tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post116372120709511262..comments2008-05-15T18:19:19.094-04:00Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12562910738229776241noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-59405100709108496912008-05-15T18:19:00.000-04:002008-05-15T18:19:00.000-04:00Daniel...I know this post is WAYYYY later than the first time you posted about Citysearch. I am a photographer too and have had a similar experience. Even though you had a great resolution to your problem, I know there are hundreds of us who remain totally baffled by the Citysearch mentality. It is now MAY, 2008 and as of this month, and after a year of handing Citysearch my wallet, I remain unhappy!!! I have been given promises, I've asked for months to have my lying rep replaced...and I've even have been hung up on (without any provocation on my part). These people are of the typical "build a web company and sit back and suck in the moolah" mindset.<BR/>I also was told up front to start with a high dollar amount but that "it would never actually all get used." However it ALL DID GET USED and my credit card was zapped for the full amount...WITHOUT ANY LEADS or referrals. Citysearch also plays favorites by giving new clients more than what they give longer-termed clients...including an extra photo on the page where the rules state only a photo of "the building your business is located in" is acceptable. A competitor of mine just started with them and was allowed to upload TWO examples of their work instead. The rest of us have that ugly blue logo thing in the center of our page. As a resuly, we don't look as good. As the whole search engine thing expands and expands, it is obvious that companies such as Citysearch may become less and less of a factor as more and more portal sites and just plain advertisers vie for top positions.<BR/>In the meantime, this could develop into an interesting class action complaint.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-90707157291759440712008-05-14T17:11:00.000-04:002008-05-14T17:11:00.000-04:00I too am dealing with the same scenarios as everyone else. I have not had much help from this very unethical company. I cancelled my credit card and disputed my charges and asked for my acct to be closed, well it hasn;t been and I am still getting emails and calls about owed invoices. I reported them to the BBB and now after 4months of trying to get a resolution, I am meeting with a attorney to have them get a resolution for me. The commonwealth of va, attorney general and the dept of consumer affairs said they can't help businesses but to hire an attorney and ask for an cease and desist letter. whenever I mentioned to anyone I could get on the phone, that I felt they were a scam or that I could track my clicks, they went off and claim that all clicks are strictly confidental!!Healing Hands Massage Therapyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849863844802842220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-18627883931018619512008-05-01T19:17:00.000-04:002008-05-01T19:17:00.000-04:00Citysearch is a partner of EXPEDIA.com and EXPEDIA is a huge scam (source:http://www.expedianews.com).<BR/>Apparently most EXPEDIA's partner sites are having bad reputation see this forum: http://www.victimsofexpedia.com/forum . <BR/><BR/>Spread the word about, they seem to be a ring of scammers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-62900582445794287132008-04-10T14:40:00.000-04:002008-04-10T14:40:00.000-04:00It is funny I have the same exact same experience. My friendly City search rep calls me after I agreed to spend $100 per month with them. He offered to reduce my per click charge from $1 per click to 30 cents per click if I agreed to increase my budget to $300 per month. I did not have $300 per month to spend on this however I thought if I had over 900 clicks I would probably be getting enough calls to pay for the services. Unfortunately what I feared happened. My first bill was ok. It came in at just under $100. Then the second month started and I was ironically just under $300 in clicks ($270). I then contacted my rep David Grumbs dgumbs@citysearch.com to cancel my account. He didn't cancel the account and again this month I got a bill for $286.55 again. I think CitySearch is a scam. There is no way I got 900+ hits without a single phone call. Beware of this company or maybe any company that charges per click without supporting documentation. <BR/><BR/>User Actions Amount $270<BR/> Profile Page Views 904 <BR/> Map Views 9 <BR/> Click to Website 1 <BR/><BR/>MarkMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02854054072995662152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-65418487070607261432008-04-09T13:39:00.000-04:002008-04-09T13:39:00.000-04:00This comment is for Chris..Hey, Chris you must work for citysearch most likely....like profession being a *****, as well...<BR/>That is the only reason someone would put that comment because inside they know that is the kind of stuff they do..Or is that you have such a sad life nasty reflect what you feel inside...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-68293698745192205632008-04-07T14:59:00.000-04:002008-04-07T14:59:00.000-04:00I been terribly ripped off by citysearch... They lied to me about so many things to get more money out of me..first was I had to have a $150.00 to get help from a acct. rep which was never really a acct. rep she was a sales rep. but, I fell for it. Then, I was told if I dropped my account down to the $75 it was before I would have to pay $2.50 up per click. So, now I think I am stuck...after months of no real business I can on my so called acct. manager to help me. She tells me to change my business name and she would give me what she called a back door link for anyone coming to my site could see my reviews. This link was to be free..not even within 8 or 10 days my budget was gone. I called and she gave me another run around telling me now that if I needed more help I needed to go thru customer service..At this time I questioned to link as the reason she told me she would get back to me. Then, later Oh, I am sorry we don't have free ones now maybe later...so I have to pay a web person again to remove it. Two months of huge click bills and Oh, well I am sorry for what we are going to do about it. I drop them and call my credit card people. Now collections are calling and writting even though the credit card has been billed.. These people are true rip offs....