ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County man said a company running a Facebook app that collected deposits from classmates for a high school reunion ended up ignoring his request for a refund when the event was canceled.
It was Angel Anglero's 25th high school reunion. He was planning the big weekend party for classmates from all over the country, so the Facebook app seemed perfect -- so everyone could make their party deposit online to a company called IPaySocial.com.
"I wanted a third party so I was not responsible for handling the money," said Angelero.
The app collects money for reunions and big events online for a small fee. But six months after classmates deposited nearly $2,000, party organizers had to cancel the event.
The bad news was when Angelero asked IPaysocial to refund everyone, no one would return his calls. Angelero said emails were ignored, and he couldn't even find an address for the Tampa company.
"It's like a slap in the face,” he said.
Fearing a dead-end, Angelero called Action 9. We found the company is owned by Sam Sarcone, and its corporate address turns out to be a private, fourth-floor condo in Tampa Bay.
But condo managers said Sarcone hasn't even lived there for a year.
Many classmates used credit cards to pay the deposits, but by the time they realized something was very wrong, their deadline for disputes had already passed.
A day after WFTV showed up at the condo, Sarcone called us. He said there had been a software problem between Facebook and his company, and he didn't even realize Angelero had asked for refunds.
Now, he promised everyone would have their cash next week.
Since classmates are getting their money back, they are planning to reschedule their reunion.
WFTV
