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This is a company which profits from selling private information belonging to businesses. I am a small business owner who recently learned that when I Google myself, that I will find a "Manta Listing" revealing various private things including my income! Manta says you can "claim" your listing (which means giving them more information, of course) and this will help you to "control" your information (which was listing without your permission anyway). Yet, when I did so, my "claim" has been"pending" for 7 weeks now. I guess Manta will get around to it when they feel like it. There are no customer service numbers for Manta. But you can contact them to purchase advertising... What a scam!
The CEO is Pamela Springer of Columbus, Ohio. They are a rapidly growing company according to the website. I guess selling unauthorized information is profitable.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Manta response:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Manta is a publisher of information that is publicly available about companies, including estimated annual revenue. We do not publish people’s personal income.
While most companies who claim their company profile on Manta see their update within a few hours, there are some submissions that are held up due to either confusing or missing information or the content of the claim is classified as containing potential spam words—sometimes in error. We do not know the name of your company, so we cannot tell you why it has not yet been published. If you will send that information to help@manta.com, we will be happy to explain why it has been held up and resolve your issue.
We work every day to improve how we handle the thousands of updates submitted to us by business owners. That includes processing them more quickly while maintaining the integrity of the information we provide for the millions of people who visit Manta to connect and do business with these companies.
Our customer service team is available via email and phone, which can be found by clicking the Contact Us link included on every Manta page.
I too, have had my income broadcast over the internet by Manta.
In the above response, Manta says "we do not publish people's personal income" yet for millions of professionals like myself, "personal income = business income".
This is an invasion of privacy, pure & simple.
Where do you get this "publicly available" information?
And if something is "publicly available" does that make it right to publish it without the owners' permission? And to profit from selling it?
Thanks for having scruples Manta.
I thought if your business is trademarked they can't use your name unless you give them permission?
Manta has our personal home residence as our business address. I just answered another phone call from a person who thought they were calling our business thanks to Manta. I have emailed them a dozen times and never recieved a response. I will never give Manta our information. Their lack of competence will take care of them eventually.
Manta response:
We will be happy to take down your profile. Please email our help desk at help@manta.com or call them at [protected]. Our FAQ section (http://www.manta.com/coms2/page_FAQ) explains how we obtain the business information on companies. We apologize for your frustration.
My father's company was listed along with their annual revenue. I claimed my profile and it is yet to be approved. I believe that although, yes, this kind of information is publicly available it should not be available for every single person that does a Google search on the company's name.
I know search engine placements are not at the discretion of Manta.com but the fact that they are not, is the best reason for Manta.com to remove, at least, the revenue information from being publicly viewable.
Yes, if someone wants and needs that information for w/e reason, they will find it. But it's unreasonable to display it in such a public and no-hassle way.
Why not make it so that only logged in member can see it? That's a win-win situation. You get more subscribers, we don't complain so much. This could be worth your company thousands.
And agree with above, if displaying this information standard is a must, then a fastest claiming process is needed. I have only waited about 10 hours for mine, though.
Cheers,
Fran
Manta publishes company income. Your personal portion of that income is unknown, unless you make it known.
They published false info on me. I have never owned a business in my life, yet they think I do! I had to get an unlisted number because of these fraudulent people. I contacted the bbb yet I am still listed as owning a business! Do I smell a class action lawsuit!
Same here. We are a small LLC and live on the property with the business. When I reviewed our "income" I was shocked! Sure wish it was true, because they had our annual income at 3x what we actually make!
These guys think they are clever:
137 days ago by Editor@Manta.com
"Our customer service team is available via email and phone, which can be found by clicking the Contact Us link included on every Manta page."
This is the information regarding the phone number on the page referred to:
"Manta.com Customer Service Phone Number
[protected] *This is not the number for individual companies listed on Manta.com"
If it wasn't for this post:
108 days ago by Editor@Manta.com
"Manta response:
We will be happy to take down your profile. Please email our help desk at help@manta.com or call them at [protected]. Our FAQ section (http://www.manta.com/coms2/page_FAQ) explains how we obtain the business information on companies. We apologize for your frustration."
We would still be guessing how to call them. A Google search with this phone number does not bring up a single page on Manta.com.
