June 30, 2009, we received a hand addressed letter with no return address with a Canadian postmark. Enclosed with a letter was a cashier's check in the amount of $4, 965.00 and a 'customer service evalutaion tool' (a simple check box form to rate customer service on a scale of poor to excellent). The letter was identified as Retail Information Inc., 801 Valley Avenue, Valley City, ND 58072.

The letter had stated that we were selected to be a 'secret customer' and that 'all fees have been waived.' There were instructions to call and speak with a 'task coordinator' at 1-289-888-2791 ext 200, listen to recording and wait for call to be answered.

In the letter, there was a breakdown of funds that the check was to cover. This is what it included:
Evaluation training and pay + expenses - $300
Wal-Mart Purchase - $50
JCPenney Purchase - $40
Travelex - $2800
Service Charge by Travelex - $150
Money Gram transfer - $1565
Service Charge by Money Gram - $60

The letter finished with a scribbled signature of Carol Fuller (Human Resources Manager).

After speaking with the "task coordinator" we were instructed to deposit the check and keep the $300 and whatever we purchased from Wal-Mart and JCPenney. We opened a new bank account to deposit the funds and had to wait 7 - 10 days for the check to clear.

In the meantime, we researched more about this company and couldn't find anything. We did a reverse lookup on the phone number using Google.com and learned that it was an Ontario cell phone. By searching the address provided on the letter, we learned it was a vocational (community college) school address in North Dakota.

The funds were marked available on the account on day 7 and were reversed from the account including a fee for depositing an invalid check on day 8.

We decided to call the number again on day 8 to inform Scott, the "task coordinator" that the funds were available and he was very surprised and excited. The instructions changed from the letter - we were now expected to Money Gram both amounts ($2800 & $1565) to city-abee Alberta Canada immediately and call Scott back with the reference and T.C. numbers.

We will call him back after business hours to let him know the funds have been reversed and we have been charged bank fees and request his credit card number to refund us for the inconvenience.