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
Ditto ALL of the above 3 pages worth of DO NOT SIGN UP reviews. I stupidly signed up before checking this site, and I completely regret it. Their site cannot even find things that Google can find - it's a complete waste of time and money. I looked myself up on here, and it found absolutely nothing - and I have all kinds of public web exposure. I think the only person who works here is the one who writes the apology responses for all of our complaints!
Don't waste your money. One star is the least I could give, they deserve none. I was doing a reverse phone lookup. They implied they found information and after I paid they sent a report saying they couldn't find the owner or address. All they could tell me was the city. Well duh, the area code tells me that!
Dear Paul,
Thanks for your message. You were told that we had "found a match" because some of the fields were filled, unfortunately, not the fields that were important. I'm sorry that our service did not meet your expectations. Our phone listings typically can provide more information. However, certain numbers are simply not found in our phone directory and may not yield full or accurate results.
Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a People Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. Instead, this information is gathered from a multitude of sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number or email address you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. I do apologize again for the inconvenience. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Total scam! Trying to help a young Girl find her real parents and this site lured her in to think she had a chance to research, and possibly get some info about who, where and why she was put up for Adoption. You People are just plain Mean! Why do you have to rip off Young Folks, I'm
Not very pleased, you cause people to think they might have chance to answer some questions they desperately need answers to. Shame on You. I Swear dose anyone have a consideration about the next Kid, Young Adult, Human Being. I get more and more cynical everyday, do you folks really need to steal hopes and dreams as well as our hard earned money. Ha Ha you got over on us! We choose to trust and unfortunately look where that gets Us. Shame on You (I know your laughing because we are not as sophisticated as you all) This Young Girl had her hopes Up. You be proud of yourself, I'm sure your Parents would be!)
Dear David,
Thank you for your message. I am very sorry to hear that the service was unsuccessful in finding the young girl's parents. Finding long lost relatives is one of our most popular uses. In fact there is a group of people who volunteer to help search for separated families using Spokeo services. I highly recommend you look into the Spokeo Search Angles, as they have helped many families reunite. Here is a link: http://spokeoangels.com/. I really hope you both the best of luck in your search. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us back, we would be happy to assist you.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Like many others who reviewed Spokeo, I paid $1.95 and received zero information. BUT I emailed them and received a response and full REFUND within a few days. So they DO refund (at least in my case). HOWEVER, if they are going to charge for information, they should let you know UP FRONT what data they CAN provide (name, address, phone etc) and also what information they DO NOT have, so that you won't have to PAY just to find out that they don't have anything to give you for your money. Then you could decide if you want to pay for the info, without paying only to discover that they have NOTHING new to sell you for this particular individual. Without this feature, you can't tell if you are getting what you want or if you get nothing - in which case it could be considered a SCAM for those unwilling or unable to get a refund.
Dear Nick,
Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear that our phone search was unable to provide you with the details you were looking for. I am glad however that we were able to assist you with a refund. As we are a paid premium service, there are no free searches and since we do not monitor or maintain the information, we simple gather it for you, we can not guarantee any search results. If you have any further concerns, please feel free to contact us. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Total SCAM! Before I paid the $1.95, Spokeo showed me an aerial view of home I did the free search of a phone number for, to make me think they had a street address. After all, how can they have an aerial view of a home but no street address to go with it!
THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM!
Dear Chris G.
Thanks for your message. I apologize for any confusion caused and would be more than happy to clarify. Our site showed "We Found a Match" because several of the result fields were populated. However, I'm sorry to hear that our service was unable to meet your expectations and provide a full name. Our phone listings typically can provide more information. The aerial view is a bing.com map view of that zipcode since an address was not provided. It is showing you the general area from where the phone number comes from. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Spokeo IS a scam. Paid to get information about myself. I own properties, been paying taxes for 20 years, lived in three major metropolitan areas, have credit cards, etc etc etc... and yet, I go nothing. No information found. These people didn't even bother to look. You pay, and now your money goes to a black hole and never gets back. I contacted Spokeo twice by email, at the address they provide for contact! And got no replies, no answer, and no resolution. Be very careful with these people.
By the way, I Google myself and get plenty of information already within the first few links, including my own current phone number. I make this clarification just in case Spokeo decides to "answer" below (as they use to do with other reviews) claiming that it only aggregates publicly available data. My data are out there, all over the place. And I was hoping Spokeo would be able to get something else that I missed.
Dear SA H.
