17/07/2010. Interview with the admin of FundsOMatic

BEWARE! THIS PROGRAM IS PAYING SELECTIVELY! PLEASE DO NOT INVEST!

Hi everyone! Hope the weekend is going well for you so far. Though there isn’t all that much news to report on this evening, what I do have for you is something I hope you find interesting and maybe even a bit insightful. Not only has FunsOMatic become one of the most popular new long term programs to hit the net in recent months, it’s admin Randy Mitchell is also one of the most esteemed. And today I’m pleased to have this interview with him in which he shares his thoughts on both his own program and the wider HYIP industry as a whole. I’ll let you read what he has to say for yourselves but I do hope you’ll agree that with a few more admins of Randy’s calibre the online investments industry would be a significantly better place.

Before we hear from him let me just remind you that FundsOMatic is a long term HYI program originally reviewed on MNO here. It offers terms of 0.8% to 1.8% for 200 days, and 7% to 14% for 26 weeks. If you have anything to say about FundsOMatic then you can do so on the MNO forum discussion thread given over to them here.

“1. Hi Randy, please introduce yourself to the readers of MNO and tell us about your own role within FundsOMatic. What are your own duties within the program? What kind of experience do you have in managing the funds of others?

Hello Paul and the MNO readers. My name is Randy Mitchell. I am the owner of the HYIP FundsOMatic. As the Owner / Admin I handle the payment reimbursements as well as the decisions on the financial firms I choose to help assist in investing our / your funds. I have been active in this industry for many years. I have been working with offline ventures in the financial sector for about 7 years. FundsOMatic is my second site of this type. My first was Surf-O-Matic.com which closed a few months ago at the maturity of the last investment package.

2. It’s been fairly well documented by now about your previous role in a successful surfing program. So where did it all go wrong? Not just for you personally but for the surfing industry in general. Can you also tell us how you managed to close the program while still making sure that none of your members were in a loss? Why can’t
other admins do the same?

To be honest the surfing world was in a downward spiral long before I stared Surf-o-matic. There are many speculations of why the surf industry died, I cant speak for all and my feelings may not be accurate. As far as the closure of Surf-O-Matic, That was only due to the lack of surfers, As the industry died out members were moving to the HYIPS. I discussed with members how they wanted to continue and together we decided to move to the HYIP area as well. The reason I was able to ensure all members profited and were paid is because I ran the site with real investments. When things were rough I was not afraid to be honest with members. If I needed time I told them in advance. I did not wait till it was so bad I could not recoup. Other admins when they got to that point closed up shop and ran to the next site because it was easier for them.

3. I’ll ask your opinion of the current state of the HYIP industry later but for now do you feel the HYIP industry could go the same way as the surfing industry? Why?

I believe that there is a possibility that the HYIP can go the way of the surfing industry. The reason why is very controversial and could best be summed up as the well known human condition or sin called greed. While there is nothing wrong with making money on line, as humans we tend to be blinded by the truth and greed of the situation that we be lured into unrealistic programs.

4. Give us some background on your new program. How long have you been running? What were you hoping to achieve by starting it in the first place? Apart from you is there anybody else working on FundsOMatic?

FundsOMatic is a spin-off or continuation of Surf-O-Matic. While Surf-O-Matic ran for just under 2 years, FundsOMatic is running with live accounts for about 3 weeks. My main reason in starting FundsOMatic was to continue the success of Surf-O-Matic. I am hoping to reach a larger audience than was available in the surf industry. As with any type of business growth is always a goal. Besides myself there are 3 others that will very rarely if ever be visible to the public. I have my actual investors, Tech support who maintains and updates the site, and a lovely young lady who assists in replying to mails and double checks the system to ensure its accuracy.

5. What about the investment plans? Can you explain them in detail to us? What are the minimum and maximum amounts for investment, what rates of interest are on offer and how long do they run for? Which one has been the most popular?

