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
This is a rip off. I am disgusted by this company.
I too have been scammed by this site. They guarantee 100% satisfaction but they do not deliver. The best way we can get satisfaction is to see this site shut down. File a complaint with your respective states Attorney General, send a copy of all the complaints on this site along with your own. Be sure when/if you send your complaint to your Attorney General, you expand (read more) all the complaints, especially the reply from Spokeo, in that way your Attorney General will get a clearer picture of this company
Dear Audrey,
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
Subscribed for a year, never once did the site provide accurate information. It promised that it found many results, but when you login and run the search, it does not come up with anything that should be easy to find (you can find your subject in social media profiles very easily using google, but Spokeo misses all of them, meanwhile it comes up with random, inaccurate profiles that are clearly wrong in irrelevant sites). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY.
Dear M L.
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
If I could give it no stars I would. I used this site once for 3.95! They said they had 100% info but right after I payed they had NOTHING! It was a complete scam to get the money! But the worst part is they have been charging me 14.95 a month completely unauthorized. I have contacted my bank and we are filing a claim. I am so furious I am getting an attorney so they learn they can not steal people's money like this! They offered to refund only three months and I told them I needed everything back it was stolen unauthorized money from me! They will be hearing from my attorney this whole website is a SCAM! Wish I looked up review prior so for everyone who is reading this DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFO THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY EVERY MONTH! And spokeo don't bother commenting back with your fake prerehearsed "sorry for your bad expierence" read the reviews spokeo EVERY SINGLE PERSON HAS HAD A BAD EXPEIRENCE... it's not us it's YOU! And I will not stop until every single person knows this website is a complete scam!
Dear Shereen,
It is very unfortunate that our terms were unclear to you. The $3.95 is advertised as an average monthly cost of which a total of $14.85 every three months will be deducted. This total must be agreed to before a purchase can be made. Also in the terms it states that if not cancelled, it will continue to bill you as it is a subscription based service and to prevent any service interruption. I would like to point out that we do get complaints from customers as do all business, however, that is a very small percentage of our total customer base. We have showcased many success stories on our website, families have been reunited, mothers have found their daughters and fathers have found their sons. I am truly sorry you feel that our service is stealing money from people. I can assure you that Spokeo is not. If you would like further assistance with your claim, please feel free to contact us directly and we would be happy to resolve this issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Scam. Paid for information they claimed to have, then found out they were just running a scam.
Edit:
Here's their reply. They did issue a refund (I haven't confirmed it yet, but will in the next few days). But why do we allow companies to hunt and peck like this? Take peoples money and then for the people who don't fight the charge, they make money for doing nothing more than lying and being fraudulent.
"Dear Jeff,
Thank you for your email.
I'm sorry to hear 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.
In regards to your refund request, I apologize for the situation this placed you in and would be happy to help you immediately. I understand that you do not plan on utilizing the remainder of your Premium Content. I have gone ahead and contacted a claim specialist from the Dispute Resolution Team.
You have been approved for a full refund of $1.95, which has already been issued. The refund will be credited back to your account within 3 business days. Thank you for working directly with us to resolve this issue.
Questions? Please do not hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
Michael
Email: https://www.spokeo.com/contact
Phone: 1 *******850
Thank you for choosing Spokeo!
Visit us on Facebook and on Twitter!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Spokeo.People.Search
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spokeo
"
Dear Jeff,
I am very glad to see you got the issue resolved. We do take pride in our customer service. I am sorry to hear however that you feel we are a scam. We are not. Spokeo gathers its information from public sources and we are only as good as those sources. If people do not publish information for Spokeo to find, then we will not be able to provide that information to you. Our terms of use indicate everything very clearly and if the service is unsatisfactory, we offer a 100% guarantee. If you require more assistance please let us know. We would be happy to take your call.
Sincerely,
Spokeo.
Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. I searched on a phone number that they claimed to have the name and address of the owner. When I purchased the information every field was no information found.
Dear Carolyn,
Thank you for your comment. 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.
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
Just found that bzshark has been taking $14.95 out of my acount. When I found out that they are the same as spokeo I went on the site to try to find a number to call but had to create account to find the number to call to find out how to stop them. I'm not giving them any info. Guess I'm going to have and file a complaint with my state attorney. To get this rectified. Wish I could do 0 stars.
Todd A.
Thank you for your comment. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. The Bizshark service you are referring to is an optional 30-day trial which is advertised on our website. Since many customers tend to mistake us for them, sometimes charges will be incurred. This service does require acceptance of their terms, which is stated on that advertisement page. There is also an option to say no thanks and skip this optional add-on. Again, I apologize if this was unclear in anyway.
