Signpost, Inc

Review: This is in response to second attempt of dealing with the billing issue and several 1-3 hour sales calls and customer service calls with me discussing my concerns and unhappiness with service.

This is letter I sent to there customer service:

There are more than one primary nature of complaint...not exactly sure which of the 5 to choose. Contract issues, Customer service issues, sales/exchange issues, and sales/advertising issues.

To SUPPORT (?),

I do not want to be affilliated with signpost. Please deactivate and ammend contract. After speaking with and lowering the amount which was originally discussed after many misled promises by signpost sales people it is unjust and unfair to force someones business to join when it is not a benefit and the right fit for my business.

These are the reasons very clearly:

1. Originally contract was different than what I had agreed to. I never would commit to something that was a year that I wasn't sure about.

2. Because I was set at the higher price of $150 they said I only had to try it for 3 months otherwise they would do a lower price for the year. That is why I originally said 3mos.

3.Extremely pushy and annoying young scammer type sales people!!!!

4. NOT LISTENING TO MY CONCERNS AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS HONESTLY!

5. ARGUEING, UPSETTING ME AND ALMOST BLACKMAILING ME

6. I have not gotten 1 Booking from this system!!! Not at 3 mos. Or any other month!!!

7. After speaking with managememt and clearly stating that my email has personal emails and ones which I do NOT want to send deals to she auto turned on all addresses and my corporate boss at my job recieved deal and I was fired due to compitition. WHICH I DID NOT AUTHENTICICATE!!!

8.Sales tactic of Boy pretending to be or is from my home town telling me that it is the best thing and praising how great it would be for my business

9. INVASION of Personal property which I do not feel comfortable with.

10. I had explained that my business is for brides..this is a 1 time thing! I was under the impression that ads placed by your company would generate its own new emails creating new clients and seperating those NEW interested people who would get an email. Not people I currently have in my email account.

11. I had asked and asked if it would work as well with me not joining Yelp because I do not wish to. That is why I was offered a trial and a lower price Web but NOW feeling pressured and like there is no way out of this aweful nightmare!!!!

11. My TIME has been wasted, My hard earned Money Taken over $1200 with nothing coming back to my business except for my own advertizing which works for me and I actually get bookings from. And I spend less on.

12. For you to continue doing this is a crime and wrong!!!!

13. You Should not be able to do business in Hawaii, you have a crooked way of working with small businesses, uneducated on how the island works with visitors, and a DUMB Mainland company who is just out to make money and not actually make the business money which is what you advertise! FALSE ADVERTISING!

I will not be paying for this terrible crap any longer. You are basically a junk mail provider and I do not want to participate.

I will be forwarding this email, along with a dispute with my bank, to the attorney general, better business burough and a legal aid.

I would suggest carefully canceling my contract and my affiliation with signpost. I do not want to have anything to do with you people. And removing me from ALL call lists. EITHER PUTTING ME IN TOUCH WITH [redacted] OR SOMEONE WHO WOULD NOT BE HAPPY WITH SALESPEOPLE BEHAVIOR. AND ACCOUNTING PERSON TO REFUND ME ACCORDINGLY.

I do not wish to speak with [redacted] or [redacted] or [redacted] or the Accounting rep who were all similar in argumentative, pushy, decieving, and added to my frustration. Or [redacted] or [redacted] who ** friended me to feel some kind of trust. Shame on all of you!

SINCERELY,

[redacted] of small business

###-###-####

Happy Connecting. [redacted].Desired Settlement: All but the first month of $150 to be refunded. There should be a trial for this product to see if it works for the business. Which it does not for all small businesses! Which should be about $950 (total spent on months with no profit made) which I was promised.

Business

Response:

Signpost is resolving this directly with the customer.

Review: I had two accounts set up with Signpost for my two businesses, Middle Jewelers and Pangea Jewelry in late January 2014. Both accounts were on a 6 month recurring contract. We received a renewal warning via email on the Middleton Jewelers account on August * for Middleton Jewelers but not our Pangea Jewelers. When we received that email, we responded 31 minutes later to cancel our accounts. However, only one of our accounts was canceled. Our signpost service produced 0 sales on both accounts and we decided to not renew. We were still billed on our Pangea Jewelry account, once on July **, 2014 for $1,829 and again on January **, 2016 for the same account of $1,829. I have emails chains asking to by canceled and confirmation of our cancelation. However, Signpost would not stop billing our account. Therefore to stop billing, we had to cancel our credit card on file to stop the billings.Desired Settlement: We are requesting $3,658 to be refunded on new credit card.