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-61481555158823280672008-01-10T15:35:00.001-05:002008-01-10T15:35:00.001-05:00I am having an awful experience myself with Citysearch. <BR/><BR/>They claimed over 880 clicks on one day. My logs show 850 unique users total for that day, many of which came from other, easily identifiable sources.<BR/><BR/>I faxed the log reports to my account manager over a month ago. When I checked in to what was happening, she said that they were diligently working on it. Then a couple of days later she said they couldn't find the reports I faxed. Could I please send them again? When I called her on the BS, she got real huffy.<BR/><BR/>THEN, she had the gall to ask "Do you know any other business owners who would be open to exploring their search engine marketing options? Please send me their name, business name, phone number, and e-mail. Thank you"<BR/><BR/>Amazing - not only could I not recommend Citysearch, I would actively recommend against itLeewww.earthfriendlyshopping.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-60222001497700423092008-01-10T15:35:00.000-05:002008-01-10T15:35:00.000-05:00I am having an awful experience myself with Citysearch. <BR/><BR/>They claimed over 880 clicks on one day. My logs show 850 unique users total for that day, many of which came from other, easily identifiable sources.<BR/><BR/>I faxed the log reports to my account manager over a month ago. When I checked in to what was happening, she said that they were diligently working on it. Then a couple of days later she said they couldn't find the reports I faxed. Could I please send them again? When I called her on the BS, she got real huffy.<BR/><BR/>THEN, she had the gall to ask "Do you know any other business owners who would be open to exploring their search engine marketing options? Please send me their name, business name, phone number, and e-mail. Thank you"<BR/><BR/>Amazing - not only could I not recommend Citysearch, I would actively recommend against itLeewww.earthfriendlyshopping.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-54337383959833336382007-12-11T12:04:00.000-05:002007-12-11T12:04:00.000-05:00I am going through a similar thing!! Man, I feel raped. I feel so powerless!! What can I do??????<BR/>They are playing the same games with me that they are with you. They don't return my calls/e-mails, they give me the run around when I do get in touch...<BR/><BR/>Should I just block access to my credit card? What would happen?Austinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-46589861512840918412007-12-04T04:30:00.000-05:002007-12-04T04:30:00.000-05:00I apologize for being unable to leave a proper link with my comment above - I'm in China and can only access Daniel's website through a proxy, the government blocks most blog websites here.okcjeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-25108699710090089982007-12-04T04:15:00.000-05:002007-12-04T04:15:00.000-05:00I am going through a very similar experience with Citysearch right now and I posted my long story here: http://china.blog.beijingdiscoverytours.com/2007/12/04/citysearch-click-fraud-warning/<BR/>I can't believe that they actually expect to be able to scam people like this and get away with it. Class-action lawsuit, anyone?okcjeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-47823228284052465162007-08-27T19:32:00.000-04:002007-08-27T19:32:00.000-04:00I've moved my article on my experience with <A HREF="http://aldebaranwebdesign.com/blog/my-adventure-with-city-search-pay-per-click-advertising-and-click-fraud/" REL="nofollow"> Citysearch Click Fraud </A><BR/><BR/>Sorry for duplicate comment, couldn't figure out how to change other post.<BR/><BR/>JillAldebaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04784133179111680624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-76367057297387960542007-08-09T11:28:00.000-04:002007-08-09T11:28:00.000-04:00Here's another thing that people don't realize...You know those plaques that they give to businesses saying that they have been selected as a 'Best of Citysearch' business? Guess what - THEY SELL THEM! Yes, indeed. One of their representatives who actually pitched the program to me rapper-style voice called repeatedly and when I tried to transfer him to our department who handles such inquiries resorted to insulting me and acting insolent on the phone. Click... Businesses beware - I've never heard of any individual or organization who has had to actually pay to receive an award. These people are jerks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-10778325554867254082007-07-09T18:19:00.000-04:002007-07-09T18:19:00.000-04:00I was spending $1000 a month on my business with citysearch; however my competitor constantly posts bogus reviews and citysearch refuses to remove them.....so what is the point!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-83128360399008817202007-06-21T00:26:00.000-04:002007-06-21T00:26:00.000-04:00consumer pleae read my update though..citysearch took care of the problem beyond my expectations. I harbor no ill will towards them.