JustAnswer reviews

These people are crooks. Great at taking your money. I never got any answer. American Express' fraud detection shut down my credit card just for dealing with them. Spoke to an obnoxious service rep and never got my deposit back.

JustAnswer used to be great website to get answers to questions. However, it's become a nightmare given their misrepresentation and website design. They, by design, misrepresent and channel users/customers into becoming "subscription" customers - customers whom they charge a monthly fee to use the website.

First, although the Terms of Service agreement states a customer can ask "unlimited questions" - that is completely false. A customer is limited to asking just a few questions per month or they are charged a larger monthly subscription fee or terminated.

Second, the website is totally misleading and fraudulent. They are now in violation of state laws concerning medical and legal advice that is given over the website. They try to push "additional services" which is a violation of law in their approach. It's just a matter of time until a state's Attorney General pursues a class action against JustAnswer/eAnswer.

Takes your money and gives you a lame answer, then nothing. Not happy - no money back. Don't use them.

scam , scam !!! will take your money and never get back to you.
It is not easy to get your deposit back, you have to keep calling people and they shoot you around and around.

Just had a veterinarian assist me with a question about my dog ingesting something. Was extremely prompt, professional and helpful. Well worth the short amount of time spent on this. I also believe the negative reviews come from folks not understanding how to use the site. If you take the time to read the information, its easy. And you can read credentials or profiles before requesting an answer.

Having read lots of bad reviews i was wary at first however i saw a couple of good reviews and decided to go for it. I wasn't disappointed i have spent all day bouncing messages back and forward for only £26 I s**t you not. It has only been on one subject matter but i have asked multiple questions and the person was very helpful, i was certainly 100% satisfied with the service i received. It would have cost me a lot more with a solicitor for the information and discussion we shared. I have tried not to make this sound like some one who works for just answers as i definitely can confirm it is bonafide as far as i'm concerned. If you don't want to register for a monthly premium then don't simply click not now when requested to register for the free trial. If you do register for the free trial and don't want to pay a monthly subscription then cancel it or you will get charged more money. Read the terms and conditions or at least the relevant bits

A total waste of money. The "expert"asked for the model number of my stove so that he could give me accurate information. I never heard from him again.

One star is far too generous for this scam of a website. For the thirty seven pounds I paid I should have sought a professional's advice. My query was of a medical nature and the alleged expert was clearly from the wrong field of medicine (regardless of the fact they gave me a choice of medical professional to choose from). I was foolish and was vulnerable and taken advantage of (also they refuse to respond to any query or compliant) so PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS SITE IT IS A SCAM AND NOTHING MORE

I wrote asking how to upgrade my computer from Windows Vista to Windows 7. The answer was that it could not be done until the computer manufacturer issues a new service pack and that I should just wait until that happens (it has been 5 years since I bought the computer and the manufacturer still has not issued the service pack). For this advice I paid $47.00.

I am very good at getting info from the web, a free source. Foolishly I allowed myself to get sucked into helpowl.com and somehow justanswer.com came with it (or vice versa). One of these required a good faith deposit of $5, but that immediately became in something near or over $20. No new information was forthcoming-I was sent the exact same web info that I already had from the manufacturer, which didn't answer my need for service details. I have searched the helpowl.com web site for ways to close my unsatisfactory relationship. In my effort to be fair this identical review is being posted with justanswer.com as well.
Frank L.

I am one of the experts on the site. I won't say what category I work in, but I do answer a ton of questions. I will say that the vast majority of these negative reviews I have read are because people either don't know how to use the site, or some other reason. You can post a one time question, and get an answer. The site does try to sell subscriptions from what I understand, but if you read what you are clicking on, you can avoid that. They are also very good about giving refunds. Aside from that, I cannot comment on billing issues as I just answer questions in my category.

What people don't always realize, is that we're not all doctors, lawyers, mechanics and appraisers sitting in a room together. We answer questions in our off time, while at home, work, etc. Yes, there may not be anyone online at 2am to help you fix your Honda....and no one may answer for days. That happens. Sometimes, your questions are so rare, unusual, odd or specific to you that we cannot answer them (No, I cannot say with 100% accuracy that the rock in your front yard is/is not from the moon!).

