topic Re: Angie's List? in Community Chat

Angie's List?

itiswhatitis — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 03:55:33 GMT

Any members here? Your thoughts are welcomed!

Thx.

Re: Angie's List?

lakesfan — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 03:58:53 GMT

I just joined recently with their "no fee to join" promotion. So far I am not impressed. Very skimpy selection of business in my area in the categories I was researching. I've gotten better results with Google reviews.

Re: Angie's List?

HappyDaze — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:05:52 GMT

Angies list is now free for all which I think is good because I bought a year sub once from the Home and Garden show and I think the site is awful. I think I only paid $8 but it was too much. I found it cumbersome and just plain worthless. I was hoping it would have helped us when we were looking for various sub contractors for house projects. Like another poster mentioned, the number of companies reviewed in my area was paltry.

Re: Angie's List?

CatLoverDogsToo — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:18:07 GMT

I have been a member for years. I had an electrician come out to fix a problem with wiring to my central air conditioner. He did nothing but stand around and fiddle with things and tell me there was nothing wrong with the wiring. He charged me $75 for that, but said he would bill me through the company. I called another company, and sure enough it was a wiring problem and was easily fixed. I left a scathing review, Angie's List stepped in and talked to the company. Not only did I not have to pay, I got a $30 gift certificate to a restaurant.

I also check reviews before I hire anyone now, and all I have hired have been great. For me it has been a great service to check local companies out.

Re: Angie's List?

sparklestar — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:16:09 GMT

I joined for 2 years and they automatically renewed my membership and they withdrew the money from my account. I never used any of their services and got tons of annoying emails. I went to their site and tried to cancel the membership with no luck. So I sent them an email requesting they cancel my account. I have not heard from them. That was two weeks ago. I also just got an email for a class action suit.

Re: Angie's List?

itiswhatitis — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:21:26 GMT

@lakesfan wrote:
I just joined recently with their "no fee to join" promotion. So far I am not impressed. Very skimpy selection of business in my area in the categories I was researching. I've gotten better results with Google reviews.

This is why I was thinking about it too. Cause they claim it's free. Maybe it's free for a minimal amount of contacts and providers.

Re: Angie's List?

itiswhatitis — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:23:02 GMT

@sparklestar wrote:
I joined for 2 years and they automatically renewed my membership and they withdrew the money from my account. I never used any of their services and got tons of annoying emails. I went to their site and tried to cancel the membership with no luck. So I sent them an email requesting they cancel my account. I have not heard from them. That was two weeks ago. I also just got an email for a class action suit.

Whoaaaaa! Interesting.

Re: Angie's List?

Drythe — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:25:35 GMT

I've been a member for a few years, used some of her recommended suppliers - no problem.

Now I'm getting notices that I'm eligible for a Class Action suit related to the company.

Class Action - Guess you can do nothing and still qualify for one.

Re: Angie's List?

CatLoverDogsToo — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:25:40 GMT

Angie's List is now permanently free for everyone. The ads on TV have been saying that for a few months. I have not had to pay for the past 2 years, and I joined in 2012. There are many companies reviewed in my town. I know there is another review site, can't remember the name, that is also free. Maybe that one would be better in some areas of the country.

Re: Angie's List?

itiswhatitis — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:31:16 GMT

@CatLoverDogsToo wrote:
I have been a member for years. I had an electrician come out to fix a problem with wiring to my central air conditioner. He did nothing but stand around and fiddle with things and tell me there was nothing wrong with the wiring. He charged me $75 for that, but said he would bill me through the company. I called another company, and sure enough it was a wiring problem and was easily fixed. I left a scathing review, Angie's List stepped in and talked to the company. Not only did I not have to pay, I got a $30 gift certificate to a restaurant.

I also check reviews before I hire anyone now, and all I have hired have been great. For me it has been a great service to check local companies out.

It is extremely difficult to get honest people who know what they're doing in my area of the country. There are plenty of specialists available in various aspects of home needs, but I can't trust them. I would take me half the day to explain why I can't.

I always check license info, insurance and gather as much online info I can from a provider.

