HomeAdvisor (Powered by Angi) Reviews

This has to do with what John has commented on from MO. You're right on, John. Service Magic has not given me credit requests even though they are legitimate one! I have spent over $2000 for leads that were not a good investment and didn't have a choice if I wanted them or not. They just charged my account. Somebody has to investigate this practice.

I had cancelled service with Service Magic in Dec 2008. I just discovered that since then they had been withdrawing money from my account every month since the cancellation which has been a year now. When I called to complain and demanding all money back, they all (Customer Service Reps and Supervisors) all say the same thing " Give me your number and someone will call you back" and I have yet to received that call back. I tried calling their Corp number they have listed but it links back to the same customer service reps. It has caused me a great deal humiliation and disappoint. Till this day they still have me funds on hold.

This company is both good and bad. They will get you some leads but they will only give it out to no more then 3 to 4. Well, that’s a lie. Test them out and send out a request for a basement remodel job like I did and I received over eighteen calls. They also resend out old leads that are over a year old. The sales representative there admitted this and he said that it was an error and this happens a lot. Their motto is, “You never know they might need something by now. If many contractors just complain about getting credit for lead as I'm tired of getting credit for credit leads, This company has other construction lead companies with different names and home owners. Beware. Not all contractors are fully screened as they say they always check with local state licensing for contractors.

I cannot understand all these complaints. I have been with SM for over 3 years, and they are fantastic. I don't win every job, but at least, it is a qualified lead. At the comparative cost of mediums like Yellow Pages, the paltry fees are a drop in the bucket. It sounds like many of the complainers just don't know how to run a business or give customer service. At least with SM, the leads are qualified. If you don't call them back quickly enough, it is your problem. Stop complaining and start working. If you want, go ahead and pay dead money with Yellow Pages or Google Adwords that charge you whether or not you get a lead or not. At least with Service Magic, you are in the hunt.

I’m a tree trimmer. I gave them prices. I told ServiceMagic about what happened. But they, ServiceMagic, took the money from my account. I didn’t get the job. Consequences: pain and suffering, overdrawn my bank account.

I got referrals from ServiceMagic for large drywall project. My big mistake was not looking further into contractor expertise. He had over a dozen listed ranging from landscape to maid service to drywall. I doubt he is highly skilled at any of them. He did a horrendous job on the drywall. 2 weeks later, every seam was starting to crack. Dog door was left open on the interior wall side, showing wall studs. When I asked him if it looked right to him and if his wife would want to see interior wall studs in her dining room, he replied, "I don't have a dog." He's not the least bit professional either.

Advertising is advertising, but I am a carpet cleaner who has used Service Magic from the get go. I understand that nothing is guaranteed and this is what I expected. However, the underlying deception that most contractors did not bother to mention is Service Magic's lack of flexibility when it comes to getting credit for leads that are charged to their account, but don't pan out. For instance, I had a lead from a lady who went to Service Magic, filled out the forms, and was referred to me. Okay, I called her and she later told me that she spoke to the landlord and decided to have him hire another contractor to clean the apartment for her. Okay, fair enough, but I am still out $12 for this? The lady had already made up her mind to have someone else do the work before I called her. Is this a fair lead? Okay, I applied for a credit, but was denied, stating that she had the authority to have the work done, but was entitled to change her mind.

I own a painting company and joined ServiceMagic for the purpose of getting more leads. At the time I joined, I did not have liability insurance since I was new to the industry and didn't know I needed it. They immediately sent me leads. Nearly every lead I got went to voice mail boxes that had no message. I rarely was able to reach any clients.

I called 1-866-621-9450 (Service Magic) which was the phone number for Progressive Plumbing. I was informed that Service Magic handled Progressive Plumbings calls. I was told they could not get to me today and was given an alternative number for Poole Plumbing who I made an appointment with. Shortly after a plumber called and asked what my problem was, I asked if he was from the company I had spoken with since he was not familiar with my problem. He was evasive so I called Poole Plumbing and found out he was not from their company. I called Service Magic back and then was told they normally call several plumbers. I feel as if I was placed in a position that if I had let the second plumber come and Poole showed up, I could have been billed by them for an appointment I had made. I should have been informed two additional plumbers would call me so I could have told them no. No damage occurred but I was placed in a position where I could have been billed for the the first call if I had allowed the second unauthorized plumber call. Service Magic should inform callers of their intended actions so as not to place a customer in a position of legal action with businesses.

