1.800.Vending

Infobox Company
company_name = 1.800.Vending, Inc.
company_
company_slogan =
vector_
company_type = bulk vending business opportunities
genre =
foundation =
founder = Michael Burnett, Jeffrey Marsh
location = Kaysville, Utah,
United States
origins =
key_people =
area_served =
industry =
products = vending machines
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =
owner =
homepage = [http://www.1800vending.com/aboutus.html Company Website]
footnotes =

1.800.Vending, Inc. is a company offering bulk vending business opportunities. The company sells triple-selection vending machines for approximately $375 as part of a comprehensive offer to support customers in starting their own business, including procuring and placing machines in profitable locations, online support, and lifetime coaching. In exchange for these services, customers may pay a significant surcharge over the cost of comparable machines.

The machine sold by 1.800.Vending is a triple selection candy machine with interchangeable canisters. The company claims to have designed their machine to solve the problems of other machines on the market, and offers a lifetime warranty on it.

Company history

1.800.Vending's founders, Michael S. Burnett, and Jeffrey Marsh, formerly said to have operated Turnkey Vending [cite web
title=Report: 1800Vending, 1-800-Vending, Jeff Marsh, Michael Burnett
url=http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/258/RipOff0258227.htm
accessdate=2007-11-08
date=2007-02-07] [cite web
title=Commission approval of application
publisher= Federal Trade Commission
url=http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/01/fyi0303.shtm
accessdate=2007-11-08
date=2003-01-10 ] [cite web
title=Summary order to Cease and Desist
publisher=State of Washington
url= http://www.dfi.wa.gov/sd/orders/S-02-292-02TO01.pdf
format= pdf
accessdate=2007-11-11
date= 2003-01-22] , which was cited by the Federal Trade Commission for numerous violations and fined $22,000 [cite web
url= http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/09/turnkeyvending2.htm
title=Turnkey Vending Defendants to Pay $22,000 Civil Penalty As Part of FTC Settlement
format=html
accessdate=2007-11-12
publisher= Federal Trade Commission
date=2003-09-03] . According to the company's website [http://www.1800vending.com/aboutus.html] :

The FTC sweep to which the company refers was Project Busted Opportunity, a major operation that led to the U.S. Government filing a complaint alleging that Turnkey had operated a fraudulent business opportunity. A Stipulated Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction was entered on June 25, 2003 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Under the terms of the order, the two men were permanently enjoined from selling the contact information of Turnkey's customers; ordered to turn over a fine of $22,000 to their attorney for placement into escrow within five days of the order; required to notify the FTC of any changes in their addresses, phone numbers, or employment status; forbidden from misrepresenting their business opportunities in the future; and mandated to provide a copy of the order to any customer service personnel handling complaints from customers at any business venture the men might own or operate in the future; among other conditions. After Turnkey's dissolution, the two men founded 1.800.Vending. The latter has been fined by the State of Connecticut [ [http://www.ct.gov/dob/cwp/view.asp?a=2246&q=299028 DOB: 1.800 Vending, Inc. Consent Order ] ] . Specifically, the agency accused the defendants of "misrepresenting its prior Connecticut business opportunity sales activity" and alleged that the company's disclosure documents:
*failed to include financial statements as required by law;
*failed to make adequate disclosure concerning 1.800.Vending, Inc.'s affiliates and predecessors;
*failed to describe in sufficient detail the employment histories of Michael S. Burnett and Jeffrey L. Marsh;
*failed to adequately set forth the risks involved in the business opportunity venture;
*lacked sufficient information on the employment and disciplinary histories of 1.800.Vending, Inc.'s sales representatives; and
*did not mention the fact that purchaser-investors might have to pay retailers for the use of space for the purchaser-investors' vending machines.

The State of Connecticut also accused the company of "making earnings claims on its web site without including documented data to substantiate such claims and disclosing such data to prospective purchaser-investors at the time such representations were made."

Despite its legal difficulties, the company remains in business today, spending large sums on advertising. It is one of the first sponsored links to appear in the results when a Google search is done on vending-related topics.

References

* [http://www.ct.gov/dob/cwp/view.asp?A=2229&Q=297688 1.800 Vending, Inc. Fined $10,000 For Business Opportunity Investment Act Violations] , Bulletin #2108, State of Connecticut Department of Banking, July 20, 2004.
* [http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/turnkeyfinalord.pdf United States of America v. Turnkey Vending Stipulated Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction] , June 25, 2003.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.1800vending.com/ 1.800.Vending]