The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office is seeking information about an e-services company that hosted a seminar locally in late June.

Storesonline Inc. of Orem, Utah, visited Bowling Green on June 25, holding a seminar at the Holiday Inn University Plaza. And while no local complaints about the company have been filed in western Kentucky, according to the Bowling Green office of the Better Business Bureau, Utah’s offices have heard plenty.

Jane Driggs, president of the Utah BBB, said she’s gotten frequent complaints about Storesonline, though not a lot in comparison to similar companies.

Storesonline offers seminars on setting up Web-based businesses, offering its services to help audience members set up and maintain online stores. Yet the in-and-out seminars allow just a few days for a customer to make a decision; those customers often get caught in the moment and commit money after making a quick decision, she said.

&#8220The problem is, they charge a lot of money, and this isn’t the type of thing (where someone can just) turn a key and get started,” Driggs said. &#8220They do have examples of people who have made a lot of money, and those examples appear to be legitimate, but those people have had to put in a lot of time.”

Meanwhile, Linda Chambers of the BBB’s Bowling Green office said she’s spoken to the attorney general’s office, and anyone impacted by the company should call both the BBB and the attorney general.

Nationally, the BBB has received 409 complaints about Storesonline, according to the bureau’s Web site, but it’s not hostile to the organization.

&#8220The company does work with the Better Business Bureau, which is better for consumers,” Driggs said. &#8220The company currently does not have any unresolved complaints with the bureau.”

Many of the complaints relate to poor customer service, Driggs said, though the company has said it’s hired more people to help resolve those customer service issues.

Kentucky isn’t the first state to have issues with the company. The Texas attorney general made a final judgment against Storesonline for instances of misleading customers or giving them operable software; the company then allocated $400,000 to a consumer refund pool, according to the BBB.

The company also has a case pending in Australia for deceiving and misleading conduct, according to the report, and another in Illinois. The company settled a case in California to refund certain customers, and reached an agreement with the Indiana attorney general.

North Carolina has banned the company from operating in the state until a legal question of misrepresentation is resolved, according to the report. Back in Utah, the company had to pay a fine for not filing itself as a &#8220business opportunity company” in the state as required.

Driggs also offered some tips for consumers attending seminars on business opportunities.

&#8220You need to go in with the attitude that you can walk out unless it’s something you truly think you can do,” she said. &#8220Do research about the company. The company will still be interested in your business a week after the seminar.”

Storesonline operates the Web sites www.storesonline.com, www.ecomtrainers.com, www.success-event.com and www.storesonlinepro.com. The company did not return calls seeking comment.

– The state attorney general’s office can be reached at (502) 696-5300; the Better Business Bureau’s Bowling Green office can be reached at 781-8445.