Peoplefinders.com

Review: I purchased a single service fee of $ 0.95. But I got sign up monthly membership. Like me there are about 600 similar complaints

I did a single query for a fee of $0.95. A couple of moths later I have two $25.95 membership charges. I called the company and they told me I got singed automatically to a non-refundable membership. I am very careful about online transaction and at no point there was anything saying I was signing up for a membership. Neither I received an email saying I was doing so. Nor anything saying I had a logging for service of which I could have taken advantage.

This is a dishonest bait fishing run company, with about 600 similar complaints with the Revdex.com, most of them describing that it is not clear at any point of the transaction that a customer is signing on for a membership.

The company uses single fee transactions as baits to sign customer unwittingly to a membership. Because the customer does not know it has sign up for a membership it can not use or take benefit of the services.

The high number of complaints speaks as evidence it self. The Revdex.com should start a deeper investigation and request peoplefinder.com to have a fair refund system for people who did not know they were signing up for a membership and therefore did not and could not use their services for the periods charged.

In my case, I was very careful. Still, I got charged for a membership service which at not point I knew I was signing up for. With no emails, statement or receipts, there was not way for me to know I had a membership and therefore I could not only not cancelled but neither could I have been able to take advantage of it or benefit from it.

Desired Settlement: From the high number of similar complaint is evident that is not clear that customers are signing up for a membership.

The company should:

1) Change their website to minimize confusion and make sure that the customer understand what product are they singing up for.

2) Have in place a fair refund system for customers who did not know they were signing up for a membership and therefore did not used or logged in after the single fee service transaction.

I think just having number 2) in place would make a Better Business for everyone.

A fair refund system should be in place in any honest running company. That is a minimum that the Revdex.com should request.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

The customer has a choice to accept a special discounted price available with a monthly membership or the full price for the search without membership. If a customer does not wish to enroll in membership they may choose the full price for one report. The membership provides a three day trial to try our services. Our membership service provides unlimited searches and other features for a monthly fee. This is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on the initial order selection page. Then the consumer is provided with an entire page outlining the terms of the membership which clearly and conspicuously states that after the initial trial, unless the consumer cancels the service the service will continue monthly and the card they provided will be charged until they tell us to cancel their membership to avoid future charges.

The membership is mentioned no less than three times on three pages before the order is complete.

Given that members can conduct unlimited searches for a monthly membership fee our terms do not allow for any refunds and simply allow members to cancel anytime to avoid future charges. For the period of the membership the customer will be charged each month. During that time, our customer service is available to take the cancellation at any time.

Our records show on 9/4/2013 the membership was cancelled per a request via phone to our Customer Care department. There were no refunds requested at that time. Later that same day, there was another call made using a three way with a bank representative. During this second call Mr. [redacted] requested a refund. We agreed to refund the August membership fee of $24.95 as a onetime courtesy. The account is closed and there will be no further automatic billing.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I did not had a choice to choose a full price. I did not see, even once, that I was signing for a membership.

I did request a refund for both months charged the first time I called and was declined. I only received one month refund as a onetime courtesy when my credit card company called Peoplefinder.com on my behalf, after I initiated a dispute of the charges.

There are more than 600 complaints at the Revdex.com, most of them similar to mine stating it is not clear that the customer is signing up for a monthly membership. Because the customer does not know he is doing so it can not use the service or cancel at anytime.

A good business company should have a fair refund system for these cases.

The Revdex.com should look into this company's complaints and request to have a fair refund system for customers who unwittingly were sign up for a membership and there is proof they did not used the service at any point during the periods charged. That would make it a better business for everyone.

Final Business Response

Peoplefinders.com is a self-service website so customers will be billed for the products sthey select online. Customers are responsible for reading and understanding what is being purchased when shopping online. Please review the $0.95 product selected on PeopleFinders.com. The initial product selection page and subsequent purchase process reads exactly as follows.

(On 7/18/2013 [redacted] visited PeopleFinders.com and ran a People Search. After identifying the desired listing, a product selection page was presented. The choices are listed below.)

PEOPLE SEARCH REPORT

$0.95

Special Price with PeopleFinders Membership Trial

$1.95

Regular Price

MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP

$14.95

Special Introductory Offer: Save 40% first month!

$24.95

Regular Price

BACKGROUND REPORT

$39.95

Special Price with PeopleFinders Membership Trial

$49.95

Regular Price

(On 7/18/2013 [redacted] affirmatively selected the $0.95 trial membership price and the purchase process continued.)

You chose the Special Price with a PeopleFinders Membership Trial

With PeopleFinders Membership Trial, see what information is out there about you, find information on other people, and stay informed.

Membership includes unlimited access to:

People Search - find phone and address for long-lost family, friends, and anyone else.

Email Search - view email addresses & search for people by their email.

Social Profile Search - See social content from more than 40 popular social networking sites.

