GSA Applications - All Claims on 800 Notes "VALIDATED"!

Well, you've got SEVERAL pages on here of how NOT to trust these people.  As I recall, if you do a search of the name, you'll find even MORE complaints.
Guess the question really is:  Are you more willing to listen to a stranger that's asking you for money than to people who have been scammed and/or can see through the scam?

Remember: these folks are asking for money.  No one here wants you to give them money.  Scammers can make things sound and look good.  That's how they get people's money.  Do your own homework and research.
One thing about it, if you're here asking the question, you ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER.

So, you hired them?

The fact of the matter is, I need an FSS.  The VA told me I have to have an FSS.  I saw the paperwork, and I don't want to do it.  So, for me, this company seems like a really good idea, but I don't want to get ripped off.  So, I'm wondering if any of you have legitimately hired this company and gotten ripped off.  Not that you heard someone, but that you hired them and scammed you.  And if this is a scam, do any of you know a legitimate business that does do the application but doesn't charge an extreme amount of money?  Frankly, I can afford $6000 which is what I was quoted, but I can't afford much more than that.  So, please, if anyone has some real advice or personal experience, I would really like to hear it.

Interesting news article.....

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_n ... em-federal-work

If you're asking me, the answer is NO.
1-I have no need for this type of service
2-With all of the negative information on this site AND the rest of the internet, I wouldn't take a chance if they were the last company on earth.

I'm sorry, I don't know what FSS documentation is. Looking online, I'm guessing it's Federal Supply Schedule. I don't know if the VA gives a hand-out of a list of companies that perform the service you require.

There's an organization of retired business people that help people that are new to businesses. I don't know if they charge a fee for their help, or not. If they can't help you with the paperwork, maybe they can direct you to a reputable company, and questions to ask, etc.
Here's the place I was thinking: http://www.score.org/
I don't know anything about them, except what I've heard over the years on news reports. I'm not even sure if they're listed with the BBB.  You can do a search and see.
Again, I want to be CLEAR, I've not done business with OR checked out the SCORE organization.  I'm just offering the name as a starting point for suggestions.

I know the $6,000 is a lot, but paying it and NOT getting the proper paperwork, THEN having to pay even more to someone else to do it ... well, it can end up costing a LOT more. I have no idea what the fees for this type of paperwork run, but you need to make sure someone besides that company tells you how "great" they are.

Think about buying a car from the stereotypic used car salesman -- That car might look REAL pretty on the outside. The engine might even look all nice and shiny. He may have given you a GREAT deal ($5,000 for a 3 year old car) on it, "saved" you thousands of dollars. And, it might even run real good on the way home.
BUT, if in the first month you have it, the engine blows, axles fall off, etc., and your repair cost looks like $15-20k....well, that "good" price of $5k starts looking real bad.
Moral of the story: Don't take a salesperson's word that the product is good, whether it's a car or a service. If you look online and you find 75 bad reviews and 15 good reviews, I wouldn't believe the salesperson.
A company isn't going to please EVERY customer, but they also shouldn't anger 90% of their customers bad enough to make them complain online!

Hope this gives you some ideas! Good luck with your business!

(PS, “Honestly Dear” posted a list of GSA’s aliases. You may want to print it out and try to avoid those names.)

I couldn't agree with you more on that! And I'd also think Elspeth's link would also be a red flag!

Thanks for posting! Another example of GSA promising one thing and delivering NOTHING.

Advice? Flush your money down the toilet before scammers steal the rest of it. Throw in the 2 bucks you got for making fake posts for this filthy disgusting SCAM.

Here's my problem, though.  I'm not getting real solid reviews, though.  I feel like I'm getting reviews of a movie from people who never saw it.  So, again, I have noted that you think they are a scam.  However, has anyone here HIRED them and been scammed out of money?  Further, do any of you even know what it is they do?  I looked at the BBB, and some of that seemed somewhat bad, but they're still at a B- so, I wasn't sure what that meant.  

So, here's my dilemma.  The VA is telling me I need an FSS, or I will lose their business.  SCORE just seems to be a consulting/mentoring firm.  I've looked into SBA opportunities, and there are the P-TAC offices, but I tried them and they just gave me hints.

