Spokeo Reviews Summary
The company's reputation is marked by a significant divide in customer experiences. On the positive side, some users appreciate the platform's ease of use and the depth of information provided, finding it helpful for various searches. However, a substantial number of reviews highlight serious concerns regarding billing practices, lack of refunds, and the accuracy of the information. Customers frequently report unexpected charges, poor customer service, and technical issues with the site. Overall, while there are users who find value in the service, many express frustration over perceived scams and inadequate support, indicating a need for improved transparency and reliability.
This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews
Spokeo automatically renews your subscription and does not give you the option to unsubscribe prior to the renewal date. I saw a pending charge on my credit card today and called them and asked to have the charge removed and discontinue my subscription. I was told I would be charged today but then in 6 months I would not be charged again. I asked them to credit the charge because I did not need the service and was told that was not possible.
What they fail to say is that you can not find a way to deactivate your subscription. They have that feature so buried in their website for a reason! I never did find it, and had to call them.
Again, another dissatisfied customer! Used this service once! Got dinged more than once. Did NOT sign up for it.
Dear Jennifer,
I'm sorry for any misunderstanding and certainly wish to help resolve the issue. In order for a Spokeo subscription to be created, a user must navigate to our website at www.spokeo.com and either click on the "Sign Up" button or perform a search and click on the "Get Full Results" button. The user would then be required to enter in a full 16 digit credit or debit card number along with the card's matching security code, cardholder name, card expiration date, card billing zip code, and enter a valid email address that becomes the username associated with the account. Once this information has been entered, the Terms of Use agreement must be checked and agreed to and then the "Purchase" button must be hit. Once these actions are completed and the information is verified as valid and matching, the user must then fill out a brief survey and set an account password to begin using the subscription. A purchase confirmation receipt is also sent to the account's email address. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
WHAT A JOKE! I signed up for a special "3 months for $9.95 membership". When i got the receipt i discovered that they had charged me $59.70. First of all, the only info I was given was birth month, year, zodiac sign and ethnicity. All of which is useless and already known. When I clicked the "full report" tab they wanted me to pay more money to see it. I then called customer service and they refused to refund my money even though i didn't get what was advertised. After arguing with them and asking for a supervisor they finally said they would refund $44.78. That means they still charged me $14.92 when it was only supposed to be $9.95 for the entire membership. What a scam!
Dear Rainbow N.
We understand your concern and want to assist in resolving this issue. Spokeo is a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. When someone signs up for one of our services, the payment page will display a price much like the one you saw at $9.95. This is actually the average amount it would cost to use Spokeo's services on a monthly basis. The details of exactly how much someone will be billed is displayed in our Terms of Use disclaimer. In your case, for example, it states that you would be billed $59.70. We apologize for any misunderstanding, and for the inconvenience this experience has caused.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Sounds simple. Give us your credit card # and $0.95 and do a search. A few weeks later your card gets debited $19.95! No email, No Warning. If you don't catch it they will continue to do monthly debits from your card. Spokeo is one Internet site where you better read the Terms of Service! Just another internet ripoff. Is it any wonder why people are getting gun shy of Internet businesses? Businesses like Spokeo prey on people that don't pay attention to details and skim over TOS's. If they were to openly state that your search will cost you $0.95 plus $19.95 billed to your card monthly, how many people do you think would use it? Very deceitful.
Dear Larry,
I'm sorry for any misunderstanding and certainly wish to help resolve the issue. When you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. As long as the trial is cancelled within 7 days, the account does not continue. Because your trial was not disabled within 7 days, a recurring subscription fee began to charge. Accounts of this type automatically renew if left active to prevent any service interruption. We try to make this very clear by detailing this on our payment page, including it in the disclaimer which has to be agreed to before the purchase is processed. In addition, the information is included in the confirmation receipt sent immediately after payment, as well as in our Terms of Use. I do apologize again if this was unclear in any way.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
I know I should read fine print more carefully, but this kind of stealthy Internet THEFT should really be illegal. The $20/month that AUTOMATICALLY kicks in after you do a single search for $0.98 should be BLASTED IN NEON LIGHTS for those of us with failing eyesight. These people should ashamed of the worthless "service" they "provide" to scam fools like me.
Dear Lo R.
