Hibu, Inc

Review: Stole $3,000!! [redacted] scam" before giving them any money! Dishonest, unresponsive thieves.

My local [redacted] sales rep is honest, intelligent, and a valued marketing advisor for my family's small business. I verbally agreed to a 6month trial period of a new product, a print ad in a new local content magazine. They always have these very long contracts with lots of signatures required - I signed where I was asked because I trusted my rep that his company would proceed as he said they would, and uphold our verbal agreement as we'd done several times in the past. The results were horrifying: my cc was billed automatically, I never received a request to produce the ad, never received a proof, and never received a copy of the publication before it dropped. I finally got a copy of the magazine in its 2nd or 3rd edition in the regular mail, happened to read it and saw an ad for my business that I had never approved or even seen. I contacted my sales rep, who travels extensively and has a large support staff to help out. He said someone would get back to me. I never heard from anyone. I contacted him again about 6wks later. He called me personally, and assured me he was taking this matter up the chain at his company and that he would help to resolve it that day according to my wishes. I simply wanted a credit OR extra ads to replace the ads I never approved. Oh, by this time he'd told me that our verbal 6mo agreement somehow became a 12mos contract. Someone I didn't know emailed me a few days later (not that day) offering a 20% credit. Obviously by this point, I had no confidence in their integrity or ability to respond and deliver a product that meets my standards - so I responded that 20% was unacceptable and that they needed to credit me in full AND cancel their ridiculous contract. This stranger responded that he would pass along my complaint, but could not help me with that resolution. I got a call from my sales rep's manager over a week later. I explained that I'd been very clear, that only one resolution would work for me and that was to cancel my contract with full credit; I asked if she could do this. She said no. I explained that I wasn't willing to give her company any more of my time (I operate a small family business!) and wanted her to put me in touch with someone who could actually do what I needed. She refused to do anything more than explain to me how she would "email customer service dept" and "check the records". I finally had to hang up while she was still talking, because she certainly wasn't listening. [redacted], and company email have yielded still no response from the company (in addition to a phone call to the RVP, [redacted]).Desired Settlement: The only resolution is a full refund of any charges for the magazine ad, and a cancellation of the remainder of the contract. This is a dishonest deal, and [redacted] stole $3,000 from my company.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]

This will confirm receipt of your letter dated April 11, 2013 regarding the advertising concern for [redacted].

As a result of your letter I have reviewed the information on this account and have found an investigation was opened April 11, 2013 regarding the customer not receiving proofs and never approving the ads before publishing in the [redacted] Magazine. At this time the customer received a 100% credit of magazines that published to date, an adjustment for $1245. On April 15, 2013 the remaining line items were cancelled. Once the line items are canceled the ads no longer publish nor will they bill the customer.

April 12, 2013 a Presidential Complaint was received. At this point the customer was contacted but due to the business not being opened for the day a message was left with answering service requesting a callback. Later this day an email was received from [redacted] which indicated “she has spoke with the sales representative and they are setting up a call for next week. My complaint regarding the magazine contract was finally resolved today. “

The customer was sent an email April 15, 2013 advising them of the adjustment/refund and the cancellation of the magazine product.

We apologize to [redacted] for any inconvenience this error may have caused.

Sincerely,

Executive Services Specialist

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

I have also opened a new complaint with the same business, for a similar incident in which we verbally agreed to a 6-month trial of their product, and were told 6+ months into the period that we were obligated to a 12-month contract. This incident occurred in another department of our company, and I was not aware of the surrounding details until today. I hope that [redacted] will abide our wishes and cancel the contract. If they refuse, we will dispute charges with our credit card company and file another Revdex.com complaint. I was dismayed in my online research to find the number of "scam" accusations that have been alleged against [redacted], and wish that I had done that research before deciding to conduct business with them.

While the resolution is satisfactory, the fact that this problem occurred at all is not. I am encouraged by a call with [redacted]'s Chief Customer Experience Officer that he will use my terrible experience to change the culture of his company to one of transparency and customer satisfaction. If, but ONLY if, this improvement is demonstrated, I will consider doing business with [redacted] again in the future.

