Description

Was doing business and pre-paid for services(website & marketing)with The Designers Agency, when communication started to dwindle and become odd. I started to dig into the company. Their website states that they reside in the Manhattan Borough, ny, NY. I did a search from all 50 states SOS websites, with absolutely no matches. I called the Manhattan Clerks Office to ask if they could find that company in their database, with no success. They suggested I then contact the NY Department of State Division of Corporation, to find out if they are in their system, with no success either. I then decided to look up the address they claim to be at, 442 5th Ave. Found out that its a suites building, so an address should contain a suite number after it. The designer's agency does not contain a suite number. I decided to call the Manhattan clerk's office back and talk to them about this. They stated that some companies will buy a PO Box inside of the staples, at the 442 building, and Staples lets them use that address. After lots of research I found the building manifest, which I have a copy of, I did not find the designer's agency listed underneath any of their 143 Suites. I then decided to email the designer's agency to ask them what suite they inhibit inside of the building and also what state there company is actually registered under. I have yet to receive a response back. The company has ghosted me. I then decided to do an IP address lookup, which I have a copy of the result too, and it states the IP address is out of Iceland. The designer's agency is not registered to do business anywhere in the United states, but their website and every invoice I have from them claims they reside in New york. I also contacted the New York Consumer Protection Office to ask them if they could find this company in their system, which they cannot as well. It is illegal for a company to state they have an office in the USA, but be a completely overseas company with no business registration in the US. They are avoiding fees and taxes that US registered companies, like my company, have to pay, to do business. Also after doing a research for reviews on the company, I found a lot of reviews on trustpilot, one of the reviews, which I took a screenshot of, states that a guy by the name of Andrew is the owner. The man I have been working with, who states his name is Mark Hunt, says he is the founder and owner. Any search of the name Mark Hunt connected to the designer's agency, brings up absolutely nothing. There are also a few reviews on trustpilot claiming it is a scam. I believe this to be true as well. When you do a reverse search of their "completed work", which i have screenshots of, they populate to be on other websites as templates to buy. They are also not listed anywhere on the New York County Tax Assessor's office. They are basically listed nowhere, but claim to be in new york. I have also filed a complaint with IC3- FBI's complaint department.