Like anyone, we expect to get paid for our work. Some people are thieves. They take our answers and run, and never pay us. Some people never come back to view the answers. Its not a perfect system, but it works.

NEVER use this site. NEVER give them ANY credit card information. They've been charging me $17.00 a month for the last six months and I have yet to talk to someone that can issue me a refund.

Don't let these folks get your money their return policy does not exist. They keep it and offer your a 25% discount on another question.

A total scam of your $$$. Do NOT use this. Stay Away. Waste of time and $$$. Paid $5 to wait and wait and wait some more for a response. And I was charged $5 for waiting. My time, my expense. Live and learn.

I had a vexing problem with my Subaru. There was a lot of conflicting advice on the various boards on the internet, So, I submitted a list of symptoms to JA and within 30 minutes I had a response and a recommended solution to the problem. The solution worked, saving me a trip to the mechanic and I am sure at least a $75.00 diagnosis and some unnecessary repairs (like a throttle body cleaning for $100 or an injector service for $150.00 all suggested on the net). For a $20 appointment charge and a $10.00 tip I think I was well served.

had a problem with a truck, they helped me out. BUT now they asked, do want to leave a tip, more $. then I find out they have been billing my credit card on a monthly bases.

Terrible company. Cant get ahold of anyone. CS in Philippines that are incapable of most basic help. Chronic ongoing problems with account. E-mail and charge glitches galore. What a shame. 1-2 star rating says it all!

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Adam R. [JustAnswer Rep] Hello,

My name is Adam and I am the Customer Support Coordinator for JA. I am terribly sorry for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. Please contact us at support@justanswer.com so that we can get any outstanding issues with your account resolved for you.

Regards,

Adam
Customer Support Coordinator, JA

6/25/14

Even one star is generous...... it is absurd..... Paid £ 21 and got nowhere.... When I tried to log on to my account ( which you have to set up prior posting question and paying) and it denied access ...... Bottom line is ...... Please stay away from this crap service..... absolute 100% $#*!!!!!

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Adam R. [JustAnswer Rep] Hello Hui,

My name is Adam and I’m the Customer Support Coordinator for JustAnswer. I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble posting your question to the site. It sounds like there may have been some confusion about logging in or registering a new account.

I have sent you a private message so I can take care of your refund immediately.

You may reach us anytime through the Contact Us link on our Help page. Our Customer Support team is available 24/7 to help.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. We’re here to help and we’ll work with you until you’re satisfied.

- Adam

7/11/14

I contacted the doctor site since I was wondering if I needed to see my doc and they promised a response within 12 minutes - the doctor was IN. I gave an excellent description of symptoms, indicated I was diabetic and my age. Like someone else who reviewed them, I got a generic response but they did respond about 9 hours later with tendonitis. I went to the ER before I received their response and I had a life-threatening condition since it was cellulitis and something called SIDS due to MRSA. I was hospitalized for 10 days on 24/7 IV antibiotics. It had gotten into my bloodstream. These guys are not just crooks. They are dangerous.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202.html
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202/page/2
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202/page/3
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202/page/4
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202/page/5
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/just-answer-a102202/page/6
The #1 complaint is their "accidentally" selling everyone a subscription or blaming the customer for being unable to decipher the doublespeak that bar associations have concluded is gibberish and incongruent, contradictory and not something they recommend a lawyer being involved with as advice is clearly not given although they post ads as if it is advice!
Nothing has ever done to alter the website so to not sell everyone a subscription
and by cooperating with the BBB once that has been initiated by the customer then JustAnswer will refund up to 3 months, however typically I saw 18 months average before somebody noticed a $60 billing every month!
It is a tremendous windfall of cash for doing nothing and 99% have no idea they bought a subscription! To troubleshoot say a car or furnace, you enter a texting ping pong game but the game is at turtle speed and no live video or phones just texting via remite with a 10 minute delay if lucky between interactions, many times much longer. The established experts are sub par for the most part as they have learned to make fake accounts and use a debit card and ask a high value question to bait a new expert who is a bit too smart for their tastes as he is "stealing" their money they say and think! JustAnswer.com says to new experts, if unaccepted questions are listed and you have something meaningful to add that will help the customer and get the acceptance please feel free!
However when you do and if you are smart, the smarter you are the worse off you are as they will conspire to ,ake accounts and act obtuse and rate you badly which ruins the percentage rating and they pad their own via the same method however they get a subscription which is allegedly unlimited, however this makes no sense fiscally as the numbers do not make sense, anyways they ask themselves how old a furnace is 400 times a year with several fake accounts on subscription at $60 a month! So they amass 19,000 satisfied customers with a high 90% rating which on a website that s policy is if you are not happy you do not pay the expert, easily 30% never plan on paying any body ever!
Only thing is JustAnswer,com, aka Pearl.com already has it, they just do not give 1/2 to us experts! Same thing with the subscriptions sold, none of that windfall money coming in like clockwork for doing zero is split no reported as no experts get any 1099's etc, and the images of the top 4 experts are fake stock photo pics or a name with no last name! or a dogs face!