I'm sorry for any misunderstanding and certainly wish to help resolve the issue. When you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. As long as the trial is cancelled within 7 days, the account does not continue. Because your trial was not disabled within 7 days, a recurring subscription fee began to charge. Accounts of this type automatically renew if left active to prevent any service interruption. We try to make this very clear by detailing this on our payment page, including it in the disclaimer which has to be agreed to before the purchase is processed. In addition, the information is included in the confirmation receipt sent immediately after payment, as well as in our Terms of Use. I do apologize again if this was unclear in any way. Please feel free to contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
The Spokeo Team
I paid to find out who called me. All Spokeo gave me was the town the call came from. I already knew THAT! I can tell by the area code and first 3 numbers where it came from. I wanted to know WHO called me. It said no other information was available. WASTED MY MONEY!
Dear A L.,
We understand your concerns and wish to assist in resolving this issue. Please allow me to explain about Spokeo. We are a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. Our information comes from various sources located within the Public Domain such as public record data, surveys, and social data (that has not been deemed private). Spokeo makes this information more easily accessible for people to research themselves or others, and sometimes that information is not always up to date. I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding, and any inconvenience this experience has caused. Please feel free to contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience.
Thank you,
Spokeo
I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL CUSTOMER WITH SPOKEO FOR TWO YEARS HOWEVER I HAVE PAID ALOT OF MONEY AND I WAS PROMISED A FULL PACKAGE WITH UNLIMITED SEARCHES THEY KEPT CHARGING MY CARD FOR EVERY SINGLE THING SEPARATE CHARGE FOR NSME SEARCH, Address search, Email search and never have I gotton email address marriage records"NEVER" I called spokeo and I asked them to kindly reimburse me or give me what I paid for mind you O have paid spokeo literally over $300
Pamela
Dear Pamela,
We understand your concerns and wish to assist with this issue. Please allow me to explain regarding Spokeo. The website is designed to keep Spokeo memberships at the lowest possible price, we enable users to purchase only the products they need. When you need additional product(s), they will be available as Product Add-ons to enable more advanced search features only when you need them. ​ This way, users can customize their subscriptions in any way they see fit, whereas in the past, if someone wanted to upgrade you had to purchase the whole thing. I apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience this issue has caused. Please feel free to contact a member of Customer Care at 888-906-0850 should you have any further questions or concerns regarding our services.
Thank you,
Spokeo
I have used this service twice and didn't find out anything. It is a rip off. DO NOT GIVE THEM A CREDIT CARD NUMBER.
Dear Jameela,
We want to make sure that your experience with Spokeo Customer Care is a positive one. We would like to thank you for addressing your concerns, and are happy to assist in resolving this issue. We are a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. Our information comes from various sources located within the Public Domain such as public record data, surveys, and social data (that has not been deemed private). Spokeo makes this information more easily accessible for people to research themselves or others, and sometimes that information is not always up to date. We sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding, and any inconvenience this experience has caused. Please give a member of our Customer Care team a call at 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience. We are more than happy to help!
Sincerely
Spokeo Customer Care
I did a reverse phone number lookup to find out who keeps calling me and not leaving a message. This has been going on for several months. I am glad I signed up for one report for $0.95 and 7 day free trial offer... which I have already cancelled.
The report, which was according to Spokeo was going to give me name. Address, owner's e-mail, etc came back with UNKNOWN as the answer to each item.
Rip-off is the only way to describe Spokeo!
Dear Mary,
We understand your concerns and are happy to assist in resolving this issue. Please allow me to explain about Spokeo. We are a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. Our information comes from various sources located within the Public Domain such as public record data, surveys, and social data (that has not been deemed private). Spokeo makes this information more easily accessible for people to research themselves or others, and sometimes that information is not always up to date. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience. We're happy to help.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
I join Spokeo and wanted more info so I paid for an upgrade. It's has never worked. When I call them they say it's working on our end. I'd called several times, I've email them. I still don't get my upgrade I paid for.
Cynthia Konarski
Dear Cynthia,
We understand your concern and wish to assist in resolving this issue. Please call Customer Care at 888-906-0850 so we can assist you with your subscription issues.
Thank you,
Spokeo
I payed for their premium services for over 3 months, I never ONCE found it to be WORTH the money they charge, It should be removed along with Intellus, and uspeoplesearch and all those others like Beenverified.com is also another TERRIBLE ONE.
Public records are technically free just google "How to find *states* Public Records" for a good start xD
Dear Tina,
We understand your concern and wish to help resolve this issue. We’re so sorry to hear that you weren't able to find what you were looking for. Spokeo does not originate or create data, so our data reflects that of the original sources. Spokeo does not guarantee data accuracy, and the data should only be used as a reference. We are, however, constantly working to expand and improve the data available on on our site. We want to make sure that you are helped, so please contact our Customer Care team at CustomerCare@spokeo.com or by calling 1-888-906-0850 and explain your concerns.