Genealogy Search New! - Discover your ancestry through public records searches.

Membership Offer Terms:

Simply click "Continue" to activate your PeopleFinders Membership today and enjoy unlimited searches. After your 3-day free trial, the monthly membership fee of $24.95 will be charged every 30 days to the credit/debit card you used on PeopleFinders.com, and then automatically charged/debited each month at the then-current membership fee so long as you remain a member. You may cancel your Membership at anytime and then you will not be charged/debited for any future monthly fees.

Managing Your Membership:

If you wish to cancel your Membership, please log in at PeopleFinders.com, click the "My Account" link and then click the "Click here if you want to update your automatic renewal" link, or call Customer Care Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 6:00pm PST at (800) 718-8997. If you cancel within the first 3 days, you will not be charged for a membership. You will only be charged for the people search report you ordered.

On every page of checkout the following is displayed next to the order total:

ORDER SUMMARY

People Search Report

PeopleFinders Membership Trial Discount

$1.95

- $1.00

3 Day PeopleFinders Membership Trial

Cancel anytime. After your 3-day free trial, you will be billed $24.95 per month.

TOTAL: $0.95

We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel this trial. The 3 day trial has ended; therefore, you were billed $24.95 on the fourth day, and for every month thereafter.

As a courtesy, we granted the refund of $24.95 for one month on 9/4/2013. Other membership fees are non-refundable per the terms [redacted] agreed to on 7/18/2013.

Review: I want my $24.97 refunded.

I ordered a report for $0.99. They charge extra to email the report, so in total, I was charged $1.94. I checked my email for the report and my receipt. I received that receipt and only to find another receipt for $24.97. I didn't order anything extra. I don't know what happened. When I asked for a refund, they said that they don't do refunds. I didn't order any $24 report, so I should get my money back.Desired Settlement: I only want my $24.97 refunded.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

We received your request over the phone on 8/9/2013 and issued a refund for $24.97. This amount should be shown on your credit card statement about five business days after the refund was processed on 8/9/2013.

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Review: This is to inform you that I am not and never have been a member of your organization. I only used your service on 4/30/2013 for the amount of $0.95, which I paid. For some reason you enlisted me in your annual service, that I never agreed to. You continue to charge my [redacted] account ending in [redacted] for an unauthorized charge for $24.95 per month. I will continue to contest these charges, and if you continue, I will notify the proper legal authorities. I have notified [redacted] not to authorize these charges, and they have agreed not to authorize them.Desired Settlement: Please remove my name from your membership, and stop charging my Visa account.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

At the time of purchase on 4/30/2013 you chose to receive a discounted price for signing up for a 3 day free trial to our 3-in-1 Membership.

You had the option to cancel this membership trial at anytime via your account manager on the website, via email, or via phone.

We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel this trial. The 3 day trial has ended; therefore, you were billed $24.95 on the fourth day, and for every month thereafter.

Per your written requests via phone, email and mail we have granted eight refunds of $24.95 each. This means the only charge you are still responsible for is the initial trial membership price of $0.95. Please allow 2-5 business days for the refunds to process back into your credit or debit card.

We have also closed your account.

Review: Peoplefinders.com charges credit card, then does not give access to website or provide any promised services. Refuses to refund charges. Fraudulent!!

Registered with Peoplefinders.com to get background information about potential employees. Peoplefinders login/password did NOT work. Technical support would not provide assistance. They did not provide any services that they promised. I called them twice and my office called them twice. Customer service refused to refund account. This is a fraudulent company.Desired Settlement: We are seeking refund of charges.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

Hello,

Our records indicate that the account was placed into a pending status until the authorized user of the account verified the purchase. No contact was made by the authorized user.

We received your request and issued a refund for $144.00. This amount will be shown on your credit card statement within five business days.

PeopleFinders.com is not for employment purposes because To run pre-employment screenings or tenant screening, you will need to work with a company that is FCRA compliant. You will also need to obtain a release from each applicant before you run the search. Our service only provides public data (voter registration, property ownership, etc.) and we do not guarantee our results because of this. We are not FCRA compliant. You can read more about the FCRA on the Federal Trade Commission website: www.ftc.gov.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our Customer Care Team during the hours listed below at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Thank you for contacting PeopleFinders.com.