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12562910738229776241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-49558346784008652812007-06-20T19:31:00.000-04:002007-06-20T19:31:00.000-04:00I am posting this story on www.betterbuyersunite.info. People need to know what this company is doing. Please visit us.consumerhttp://www.betterbuyersunite.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-10136842554824598532007-06-08T12:16:00.000-04:002007-06-08T12:16:00.000-04:00Hey, send me an email through my www.danielkrieger.com website and I will try to help get you in contact with someone who can really help.<BR/><BR/>DanielDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12562910738229776241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-37506575484213224972007-06-08T10:41:00.000-04:002007-06-08T10:41:00.000-04:00This is update #2 to my "unresponsive rep" story above. It's been several months - dealing with customer service and having my rep make promises for refunds that he hasn't kept. Still nothing. Final opinion: Citysearch will place your ad on its "partner sites" without telling you (I assumed I wass advertising on Citysearch.com only) and charge you for the worthless traffic they send to your website. When you question them, they play dumb...and disappear. Never once was it made clear to me that my ad would be placed on partner sites. And by the way, on those partner sites, your ad looks nothing like what it looks like on Citysearch. It's just a text link - people have no idea what they're clicking - and you get charged anyway. Good luck to all of you out there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-52808818234827090572007-03-12T21:32:00.000-04:002007-03-12T21:32:00.000-04:00I am trying to build a community driven alternative to CitySearch, which will give businesses the ability to list out their products and services in greater detail than the generic name, address, phone and photo listings out there. I would appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions that you all might have. The url is <A HREF="http://www.localmagnet.com" REL="nofollow">http://www.localmagnet.com</A>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02820411470575838542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-4121599298655532672007-03-05T14:28:00.000-05:002007-03-05T14:28:00.000-05:00An update to my long blog post, immediately above:<BR/>My account manager, who was not reachable for several days, did get back in touch with me and offered to refund charges for any clicks that I feel are unwarranted. He also offered a solution to make sure this doesn't happen in the future. I'm not holding my breath, but if it works I'll post the resolution here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-27601679263758873072007-03-03T03:12:00.000-05:002007-03-03T03:12:00.000-05:00As sorry as I am to hear this happened to you, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one. So much of what you said mirrors my situation. I have a web business, so I just want people to come to my website and browse around or buy something.<BR/>Anyway, my account manager at Citysearch talked me in to raising my budget to $1000/month...and told me that I wouldn't use it all up; not to worry. 27 days into the month I was only at about $400...then, in the last 3 days, about $600 more worth of clicks to my ad. The same day, about that many visitors came to my website from a "Citysearch partner site" called Collegehumor.com. My ad was being clicked somewhere, but I don't think it was on Citysearch. And the ad was clicked, but none of those people clicking were doing anything on my website. Worthless.<BR/>Also, a side note, I can't find my own ads on Citysearch, either. Not by searching, anyway. They only show when you look at a competitor's profile. Better than nothing, but not what I wanted.<BR/>Call it a coincidence, call it whatever you want, but I can barely get my account manager to answer my emails since then. The one time he did answer my email, we agreed to meet at a coffee shop...and the guy didn't show. He told me later he was out of town. Thanks for the heads up, buddy.<BR/>I then asked him to cut my budget back to $100/month until we figured this stuff out. Today, one week later, I haven't heard a peep from him...so I checked my spending for this month. 3 days in, already over $200.<BR/>Citysearch has been a huge disappointment. For such a great user service, for advertisers it's a total bust. A scam even.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-1170823044979990252007-02-06T23:37:00.000-05:002007-02-06T23:37:00.000-05:00I had a similar exprience with CitySearch and have documented it here: <A HREF="http://www.aldebaranconsultingseattle.com/resources-articles/resources-articles-CitySearchClickFraud.php" REL="nofollow"> My experience with City Search Click Fraud</A><BR/><BR/>Thanks for this blog!Jill Olkoskihttp://www.aldebaranconsultingseattle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-1168958606820762652007-01-16T09:43:00.000-05:002007-01-16T09:43:00.000-05:00Why don't you guys try www.clixme.com?<BR/><BR/>They only charge you for what you use, no monthly or setup fees.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-1163888916533783152006-11-18T17:28:00.000-05:002006-11-18T17:28:00.000-05:00so many frustrating customer service experiences like this I have had...sigh. I feel ya.<BR/>but good to know it only takes 2 months, 30 phonecalls, and two dozen emails to resolve such a situation. ;)sishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14177670053808432170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6778160.post-1163798485920799602006-11-17T16:21:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:21:00.000-05:00well don't swear at them so much just yet..read my update aboveDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12562910738229776241noreply@blogger.com