I was approached by a friendly CitySearch Sales Rep last Spring, and encouraged to advertise my small business on their site. They jumped through hoops to get me to sign a contract - even driving to my office in a huge rainstorm to get my signature. They also offered all kinds of "breaks" and incentives to get me to sign up. Although I was wary about their "pay by click-through" charging practices (and convoluted, non-transparent click-ratio-billing methods), I decided to try it. After all, lots of other
local businesses were advertising on their site... It must be legitimate.
Well, I should have trusted my instincts.
Setting up my listing was problematic; there were constant glitches... Typos and mispellings that took forever to fix. It was aggravating, but that wasn't the real issue. The real problems began when I started getting charged for the service. I was almost always charged the maximum amount - almost $400 a month - yet I never received a single email or inquiry from anyone who supposedly viewed my listing.
It's hard to believe that hundreds of people could have viewed my listing over a
2-3 month period - and not one person followed up with a call or email for more information.By contrast, when I run a small ad in the neighborhood paper, I usually get at least two or three phone calls.
It just doesn't add up. But the charges sure added up - and quickly! And for some strange reason, it was always at the maximum amount of my agreement.
I finally decided to end my membership in early July. I was told I would have to pay for the current billing cycle... Which sounded a bit sketchy, but I agreed. But then, in early September, I recieved yet another bill for the entire month of August.
Now, here's the wierd part: it was for the exact same amount as the previous bill...
To the penny!
When I contacted my Customer Rep to say I was billed the same amount again - an obvious mistake - I was told no, that was part of the agreement and I had to pay it.
Keep in mind... I had closed my account in early July... This was now early
September... And I had now paid almost $1K in fees... including for all of August... And had never gotten even a single response from anyone.
When I insisted on a refund for the final charge, I got nothing but push-back (all this from my formerly sweet, understanding Customer Rep).
It wasn't until I threatened to go to the Supervisor that I was told I would be refunded (supposedly, the Supervisor agreed to this... Not my Rep).
This entire episode felt very, very suspicious to me. Something is rotten in Denmark.
Or at least in San Francisco. Well, guess what? When I went online - on this site and others - to see if anyone else had had problems with CitySearch, lo and behold, I discovered dozens of stories that were almost exactly the same as mine! Some individuals are even threatening to file Class Action suits against CitySearch.
Beware... These guys are scammers! And they need to be stopped now!
(Hey, "60 Minutes"... Are you listening?)
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