Monday-Friday 7:00AM-6:00PM (PST)

Saturday-Sunday 7:00AM-11:30AM and 12:30PM-3:30PM (PST)

Best regards,

PeopleFinders Customer Care

[redacted]@Peoplefinders.com

(XXX) XXX-XXXX

PeopleFinders is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. PeopleFinders is not a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) as defined by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Review: I have written to peoplefinders repeatedly to insist that they remove my address for my privacy and safety, yet they refuse to do so. They do have an online opt out link, but this DOES NOT work for the removal of your property address (which they list seperately pointing right to your name - even after you opt out and THINK you've removed yourself from their system)! A simple Google search of your name will provide the peoplefinder's property records link with your address linked to your name anyway! Does not matter if you've "opted out" your name. The Peoplefinder reps repeatedly told me to use their online "opt out" link which I explained a million times DOES! NOT! WORK! Again, if you search my name on Peoplefinders, nothing shows because I've opted out. HOWEVER, if you search specifically for my address; it pulls me right up and even adds my name right back in corresponding with the address. This property record is then indexed by Google and a simple search of my name in a search engine places the peoplefinders address/property record on the first page of search results. On top of that it lists about 20 other people, most of which I have never even heard of, yet it lists them as my "relatives". These people are not my relatives and I'm the only owner of this property ever, so there is no way I've even possibly shared a street address with the bogus "relatives". I have court records from being stalked in the past, and this website continues to place me in danger! Peoplefinders refuses to remove my address/property records no matter how many times I've begged them to remove it.Desired Settlement: I want my property records DELETED in FULL, and take all of those bogus relatives with it! I will provide the property link privately, since this complaint is apparently going to be posted publicly.

Business

Response:

The address has already been removed from our website. Unfortunately, we do not have the capability to remove links on Google, Bing or any other search engine. The information you are still seeing on these sites is probably from an indexed API feed. Overtime (days, weeks, months) the link will stop appearing, however, we do not have access to remove the link from other websites. We are only able to remove your profile information from our site. We apologize we could not be of more help in this matter.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: personal information removal

I would appreciate it if you remove my name from your database. This is not the first time I asked you guys to remove it. Thanks in advanceDesired Settlement: just personal information removal

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

Hello,

To fulfill your opt out request you will need to follow the automated process online. You will need to click on "Help," at the bottom of any page. Please scroll to the "Privacy" section, click the fourth check mark down "How do I remove my information from your website?" You will then see the last sentence ending paragraph 2 stating, "To manage or remove your public records from PeopleFinders.com, please click here," which is hyperlinked for you to click on. For your convenience, below is a direct link to the opt out page.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/manage/default.aspx

Please follow the prompts from there to successfully remove your public record data from appearing on PeopleFinders.com. Thank you.

Best regards,

PeopleFinders Customer Care

[redacted]@Peoplefinders.com

(XXX) XXX-XXXX

PeopleFinders is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. PeopleFinders is not a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) as defined by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Fraudulent company in my opinion. When a site allows an individual to do a pre-search and then the results state clearly: We have the information you requested; that usually means the search is concluded. NOT with peoplefinders.com. They do the "bait and switch" to get consumers hard earned money and once you give your bank card information, THEN they tell you they don't have the information they JUST said they had. This site needs to be shut down.

Review: They claim I Enrolled in some sort of monthly membership. Did not.

Looked up an address on their site and they enrolled me in their membership without my knowledge or any kind of correspondence to that effect. Was not advised nor informed nor confirmed those charges.Desired Settlement: Refund of charge on [redacted] credit card dated 3/22/2013 of $24.95 paid by check #[redacted] on 5/7/2013.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

Hello,

At the time of purchase you chose to receive a discounted price for signing up for a 3 day free trial to our 3-in-1 Membership.

You had the option to cancel this membership trial at anytime via your account manager on the website, via email, or via phone.

We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel this trial. The 3 day trial has ended; therefore, you were billed $24.95 on the fourth day, and for every month thereafter.

Per your request via phone, and as a onetime courtesy, we have granted the refund of $24.95 for one month.

We have also cancelled your membership. There will be no further refunds.

Our hours of operation are:

Monday-Friday-7:00AM-6:00PM (PST)

Saturday-Sunday7:00AM-11:30AM and 12:30PM-3:30PM (PST)

Best regards,

PeopleFinders Customer Care

[redacted]@Peoplefinders.com

(XXX) XXX-XXXX

Review: Complaint Category: Predatory billing by unauthorized credit card charges. Failure to honor refund.

Review: Peoplefinders,com will not refund $99.80 in unauthorized monthly charges in Feb - May of 2013 that I requested be refunded.

I ordered only the .95 cent inquiry on this website 02/18/13. Subsequently, my credit card shows monthly transactions for $24.95 on 02/22/13, 03/21/13,04/21/13, and for 05/22/13.

I called right away when I saw those unauthorized charges on my account. I called Peoplefinders.com for a refund and the recording directed me to their web site to sign in to my "account". This is not satisfactory. I believe this to be a predatory billing practice and aimed at me, it is elder financial abuse - a serious matter in California. If this so-called account of mine is not closed by Peoplefinders.com, and the $99.80 in unauthorized charges refunded to my account in three business days, I will be filing a more serious complaint with the state Attorney General.Desired Settlement: I want Peoplefinders.com to immediately close this so-called "account" of mine and to credit the full $99.80 in unauthorized charges to my account in three business days.

