HouseValues.com

HouseValues.com

Online Real Estate Lead Generation I signed up with Housevalues.com in September 2004, for Real Estate lead generation. After several months of Fake Names, address and a shortage of the guaranteed leads I contacted their offices and asked for a credit for the number of leads less than promised. Though I knew that the fake leads wouldn’t be reimbursed, I was sure that they would compensate me for the less than three per month. I was told this wasn’t anything that the person I was talking to knew about and that I had to call someone else. I asked for the number of the person to discuss this with and was told they didn’t have it. I called several more times to find some way of resolution to the on-going problems I was having with the service they had promised me and really got nothing accomplished—it was never the person’s department, never their problem and no other numbers were available for me to call. The service I was paying for and guaranteed was not being offered to me.

There was an “on the phone” coaching system that I was paying for, only to find that they didn’t know anything about real-estate and were only coaching you to refer your friends and colleagues to house values and “keep on Keeping on.” I was lead to believe that the “Coaching” team was professionals that could provide a real coaching service- not just keep on trying. The solutions to any and all questions were to keep up the good work.

At this time because of a hacker in Canada my lender re-issued me a credit card with new numbers. I was called by House Values to get the new number. I gave it to him and approved the current charge and asked him to resolve the problem—again not his area and nothing he was going to do about it. The sales representative asked me then to sign a totally NEW agreement to “Reconfirm” my contract as there was this current credit card issue being resolved. The contract he was asking me to confirm was in fact DIFFERENT than the originals. I explained to him that this was NOT the contract I had agreed to and this one was charging me more money.

The agreement I had made when signing up was $99 per month for the first 6 months, then $199 per month for the next 6 months. This would guarantee me 3-5 leads per month in Kirkland and possibly more if there was a surplus. I asked him to check into this, and told him that I wasn’t prepared to sign a new contract at this time. I followed up that week again asking for clarification of this change mid-stream of my contract and was told to sign and return it with my credit card OK. I was also told that if there was a contract that I had originally signed that was different than this new one it was my obligation to produce it.

I was then called and asked if I would go to a House Values Seminar. I said that I would be willing to go if we could figure out the billing and contract issues prior to the conference. I did not attend the conference because this was not resolved and I didn’t want to take part in something I was feeling so terrible about. House Values then sent me a $500 dollar bill for lack of attendance!

I recently received a bill explaining that they were going to take me to collections if I didn’t pay them an early cancellation fee of $795.00. Of course I immediately called them again and left several messages for them to call me as this is in error. I didn’t ask to cancel my account early—they just couldn’t figure out the billing and I wasn’t going to commit myself to a contract that was “amended” mid-term that would cost me an additional 300 this year for leads that were not being produced, bad coaching and erroneous names/addresses.

Finally today after 4 attempts to gain contact I received a call back from Christy Nelson. Because I had been trying to resolve this via phone/person and not online she said there was no trace of my attempts to fix the situation, and lead me to believe that she thought me to be untruthful. I was given the option to pay an early cancellation fee or face collections. I was told it was my fault this had gone on and that there was never a new contract offered to me- or if there was it was in error and should have been ignored. Though ignoring it is what actually got me to this point. It didn’t matter that he had told me that my account would be closed with out signing this new contract.

I was told that I had to give her my credit card number (which she already had) and ok back charges on an account I hadn’t had access to. I was to pay for the leads I didn’t receive during this time too as well as pay for the next month in hopes the leads would be better. I expressed my frustration that the system would be so flawed, and the charges and organization could be so haphazard. Christy told me that there was an entire team that could have helped me with the lead questions, and that I wasn’t given the access to these people was impossible.

She also told me that I should never have let my account become delinquent—and for doing this I got what I should have gotten. There was no way they could have credited me with lack of service at this point because the account is in default. I told her that I really didn’t understand how my account was in default when they in reality had my credit card information, the problem I was having was with the new contract and lack of leads. She then demanded an ok on my credit card- or they were going to take me through the process. I asked what the process was, and was told third party billing.

Again I gave them the ok to use my card. I was told that the area I was being back charged for is no longer available, and I would have to sign up with a new area for more money if I didn’t want to be sent to collections. I asked what other options were available and was put on hold for 20 minutes. She came back and told me I could take the geographical area of Bothell. I told her that wasn’t what I had paid for in my original contract and would like to keep the contract to exactly what it was. I was told to pay my bills on time and this wouldn’t have been an issue. I have now agreed to accept Bothell, but told them that I would be taking this to the BBB as their business practices are horrible.

As of today- they called me and told me that in order to avoid collections I need to sign up for ANOTHER 12 month contract at any fee that’s currently available, and the area I had previously was now unavailable. I told them that I would accept the new area under the old contract—that was unacceptable to them. It was new contract or collections. Collections for an account they had a credit card to the entire time. I’ve now paid for leads and service I have never gotten, am assigned an area I never wanted, was never given a copy of the contract I had asked for copies of, and am forced to sign a fresh new contract at their own new rates and was told this was my only alternative to collections

Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer

Comment On This

They SUCK with a capital "S".

I was promised 6 leads "plus extras" each month from this company. To date, they have only sent me maybe 1/2 of those leads each month.

I have called severla times, and get the same regurgiated dribble about hosw I am in a contract. Well, are they not in a contract too, and are failing miserably on their end?

feel free to e-amil me with your house values/ just listed horror stories! jpoday AT gmail.com