Is Angie's List a Scam???
Responding to their promotions on National Public Radio (NPR), I recently signed-up for a membership on Angie's List. What a good idea, I thought: a database of local service provider reports, submitted by people in my local community, and supported by our membership fees.
I was wrong. If Angie's List isn't a scam, in my opinion they misrepresent the services they provide. Here's what I experienced:
(1) Sign-up and Ease of Use
It cost me $10 to sign-up plus a $6.95 monthly recurring fee. The website was easy to navigate, although there were some inconsistencies. For example, Angie's List claims to have a "Penalty Box" for service providers; I could never find it.
(2) Provider Reports
Reports for most providers in my local community were sparse; in some cases non-existent. There weren't more than two or three reports in most categories. Not enough to see a trend.
(3) Submitting Reports
I submitted four reports based on service providers I had recently used (one plumber, two roofers and one mortuary). Two of the reports were "glowing" and two of the reports were negative. All of the reports were clearly written, honest and used no profanity.
Angie's List claims that it takes two business days for reports to be posted. After about a week, with nothing posted, I sent an inquiry to their customer service department. I received a timely reply advising me that it was taking them longer to review reports because they were receiving "over 1000 reports a week." I didn't know that Angie's List "reviewed" reports.
After several more communications, over the next couple of weeks, I learned that Angie's List would not post three of my reports because they made reference to alternate service providers. I was not aware that Angie's List "edited" or "censored" reports.
(4) Reports Credibility
I have no confidence in Angie's List reports. Here's why:
First of all, I immediately noticed that reports for some providers were suspiciously similar. If there are only two reports for a provider, and both reports have almost identical wording, one wonders about the credibility of those reports.
In some categories, Angie's List has service providers which offer coupons. Coupons! Does this mean that Angie's List has marketing agreements which some providers? This would hardly enhance the credibility of a provider.
Clearly reports cannot be credible if Angie's List "edits" or "censors" the reports. From my own experience in submitting reports, I know that Angie's List does precisely that.
Finally, how would Angie's List report on a company with a known bad reputation? In our community, Whittier Home Roofing has just such a bad reputation. But Whittier Home Roofing didn't show up on their list for Roofers. I then searched by company name. Sure enough, Whittier Home Roofing showed up as a service provider. However, when I clicked to see the reports, Angie's List displayed the message: "We're sorry, but Angie's List is not sharing information about this company currently."
So that's it, Angie's List gladly publishes glowing reports about service providers, but "edits" or "censors" reports which are negative.
(5) Customer Service
Communication with Angie's List customer service was always timely. I was prepared to file a complaint against Angie's List with our state department of consumer affairs, however, Angie's List agreed to refund my sign-up and membership fees and terminate my membership. So, I can't call them a "scam." However, Angie's List is, in my opinion, disreputable.