I believe this to be a predatory billing practice and aimed at me, it is elder financial abuse - a serious matter in California. I will be filing a more serious complaint with the state Attorney General if not completely satisfied with the settlement I am seeking.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

At the time of purchase you chose to receive a discounted price for signing up for a 3 day free trial to our 3-in-1 Membership.

ou had the option to cancel this membership trial at anytime via your account manager on the website, via email, or via phone.

We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel this trial. The 3 day trial has ended; therefore, you were billed $24.95 on the fourth day, and for every month thereafter.

Your membership is still active as our records indicate we have received no prior contact from you to cancel via phone, email or via your online account manager. We have now cancelled your membership.

Our hours of operation are:

Monday-Friday-7:00AM-6:00PM (PST)

Saturday-Sunday7:00AM-11:30AM and 12:30PM-3:30PM (PST)

PeopleFinders Customer Care

[redacted]@Peoplefinders.com

(800) XXX-XXXX

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

This is not satisfactory.

I want to be reimbursed for the $99.80 in charges to my credit card which were made without my knowledge and for which I received no goods or services.

I am not aware of any 'account' in my name and feel that I have been entrapped by a sharp business practice and defrauded by Peoplefinders.com of Sacramento, CA. of $99.80. I was totally unaware of any account being created or sequential billing being activated.

I have been financially abused by this deceitful company. This site is extremely deceptive, and from the number of complaints, it entraps many unwary consumers.

Business' Final Response

The customer has a choice to accept a special discounted price available with a monthly membership or the full price for the search without membership. If a customer does not wish to enroll in membership they may choose the full price for one report. The membership provides a three day trial to try our services. Our membership service provides unlimited searches and other features for a monthly fee. This is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on the initial order selection page. Then the consumer is provided with an entire page outlining the terms of the membership which clearly and conspicuously states that after the initial trial, unless the consumer cancels the service the service will continue monthly and the card they provided will be charged until they tell us to cancel their membership to avoid future charges. The membership is mentioned no less than three times on three pages before the order is complete.

Given that members can conduct unlimited searches for a monthly membership fee our terms do not allow for any refunds and simply allow members to cancel anytime to avoid future charges. For the period of her membership the customer will be charged each month. During that time, our customer service is available to take the cancellation at any time. We have not received any contact from this customer but have since closed the account per this complaint. There will be no refunds.

Review: on 7/20/15 I ordered your services to look at my own personal files and your service/product said I could try service/product for a 3 day trial for only $2.95. When I called [redacted] to cancel service/product on 7/20/15, I spoke with a female who would not spell her name to me. She said I would have to pay $19.95. I told her I would like to speak with supervisor. she quickly sent my phone call to supervisor's phone message machine. I was not able to leave message because it never beep to start message. so I called the number again. got same female. now she said I would pay for $19.95 plus $2.95!!! I asked her to please transfer me to supervisor's message machine. she said she would do it again - a second time. she was very rude and unprofessional. got supervisor's machine. again no beep to start message. hung up on me. called a third time and spoke with wan/agent. verified with him that I did have to pay 19.95 plus 2.95. wan directed me to supervisor's machine and I just left a message after the lady stop talking on phone. Your product/service says I will NOT have to pay 19.95 IF I CANCEL WITHIN 3 DAYS. I should be paying 2.95 and not 2.95 and 19.95. your product/service is VERY DECEPTIVE AND AN OUTRIGHT LIE. I WANT A REFUND OF 19.95 AND PAY THE TRIAL PERIOD OF 2.95 ONLY.Desired Settlement: I WANT A REFUND OF 19.95 AND PAY THE TRIAL PERIOD OF 2.95 ONLY.

Business

Response:

We have reviewed your account and found that on 7/20/2015 instead of purchasing a single Background Report at $39.95 you chose to receive a Background Report at a discounted price of $19.95. The reason this product is discounted is because it comes with a three day trial membership. As stated, if cancelled within three days you will be billed $2.95 for the trial. If the trial is allowed to renew it would have renewed at $29.95 per month for the membership. Your original purchase of $19.95 is not affected. We received your cancellation over the phone on 7/20/2015, within the three day trial period, therefore you were billed $2.95 for the trial on the fourth day. Again, the cancellation does not negate your initial purchase of $19.95 for the Background Report.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: your product clearly indicates a trial period of 2.95 without having to pay a whole month. with your reasoning everybody would have no choice of a trial period. you are completely deceiving the consumer in sucking them in to paying what they did not want in the first place. my experience with you has left a bad taste in my mouth as you are clearly deceitful. that is the only word that comes to mind. I will not be trying trials of new services and/or products because of you. when another company offers a trial that is what it means - TRIAL. Not a whole month and cancel within 3 days. I am not satisfied and want to make a negative complaint with Revdex.com. I would recommend Revdex.com to go to your website but you probably already changed the wording of it. If you had been more clearly about your service you would not be wasting my time and vice versa.