I subscribed after the first positive experience. Been a member now 3 months. Used them 3 times. Twice I am satisfied I got good legal advice. Once they were not able to help me on an international corporate structuring question. Only complaint I have is that they did not come back and say sorry cant help you. They just kept saying "looking for an answer". So I give it 4 stars not 5.

This site is a pure scam.
I was supposed to pay a bill just once, however they are taking money monthly out of my credit card.
How can I report them to the autorities?

we used this company 1 time and got not a great answer to a question, we provided credit card information and were to have a 1 time bill. The bill has reoccurred monthly for 1 year even though we have never visited the site again. Do not provide them your information. They do not do 1 time charges!!!

wow I don't understand all these horrible reviews ?Ive had s everal experiences on that site, always with cat vets, and have always been extremely satisfied (though some vets are better than others, I chose mine carefully beforehand based on previous answers to other posters and avoid anyone who gave "generic" type answers or simply sent links to informational websites).I took a subscription for 2 months and there was absolutely no problem when I contacted customer service to cancel.As a matter of fact I had several contacts with their customer service reps via email(because my husband and I had both signed on to ask the same question so ended up with 2 accts and 2 subscriptions...Customer service fixed it all immediately and we were not double charged.I have always found them helpful and pleasant?I really don't understand all these negative reviews and problems people have had,i guess they were just unlucky or maybe other services are not as good as the VET question section ?I have kept in contact with two of the expert vets and still ask them for help for "off hour "problems or while waiting to get to see my vet.My own family vet has always confirmed the treatment options suggested by the just answer vets so to me that gives them a certain credibility.

Posted a question and paid the required £33 up front payment. No answer other than an auto reply saying my problem would be looked into by Mr X the expert appointed to my case AND if i didnt Ike the expert i could choose another one.
No response for weeks. Wrote back using their auto response email and got another expert appointed and another demand for £40!! It says clearly you only pay IF you are satisfied, which i was not! Demands for a refund go unanswered. THIS is a SCAM be warned.

I have only used justanswer once. I had a problem with my dishwasher. It was not heating the water. I had replaced the heating element which was a huge pain and it did not change the behavior. I came across justanswer and thought it was a scam but tried it anyway. The next step was a plumber and $$$.

I described the model, the problem and what I had done to try and fix it. I was fully expecting a answer telling me to replace the heating element again. Instead, I was told that on this model there was a common problem with a burned power relay on the control board.

I took out the control board and there was a big black spot under one relay. I tested the relay, put it back in and repaired the connection on the PCB. I put the control board back and now it works!

The answer was spot on and I did not have to hire a plumber. I gave the tech a stellar review and gladly paid the $38 which I thought was really high at the time but the plumber would have been 10x that + $200 for the new part.

I would use the service again but I do not see any reason to subscribe.

Absolutely horrible. A complete rip-off. I asked for a refund and will probably never see a dime of it back. Instead of giving me an actual answer, they sent me a link to a very, very generic response online - it was pathetic. Don't use this service

I just tried using them, paying $5 for initial review of the issue, and they promptly took $48 out of my account. I had no contact with them to justify this.
These guys are plain and simple CROOKS. It seems amazing they have not been successfully prosecuted. They do have a very smooth website, which looks as though it is linked to some of the leading computer hardware companies.
BEWARE! John Downing, Brooklyn

Overpriced, but I DID get an answer. Just be VERY careful not to buy a subscription by accident by clicking "free trial."