Thanks for your message. Spokeo is only able to access public records. If you have records out there that have been made private, we will not be able to access them. Also keep in mind that some documents are never made public such as tax records. Spokeo is designed to locate contact information and demographic data on the area. I am sorry if the service did not meet your expectations and we wish to assist your further with any other concerns. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
First i checked out to see my own information my home information was correct " SCARY " How in the heck can a company do this. It could cause someone to seriously be hurt. I expect several law suits in the future. What if you are being stalked or trying to leave bad relationship... Second i found there ad for catching a cheater. Well i wanted to see if i am a cheater LOL. So i entered my own e-mail address and guess what they found me on 71 potential site. Total LIE, i am not on anything but facebook. If i paid them money and joined they would reveal this false information. I know i am not a cheater just had to know what that delivish company had on me. In closing i find this the most crazy thing in the world, it is dangerous, encourages stalkers, rapist, murders, child molesters. All with the clik of a mouse and 3.95 you lose all your rights! I dont know about you but i am smoking MAD!
Dear Tricia,
Thanks for your message. At Spokeo we take privacy concerns very seriously and offer several ways to have your information removed from the website. This can be done for free and without the need of having a paid subscription. Catching a potential cheater is a very popular reason for people to use our site and the ad you saw was stating that we search through 70+ social networks, it does not say that we found 70+ social sites for you. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Charged for information that it would not deliver. Called for refund, on hold for 20 minutes, gave up. Sent e-mail, no reply. A complete fraud!
Dear Gerald,
Thanks for your message. I am sorry that you were on hold for so long. We have been experiencing some high call volumes the past few days. Please call or email us and we would like to assist you in resolving this issue. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Still waiting for a response and refund... two unauthorized with drawls... ripped off
Dear Dan,
If you have any questions regarding this refund we ask that you contact us directly at 888-906-0850 at your earliest convenience.
Thank you,
Spokeo
Mostly - the information was very limited and inaccurate. Especially with my own information. I sent updates 2x and it still stayed incorrect.
BUT the worst thing was when I signed up to this site, they also signed me up for another site - my credit card was charged for BizzShark for 2 What a rip off. Since it was near the holidays I thought it was something I ordered until it showed up again this month. What crooks. I canceled Spokeo but continued to be charged for BZshark.
Dear Spokeo User,
Thanks for your message. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation. Pulling information from both online and offline sources. Since we do not monitor or maintain any of this information, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of that information. We, as you, are at the mercy of those sources. Again I apologize for the service being unsatisfactory.
In regards to the other service, we do have affiliates that advertise on our page. It is possible that you may have inadvertently selected to begin Bizsharks 30-day free trial. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Paid for a one year subscription and more than 85% of the time received inaccurate information. What a joke! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. Also, you can click on the privacy link at the very bottom of the screen (where it is grayed out with the other links) and remove what information on yourself is inaccurate. Just follow the instructions on the screen. This is definitely a scam. Fortunately I was only charged for the one subscription and nothing further like those I've read about. I'm sorry to hear that all of you who posted got ripped off monthly.
Dear Cybil,
Thank you for your message. I would first like to assure you that we are not a scam and that the results gathered are coming from public sources. If those sources are outdated or inaccurate, unfortunately that is going to be what we gather and what you see as a search result. We have many subscription options, some are monthly others are not. It is up to the user to select the level of service that they require.
I am also glad you pointed out the Privacy link at the bottom of our page. It is there to assist in removing any information on yourself you do not wish to be public. Please keep in mind that information removed from our site is still out there from its original source. Thank you again for your comment and for using Spokeo.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
I was charged twice, and didn't get the information I was promised (name). I was told I would get a refund within 3 business days. This is a total waste of time.
Dear Troy,
I'm sorry to hear that you were charged twice for the same search but I am glad you got in touch with us to resolve that issue. I'm also sorry to hear that our service did not meet your expectations. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Someone I was thinking about dating (and had called on my cellphone) decided she was going to use this service to "do a background check." She looked up my number (a pay-as-you-go Samsung cell phone bought at Wal-Mart). I have no idea what kind of info. That came up, but she started calling me a liar, a fraud, and bunch of insane crap. A word to the wise when using this service: some cell numbers are RECYCLED. Thanks for ruining my life, Spokeo.
Dear Larry,
I am really sorry to that this happened to you. Dating can be very difficult especially with all the information that is available on the Internet. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. The refund amount you may have been offered is based on several factors, one of which is how many searches have been performed and will reflect on that amount. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY! I went on the sight to use it for free, but discovered it did not give very good info, so I decided to pay for it to get the info that they were not displaying. I check on some of my friends to discover their information was 6 months to over a year old. How is this reliable? The next day I asked to cancel my subscription and they are offering me $11.00 of my 23.00 payment back. Stay away from this sight. I usually check reviews, but failed to do this and am now sorry for that. Do not use them!