Regards,

Review: I had signed up in 2011-2012 to advertise my small business through a rep for the company yellowbook. After my contract ended I had decided I no longer needed their advertisement as it really was a waste of money, and didn't really help much. When my rep came in he told me I had a small balance and then I was finished because I told him I no longer wanted their advertisement. He asked me to sign after my payment, assuming that would be the end I signed and he left. However, it seems what he actually wanted my signature for was to renew my contract when I specifically said I no longer wanted it. This was in November, I spent a couple of months calling my rep multiple times, only to get the runaround each time. He would say he would give me a call back, and then I would never get a call back. This went on for a couple months. Today, I checked my email and got yet another bill reminder (which I still have been paying every month) and I got fed up. I contacted yellowbook and explained to them what was going on and they basically told me that I had to continue these payments. The worst part is, that the phone number that directs customers looking at my add to my store number hasn't been active for 6 months. Not only have I been paying for a contract I DID NOT WANT, I am not even receiving what I am paying for. On top of that, my rep is no longer with the company. Basically i'm stuck in a contract I was tricked in to signing for, and I am paying for a service that I am not only NOT getting, but one that I don't need.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for every payment I have made since november of 2012, and for this contract to be voided out. However I will honestly accept just the contract being voided if I cannot be refunded

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: My first complaint with the local Hibu magazines is that they shut down the publications only 2 weeks after charging me a $398 ad cancellation penalty. Then they harassed me (including delinquency notices) for the next 6 weeks for another $398 payment I did not owe, but billed me anyway on 5/7/14. I had to fight to get that billing reversed after they "researched" the problem. Now I am fighting to get a $30 late fee reversed from 5/15/14 on the payment I never owed. I had to send Hibu my credit card statement to prove the $30 charge because they can't find a record of it. I still don't have my refund.

Product_Or_Service: Magazine ads

Account_Number: [redacted]Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

The $30 fee is to be refunded and I never want to deal with Hibu ever again. For all the time I have had to spend in the last 60 days dealing with their harassment and mistakes, they should be refunding my $398 penalty as well.

Business

Response:

6/11/2014

Review: Internet marketing service was hired and paid for 3 months. During 3 months requests for work status and progress was requested and no response was give. They were unable to show any proof of work for the money spent. Requests to cancel contract was ignored and continue to charge my credit card.Desired Settlement: Refund of $1000 for paid expenses for internet marketing or will take for proof that work was actually completed on my account.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: I received a bogus bill for $493,82 stating that I was sold this Yellow Business Book ad on January 24, 2014. I did no such thing.I received this bill in the mail Monday, February 3, 2014. I called this company (###-###-####) today, February 4, 2014, and only got a voice mail where I left a message. I also faxed them the bill and a attached note stating that this was a bogus bill and that I expected a letter back from them absolving me of this matter. In addition, I informed them I was going to report this fraudulent activity to the Revdex.com which I now doing.Desired Settlement: I want a letter from this company completed absolving me from this bill, and I want them to be investigated so that they don't do this to other professionals, not just in my field of Speech Pathology, but in other fields as well..Thanks you.[redacted]Licensed Speech Pathologist[redacted], and Ca. Lic. #[redacted]

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: I met a sales rep named [redacted] Jan. 16, 2013 and we discussed how I wanted a website for my property management company. I was told how the website would be designed, all the bells and whistles per say, how prospective clients could Google the "key tags" for homes for rent, houses for rent, etc for the cities I do business in and my website would pop up and the person could click on my name/site and if interested make contact.

I have personally sat for hours and keyed in, homes for rent, [redacted], KS...Houses for rent, [redacted], KS, homes for rent, [redacted], KS [redacted], KS etc and no where does my website appear. The only way I have been able to find my website is to type in the full website address www.colepropertymanagementks.com to see the information for my business.

I have asked for a "counter" to see how any people see my site, one day it is 63, the next 47, so the "counter" is bogus.

I pay $89.00 per month for a one year contract. I am paying a price for a website that is NOT as promised and is "dormant" in the Internet search engines and of no use to me.

I have contacted [redacted] and a [redacted] about my issues and complaints and all I receive are emails and a phone call with unfulfilled promises of how this will be resolved.