I agree with all the negative comments I've just read...wish I'd read them before using the site.
This is the second time I've been duped...the first 2 years ago that I had forgotten about when I was inadvertantly subscribed to a monthly charge for nothing.
This time from reading all the info on the site I thought there would be no charge until I was satisfied.....I didn't even get an answer to my question and the charge was taken from my bank account.
Just answer also told me my email address was being used by someone else ??? how does that work???
My advice...stay away.....can't imagine where the couple of positive reviews have come from!!!

Asked my question, paid what I think is $5 which would be $28 if I'm satisfied. I have sat here waiting for an answer for 15 minutes, NOTHING. I don't think I'm going to get one. And I wonder if I will be charged the full $28 for NOTHING! Thank goodness I used Pay Pal.

Another reviewer who does not want to give this Company even 1 star
I signed up, like many others, for one answer (which was what we already thought we knew but we paid anyway) and without knowledge had apparently entered into a monthly contract for the following 2 years.
We did not use the site and on calling via my credit card Company was immediately refunded the latest year, but could not credit the first year as their system did not go back far enough.
I wrote to the Company who have completely refused to repay the additional £1,036 they have taken saying they only give credit 30 days and as this is older and they won't pay.
They have already agreed we never used the service so this is theft in my opinion.
Having seen all the other similarly placed individuals on the Internet I am disgusted they have been allowed to get away with this!!!.
We will take legal action to recover our additional year of payments. We have given them notice of our action and they are standing their ground that we are not entitled.
Let the Law decide

I wanted to find out if my cat who has been stressed out could take a xanax while on prednisone for too much calcium. She was going to the vet a week later, but I wanted a quick answer. The online vet gave a good answer, but it was the same one I had come up with on my own. A week later, I had 4 debits from my bank account. They totalled $39.00. I thought if I joined for 1 month it would be $18 for my questions. No. They billed my 21 for my questions (including tip), saying that was before I joined and 18 for the following month's bill. I just called to cancel, but they will not reimburse me the $21 for the only online question I asked. I would not use this site again. Next time, I'll just call my vet, or do what I think is best.
Patty

I have used it twice to get the provenance of sterling silverware. In both cases, I got an immediate and satisfying answer.

I have had a monthly subscription with this site for some 2-3 years. I am an enthusiastic supporter and recommend it to friends and acquaintances whenever I get the chance. Over time, I have gotten answers from car mechanics, dentists, lawyers, travel agents and of course, computer tech support, that not only saved me hundreds of dollars but have enriched my life as well. I do admit that on occasion ( that are very rare) instead of an expert, I get a lemon. However that pretty much goes for the rest of life.

Just how much of a scam this is you'll discover
if you try to terminate the payments that by the
way wasn't obvious were going to be monthly.
It impossible to stop the crooks taking your money
without having to cancel you credit card.

I have hundred of pages of their admin giving BS. I have many email addresses and emails of their professionals that wanted to use me on the side. Just a disgusting company with a CEO Andy that is called out for giving back to society. What a laugh...

Absolutely dreadful site....signed up, asked same question three times - got as far as giving my bank details, clicking to process - only to receive a message 'apologising' for technical error. Contacted customer service first two times re: situation & assured no charges were made, however will not know for certain until account is checked w/in 24 hrs. Does NOT deliver as advertised....avoid at all costs!!!

This is shoked for me 2 times they took a money the amount 42€ 2 times. I ask last october the 1 € the last ,why they do this ? I would like to refund my money to gave or to donate to the my country philippines . Please help me to refund it , For the help my country Philippines Please!!

I wouldn't even put one star to be honest. When we tried it once there was nothing said that its a subscription , we did one off payment on a credit card about 3 years ago ( well we thought that it is one off payment ) and since then money was been regularly taken out every month and they were not shy to take out payment twice in one month!!!!! When we rung them to ask for refund they just politely told you where you can go!!! so much of their 30 day money back guarantee!!!! Beware and avoid!!!

It depends on who you get. I got a vw mechanic who didn't give my any exact answers. Then the time was out before he could actually reply with a good answer.

Terrible site! I gave it 1 star because I couldn't rate it any lower. Very sketchy website. It is also very expensive! I signed up for unlimited plan and all of a sudden they said my account was canceled by a moderator and the guy on the phone could not answer my question and avoided it. I asked 2 questions and they were locked and they couldn't tell me why! STAY AWAY! This site is dangerous!

