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Report: #387119

Complaint Review: JustAnswer.com - Sausalito California

  • Submitted:
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  • Reported By: Irvine California
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
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  • JustAnswer.com 297 South St. Sausalito, California U.S.A.

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JustAnswer says that they provide experts all over there site. They even claim on there site that "Distinct from other answer sites on the web, our Experts are actually doctors, auto mechanics, veterinarians, CPAs, teachers, computer Experts, etc."

This is an out and out lie to deceive people into paying money for questionable advice. JustAnswer does not ever certify that a so-called "Expert" has any training in ANYTHING. There terms of service states,

"No Assurances Given From and No Reliance on Term "Expert"
Throughout this Site, certain terms, including "Expert", "Specialist", "Consultant" or "Advisor" may be used to refer to someone who claims to have certain knowledge, background or experience that may be useful in responding to a question posed by a user. Use of such terms provides no assurance that the person answering your question has any expertise or qualifications to give such advice. You acknowledge that JustAnswer has not and cannot independently verify their qualifications. If you do not like any answer for any reason, your sole remedy is to disregard the answer and not pay for it. Notwithstanding the foregoing, JustAnswer reserves the right, but is not obligated, to remove any content that it believes violates any of these Terms, including, without limitation, any objectionable or personally identifiable information."

They hide this in the middle of about 5 pages of legal ease. But all over their site they claim that "their experts" can answer your questions, even stating, "our Experts are actually doctors, auto mechanics, veterinarians, CPAs."

More than likely that MD who is answering your question about your childs sickness, or CPA about your sensitive tax info, is an out of work cab driver from Yonkers, sitting in his underware at 3am, "googling" some so-called "expert" answers.

JustAnswer.com doesn't have ANY oversight of their "Experts" yet makes people believe than they do. Shame on them. Don't give them any of your hard earned money.

Andy Kurtzig, their founder and CEO is a scammer for perpetrating this deception and other posts all over the internet confirm this.

Intquestion
Irvine, California
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 11/01/2008 11:42 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/justanswercom/sausalito-california-94965/justanswercom-is-a-scam-justanswercom-justanswer-andy-kurtzig-fake-experts-sausalito-cal-387119. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
10Consumer
1Employee/Owner

#11 UPDATE EX-employee responds

This tells it all.

AUTHOR: NightOwl - ()

POSTED: Friday, November 01, 2013

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/justanswer_com.html

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

SC Bar assn finds JustAnswer fraudulent, attempting to use doublespeak to deny a customer/client relationship exists

and JA pays us not the customers  = unethical

http://www.scbar.org/MemberResources/EthicsAdvisoryOpinions/OpinionView/ArticleId/1211/Ethics-Advisory-Opinion-12-03.aspx

 

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#10 REBUTTAL Owner of company

SC Bar assn finds JustAnswer fraudulent, attempting to use doublespeak

AUTHOR: NightOwl - ()

POSTED: Friday, November 01, 2013

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/justanswer_com.html

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

SC Bar assn finds JustAnswer fraudulent, attempting to use doublespeak to deny a customer/client relationship exists

and JA pays us not the customers  = unethical

http://www.scbar.org/MemberResources/EthicsAdvisoryOpinions/OpinionView/ArticleId/1211/Ethics-Advisory-Opinion-12-03.aspx

 

 

 

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#9 UPDATE EX-employee responds

Employees are biased & shills often

AUTHOR: NightOwl - ()

POSTED: Friday, November 01, 2013

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/justanswer_com.html

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

(((link redacted)))

SC Bar assn finds JustAnswer fraudulent, attempting to use doublespeak to deny a customer/client relationship exists

and JA pays us not the customers  = unethical

http://www.scbar.org/MemberResources/EthicsAdvisoryOpinions/OpinionView/ArticleId/1211/Ethics-Advisory-Opinion-12-03.aspx

See the poor expertise, this is their HVAC mentor!

http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/80mry-hi-hot-water-heating-system-robertshawgrayson.html

 Hi; I have a hot water heating system When I tested the standing pilot safety shutoff it took 78 seconds to shutoff.

 This seems a little long. Is it within the specs?

Expert:  Billy 1961 replied,

Hello, 78 seconds is indeed too long.Most direct vent units are 30-60 seconds with 30 seconds desired.