Business

Response:

Signpost is working directly with the client to resolve the issue.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Signpost is working with me. They have refunded 1 of the 2 overcharged payments to my business. However, since they refunded one of the payments, they have had no correspondence with me even after I have left a few voicemails.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Signpost has reached out and resolved directly with the customer.

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 and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: The contact that signed me up said that we would have 20 new online contacts a month with the service. They said that if there were less than 5 than we would not be charged for the month. We have had 1 new contact each month (far less than before we had the service) but they consider my current customers that contact me as new contacts since it is not in their system. My current customers who are under contract are considered new contacts according to them. Talked to a service representative and I will be charged a very high penalty for cancelling the 6 month contract.Desired Settlement: I want to be let out of my 6 month contract without penalty.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],Thank you for addressing your concerns regarding Signpost and your account with us. We are dedicated to providing quality customer service and value for all of our customers and we appreciate the feedback. I am very sorry about your experience with our Customer Care representative. It is our goal to provide the best possible customer experience to our customers. We take your feedback very seriously and are striving to improve our merchants’ outlook on Signpost. I have attached a copy of the 6 Month Contract that you signed on December **, 2014 for your records. Here, you can see where it explains Signpost’s Guarantee: “Signpost guarantees a minimum of 5 new customer contacts will be collected each month, not including the first month as we focus on updating and syncing your information.” While we understand some of these contacts may be past/existing customers, we do our best to identify the new customers based on your activity history from the past 365 days. Signpost relies on you as the business owner to inform us whether or not these customers are existing customers or new customers.To address your concerns further, we have reviewed the phone call with your sales representative and found that it was stated “we [Signpost] guarantee at least 5 new customer contacts every month starting in that second month.” It was mentioned what our average rate is, and perhaps this is where the confusion originated from. Regardless, it was reiterated on that phone call and in the 6 Month Contract that our Guarantee is 5 new customer contacts each month starting in the 2nd month, which you stated you understood. After further review of the sales phone call, I have found that the sales representative continues to point out the importance of driving repeat business through the other features of our product which you agreed was very important to your business. That being said, I would encourage you to log into your Merchant Center Dashboard to review the customer contacts that have been added to-date. In this Dashboard, you can review the customers that have opted into receiving SMS text messages from your business as well. Unfortunately, I cannot waive your 6 Month Contract’s early cancellation fee. Signpost has already reduced your commitment from 12 months down to 6 months. We would love to continue to work with you to resolve your issues and point out the benefits from the services that you’ve received to-date and continue to work with your business. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at ###-###-####.Best, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I understand the contract that was signed. I realize now that the definition according to signpost of a new client is an existing client. This was overlooked by me when I signed the contract and that is why I am not asking for the $700 that I have already paid back. I made the agreement based on the sales call. I was told that the average would be around 20 new leads a month but they guaranteed at least 5. Typically we had been receiving 1 or 2 a week and now that has dropped to 1 or 2 a month. I contacted my representative and told her that the entire list was my current client base except for 1 new lead and she said there was nothing she she would see if something could be done and I never heard back. I do understand what I signed and that was a $700 mistake however I don't want t keep being billed for something that seems to be hurting my business. I was 100% mislead on the sales call want to stop losing money and business. I am a very small business and on the brink of closing shop with this extra bill that is doing nothing positive for my business.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

This issue has been resolved with the customer directly.

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 and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I was contact by Signpost in reference to advertising my business with their company. After speaking with my representative on the phone I was told about how this type of advertising would be wonderful for my business and the representative that I spoke with had stated that I would definitely see a return from this advertising venture. I signed a three month contract that would need to be terminated or it would be a continuous billing cycle. On my original invoice it stated that the next invoice was due on 07/**/2013. Therefore after being with the company for my three months and receiving absolutely no return (which I was guaranteed some sort of return from my original representative- from the initial call) I contacted Signpost today at 11:00 am to cancel my service. As they did not provide the service that they had guaranteed me they would. I have not received any return from this advertising. The woman who I spoke with said that I could cancel my agreement with them but they could not refund the $375 that was charged to my account this month. I am not disputing the original $375 that was issued for this service back in April- I am upset due to the fact that they guaranteed me some sort of return on the services that they offered and after three months there was none. I am disputing the fact that when I contacted them today (the date of invoice due) that they refused to refund my charged today for the next three months. I understand that advertising is always a risk, therefore, again, I am not disputing the original money spent, I am disputing that I tried to terminate my contract with them for the next three months and they would not due to the fact that I contacted them on the date of invoice. If there was at least some return, I would not be so upset but due to the fact that when I signed with this company the representative did guarantee me some sort of return and there was absolutely none in a three month period. I just wanted to contact them today to cancel my service and I was informed that it was too late for the next three months due to it being the date of invoice. Thank you for reviewing my complaint.Desired Settlement: I was just hoping that because they did not offer the services that were guaranteed to me by the representative, being of some sort of return on this advertising, that they would let me terminate my contract with them on the date of invoice instead of charging me for the next consecutive three month period. I believe that they are faultily representing their company and should stop guaranteeing a return therefore other small business owners do not find themselves in the same situation that I did..

