HomeAdvisor (Powered by Angi) Reviews

I contacted Service Magic to help me find a contractor to install 3 exterior doors and 2 screen doors. I was given a contractor by the name of David **, DBA Right Choice Home Improvements. David came to my house and gave me an estimate for the work. I hired David ** for the job. After the 1st day of work David did not complete the job, and stated that he would be back tomorrow to finish. David came back the next day to finish, and when I started pointing out that the door did not close properly, and the there were holes in the screen door were he drilled incorrectly, and the doors were not level, and the handles on the doors that he installed were not working correctly, he said he would have to come back again to fix.

An online company providing leads to contractors nationwide have many on my side ripping us off of our hard earned money. A scam. Need help out right stealing from our banks. Contacting anyone that can help. I think you would call this racketeering.Thank you. Please respond.

Service Magic contacted me by phone and led me to believe there were active business leads for interior decorating services in the Jacksonville, Oregon area. I signed up and agreed to a $99 activation fee. I cancelled my account with Service Magic by telephone and email within 24 hours of signing up by telephone with their representative, Keith.

Service Magic misleads contractors and customers alike. They say they offer free estimates. What they do is charge 3 contractors up to $100 each for your phone number and address. If all goes well great. The customer is happy and the contractor adds the $100 to the labor bill. As a contractor, many times customers get mad about me calling them, thinking they would get an email with an estimate. They have no idea they are not only taking money from contractors but wasting time.

When I tried to cancel this service because all the "leads" were [worthless], they wouldn't return calls or e-mails. They continued to take money out of my account every month. I had to close out my debit card, and get a new one. It was the only way to get these [people] from stealing my money. Service magic [is bad].

I was given this name from Service Magic for chimney cleaning. They cleaned the chimney and then proceeded to clean out the fireplace with their vacuum that exhausted black soot into the house. Every surface area in the great room, dining room, upstairs hallway, kitchen etc. was covered with black dust. All upholstered furniture, carpets, hardwood floors, tables, bookcases, dining chairs, all accessories, windows, window sills and grids, everything! I was yelling at him about all this and he was yelling back at me! He claimed it was a faulty vacuum cleaner. But then he was going to charge me for the service and I told him "no way". Write no charge for service. I was left with a black dust interior and had to clean all surfaces! My sectional sofa and area rugs and upholstered dining chairs all need to be professionally cleaned! I did not pay but was left with all the labor for cleaning up after their mess(!) and cleaning supplies!

I found a professional, screened and pre-approved wrought iron fence/gate contractor off the ServiceMagic site. It turns out that the contractor had recently started his business and was not very professional. They took my down payment and then took weeks before he showed up. When he finally did show up, he did unacceptable work.

One year ago, we joined with this company to begin to accept leads from them. We run a small residential construction company. We accepted and were charged for 24 leads over the course of the past 12 months, finding ourselves increasingly frustrated that only two of the leads ever returned our calls or e-mails. While this company might extensively screen the contractors who subsidize this service, they do not screen the clients who call in. In several instances, the phone #, name, or emails were bogus. We only received one refund. $1200 poorer, I am attempting to discontinue our service altogether with this company.

I went online with ServiceMagic to get names of landscapers to do a small job at my home. The search returned 3 contractors. I received 2 estimates and hadn't gotten the 3rd estimate from the suggested contractor. I received a phone call at work from one of the landscapers I had already gotten an estimate from. He stated that the job had been completed and went on to say how I could take care of the payment? I was in shock because I never agreed to give him the job. He simply did the work without my permission.

I was a contractor listed with ServiceMagic. They were sending me all kinds of leads and billing me for all of them. When I returned the customer's calls, they usually had an answering machine. They never called back. I was getting hammered with bills every month and getting no jobs. Thank God the nightmare is over.

Google and the above website are just two of many addresses on the Internet where ServiceMagic.com has used our name and address to direct our customers to themselves. We were a Contractor Pro with them until we noted that 95+% of the leads they sent us were not leads at all. Our attempts to contact their "Leads" were not fruitful and they continued to send us and bill us for leads for two (2) entire months after we requested to be deleted from their Contractor Pro rolls. We maintained their "Highest 5 Star Rating" the entire time we were with them. We did not have a single negative comment at all, nothing below their five Stars and yet they continued sending us "Bogus Leads." Every once in a while, they would "Pro Actively" credit us for a lead. We spent thousands of dollars with them and would be lucky if we even break even with them.

