Mason Grace Enterprises, an outfit that claims to be located in New York, makes huge claims that you can make anywhere from $2,900 to $5,000 stuffing envelopes from the comfort of your own home. With little effort and no skills necessary, you can be on
your way to financial security. But before you send in your application form and fee, take a closer look at the company and its conditions for paying you.
Mason Grace Enterprises’ solicitation letter sounds very convincing and at the same time contradictory. The letter claims Mason Grace Enterprises is different from other similar offers because they send you all the materials needed to start generating money
right away, including envelopes. The advertisement states no advertising is needed at all. Simply stuff envelopes and send them out to get paid. In addition, they claim you don’t have to pay for postage.
What the ad doesn’t reveal is that your pay is dependent on how people respond to the offers you mail out. By carefully looking at the wording in the solicitation, you will see how misleading the offer is:
“If we receive 49 letters stuffed and mailed out by you, we’ll pay you $490.00….”
“We will pay $10.00 per letter stuffed and returned to us.”
Participants who paid for materials and later find out the true terms of payment have difficulty obtaining a refund. Although the initial solicitation claims the one-time start-up fee is fully refundable after nine paychecks are earned, consumers seek immediate
refunds due to the misrepresentation of the offer. And what about that free postage? Turns out it’s not so free after all since you must pay to mail the envelopes and then depend on the company to reimburse you.
When confronted with allegations of bait-and-switch tactics and misrepresentation, the company often argues that the participant agreed to the terms and conditions when they placed their order. Participants that respond to mailed solicitations note they
are not provided with the full details until they receive their packages. Furthermore, the website does not require any special provisions that ensure the terms are read before an order is placed. Additionally, the terms are inconsistent. One set of terms
found on the company’s main page are different from the terms found on the order placement page. Plus the details regarding payment, as well as the refund terms, are not very forthright. Not only are the terms and conditions lengthy, and often repetitive,
but hidden within the information are statements claiming the real offer is sales based.
Participants also claim it’s difficult to reach the company since the only method of contact is by email. You reach a recording, not a person, when you dial the phone number provided by the company and participants are not allowed to visit their stated location
without an appointment. When the company was contacted to request an appointment at the office they claim to occupy, the response was that office appointments are solely for participants that have at least six months of weekly mailing activity behind them
and everyone else receives customer service by email only.
While Mason Grace Enterprises claims their offer can improve your financial situation, they appear to only be interested in taking your money in order to improve their finances. Before responding to any work-at-home offer or business opportunity, it is imperative
that you check out the business. For
tips and information on similar offers, visit Business Consumer Alliance’s Resource Guide on Work-at-Home opportunities. A reliability report on
F-rated Mason Grace Enterprises and information on
filing a complaint are available on the BCA website.
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About the Author
Nicole Pitts is a Senior Business Analyst and Editor for Business Consumer Alliance. She has been with the organization for 12 years and specializes in report writing, business evaluation, and investigations. Nicole corresponds with businesses regarding
complaint trends and provides suggestions to help them alleviate problem areas that may cause concern. She also conducts advertisement reviews, reports on government enforcement actions, and assists government agencies in obtaining information. She enjoys
reading, movies, and spending time with her family. Nicole can be reached by email at npitts@businessconsumeralliance.org.