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The big deal works like this: you get an email from Angie's List with a discounted service (tree trimming, carpet cleaning, .etc).
If you like the offer, you sign up for the coupon and the price (discounted) is paid for with your credit card (on file as you have to renew their membership periodically).
Most coupons have a 90-120 window for use. What they don't tell you is there is a 30 day window to get your money back from Angie's if you change your mind about the service (buried in the fine print on the website). After that, any money for coupons not acted upon (apparently) are sent to the business.
So for a coupon at with 100 people taking an offer, 50 actually got the service (good), 30 people decided on a refund in 30 days (good), and the rest (20) lost their money as this was residual paid to the business. In short, free money for the business.
No where on the coupon does it spell out these details and the user is left thinking that he or she has the full 90-120 days to either redeem the coupon or get the refund.
The "BIG DEAL" works best if it's a coupon with a single price for a service, say $100 vs. $200 for duct cleaning. It's worst for a $200 savings for a service.
In my case I finally got the estimate for the service (within the 4 month window) but found it way too high and I've been trying to get my money back ever since. To no avail.
In one line: Don't take the "BIG DEAL" unless you know the following: The big deal works like this: you get an email from Angie's List with a discounted service (tree trimming, carpet cleaning, .etc). If you like the offer, you sign up for the coupon and the price (discounted) is paid for with your credit card (on file as you have to renew their membership periodically).
Most coupons have a 90-120 window for use. What they don't tell you is there is a 30 day window to get your money back from Angie's if you change your mind about the service (buried in the fine print on the website). After that, any money for coupons not acted upon (apparently) are sent to the business. So for a coupon at with 100 people taking an offer, 50 actually got the service (good), 30 people decided on a refund in 30 days (good), and the rest (20) lost their money as this was residual paid to the business. In short, free money for the business. No where on the coupon does it spell out these details and the user is left thinking that he or she has the full 90-120 days to either redeem the coupon or get the refund.
The "BIG DEAL" works best if it's a coupon with a single price for a service, say $100 vs $200 for duct cleaning. It's worst for a $200 savings for a service. In my case I finally got the estimate for the service (within the 4 month window) but found it way too high and I've been trying to get my money back ever since.
Everything about this SCREAMS "Don't Do It". They only care about lining their own pockets, not helping the consumer! After checking into it, and talking to some of their actual customers who told me that there are some contractors who actually pay people to falsify testimonials to inflate their ratings. IMO there are too many ways in this type of system to scam the system...
They are constantly bombarding their members with garbage "offers" coupons etc. It really is like paying a monthly fee for the privledge of being added to someone's junk mail list. And as if online email junk was not enough, you start getting garbage couplon books in the US Post as well. Junk, junk, and more junk. All you wanted was to find a decent plumber.
Angie's list requires one to sign a contract that they can deduct their fee forever unless you remember to cancel. And, they give very specific information about canceling, including by what time of day you can cancel, and the date. The part that I was particularly appalled about was that you agree that even if you cancel the credit card that you gave them to take money from, they have the right to use a service that will find out your new or other credit cards and that you agree that they can continue deducting money from your account.
Ever since I lost >$2000 from one of these "noncancelable" memberships, I will never sign up to anything that self-renews.
The contract they have you sign is very long and complex and includese fees of at least $10, 000 if you don't follow their instructions exactly about telling someone about their information.
It may be legal, but I want nothing to do with it.
I thought I was getting reviews from Santa Fe, but I was getting reviews from my old zip code Miami. When I finally read the reviews from Santa Fe, two of them were the same, WORD FOR WORD as the reviews in Miami. The reviews were NOT written by customers. I canceled my subscription immediately.
The fact that you have to PAY to look at a list of consumer reviews is morbidly insulting. I will NEVER use this service. Absolutely ridiculous!
The blonde guy in the corny sweater on the TV advertisement that talks in that barely comprehensible mumbly voice was enough for me to know this outfit was probably bogus.