Hi Jimbo,
Totally agree with you. We have that same problem. Even telling them no time and time again AND even saying we dont have the money they still pushed it. Its because they are VERY aggressive and manipulative over the phone to the point you feel backed into a corner and say yes. And the person who said yes, didnt have the authority so is the business still liable? We have already paid them $7500 and they are demanding another $7900. Even telling them we will go under if we have to pay. We are only 3 years into our business and thanks to Gopher, instead of making this year the best they have made it the worst where they know we dont have the money and yesterday we got a letter saying they want the whole $7900 or they will take us to court and we will have to pay their legal fees as well. We are horrified that a NZ business can behave in this way where they are happy to see us crash and burn and we have not even had any sales come our way from them. Expensive cost and no return. I would love to get a group of people together that would be happy to tell their story to FairGo...in the meantime we are dealing with Gopher through our lawyer.
Julie

Hi Julie,

Perhaps you should find several other abused gopher clients and do a class action lawsuit against this mob. Your collective efforts will have more impact and hopefully publicity so other businesses become aware of them.

I would not pay them any money even if they threaten court action. Really feel for small businesses like yours. Running a small business is already a very hard task. We don't need conman (like Gopher) adding to our daily challenges.

FairGo seems like a good idea. Also give Campbell Live and any other similar program a try. They are always looking for stories to cover.

All the best and I really hope you come on top at the end.

Cheers
Jim

Just found out that there's a petition going for Gopher's major ripoff:
http://www.activism.com/en_NZ/petition/gopher-co-nz-took-my-money-ran/34217

Also, Fair Go is investigating them according to this site:
http://www.spinningplanet.co.nz/modules/SP_Blog/blog.php?view=47

Anyone reading this please share this page so others don't end up wasting thousands on this mob. Once people stop paying them, they will go out of business and this scamming company will not get to rip others.

Hey Julie,
Im in the same boat with big promises with 30,000 people reached through a Facebook post for 12 months, it reached 18 people! Even i reach 400 when I post something. They have sent me also a threatening letter, I haven't even had a phone call to say why are you not happy?????
Im livid and can't afford a lawyer, Im just a one man band with a small business.
Would love to get together with a few people and get this sorted

Yes they got me too,dont trust the gopher sales man,told me i be number one on google listing pay now with bank card,lucky i didnt but i did pay a thousand for a webbsite that goes nowhere,they lie & only tape you saying yes & then want 240 a month for google listing,told me 1000 plus 59 a mouth but no,only bout 3000 a year more,dont trust them no matter what they say,Terry tauranga

Lets all get together & get these guys,i see they have deleted all complaints of them on other sites we need to worn people about them

Gopher is a dishonest web design company which has an appropriate name (gopher) as it goes underground when its customer has problems with its service. A class action against this company is required to bury it permanently.

Hey guys,
Seems we all got sucked into the same gopher hole...
My partner got very emotional reading all these posts and comments but it also makes us feel like we're not alone. We definitely need to get together and stomp the rodents out for good. I will be submitting my own complaint against them here shortly.
PS. Has anyone contacted Fair GO or Campbell Live yet? Because that is a great idea and I would be more than happy to be involved.

WOW, so many burned by gopher. Kieran is correct, we need to contact Fair Go or Campbell Live. Point them to this site as evidence of all the ill doings of gopher.

Really sad for small business owners to lose money like this. Its really hard work earning that dollar. Every dollar has to be earned. I remember talking to a plumber who lost $1,600 to gopher. He estimated that he had to unclog 17 toilets to make that money (without accounting for tax and expenses). That's almost a whole weeks worth of earnings down the toilet. Really sad.

OK, so about an hour after my first post here (and many calls to gopher threatening to go to media/court) I finally got a call back from the CEO/owner!
After explaining the whole situation, he then looked at all the records; which were truly messed up. Any way, he agreed to wipe any debt to them and freed us from the contract. He has asked me to give his direct mobile phone number to any one else having grief. I will send it to you in a PM.
Best of luck

That's great news Kieran! That's the sort of outcome we all want in the first place. Looks like the CEO of Gopher gets the "message" after a dozen or so public complaints and comments.

Too bad they don't act on their bad doings earlier. All this bad publicity cannot be good for them. This page is ranking very high in some of gopher related searches in google. They could have prevented all this by just providing an honest straight-forward service in the first place.

