I know the title makes many of you laugh but were asking for real this time. We don’t full know how Legacy operates when it comes to their payment structure, what is free, what is paid for or what it only online temporary. In the past when we have talked about Legacy and sent them questions for comment we have never received a reply. So we didn’t even bother on this story.
We received the following comment on Sunday morning. Please read the comment and let us know your thoughts. Is this really happening and if so what has your or your client family’s experience been? If this is true then Legacy.com could be raking in millions by screwing over grieving families.
Comment from John DiCecco:
Here’s the story: I paid to keep my father-in-law’s site hosted online permanently. I never actually posted anything to the guestbook. Today, however, I received an email from Legacy.com indicating the site was being archived and for $19 I could “sponsor” it for another year.
The email indicates I am receiving the email because I posted something to the guestbook. I realize this is a robo-reply but it must also be a robo-reply to everyone who DID post. That means somewhere they are fleecing people for $19 each to sponsor a site that has already been sponsored permanently.
This sounds an awful lot like a scam to me. I’ll be contacting our state’s Attorney General to look into this but my guess is they’ll back-pedal and say it was a mistake. But the real issue, of course, is how would anyone who ever posted to the guestbook know for sure that the site was not going to be archived ?
Anyone of them would gladly fork over $19 and there would be no way for everyone else to know they did so.
It seems to me that you never post anything positive about Legacy.com In my experience, Legacy.com have been honest and a welcome friend to families that are in mourning. Without knowing all the facts, I think it is a shame that you have a need to run to a States Attorney.
I’m sorry, David – but the FACTS are they (newspapers) are CHARGING extra to post something on FACEBOOK sponsored by LEGACY!!!!!!
I tried looking at the guesbook, but it is locked until someone pays, this means that all anyone need do is find the newspaper obituary, which we KNOW that they have done because they have copied it to their (likely a scam and fraud, fraudulent dot-com company) website. Here is all the info they need, although if smart, they’ll simply use some name one doesn’t recognize, an unusual one, making one even more likely to sign up to find out whom this unknown admirer, only to then discover the (likely fictitious) person has opted to not provide any additional information.
This legacy.com works like and looks like a scam; As the old maxim goes; If it Looks like a Duck, and Waddles like a Duck, and Quacks like a Duck – It is, in fact, (most likely), a Duck!
IT IS BOTH WISE AND MORAL AND IN YOUR OWN SELF INTEREST AS WELL TO POLICE THE FLEECING OF THE PUBLIC IN REGARD THIS TYPE OF SCAM BECAUSE IT REFLECTS ON EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE FUNERARY INDUSTRY at a cost that one cannot calculate. This site could be fleecing people of millions or even hundreds of millions (Encyte was eventually closed down for its “boner” herbs that were all filler and dangerous plants but sold in excess of 1/2 billions in pills first – remember those “weird-brite-cheesy” ads on TV all the time?
It is this organizations job/duty/obligation/responsibility/etc. to investigate this organization.
I hope the following may help you in this effort, it is all I know:
Cheryl Smart is associated with Eclipse On 6th Inc with the role of President. and is located in Rapid City, SD.direct dial:(605) 343-2107
Source: Dun & Bradstreet last refreshed 3/1/2013
INQUIRE AS TO HER KNOWLEDGE OF THIS, IT IS HER STEP-FATHER (Whom had a truly huge, generous, loving heart, and sadly died of heart disease),
Cheryl (Rudy-Auger Smart) IS MENTIONED IN THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ATTACHED to the likely fraudulent website, AND WHICH IS ACCURATELY copied to the best I can tell, from the copyrite owners, the NEWSPAPER that is either a VICTIM itself and should be contacted or is a fraudulent partner and co-conspirator by default, at least potentially until proven otherwise (needs to be looked into by calling the newspapers, across the country, a potential class-action suite and millions of damages and ill-gotten goods at stake here should grease the wheels to get things going, one would think.): GO HERE TO BEGIN INVESTIGATION –>
https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/rapidcity/sponsor-guestbook.aspx?n=gerald-aarsby&pid=20261568I
I paid for a permanent sponsorship for a former classmate’s guest book. They charged my credit card but will not support the guest book. When I go onto the site and do a search with my friend’s name the site claims it is “archived” and no longer available, then it prompts me with the sponsorship fee page. It is virtually impossible to find a link to email them. The best I can find is their blog. I’ve tried twice to contact them with now response. I think this is a bad business.