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IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ-America is Haunted

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  • IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ-America is Haunted

    OK while everyone was busy actually RUNNING their haunts this weekend, some guy has been totally undermining the industry. There was a post started about America is Haunted. Just questions, not many paid any attention (again busy RUNNING Haunts!)

    I was informed by a friend of this America is Haunted in my market, asking if it was any good. I started checking. Knowing what it takes to open an attraction here, I had not seen nor heard of this attraction except on the Groupon sale. One of the Fire Inspectors for Clark County where it is supposed to be located happened to be a customer at my haunt Friday night. I asked him about it. He stated there was NO other haunt that had pulled permits in the county. They must apply like 60 days prior to the event and have to be processed through the county board meeting.

    I personally drove to the location. It is buried in an industrial section(hard to find) and is a vacant property. I checked the web site: http://www.americaishaunted.com/ it is very ambiguous filled with images ripped off of other sites ( including America Haunts, Larry!)

    Of course the Groupon deals were ending this weekend and the attractions were not opening until October 22. Ticket sales are ONLY on line. They claim to have haunts in over 40 markets. They have taken the Haunt industry by storm the last two years selling out attractions across the country..... Called the numbers on the site. One is "Message Box is full", second is "you have dialed incorrectly, check the number and dial again". The address on the site is the same as the URL owner info. It is a real address:
    601 Figueroa Street Suite 4050 Los Angeles CA 90017.
    It's a nice big REAL office building.......oh wait.... they happens to specialize in VIRTUAL OFFICES!!! DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE RED FLAGS????

    My daughter contacted a Haunt Blogger to help get the word out to fans NOT to do the Groupon deal, oh yeah, Groupon does not have ANYONE available on weekends to handle ANY issues!!This Blogger, Oni Hartstein started checking also. Every location she checked was either a vacant building or an existing business, like a concrete manufacturer!!She posted he information and my daughter posted her info.

    So of course they got a reply on the site... from someone claiming to be a lawyer for America is Haunted. Here is the blog link: http://www.onezumiverse.com/2014/10/...at-dont-exist/

    OK HAUNTERS TIME TO STEP IT UP!!!
    This person or persons are DEFRAUDING the Haunt Industry. They are hurting the business when all of the people who bought tickets on Groupon or on line, show up to VACANT buildings who do they blame???? US! Will they trust a Haunted House Groupon Deal again? Will they buy another haunt ticket on-line ticket again (like yours?). Probably not! Take the time, most of you are not open until this Thursday. Go to their site. See the locations. IF you are close to one, GO to that building. Take a picture. If it IS vacant and there is leasing info, picture that. Call and ask if it is rented. Then CALL GROUPON and complain.

    This is actions taken across state lines which makes the fraud Federal. Groupon has the best means to thwart and prosecute this. (Some account exec at Groupon needs to be fired as they obviously did NO homework on this.)

    WE AS AN INDUSTRY NEED TO UNITE AND NOT JUST STOP THIS, BUT BY OUR ACTIONS PREVENT SUCH FUTURE ACTIONS>>>PERIOD.

    You can respond here, but I will start a thread tomorrow with posted pictures of the vacant locations and the response from the Realtor.

    DO something people. Don't just complain that people screw up your market or fly by night operators take business away...DO SOMETHING or find another business. I personally have fought a tough battle for 16 years to help establish my business, to represent the industry, to help change the Haunt Business as have MANY of the good Haunters that frequent this Message Board. This is a personal attack on our industry. By utilizing Groupon they "legitimized" thier actions with the public so now "those haunted houses ripped me off" will be told by not just the people affected, but their friends, family, acquaintances...then the rumors start..."did you hear about the thousands of people that got ripped off by haunted houses on Groupon???"

    This Stops HERE!

    I am calling the leasing company Monday. Then Groupon immediately afterwards.....what about in YOUR MARKET....YOUR BACKYARD. Let's protect ourselves, our industry and our customers!
    R&J Productions
    Las Vegas, NV
    www.LasVegasHaunts.com

  • #2
    There website lists one for my town too. I am going to drive up there tomorrow to confirm there is nothing there (though I have no doubt, the address comes back to a trucking company), then I will contact Groupon and local authorities. Pisses me off...

