I just completed my next book. Very clear about what I wanted, they gave me all kinds of assurances for bookings. Without going into detail, they made commitments and did not follow through. Their bad business practices cost me time, money and disappointment.

In the meantime, they must be busy with their emails because the numbers of visits to this site LEAPED in the past month... hopefully we saved some folks grief and money.

Has this blog stopped you from signing up to lose your money, too? Please let us know: burnedbyISN (at) hotmail.com

ISN at the Complaint Board, Too

It's been awhile since posting..... because I finished writing my book and it is now in the publishing process. A very exciting time!

But I didn't want to forget one of my missions, and that is, to make sure that as few people as possible are being burned by the International Speaker's Network. Because yes, ISN is still out there, scamming people left and right.

A new tool for those of you who have already lost your money to them. It's called the Complaint Board. I've just added my complaint, and I would encourage you to do the same.

The Complaint Board

If you write to them, please let me know! I'll highlight your notations. Write to me at burnedbyisn (at) hotmail.com.

Deb is Truly Ticked at the International Speaker's Network

... and I don't blame her.

She posted a comment to last week's blog post here, and on another speaker's website, too (See A Few Simple, Smart Online Shopping Rules)... Here's the comment she posted here:

These people made empty promises to me and ripped me off $1000. They lied to my credit card company, to the Division of Consumer Affairs and the BBB. They said that they were waiting for me to sign off on my one sheet. I chased them for months to put it together and left way to many messages that were never returned until the final message stating I WANT MY MONEY BACK. They found all my misplaced material (the sales lady told me it was in production- how ever production did not have it), then they threw it on a page the last day of their contract and expected me to continue working with them. A big bad scam. I told them to give me all my money back or I would post the mistreatment and their unacceptable business practice on the internet and they threatened me with a law suit. My lawyer said I have every right to post as long as I can back every thing up and I can. these peole are sweet talkers speaking with forked tongues, they even claim to be Christians. Do not let them rip you off!

Deb is mad.

Have you been ripped off? Are you angry, too?

Got Lawsuits?

I heard from another burned ISN customer this morning. A gentleman who was likewise burned by ISN -- only this time it was part of the publication of his book. It seems that the book, promised to him within a few months, was delivered just days before the one-year deadline. Even then, the cover was wrong.

Sadly, of course, this is not the first time I've heard this story. But this time there was a twist -- the question of whether I knew of anyone already pursuing a lawsuit?

I'll be putting him in touch with the others who have asked me that question.... but I'll ask it here, too:

If you have filed or considered a lawsuit against ISN, Bookaspeaker, Insight Publishing, the Innovators Group (or any of their other DBAs), or would like to be put in touch with others who have or are considering one.... will you send me an email? I'll put you all in touch with each other.....

email me at: burnedbyisn (at) hotmail.com

Anonymous? I think not. David Wright Responds

Two "comments" made yesterday to this blog , both of which you'll be interested in.

"Anonymous" wrote the following:

I will be happy to send you many many books we have published lately. Just let me know and I will drop them in the mail. No problem. As a matter of fact, research through Amazon.com by publisher and you will see several bodies of work we have completed lately. You have way too much time on your hands. . .you must be really empty on the inside. I will keep you in my prayers.

Apparently, Mr. Wright didn't read the post carefully (see below). I didn't question whether his books were being published. I stated that he takes money from people who expect to be included in his books, then doesn't include them.

What I didn't mention, though true, is the fact that I hear from them when they try to get their money back, and don't. Which, of course, was my own experience. Even the Better Business Bureau reflects their poor track record.

As for too much time on my hands? Well, no.... in fact, I feel as if I am helping others by these posts. I am saving them grief and money. There is no greater satisfaction in life than helping others, so my time on this blog is very well spent, even if I have much to do in the rest of my work.

Comment #2 came from Mitch, and you can read it here. Thanks for your note, Mitch! So very happy to prove the point that yes, I am helping others.

A New Year, More Speakers and Authors Will Pay

I use "International Speakers Network" as a google news alert, and noticed right about the first of the year that ISN popped up more and more in the news. Seems David Wright has published another one of his books where he promises people he will include them along with some of the chicken soup book people, and others, in those books.

I hear sometimes from people who paid for inclusion, and woops! the publisher forgot to include them! They are told their information will be included the next time around...

Except that it doesn't get included.

Don't get caught. Read more on this blog about the International Speakers Network, book a speaker, and all the other company names these people work under.

Then save your money.

More Inquiries about the International Speaker's Network

Seems some folks on Twitter are looking for information about ISN now, too.

Hopefully they realize there is a whole group of people who wish they could do anything to get their money back from this bunch of scammers!

If you found this blog from Twitter -- welcome -- and please read through some of the posts on this blog to learn more about Insight Publishing, the International Speakers Network, the Innovators Group and the other names they use.