Service Magic is a service referral company that claims they vet or "screen" their vendors. In fact they do not. Anybody who pays the listing fee can become a vendor.

As an electrical contractor, I used ServiceMagic to get some customers. I have noticed and complained with them for charging me fees for leads which I never accepted. I have stopped doing business with them for about three years. They are stealing my customers. I want them to stop using my electrical corporation with their phone numbers. People are trying to locate me for electrical work and they end up with ServiceMagic. This is illegal. I need help to stop them.

I needed a new fence and I went through Service Magic and was referred to Joby B. Service Magic assured me that he was vetted and did excellent work. When he gave me a quote it was for cedar fencing. I told him I wanted this fence to be of good quality because the original fence the contractor put in in 2006 was falling apart and I wanted to put my house up for sale. The fence he put up lasted about 3 days and started to warp, split and twist.

So, I did my due diligence when signing up with ServiceMagic. I am a small cleaning business and can't afford to waste my money. While most people said their leads were **, I didn't find this. Sure, not all of them turned out to be jobs, and yeah, you had to work to get some people's business. My beef is with their sales people. I didn't find their pitch to be that honest. They weren't upfront at all with how much of my time would be required to get business.

I am the president of a licensed, insured, and accredited landscaping business with the BBB. I solicited Service Magic the first go 'round as a lead generating service. I was with them less than a year because they do not screen any of the leads. Anyhow, two years later, they contacted me and asked me to return as a client. The salesman had assured me that they were screening the leads that come in and stated that in the past, they did not. He admitted that previously the system had flaws and that they had been corrected. I didn't have to pay an annual fee or a first time fee, just return as a contractor. Well, I did. It was a huge mistake.

Stay as far away from this company as you can. I actually got an excellent contractor the first time I submitted for a job. I figured if this was the kind of contractors they had in their database, I wasn't going to hesitate to submit for bids to complete my concrete patio ($8200 job) and replace my deck ($9000). I went through the bid process, got all the info I needed and promptly fell hook, line and sinker for a concrete contractor that was horrible.

Service Magic has the worst service in the world. With their hook, line and sinker approach just to nab the sale and not caring about either side of their client base. This company has been reported to the labor board in six states and needs to be abolished. Thanks, Service Magic, for keeping it fresh in all of our minds that there are great scamming businesses that reside right here on our own soil taking advantage of the poor American small business. Do not use their services! Service Magic prodded and prodded me to use their services, so when I finally broke down and agreed, seven months after hearing from them at least once a week, they took my money and cancelled my membership for reasons unknown. What a scam.

While completing a couple of repairs for which this person was hired, he broke off eleven inches of my front stoop that I had just paid someone else to stain. Mr. ** said he would fix it. That was about six weeks ago and whenever I call him, he makes excuses. But he never shows up as promised. I will now have to pay someone to redo the entire front porch. I am a senior citizen, physically disabled, without family or any help, and was laid off this past January. I am furious. I have had it with the ineptitude that seems to pervade this state.

I have the same story as all of the others. Service Magic referred this company to me that completely lied to me and took my money. They did a horrible job and agreed to redo the work. Instead, they sent me a check for $100 to service as a refund. But to redo the job was going to be around $1000. I got five different estimates to support this and mailed it to Service Magic.

I gave my info to Service Magic and within minutes Phil ** called and came with his father. I felt that Service Magic would refer a quality and trustworthy concrete installer. I signed a contract and within 10 days the work was started. They dug up the concrete driveway and replaced it with a stamped pattern. I had chosen a different pattern but Phil strongly suggested changing it. In the contract he agreed to overlay my porch and also changed the color and broom finished instead. The driveway was satisfactory but the porch looked like amateurs did it and what can you do with it. I contacted Service Magic and they did nothing about my displeasure. To top it off, I am receiving bills from Maryland Concrete Co even though I paid over thousands to Phil ** for the complete job. To say I am disappointed in Service Magic and the Bailey Bros. is an understatement. If one person hesitates to use either of these services, this note will be worth it.