Thank you,
Spokeo
Dude thanks you guys for warning me about this site. Nowadays before you make a purchase on a site that you are not familiar with you have to search around and make sure its legit. & i am glad that i did! I would have trusted this website with my information & now i know that this place is a SCAM. How are they still running? It doesnt seem fair or right. We all work hard for our money even if its a dollar. That not right for them to do that to anyone. I will never be giving them my business, and i personally own my own business, and i will let everyone i know, know about this website.
Dear Sarah,
We understand your concern and hope to assist in clarifying the situation. Spokeo is a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones by using our services, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. Our information comes from various sources located within the Public Domain such as public record data, surveys, and social data (that has not been deemed private). Spokeo makes this information more easily accessible for people to research themselves or others, and sometimes that information is not always up to date. I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding, and any inconvenience this experience has caused. Please feel free to contact us directly should you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue.
Thank you,
The Spokeo Team
I signed up for a single search thinking it was. 95$ and looked on my credit card statement a few weeks later and found a 19.95$ charge for a renewing autopayment. This is very deceptive and I called and canceled. I was told I would only get a $7.00 refund and I told them I would fight this charge through my credit card company. They immediately refunded the full 19.95$. Very deceptive company. I do not ever deal with companies like this.
Dear Howard,
Please allow me to explain the charges associated with the specific subscription you selected. When you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. Unfortunately, because you did not cancel the trial before the 7 days ended, a recurring subscription fee of $19.95 began to charge. We make this clear by detailing it in our terms of use disclaimer which must be agreed to before any transactions can be made. Please contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this issue.
Thank you,
Spokeo
I subscribed for the 1 month (Casual Users for $13.95/Mc ( normally $19.95)... suppose to get the full access to everything I needed... so I thought. But all it let me do is put in an email address (which I already knew who it was) but as I stated... I thought I was getting more info for what I paid for... but... for an extra $4.95 charge I could get all of that... Seriously? I immediately cancelled my subscription. So exactly what kind of services should I be getting for the 1 month subscription of $13.95 that I paid for? I haven't seen any good reviews on this site at all. I should of read reviews first but guess you could say I was desperate to find out what I needed. Sighssss!
Dear Rebecca,
We understand your concern and want to help resolve this issue. Spokeo Subscriptions are set up so that you can customize it in a way you see fit. For example, when you sign up, you get full access to which ever subscription you selected such as our Name Search Premium, Email Search Premium, or Address Search. Should you wish to add-on an additional service to your package, it would be available at an additional charge. We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our purchase process, or any of our subscriptions. Please call a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience. We're happy to help in any way we can!
Thank you,
The Spokeo Team
There is nothing consistent about the fees on this site. A free search will tease you information, blocking details with an *. They ask you to subscribe for 6 months at a rate like $4.95 a mo. Then you cancel and they will give you a "Platinum" subscription for $0.95 for 7 days. Pretty much like a free trial, but no details as to what "Platinum" is. Come to find out, it is 20 name searches which will give you old numbers and addresses, in which some are current if they still live there or have that number. I did get to make contact with a long lost friend, so worth my $0.95, but anything else they want to charge you more for. Want social media info, another $19.99 a month, until you click on something else, then it is $12.99 a month. It shows there are 4 court records, click on that, it pretends to search specific records and teases you with more info in which it wants another $49.95 for the single report, or $11.80 a month to get search results, not specific details. Oh, and once your 20 searches are over, every detail gets hidden again, even though you have a subscription.
It is creepy to know how much info is out there on people, and now I feel I have given them even more by paying for the 7 day trial, in which I have canceled in under an hour. But it is just a scam of a site that will do everything it can to get more money out of you.
Dear David,
We're sorry you feel this way and wish to assist in resolving the issue. We are a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. Our information comes from various sources located within the Public Domain such as public record data, surveys, and social data (that has not been deemed private). Spokeo makes this information more easily accessible for people to research themselves or others, and sometimes that information is not always up to date. Please feel free to contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 should you have any further questions.
Thank you,
The Spokeo Team
I paid $0.95 for a one time search and have now found I have been billed $19.95 for a service I have not consciously subscribed for, used nor have any intention to use
SPOKEO are out and out crooks in my opinion based on my experience
Dear Neil,
We understand your concern and want to assist in resolving this issue. Please allow me to explain the charges associated with the specific subscription you selected. When you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. Unfortunately, because the trial was not cancelled within 7 days, a recurring subscription fee of $19.95 began to charge. Please feel free to contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience. We would be happy to assist with any questions or concerns you might have.