Business

Response:

Hello,

My experience with Signpost has been very positive. Within a week of signing up for their services a lot of customers returned into my business who had been missing classes and absent for a while. My clients like that we "check in" with them and I really enjoy the feedback as it helps me determine where we excel as Yoga/Pilates/Barre teachers, and where we need the most work in our customer service. I am new to Signpost however the support has been excellent and informative and I believe it is keeping my classes busier as a result of increased awareness and customer service. I'm excited to see what it can do over the course of the next 6 months to 1 year.

Review: Signpost called me several times by phone trying to sell their services. After a few phone calls, I decided to give in and give the service a try (they were very persistent). They made several promises and embellished their services. Since day one, I haven't received the service they told me they would provide. I actually am in a worse off position. I have frustrated customers and contacts. I didn't gain one new customer because of them and I actually lost a customer due their emailing system. I emailed and called in to express frustration and nothing was resolved. I could write a novel about all the issues I've had. However, I'm a small business owner with limited time and money. So the bottom line is, regardless of your "3 month contract" you didn't uphold your end of the bargain so why should I have to?Desired Settlement: I want someone from Signpost to contact me and refund me the funds I have paid. I also want them to stop trying to provide service as I have asked several times and they are still sending email and ruining my relationships with my customers and network. Refund my money and stop acting on my company's behalf.

Business

Response:

Signpost is working directly with the consumer to resolve this issue.

Review: A year ago I purchased a service meant to advertise my business online. I was not told that the service would renew automatically. The day of the renewal I received an email telling me that my card had been declined. After the weekend, I requested cancellation of the service. The customer service person says that I must pay for one month of service and that I had received prior notice. I have since then gone back to find an email a few days before the renewal period that did advise me of the renewal day, however the notification is in the third paragraph of an email that spends the first two paragraphs and the final one trying to sell me a new service. The sly attempt at notification was not sufficient.Desired Settlement: I would like the account closed and the invoices for new services cancelled.

Business

Response:

Signpost is working directly with the consumer to resolve this issue.

Review: After long conversations with [redacted] I conceded to try the service for 3 months. I was told that if I received less than 5 contacts in a month, that the service would not be charged for that time period. This was a very important point for me as I'm just building a business in a new location and just don't have the extra funds laying around ($199/month) to throw away like that. Also, this was the final key to me signing up in the first place. Long story short, I have had less than 5 contacts TOTAL and the 2 month mark is in one week. with the 3rd payment due then.

I called him today and explained that, yes I have actually picked up one client, but I have not been matching the minimum at all. Also, that at the end of the first month, even with less than minimum quota, I was automatically billed for the 2nd month. I did let that ride thinking that this month should be different. It has not been. I asked about not being billed for the 3rd time, based on that contingency. The best he had to offer was extending the contract an additional month for no cost. I expressed that this was not the agreement revealed to me initially. If I had known it would still be billed, without the performance expressed and expected, I would not have signed up in the first place. He then offered to extend the 3rd billing for 30 more days, but this is not acceptable. It was presented as I would not be billed with under-performance, not that they would keep extending the time out for the billing. Why would I keep extending a service with the billing hanging over my head, if it is not performing for me in the first place?

As far as the service, I've been watching and looking and have been unable to see where the service has done as promised for me. It was proposed that they would help my business come up in the ranks for [redacted], [redacted], [redacted] etc. They were going to send e-mails and texts to clients and new contacts that clicked or called through their service. He also stated they would be updating the aforementioned sites, but the only thing changed on those are them replacing MY contact phone number to theirs that then rings through. The only outgoing emails and contacts showing on my account are the ones that I personally sent out myself. His argument was that the 2 reviews they produced were through their service. Well, yeah technically they did. But because I sent out the contacts, not them as promised. He also blamed the low results based on the small client list I provided for him. I told him before hand that I did not have a large client base. This was not a new fact for him.

