Wow! As it turns out, if you apply enough legal pressure to Simon Brodie, he does actually respond! Rumor has it that a number of unsatisfied Allerca customers received a legal contract from Simon, offering them a refund if they sign a non-disclosure order and agree not to pursue any further action against Lifestyle Pets.
Why did these customers receive a refund offer and not others? I believe this is the magic formula:
1) Contact your local District Attorney. Although a state-level Attorney General will be a more powerful force, it's hard to get their attention. Local DAs sometimes have more latitude to handle cases of these size. In fact, if you have not yet done so, please forward the details of your case to the District Attorney from Santa Cruz, California, who is investigating Lifestyle Pets. They can be reached here:
Kelly Walker, Deputy DA
Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office
831-454-2400
DAT025@co.santa-cruz.ca.us
2) Contact the FBI. Although it's pretty easy to log an online complaint with their Internet Crime Complaint Center, it would be best to also contact an actual FBI investigator. You may wish to start with the FBI office in San Diego, California because they have already gathered information from dozens of victims. They can be reached here:
FBI San Diego
9797 Aero Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: (858) 565-1255
Fax (858) 499-7991
E-mail: san.diego@ic.fbi.gov
3) Contact any consumer activist or advocacy organizations in your area. Often local papers or news stations will have a reporter dedicated to tracking down fraudulent corporations. They might be interested in hearing about your case. Although Simon is probably long past thinking he can squash all negative publicity, at the very least if you spread the word about your interactions with Lifestyle pets, you'll be giving information to other potential customers.
Now, are these refunds actually going to be sent out? Well, that's still unknown. Hell, Simon has insured that it will remain unknown by binding all of the recipients to a gag order. However, given the regular number of Allerca victims that I hear from through this blog, I'm guessing that there are still MANY customers who paid their money and never got anything back, let alone a legal contract dangling the promise of a refund.
