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

Willow Mist and ISN - Duking it Out

A busy several days? I've received three new comments on this blog, meaning there must be plenty of those bogus emails going out from Willow Mist and ISN these days.

Sometimes the comments are thank-yous -- because the person found this blog and realized they could be scammed.

Other times the comments are confirmations -- other people who were scammed, too.

Wish I could save everyone the trouble! It's a lesson for all of us to research well and hard before we give anyone our hard-earned money. Here's how to research these kinds of things:

In a search engine, use the name of the company, then the word "blog" If that doesn't yield good information for you, then use those terms, plus the word "problem" or "scam." Like this

ISN, International Speakers Network, blog, scam

or

Willow Mist, blog, scam

You can do that for any solicitation you get from any company for any purpose. You may have to click on 3-4 pages worth of search results, but you'll be able to get an impression of how much you'll really get for your money.

Good luck! I hope this has saved you some trouble.

This Time It's Brenda Keefer and Willow Mist

Heard today from Eileen, who sent me this email (reprinted with her permission, by the way....)

First off I want to thank you for blogging…… ………I have never used it before but I was following my gut instinct about Brenda Keefer after they took me for $1000.00 bucks of very hard earned monies…………so after hunting the internet I found your pages……Though I am glad that I did it also pissed me off even more that I fell into her web of lies……..

I get this personal phone call from her and it was good…………and struggling to keep speaking and laughing I agreed to her services….but after month one my tummy said something was not right…….but then hey there are no guarantees in this business so I continue on the journey with her into month 2……. again my gut is aching so I call her to explain to her that I am not liking her way of communications and ask for changes……….. you know the answer…….. ”No problem” …. And of course still no communications during the month……

Now I get this phone call from another company called Innovators Group but strangely enough they are in the same small town that Brenda lives in… strange for a little country town I thought since I live in Tennessee...When I mentioned this on the phone to them they get nervous and cut the call short saying they will call me back to speak to me about writing a chapter in a book with others…and of course I have never heard from them again.…..now I really have a belly ache and then I find your blog………….. NOW I want my monies back and I want these people to join Bernie Maddoff ........

There has to be a way to shut them down…………… and I can tell you I am on a mission now…… And yes I am pissed off……….. but I’ll laugh my way through this one…………… Eileen

Zebras don't change their stripes. Brenda, a convicted felon and owner of Willow Mist Professional Services, cut her teeth for years at the International Speakers Network (Innovators Group). They taught her the ropes -- how to take YOUR money.

I hope this post convinces you to hang on to it.

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?