The last email was August 20th with a response of an answer that afternoon, which was a week ago, so I sent another email this morning.

At this point, I am thinking of stopping payment and then explain the complaint to the credit bureaus as I do not feel I should have to pay for a website that is no use, not put out in the Internet to be seen, nor is a product of what was promised just to get the consumer to sign up and take their money and not give quality customer service as promised.Desired Settlement: I am requesting a credit of the last 4 months that there has not been a proper website available as promised, to have the website properly available as we discussed in the initial meeting for the next 8 months until this contract will be completed to the satisfaction of both parties.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

This will confirm receipt of the customer letter dated August 28, 2013 regarding the advertising concern for [redacted].

During my review I found that a sales manager with hibu was working to resolve this situation for the customer. On August 28, 2013 there was a $445 adjustment posted to the account. This is a full adjustment for the 5 months the products billed. The customer will be receiving a $445 refund in the same manor that the payments were made. I have also found that the products have been canceled so there will be no billing on this account going forward.

I have contacted [redacted] to discuss my findings but ended up leaving her a voice message with this explanation. I will be sending [redacted] a settlement letter to E-mail [redacted], which is for her records. We apologize to [redacted] for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely,

Executive Services Specialist

###-###-#### x [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because :I received an email from [redacted] that was forwarded from [redacted] with the following information:

8/28/2013

Review: I agreed to publish an advertisement in the YellowBook as long as the advertisement clearly stated that I do not accept insurance payments. Yellow Book has published the number online without prominently listing the exception. As a consequence I receive calls from people who are not potential clients. I have asked YellowBook to remove that online ad, but they state that it is impossible. Since I agreed to a pay-per-call contract (theoretically only paying for calls from people who knew up front that I do not currently take insurance), the failure to list the exception creates unnecessary work for me, having to answer calls and speak to people already in distress only to tell them that I do not take insurance. I have not yet received a single call from a person who got the number from the print ad and was aware of the self-pay exception.Desired Settlement: Ideally, the contract would be cancelled altogether as they expect me to pay for a service that I did not agree to, want, or need. Due to the online listing I now have to review each call and explain to the salesman why I will not pay. For my hassle of handling these calls, I really do not think I owe YellowBook any payment at all even if I were to get the three new clients the sales man estimated that the print ad would produce.

Barring that 1) Remove the online listing. 2) Protect my credit score from any future allegations from YellowBook 3) Gain assurance that no future listings/remote call numbers will be created for my business 4) Gain assurance that the salesman will honor his word and remove all calls that come from people who do not intend to self-pay 5) Gain assurance that wrong numbers, hang ups, repeat dials and other irrelevant calls will be deleted from the bill just as the salesman described. 6) I will not have to pre-pay the billed calls while YellowBook assesses whether or not they are valid calls.No late fees or consequences to my credit for disputed calls. 7) I will only have to pay for calls from potential clients who are willing to self-pay.

Business

Response:

Please find attached hibu's response to complaint ID [redacted]. Thanks,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I was initialling told by YellowBook that the online listing could not be removed. I am very pleased that [redacted]/YellowBook was, in fact, able to remove the listing despite the initial denial. I am now awaiting the 5-7 days for it do be gone. I am also pleased that [redacted]/YellowBook removed 9 of the 15 calls originally billed, conceding that they were invalid. I agree that they should not have been billed. I let [redacted] know that we can review the other six calls and future calls after the posting is down. I do not know why she said that I refused any thing but a "full adjustment". I said no such thing.

Regards,

Review: Representative from Hibu in the name of [redacted] had us for advertising, but we didn’t agree to move forward with the contract. The contact was had been filled in with necessary information and charge card information filled in also. Upon reviewing the contact, concern over the terms had arise and couldn’t move forward with signing the contact. [redacted] stated he was able to secure the advertisement offer for reconsideration up to 14 days, but his request declined.

Following the initial contact with [redacted] on 4/22/13, a copy of the contact arrived through email on 4/29/13 with a fraudulent signature. This prompted a phone call to [redacted], Customer Service Investigations representative to immediately request termination of the contact, but [redacted] insisted that we make a cancellation request even when he was informed of the fraudulent signature. Shortly after the call to Customer Service Investigations, a call was received from [redacted] asking if the advertisement was in request for cancellation and this was true. [redacted] stated he will make the cancellation request, but a call received on 6/26/13 regarding billing on the advertisement suggests that a cancelation was never the intent.

