COMPLAINT about Morgan James Publishing / David Hancock

[angelahoy]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: COMPLAINT about Morgan James Publishing / David Hancock
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:35:19 -0400
From: Angela Hoy
To: david@morganjamespublishing.com, margo@morganjamespublishing.com

September 19, 2009

David Hancock, Founder - david@morganjamespublishing.com
Margo Toulouse - margo@morganjamespublishing.com
Morgan James Publishing - http://www.MorganJamesPublishing.com
The Entrepreneurial Publisher
1225 Franklin Ave., Suite 325 / 11832 Rock Landing Drive Suite 208
Garden City, NY 11530 / Newport News, Virginia 23606

P(516)522-0514
F(516)908-4496

WritersWeekly.com has received a complaint about:
David Hancock / Morgan James Publishing / MorganJamesPublishing.com
On facebook: http://www.FaceBook.com/MorganJames
On twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/DavidHancock

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for
and about freelance writers. The publication is the
largest-circulation freelance writing ezine in the world.

As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in
dealing with writers, haven't paid writers money that is owed to
them, who have not abided by their contracts, or who have unfair
contract terms. These reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's
subscribers
to decide which publications they should and should not work with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all
relevant correspondence between your publication and the person
submitting the complaint so that we can piece together that person's
side of the story. Step one of our investigation has been completed.

-------------
THE COMPLAINT
-------------

JS and SS (names not published here but were, of course, provided to the publisher) allege you have owed them $5,000.00 for
more than a year and that you're now reneging on your agreement to
refund their money in full for services never provided.

See allegation under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication
to your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence
disputing these allegations, or would like to make your own
statement about these allegations for publication in our report, please
email angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and
is subject to publication.***

If you do owe this person money, we strongly suggest you read
this article before responding:
http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/003628_09132006.html

Our report on your firm is scheduled for inclusion in our
publication next Wednesday, though it may appear in our Whispers and
Warnings forum before that time.

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to
read your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

-----------------
THE COMPLAINT
-----------------

Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:43:24 -0400
From: JS

In December of 2007 I entered into an agreement to have Morgan James
Publishing, David Hancock and Rick Frishman were to assist me in
publishing a
book I had written on business excellence. The experience working with
them was so incredibly poor and disappointing that in July of 2008 –
with NO progress having been made on my book at Morgan James – literally
nothing – that we requested to be released from our contract and have
our $5,000 deposit returned. David Hancock agreed and in a signed letter
and in multiple emails indicated that he would refund our money as soon
as possible. It is now September of 2009 and we have seen nothing.
Nothing but lies, manipulation, avoidance and finally, today, a note
from David Hancock stating that we should just “face the facts” that the
law is on his side. Wow – and here is what it says on David’s website:

*One of David’s core values is having strong and mutually beneficial
relationships. “We’ve spent years developing many of the key business
relationships that allows us to get our books in bookstores and the
widespread Web coverage we’ve been able to achieve. We intend to stay
constant in our pursuit of positive relationships with people in all
facets of our business, and we see that as a strategic advantage.”*

Please keep in mind that this is not sour grapes from some cash-strapped
author. After wasting nearly a year on Morgan James, I
was able to find a literary agent who sold my book to Jossey-Bass in 10
days – that is right 10 days. My book is currently
available in bookstores nationwide. They have delivered
everything that Morgan James Publishing and David Hancock promised – and
more – AND I got paid by them!

But do not take my word for it. Below are just a few of the more than
200 emails we have exchanged with Morgan James and David Hancock in the
last 18 months. You can see for yourself exactly how David has handled
this situation.

~~~~~

[angelahoy]

PUBLISHER RESPONDS

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [JS] Complaint
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:26:23 -0400
From: David L Hancock <david@morganjamespublishing.com>

Thank you Angela.

In December 2007, [JS]'s manuscript was one of 150 manuscripts
accepted for publication out of over four thousand submitted.

The agreement allowed [JS] inclusion in some very specific author
training and services which had a cost of $4,995. The agreement also
called for [JS] to turn in a fully edited, proofread final manuscript by
March 10, 2008. [JS] missed his deadline to turn it in. There was
some confusion on who was doing the editing, although the agreement is
clear it is the authors responsibility. We were unable to reach an
agreement and entered into negotiations for his release. The monies paid
to Morgan James was listed in the agreement as non-refundable. Morgan
James was in talks about refunding but had not signed an agreement to do
so.

On March 23, 2009 we negotiated a release of rights back to [JS]
but did not agree to a refund.

David Hancock, Founder
Morgan James Publishing
The Entrepreneurial Publisher

1225 Franklin Ave Ste 325
Garden City, NY 11530

516-522-0514 Voice
516-908-4496 Fax

www.MorganJamesPublishing.com <http://www.MorganJamesPublishing.com>
www.FaceBook.com/MorganJames <http://www.FaceBook.com/MorganJames>
www.Twitter.com/DavidHancock <http://www.Twitter.com/DavidHancock>

[angelahoy]

UPDATE FROM WRITER

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: [Fwd: John Spence Complaint]
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:36:39 -0400
From: SS and JS

Hi Angela -

To update the note below, we did receive a check for $4995.00 from
Morgan James / David Hancock last Monday and I was waiting to see if it
cleared before I wrote to you. It has not yet been returned by my bank
so I think we may OK. Thank you so much for your help with this
situation - I feel absolutely confident that we would not have seen this
outcome without exposing Morgan James' less than flattering behavior via
your website and dispatches. Even though we finally got our money back,
I would certainly advise others....Caveat emptor.

Thank you!

SS