HATE MANTA! WHEREVER THEY GOT THEIR INFO FROM IS WRONG OR THEIR PEOPLE DO NOT BOTHER TO MAKE SURE THE LISTING IS CORRECT! NAMES, CATEGORIES, EVERYTHING IS WRONG AND WE DEAL WITH THE JUNK MAIL AND TELEMARKETERS SPREADING THE USELESS INFO AROUND. REMOVING OUR COMPANY FROM MERCHANT CIRCLE, B2B YELLOW PAGES, ETC. NOBODY CALLED TO VERIFY WITH ME! THANKS MANTA FOR WASTING MY TIME EVERYDAY RETRACTING YOUR MISTAKES!
i agree i have called all week with no response, i just get voice mail and ask to leave a message and no one ever gets back to you, to bad this would have been a great idea if they had went about it the right way. i think they may have got my info from a recent credit card and this worries me to no end i want this account closed asap, the fact that they don't answer the phone has keept me up at nites worried about my credit card if they got from a cc company who know's what they are doing with it. if you have info on how i can close this profile and log on info please let me know via this post.
For a few years I've been getting telemarketing calls mangling my business name. I finally figured out why... Manta had listed my name wrong, along with the address of an apartment I lived in a few years ago.
So I "claimed" the profile and corrected the info, and now I'm getting more new telemarketing calls, even though mine is a home business with a website, not a storefront that would be in need of any of the things they're trying to sell me (which should be clear from my profile, though I doubt if they read it).
And I'm suddenly getting a massive volume of spam to my business email address, too. Even though I do forward all of that email to the FTC.
Manta also does me the "service" of sending me a report on how many views my profile has on the site... and the more people view it, the more spam I get.
WOW! I just calimed my biz on Manta and now i'm already ready to take it down! Sounds like Manta's a total scam. Furtunatelywe didn't purchase a premium package through them!
I agree that Manta is the worst. My business caters to affluent discerning clients. Due to the economy, my business has taken a hit, which is reflected in my sales/income. If any possible client were to google my business and (wouldn't you know Manta is higher on the statistics than my website!), they will see my business income is laughable. No legitimate potential client would consider allowing their high prized possessions in my custody for repair, assuming my income parallels an untrained Mom and Pop type business not worthy of handling their assets. This wouldn't be information that would otherwise be seen by a potential client before Manta came along! I can only hope there is a loop hole to be found by someone as angry as me with a good reserve and killer attorney, and Manta is sued for this ludicrous behavior. Sk it, Manta.
I had my private home address posted by Manta on their website! They are a bunch of [censor] criminals and the owner should be prosecuted for posting this information on the web.
Brilliant!
I called George Troutman, CFO @ Manta [protected], the above number and it was his home phone number. I called California time and woke him up!
He told me to call customer service during business hours and informed me I was calling a private number. I informed him that no one ever answers or returns your call. He could not believe that.
I suggest everyone who reads this blog to repost this guys number over and over so it does not get lost in the mix.
I shall call him everyday until my info that I wish to keep private is removed.
Soon he'll experience how bothersome it is when people contact you at a number you wish to keep private.
George Troutman, CFO @ Manta Please call him or visit him and voice your complaints directly. [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected]
I just made the mistake of claiming my business profile with Manta. Within minutes of filling out their required information I received a call from a pushy telemarketer. One of their scams is that the site does not let you choose a correct category for your business. You have to spend $125 to upgrade to a "premium listing" just to get to choose the correct category for your business. Their entire business model is flawed and is driven by older generation of marketing/swindling techniques.
The modern use of the Internet (Web 2.0) dictates that the user of your software is in full control of their information and provides a clear and consistent privacy policy. Users' faith in the integrity of your operation builds a strong community. With a strong community you have to ability to monetize your site via several advertising strategies. [censored] out people's personal and confidential information is not only unethical, it is a long term bad business practice.
I hope enough people realize this and they go out of business.
If you wish to have your company removed from Manta.com, please contact our Customer Service department between 9am-5pm Eastern by calling: [protected] (Press option 1) or via email: help@manta.com.
When contacting Manta, please provide the name of the company as it appears on Manta along with the city and state; or better yet, the Manta webpage address (URL) that displays the company profile so that we may assist you.
George Troutman, CFO @ Manta Please call him or visit him and voice your complaints directly. [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected]
To my surprise I received a call from Manta customer service this morning to remove my listing. I guess my call to George Troutman, CFO @ Manta [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected]
waking him up at 1am was effective. I did not leave my phone number last night, he must have caller I.D. I will keep you posted if my info is actually removed. I told the customer service that if my info is not removed in a reasonable time that I will continue to call George Troutman, CFO @ Manta [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected] at 1am until it is. Customer serviced replied "all the more to remove your listing" .