Service Magic does not bother screening before sending referrals. They send referrals for services not provided by your scope of work. They do not credit for unapplicable work. The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Leads are bogus! They need to be shut down! I left messages and received no call back. I sent a check for what I felt was reasonable and proper. But the check was returned indicating I owed an additional $8.00. E-mail was sent this a.m. that indicates suit. Go figure!

I haven't been called by a lawn keeper. I was notified a few days ago that you had someone who said he would do it for $45. I haven't heard from him. I think my problem is that I don't know the procedure that is expected. I tried finding his name again on your e-mail, but another name was on it today. I'll try again. No one ever came out to look at the yard. Tell me how this works. Thank you.

I am a carpenter/contractor and have paid money to ServiceMagic for leads that are bogus. They used my credit card without authorization. The credit card company was no help. I was supposed to get a credit for a bad lead from ServiceMagic. They call it in-house credit and they will keep it for themselves instead of paying it back to me. This company needs to be closed down and sued for every penny they took from innocent people. They cheat not only the contractors but also the clients. They charged me for a plumber's lead, knowing I am a licensed carpenter, but they won't return the money for this bogus lead. They are a fraud and I wish some good lawyer would take them on and have them return all the monies they stole.

I saw a TV commercial about ServiceMagic and lead services for contractors. I paid $450 for supposedly "$600" worth of leads. What I got were dead-end leads! People that do not own the homes, price shoppers, people that are impossible to speak or meet with. You call and leave messages they never return an e-mail or a phone call. And to add insult to the injury, when you try to get credit for the leads, they deny you, at $36 per lead. I do not recommend ServiceMagic! Consequences: $450 loss initially, plus hours spent driving to meet people that don't even own the home in the first place.

Service Master was referred to me by another contractor in a different trade as a good way to get leads. With business slow, I thought I'd give it a try. I was approved to join the network within six hours of applying. I got my first lead at 7am the next morning. I got four leads in the first five days after joining. The cheapest leads for my trade are over $30 each. I followed all leads promptly and left brief but detailed messages. I never got a call back on any of the four. The kicker was the fifth lead from a renter with authorization to do the work. I didn't bother to call. I had to pay $36 for a renting tirekicker. I called and cancelled my service immediately to stop the bleeding.

I just received an exact match lead from ServiceMagic from "Jane Doe" at ** Elm Street, Lincoln, NE. The lead fee was $75.00. How likely do you think it is that there is a Jane Doe at ** Elm Street? Not likely? You're right. There is no ** Elm Street in Lincoln, and the City Registry has not a single person named Jane Doe. Just about every address in the U.S. is now mapped. Certainly, they all are in Lincoln. How hard is it to verify that an address is real? I have been with ServiceMagic almost from the beginning and 70% of their leads are useless, but you still have to pay for them. Of the useful lead, we can sell 1/3. But these are fairly rare. I am just about ready to cancel.

After being with ServiceMagic for some time and had 20 plus leads that never panned out due to bad phone numbers or addresses, I decided to tell them to take a hike. Well, they were quiet for a few months, then started sending me leads again and billing me for them. I called them and hmm, no, there is no record of me canceling my services. On some of those, leads were supposed to be exact leads where I was to be the only one getting leads. Well, the real leads (2% of them) had other people from ServiceMagic. I think they just made up names and numbers in my area just to bill me and make it look like they were doing something for me. People, do not do business with these scam artists!

This company has a "bad feel" to it. They solicited my business a while ago and I wasn't interested. Lately, they have gone with national TV spots, so I started to consider using their service. At $17/lead, $25.50 for a dedicated lead where someone asks specifically for my company, I felt they might be worth it. Then, just days ago, I happened to google my company and found that it appeared in the paid advertising area with a link to - ServiceMagic! Even worse, when clicked, the person clicking gets: "While the Pro you are looking for is no longer accessible from this page, ServiceMagic can match your project to top-rated pros." This sounds like I was dropped from the company. It can be taken as a negative.

