America Invents and Bill Seidel are operating a Bait-and-Switch Scam.

STEP 1- THE BAIT- Promise the client anything. He told me he would build a prototype for my project. He never said anything about me paying for it in addition to his initial fee. In fact when I asked him about this he told me “don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it.” When I asked about the minimum financial requirements for clients he said “that’s just a formality, don’t worry about that.” I had already told him that “I am disabled and have no income.” Then he started giving me progress reports about building the prototype for three months.

STEP 2- PRETEND TO WORK ON IT- “We have reviewed your product on Wednesday and it’s great! You have a very clever product that is very well designed.” “We have a company that has expressed interest in the application. They are not a manufacturer but an appliance company, however they believe it has sizeable potential.” He told me by phone that the owner of the appliance company was a friend of his and that the appliance company had a fabrication shop and was going to help with the prototype. He said he was “going to tour their fabrication shop.” “Your baby is in good hands. I thing we have the company to make the prototype.” “I need more on these heat exchanger plates… We will have to figure this out soon and start ordering parts and we need the right parts.” “We will pin this down and get a good working prototype. I have a great appliance company wants to work with this because they want to test it.” “I am still holding for some prices and return calls from the companies we have contacted. Everything else you state is on target. Hopefully I can pull the costs together this week and get this prototype under way.” When I asked when I would get a prototype he told me “I am going to get at least three prototypes to you by the end of the summer” of 2008.

STEP 3- CONFUSE THE ISSUES AND STALL- He’s been trying to confuse the issues since, nothing he says makes sense, it’s all intentionally contradictory and doesn’t add up. Five days after the BBB forwarded my complaint to him I received this on Tuesday, December 09, 2008: “Finally a first draft which is already being revised.” He had his draftsman work over the weekend to produce something to show to the BBB, which the dates clearly show. His “first draft” is a copy of a design by Wright, USPN 4875298 and has nothing to do with my project, USPN 7213349. He said “the patent doesn’t say anywhere that this unit has to have plates.” The next day I received this: “I just received the BBB complaint today and will respond… the BBB complaint was not the reason for sending the drawings. If you can successfully fin a low temp. air-to-air exchanger (with an acceptable exchange rate) I will be very impressed and that would be cause for another patent with sizeable conservation potential. Bill” Another patent? Then he asked me “how this filter works? What is the status of the prototype? Aside of what the Agreement says, we agreed to help and assist in your prototype effort. The “plate” is required in the patent.” So much for his deception for the BBB which had no plates.

STEP 4- THE SWITCH- Fall back on “The Contract”. “we can make the prototype for you for an additional cost of $11, 700. The prototype is the responsibility of the client.”

STEP 5- INTIMIDATE CLIENT TO BE QUIET- “You agreed to Mediate and/or Arbitrate in San Francisco. This cost is $3, 000-$8, 000 per party, plus attorney costs and your travel costs and you additional expenses… If you do not appear it will be a default ruling in our favor. Additionally if you continue to file complaints outside of Mediation or Arbitration we will also be forced to take legal action against you to force you to stop that behavior.” In his letter on Inventor Fraud.com he states “we have never filed suit or threatened to file suit against any client.” This is how he ends complaints and keeps his BBB Record clean to deceive new clients who check him out with the BBB.

STEP 6- DO IT TO SOMEONE ELSE

America Invents and Bill Seidel are operating a Bait-and-Switch Scam. I didn’t give him money to watch me struggle, he said he would build the prototype. After 18 months he has done nothing except practice deception and work his scam. I want my $6300 returned. He has caused me a great loss of development time with his Scam.