 What is the boiler make model?

Billy 1961  Just  Answer  mentor

WOW all wrong,

All direct vent appliances are 30 seconds max!And a  boiler is a B vented unit!

what boiler is direct vent? none!

 ANSI and CGA  safety test standards for gas B vent appliances permit the thermocouple dropout time to be as long as three minutes.

  The permissible dropout time for direct vent appliances is 30 seconds.

The 30-second dropout is in the ANSI Z21.50  CGA 2.22 standard

The 30 second provision apply only to direct vent appliances, like fireplaces etc.

The allowed dropout time for non-direct vent appliances (i.e. “B vent” appliances)in both standards remains at three minutes.

Compliance with the 30-second dropout requirement requires millivolt controls that use both a thermocouple and a thermopile.

 The lower mass of the thermocouple controlling the pilot safety electromagnet allows faster cooling after loss of the pilot flame than  a thermopile, thereby reaching dropout sooner.

 A WATER HEATER/ BOILER IS NOT A DIRECT VENT APPLIANCE !

 EVERY DIRECT VENT APPLIANCE IS 30 SEC MAX!  

 FOR THIS UNIT  180  SECONDS APPLIES!

 (i.e. “B vent” appliances)in both standards remains at three minutes. 

ANSI (in the US) and CGA (in Canada) safety test

standards for gas B vent appliances appliances

permit the thermocouple dropout time to be as long as three minutes.

 The permissible dropout time for direct vent appliances is 30 seconds.

The 30-second dropout is in the ANSI Z21.50/CGA 2.22 standard for vented gas fireplaces, which

replaces previous standards for “vented decorative appliances.

 Billy1961 gives 3 incorrect answers for 1 question asked!

 More expertise??

Billy1961 negatively peer reviewing V12tech for a customer prefering V12techs answer to what Billy is calling his question, which is in direct opposition to what Justanswer tellls new experts  and encourages you to if you can do better however the trolls get pissed off and threatened so make fake accounts  to ratye new experts porly  etc!  and neg peer review  which JustAnswer  allows  trolls to do  at will!

Explanation to new expert V12tech

I think we've discussed this. This is not an internet forum like HVAC_talk or Fixya. WE dont post over each other here  stay off my questions. If I opt out, or the customer relists my answer, then you may do as you wish.

 Agree / Refute Refuted

 Report Confirmed? Yes - explanation You are blatantly wrong.If I opt out, or the customer relists my answer, then you may do as you wish.

 Billy1961

Billy insults me/ new expert in public! then negatively peer reviewed

me and he is the HVAC mentor! JustAnswer has removed the evidence of a conversation at all lol!

 http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7kzxb-first-problem-error-code-a01-restart-when.html

 Here expert Alumilite tells all in a expert forum how Billy is abusing and why,

Peer review was a good idea, but some experts were colluding with others to eliminate the competition that way.... on very thin pretexts.

 Phil/alumilite

PHIL/ALUMILITE,Saying BILLY WAS ABUSING PEER REVIEWS

 HERE BILLY RUINS A MOTOR AND INSULTS BETTER TECH

Hello, I am ready to continue. There is another way to wire when you are ready to proceed.If you have question of who to work with simply research the feedback pecentage and approval rating.I am ready when you are.Billyjr

 BILLY BURNS UP CUSTOMERS MOTOR!  NEW EXPERT TRYING TO RESCUE BILLY FROM CATASTROPHIC WIRING CALAMITY! LOL!!

NOTE BILLY'S SMART REMARK

Customer replied. 

yes...but i think thats wrong and it may have burned the motor...is there difinitive right and wrong way?which method should I try next? and will either further damage the motor?

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#8 UPDATE EX-employee responds

Smart con artists refund once BBB has been forced upon them!