While we only have 2 actual plans each one has 5 levels. For simplicity they are plans that pay daily and weekly and are called such. The minimum in each plan is $5.00 per spend in, and there is no limits at this time. The daily plan starts with .8% and goes up to 1.8% daily interest for 200 days. The weekly plan starts at 7% per week and goes up to 14% per week for 26 weeks. Both plan returns include the principle. The reasoning that the weekly plan offers a higher return is simply because i have to keep less in the processor to complete payments thus giving me more funds to work with and higher returns. So far the weekly plans seem to me most popular.

6. In times of global recession do you agree that some of the minimum investment requirements in some of your plans are unrealistic for most online investors? Like the last plan for instance, why ask for $5,000 and get no investors when you could ask for $1,000 and get 5 investors? Or $100 and get 500 investors?

Since the plans start with a $5 minimum spend, the amount of returns increases as the amount of investments increase. Since someone can put in $1000 and still earn a superb return, I do not feel that the last bracket is un realistic, The Investment pool I participate in to generate that rate does require a larger deposit from me so I do need to set that last bracket that high. Setting that last bracket at 5000 is what allows me to use the returns in that pool to provide the returns of the lower brackets while building reserves.

7. Tell us about the payment options available from FundsOMatic. What payment processors are you currently dealing with? What have been the most popular choices among investors? Is there any point in accepting StrictPay when neither you nor your members can turn it into real spendable cash?

I accept almost all major processors. LibertyReserve, AlertPay, PerfectMoney, GlobalDigitalPay and yes still StrictPay. While StrictPay has its current situation that is not ideal, the service they have provided has been exceptional and since I have used them with out incident for over 2 years I felt it was still a wise decision to continue to do so. I have still an investment that I am able to fund with StrictPay that is profitable as well as a simple fact that I have a large reserve from before with them. The most popular I would say is AlertPay despite the high fees they charge. Very close second would be Liberty Reserve.

8. I said in my review that you are very non-committal and vague about exactly how long it takes to process payouts. I understand your reasons and agree completely, but I also know from experience how fickle and demanding some investors can be. So don’t you think you can avoid longer term problems by making a firmer commitment to that now? Or have your own members been cool with that as long as they get paid?

This has always caused some questions from first time investors with me. Once they see my past and hear from long term members, they see that my payment time is more then acceptable. I have found, and my members understand, that with a pre set time say guaranteed 24 hours or 48 hours, as soon as this needs to be changed or can no longer be achieved due to volume members are less understanding. There are several people who will start screaming scam even when things are beyond control of myself or any admin. (the current strictPay situation is a perfect example) I have seen that with my payment terms members have become accustomed to that and know they will be paid, so they rather not lock into a preset time as long as they get paid yes. This does not mean I do not make them as soon as possible.

9. How highly would you rate the security of your own website? Tell us about your hosting provider. Who are they and how highly would you rate them as a service provider? How well protected are you from DDoS attacks?

I would say that I have pretty good security for my site, I offer members the option to use the HTTPS or not, I have daily online backups and off line backups several times a day. My hosting provider is in touch with me every few days to make sure i am happy and have no issues, They are always looking for ways to continue to secure the site. Our script uses probably the most secure script in the industry form Neversay, and files are encoded with ioncube. We also have a DDOS protected server and software that actually blocks IP addresses if it feels that there are too many attempts to connect too fast. This is provided by our upstream provider.

10. What about your script? Who provides that and how highly do you rate them? What are the advantages to using it to both you as an admin and to your members? Are you also protected by SSL encryption? Tell us why this is important and why do you think so many admins are reluctant to add it.

As stated previously our script is the most secure in the industry from Neversay. As an admin it is very familiar and easy to see each members account and deposits. Can change what processors we use and change, close or ad plans very easily. For members most are familiar with the script so they know how to use it and how it works, this saves a lot of questions such as when will I be credited.

I do have the SSL option available to our members but is not forced. SSL is a great way to secure the site and protect financial information. I can tell you from experience and testing, the reason that many admins would be reluctant to add it other then price, is that it can some times cause automation issues with LibertyReserve and AlertPay. As well as installing can sometimes be a headache.

11. What kind of customer support do you offer? What is the best and most efficient way to contact you if I have any questions? I know that you have a Live Chat feature but no schedule is published. What hours (GMT) does it work? Or is there any fixed schedule?