Review: I read the other complaints here and on other websites and like many others I have been duped into getting hit with recurring charges by these fraudsters. Unfortunately I didn't catch it for several months and when I called them they refused to reverse the charges. I may have missed some fine print, but I did not intentionally agree to recurring charges nor did I use the service beyond the initial report which itself was useless.Desired Settlement: I of course want the entire $174.65 amount refunded.

Business

Response:

At the time of purchase on 12/1/2014 you chose to receive a discounted price for signing up for a 3 day trial to our Membership. This membership allowed you to receive an unlimited number of:•People Searches – Get the facts you need to find anyone, anywhere•Email Searches – Obtain email addresses, or learn about the owner of any address•Marriage Searches – Find out if a man or woman has ever been married•Divorce Searches – Check the divorce status of any man or woman•Property Searches – Learn about any piece of property, including the current owner and valueYou had the option to cancel this membership trial at anytime via your account manager on the website, via email, or via phone. We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel this trial. The 3 day trial has ended; therefore, you were charged the membership fee on the fourth day, and for every month thereafter. Per your request over the phone on 7/13/2015 we closed your account. As a onetime courtesy, we have granted two refunds for the most current two months of membership. There are no further courtesy refunds available.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because of their clearly deceptive practices. Nothing less than a full refund will be acceptable.

I had used their service for a look up and rejected all the membership services they offered but today had a $24.95 charge on credit card. I have since read many reviews and seem to have a dubious reputation. It seems they deserve a class lawsuit.

Had to pay close attention to not sign up for a service I didn't want. And was then cheated out of promised information. Definitely a scammy business.

Review: Promotional Search of records was charged to my card in the amount of .48 and .47. Account was cancelled before the trial period, but the $24.95 fee was still charged.Desired Settlement: Refund the subscription fee of $24.95 record search did not result in anything as promised and monthly subscription was not needed.

Business

Response:

At the time of purchase on 4/4/2015 you chose to receive a discounted price of $0.95 for signing up for a 3 day trial to our Membership. This membership allowed you to receive an unlimited number of:•People Searches – Get the facts you need to find anyone, anywhere•Email Searches – Obtain email addresses, or learn about the owner of any address•Marriage Searches – Find out if a man or woman has ever been married•Divorce Searches – Check the divorce status of any man or woman•Property Searches – Learn about any piece of property, including the current owner and valueYou had the option to cancel this membership trial at anytime via your account manager on the website, via email, or via phone. We did not receive any notification that you wished to cancel your membership until 4/9/2015, five days after the Membership was initiated. We received your cancellation via your online Account Manager at that time. The 3 day trial had already ended; therefore, you were already charged the membership fee on the fourth day. Your membership will expire on 5/9/2015 and you can still enjoy all the benefits of membership until then. The charge is non-refundable per the Terms you agreed to.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: I never agreed to prechecking the 3 day trial that was hardly visible on the .95 cent report. That practice is highly deceptive marketing.

Review: Charges were made to my credit card for a 3 day trial that deceivingly adds a membership fee of 24.95 a month even if services are not used.

In May of 2013 I did agreed to use a three day trial for $0.95 to try and locate a missing sibling. Seven months have long passed and my credit card has been charged faithfully for $24.95/ month. Yes, I should have taken better notice of charges on my card to end membership sooner, however I did not because it is not a card frequently used and I have auto-pay.

I spoke with customer service who did not speak professionally and her tone of voice was as if she gets nothing but customer complaints all day. I reasoned with her that I understood her position with the company, however I asked her if she understood mine being that even if the 3 day trial entailed a cancelation period, obviously I was unaware that my credit card would be charged monthly. Peoplefinders.com may have indeed stated that I needed to cancel within a grace period, but the fact that I was not given clear concise terms of agreement without ambiguity; meaning that peoplefinders.com terms of conditions are misleading, unclear, poorly written and designed to set a vulnerable distressed customer into a falsified agreement.

The customer service representative agreed with me and apologized she then transferred me to department that was automated wanting my name and phone number. I have yet to receive a phone call back from them.

I would simply like a refund for services not used. Regardless of your retorts about how peoplefinders.com can justify their thievery through litigations describing how "well" they have informed their customers of terms of agreement.

May 2013 I used peoplefinders.com in hopes to find if my brother was alive. My state of mind was under psychological distress of anxiousness, melancholy, and depression over my brother. My state of health would have prohibited my understanding of peoplefinders.com loosely defined trial agreement.

Peoplefinders.com did not help my search to finding my missing brother the failed results lead me to not using peoplefindrs.com services after the initial 3 day trial period.