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
I don't want to give them any stars. I have the phone number. ALL I wanted was the name. What a big rip off!
Dear Dixie,
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
I have a rather unusual name so I just looked around without buying. Well it does have many of my previous abodes (I got around quite a bit) but it doesn't have my current one. (I've been here 4 years) Mind you, I fly under the radar, no facebook, no G+, minimal presence on LinkedIn, so it is to be somewhat expected. I looked up the spouse and her info is spotty too, but she's got a spotlight on her. All said, the accuracy is probably below 25% based on my anecdotal experience. (I looked for academic colleagues who also have high profiles)
Dear Bob,
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
I would give this site 0 stars if possible. This is nothing but a scam. The information is totally false and they make sure to do a disclaimer so that they can then tell you that they don't need to give you accurate or timely information. This is nothing but a SCAM! Stay away from this site and save your money. It will just be wasted if you give any of it to them. BOGUS! SCAM! THIEVES!
Dear Snoopy,
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
I just searched for a phone number. The message I got on the page was this "Success! We Found a Match Get Full Results 100% Satisfaction Guarantee"
When I signed up to get the info, the next message I got told me that no number found, to please check again. I did, same message. So this is what Ima do for this scamming site.
You need to be taught some honesty, so I WILL be filing a dispute with my credit card company, and you WILL refund ALL of what I was charged. You don't want to play with me, trust me on that. And PLEASE don't respond with how sorry you are that I've had a bad experience or whatever you say, I'm not buying so you can just save that.
Dear Celeste,
It is unfortunate that the search you had performed did not yield full results. As we gather information from public sources, if those sources are incomplete that is what we will also be gathering. The "Success! We found a match!" indicates that one or more of those fields was filled with information, unfortunately in this case not the information you were looking for. We do offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee and since you were unsatisfied, please contact us so we can resolve this issue.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Not only does it charge you extra by pulling the old bait and switch, but when I asked for a refund I was told I could only receive half of my money back. I'm sure they make a killing off this trick.
Even if you do read the fine print the site isn't worth it. Once you get access you quickly realize that you have to pay even more to get what you thought was basic access.
BTW, you can have your own information taken off this crappy site but clicking "privacy" on the bottom of the page.
Also, I better not receive a reply from one Spokeo's minions. If you were really sorry you would give me a full refund.
Dear Ryan,
I am really sorry that the pricing on the payment page was not clear to you. Pricing is indicated below in the terms of use, as well as in the welcome email that is sent to all new subscribers. The reason you may have only been offered half of your money back could have been because the service was used extensively. We have a 100% guarantee on your first search, had you called after being unsatisfied with that first search you would have received a full refund. There are no additional charges to perform searches as you pay for the full subscription term up front as is indicated in the terms of use.
We also do take privacy very seriously as all websites such as ours should. The information that we gather is from public records and only public records. If you wish to have it removed please let us know and we would be more than happy to assist you with that. Be aware however, that since the information is public records and does not originate from our website, the information will still be out there easily accessible by other means.
Again, my sincerest apology if you were unhappy with our service in anyway. If you have any further concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Should have read this first... same issue as many... paid my $, said it had the information then came up invalid #...
Dear Dave,
I'm sorry to hear 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
I used Spokeo for the first time half a year ago and everything was all right (now I realize, probably there was no more money at my old card to charge), until recently I got back to it and subscribed to a 6 month subscription. I was sent an e-mail from the customer support and charged some amount of money from my credit card. All was fine till today suddenly I was charged again for some Bizshark subscription which I didn't get subscribed to. I didn't even receive a billing e-mail or anything similar. I went to the Spokeo profile and at the bottom of my account saw some Bizshark option. I googled bizshark to see what it is and tried to log in using my e-mail. I requested new password and after i logged in it said that my account is cancelled. How did it come that some additional service subscription was done on my behalf or automatically without me being aware of it? They are obviously linked together. But I subscribed only to SPOKEO. That is scam. I will have to block my credit card and request for a new one because of their service. I am very unhappy. There is even no option on their website to delete credit card details so that they could rip people off whenever they want to again. Bad deal!
Dear Lena,
Thank you for your comment. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. The Bizshark service you are referring to is an optional 30-day trial which is advertised on our website. Since many customers tend to mistake us for them, sometimes charges will be incurred. This service does require acceptance of their terms, which is stated on that advertisement page. There is also an option to say no thanks and skip this optional add-on. Again, I apologize if this was unclear in anyway.