I've had these idiots call me twice now. The first time I told the guy that I'm not stupid enough to sign on to anything without looking into gopher first. I then responded to his offer of service via email, stating that I would decline to do any business with gopher as has way too much of a dodgy reputation. I've also heard from several people that I know that have had dealings with these guys. I've been told to stay clear of them. Not to mention the obvious over selling of their product which is not convincing. I asked them never to contact either of our businesses again. That was a few months ago, I got another call today. They are super good at selling their product to you. Very manipulative and am not surprised if many people have been sucked into this scheme. No doubt they will keep calling me until someone puts an end to them.

I am having major grief with these guys . Have been threatened with all sorts . They lie and thieve Not paying them a cent . No terms and conditions until after the account was sent . They then listed the kitsset housing I doing under joinery fabrication . Took copy right material and put their name to it . Yep I am keen to battle as well . I have the directors details as well . Not hard to find

I have started a facebook page about bad experiences with this company - please leave your comments and Like if this applies to you

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gopher-Online-Advertisers-Avoid/1439850512979184

I have sent a complaint to the Commerce Commission.

Sounds like we are all in the same boat, totally miss leading you are Gopher NZ - Dean Alexander

These guys are worse than what comes out of the rear end of a dog !

If I ever get to meet Dean Alexander we will see how much a big man he is when we have a camera on him and make him answer questions.

They only record the parts of the verbal telephone conversation that suits them and even though they got the dates of our agreement wrong and admitted the same on the telephone, they have refused to supply that admission in writing.

Then they had the check to "offer" us the "best deal" they can do and that is that we just agree to pay half of what they claim they owe us and they will forgive us the balance, how big of you Dean. (NOT).

How about the lies you told us about getting us on page one of Google ?

What about telling us about the tens of thousands of impressions that "you got us" and that we were ranking really really well considering how competitive our business is.

What a load of crap, when my sons best friend showed us a video from Google that explained that impressions are not important because it is only the clicks and the cost per click that matters.

These guys must watch the movie Wolf of Wall Street to train conmen like Dean Alexander to rip of small businesses.

DON'T TRUST THEM

DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD

DON'T GIVE THEM A CENT OF YOUR MONEY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

If you really really have a desperate need to get ripped and lose your money then put it in a tin can and set fire to it !

Gopher have ripped me off as well. I started with a 6 month contract of a small package over 12 months ago that suited my small business budget. Within the first month of the contract they called me back and somehow managed to talk me into upgrading to a better package at a greater cost and started a new contract for 12 months.

Then a few months later, the same thing happened and upgraded again with a new 12 month contract. They tell me that upgrading will allow my add to get more clicks and I will most likely get my money returned by successful sales of my products.

By now I am now paying $1000 per month. A bit beyond my budget and I am not getting more than $1000 in return of sales, so it is draining my money!

They even tried to talk me into upgrading to an ultimate package that would cost me about $3500 per month, but they were guaranteeing 100% listing of my add and always at the top, etc...

I agreed to that offer after being talked into it, but I then cancelled within the 5 day termination period, even though they did there best to talk me into staying with the contract because they had already started working on it had had spent several hours of their time working on it. They even tried to offer me special discounts to keep the contract. After having had said "NO" over 10 times, they finally accepted.

I also question why I am paying $1000 per month when my report says only ~$600 worth of clicks was spent. That figure may vary per month, but I am paying Gopher $1000 per month, so where is all the rest of my money going? Am I giving it to Gopher for free?

DO NOT LISTEN TO GOPHER!! THEY ARE CON ARTISTS AND RIP YOU OFF!!

After several calls, emails bouncing around this companies employee's and false promises eg Co founder BJ recently took over our case and obviously hit the too hard basket for him also. BJ a co founder promised to return email once he had gone through our file.

They have since deleted my web, $7,500.00 down the drain, threatened me court action for comments i have made on line with good reason to lay comments. I am not the only one and will stand by my comments, take me to court so i can prove you are a scam!!!! You have a problem with reality Gopher NZ and the truth, ignoring customers will not make this go away. I have never been treated so badly in business the way Gopher NZ has treated my partner and I. Dean Alexander and BJ sharpen up and give us back what you owe, you cant take our money, shut us down and expect all to be swept under the carpet. No wonder your company has moved ahead thieving off innocent people. I stand by all i have stated and will continue!!!!