The person’s name used on the contract does exist, but at another location and not at the contracted address. There’s reason to believe that improper sales practices are apparent and I hope this situation is reprimanded.Desired Settlement: An immediate termination of contact to settle the above situation is requested. Please mail a notice of cancelation for records.

Business

Response:

6/28/13

Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC and Eastern Pennsylvania

1880 John F Kennedy Blvd Suite 1330

Philadelphia, PA 19103

RE: Revdex.com Number: [redacted]/ reboot

[redacted]

Review: This complaint is in regard to Yellowbook. Our business, [redacted], has had multiple incorrect listings in Yellowbook, despite repeated contact with the company. In the 2010-2011 Yellowbook, our address and phone number was listed incorrectly as it had changed. (We had moved to a new location in May 2009, but other books had the correct information.) Yellowbook still listed our old location and phone number, which belonged to a competitor bank that purchased our previous location. I called and had the listing corrected and it was correct in the 2011-2012 Yellowbook. However, in the 2012-2013 Yellowbook, they reverted to the old phone number and listed the competitor phone number as ours! I again called to correct the information, which was corrected online, but of course, nothing could be done about the incorrect printed book. In the fall of 2012, I was contacted by [redacted], a media consultant and client services representative. Her address on her business card is [redacted]. I met with [redacted] for about 30 minutes regarding potential advertising in Yellowbook and I explained to her the difficulty we had previously had with our listing and asked if she would be able to make sure our listing was correct. However, I told her we would consider Yellowbook advertising as part of our budgeting process. When she called back, I explained to her that we had decided to decline. She asked to meet again and I explained that I didn't have time for another meeting and we were firm in our decision. I reiterated my request for our listing to be double-checked. When the 2013-14 Yellowbook recently arrived, I was shocked to see us listed as [redacted]. There is no way this is a keying error. We are not happy about this listing. I contacted their call center at [redacted] and requested a supervisor. He apologized for the error and indicated they had a problem with the master listings not being checked properly. He submitted a request for our online listing to be corrected, but again, we have to live with the "misprint" for a full year.Desired Settlement: Given the multiple errors with this company, I am seeking a way for this to be brought to the attention of upper management. I fear that these issues are being handled at the call center level. Who knows how many businesses are being harmed with incorrect contact information in Yellowbook? Since the supervisor indicated that they have a problem with the master listings not being checked prior to printing, it seems like the management of the company would want to know this and improve their cus

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: I am not receiving what I was promised when I signed the contract. I would like to be let out of the contract.

[redacted] is the sales rep. We were told we would get a web page and would be able to be found on the internet when key words were used for a business search. Such as dog grooming, pet grooming. Within 3 weeks, it took 3 months, now we are in the 9 month of the contract and 6 months since the web page was put up. We still can not be found unless you know the web address. I contacted [redacted] she ask be to contact customer services, which I did and they said I has to honor my part of the contract and there was nothing they could do. I ask about my legal rights since they were not delivering what the promised. She said there was nothing they could do. She was sorry but I had to pay for the remaining part of my contract. [redacted]

Hibu... "Made for business."

Cell: ###-###-####

Expeditor

Billing Department

hibu Inc.

t: ###-###-#### ext: [redacted] Email [redacted].[redacted]@hibu.com [redacted]

www.hibu.comDesired Settlement: I would like to get out of my contract. I feel I am paying for nothing.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: I am a small business owner who signed up with HIBU for advertising services. During the sign up process I was informed that if I was not satisfied with the service I could cancel within 30 days. HIBU was called and told to cancel the service at which point they attempted to retain my business as a client but their offers were declined. At this point I was satisfied that the matter was over.

Over the past months we have received demand of payment notices and when contacted HIBU state they have no record of our cancelling the service. They have now sent the alleged past due amount to collections with [redacted] who are threatening to take me to court if I do not pay. The amount is $700 and while this is a relatively small amount it is the principle of the matter that is preventing me from paying just to be rid of them.