My experience hiring contractors through ServiceMagic has been a hit or miss. The really bad time (and last time) is the "electrician" who didn't fix anything, stole our checkbook, and forged a check after we refused to pay him! What kind of screening is that? On the flip side, I previously hired a bathroom contractor through Service Magic who turned out to be okay. He did a really beautiful job on the installation, but we had serious problems communicating what we wanted because he didn't understand a lot of English. In retrospect, I should have used recommendations from family and friends and followed up with the BBB. I won't be using SM again.

This company does not thoroughly screen those they recommend for service of any type in your home. If you happen to have good luck with them, it was a coincidence and not the rule. Way too many complaints to list here; however, most recently, they sent a company here for painting and tile work that were comprised of illegal aliens. I questioned them about it and they avoided the subject. I submitted a complaint to ServiceMagic who refused to publish my findings condoning laborers who work for registered ServiceMagic contractors to use unsponsored aliens primarily from Belarus, Romania, and the Ukraine to work as laborers. ServiceMagic dismissed it and refused to discuss it any further.

I agree with every other negative post I read. ServiceMagic overpromises quality "pre-screened" leads then under-delivers mere curious customer inquiries. These "leads" are simply tire kickers with no skin in the game; their decision to make a free internet inquiry comes to us in the form of a $33 charge with $0 return. Completely bogus. ServiceMagic salespeople also contacted the contractors we submitted as references to solicit more business for themselves! These are our business partners and they were not happy to receive this solicitation with our name attached.

ServiceMagic is truly a waste of time, money, and if you value your reputation you will want to steer clear. Let's start from the beginning with my experience. I signed up with ServiceMagic and right off the bat (same day), I started receiving leads. These leads appeared valuable and appeared to be qualified. I started going out to 3-4 leads per day and find that these homeowners had little to no intention on completing the projects. They merely wanted to know what it would cost. I followed up with these leads and learned that they decided not to complete any of the projects that they had provided.

Recently, I was looking to do some work on my home and saw a commercial for ServiceMagic. ServiceMagic is a company that helps you find local contractors to help with your job. They claim to have a "10-point" screening process that all contractors go through to be a part of that network. This is a very sore subject for me, as I know some people who have had their trust "violated" by those who have been let in their home to do work.

I called ServiceMagic for months trying to get help with a roof which was leaking because the contractor they sent could not fix the problem. I received no help from ServiceMagic. I was told numerous times someone would get back with me but never heard from anyone.

Our company became a vendor to refinish bathtubs in the Phoenix area since 1978. We paid for each lead we received, but many leads were from people who we already had appointments with or for a lead for service we did not provide. We were assured that if we got a bad lead, we would get credit toward a good lead. This never happened. After 3 months, I cancelled my participation, but spent the next year fighting additional lead fees applied to my credit card they use for service charges. They actually used my telephone number though their exchange to refer leads to a local competitor. They placed advertising controls on a local yellow page company so that I could not get new advertising until the ServiceMagic Exec. VP got involved and gave his approval. Good business model, but be very careful.

My husband, a carpenter and handyman, ** signed up with ServiceMagic. We spent a lot of time customizing his account - an entire day - to reflect his good character and superior abilities. They spent a lot of time interviewing Stephen, asked for his license and insurance, and called his references. I'd say about 25% of the leads turned into jobs and they were pretty good jobs. Plus, as everyone knows word of mouth is your very best marketing channel, the 4 leads/jobs we got from ServiceMagic have turned into other jobs. I have to say we're pretty happy with the service. I suspect some of these posts are from competitors.

I called ServiceMagic (referral company that works with a number of contractors) when my bathroom ceiling collapsed due to a leak that had not been fixed by my landlord. Joseph ** from Indoor Environmental Cleaning Systems (IECS) contacted me and set an appointment to come my apt the next day. He showed up with another person, looked at the ceiling and confirmed what I suspected, that I had mold in the ceiling. He asked me if I would like a mold sample to be tested at the lab from a piece of mold that he scraped off the ceiling. I said yes, definitely. He said that it would cost a little over $100.

ServiceMagic often gives bogus leads. They have a reputation for being disreputable. I would not recommend any contractor or customer to them. I use WorkTiger instead; it's free and a much better site. I would rather have free leads than bogus leads that I paid for!

The company made promises, and continue to advertise the same, that are totally untrue. They claim to give you qualified leads, but based on contacting over 50 leads, almost 100 percent were never qualified by ServiceMagic. They claim to only give the prospect leads' contact to 4 contractors, which has proven to be totally false. Most contacts told me that they had been contacted by numerous contractors. I would warn any contractor to not affiliate with this service.

