SPOKEO Lies to prospective members, Internet

I created a test case of myself, entering my e-mail address to see what came up in their info.  The photo of me was from Facebook, definitely female, but I was listed in their information as male. Interestingly, my Facebook profile from whence they got my name, lists me as female.  Never been male.  Never wanted to be male.  I have a distinct name and as far as I know, there are no males with my name in the States, hence no public records of me as male. Do not buy this service.  They either fabricate information or their search engines automatically enter incorrect information.  When I addressed this with them, I received a form letter e-mail response, DISCLAIMING THEIR ACCURACY.  Perhaps their site can be used for entertainment, but don't expect accuracy.

...still smells the same.  And Spokeo is no rose.  Same old retorts about their "standard usage policy."  DOUBLETALK.  They promise everything and deliver next to nothing.  Save your $$$.  You won't get a refund (unless you are a Celtic warrior!).  GO ELSEWHERE.  FORGET SPOKEO.  BIG RIP-OFF!

Dear Spokeo User,

I sincerely apologize if you feel misled in any way. As previously mentioned, this is standard usage policy for subscription based plans. Additionally, Spokeo makes it easy for our users to keep track of their searches, as the number of searches are displayed on the front page of the "Settings" section.

I urge you to contact us through our Contact Page, as we are more than willing to resolve any issues for you.

Sincerely,
Spokeo

Just to update, Spokeo is absolutely NOT CHANGING ANYTHING, except for the way they rip-off their prospective subscribers, who offer their money, in good faith, for publicly known information.  To avoid any redundancy from my earlier posts, I will offer one more important piece of advice:  Use your bankcard as "credit," not "debit."  In that manner, you can dispute the whole transaction, due to Spokeo's misrepresentation.  Go to their website and view, for yourself, what it states:

"What You're Getting Emails, Addresses, and Phone Numbers Complete Search Results and Profiles Search 73+ Social Networks And More! Spokeo Guarantee 100% Guarantee. If we don't have results for this search we will gladly issue a refund.

Now... try to get it!  All you will get is the same B.S. that the earlier posts have lent to these threads.  Remember, NOTHING in their T and C talks clarifies a search.  According to Spokeo's response to Rip-off Report (#4) "please note that all searches count towards your quota, even those that provide little or no results."  Ill say it again, nothing containing that language, or even close, appears in their T and C.  

If you dont mind getting burned or cheated, then give your money up to Spokeo, but remember what I and others have written in these threads, that you will fall victim to their misleading and deceptive posts. 

My expectation is that Spokeo will lose thousands of potential customers, thanks to the concerted efforts of us victims and Ripoff Report, which permit a platform of open and honest expression. 

 

Dear Clay,

Spokeo is a search engine, which specializes in aggregating people-related information. Our search results show only publicly-accessible information gathered from hundreds of public sources, such as: phone books, social networks, marketing lists, business sites, and many other public sources. 

Spokeo People Search allows our users to search for anyone by Name, Reverse Email, Reverse Phone or Username. 

In regards to the uses of Spokeo, we have had a countless number of success stories in which our users have successfully reunited with their biological parents using Spokeo. We are also used by many High School Reunion Planning Committees, which utilize our service in getting in touch with past students. Our services have also been employed by customers to avoid fraudulent business transactions. 

There are various uses of Spokeo, and we encourage our users to check back with us periodically as our designing and engineering teams are working hard to increase our search capabilities to yield even more effective results.

Sincerely,
Spokeo

I feel that neither one of these parties involved in this transaction are "good" people. You can see it in the writing of the tone of the buyer, and the service that Spokeo provides are sub-moral, even what I'd say was underhanded or at least unethical. What I mean is, there should be no individuals that have access to other people numbers/information. There should be no "price" you can pay, nor a business that sells such information. People that want to use this service are just as guilty, if not more, if only for being nosey or intrusive on other people's lives. There should be a law against such activity unless needed by LAW ENFORCEMENT or the FBI for the purpose of apprehending criminals or stopping an attack. When lives are at stake, I'll let it be,... but Tom, Dick & Harry shouldn't be allowed access to so much personal information. It can be dangerous in the wrong hands..

But, I'm sure Spokeo will retort this and claim (or should I say disclaim) that they aren't the bad guys.

