Angie's List: Top Four Scams to Avoid
Tuesday, June 05, 2012 5:15AM
On today's show you met victims of fraud who had more than their hearts broken. Backstage, Angie from AngiesList.com shared the top four scams to avoid.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 25 million adults have been a victim of fraud. Find out how to protect yourself.
Angie’s List, a nationwide provider of consumer reviews, surveyed its members and top-rated service providers to compile a list of so-called home improvement bargains that often cost consumers much more time, money and trouble than they expected -- and the tips to avoid them.
The following info is provided by AngiesList.com.
Have You Been Victimized by a Fraud or Scam? Share Your Story with Anderson.
Filed Under: As Seen On The Show
Comments
Angie's List is a scam. The money you pay does not give you access to all reviews in your city-if you want to see them you have to pay $15 extra per section.
Angie's List is the number one scam. Angie's List in the Portland metro area has very low participation rate making the user reviews worthless. They not offer a refund once you realize how poor the service is. I also now get daily junk mail from AL. I found Google reviews of local service providers to be much better and its free. Bottom line, don't waste your money on Angie's List!
Haha, same here as the others. Came here to see how Anderson points out how much of a scam AL is. Oh well, just google it, plenty of sites with LOTS of complaints. It's bogus and gives the elderly and otherwise Internet ignorant folks, solace thinking they're protecting themselves from scams. Unfortunately AL IS the first scam!! I tried it as a business owner and a regular customer and both times, figured out how slimy they are. YOU Should NOT have to PAY to write a review OR to read one! I've no idea how AL is able to be in business with this model. yelp is far better, and yes there are some less than credulous reviews on there, but no more than AL. (google it you will see what I mean). Review sites are FREE for a reason. Paying for one is a fools game. And if you have a good experience from using a company found on AL, you got lucky. They feature business with some of the worst reviews on the web, and I almost got jilted out of 100's of $$ if I'd not double checked the companies reviews online and with the BBB. Just use multiple sites to check out a company and use your gut. Relying on a website to do that for you, is like expecting public school to raise your kid.
Clicking into this I was hoping to find a piece on how ANGIE'S LIST is the one doing the SCAMMING! I work for a contracting company and recently we received a negative review, BUT IT WASN'T EVEN FOR OUR COMPANY! There are SIX other contractors with almost identical names in the NYC tri-state area and the reviewer apparently posted his review to one of them. But once the other company received the review apparently they disputed it. I guess we were next on the list though so Angie's List posted the false negative review on our reviews. The dead giveaway that this isn't someone we've dealt with is the fact that we are licensed ONLY in New Jersey and this reviewer is in Connecticut! We legally can't work out of state, nor would we. With gas prices as they are it barely pays to do a job an hour away, forget going two hours and two states away! Regardless, I requested that Angie's List remove the review from our listing until they can determine which of the potential six contractors it belonged to and they REFUSED! They cited that it's their policy to contact the reviewer and confirm through them. In the interim I did a little research on the reviewer, since Angie's List reviews are not anonymous. I know that he recently moved to CT from CO, bought his house in June, I also know where he works now. Clearly the reviewer is confused and unaware of WHO he actually dealt with, and did I mention that his negative review was about not receiving a PROPOSAL yet, it wasn't even about actual work done! This review has now sat on our listing for four days and counting, and Angie's List is doing NOTHING to rectify the situation. I spoke with a manager, left a message for her manager and NOTHING. Don't trust Angie's List reviews at all. They obviously DO NOT CARE about getting the truth out, they just want reviews and CONSUMERS MONEY to see the reviews and CONTRACTORS MONEY to advertise on their site. And don't be fooled by the fact you have to pay to be a member of Angie's List, the reviews are not always by members since you DON'T have to be a member to write a review! Angie's List is a total scam and I can't believe they continue to exist with their awful business practices. No wonder they're not profitable!
Although I am being scammed by Wyndam Rewards, I am brokenhearted for the young woman and the young man who each has lost custody of his or her baby. How can this happen in America?! My heart reaches out; I do hope you and their attorneys will be able to help them.
Thank you, Anderson, for the wonderful things you do.
Angie's List...HA! I wrote them saying I couldn't support a company that advertised on Rush Limbaugh's show and was promptly emailed a 15% off a subscription to their site with no mention of my email.
We own a business and we contacted by Angies List and figured why not we will put our names on there to help out people who don't know where to turn. Well its been a year and they have not posted our listing and keep sending emails saying for x amount of dollars you can get your listing to the top. Red flag to me, we did not pay and sadly all these rating industries put you where you are willing to pay to be. BBB is the same way, they hassle us daily to pay to be listed with them. If you have to pay a service to be rated or listed, please don't because the people willing to pay aren't worth your time!!!! Buyer be-ware, best word of mouth is ask friends, neighbors and family!
Excellent show again thanks for bringing out the scams there are so many people being scammed daily especially the seniors it was so nice that Angie and Frigidaire and I'm sure you too for giving her her life back. OPRAH who its Anderson Copper in my book keep up the great work you do I'm a fan for life.