In the future I suggest peoplefinders.com update their terms of agreement to be read at a level that the general population would be able to understand. Please take into consideration that your brand should be to helping people and the people you help are desperate and fragile in their state of mind. As of now peoplefinders.com are coming across as predators preying on the weak so that they can generate sales. Sales for services not even used or are helpful. Shame on peopleservices.com for not doing what is right and humane. Desired Settlement: I am seeking settlement in the form of being refunded $174.65, equaling seven months of unused services, and an apology letter with promise to do better in the future.

Sincerely, a very dissatisfied customer

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

We have reviewed our records and found that an order for a search was conducted by this customer on 5/21/2013. The customer had a choice to accept a special discounted price available with a monthly membership or the full price for the search without membership. The membership option states exactly "Membership is FREE for 3 days, and then automatically billed $24.95 each month." If a customer does not wish to enroll in membership they may choose the full price for one report. The membership provides a three day trial to try our services. Our membership service provides unlimited searches and other features for a monthly fee. This is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on the initial order selection page. Then the consumer was provided with an entire page outlining the terms of the membership which also clearly and conspicuously states that after the initial trial, unless the consumer cancels the service the service will continue monthly and the card they provided will be charged until they tell us to cancel their membership to avoid future charges. The membership was mentioned no less than three times on three pages before the order is complete.

Given that members can conduct unlimited searches for a monthly membership fee our terms do not allow for any refunds and simply allow members to cancel anytime to avoid future charges. For the period of her membership this customer was charged each month. During that time, our customer service is available to take her cancellation at any time. She failed to contact our office until 12/11/2013, seven months after the membership had been activated. Per her request over the phone we closed the account and agreed to grant one refund of $24.95 for the most current month as a one time courtesy. Our records show directly after the initial call at 11:40am she also left a message for a supervisor. This was received later that day at 3:30pm and an outgoing call was made by a supervisor to the phone number left on the message. There was no answer at that time. The next day, 12/12/2013 at 1:35pm a follow-up call was made by the supervisor. The supervisor was able to leave a message on an answering machine at that time. We have not received a call back as of today 12/20/2013. Today per this complaint we will grant three additional refunds of $24.95. In conclusion, we have granted a total of four refunds at $24.95 each, the PeopleFinders.com account is closed and there will be no further automatic billing.

Review: I have had repeated problems with using the Peoplefinders.com website. I have an account and occasionally want to run individual reports for my professional and personal use. It has happened on numerous occasions now that I get enrolled in a "trial offer" that turns into a subscription for which I am automatically charged $24.95 a month. The website is anything but easy to navigate. Opt outs frequently appear in writing significantly smaller than adjacent text and are obscured. Despite the fact that Peoplefinders.com has my email address, I never receive any notice that I am now enrolled in a program or that a subscription charge is imminent. When I called customer service today, I spoke with Mary at x 36129 who told me that the most recent charge would not be reversed. Another representative told me that I should be wary of using the site because these things keep happening. Not only is this terrible customer service, its a deceptive business practice designed to lure people into services that they do not want. I used to recommend the service to my colleagues for our investigations, but now will caution them against using it.Desired Settlement: I want my $24.95 refunded.

Business

Response:

We recommend selecting normal priced single reports if your intention is to run only one report at a time. Do not select the discounted reports. The reason these are discounted is because they come with and are labeled as trial memberships. If you choose the discounted trial membership price for the report, you are required to cancel the trial membership within three days. This is explained clearly and conspicuously online during the checkout process. In 2012 you successfully selected the regular priced reports five times. Our records show the Customer Care department has also gone over this with you several times. We have discussed the trial membership with you on 2/12/2014 over the phone and agreed to refund the $24.95 membership fee as a one time courtesy and again on 5/14/2014. We will grant a final courtesy refund of the $24.95 membership fee from the charge that took place on 5/9/2014. Being the third time the trial membership was selected and not cancelled, this will be the last courtesy refund you are eligible for. Going forward if the trial membership is selected by you and not cancelled within three days as agreed, the membership fee will not be refunded. In conclusion, we have granted a final refund for $24.95 and your membership is cancelled.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

I also believe that Peoplefinders.com needs to revise its website to make its processes more transparent and easy to navigate.

Review: Paid $44 for a blank page. Never gave me a report or any sort of information as promised. Now they refuse to give me a refund for a BLANK PAGE!

I have two emails for order confirmations, but not confirmation numbers. One charge is for $3.95 and one is for $39.95.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund, and for my account with PeopleFinders.com to be closed IMMEDIATELY. It is unfair to charge somebody $44 for a blank page, when they promised a full detailed report.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

We have reviewed your report and found it is generated properly with information. Our records show this was available in your My Account section and was also emailed to you by our Customer Care department. Regardless, per the email we received and replied to on 12/1/2013 we have agreed to refund $38.00 for the background check as a one time courtesy. The remaining $1.95 and $3.95 charges are non-refundable.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS STILL 100% HORRIBLE IN MY OPINION, AND AS I CAN SEE FROM THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS, A LOT MORE PEOPLE AGREE!!! WHAT A JOKE TO EVEN CONSIDER YOURSELF A PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS!