    Comment


    • #3
      Omaha NE 'site'

      I checked the website, it listed Omaha NE as one of it's attractions. (I'm in Nebraska)
      The address for this supposed site is an empty building listed online for sale. http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/18861...enue-Omaha-NE/ Also reading the ad, the building is empty.
      No America is Haunted site in Omaha NE
      Jan
      greyhousehaunts.com

      Comment


      • #4
        AmericaIsHaunted.com web trail to the possible person responsible.

        i posted this on the other thread about this too. I got this information from one of my partners about who this person just might be. Seems like there is a trail to follow from the questionable website. please find my partner's research as follows:

        "Bill,

        You asked; Who is http://www.americaishaunted.com/?

        While it seems the creator of this web site has taken reasonable steps to prevent his identity from being known, simple mistakes in the process can “blow the cover”.

        On the contacts page of this site, the Twitter logo directs to https://twitter.com/americahaunted

        This Twitter profile shows a website url of http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/

        The domain registration for hauntedamericatours.com shows the following;

        Domain Name: HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
        ...
        Registrant Name: Jules Richard IV
        Registrant Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
        Registrant Street: 8305 Nelson St
        Registrant City: New Orleans
        Registrant State/Province: Louisiana
        Registrant Postal Code: 70118
        Registrant Country: United States
        Registrant Phone: +504.9199342
        Registrant Phone Ext:
        Registrant Fax:
        Registrant Fax Ext:
        Registrant Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
        Registry Admin ID:
        Admin Name: Jules Richard IV
        Admin Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
        Admin Street: 8305 Nelson St
        Admin City: New Orleans
        Admin State/Province: Louisiana
        Admin Postal Code: 70118
        Admin Country: United States
        Admin Phone: +504.9199342
        Admin Phone Ext:
        Admin Fax:
        Admin Fax Ext:
        Admin Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
        Registry Tech ID:
        Tech Name: Jules Richard IV
        Tech Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
        Tech Street: 8305 Nelson St
        Tech City: New Orleans
        Tech State/Province: Louisiana
        Tech Postal Code: 70118
        Tech Country: United States
        Tech Phone: +504.9199342
        Tech Phone Ext:
        Tech Fax:
        Tech Fax Ext:
        Tech Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
        Name Server: NS1.HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
        Name Server: NS2.HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
        It seems that Mr. Jules runs americashaunted, hauntedamericatours, bachigraphics.com and others from his home in New Orleans. I hope he will give his guests at his haunts in 24 major cities a fantastic experience and value this Halloween season.

        Hope this helps,
        Mike"

        Comment


        • #5
          Thank You

          Hi I'm the Daughter. At this point in time, no one else has contacted either myself or Oni from their company. They tried to scare her with the lawyer comment, but she didn't fall for it. So far I have contacted Groupon about the company being fake, sent a few links and said I had more proof if they needed it, I also contacted their ticketing company Active also informing them of being used to run a scam. I dug into 5 properties myself, and on Oni's FB page about 10 people have gone to, or researched the "ones" in their area across the map. They are all empty warehouses hidden away. We are gathering as much info and data we can for Groupon, Active, and the FBI to use. Yes I submitted a complaint to the FBI Internet Fraud department as well. Since then I have contacted all my major news stations in my area and let them know, and started working down the list of "locations". We need to work on cutting both the head and the tail of this demon. I have been able to find just about every piece of information I can find on this company that backs up what I have said to cover my rear end. I even reported their FB page as a scam page to FB. They will not be able to run and hide from this. I do not want to see this industry, and all the people I love be affected by this. Next year I will be starting sooner. I am going to watch Groupon, FB, and about everywhere else I can to try and catch people like this yahoo early. If you are in one of those areas please go and take pictures. They are supposed to be opening between the 21-22 of October. If we have pictures of vacant locations that will help make this case bigger. Once it crossed a single state line it became a federal charge of fraud, I would like to see if we can catch them in 42+ cases of federal fraud. I hope your haunt season is the best one yet, maybe we are far enough up from the bottom of the recession to make our blood, sweat, and heartache mean something. Maybe I will make it to St. Luis some time soon for Convention. I'd love to bring Oni.

          Comment


          • #6
            It is totally a fraud and I've encouraged several people to contact their local groupon and get this pulled off... I also contacted my local groupon and I will set the wheels in motion to get them pulled off. They are scam artists and thieves.

            There is no doubt about it.

            Their phone numbers are fake, they are trying to screw people no doubt about it.

            Larry
            Larry Kirchner
            President
            www.HalloweenProductions.com
            www.BlacklightAttractions.com
            www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
            www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

            Comment


            • #7
              I talked to Groupon and they are removing all of his locations across the board.