The live chat feature so far has only been used by maybe 2 non monitors. The best way of communicating is the contact form. This ensures I can take time to look into issues and make sure that I am giving the best and accurate information. There is no schedule for the chat as I am always on at different times, and some times in the middle of the night.

12. What have been the most common questions, problems, or other support related issues that you have had to deal with so far? Is there anything you would like to address here so that members can avoid having to contact you?

Honestly other then monitors who mail over and over to use their monitor, there really is not many questions. I have been asked if referral commissions can be paid to other processors, which i do not allow. Our Members your readers are a very smart group and seem to know what they are doing. I can say that with out a doubt FundsOMatic is a simple straight forward site that members enjoy because it is so easy.

13. Is there any other outside business or investment activities that FundsOMatic are involved with? Or is it fair to assume that you are a regular online based HYIP with the advantages and disadvantages that go with that?

This is actually a great question. FundsOMatic funds are 75% invested offline, 15% online forex with managed forex bots, and 10% is kept in processor accounts. With Surf-O-Matic I started off investing in other sites and won some but also lost some. This caused me to shift my ways and since then have not invested in other hyip sites, The benefits of this is that there is no threat of collapse if the “BIG” site collapses. The advantage is that there is real investments and that is the SOLE reason that my first site was able to ensure all members were paid in full at the end of their terms.

14. Do you have any opinions on the current crisis in the HYIP industry? What do you think lead up to it and would you have any suggestions as to how the situation could be improved?

A good part of the situation in the industry at least what I can tell from the first week or so was that there seem to be more monitors then regular members. While I understand the importance for monitors and the roll they play, I also feel that there are too many out there. I feel that a majority of the monitors are just a drain on the sites that they claim to monitor. I would say that there are a handful of good ones, and there are many that do not ask sites for a huge fee, in fact they use their own funds. With more monitors that were actually providing a true service such as the ones I have, there could actually be some more trust brought into the industry, members could have a true sense of the program and not a paid response. This can be seen in many forums and even was a huge bit of feed back from my members when i was starting. This is the reason that you see a few only. Each monitor I have was recommended and asked for by our members.

15. Are there any plans to develop FundsOMatic further in the near future? Will there be any interesting changes made soon? How are you planning to keep the program competitive? Any promotional ideas in mind?

FundsOMatic will be an ongoing developmental program, As we grow and expand it is natural to develop to accommodate our members needs. I do not see and immediate changes to the program soon as they have been proven successful for almost 2 years now.

As far as promotional ideas, There are many options. I am careful to offer any promotions as “specials” as bonus money needs to come from somewhere and needs to not effect the program. As you may or may not know last December all my members received a Holiday or year end bonus. This was not a planed thing or something that was expected but due to the success and the commitment of our members I felt it was deserved and it was much appreciated.

16. And finally is there anything else you wish to say not covered in this interview? If there was just one thing you could say to investors to get them to join your program before any other then what would it be?

There is really not much to say here that has not been covered in either the interview or your review. You have been a valuable asset to the industry and your readers truly respect you. I want to thank you for taking the time to evaluate my program and to publish the review as well as your support in your forum.

If there was one thing that I could tell others that would help them join my program over any other is that I am not like most admins. I will not tell you the sky is a wonderful shade of blue when it is storming. I will not tell you Santa is visiting the Easter bunny or that they had tea with the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow with his pot of gold. What you will get form me is upfront and true commitment. I will give you the truth and the dedication to outlast and out weather any storm. I will give you what you deserve, and I will make the decisions that need to be made to ensure that FundsOMatic is as successful if not more so then its predecessor SurfOMatic.”

Thanks a lot to Randy for that. Not just for answering but for making such an effort to raise what must surely be highly contentious points about the industry that are well worth debating. Best of luck to him and let’s all hope that FundsOMatic will be as great a success as his last project. More importantly though, good luck to the investors who participate.

That’s about it for today everyone, but I’ll have a full news update for you tomorrow as well as a closer look at a new program UniteTrade just added to my monitoring page today. So stay tuned for that and see you all then!