I'm an accredited Chicago painting/remodeling contractor with good record on BBB and many solid customer referrals. I have been in business for 15 years. I heard of ServiceMagic and decided to check them out to see if they could generate more business for me. I started the sign up process, but quit because ServiceMagic, an advertising company, is collecting social security numbers supposedly for background checks. I know better than to divulge such information to anyone, especially some advertising company. So I did not sign up. What happened later is what prompted me to write this complaint.

Their leads are predominantly bad, unqualified leads. Over and over again they charged or attempted to charge us for leads that were wrong address, wrong phone number, and wrong email addresses. Often the "customer contact" didn't even own the property in question and had no authority to make any improvements to it. When we finally gave up on these losers, they refused, yes, refused, to stop sending and charging us for leads after we told them several times that we no longer would be using their service. I finally had to change my credit card number so that they couldn't charge it anymore.

In September of 2008, I typed in my info to look for a builder. Service Magic contacted Albert ** of Hicks Renovations. We signed a contract for him to build a two story house with a basement. One month after digging, he told me he spent my $85,000 on another job and had no money to continue. He asked me for another $50,00 loan. I refused. He continued to dig out the basement but had no idea how to do the foundations or underpinnings. So he left me with an 18 foot by 43 foot hole filed with water.

I am a general contractor that used the services of the firm Service Magic, a provider of job leads to contractors. My experience with Service Magic is no different from the many complaints already listed about them on the Consumer Affairs website. My personal complaint is that I agreed over the phone to authorize them to charge me $150 a month, directly out of my personal checking account, starting in February 2010. This would pay for about 3 or 4 job leads. By the end of April, they had over-drafted my account by over $1000, by charging me extra fees that I had never authorized and was unaware of. I tried to resolve this issue directly with them with no success.

They give false construction leads and charge for it. One time, we contacted customer asked to have his home vinyl sided. The customer laughed stated that he is a siding contractor, did the work himself in 2008 and sold the home. Service Magic gave us a lot of deck estimates to do along with 3 or 4 other contractors, also gave us leads that we did not apply for and were charged.

Waste of money, unqualified leads only generates for ServiceMagic. Any fool can fill out requests online and hit "enter". How young are the people you know who go to the internet? And then you get charged $90 for whim, no returned phone calls. Also they bait with requests for leads "over your market" quote and then charge for an extra fee!

I contacted ServiceMagic to grow my business, but ended up losing money with this company. The leads they gave me were also given to 5 or more other companies and some of them were bogus leads and they still charged me money. Absolutely refused to credit my account even when the customers informed me they made a mistake! Not only that, they took their time in responding to my complaints and then it was only a computer generated one! Never had the decency to speak to me anymore once my account was setup and they were taking my money. This company is horrible! I lost money and time and overall it was a bad experience. I cannot recommend them to a consumer or buyer. This company appears to be a big scam.

I foolishly used Service Magic. I ended up with Schaefer Remodeling for siding and window job. I signed a contract on April 20, 2010. I paid 30% upfront. May 7th, he was to start the job. He took the money and I have not heard from him. He gave me the copy of his license, his insurance and a copy of all customer's rating (by which are all false, I discovered it later).

My mom was referred to H.E. Rogers Construction through ServiceMagic. He did several projects at our second home in Steamboat Springs, a few of which we did not authorize him to do. Every single project that he did needed to be fixed. Most projects are still incomplete and were already paid for. Considering how much over budget he went, we were really hoping for top quality work. What we got was the exact opposite. He tried unsuccessfully to refinish our hardwood floors 4 different times. He is clearly an incompetent contractor.

I foolishly used the internet to schedule a window and gutter cleaning. Tonight the man called to say he could come tomorrow to do the gutters since he "would be in the area.” Trying to penetrate his fog, I replied that we already had an appointment for tomorrow. His brain was not even tracking enough to know what day it was. Needless to say, I cancelled before I let this person case my house. Do not trust this company!