Final Business Response

When you order a report, our system searches through billions of public records and collects every piece of relevant information. PeopleFinders pays for access to this data, so the charge is for us to conduct a search on your behalf, not to return a specific result. The remaining charges on your account are less than the hard-cost of generating the information you requested. Please review the Terms of Use on PeopleFinders.com if you would like more information about refunds or our other policies. The partial refund granted to you was as a courtesy and an exception to the terms you agreed to online.

Review: I was charged over 400.00 for doing one search on this site. I payed 99 cent for one search then got charged monthly after I called to cancel

I noticed that people finders didn't correctly take my call to cancel and that the people working at this company didn't take my name out of the system after I called to cancel the 24 dollar monthly charge.. I called the company very [redacted] off and angry because I noticed I was charged monthly for 1 year and 6 months.. I was in the process of involving police but I was trying to give them a chance to give me back all the money they took from my credit card except for the 99 cents I used to search for one person... the manager got nasty with me and I got nasty right back because they stole my money... I told the lady I called to cancel before 24 dollars was to be charged ... she said she never seen me call in the system .. I said its not my fault your worker didn't log the call correctly .. she said its my responsibility to check my credit records .. I said give me back my money or im having you arrested for theft .. then she gives back a small amount because she got scared .. I called back and said I want my money .. I emailed and they said they only are giving back some money .. I want all my money back .. I only want them to keep 99 cent .. I didn't use the service for over one year and they scammed me out of my credit card money .. I need help asap..Desired Settlement: I want all money back except 99 cents for the one search I used on people finders .com

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

As we attempted to explain to Ms. [redacted] over several lengthy phone calls and via several emails on 10/8/2013, an order for a search was conducted by her on 5/16/2012. At that time she had a choice to accept a special discounted price available with a monthly membership or the full price for the search without membership. The membership option was affirmatively selected by her on 5/16/2012. That membership provided a three day trial to try our services. Our membership service provides unlimited searches and other features for a monthly fee. This is clearly and conspicuously disclosed on the initial order selection page. Then the consumer is provided with an entire page outlining the terms of the membership which clearly and conspicuously states that after the initial trial, unless the consumer cancels the service the service will continue monthly and the card they provided will be charged until they tell us to cancel their membership to avoid future charges. The membership is mentioned no less than three times on three pages before the order is complete.

Given that members can conduct unlimited searches for a monthly membership fee our terms do not allow for any refunds and simply allow members to cancel anytime to avoid future charges. For the period of her membership she was charged each month. During that time, our customer service was available to take her cancellation at any time. If her intention was to run only one search, then she had in fact selected the wrong product. We did not revive any contact regarding her membership until multiple hostile phone calls and emails on 10/8/2013. A supervisor approved refunds for four months of charges at $24.95 each as a courtesy but representatives were unable to communicate this to Ms. [redacted] over the phone due to not being allowed an opportunity to speak. It appears from our records that Ms. [redacted] did not review her credit card billing statement sufficiently to realize that she was not using our services. She failed to contact us to cancel until sixteen months after the membership had been activated. In conclusion, Ms. [redacted] has received credits for four months of service totaling $99.80, her account is closed and there will be no further automatic billing.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

this company stole my money .. this is more of a police issue .. you can have them meet me at the police station .. I will notify the police and have the owner arrested for credit card fraud .. I cancelled this before the 3rd day and the people who work at this company failed to cancel this membership.. I only used one search and I trusted in this company ... I never thought I would have to be in a battle with total starngers.. they took from me I never did anything to harm this company and for them to treat me with such disrespect shows me they arent worth my time or money .. I will never use this service again.. I want to contact police so they can handle this problem .. threatening to charge me money and tell me I am responsible for using a service I cancelled is a crime ... I fell threatened and I fell like they are retaliating because I filed a complaint and I will take this to court and cops ... I wont pay anything and I will only be taking this to court so that a judge can see how this company shows no respect for customers who use the search service...

Final Business Response

Peoplefinders.com keeps records of all phone calls (including cancellation requests) to our Customer Care Department. We have reviewed these records there are no records of a call from you regarding this account prior to 10/8/2013. You will need to provide the name of the representative you spoke with or provide the confirmation email showing your previous cancelation.

Regardless, you have failed to contact us about the monthly recurring charges for over one year. because of the amount of time that has passed since these charges occurred and the terms you agreed to online, you will be responsible for the previous 12 months of membership fees.

