Intelius
Reviews and Complaints

Signed up for Search program on a month, one time basis, and did one search on the first day. Didn't use it again. They have charged my credit card for two more months on the 30th of each month without my authorization. I have tried to contact them with no results or response to email. I have contacted my bank and they said that I need a negative response, in writing before they can take it off my account. How can I get a response, in writing, if they don't respond?

To not get monthly charges always pay the full price for a search and not the discounted price. Also do not put your email address in the box on a membership page and click yes, just click No. To get any charges reversed call customer support and tell the representative that you are disputing any and all charges with your credit card company or bank and that you are filing a complaint with the BBB and/or Attorney General. It is company policy to automatically refund any disputed charges. Worked for this company for over a year, left on good terms but just felt bad for all those people that have been put in a bad spot by Intelius.

Gotta love 'free trials', lol.

I'm so happy to find this message board, I can't tell you. I had the very same experience. I wanted to help my parents find the credit information for someone they wanted to do business with. The three of us sat at my computer and looked at Intelius. I put in my credit card information and once I got past the first screen and found that there was a second charge to get the credit report, I backed out and cancelled the transaction. I also wrote them an email immediately and told them I never got what I wanted and I felt their advertisement was fraudulent. Before my credit card bill came, I had a major surgery and have been recovering. Then I moved to get closer to my outpatient therapy. A family member has been taking care of my bills, so until a few weeks ago when I saw the charge for $14.95 that I didn't recognize on my credit card and began investigating, I had no idea I had been charged this FIVE times for an "AP9*24 Protection Plus" service that I have never heard of before. There were extenuating circumstances for me to not have found this earlier, but that's how it went. Intelius had no use for my complaint and said that this other "service" is not connected with them and it clearly states online what I was purchasing. It clearly did NOT and the three of us who sat at my computer are not idiots. I wanted a credit for the FIVE $14.95 charges my card has incurred, and they refused. I contacted the Better Business Bureau. Wish I would have found this message board first so I could have included it in my complaint. Intelius sent BBB a response and said the same thing they did to me - that it clearly states when you put in your email that it is considered your electronic signature and you are purchasing this "protection service" until you call and cancel. I can't believe that, in this day and age, this blatant criminal activity is allowed to continue. It's so easy to prove how deceiving it is. I only wish I would have found mine sooner. Anyone who wants to contact me for further information or give me a hand trying to challenge this can contact me at yourstrulytia@aol.com what a shame this all is. Life is hard enough and there are enough predators on the computers without a big name company being allowed to continue this kind of activity. I'm comforted by everyone who took the time to write here so I can see that I am not the only one who was duped. Be well and stay strong. Tia

Intellius tricks the user into signing up for the Protection Plus plan. After I had entered all the necessary information for an address including my personal information and credit card, a second page is displayed with a yellow box on the left hand of the page indicating that you should enter your email address twice as part of an electronic signature to continue. On the right hand side of the page is the Protection Plus terms and conditions. If you do not closely look at why they are asking for the electronic signature, you assume that it is a signature to continue on to get your address information. Fortunately I did a double take and read it more carefully. Still confused though as to how to continue without entering the electronic signature to get my address, I tried hitting the Continue button, and it continued on to get my address information without requiring the email electronic signature. This is by far one of the most nefarious, under-handed, evil web pages that I have ever seen. It is on par with phishing hackers since that is what they are essentially doing except they can claim that if the user only read the fine print, they would non have signed up for Protection Plus. I will never do business with this sinister organization again.