I suggest all of you that are having trouble with this company to call George Troutman, CFO @ Manta . [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected] at an unreasonable hour to have your listing removed. It seems to work!
I did a search for George Troutman, CFO @ Manta [protected] 7302 Berkley Sq N, New Albany, OH [protected] on Manta.com, he has no listing, how odd!
Note from Manta: The people who are calling you are not connected to Manta in any way. But we have made some changes to make it more difficult for them to use Manta data. Get the details here: http://blog.manta.com/news/unintended-consequences-of-recently-claimed-companies
I just sent an email to help@manta.com advising them that I wanted ALL information about my company removed from their website permanently and gave them 24 hours to comply. Ill check om it in after the deadline and if the is even a single shred of information about my company on that pathetic site...George Troutman will be getting a personal call from my Attorney.
I'm tired of playing with theses [censor]s...
My wife recently googled her name she fond a link to manta that listed our home address&telephone #.It said she owned an equipment company employed two people and made aprox 120, 000 a year.we dont own nor ever have owned any business.we contacted manta by e-mail and they took it down but the link on google exists.where do they get there info?Is this not illegal to post phony business on the web?with our home address& phone #should they not have to disclose where they got this fake info?
I was really surprised to see my personal information listed on this despicable web site. Fortunately I found this discussion forum and knew I was not the only victim. I called their customer service number I found here. The first time it routed me to some voice mail, but the second time a real person picked up and I was able to ask him to get rid of the listing of my info.
Thank you guys for this helpful thread!
I googled myself about a week ago, and found out that my home address is braodcasted on Manta without my permission. I am a Artist who works at home. Manta seems to think that my clients are free to know where I live . I emailed them several times and no response. I want this info off the web.
I have sent Manta 3 or 4 emails regarding a duplicate listing of my company, one which has incorrect information. I asked them what is the process to delete but I have yet to get a response. I am so frustrated with their business practice that I want to remove my company's listing off their site altogether. Next I will go to the Better Business Bureau if they do not contact me in the next 24 hours. Manta, if you read this, my email is alltechsolar@gmail.com
I am dealing with a domestic violence case and often I will google my name to make sure that none of my personal information is being listed. I recently googled my name and found that Manta had listed my new small business with my home address for all too see. I have sent emails almost everyday for the last two weeks too help@manta.com with no response. I claimed my business and tried to change the business address but even though I have done this nothing has changed on my profile and the google results are the same. I have a 10 yr old daughter to protect and our personal safely has been highly jeopardized because of Manta. Looking at all the complaints it seems that we have a strong case against Manta, at the very least I will be reporting them to the BBB and I will also be seeking legal advise for the negligence! My email address is ahnulyt@gmail.com and my name is Kathleen, for those of you that are seeking legal action, we should talk.
They have an A- rating. That's not as bad as many other companies.
http://www.bbb.org/centralohio/business-reviews/publishers-directory-and-guide/mantacom-in-columbus-oh-70006659
I requested that my profile be removed today.
Companies pay the BBB to be included in their listings, and try Googling "BBB ratings scandal." Based on that, I wouldn't take BBB ratings too seriously.
I realized indeed that BBB stands for Business Bulletin Board.
The information isn't even current, as my business has been closed, for some time, but that's just an aside. In my case, the public was never intended to come to any physical, "business address" as all was done by phone with product delivered to the customer. All ads, from Yellow Pages to newspapers, included phone number, only. Thanks to this hostage taking approach to "advertising, " there have been vehicles driving up and down a very narrow, one lane, dead end, road to the great annoyance of my neighbors. And, as a bonus, some of those in search of this so called, " business address" often wind up doing a poor job turning around in our driveways and an excellent job mutilating our fencing and landscaping. Since finding this listing and adding two and two, together, I am torqued almost to the point of combustion at their presumptuous, invasive and disruptive, practices. I didn't sign up to have this information published on their site for all the world to see and I resent the he! out of being asked to sign in, to have it removed. Thank you, CB, for the platform. PT
Has anyone considered suing Manta? They posted my private home address and cell phone number as if I was a business. I sent them an email on their website (there is no phone number available on the website) but that did not work. I just called the number that was posted on this site and spoke with customer service. They said my information would be removed within 24 hours. I hope so. Aren't there privacy laws being violated here?
