Another Durango business owner has found herself in the midst of strange machinations by national ghost tour company US Ghost Adventures.
Julie Dunn Brown, owner of ReLove Consign and Design, said she is confused why US Ghost Adventures, doing business locally as Durango Ghosts, is using her children’s store’s address as its own business address.
City of Durango code enforcement posted a notice of violation addressed to US Ghost Adventures to the door of WeeLove Consign, Brown’s sister store to ReLove for children’s items, at 108 E. Fifth St. in mid August.
The notice said US Ghost Adventure’s business license will not be valid until it is paid for and requested completion of the license application with payment within three days.
A records request revealed US Ghost Adventure’s business license has a New Orleans address and has an issuance date of Aug. 19 and an expiration date of Dec. 31.
US Ghost Adventures uses two other Durango locations on its website:
- 747 East Third Ave., the address of the historic A. P. Camp House.
- The Smiley Cafe, which is located at1309 East Third Ave.
A description says all tours meet at the A. P. Camp House while The Smiley Cafe is highlighted under a section of the web page titled “Meet us here.”
That is in addition to US Ghost Adventures’ Google listing, which shows the WeeLove consignment shop’s address.
“They have the Smiley Cafe listed on one of their many confusing Durango Ghost tour websites. They don’t meet there, they never have,” said Joe Nelson, owner of Ghost Walk Durango.
He added that his phone number has been given to customers seeking a refund from US Ghost Adventures – he knows that because he’s received calls inquiring about US Ghost Adventures.
Nelson is an employee for Ballantine Communications, which owns The Durango Herald.
Brown said she has attempted to have WeeLove’s address removed from US Ghost Adventure’s Google listing with no success or acknowledgment from Google.
Lance Vaal, owner and founder of US Ghost Adventures, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Ghost Adventures publicist Kelli Bloomquist said the company hasn’t received any requests to remove WeeLove’s address from its Google listing, but she would do so. She said the website hasn’t been updated in a long time, and it needs work.
US Ghost Adventures provided its first tour in Durango on May 20, Bloomquist said. Based on the date the city of Durango issued a business license to the tour company, US Ghost Adventures conducted its first tour in Durango 91 days before receiving its business license.
As of Friday, Google still showed US Ghost Adventures’ Durango address as 108 E. Fifth St.
Jack Todd, communications director for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, said it is possible that a national company using a local business’ address as its own address would fall under the criteria for a fraudulent business filing complaint.
“Anyone may submit a fraudulent business filing complaint if they feel they have been the victim of business filing fraud,” he said. “Until any complaint has been submitted and investigated, however, we cannot comment or speculate on cases that are or may come before our office.”
But information on a business facts and questions page on the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office’s website shows it is unlikely an address in a Google listing qualifies for a formal complaint with that office.
It described actions “involving business documents filed” as subject to complaint, which include:
- Using a person’s name on a filed business document without his or her consent.
- Using an address in a filed business document without an owner or occupant of that address’s consent.
- An individual filing a business document without necessary written consent or authority to do so.
cburney@durangoherald.com