Sincerely,
The Spokeo Team
I saw the pop up from Spokeo, that promised me they HAVE the info I was looking for, and I can retrieve it with my free trial. I paid my $. 95 for the trial, expecting to see the information I was promised, and there was none... also charged 19.95 to get unlimited access. A partial name showed up. Then a second offer promising me that they would have the information I was seeking if I paid another $4.95 to get that single address verification. I then basically closed my connection. I went to my bank statement this month and realized that i was being charged monthly $19.95 and an additional charge of 17.85 had now been added which took the same date 1 month later as my original $. 95 charged
Dear DW,
I understand your concern and wish to assist in resolving this issue. Please allow me to explain the charges associated with the specific subscription you selected. When you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. Unfortunately, because the trial was not cancelled within 7 days, a recurring subscription fee of $19.95 began to charge. Please feel free to contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
The Spokeo Team
I will not be using Spokeo. Thanks for saving me headaches.
Dear John,
We're sorry you feel this way. Spokeo is a search engine that specializes in finding people. Many of our customers have had the opportunity to reunite with lost family, friends, and loved ones, and that is something we are proud to be a part of. If you have any questions or concerns we invite you to contact us directly by calling a member of our Customer Care team at (888) 271-9562. We're happy to help.
Sincerely,
The Spokeo Team
I needed to do a search recently for my son's new cell phone that was stolen from him at high school. We used the phone's GPS to track it down. I found the ad for the spokeo $0.95 single search so I used it to explore more about the specific address. Well, a couple weeks later I get an email stating my credit card was being charged $19.95 for a year long subscription.
There was not easily identifiable text in the "one time search" that I purchased stating that it was also triggering a yearly subscription. Very deceptive business practice! So, I asked spokeo for a refund and explained in my request that it was not made clear that I was triggering an automated payment. I asked for a refund of my $19.95. Today, they responded after a delay of almost 2 weeks with a refund for $14.96. What a scam. I am sure they will try to respond to this review as they have with others but their practices do not appear to be changing. Bottom line: I basically paid $6 for a search that provided me with no meaningful information. Save your money. Spokeo is not worth it and they have dishonest business practices. They probably make a mint doing this to a lot of unsuspecting people.
Update: Spokeo finally did me the "courtesy" of refunding the entire $19.95. And to their credit they did it after one final email that conveyed my dissatisfaction. But, I'd like to clarify details of what I feel continues to be deceptive. The automatic subscription after a 7 day trial was not clearly identified at all. It was buried in an ungodly long terms of agreement. I went back and studied the $0.95 offer and it is extremely difficult to find these details. I openly ask for spokeo to clean up this deceptive practice and make the automated subscription more clear and up front in their marketing and web ads.
Dear Paul,
It is possible that when you signed up you selected our Single Search with Premium Trial plan, which provided you with an initial $0.95 Single Record as well as additional free Premium access for 7 days. Unfortunately, because the trial was not cancelled within 7 days, a recurring subscription fee of $19.95 began to charge. Accounts of this type are set up to automatically renew so that those who do use our services on a regular basis can do so without any service interruption. I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding, or inconvenience this issue has caused. Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this matter. We can be reached at 888-906-0850.
Thank you,
Spokeo
I was never on the site and they charged me $40! How did they get my personal information is beyond my knowing and is a very scary thought indeed?! I did not even know what the service was about. They charged me 3 days ago and I asked for a refund but they told me that they are unable to give out refunds but I could use the site until March or May next year. I do not care about using this service at any time EVER! AND I do not appreciate your super friendly service workers when really the company is truly based on unethical practices. Please expose and inform!
Dear N F,
We take situations like this very seriously. Please contact a member of our Customer Care team by calling 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience so we can assist in resolving this issue.
Thank you,
Spokeo
About the Business
People search engine and free white pages finds phone, address, email, and photos. Find people by name, email, address, and phone for free.
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Dear Angela,
We understand your concern and wish to assist in resolving this issue. Spokeo subscriptions are set to automatically renew if left active to prevent any service interruption. We make this very clear by detailing this on our payment page, including it in the disclaimer which has to be agreed to before the purchase is processed. In addition, the information is included in the confirmation receipt sent immediately after payment, as well as in our Terms of Use. I do apologize again if this was unclear in any way.
Sincerely,
Spokeo