I used Service Magic to hire a contractor to build the three beddings around my patio and plant some trees, which was a very simple job. As a result, I had a bad experience with the incompetent contractor, GroundTec, LLP. Michael * is the president and the only employee from what I have seen. This job was completed poorly and not the way I told him to do it (I just didn't have time to babysit him). I would not recommend this contractor and/or Magic Service to anyone. Their "pre-creening" process is nothing but a part of sweet talking. Make sure every small task is listed in the contract (even if this is not signed one, as per Service Magic view). I will never will use the Service Magic again because they are useless! There is nothing they can or will do if a contractor screwed up. So I wasted over one month of my time by trying to e-mail and call them to complain about Groundtech Inc. from Warminster, PA. Watch out for this contractor!

I would say don't blame Service Magic for an incompetent contractor. Search out the contractor on your own. I made mistakes and listen to sweet talking contractors. One, look at the equipment and his employees before you hire. Two, don't give any upfront money, even if the contractor says, "I need some upfront money." Say no and look for another if he disagrees. No money down whatsoever. You will pay all when the job is complete.

I had purchased the tile, hardi board and grout for my kitchen floor which is approx 13x24. I went on servicemagic.com and they gave me names of qualified tile installers. I had David ** to do the tile work. My floor is ruined unless I can find someone to take up and put back down quite a number of tile that are not level and are approx. 1/4 inch higher on one side and I keep tripping over them. He also did not use spacers as the grout areas are all different sizes. I had to also speak to this person about leaving my stove 1/2 half inch slanted to one side and my refrigerator is also slanting to one side. My floor was level and plumb before he started and I have a witness to that. I also had to call him back to seal the floor properly over again. He did not start work when he promised to and he also showed up late and with a girl friend that after I found her on my premises he brought in and said she was his helper. I am a woman alone and a senior citizen and don't feel I can trust him to come back into my home ever again. I would be grateful for any assistance I can get. Thank you for your time. I find this extremely nerve racking and stressful. I have tried to find a telephone number for Servicemagic but there is none.

I get a call from a service magic rep offering "quality leads" and that I can limit the amount I spend. I spoke to a customer rep and that other companies had a 70% to 80% closure rates. After several months, I decided to join. First mistake, I received four leads in two weeks and I could not even get a hold of the customers through the phone or email. I called customer service and they told me that a 1 of 10 is normal and they would not refund my fees. Stupid me decided to hold off a little more and got three more of same and called to cancel. At that point, they credit me the last three leads. Shortly after that I received three more crap leads and cancelled finally. This company has great advertising but the quality of the leads are nothing but lies. I got hit either seven or eight leads at $13 each. I cut my losses after my wife made me see the light.

I was approached by Service Magic with a convincing sales pitch. After a few months I started seeing the truth through their convincing but misleading sales pitch. Details are below:

A rep from ServiceMagic somehow had taken information about me and has attempted to create an account with my company name and phone number to solicit service and goods without my consent. I received an email with a password and phone number via email without even visiting their website and or signing up for such! During a job search, they have collected information and called me to solicit their service trying to get credit card info to purchase services, good, advertising. I explained that I had not contacted or wanted their predatory practices or be involved in such due to the information about them on your website (consumeraffairs.com) and my fellow small business owners, contractors who also have complained about the predatory practices of this website, ServiceMagic.com and reps. I would hate a bad rap for surfing the internet due to lack of work in my area. Again, I did not sign up for an account, emails, services, newsletters, etc. yet an account was created without my consent.

ServiceMagic provides mostly junk leads from people who do not respond to phone calls or email or are not serious about going forward with a project. Over the past two years I have gotten 20 plus "leads" from ServiceMagic for architectural services. Exactly one resulted in an actual job. I was only able to actually speak with 5 of the leads and those were only tire kickers. If ServiceMagic would contact the lead to verify they are real and actually interested in the service they inquired about, the lead quality would be vastly improved, but obviously they take in much more money by providing junk leads to their "service professionals". ServiceMagic is a complete waste of time and money. I spent $700 for one lead and spent a lot of time chasing people who had no interest in my services.

Does ServiceMagic really screen their contractors? What if a contractor referred through them and commits fraud? Can we hold ServiceMagic responsible? They are a big firm. Would their high paid attorney save them even when a home owner is robbed by the contractor ServiceMagic refers?