ServiceMagic is stealing my company information and misleading website hits to "their" sites. They are ripping off contractors, copyright information and using this information without my consent. This company needs to be stopped immediately, if not sooner.

In 2003, my home building firm's sales manager set us up with this sham co. We gave them our co. Amex with the understanding that they would provide us prescreened, qualified leads. After about 3 mos., we realized that every lead we purchased was either impossible to contact or an unqualified dead end. We wasted several thousand dollars and cancelled their service in early 2004. Imagine my surprise when while surfing, I saw our co. name pop up in 2008. I clicked on it and to my surprise, I was sent to the ServiceMagic website, you know, the one with the bald guy dancing around. I could not believe this outfit would use our domain name to scam people to their site. To get them to stop, we had to hire an attorney. I wish I knew if it would pay to sue these crooks, but an attorney is expensive. Maybe we should join together in a class action?

In August 2005, I put in a request with ServiceMagic for a company to put a roof over my deck. I hired a company called Maintenance Made Simple that ServiceMagic recommended. This year, I have had to spend thousands of dollars to tear down the roof and make repairs. This company tied the deck roof to my existing roof with 2x4's and placed the support poles on top of the deck instead of the ground. This structure was not square. Eventually, the weight of the roof started pulling down my fascia and soffits. The birds had nested inside my roof and made a mess of everything including the insulation. Once the roof was torn down, we could see the damage to my support beams in the roof itself. Of course, I cannot find the company, Maintenance Made Simple, or the "engineer/manager" Janice **, assuming they are out of business. Anyone using Service Magic should do their own background check of the companies they use.

In April of 2009, my father wanted to have his porch done over. He contacted this certain company and they agreed to do it (verbally). The day they were supposed to start work, they never showed up. When my father tried to reach them by phone, the number had been disconnected. After two weeks had passed, my father hired another company. They patched up the porch and the job was done.

Promised many leads for individuals who were looking for reliable contractors. 95% of leads are not legitimate.We were told the individual would be given 3 leads of which we would be one. It is not their problem if the lead does not respond to the contractor's phone call. Perhaps we needed to run a special or call 411.com for more numbers for the lead. They could not control the customer who might decide they did not want to use ServiceMagic after putting in their requests. I responded these could not be considered legitimate leads. That was not their problem. I am contacting my charge card company and disputing charges for services not received.

Yo! All you people out there complaining about the stale or useless leads from ServiceMagic that you paid for, I'm going to let you in on the dirty little secret. Whether you're a contractor, lawn service, or whatever, that lead you purchased was also sold to at least twenty other companies offering your same services. After going through the same situation as described in most of these complaints, I decided to turn the table on ServiceMagic and entered a so-called "Job" as the consumer looking for a contractor. While I was still on the phone with them being so-called "qualified", my cell phone started ringing. They sold my lead to at least twenty contractors. I finally stopped answering my phone because this proved what I thought they were doing. ServiceMagic is a scam & they are raking all of our hard earned dollars, probably at about $1,000 per lead that they sell. And yes, cancelling their service is just as hard as getting a good lead from them.

I have come across this site (consumer affairs), and felt it was my obligation to inform you about ServiceMagic. You can read for yourself that ServiceMagic is not running an honest business. I have been in the landscaping business for 10 years, and I am currently trying to start my own company. I chose to use ServiceMagic to help with the leads. The leads run $20 for "market" matches, and $30 for "exact" matches. I set a $500 limit a month for advertising, and I felt that it would pay for itself being that the leads were supposed to be good. It turns out that the leads are usually dead ends, to many people, just wanting to see what it cost, "dreaming", and so on.

In response to all the contractors, complaining about ServiceMagic's customer's costing them dollars because they are not ready to sign and pay them on the spot or who were only researching the deal, isn't that the point of ServiceMagic? Responsible homeowners will research a project, get several bids and then hire the company they preferred. Perhaps, if you were less whiny and knew that free estimates are a part of your business, more of your free estimates would turn into work. Maybe the people matched to you through ServiceMagic didn't follow through, because they found someone better or who didn't have such entitlement issues. Just a thought.