Interestingly if you look at HIBU's [redacted] page you will find dozens of other small business owners in the same situation. They were sold a service that first of all was misrepresented and then they cancelled and HIBU conveniently has no record of the cancellation.

Thank you for your time.Desired Settlement: Retroactively cancel the service to the date it was cancelled by us and eliminate the incorrect bill of $700 and stop contacting me. A change in their unethical practices would also be nice for all us small business owners who are being cheated by HIBU.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: [redacted] printed the wrong ad in this years phone book with the wrong phone number in it and they want me to pay for it and are saying I am past due on my account and are going to send this information to the credit bureaus I have tried to reach an agreement but they wont give me want I want in writing I am feel that because they printed the wrong ad the contact in not valid anymore/.Desired Settlement: I want the roll over phone # paid and kept alive for three years even if I dont renew my ad so if someone calls that number they do not think I went out of business and I want it in writing that my account was not reported to the credit bureaus and that my account is not past due

Business

Response:

Review: SALE REP AND COMPANY SOLD OPTION TO CANCEL AND NEVER RETURN CALL WHEN WE TRIED TO CANCEL. THE CONTRACT NOW HAS US COMMITTIED FOR 12 MONTHS AND WILL NOT CANCEL OR THE SALE REP WILL NOT RESPONSE TO ARE REQUEST TO CANCEL.Desired Settlement: FLAT CANCEL CONTRACT.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

This will confirm receipt of your letter dated March 11, 2013 regarding the advertising concern for [redacted].

During my review I found the customer signed a contract 10/20/12 purchasing advertising into the [redacted] magazine. On this agreement it indicates; 12 month magazine with the first in home date Dec 2012. I found a proof was dispatched 12/6/12 and there is no record of any changes being received. It is our policy to forward a copy of the signed contract/terms and conditions via email to the customer as soon as the contract is approved within our system. The email address on file for this customer is [redacted] Our system indicates this information was sent to the customer 12/4/12. On February 26, 2013, the account is noted; [redacted] called said that from what he remembers he signed up and was supposed to be given a contract to forward for co-op dollars but he doesn't have anything on file. During this call the customer was advised the contract was not available through our imaging system and that a copy of this contract would be set to him as soon as it was received. March 4, 2013, the account is noted: [redacted] called stating he no longer wanted to advertise with [redacted]. He mentions being part of co-op and indicated he has not received a copy of the contract. At this time the customer was advised it was a 12 month contract and that it was too late to cancel because this product has already started to bill.

The customer is stating he was sold advertising with the option to cancel. Our terms and conditions cover our cancellation policy. Customers can cancel with a full refund up to 14 days after the agreement has been signed. We also honor cancellation requests as long as a written request to cancel letter is received from the customer. This letter must be received from the customer by the last day to cancel date indicated on our company schedule for each given product. I am only able to find that the first request to cancel was made by [redacted] 3/4/13. At this point the customer was advised it was too late to cancel.

As a result of your letter I have reached out to this customer, [redacted], in an attempt to resolve his concern. During our conversation I explained our cancellation policy, and how I was not able to find any wrong doing on our part. I extended a goodwill adjustment for $33.75/month, $405/annually. This offer was refused by [redacted] but I have since gone in an applied this adjustment. Additionally I have forward this customer a copy of the signed contract.

We apologize to [redacted] for any inconvenience this error may have caused.

Sincerely,

Executive Services Specialist

Sick and tired of paying money for a product no one wants or needs (outdated, wasteful book), while trying to get ONE year of correct listings printed. That's all I want, is one year with correct listings and be done! I was convinced the last 3 years to give your company "one more shot" at getting it right. Each time with new reps promising the world to us. Each time they failed to deliver correct listings for our business. I am fed up and we have spent tens of thousands of dollars with NO correction or refund. Not only does it cost us monetarily, but time on correcting countless external and online listings as a result, and helping confused customers. It has to end. ~ Marketing Manager, Herrmann Services, C[redacted].