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
Fortunately, the reviews I read here stopped me before I gave up my credit card info. I can say this, though: I entered the name of a person I was looking for and Spokeo came back with partial information. Crucial portions were asterisk'd out, and I was given the opportunity to pay to see them. I then entered the same info on whitepages.com (free, no membership, no credit or personal info asked for) and was freely given everything that Spokeo was charging for. Now, all I needed was an address and phone number and I understand that I wouldn't have gotten it if this person was unlisted, but even if I needed more info, after what I've read here and my own experience, I wouldn't trust Spokeo as far as I could throw them.
Dear Robert,
Thanks for your comment. Spokeo People Search allows you to search for anyone by Name, Reverse Email, Reverse Phone or Username. Our database covers a multitude of social networks, public records, marketing lists and more to reveal demographic details, public profiles, etc. Our Premium membership gives you exclusive content not available to non-subscribers, and is activated immediately after payment is processed. We offer much more than just a phone directory type listing. We hope you choose us for your searching needs in the future.
Sincerely,
Spokeo.
Paid fee to find out they had no information on the number, other than the phone carrier.
Dear C W.
Spokeo People Search allows you to search for anyone by Name, Reverse Email, Reverse Phone or Username. Our database covers a multitude of social networks, public records, marketing lists and more to reveal demographic details, public profiles, etc. 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. Please feel free to call Customer Care at 888-906-0850 should you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
Zero stars. Total waste, total scam. They claimed to have full details on a phone number and all the fields were populated with the text "unknown". Do not fall for it.
I'm sorry to hear that you were not aware of our subscription terms and certainly wish to help you resolve the issue. There are two options for single searches, one with a trial and one without. Single Search plans come with a free trial of Premium access for 7 days. However, because the trial was not canceled within 7 days, a 1-month recurring subscription fee was charged for the amount of $19.95. 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.
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
Scam, and I noticed that unbeknownst to me they had signed me up for ID protection with an allied company, as I noticed unexplained credit card charges of $14.95, traced back to PRIVACY ARMOR. So I had to have that cancelled once I noticed it.
My subscription to Spokeo was canceled the day after I used the service, and the so -called phone number trace they provided was inaccurate. But please be vigilant about checking for unexplained credit card charge from their secret partner, PRIVACY ARMOR;
Dear Shirley,
I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. The 30 day trial you are referring to is an identity theft protection provider, and offers 30-day free trials through a promotion on our website. Since many customers tend to mistake us for them, sometimes charges will be incurred. This service does require acceptance of their terms, which is stated on that advertisement page.
I'm sorry to hear 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.
Sincerely,
Spokeo
I paid at most $5 for reverse phone number searches due to prank calls. I was JUST billed $19.95 without my authorization. Definitely disputing this crap!
Dear John T.
I'm sorry to hear that you were not aware of our subscription terms and certainly wish to help you resolve the issue. There are two options for single searches, one with a trial and one without. Single Search plans come with a free trial of Premium access for 7 days. However, because the trial was not canceled within 7 days, a 1-month recurring subscription fee was charged for the amount of $19.95. 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.
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
This site is a complete SCAM. Do not use it. Here is a partial list of their scammy tactics:
1. They say it costs $3.95 per month but they don't tell you they'll bill you six months in advance.
2. The number for the contact I wanted was a dead number so it wasn't of much use to me. Other users have similar complaints. The contact information is never right.
3. I called ten minutes after paying, explained what happened and requested a refund. They refused to give a refund on the phone, asked me to send an email.
4. Finally they approved a 'partial refund' but I had to reply to the email with the subject line "Accept" to get the 'partial refund'. Most ethical businesses will give you a refund when you call on the phone. They are hoping enough people miss this little detail so they can hold on to the money.
Again, a complete SCAM site. Steer clear of it. Zero stars.
Dear Me M.,
I'm sorry if you were under the wrong impression and hope to assist you in whatever way possible. Because you had selected our 6-month plan, a total of $23.70 has been deducted. Because this provides you access for the full term, the average cost is $3.95 per month, which is the amount you may have been confused with. To make this even more prominent for our payers, we include this information as part of the disclaimer which has to be agreed to before the purchase is processed. I do apologize again if this was unclear in any way.
I'm also sorry to hear 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.
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 D H.,
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 subscriptions are set up to renew automatically so that those who use our services on a regular basis can do so without any interruption. We sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding, or 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