I asked a question concerning automotive electrical problems. By the time the "expert" gave me an answer, I had already figured out the problem and fixed it.
The answer from the "expert" was not accurate either.
They also automatically signed me up for a subscription for $24 per month. When I called about that, they said I must have clicked the button. That is absolutely wrong.
They did cancel the subscription, but to request a refund, you have to sign up as a member...which I'm not, and will not be.
My advice is to stay away from these folks...they are scammers.

asked a question and was not given a satisfactory answer, did not opt to subscribe but on checking bank statements have been charged a monthly subscription. noticing this after 2 payments had gone out, i then revisited the site and followed the procedure to make sure i was not a subscriber, have had another 4 monthly payments taken out to a total of £342 . have sent emails and made phone calls but to no avail.

justanswer.com kept our credit card number and refused to delete it from their system even after we cancelled our subscription.

BTW, we never got our free "Money Back Guarantee" refund-- that's a scam. Don't even try to speak with someone else besides the Asian call center worker who is reading from a very long legalese script of why you will never see your money again, and how they plan to keep your credit card number as well.

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Adam R. [JustAnswer Rep] Dear Ray,

I’m very sorry to hear about your experience. I’m Adam and I work for JA. I have sent you a private message so I can take care of your refund immediately. We should also be able to delete the card info.

You may reach us anytime through the Contact Us link on our Help page. Our Customer Support team is available 24/7 to help.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. We’re here to help and we’ll work with you until you’re satisfied.

- Adam

10/29/13

Charged $20.00 for research on an antique and never did get a satisfied answer . I worked with at least 4 so called experts and it took days to hear back from them. I only received a response after I emailed. I never did get an answer but you better believe they took my money
DON 'T USE them

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Adam R. [JustAnswer Rep] Dear Denise,

I’m very sorry to hear about your experience. I’m Adam and I work for JA. I have sent you a private message so I can take care of your refund immediately.

You may reach us anytime through the Contact Us link on our Help page. Our Customer Support team is available 24/7 to help.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. We’re here to help and we’ll work with you until you’re satisfied.

- Adam

10/29/13

I used the site also. The advice was okay.I am in UK
However I too (allegedly) signed up for a subscription even though I remember specifically ticking the box that said I didn’t want one. It seems that the site defaults to a subscription and many users don’t check their statements, particularly PayPal ones to see what has gone out. It took ages to get the money back.
In all honesty, as they are offering unlimited questions for a monthly fee and the expert allegedly gets paid for answering those, it must be relying on slippage, people who ask one question and unwittingly sign up for a subscription otherwise the business would be running at a massive loss instead turning over millions of dollars.
I have looked all over the Internet for advice and the only other site here in the UK is this one www.expertanswers.co.uk which only gives you legal advice. To be honest, I asked a couple of questions in the advice was spot-on. On one of the questions they had no suitable expert and they emailed me and refunded me without me even asking.
Both sites offer 100% satisfaction guarantee but the only one that delivers is Expert Answers.
I fail to see how Just Answer can give 100% satisfaction if they don’t give refunds, when asked, four weeks!
In my opinion, Expert Answers is light years ahead.

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Adam R. [JustAnswer Rep] Dear Frank,

I’m very sorry to hear about your experience. I’m Adam and I work for JA. I have sent you a private message so I can look into your account and see what happened here.

You may reach us anytime through the Contact Us link on our Help page. Our Customer Support team is available 24/7 to help.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. We’re here to help and we’ll work with you until you’re satisfied.

- Adam

10/29/13

Absolutely great, thanks to chrysler's mechanic on lineI was able to save tons on money. His professional reply pin pointed the problem with my car that even two dealers could not resolve.Will definitely use it in the future. He even followed up with me and offered additional hints. I am very happy!

The site is not scam, however in my opinion, the experts, the professional one, violate professional ethics. The site in turn violates confidentiality making the answers available to anyone who did not pay for it. Medical experts should not be allowed to answer online questions since no one can be diagnosed over internet and without taking responsibility for that. I submitted my suggestions to the site, but no changes were made. Someone has to question the legality of licensed professionals answering questions on this site.