Service Magic contacted me a few months back, and I was not interested in their service. After two months, I reconsidered base on the statement that there are no long term contracts, and the membership can be discontinued at any time. This is false and misleading. They will drag this out for months. This is what I found. Service Magic promises quality "pre-screened" leads, but this is completely bogus. None of the leads I received was valid. Either the consumers never responded to phone calls or emails, or the one that did answer the call was ** off, because of all the calls they had received from other Service Magic providers.

I have had nothing but success since signing up with these folks. One bad lead that had nothing to do with my services and it was corrected. I found the customer service people to be pleasant and courteous. My leads have been good and my customers have been happy.

Like almost all of the other complaints and stories listed to date, my experience with Service Magic mirrors the rest.

I signed up with Service Magic about less than 2 months. I pondered for a while whether or not to give it a try. Then I finally made my mind up to just do it. So I started off by doing the minimum of $250 a month to receive leads from them. Long story short, three leads got no answers and then on the fourth lead the lady was wondering why Service Magic was still having contractors to call on a project she changed her mind on doing 4 months ago.

I submitted request for lawn aeration and as promised got three companies to return phone calls. After talking to all three I chose one and set up a specific time and date for them to come. Well, they showed up 2 hours early after I told them that no one would be home and that we needed to be home so that they could get into the back yard. This company only finished the front yard. I attempted 5 times to make appointments with them to finish the work and every time they missed an appointment they had some new excuse.

After canceling their service (and canceling my credit card), they started using my registered business name and address with, yep, their phone number on search engines. And since they pay for these ads, they get listed first. I have called them. They assure me it was an accident. Bull! It has only gotten worse. I have filed a complaint with the Attorney General and everyone else who has been ripped off should, too. I have screen shots of my registered business name and my address with their phone number and a link to their site.

We submitted our information to Service Magic in February 2010, to get bids on finishing our basement in Commerce City, Colorado. We had several calls right from the start, and bids that came along with it. Then yesterday, March 18, we received a call from Simmons Construction to set up a bid. The problem is, we are already done with our basement! One month later, we get a call for scheduling a bid? The worst part of it is when my wife told the guy, that we no longer need bids, and that we are done. The guy got rude with her, saying it costs them $75 to call us, and that we are at fault! That is totally unprofessional! Dude, you snooze, you lose! Don't wait 1 month to call me, when I'm interested in finishing my basement right away! You'll never get the sale that way! I would need to reconsider ever using Fast.Service Magic again in the future, because of that **.

I am a painting contractor in Northern California and found this company through some advertising. We contacted them in hopes of drumming up some business and were sold a service we thought sounded very good. Boy, we were wrong! We were told that if we pay the onetime fee of $99 dollars that it would get us up and running. Well that part was true but the rest has taken us for about 300 dollars and they are still trying to take more even though we have the so called leads turned off.

I went online to Service Magic. So John ** called at my home, and I told him I had a problem with my flood light. He said that I need a sensor and I said okay and that I want him to put a new door handle on my storm door. He said okay and I said how much would it be to fix them. He said $125. So we went outside. As he started up the ladder, the light came on.

I've been with ServiceMagic for several years. Yes, they're not perfect and constantly doing dumb things, but still it has value if you use them with limited expectations. I have noticed that with my Handyman and other designations, someone inside the company has deleted an internal link that would send these leads to me. Well, go figure. The national and international trade companies must be buying their way inside the workings of ServiceMagic.

Service Magic is a registered scam. They are currently being investigated by the District Attorney in California. Beware of any agreements you make with them. They are dangerous.

My husband is a remodeling contractor. Due to the economic downturn, work was slowing. We were contacted by ServiceMagic and offered a package deal for leads on jobs in our area. It would cost us $450 [non refundable], our first mistake. Not a single lead panned out. Bogus phone numbers and emails. One woman agreed to meet him and then wasn't home. He would call promptly when a lead was offered. No one ever called back. I would email these people and ask politely if they had chosen a contractor or even changed their minds, if they would kindly let us know since we were being charged for their lead regardless. Nothing.