Back in 2005, I was looking to do my kitchen remodeling, and they referred me to a company named D-Best Kitchens of Cleveland, Ohio. This company did a lousy job, the workmanship being very poor. The company's owner, Mr. David ** made several mistakes in measurements, resulting in the cabinets around the space where the refrigerator would go, being too low and too narrow, so my new side-by-side refrigerator was sitting in front of it.

Service Magic sent a convicted child molester in the state of GA (where we live) to finish my child's room! They knew about him in the past and did nothing about it. Now they won't even tell me how they are going to deal with this. They said to trust them and that something will happen. I taped all of our phone conversations and have proof of all the lies they have told me, but I don't know what else to do. This is unheard of. Please do not use their services ever. We are scared in our own home after this child molester saw all of our house and want to move!

I was sold an opportunity to receive job leads for my construction business. The leads were supposed to be for homeowners who had plans, permits, and financing in place as well as those within 25 miles of our location. I had to pay for these leads prior to receiving them. They never had plans, permits, and not within 25 miles. They were a complete waste of time and cost me money to go to the site and estimate.

After being contacted several times by Service Magic, I finally agreed to use their services, disservices. When I first signed up, my representative told me that the leads would run between $7 and $12, and I would only take 10 to start and see how well it worked. If I thought it was worth the money, then of course I would increase the leads. Well, the leads at first were worth it, not amazing, not earth shattering, but worth it all the same. I then started noticing more than the discussed charges on my bill. Still worth it, no complaints to Service Magic from my company. Soon the leads went from (worth it) to wild goose chases and bargain shoppers, not the quality clients that my representative had said (would be screened and put into a category that would be a perfect fit for my company). I then called Service Magic and let them know that if I was only going to close 1 or 2 out of 10 referrals, that the excessive charges would have to come off my bill in the future. This never happened.

I signed up for their lead service. I was told I would receive 5 leads a month under $25.00 per lead. They said they would waive my initiation fee of $100.00 dollars. They didn’t. Before I knew it, I had 15 leads over $700.00. I called my credit card as stolen because Service Magic was robbing me blind with their bogus leads. Now, they are going to report my last bill which they could not charge on my card to the credit bureau. What a scam!

I paid a fee of $100.00 to sign up with ServiceMagic and agreed to pay $50.00 per lead. After getting 5 to 6 bum leads, I asked to be removed from their service, but they persuaded me to stay by giving me credit for the existing leads. I then have done in-depth research, talked to service providers, and concluded that all the providers I talked to were paying up to and in excess of 50% of their net profits generated from ServiceMagic leads. ServiceMagic charges multiple providers for the same lead without ever qualifying the customers. The service is free for the customers, which attracts all sorts of tire kickers and time wasters. When I again called ServiceMagic and insisted I be removed from their service, they agreed. This was over a month ago. I have just received an email from them stating that they will be sending me more leads on 5/31/09 and charging my credit card automatically. How do I get rid of these shysters? Don't sign up with ServiceMagic; they are deceiving, dishonest thieves. ServiceMagic is a sham.

I'm a contractor and I joined up with this group several years ago. I paid for quite a number of leads, and got nothing but poorer. The leads were awful, similar to what one person stated, dreamers, people looking for pricing, people who weren't serious, you name it. I was unable to even contact a large number of the leads at all. And getting credit from Service Magic was extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. I think this service is a scam and I would warn any contractor to stay away. I am also convinced that the positive reviews I find are plants by the company. I think these people should be investigated.

In October of 08, I opened my 1st business and was looking for ways to expand my business. I looked at a site that might help (Service Magic). After typing in my name, business name and work phone number, I received a call from Lisa (Service Magic). Being new to business I was a little impressed by the response time (Boy, do I have a lot to learn)! After speaking with Lisa, we agreed to send each other info about our businesses. I sent my info the next day and to this day (May 28, 2009), I have not received their (Service Magic) info.

I enlisted ServiceMagic and in approximately three months' time, I received 5 leads and 2 of which were not authentic even by ServiceMagic's admission. The other three leads were questionable to say the least. Shortly after having received the two bogus leads, I called to question them on why my credit card had not shown a refund. I then learned that it is company policy to only credit back to my in-house account for future leads. I told them I was unsatisfied with their service and asked they please refund my money. They again refused to issue a refund to my credit card stating company policy. I find this type of business practice unconscionable and in bad faith. These are tough economic times and I am only looking to be treated fairly.