AUTHOR: UsedandAbusedHumanExpert - ()

POSTED: Friday, July 05, 2013

All intelligent grifters,con artists,swindlers, skimmers & scammers

cheerfully refund everyone who forces the BBB upon them, it's common knowledge too that this assures a AAA rating regardless of whether that company ever refunds anyone who has not involved BBB. If you simply Google JustAnswer.com, aka Pearl.com, aka Answernest, aka , Answerbag, aka Eanswers,(all1 company)

you will notice a steady unwavering stream of complaints, some sites have over 1,500 negative remarks regarding the JustAnswer websites, almost every complaint since their inception(around 2008)

involves the same 3 complaints, 2 of which double the JustAnswer profit margin and despite being a website allegedly of experts, they are unable to find the elusive answer to how they can stop double billing customers via the shady 2 step "rate" the expert & "accept" the expert's answer scam, each act is a billable event, so many many customers are milked,skimmed,conned, yet this doubles the JustAnswer cash flow, and 1/2 of that they keep 100% of it, they never accidentally share the accidental windfall, which they do with "accepted" answers, unaccepted answers  they keep too, unless one braves the inoperative functions to seek refunding your deposit, it takes hours and involves BBB  everry time, so that AAA rating is worthless and most know this as well as the scammers who proudly tout this worthless rating!

The next thing they always do is "accidentally" sell everyone a subscription! lol!  Not only have they never succeeded in stopping either scam, they have never implemented any changes at all, seems pretty easy to stop stealing, but imagine the bottom line in profits lost for doing nothing, and every month too!  and many customers never notice the $30-$60 a month hit on their accounts and paperless statements  etc, folks do not review as they should, many have discovered 2 yrs later, JA  only refunds up to 3 months!

Their most exalted experts are bots parrroting archived answers from human experts, billy jr1961,aka billyjr,aka billy, aka, Billy1961, the worst abusive troll puppet shill is using a fake plumbers picture from a French ad  as does Phil he uses a German hearing aid ad actors picture!  Its sad  and about the worst credit card minefiled allowed to operate!

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#7 Consumer Comment

Some Experts are Good but there are also People with ZERO Training who are Experts

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (Canada)

POSTED: Thursday, October 18, 2012

It's true that there are some wonderful EXPERTS who are well qualified. I cannot speak for your category. My work involves reviewing Internet sites. Just Answer/Pearl.com does in fact have EXPERTS who are FRAUDS. Take JenHelant who states that she has a degree in psychology. WHAT????????? She has a BA with a major in psychology. Customers who have her answer their questions would probably think that she is a psychologist. FRAUD. Then what about Kate McCoy --- she constantly interferes in this customer's therapy sessions --- grossly unethical --- a total violation. What about a car mechanic who answers peoples psychological questions on Agony Aunt --- YES --- a car mechanic answering those questions --- again, unethical. And, moreover, someone from Just Answer/Pearl reported back that everyone is verified. A BA in psychology is a verified expert??????? Yah, sure. Andy Kurtzig only cares about the money. He'll keep people who will get ACCEPTS so he can get paid. Those so-called experts will give the customer answers that they want to hear not what is an ethical answer that sometimes a customer doesn't like to hear. They do have experts that are well qualified but they are not unethical like Kate McCoy intervening in people's therapy or Jenhelant who is a BA in psychology (HA HA LOL - what a joke -- Customers should be made aware of that. OR ... a car mechanic answering an Agony Aunt question.

So, again, you are so very right there are many experts who are very well qualified but what is a customer to do when they don't even know that the person answering their question is a TOTAL FRAUD.

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#6 General Comment

Better Business Bureau Rates JustAnswer A+

AUTHOR: Leonardo - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, February 03, 2010

After slogging through most of the posts I looked up JustAnswer on the Better Business Bureau. They received the organization's highest rating of A+.  BBB received 149 complaints over the past 36 months and 140 were resolved.

Seems like a great record to me.

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#5

Check up on that

AUTHOR: Keepitsimple - (USA)

POSTED: Thursday, August 13, 2009

I think you need to check a little better. Every expert on just answer has to be varified by a third party company. I think that a scam is more like having to pay a bunch of money to a mechanic, doctor or lawyer for a simple answer. Whereas at just answer your answer is as little as $9

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#4

Check up on that

AUTHOR: Keepitsimple - (USA)

POSTED: Thursday, August 13, 2009

I think you need to check a little better. Every expert on just answer has to be varified by a third party company. I think that a scam is more like having to pay a bunch of money to a mechanic, doctor or lawyer for a simple answer. Whereas at just answer your answer is as little as $9

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#3 UPDATE Employee

Huh?