I HAD A LEAKING COMMODE AND HAD TO HAVE THE TILE REPLACED. REMIND YOUR VIEWERS THIS: I ASKED THE GUY THAT LAID DOWN THE TILE TO GIVE ME THE REMAINDER AND MUCH TO MY SUPRISE IT WAS A LOT. I AM TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE MOST WORKERS WOULD PROBABLY CUT SMALL PIECE AND GIVE IT TO YOU. THIS GUY WAS HONEST. I LOVED THE TILE AND HE IT AT LEAST LOOKS LIKE I COULD LAY THE REST IN ANOTHER ROOM. IT IS PRETTY. BEWARE OF WHAT YOU GET BACK AND I FEEL I WASN'T A VICTIM OF FRAUD THIS TIME. BUT THE GUYS THAT GOT UP THE WATER WERE ONLY SUPPOSE TO BE IN THE BATH ROOMS AND ONE OF THE GUYS WENT IN MY DEN THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BATHROOM AND WHEN HE CAME OUT HE WENT OUTSIDE THEN CAME BACK IN WITH A PIECE OF PAPER. YOU KNOW HOW YOU GET THAT GUT FEELING THAT SOMETHNG IS WRONG. I GOT IT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WHEN SOMEBODY DOES SOMETHING TO ME. I TRIED TO MOVE MY FEET TO GO TO THE DEN AND I JUST COULDN'T. OTHER SITUATIONS HAVE HAPPENED THAT SOME ONE DOES SOMETHING AND AT THE TIME I AM HELPLESS. THIS JUST STARTED. I AM SAYING THIS TO TELL OTHER TO NOT LET WORKERS GO THROUGH THEIR HOUSE IF THAT PART OF THE HOUSE IS NOT NEEDING A REPAIR.I WOULD ALSO TELL CONSUMERS TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE REPAIR PERSON. I HAVE A BACK PROBLEM AND THE WORKER OF DTV HAD TO GO TO MY BASEMENT. I WAS HURTING SO I DIDN'T FOLLOW HIM. WHEN I FINALLY WENT TO THE BASEMENT I SAY HE HAD STEPPED ON MY STORAGE BOX THAT ALMOST FLATTENED IT AND I HAD CRAFTS IN THEIR BUT DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE. I COMPLAINED TO DTV AND THEY TOOK THIRTY DOLLARS OFF MY BILL BUT I DON'T KNOW IF HE TOOK ANYTHING BUT I HAD FIVE BOXES STACKED UP AND THEY WERE MIXED UP WHEN I FOUND THEM. EITHER TELL THE MAN NOT TO MOVE ANYTHING UNLESS HE ASKS OR STAY ON HIS ASS. ALSO HAVING MAN AROUND WILL DETER A LOT OF PROBLES FOR A MAN. I HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THAT MALE BACKUP SUPPORT. MY OWN FAMILY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ME. I HAD TO SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THEM. I AM 59 BUT LOOK LIKE I AM IN MY EARLY 40'S. I USE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF EXCELLENTLY. I NEED MALE BACKUP AND A HUSBAND. 2 IN ONE WOULD BE GREAT.
Interesting that you mention air duct cleaning as one of the top 4 scams to avoid. When we bought our house, we had the carpets and the air ducts cleaned before we moved in. The scare and pressure tactics that the guys used was incredible. I posted a review on Angie's List afterwards to warn other people away from this company. The followup though... it's a year later and we recently discovered that the air ducts were never actually cleaned! They did use some loud vacuum thing on them, but it didn't touch the gunk... its ALL still in there. My advice, if you want your ducts cleaned, contact a reputable furnace outfit and have them do it for you. It will cost more, but will be done right.
Yes, I was scammed by the SIX FIGURE PROGRAM, the guys u see on T.V. every week,what a joke! I followed all directions,did everything they said,and all i did was work 50 hrs.posting advertisements in their so called CLAIM CASH where i was suppose to be making money doing it and didn`t make a penny,paid $136.10 for my website and the only one that could see it was me!!!
Irony of Ironies!! I clicked to your site to hear the 4 biggest scams, and BINGO! Something called IP told me I have 2 minutes to claim my prize! (a message that repeated after the 2 minutes.
These are the programs I really like. I don't miss Anderson any day because he's DVR'd. Some celebrity stuff is fun too. However, I really am tired of the kiddie pageant stuff. ENOUGH already, producers. Stick with personal stories, the good and unfortunately like today's show, those of us who have been taken to the cleaners. Most of us at one time or another can connect to this situation (boy I sure did and it was a whopper) it's in my past now.. yet it leaves a dent you'll never forget. I felt idi/otic because I'm a contracts person. Doesn't do you any good if the person quits and pulls a bankruptcy, you're out the money and legal fees. Never pay progress payments if the previous payment shows zero progress, argue with your partner if you have to when they think the person is honest and you're being too strict. $75K taught us both a horrible lesson in trust and being "nice" to others.
One thing I have to say......I Love You! Your shows are so informative, I'm glad I found you. If you ever have a "your greatest fan day", put me on the list.....PLEASE!
Writing from Bartow, Fl. :)
How about the adoption of purebred AKC German Shepherd puppies? Our 9 yr. shepherd died. I started a search for a puppy online. I was totally unglued by the loss of my constant companion and found a GS Breeder online claiming to have a litter on 2-9-12. The birth date I was looking for(another story relating my dogs).
we decided she is a con-artist that can not keep her stories straight. Just today we told her there is no deal. Then just going online looking for a new gs puppy, there are so many online who say they are AKC, best lines, etc. How do I know who's real??? This deal was for a puppy in So CA We live in NO CA and would have cost $2500 fro puppy and boarding $60...0 til we got there......Please help me. RoseMary Hansen
(1st dog was born 2/4/91-passed on 2/7/03. 2nd dog born 2/6/03 passed 2/8/12. So 2-9 would be where our new dog Spirit could be.........)