It appears Gopher is no more. All social accounts down, and the founder is now selling houses - https://www.facebook.com/John-Campbell-Real-Estate-153147335120231/reviews/

Anyone been told of these developments?

Gopher still exists - now operates under Saturn6.
They are demanding payment of $2200 for a website that doesn't exisit.
When I threatened them with the commerce commission and fair go - the site suddenly went live - but is full of spelling mistakes and errors - when i stated i wanted to cancel the ridiculous 'contract' I was told that i can only do that after 90 days?? They have now phoned my office 4 more times in two hours demanding payment.
BEWARE OF SATURN6 THEY ARE GOPHER

Gopher is finally in liquidation! and yes, Saturn 6 is being run by the same people.... However, if you really do need help, the ex CSO Dean Alexander left the company at the beginning of 2016 after being fed up with the unethical behaviour of the rest management and staff, Dean knows his stuff, he has helped me (and others from what i've heard) exit Gopher (using his own lawyers I believe) and worked closely with my company to make sure the advertising actually works, I even got a free website! Message me for his details and I’m sure he will help!

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Hi guys, was just doing some research as im going through the same thing with the same people it seems, yet a different company name. Would just like to know if anyone got a resolution/money back at all?

Hope to hear from someone soon.

Hey LuD, do a search for Dean Alexander NZ and you will see more about his past

Here is where is stole from a kid
https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/sunday-star-times/20100620/283566626772776

This new one where he fired a woman and had to pay 20k https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12149502

Amazingly talented at searching Google, not much of an IQ when it comes to separating fact from fiction.

Do you really have nothing better to do than bitch, moan & make up fanciful stories about companies that refuse to supply you company services?
Tai - ‘stole’ is not quite accurate is it? tribunal re-hearing is set for the coming months, so let’s wait for the outcome and keep the warrior away from the keyboard.

If you did your research properly then no doubt you would have come across numerous awards, accolades & reviews, both professionally & for all the companies I’ve worked for over the last 10 years in this industry, which of course are redacted.

Yes, in my mid-twenties after returning from a decade overseas I hacked Westpac bank, an intrusion that was so technically proficient that the police, to this day, have no idea how it was accomplished, just so where on the same page, now in my mid 40’s that’s almost two decades ago. There was no ‘con’ artistry or fraud charges, only accessing a computer for dishonest purpose. If any conclusion can be drawn it is that obviously I know what I’m doing with computer systems & the most qualified to build digital ad platforms.

I paid my debt on the day, now have no criminal record & only the odd parking ticket in the last 18 years. In the eyes of the government, by law, I have earned the write to be forgotten, however If you really want to harp on about ‘how I’m out to get everyone’ then sobeit, really it's just a minor irritation and of no consequence.

AGM is now in fact in liquidation, as was planned.

If anyone needs updating or has any (current) issues they would like to discuss please feel free to call on *** *** ***,

Cheers,

Dean Alexander

Dean Alexander of Alexander Group Media Limited (aka AGM Digital) is in liquidation by Westpac - https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2019-aw3033

Advertisement of Application for Putting Company into Liquidation

This document notifies you that:

On 31 May 2019, an application for putting ALEXANDER GROUP MEDIA LIMITED into liquidation was filed in the High Court at Auckland. Its reference number is CIV-2019-404-1027. The application is to be heard by the High Court at Auckland on 19 July 2019 at 10.00am.

A person, other than the defendant company, who wants to appear at the hearing of the application must file an appearance not later than the second working day before that day.

The statement of claim and the verifying affidavit may be inspected at the registry of the Court or at the plaintiff’s address for service.

The plaintiff is Westpac New Zealand Limited, whose address for service is at the offices of MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Level 20, 88 Shortland Street, Auckland 1010. The plaintiff’s solicitor is Geoffrey Mark Sandelin, whose address is as noted above.

Dated this 27th day of June 2019.

Fair to say one of the main con artist here is still at it;
'Digital marketer leaves trail of businesses wondering where their money went'
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114479628/digital-marketer-leaves-trail-of-businesses-wondering-where-their-money-went