I’m working in marketing for snapitdigital.com and the 1st role is never too put correct info. When I open my free ad with manta and the same will be with any other site I will never put in the correct info nor will I put in the correct owner name or how many works we have.
We spend money with adsense and noticed a very disproportionate number of clicks from manta.com. Tracing these clicks back, it would seem that when they list a company they do google adsense links for "related companies" (AKA, competitors). However, nobody in their right mind would click on our company from the pages they provided. This appears to be click fraud. I.e., we pay Google to generate clicks to our site. Google is paying manta.com. Now, we have excluded them (and their partner "ecnext.com") and put it in a report and refund requiest to Google. Keywords: manta, manta.com, ecnext.com, click fraud, goole.
Company information:
VIOLATION 4th AMENDMENT: MANTA.COM MANTA MEDIA INC
United States
Manta is in violation of 4th Amendment rights to many unknowing persons. They purchased my information from the business registrations office - incredulous. I believe it is time to congregate together and file a suit, for monies are being made on private personal information that is purchased from a third party sources. And Manta, since you have so irresponsibily listed my personal home address, if anything happens to myself or my family, Manta and affiliates will be held liable. I demand my information and profile be removed from Manta.com and Manta Media Inc immediately. Enough requesting, perhaps Monday is a good time to see just how many Constitutional Lawyers would line up, especially if we all come together.
I've been asked to contact Mr. Troutman. Manta has listed several hundred business contracted to the Department of Defense. The number listed here is not valid. How do I reach someone from Manta?
I just learned that I am listed as a business owner in Sebastopol, Ca. Wonder how the IRS would react to that. I am retired and have neither the business nor the income that they claim I have. I have emailed them twice, asking them, for the sake of my privacy, and accuracy in general, to please remove the listing. They won't even respond. Sites like Manta ruin the internet...they peddle lies.
I am not done with them...I WILL get that listing removed.
PaPa Vince
Sebastopol, CA
I just found my business listed with all totally wrong information and showing the owner as someone I have never heard of. Although, I have been getting various pieces of mail at my office addressed to this person. Not only was the name in error, the years in business were off by 24 years! I have been in business for 40 years! I also find it interesting that this company is supposedly headquartered right here in my home town. Columbus, Ohio. And I also find it interesting that the CEO lives in an apartment! Nothing wrong with that...LOL! I do Real Estate Rentals and Leasing! I will be calling them tomorrow without fail...
Manta.com is a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet. Contact them directly, and then also http://allbusiness.com, and one other site. I don't recall which one it is, but it is also a D&B company. Be nice, but if they give you ANY grief, you can file a report with the FTC and at http://ic3.gov. AND feel free to inform them that you are or will have done so if your info is not immediately removed. I would do this first anyway, just for the careless nature of how they publish their information. It will take a little leg work, but will make you feel a whole lot better than just posting random rants here and there.
These types of companies are purchasing lists of businesses wholesale from the state where you register your business. Sucks, huh? But, it's true. These companies might argue with you that it is merely "public" information that they are publishing, but they are doing so in a manner that can potentially jeopardize the privacy and security of many small businesses—especially when theses small businesses are home offices. Good luck, and be sure you go through all of the steps listed above. We did, and our information was removed right quick.
All the information posted is public from the state you file your business in. Not sure how that is private information. You provide it to the state yourself. This goes fall all sites that have information about you. Info123, InfoUSA, ReferenceUSA, etc.
It's idiotic for them to post private residents, such as apartment buildings, in the case of those who work at home. That could be dangerous for those who have been victims of stalking or abuse in the past, and as a result have chosen not to list their residences in the local phone book.
And it's even more dangerous as well as just plain inconsiderate because we're not told that our home addresses are being listed on the site... let alone ~asked~ if we want our home addresses listed on the site, as well as whether we want the listing and whether our information is correct, which would be the considerate way of doing business. (Businesses do typically welcome free publicity, after all.)
And then they don't update the listings. They listed my business address as an apartment I moved out of half a dozen years ago, so I had to go in and "claim" the listing in order to update it... when I accidentally discovered that I was listed there. The way they operate is very unprofessional.
And apparently the telemarketers who use Manta as a way of targeting businesses don't bother reading the listings, otherwise they would know that I (Cicada Art Jewelry) don't have a storefront and therefore don't need to buy products and services that a storefront business would need.