Hibu has changed my contract on the third year of doing buisness with them. Once I questioned them why my contract changed without letting me know. Once I requested to cancel my contract, they refused and would not connect me to management (which they called investigations). My contract was "pay per call" which means anyone who called through Hibu I would get charged $6. My average calls per month for the 3 years were 4-8 calls per month. The 3-4 months I was trying to cancel my call volume that I was being charged for went upto 100 call. All the call were recorded. After listening to all the calls about 90% of the calls had nothing to do with my buisness. Two months after my contract was up the call volume went down to under 10 calls. Even though my contract was up they kept charging me and sending additional bills. Now I'm dealing with a collection lawyer trying to collect over $2000.00.

Review: Intentionally misleading billing statements, disrespectful customer service agents, and a generally poor product which does not come close to delivering on promises made. However, we did complete payment on the advertising, as agreed, complete with a phone call on December 19, 2013 to verify the final payment amount. The amount dictated to me was $105.84, which I sent on Dec 19, 2013 via check number 3012. I sent this payment to them on the confirmation from their service agent that I would receive either a "paid in full" billing statement...or no communication at all. My ordeal with them would be over, thankfully. Imagine my surprise when today I received ANOTHER bill from them...stating that the last payment received was $85.84, with another $20.00 due "upon receipt". Either they screwed up the data entry....doubtful...or intentionally entered it incorrectly in order to defraud. I will now be double checking all past payments, and filing suit if necessary for repayment of any discrepancies.Desired Settlement: I would like to see their record of my payment history, at a minimum, a letter stating my account is paid in full and CLOSED in good standing, and an apology for the constant mistakes, misleading information, and poor attitude of their "customer service" phone agents.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: 2 sales women enter my sole-proprietorship. One is a manager, and one is 'in training'. I see there are many complaints against YELLOWBOOK360, on the WWW, using this same sales tactic. I am a new, broke, singular, female small business owner. They offer to put my store name into print, build me a "website", and create a banner-ad, so that when cosumers searched 'retail' in [redacted], my store would be the 1st search result. All of this for the remainder of 2011 for FREE, until the print-ads are published in May of 2012. Then, I would start paying $65/month for one year. I paid a $200/deposit up front. The PROMISED website, turned out to be a poorly constructed 'webpage', with pictures that were initially, not even of my business. That was my first complaint to my sales rep. The sales-reps, that sold me this contract, then seemed to have dropped off the planet. No returned phone calls or emails. The 'customer-service' department barely spoke English. All of a sudden, I was informed over the phone, that the 'webpage/site', was a free service that was offered with my paid-print-ad, and that corrections would be made on a 1st-come-1st-serve basis, as they were under no obligation to service the webpage, because it was FREE, with my PAID PRINT AD. In the meantime, in January of 2012, my business phone number was changed. I informed YELLOWBOOK360 of that change immediately. In May of 2012, the YELLOWBOOK print ad arrives, with my incorrect phone number printed. Also, after 6 months, my INCORRECT phone number was still on the hideous webpage they had created for me. Now, I start receiving YELLOWBOOK monthly bills, for $65/month. I call and tell them that I am not paying and that they have single-handedly led to the demise of my business. I had hired a 2nd company, [redacted], to try to repair the damage that YELLOWBOOK had done, as now every other search engine on the web was using the false information that YELLOWBOOK had created. YELLOWBOOK immediately tore down the webpage, which to this day still says it's 'Under Construction', and then tell me that the only way I can take 'ownership' of my webpage to try to repair the damage they have done, is to 'purchase it' from them. ALSO - they tell me they have "No Record" of me EVER calling, writing or emailing to express my dissatisfaction - EVER - before. Funny...they always made me aware that all of my phone calls were 'being recorded' for training purposes. My business failed, has been closed for nearly a year, and now they have turned me over to a collection agency to ROB ME BLIND for a service I never received from them. There was never any way to correspond with these people. There was never a way to get anything in writing. No live-chat, no email address to have hard copies or proof of the exchanges that took place. Just a PO BOX in [redacted]. I always 'trusted' that when they said they were recording our conversations, they REALLY were. I have filed a complaint with the ** Dept. of Consumer Protection as well.Desired Settlement: YELLOWBOOK received $200 from me in the form of a check - UP FRONT. They performed nothing they promised to, and were the largest contributing factor to my business failing, with all the misinformation they placed in print and on the web. I believe the Mafia has more ethical business practices. Send me an invoice that indicates that our relationship has ended and is 'PAID IN FULL'. Thank you for your time and attention.