Dear John,
Thanks for your message. I apologize for the confusion. On our website, basic results are available for free. However, for more comprehensive, in-depth information, you are presented with the option of signing up for our Premium Content. I'm sorry if you were under the wrong impression and hope to assist you in whatever way possible.
Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. The refund amount you may have been offered is based on several factors, one of which is how many searches have been performed and will reflect on that amount. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! Read the other reviews. This is a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE "service" they provide. I even tried searching myself and all the information was either non-existent or wrong. I emailed them twice that I wanted my money back because the information they gave me was consistently wrong and they never even responded to me at all. I would not recommend this site to anyone.
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for your message. I am sorry that we have not yet responded to your email but we would very much like to resolve this issue. You may also contact us by phone if the email has not yet been responded to.
I'm also sorry to hear that our service did not meet your expectations. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Charged $1.95 TWICE for one lookup. The lookup itself came back with no information above and beyond the preview.
As far as I'm concerned, this is a site peddling a service that is broken/unsatisfactory and should not be charging for info I can find on Google myself.
SPOKEO = SCAM.
Dear Abhi,
Sorry to hear that you were billed twice, that should not happen. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
YOU REALLY GET ZERO STARS FOR BEING CON ARTISTS. I WANT MY MONEY BACK IMMEDIATELY AND A COPY OF THIS PAGE FULL OF COMPLAINTS JUST LIKE MINE WHERE YOU ACCESSED MY ACOUNT AND STOLE $14.95 FROM ME IS GOING TO THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BUREAU, BBB, EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON MY FB AND TWITTER ACCOUNTS AS WELL AS ANY LOCAL PAPER THAT WILL WRITE A WARNING FOR PEOPLE TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU THIEVES, AND DON'T YOU DARE APOLOGIZE LIKE YOU'VE DONE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE. I WANT AND NEED MY MONEY. To anybody who works for you, you can find a more ethical company to work for than this place. Terms and conditions, by behind!
Dear Linda,
I am sorry for any frustration this may have caused but would like to assist you in your claim and help clarify what might have happened. We do not have any Spokeo services that are at a cost of $14.96, however there are affiliates that advertise on our page. It is possible that you may have selected something and agreed to those terms. Again, I apologize for the situation. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
They are NOT accurate. I just searched my own cell number, and they don't even show it to be in the SAME CITY that it is in, and I have had this number for over 12 years. They did get the correct state, but California is a big place, and they were wayyyy off. I don't think I would trust any info they provide, let alone pay anything for it.
Dear Ted,
I'm sorry to hear that our service did not meet your expectations. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Rip off. Signed up for a 7 day trial for. 95 per record and they started charging me $19.95 per month.
Dear Stephen,
I'm sorry to hear that you were not aware of our subscription terms and certainly wish to help you resolve the issue. You had selected our single search option which comes with a 7-day trial of our premium service. Because the trial was not cancelled it did enroll you in our monthly subscription which is stated in our terms and must be agreed to before a purchase can be made. Spokeo is a People Search Engine, providing premium access to members who wish to perform name, phone, email or username look-ups. Since this type of Premium Content is only available through subscription-based plans, accounts will automatically renew if left active. This is to prevent any service interruption. We do try to make this very clear on our payment page by 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. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
After searching for countless pieces of information unsuccesfully, I decided to look up my own personal number, which I have had for approximately 4 years. My number comes up as "Yesenia Rodriguez," however, when I call my office which has caller ID, it shows my actual name. This site is an absolute joke - I don't want a partial refund, I want a FULL refund.
I can find more information on GOOGLE! So much for 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Should have come to this site first and read the terrible reviews.
Dear Lauri,
I'm sorry to hear that our service did not meet your expectations. Spokeo showcases the power of information aggregation, as the data is gathered from a multitude of different sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. We also organize the information so that it makes sense for you, as a user. However, machine aggregation has its limits. Since there is no human involved, the data is not verified and might not be accurate. Moreover, many sources do not refresh their data often. Our Terms of Use states clearly that we are a Search Engine, and do not create, maintain or modify any of the information you see. For this reason, we cannot guarantee full or accurate information for every name, phone number, email address or username you search for, as the results vary so much from person to person. Spokeo's data reflects that of the original sources, and our engineers are working hard on new algorithms to improve our data accuracy. I do apologize again for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
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 Katie,
Thank you for your email. Sorry to hear you feel that way. Our service is very successful for thousands of customers. The reviews you read here are a small percentage of our over all customer traffic, but it is true that we do not always find what we are looking for. Since we are reliant on public sources to be complete, if they are not, we will not get full information. I'm really sorry that it did not work as you had hoped. Please contact our support team at support@spokeo.com with mention of this complaint and our representatives will be happy to resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo