Unified Compliance Services settlementI have written about this subject before, scams and aggressive marketing in the trucking industry, it is rampant.  Clients tell me sometimes their heads spin with people calling and emailing all the time offering this service, that service and sometimes trying to make themselves out to be something they aren’t in order to make a buck.  As a service provider, we also get the same calls and emails and I really have to sympathize with my clients some of which are just hard working owner operators trying to make a living and do everything right.  It’s so bad that even the FMCSA issued warnings on their websites and as part of the process for obtaining DOT and MC numbers.

One such marketer, whom I had personal contact with, has recently settled a case against them for aggressive and deceptive marketing.  BLAK, Inc operating under the name of  Unified Compliance Services.  This company like several others were under investigation for falsely claiming or alluding to being part of or authorized agents of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  In my own dealings with this company, it was very difficult to determine if they were, in fact, the DOT or not, they were very clever in dancing around the issue or mumbling important answers.  Even direct questioning often left me very unclear as to whom they really were.  What was clear though was their hard sell tactics of leading me to believe I really needed their overpriced services and it was the law that I did it, which of course wasn’t the case at all.  Unfortunately, they are not the only company.

The BLAK, Inc settlement concluded an 18-month investigation by the Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden into a group of similar companies all primarily targeting new entrant carriers.  In January, Wasden settled with Vurv, LLC, and Drug Testing Compliance Group. Wasden then settled with CDL Compliance Testing, LLC, and DOT Transportation Service, LLC, in April.

In regards to the BLAK, Inc settlement, according to the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Idaho press release,  contains the following terms:

Under terms of the settlement, Unified Compliance Services reimbursed the Attorney General for fees and investigative costs. The company, among other things, has also agreed to:

  • At a customer’s request, cancel a purchase and refund payment for any sale that occurred during a telephone solicitation before April 15, 2016;
  • Maintain its telephone solicitor registration with the Idaho Attorney General’s office;
  • Provide training on legal responsibilities to its team of telephone solicitors;
  • Not represent that it is affiliated with, sponsored, licensed, regulated or approved by any government agency.

Customers interested in cancelling their purchases and obtaining refunds must email Unified Compliance Services directly at admin@unifiedcomplianceservices.com and provide the company with contact and account information.

The deadline to request cancellation and a refund is Aug. 6, 2016. Customers should receive refunds within 21 business days of the company receiving the email request.

Additionally, if you have been a victim of fraud or have been misled by someone claiming to represent a federal agent The Office of Inspector General (OIG) maintains a Hotline for receiving allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) programs or operations. online or by calling 800-424-9071.