They were very aggressive in their sales promising leads that would be perfect for our business. We signed on but I refused to give them my credit card so they made accommodations and gave me a trial period and a small deposit or credit. The leads were obviously from individuals who were not ready, people who had low budgets with big dreams and folks who were thinking. I called and called and called and asked for a refund every time a lead was bogus. I run a small company and I don't have $12 to give away and to give free estimates to people who are looking for free advice.

I am using ServiceMagic as my sole source of advertising. I am getting good leads on a consistent basis. I have won over $75,000 worth of bids in the last 6 months. Their customer service is very helpful. If a lead does come through that is for a task that I don't do, they are prompt in refunding with another lead. I recommend this lead service to others.

I signed up for their lead service. I got a couple of good hits, mostly people wanting free estimates, which is hard to give on the phone for a broken heater or AC unit. I got several competitors trying to abuse the system. I got several renters who ServiceMagic says they do not allow to go through. They do not screen or care about your leads. They care about getting your money for a lead. If they do credit you back, they do in-house credit. It takes talking to at least 5 people to get things resolved. Their CSRs are very rude and could care less if you stay or go. They are very nice in the beginning; offer you help and free leads which never came through. Then they stop calling to check in.

I signed up with this company to get leads. They posted my business on Superpages/Citysearch/Local.com and more. I am in lawn care and they added to my websites that I do concrete work. I have had 4 of my old customers go elsewhere because they thought I changed my business. They still have me listed in Citysearch and I quit them 8 months ago... misleading customers.

This is a website online which I visited once, and since then, I have been deluged with emails. There does not seem to be any way to ask them to take me off their mailing list. My mail is always returned, and there is no contact button on their website.

All five leads were bogus. They refused to acknowledge the fact. Warning to anyone contemplating membership - you could end up paying $1,000 for one good lead. This isn't explained upfront. Waiving activation fee was a come on.

We signed up with Service Magic for so-called leads from homeowners. Service Magic DOES NOT screen these leads before they send them to you AND CHARGE YOU. I was charged anywhere from $12 to $75 for a so-called lead. I was sent a lead from someone who rented an apartment and had no authorization to even make any changes to the building she lived in and one of her comments made on her lead said that she was looking to spend little or next to nothing. I was charged $33 for this! What kind of lead is that? Other so-called leads were from people who you could never contact or just were not serious about work they wanted done. I called to have my account credited for these bogus leads. No one would ever return any of the phone calls and emails I was leaving day after day.

I have been a licensed contractor for 35 years, working mostly on referrals and return calls. A year ago, I signed up as a contractor with ServiceMagic. I have not received A SINGLE SOLID LEAD!!!!! Most of the time, I will return a call the same day I am contacted by ServiceMagic, only to be told "Oh, we're still thinking about it," or "We've decided not to do that now." On the very few occasions that I was able to receive an invitation, the client seemed only interested in the lowest price. ServiceMagic seems to be interested only in making their lead commission, not in pre-screening leads or providing a valuable service. I believe it was PT Barnum who said "There's a sucker born every minute," and I've been that sucker.

My son signed up for ServiceMagic leads and had to use my credit card. Well, when he did not pay my credit card bill, I called ServiceMagic and had them stop using my card, so I thought. Six months went by and we have been charged for leads, and they refuse to remove my credit card number. This service is month to month. You are able to cancel anytime, so I thought. Do not use them. It has cost $700.00 to a $1,000.00 and overcharges.

I started with this service in Nov. '08 under the impression I would be receiving qualified leads. They had a disclaimer for payment but the sales people stated the leads would be ready to go customers. I paid their fee and received the leads almost immediately. This was a bathroom remodel looking for budget numbers. All he wanted was a ballpark figure for summer 2009. That cost me $25. The second lead was for a roof replacement. We went to the site to do an estimate. This roof was a huge, steep Victorian in shambles and needed replacement years ago. After speaking with the owner, I knew there were no funds. I sent them to the County Dept of Community Development for a grant and offered to put a tarp on for $500. She didn't even have the money for that. I paid another $25 for her call.

