Complaint Review: Angie's List - Indianapolis Indiana

I am a retired Chemist (26 yrs.) who decided to go back into the house painting business that I had done for 20 years before college.  I thought I was smart enough to do research before committing to anything but my need for work took over.  10/23/2020

The high-pressure phone call that sounded so wonderful was out of the blue. The "verbal promises" were so impressive, he said I would be getting jobs at the rate of 20-24 leads/month.  When I hesitated at the price of $400, he dropped it to $300 and kept saying over and over that, that many leads would easily pay for the service.

At some point I agreed to the $300 that I had to pay right then. I did not have that much in my checking account, so my friend said I could use her credit card for the $300.NOT ONLY THAT, BUT I WAS NOT TOLD THAT THIS WAS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!!! Or that there was a huge cancellation fee!!!!

So no, I did not see anything written down. I did not realize until I got an email that it was for $300/month for a year with an automatic renewal. I was just hearing all his fantastic promises about all the work I would be getting. They do not tell new members they are locked into an annual contract, he asked if we had an agreement.

The terms “agreement” and “contract” are used interchangeably, but legally speaking, they are two different things. An agreement is simply an understanding or arrangement between two or more parties. A contract is a specific agreement with terms and conditions that are enforceable.

The emails were noticeably clear about what I owed but there was no mention about All the work I would be getting each month. First email said, “congratulations your agreement is active”, not contract., not until I received it, did I realize I had agreed for a year contract.

I discussed my business and what I wanted to advertise in depth with the sales rep and assumed I would be in the correct category, but I was not.  I only do sheetrock and painting, they sent me fake phone numbers that nobody answers and jobs to replace bathtubs, sinks, counter tops, and flooring installs.  I do not do any of that!

Angie’s List has only sent me 8 leads in almost 5 months.  I have only had one job request that fit my company. So, I did not get another lead for a service I actually provide after the one I did.  After emailing them a few times about not getting the correct type of leads, with no response. I could not keep paying for a service that I was told will give me a minimum of 20 leads per month.

About all the reviews, I was told later that the more reviews I had the better. They specifically outlined to me that what I would be paying for is good reviews. They achieve this for you by paying people to write the reviews.  They told me to ask friends, family and old customers to write reviews, WHAT?!   So, when you see a company with 100 reviews, that does not mean they did 100 real jobs. And the bad reviews can be deleted.  Their review system is awful, no investigation whatsoever, no call, etc. Anyone can go on their site and post reviews. They were trying to get me to get 16+ people to leave me reviews on Angie’s List, they said that is the sweet spot.

The lack of information and clear forceful sales techniques have made me feel like I have been completely scammed. They do not provide support for your questions or issues. I am paying for 20-24 leads a month so I want the 20- 24 as I was promised in my field of service. My new small business cannot keep paying for their service when in my eyes they breached the contract!!

My Senior Client Success Manager Bryan Foley was unprofessional when I emailed him regarding canceling my membership. The reason I canceled was because I was getting charged $300 a month but I have had only 1 good lead to pay my monthly expense for Angie's List.

He took 2 weeks to email me back that he cancelled my “Agreement.” He also said unfortunately they could not waive a termination fee because they have no proof of the financial details which were discussed when we were signing up.  I was told it would cost me 35% of the year contract, $1260, to cancel.  I blocked my bank account.

But unbeknownst to me, Angie’s list took it upon themselves, determined to get their money, they went digging back to find someone or some card to charge to. They charged my friends card without her permission over $1,140 in charges, overdrawing her account and causing numerous overdraft fees and a real embarrassing episode at the grocery store. She had to cancel her card since they would not stop charging it. They Refuse to refund her account, basically holding her cc hostage unless the account holder provides a chargeable card. They did find my account number and debited my account for $840 and still did not correct the debit to her card.

They did not fulfill their promises, they purposely mislead me, I am being charged a total of $3,600 for absolutely zero business.

Angie's List is the Worst Customer Experience I have literally ever had. As I write this, I am contacting lawyers to help recoup OUR loss. This could have been avoided BUT Angie's List failed me miserably.

.. I demand 100% on my money back. This was unfair and quite frankly cruel. I still cannot believe that this company exists! They are the worst and most untrusting service I have ever worked with before. So, the whole "we are acting in our members best interests" thing is bull! They have one interest in mind: their own. This should definitely be a Class Action case as there are hundreds and hundreds of current complaints the same as mine.

Read: BBB, Consumer Affairs, Trust Pilot  agreement is grossly unfair. In most cases, the legal system seriously frowns upon contracts that heavily favor one side. These agreements are called 'unconscionable' and contain terms so outrageous that they 'shock the conscious.' In many these cases, one side of the contract obviously has all of the power and might use it to make money while hurting the other side.