Basically he knew before initiating the contract that I did not have extra money laying around for this. He assured me that it would pay for itself, but that if I did not receive the minimum of 5 contacts a month, I would not be billed. This has not been the case. I feel like they are misrepresenting their service and taking advantage of SMALL/MICRO business with empty assurances and no results. If a small client base to begin with, is a problem for them to meet expectations, then why are they marketing to us? If I had a larger client base, I wouldn't have thought to use a service to help me. I was willing to go out on a limb financially for the boost in business that would theoretically pay for the service, and that if I did not receive that boost, I would not have to pay for the service. This obviously is not the case.Desired Settlement: I'm willing to eat the first months fee's for the time that was spent building the account and for the ONE client I did receive. However, I feel I should not have to be responsible for the other 2 months of the contract fees based on what was represented to me about not being billed with less than 5 contacts. I would like to be reimbursed for the 2nd month, and not billed for or reimbursed for the 3rd month (if it is billed before this is resolved). The 3 months was to see if the service performed as represented and was the shortest amount of time offered for a contract. I am NOT wanting to extend that time for the "free" month vs. not having to pay in the initial time as discussed.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],Thank you for addressing your concerns regarding Signpost and your account with us. We are dedicated to providing quality customer service and value for all of our customers and we appreciate the feedback. I am sorry about your experience with Signpost. It is our goal to provide the best possible customer experience to our customers. We take your feedback very seriously and are striving to improve our merchants’ outlook on Signpost. Signpost guarantees a minimum of 5 new customer contacts will be collected each month, not including the first month as we focus on updating and syncing your information. I can see where you initially signed up with Signpost on February *, 2015, thus your guarantee started on March *, 2015. Since March *, 2015, our records indicate that you have received a total of 15 contacts. You can filter these in your Merchant Center Dashboard online. Because you had concerns that there were some solicitors in this count that Signpost could not recognize, we worked with you in a good faith effort and still honored your request for a free month of service. Per our Terms of Service, we can issue you a credit at the end of your renewal term. However, Signpost offered to issue this credit in the month of April instead of May. Unfortunately, you declined this credit and stated that you wanted to pay for April instead.[redacted], we work with a lot of small businesses and understand the workload that each businesswoman and businessman have to take on just to make their business succeed. It is our job to be a partner with you to help market your business. We want to be able to see your business grow. This product gets better over time as we collect more contacts to upload into your Dashboard. The offer for free time is still on the table. Please allow us that time so that we can help your business succeed. Call me directly to set up some time to get your account growing again. You can reach me directly at ###-###-####. Best, [redacted]

Review: I was sold a bill of goods that this would help market my business and I was only committed to 3 months for $375. So far I've received NOTHING!!!! I got a phone call as a "welcome" and was told that I should have received an email outlining everything including contact info. I GOT NOTHING... the salesman even gave me his email and all I got was a returned message stating cannot be delivered. Fast forward 3 months they are charging me $375 again so I called and told them to cancel and give me my $375 back. The woman who answered said "only the [redacted] can do that, they are out to lunch and will call you back". So far it is the end of the next day I called again this time left a message. I got a call back this time telling me how I was informed that it was a reaccuring charge. When I questioned the emails he said to forward them an he would get back to me.Desired Settlement: Refund the $375 and cancel everything, we will be finished!!

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],

Thank you for addressing your concerns regarding Signpost and your account with us. We are dedicated to providing quality customer service and value for all of our customers and we appreciate the feedback. Upon a review of your account, we are unable to offer you a refund at this time.

The terms of your subscription and the auto-renewal & cancellation policies were clarified during your on-boarding call to initially setup your account. In addition, the [redacted] confirmed with you the business’ information, including but not limited to, your business address, hours, and email address.

System records indicate that the “Welcome to Signpost Follow Up” email was sent on March **, 2014.

As explained during the on-boarding call, we require at least a 48 business hour notice before your next billing date for cancellation. Our phone records indicate that a cancellation request was placed on 6/**/2014, outside of the acceptable time-frame for a cancellation.

Over the course of your subscription with Signpost, your business has been updated on 33 of our partner directory websites, received approximately 2,890 visits, and voucher saves from 86 potential customers. As of now, your account is paid for through September **, 2014 and Signpost is committed to working with you to drive results to your business.

I would be more than happy to address any additional questions you may have regarding Signpost or your account.

Best,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Its not acceptable I have no correspondence at all. Show me written proof or audio that shows that I accepted this

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

We've reached out to the merchant and resolved the situation. The merchant has been refunded the $375 as requested. See attached screen shot of the successful refund transaction.