I spent about $3500 on lead fees in one year and never was able to land one job. The system they use flat out sucks; they don't pre-screen leads as well as they say they do. Most people are just testing the system or just curious what something might cost. They waste your time and money because it doesn't cost them anything for you to go to their house and waste your time. Most leads don't even return your calls or emails - not what I call quality leads - and then their rating system is another farce. They wouldn't let me use past customers for ratings.

The referrals we received were nothing more than shoppers with no intention of utilizing services. ServiceMagic refuses to offer any credit, even when the shoppers did not even speak with us.

They provide leads for contractors. I am a general contractor. The problem is that they charge automatically on a Visa card for each lead, and they don't verify the leads or ask the prospect to register (like Kudzu.com). A really significant percentage of the leads are totally invalid. Some even have the provided phone disconnected. Most of them are not interested even on an appointment. Service Magic does not refund the money; they just issue a credit against future leads. We are canceling because this game is a loop; we have had not valid leads at all. They owe us $150 for 3 invalid leads since September 2008.

Most of ServiceMagic's contractors probably do a good job but beware. I submitted a mildly critical review of the services of one of them (landscaping). Instead of accepting and posting it, ServiceMagic construed my carefully-worded complaint as a offer to negotiate with the contractor. In brief, what consumers read on the ServiceMagic website is most likely closely screened praise-back, not real, honest feedback.

I use ServiceMagic to get leads from. I have been using them for three years now. I spend less with them than I spent on the Yellow Page ad I had for six years. I decided to post on here because after reading all of the complaints, I saw that you also ask for positive comments, even though your comment form suggests otherwise by asking only for the "perpetrator's" info. I get consistent quality leads from ServiceMagic and I now use them solely for my marketing. I get some bad leads, but I got more bad leads from my yellow page ad which I spent $500/mo. on.

We initially were interested in ServiceMagic and how they worked, i.e., giving you leads (for $55) and supposedly could enhance our business. After numerous telephone conversations and emails from their company representatives, we agreed to their $99 enrollment fee, although we stated a few concerns regarding our profile and not being able to access it to make changes to the areas where we wanted to accept leads, etc. We were told someone would be calling to help with that. A representative called me and I explained to him how the cities that were on our profile were not what we wanted, along with other concerns. I also asked if he could call me back on my home line (because due to the excessive calls from their salesman on my cell phone, I was using too many minutes) and he said, "Sure, I'll call you right back." I had stated that while I had given him my home number to call me, I did not want it added to my info on my profile. I waited for him to call me back and when it didn't happen in over an hour, I called and left a message for him to, once again, call me.

In an online survey from a cigarette advertiser, a screen came up that had me look at ServiceMagic screen and would not let me continue the survey. My dumb fault for doing online surveys. I didn't even send the the survey back. I cancelled out of the email, then half a dozen contractors called to do a job I never sent for. The advertiser used a pretty crooked tactic to get business and I have been had. ServiceMagic is a good company. I have used them before, but now I'll go to Angie's List because of the shady advertising tricks.

I am an architect and I get leads through ServiceMagic. The company solicits comment from customers that they call ratings and reviews. They use this to demonstrate that the quality delivered by those who buy leads from them are high. I have a high rating at ServiceMagic. I recently received a bad review and a comment that my client says she did not make. ServiceMagic is refusing to remove the negative false comment and requires that I submit proof that I am innocent by demonstrating the comment is false. That would be expensive for me. That policy is destructive. They publish the bad comment on my profile page which is the first thing a prospective customer looks at rather than the many positive comments my clients have actually made. The company engages in systemic error and does not act responsibly to remove false statements.

I was contractor with Service Magic. I had noticed they were sending me leads and charging me for them and they were for jobs that my company does not do ... I tried to call them and write to them by email but could not get any satisfaction. They also gave me the wrong log-on name 2x. Well, I finally had my credit card co. take back 2 payments ... and I emailed them to cancel my acct... Yeah right! Next thing I'm getting calls from a collection agency trying to collect the bill. Their customer service sucks and they have the nerve to check you out before becoming a member ... maybe they should do the same to themselves. My advice is to get another way to receive leads. We have many and we do very well without Service Magic. There is more to my story but you would not believe how we were treated by this company. I would like an attorney in Colorado to contact me. I'm going to do something about this.