Business

Response:

Please see attached hibu's response to complaint ID [redacted]. Thanks

Review: I signed a contract on 8/22/13 for Hibu to provide a website for our company. At that time I paid a deposit of $348.00. I started receiving bills immediately thereafter, but I still didn't have a website for our company. Nothing was online in regards to this, and I called and emailed to complain. A one time credit of $30 was given on 12/3/13. This continued on and on. On 1/29/14 the website was up, and correct finally. I was told that I would receive an email fromt he investigations department and a phone call.....that never happened. I once again complained and continued to ask for a "adjustment" for the months that it wasn't online. Nothing was ever done. Recently they turned me over to collections, still never crediting our account for the months that there was no website or video. There was supposed to be a monthly charge of $79 for the website. I have numerous documents where I contacted numerous people regarding this. No adjustments were made. Now the collection agency keeps threatening all kinds of stuff. I paid $348 downpayment, and I have paid $427.46 since then. From my prospective, since it wasn't put online until 1/29, I shouldn't start paying until that point.Desired Settlement: I believe that it would be fair to pay the $348.00 for the downpayment and the $79/month for the months it has been active. They have taken off our webpage now. I don't like to be threatened by collections agencies, when I have been through all the steps to handle things correctly from the get go. I have documentation of everything.

Business

Response:

July 29, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter confirms receipt of complaint ID 10144224 filed by [redacted] of [redacted]. We have reviewed the account and confirmed that there was a delay in the completion of the customer’s website. We have agreed to remove the remaining balance of $515.00 that remains with the third party collection agency. As of today’s date, we consider the account to be paid in full. We have spoken with [redacted] and advised of the adjustment. The customer has accepted the adjustment but has expressed that she is not satisfied because the website is no longer active. We have advised that once an account is submitted to an outside collection agency, the contract is nullified. At this point, there is nothing that can be done to reactivate the website.We have processed the adjustment to the account and the Third Party Legal department will contact the collection agency to advise that there is no remaining balance on the account. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at the number below.Sincerely,Heather H[redacted] Executive Services Specialist Hibu Investigations and Resolutions

Review: hibu Sales Representative used unethical practices and deception to renew contract. Supporting details as follow:

1. co/owner-executive administrator contacted hibu sales repre. to nullify contract for renewal

2. determination to cancel renewal was based upon company's lack of budget

3.This reason was conveyed on more than one occcasion, though services seemed valuable,

was too expensive for companys budget at that time

4.after several meetings, I reluctantly signed up for renewal and was given a deadline, to make publication

prior to dateline I contacted rep to discontinue publication

I reinterated to her the cost was something our company would have a hardship in paying. Without my

knowledge she contacted the owner (**. [redacted]) also husbsand and coerced him to approve renewal

payment by missleading him to beleive this payment would prevent our exiting account from going into collection further not conveying to him she had just spoke with me 1 minute before and understood my position on this matter.Desired Settlement: termination of 2013 contract

Business

Response:

Attached is hibu's response to Complaint ID [redacted]. Thanks

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: hibu inc automatically "renewed" an advertising contact that they modified to increase our cost without consent. Trying to resolve any issue via phone is made difficult by the employees.Desired Settlement: Cancellation of any financial obligation with this company.

Business

Response:

March 5, 2014

Dear [redacted]:

This correspondence confirms receipt of Complaint ID [redacted] filed by customer [redacted]. We have reviewed the account and see that the contract signed on September 28, 2012 automatically renewed per the terms and conditions of the contract. The billing amount for the Northern Virginia is $26.00 monthly for a total of $312.00 and the billing for the [redacted] County directory is $21.00 monthly for a total of $252.00. The total contract amount is the same as last year; however, the billing for the Northern Virginia billed as a one-time payment instead of monthly payments. This is why the current statement shows for $337.00. A request has been submitted to the billing department to have this corrected. An email will be sent to **. [redacted] once the request has been completed.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the number below.

Sincerely,