              Larry
              Larry Kirchner
              President
              www.HalloweenProductions.com
              www.BlacklightAttractions.com
              www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
              www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Looked it up here in Sacramento, empty whartehouse. If you go to their website and click through to purchase a ticket online it is through http://www.active.com/ they are a real company (active.com) also, if you want to contact active to let them know that whatever event in your neigborhood is bogus go here: http://activesupport.force.com/usersupport/UScontact
                good luck

                Comment


                • #9
                  Spoke with Customer Service at Groupon (45 minute wait on hold), and local rep. The site should be down by end of business today. They will contact anyone who bought a ticket for a full refund.
                  My daughter was interviewed by the Milwaukee CBS affiliate. The segment will air tonight and the producer wants to send the segment to every CBS affiliate in the markets they sold tickets in!!!

                  One of the questions asked was why we are so reactive. She explained that we protect our industry and our customers.

                  Groupon stated they are getting multiple complaints lodged across the country.

                  Boy I bet this idiot didn't realize who he was screwing with!! Hopefully a good deterrent for anyone else in the future!!!

                  Thanks to everyone who helped. You can still contact Groupon, make posts on your own social media and web sites so if the segments does go national, YOU can be a part of this solution!!!
                  R&J Productions
                  Las Vegas, NV
                  www.LasVegasHaunts.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    you guys have done a great service to the industry as a whole. There is not one of these in my immediate area, so I wish I could do more. Has any one turned this guy into law enforcement of any kind?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      posted by Goatman in another post. maybe the moderator can combine the posts

                      AmericaIsHaunted.com – 1 Day Ago Report Post



                      I got this information from my partner about who this person just might be. Seems like there is a trail to follow from the questionable website. please find my partner's research as follows:

                      "Bill,

                      You asked; Who is http://www.americaishaunted.com/?

                      While it seems the creator of this web site has taken reasonable steps to prevent his identity from being known, simple mistakes in the process can “blow the cover”.

                      On the contacts page of this site, the Twitter logo directs to https://twitter.com/americahaunted

                      This Twitter profile shows a website url of http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/

                      The domain registration for hauntedamericatours.com shows the following;

                      Domain Name: HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
                      ...
                      Registrant Name: Jules Richard IV
                      Registrant Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
                      Registrant Street: 8305 Nelson St
                      Registrant City: New Orleans
                      Registrant State/Province: Louisiana
                      Registrant Postal Code: 70118
                      Registrant Country: United States
                      Registrant Phone: +504.9199342
                      Registrant Phone Ext:
                      Registrant Fax:
                      Registrant Fax Ext:
                      Registrant Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
                      Registry Admin ID:
                      Admin Name: Jules Richard IV
                      Admin Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
                      Admin Street: 8305 Nelson St
                      Admin City: New Orleans
                      Admin State/Province: Louisiana
                      Admin Postal Code: 70118
                      Admin Country: United States
                      Admin Phone: +504.9199342
                      Admin Phone Ext:
                      Admin Fax:
                      Admin Fax Ext:
                      Admin Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
                      Registry Tech ID:
                      Tech Name: Jules Richard IV
                      Tech Organization: Bachi Graphics LLC
                      Tech Street: 8305 Nelson St
                      Tech City: New Orleans
                      Tech State/Province: Louisiana
                      Tech Postal Code: 70118
                      Tech Country: United States
                      Tech Phone: +504.9199342
                      Tech Phone Ext:
                      Tech Fax:
                      Tech Fax Ext:
                      Tech Email: tech@bachigraphics.com
                      Name Server: NS1.HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
                      Name Server: NS2.HAUNTEDAMERICATOURS.COM
                      It seems that Mr. Jules runs americashaunted, hauntedamericatours, bachigraphics.com and others from his home in New Orleans. I hope he will give his guests at his haunts in 24 major cities a fantastic experience and value this Halloween season.

                      Hope this helps,
                      Mike"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Well done to you all!! I am impressed!
                        Jan
                        greyhousehaunts.com

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Just to be thorough, I checked the Portland, OR address. As expected, no haunt their. The Groupon for the local event has indeed been pulled as has the ad through Amazon.com. Good job by everyone really staying on top of this!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Yes apparently they are also selling on Amazon.com and another site called active.com

                            Group is or already has pulled all their ads and so is Active.

                            These guys are scum bags! One person has turned them over to the FBI!

                            The funniest thing I've seen now is these goofs saying they will sue if you bad mouth their legit business. LOL

                            Larry
                            Larry Kirchner
                            President
                            www.HalloweenProductions.com
                            www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                            www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                            www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Their website has now been taken down. Apparently, everyone's hard work has paid off and they have fled the scene. Good job folks.

                              Comment

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