Me personally, I'd have a hard time sleeping at might if I was Spokeo's owner.

But I guess I'm just an antiquated guy with out-of-date morals & standards. Right?

Obviously, someone from Spokeo monitors these reports, and this is good because it partially confirms that readers on this site are PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION to these posts.  I'll keep posting as long as the D.H. from Spokeo keep denying that they mislead their customers into believing they are getting what they pay for.  DON'T SIGN-UP!  YOU'LL BE DISAPPOINTED.  A SCAM IS STILL A SCAM!

Dear Spokeo User,

I do apologize if you were unaware of these terms, as this is standard usage policy for subscription based plans. Please note, however, that Spokeo makes it easy for our users to keep track of their searches, as the number of searches is displayed on the front page of the "Settings" section. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us through our Contact Page.

Sincerely,
Spokeo

I read and re-read their T and C prior to, and after, they had blocked me from accessing email searches emails.  According to Spokeo's response to me back on 11/12/2011 (after emailing them four times), "please note that all searches count towards
your quota, even those that provide little or no results."  What a
crock.  Nothing containing that language, or even close, appears in their T
and C.  Note: Every other legitimate site operates on a "no info, no
charge" policy.  This is just a CHEAP HUSTLE TO GET MEMBERS TO SHELL
OUT MORE MONEY, and no amount of B.S. from their "side" can obfuscate
the truth about the way they misrepresent their service.  CAVEAT EMPTOR:
YOU WON'T GET WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE GETTING WITHOUT BEING HUSTLED FOR
MORE MONEY.  I cancelled my membership on 11/12/2011.  I advise all
who read this, and who wish to get access to information, to GO ELSEWHERE. SAVE
YOUR MONEY.  DON'T GET HUSTLED BY THEIR SMOKE AND MIRRORS.

Thanks to the Ripoff Report I was promptly called by a really nice representative of Spokeo that resolved my issue with their service.  I am so pleased because I love the service. It does a much better job helping me find people and info than many other subscription sites that charge more. I would've hated to cancel my subscription over use limitations not set properly. Now I am supposed to get all of the phone, reverse email and user name searches allotted each month to premium members. Thanks again Ripoff Report and Thank you Spokeo for offering a great service at a reasonable price

I have emailed Spokeo for help getting my quotas reset so I can use as I subscribed their service but it always responds that I am over my allowed quota below is my quota details form them now and I should have 5  more phone plus.... I have supposed to be over quota for 3 months

Subscription StatusYou have a lifetime membership to Spokeo Premium

.Monthly Quota UsageSince November 03, 2011
Reverse Email 1 out of 20
Reverse Phone 0 out of 0
Email Contact 0 out of 0
Username 0 out of 0
PreferencesSend me important news from Spokeo.Enable keyboard shortcuts.  (customize keys)

      

Dear Spokeo User,

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Spokeo is a People Search Engine, and aggregates only publicly-accessible data from a multitude of sources, such as social networks, public records, phone listings, marketing surveys and more. For this reason, Spokeo preserves and protects the privacy terms of all third-party content and does not grant access to private email accounts, profiles or blogs. Our information depends entirely on the amount of digital footprints left by email users, as well as the privacy settings maintained by the user.

Spokeo's Reverse Email Search performed will display results varying between: - photos on networks such as Flickr or PhotoBucket - videos that have been watched or posted on YouTube - reviews of products such as books and music submitted over Amazon - blogs submitted over blogging sites such as Blogger and LiveJournal - public profiles posted on popular networks such as Facebook and MySpace

Also, all of our subscription plans are under a search quota limit. This implementation will not only ensure that your email searches continue to remain smooth and quick, but will allow us to add more supported networks into our database in the future. This term is made very clear on our payment page, as it is included in the disclaimer which has to be agreed to before the purchase is processed. To ensure that our payers are aware of this, we even provide the link to our Plan Specification page as part of the disclaimer. This link is available here: http://www.spokeo.com/plans

I wish to point out however, that your account's search quotas reset automatically every month, providing you full, comprehensive access again thereafter (unused searches will not roll over). Also, please note that all searches count towards your quota, even those that provide little or no results. For this reason, I recommend that you keep track of your searches regularly under the "Settings" tab, and consider upgrading your account if you require a higher search plan.

If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely, Spokeo