If you want a quick study, try:

http://burnedbyisn.blogspot.com/2008/08/does-this-email-from-isn-sound-familiar.html

http://burnedbyisn.blogspot.com/2008/08/isn-strikes-again-hope-this-makes-you.html

http://burnedbyisn.blogspot.com/2008/04/ripoff-report-check-this-out.html

http://burnedbyisn.blogspot.com/2007/12/heard-back-from-better-business-bureau.html

http://burnedbyisn.blogspot.com/2007/09/more-september-experiences-with.html

And many more....

Do yourself a favor. Don't waste your money. Save it to use for something that might actually help you. and pat yourself on the back for spending the time reading this blog post, assuring yourself you've made the right decision.

ISN Gets Its Due at LinkedIn

Looks like the International Speakers Network is getting the recognition it deserves -- at one of the groups of speakers at Linked In.

See what they have to say. It ain't pretty!

I believe it is like internet karma, you know?

Watch Your Credit Card - Bogus Charges from ISN

Margie commented on my last blog post....

It seems that when she realized she had been scammed by the International Speakers Network, she went back to her credit card company, and they removed the charges from her credit card. Great!

But then, two months later, they charged her credit card for $250 worth of stuff she never even ordered!

See her post here.

Honestly -- I would stop blogging except that I know YOU may be the person who will save your money and not get taken by these people.

More Money Saved Because People Found This Blog

As the economy tanks, we can be sure of one thing.... I have saved many people money -- speakers like you and me who work hard for our money and don't have extra to throw away on non-services like those offered by ISN or Book a speaker, or any of the other names they are using these days -- because they have found this blog.

At last count, at least 14 people have told me they were thinking of signing up, but found the information on this blog, and decided against it. That means I've saved folks at least $7000 and maybe more!

Joseph is the latest. He asked, "what's the scoop with these folks?" So I told him. I've also noticed a speaker named Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein just attended one of their workshops. I hope he learns what they WON'T do for him before he spends any more money. He certainly sent out enough press releases talking about it.

It truly helps me sleep at night to know I've saved so many people grief, stress and hassle. Thanks for listening.

Email -- from an anonymous "Happy Customer"

Dear Anonymous:

I hope you enjoy your workshop this weekend in Gatlinburg with the people from ISN. In fact, I went to one of those workshops, too. What a waste of time! All they did was video tape other people who were speaking about topics I had NO interest in. Most of them were truly terrible speakers (there was one who wasn't bad) -- and I had to sit through it because that's what the workshop was.

Oh -- except for David Wright who pontificated on a few marketing topics -- nothing I wasn't already putting into practice. Of course, the whole idea was to try their tactics using the materials they would produce for you first, for big bucks, of course. What most people don't realize is that they can get those same materials printed at their own local print shop for far less money.

Bottom line -- you may be happy with ISN today, feeling excited that they are going to help you market your speaking. At that stage, I was happy with them, too! I was looking forward to developing the partnership that would help me market my abilities.

But -- talk to me in six months when you've sent them money and they haven't done what they promised they would do. Let me know when you've purchased the ability to be on their "mailing to 5,000 conference producers" or their "email to 12,000 conference producers" or their many books that you'll be included in. (I have yet to find anyone who really ended up with one of those books, by the way.)

Yup -- in six months I'd like to hear back from you to see if you're still as happy then as you are today. I'm going to bet two things: 1. That you won't be happy. and 2. that I won't hear from you when you aren't anyway.

Oh -- and by the way -- I can only imagine how much they are using Brenda Keefer's departure to blame their scam on -- of course! It's brilliant! I can hear it now -- "Yes, we know there are people who were unhappy with our service, but we figured out all the problems were coming from Brenda Keefer and she's gone now." hahahah!! Yes, that sounds good. Wonder what they're going to tell people a year from now when they don't follow through?

I do wish you luck and hope you do well.

Burned by ISN

Willow Mist -- Avoid this One, Too

I found a note in the SpeakerNet newsletter (great newsletter by the way -- I highly recommend it) -- posted by a fellow who asked about Willow Mist Professional Services. Wanted to know if they are any good.

Willow Mist Professional Services is owned by Brenda Keefer, one of the people who used to work for David Wright at International Speakers Network, one of the people who was involved in stealing my money, and based on the email I get, money from many others, too.

Brenda has just finished her 10 years of probation for stealing about a quarter million dollars from her previous employer. As I said in a previous blog post -- no honor among thieves!

So perhaps my comment here is branching out some. But my bigger picture is to save us who make our living speaking from spending money on scam artists who plan only to take your money, and then plan to do nothing with it to assist our professions.

If this seems confusing to you, read some of these other posts and comments on this blog from others who have lost their money to Bookaspeaker, the International Speaker's Network, the Innovators Group and all the other aliases they use. Know that Brenda cut her teeth on their way of doing business. And save your money!

(posted 2/17/2012 - see updates on Brenda Keefer and Willow Mist here.)