Review: I ordered a one time search from this company in the amount of $11.95 plus .50 cent for them to email it to me. They charged me $11.95 plus .50 cent and $14.98 for a membership which I did not request. PLEASE LOOK AT (PEOPLE FINDER FRAUD) ON [redacted] YOU WILL FIND DOZENS OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE SAME AND SIMILAR BILLING PRACTICES BY THESE PEOPLE. Unfortunately I looked too late.These people are commiting fraud and getting away with it.Desired Settlement: It is my understanding that now that they have my card information they will continue to take money out of my account monthly for a service I did not request or need.

Business

Response:

We have received your complaint. The customer made a purchase on 03/19 for one background report. Then a different background report was ran under the membership for $14.98. The membership was used. Per our Terms of Use that is agreed on at the time of purchase we do not issue refunds. We will no be issuing a refund for $14.98

Review: This company is offering my info, such as my full name, address I live at , and any other info someone might want to buy. They want me to sign into their website to remove my info, but I have dealt with companies like this in the past. They want you to sign in then ask for more information to remove the information already on the website.

Or they just ask for money for money to remove your info.Desired Settlement: I would like peoplefinders to remove my information and any information associated with it.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/d/[redacted]/X-XXXXXXXXXX

This is dangerous to be able to just pay and get all my info.

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

All of the information on our website is from public record databases. Every person aged 18 and older can have a public record. This information is collected on a County, City, State, and Federal level, and can also come from reporting information during normal every day activities such as grocery store club cards, magazine subscriptions, voter registration, warranty cards, even fishing licenses, and forms you fill out when browsing the internet. There are thousands of ways this information gets reported.

We are not required to remove any information from our website; however, we offer the option to as a courtesy. We are not refusing to remove your information. We will remove this information from being searched on our site once we receive your online request.

To fulfill your opt out request you will need to follow the automated process online. This is a free process available to anyone who would like to remove their listing. Users will be required to identify their listing by name city and state. This is required so that we know which listing you are referring to. If we did not ask for this info there would be no way to differentiate your information from everyone else in the United States.

You will need to click on "Help," at the bottom of any page. Please scroll to the "Privacy" section, click the fourth check mark down "How do I remove my information from your website?" You will then see the last sentence ending paragraph 2 stating, "To manage or remove your public records from PeopleFinders.com, please click here," which is hyperlinked for you to click on. For your convenience, below is a direct link to the opt out page.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/manage/default.aspx

Please follow the prompts from there to successfully remove your public record data from appearing on PeopleFinders.com. Thank you.

Consumer Response

The company never took my info off its website, so why is the case now closed?

Consumer Response

Taken from duplicate complaint #XXXXXXXX:

This company is offering my info, such as my full name, address I live at, and any other info someone might want to buy.

This is the second time I am having to submit this. They have no way to remove info from their website. The form they claim to be able to remove a persons info is setup to gather more information about the user. I searched my name on the removal form, but my name doesn't show up.

Its because I only put in the information they already have. It asked for my full birth date which I did not give.

I would like my information taken off this site.

This company is offering my info, such as my full name, address I live at, and any other info someone might want to buy. They want me to sign into their website to remove my info, but I have dealt with companies like this in the past. They want you to sign in then ask for more information to remove the information already on the website.

Or they just ask for money for money to remove your info.

I would like peoplefinders to remove my information and any information associated with it.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/dX-XXXXXXXXXX

This is dangerous to be able to just pay and get all my info.

And I would like my complaint posted on the Revdex.com website, because peoplefinders does NOT provide a way to remove a persons information.

The website tries to gather more information for it to sell on one of its other websites.

Business Response

We apologize for any inconvenience. We have submitted a request to suppress your information as of today; however, anytime you publicly report your information to companies and organizations, this information may be updated in public record databases and therefore will return results when doing a search for public record files. If you see your name appear on our site you will need to notify us so we can remove it. We are one of hundreds of websites that provide this information.

Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I just checked the site and my information is still listed on the website.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/dX-XXXXXXXXXX

Why say you removed the information when it is clearly still listed on the website?

I asked to have my information removed and any information associated with it, but it has not been removed.

Please stop playing these games, and remove the information.

Business Response

When visiting the link provided we find 42 listings in the USA matching the name searched. None of these listings are in the city and state provided in this complaint. We are unclear of what listing you are referring to. Please call us directly so a representative (or supervisor) can be shown where you are finding the listing you are referring to.

Also, make sure you are deleting old browsing history and cookies from your browser. Also make sure you are not looking at a cached/stored page from a previous date.

So we may assist you directly with your concern, please contact our Customer Care.

Monday-Friday 7:00AM-6:00PM (PST)

Saturday-Sunday 7:00AM-11:30AM and 12:30PM-3:30PM (PST)

[redacted]@Peoplefinders.com

(XXX) XXX-XXXX

Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

It looks like my information was taken down finally.

I hope it doesn't get put back up on the website.