I have become overwhelmed with complaints of what ServiceMagic gets away with and how much they charge. Our small company spent nearly $95,000 in advertising in 2008 and part of 2009. Out of all the advertising we've done, and we've done it all, ServiceMagic was the biggest waste of money. I would be the contractor that had my account set up for automatic calls and I would be talking to the homeowner while they still sat at the computer. We averaged "maybe" one appointment out of every 10 leads. Thousands upon thousands of dollars were wasted with ServiceMagic and our leads averaged $50 a pop!

Service Magic was selling my leads and customers to my competitors. They sell bad lead. Contractors beware. We’ve lost business and customers that were redirected to competitors.

They are a contractor referral service. They have charged me for bad leads and would not issue credits. They are taking my good name and selling it to my competitors. They need to be stopped. If you are a contractor, beware. They will rip you off. They are bandits. I have lost business, lost work.

Service Magic took 413 pounds out of my account and it should have been 150 pounds. I received 26 leads but 16 of them did not reply to any phone calls, emails or text messages. I phoned Service Magic and was told the leads are correct and I will not receive any repayments. The next step will be court for fraud. I lost 263 pounds for untrue leads. Service Magic are con men do not use.

Service Magic charged me, the contractor for bad leads. I repeatedly called the rep that "credited the account", never did they refund. We had several calls, several bad leads and they were not qualified leads. Some prospects screamed at me for old (one as much as a year old lead) leads and not soliciting the request. Service Magic after threatening press and attorney involvement assured me they would refund and clear the debt. I am now in collections with no end in sight.

I stupidly put my number in their system because I do need help, but not realizing that I would get harassing calls from the people they picked. In the small print, it said that I would receive the list and call the people myself. Well, these people are so annoying, they will not stop calling me even though I asked them not to and have resorted to blocking some of them off my phone. I may need help, but I'm not about to be murdered for letting a stranger inside my home, that is what I fear due to the calls.

I am an actor in a commercial for a company called "Service Magic". I was paid a small fee for the shoot day and told it would only be airing in the Chicago area. To my surprise, I started getting calls from friends of mine in Seattle, St. Louis, New York City, Kansas City, and Detroit saying they had seen my commercial. I then realized they were playing this commercial nationally, and it is still being played a year later. This was a non-union commercial and normally there is a "buyout" for this type of usage. It varies anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. If this had been a union job, I estimate I would have been paid $25,000.

I signed up for Service Magic which is a website company which acts as agents to introduce people who need building companies to builders. I signed up, and they promised to provide services to me. I have had no work from them. As I wasn't receiving work, they said that I wouldn't be changed, only when they send me work.

I am a contractor who agreed to pay for leads and referrals. I also agreed to pay up to $42. They now charge $52. Many leads are bogus--bogus name and telephone. Unable to contact, this resulted in dead ends. When calling to complain, they act as if it's part of the deal. It's hard to get them to stop charging your credit card. It's hard to turn them off. As a consequence, I spent money on nothing, and I have low-quality referrals with much too much competition.

I started with Service Magic and got lots of leads in 2 months. Only one of them turned into work. Many times I would call, and people would not answer phone or e-mail. Most of their leads are people "just playing around on the computer" to quote one of their leads.

Service Magic is a complete scam. I agreed on a 300 a month limit with them before Christmas. They sent through lots of supposed leads and I followed every one up. Not one came to anything so I canceled the contract with them after a month. They kept on taking money from my account and wouldn't respond to my calls and emails. I reported them to Trading Standards, the fraud department at Barclays and am now pursuing them through the courts to get my money back. Beware! They're still taking money from my account!

ServiceMagic is a scam. They tell you only four contractors will get the lead you pay for, but the truth is they give it to as many as they want. On the second lead I went on, the customer said he got six contractors calling him within 30 minutes of calling ServiceMagic. When I called ServiceMagic to complain, they lied then tried to spin it like a sales person. Then they transferred me to a supervisor who, after arguing with me, admitted that more than four get the lead, then backpedaled and denied that he said that. Then he said it didn't matter if 10 people got the lead even though that's not what they tell you to get you to sign up. Do not use this service. It is a waste of time and money.

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.