Re: Angie's List?

Ifeelwicked — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:41:23 GMT

I signed up with Angie's List and did not have a good experience. (One that could've turned deadly.) An electrician who said he had experience with pools came to our house and had no idea where to start locating the source of a short! I told him I thought the problem might be with the spa light. That's when he admitted he didn't even know how to drain the spa to check it out because he DIDN'T really work on pools or spas. And when he asked me to help him bail the water out, by hand with a bucket, I knew I was in trouble. So, I paid him, thanked him for his time, and threw my Angie's List booklet away.

Re: Angie's List?

elruth — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 05:20:24 GMT

I belonged a few yrs ago and used it 1 time. Had the house power washed and after they left, I realized they forgot to clean a whole section of the vinyl on the house. I didn't bother to call them back. Very expensive too. Recently I got an email from lawyers because there is a class action lawsuit against Angie's list and every former member would receive either $ 5.00 or $ 10.00 or get a free subscription. Too much detail to go into here but bottom line is I sure wouldn't advise belonging to Angie's List even if free. Much better to get recommendations from friends or neighbors etc.

Re: Angie's List?

Moonchilde — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 05:25:13 GMT

When I signed up it was for $$ and it was yearly auto-renew with CC. Took me 3-4 years before I caught it at the right time and said no more. On principle, I d not like businesses that auto-renew.

Even now that they are "free" it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There is a lawsuit pending (just got an email within the last 24 hrs) based on "Angie" not being honest about paid advertising & reviews. The cimpany is not contesting.

I personally wouldn't believe a word they say.

Re: Angie's List?

sugar22 — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 06:06:37 GMT

I signed up for the free membership, and now I get annoying emails almost daily touting their services. Haven't had a need for anything they endorse and will try to limit the number of emails I receive. Wish me luck. Nothing is free!

Re: Angie's List?

NativeJax — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 07:38:53 GMT

I was turned off by the fee to join Angie's list so I don't care that it's free now.

Re: Angie's List?

CelticCrafter — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 11:06:20 GMT

I had joined when it was a pay service and was not impressed. If I wanted to expand the area into another zip code because there were no contractors listed in my zip for the job I needed they wanted me to pay again.

Canceled and got my $ back.

Re: Angie's List?

shellbeach — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 12:09:03 GMT

I subscribed to Angie's List a few years ago when I got some kind of promotional offer. After a few months, I cancelled the service as there were very few businesses in my area that were listed. I was not impressed. They did refund the balance of the subscription fee.

Re: Angie's List?

Jasmine19 — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 12:25:06 GMT

Read the fine print carefully. Sounds like they will be sharing your info with the world. I decided not to join because of that.

Re: Angie's List?

Financialgrl — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 12:43:10 GMT

I joined when it became free but I have had better luck with Home Advisor. My sister has used Home Advisor for years and had good luck. I'm not sure if other states have this or not, but in Virginia they have the online licensing database so you can look that up.

When I typed info into the Home Advisor site, no sooner had I hit "send" and my phone was ringing. I took down the info of the company and told them I had a doctor appt and asked if I could call when I returned. I went to the online website and I could see that the company was indeed licensed. Home Advisor says that they try to verify if the companies are insured/bonded but all that can change so suggest that you do that due diligence on your own. BTW, the company I got from Home Advisor is absolutely fantastic and used them a LOT to make repairs to my home before putting it up for sale. Intend to use them for my new home I'm having built.

Re: Angie's List?

Montana — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 14:51:06 GMT

I joined Angie's List years ago when you had to pay. I don't use them a lot, but have good experiences when I do use them.

First, I only use A rated companies with lots of reviews. All categories - except price - must have the highest rating. Then I read all the reviews before making a selection.

i found a great plumber when I had a water leak and my regular plumber would not even answer my phone calls. I also found the electrical company that rewired my house (an electrician friend had done some potentially dangerous repair work, that I was completely unaware of).

I have never had a problem with any of the companies I

pick. So for me, Angie's List has been very useful.

One thing I do not like: they recently redesigned their website and I find it difficult to navigate. It was fine before.