Michael Rice Contracting - This company has gone by several names and been charged before. We were contacted by them through Service Magic while looking for someone to build a garage. The job was not completed, and we cannot get the company to call us back. We have $30,000 paid for no service. There are at least 6 complaints to this same account for the same man operating under various names at several thousand dollars each over 3 or 4 counties and 2 to 3 years. What are our options as far as legal advice and the possibility of any money return? Thank you.

We are a small residential service business and have been using Servicemagic.com since 2002. Over the years the service/leads we have paid for from Servicemagic.com have become more expensive and less reliable. With this said, we have recently come to a point were the service we rec. from them is bad and to a point of almost scam.

Hired a contractor (Phoenix Contracting) through Servicemagic, because they state that all their contractors go through a rigorous 10-point screening, as well as additional backgrounds checks. Also, they constantly monitor the contractors and if they don't live up to Servicemagic's standards, they are taken off the site. The contractor I hired took $27,500 to start the job, Aug 24th 2008. He never did any work and now refuses to return the money.

I am a small business owner with a contractors C license.They refused membership with their services staing I had to upgrade to a class B license.I have been checking the contractors whom they do employ,and found a number of them with the same class license as me.

This July (2007) I hired Bruce B of Premier Renovations & Constructions, Atlanta, GA, from an internet advertiser website (Service Magic) for the renovation of my house. His profile said he was a member of Better Business Bureau and he offered me left over marble from another job at a very low rate and I immediately fell for the fraud.

I was surfing the web looking for contractors. Somehow, they got my info from ServiceMagic. Peter C showed up to bid on the job. We checked his license and insurance and the BBB and Angies List. We did not see anything negative and gave him the job. We were under the impression that they do their own work and do not subcontract.

First of all, Aaron D is the sales representative for his father's business which is Denton Custom Construction which is located in Loveland, Ohio. Aaron uses a p.o. box for his address and a cell phone, but the company is listed with Service Magic where I got his number for an estimate for a split rail fence with a liner for my back yard.

I was referred to Air Force Design Corporation by Service Magic who offers a Web Service to find contractors in your area.

I hired Richard Schriner through an internet sight called Service Magic. He was hired to repair a leak in the roof of a new home I was purchasing. Well, I bought the home, moved in and scheduled the repair with Mr Schriner. He arrived late for every appointment we had, once over 9 hours late! The roof was supposedly done, but still leaks! So when I called Mr Schriner to tell him that the roof is still leaking, he said it can't be, I have never had a roof leak. It must be leaking in another place.

Mr. G of Class Act Painting lied to me abuot his team's experience with textured paints. In my online request from Service Magic I clearly asked for experience with textured paint. Mr. G said he had no problem with it. I took his word in good faith. His team did an unprofessional and sloppy job not only with the textured paint, but with the wall reapirs and prep. They left the apt a mess when they finished, painted over electrical outlets and switches, and got paint on the wood floors.

I contracted with American Roofco and Remodeling Services, LLC for a construction project on my home in 2003. This company was a member of ServiceMagic.com, from which I received the referral. He completed the project, I paid him in full, but am now being sued by a subcontractor (TrashKing) who was apparently never paid. (By the way, my contract with American Roofco stated that I would be held harmless for any subcontractor claims against me.)

On September 3, 2004 I contacted Service Magic a subsidiary of Lending Tree, Inc. in response to an internet advertisement that was emailed to me by them. After reviewing their material, three days later on Sept.6,2004 I responded to them via email indicating that I was not going to go forward with their offer. The reasons I gave had to do with my personal schedule at this time of year and the upcoming tax season for which I work as a tax practitioner. I just would not have the time to devote to their service, which would cost me $300. per mo. if I stayed with it.

i was told that they would give me a $15 per lead rate. first they charged my checking account $60 then they charged my checking account $30 per lead for a total of $150. my checking account became nsf and i was charged $30 everytime service magic charged my account.

Our first visit by Mr. Micheal P was around the end of May earily June of 2001. Mr. Micheal P knew that this room extention was for a class room for my daycare. I had told hime that the room had to be aleast 30square feet per child. And since I wanted 14 children for the Pre-kindergarten program. It had to be at least 400 square feet. I had told him that I need it done by September. After I couldn't come up with the money for the down payment. I told him i would have it my August of 2001. He told me, then the room would be finished by october and not September.