So, again, if this company is a scam, and all those other companies you listed are scams, too, than...which companies actually are legitimate in getting a schedule?  Companies are getting on schedule everyday,, so they must be going somewhere.  Where is the legitimate company that people go to get on schedule?  That's all I want is some advice on which company to actually use to get a schedule contract.  

I don't even know why I'm talking to you guys.  You probably don't know anything, and it just irritates me, because I do really need this schedule contract.  And stuff like this just makes me uncertain.  This is so dumb.  I'm going to take a huge hit in my sales in the coming months because I can't tell scams from scams.

Sally, this site is NOT a referral site. Others and myself have tried to offer suggestions. You even admit the people you contacted gave you hints. -- They are NOT going to do your job for you. They CAN'T legally endorse one company because it's a conflict of interest, and would imply they may be getting kick-backs. Giving the HINTS which you choose to ignore was the best they can do to guide you.

It's beginning to sound as if you want someone to make your business decision for you and hold your hand. If it turns out to be wrong, then you'll have someone to blame besides yourself. -- No thanks! I'll take responsibility for MY decisions, sometimes for a CLOSE family member's decisions, but NOT for a stranger.

You're supposed to be a business owner, evaluate situations, and make high dollar decisions every day.

Having said that, this will be my last response to you.

All the companies you just named, I Googled them and they said they were a scam, too.  And I'm not asking for advice on my business, I'm asking if any of you have hired a company to get them a GSA schedule contract and/or have any of you hired this company and been ripped off.  FIGHTING-BACK, frankly, it's fine if you don't want to respond because you've already proven that you don't anything about this, and I'm confused as to why you're even here...

So, please, if anyone actually has PERSONAL experience with one of these companies -- doesn't matter which one, could you make a recommendation.  So, For Real Help, have you actually used one of those companies you listed, and would you recommend them?

One more thing Sally.  
GSA Applications had a system for verifying references that looked like this:
The sales person would send you a letter from a client or a list of names and email addresses from clients that you could email in order to check the company out before hiring them.

GSA Applications had created fake email addresses that they owned that had extensions that looked an awful lot like the real companies web address...for example, Al's Landscaping would be willing to accept an email from you, the prospective client, to his email addy that looked like bigal@Alslandscapers.com .  (That was a fake example for all of you slower folks out there).

So then the prospective client would email their query to that email thinking it was going to "big al" the supposed owner of that landscaping company.  

However, it was going to GSA Applications!!!!  They were responding to their own reference checks!!!!!!!!
(And yes I can prove this in court...and I look forward to the opportunity of doing just that)

But then some smart clients started googling the email extensions and realized that they were fake domains with private owners that were set up very recently all by the same company; GSA Applications.

You wouldn't consider the business people from the ABCActions news as having "personal" experience with this company?  There's not just one or two people who are upset - almost 293 per the article - excerpt here:

The ABC Action News I-Team has discovered Manatee Tool is one of at least 293 businesses around the nation with complaints about GSA 1000 and its corporate affiliates. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office has opened an investigation into the complaints, which date back to 2005. And, based on the I-Team's findings, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate, too.

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_n ... k#ixzz2etbHEJJA

Again, that's fine, if you believe they are scam.  So, forget them.  I'm asking if any of you have any personal experience with a company you would recommend to do schedule application processing.  Not defending that company in any way.  I'm asking if you have any personal recommendations.  I don't know why you guys are on here, but me, I'm on here because I need a schedule contract, and I am looking for a reputable company to do the application processing.  If it is just that you hate this one company, that's fine, but that's not what I'm asking.

All I am hearing is bad-mouthing of a company none of you have worked with, which is fine if that's all this is about, I guess...not sure why you would do that...but, for someone who ACTUALLY has an interest in this, does anyone have recommendations for another company that they have personally worked with on here?  Or is this just an "I-hate-this-company" board?  Is that what 800Notes is about?  I honestly don't know much about this place...I thought it was supposed to be a portal to find legitimate businesses, but maybe I misunderstood.

800notes is a database of phone numbers to help people find out who is calling them. I'm afraid you did misunderstand.