AUTHOR: Lizardly - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

I am one of the legal experts at Just Answer. I had to prove my credentials to them. Every legal expert is an active licensed attorney, and I do not know what this person is complaining about.

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#2 Consumer Comment

I am one of the so-called fake experts answering questions on this site

AUTHOR: Realtech - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, December 11, 2008

Hello, I find this type of report offensive because I do not believe you have done proper research to make such allegations. I am sure your report has some truth to it, however I can assure you some of the experts in some of the categories are real experts such as myself. I am an electronics technician with 25+ years experience who recently found myself unemployed and believe me, I am not participating in JustAnswerJustAnswer for the money (it does not pay much for the time we put into answering peoples questions). In fact, many people gain from our years of knowledge, and never click on the accept the answer button so we don't even get a dime.

When I signed up as an expert in the electronics category, I was given a test of my knowledge, designed by my expert peers before I was accepted. I have answered many questions by people who did not want to spend the $50 checkout charge a local repair shop (non refundable) would charge to diagnose a problem, many of them offering a messily $9 or $15 to pick our brains. Some take the info and never pay, since the info is given without any commitment on their part.
Who then is the ripoff.

Now, I have to admit when I see someone who claims to be a doctor, nurse, or Vet, you have to be suspicious because why would they be willing to spend their time on the internet, when they have the potential to make a real living in a real practice(getting rich in fact). I also have been furious when I see someone asking a question like(and this is no joke) "hi, my dog accidentally strangled itself (no doubt do to their neglect) and now he is bleeding through the eyes, what should I do? Are you kidding me? Take him to the Vet you idiot!!! (Sorry I am an animal lover)

Me, I am currently seeking another job and have some time on my hands, so I don't mind answering questions about why someone's stereo is shutting off to make a few extra bucks, and I do mean a few, besides it is fun helping people, but it is frustrating that so many people don't bother to click the accept button to pay that $9 or $15 bucks for our advice. I can't speak for the rest of the categories but I know from reading the advice of the fellow electronics experts on the site, that most are helpful and they do know what they are talking about.

Keep in mind, there are plenty of forums that exist out there for people who are passionate about their interests like pets, electronics, hobbies, so people can gain information from people who know more about the subject than they do, so they can gain knowledge. I am sure from being on them, that there is some mis-information as well. People have to use common sense when they seek legal or medical advice. Do not shift the blame from those people, to a website designed to be helpful(and they make money,I am not that niave) just because some people either are too stupid or cheap to seek a well known professional in their area, on real important matters.

The point is, just because someone asks a question about how they can fix a problem, and then advice is given that they are incapable of doing, does not mean they have been ripped off. People should have common sense that they cannot fix a plasma tv, even if someone can tell them what is wrong with it. Just like a doctor could tell you you need open heart surgery after a heart attack, but does that mean you can perform the surgery? Don't be so stupid to ask that sort of question to begin with.

I am a technical person by nature, not a journalist, so feel free to fix my mis-spellings before posting this. Please post though since I have taken the time to write this.

Thanks'
Paul S

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#1 UPDATE Employee

Response

AUTHOR: Justanswer Rep - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, November 07, 2008

JustAnswer is the largest Expert answer site with 20 thousand Experts who help make sure that their peers are who they claim to be through our Prove It Or Lose It policy. The five-step screening process is as follows:
1. Tests: We implement tests for each specific category, i.e. a Real Estate Law test is different than an Immigration Law test. Traditionally only 1 in 10 applicants makes it past the test.
2. Stages: If the Expert passes, most start off with a limited account that we call Stage 1. They have a number of restrictions on their account, which are removed as they progress up the ranks.
3. Peer Reviews: All Experts are evaluated by their category peers.
4. Customer Feedback: If Experts receive excessive negative feedback from customers, they are banned from the site.
5. Prove It Or Lose It: Suspicious Experts are asked to prove their stated credentials to a third-party credential checking company. If they refuse the credential check or fail, they are banned from the site.

On the JustAnswer site are Experts who are doctors, lawyers, mechanics, veterinarians and CPAs. On the right-side of the JustAnswer homepage, under the Meet The Experts column, click on See More Experts (bottom right-hand side of the page) to view Experts that meet these qualifications.

Experts on JustAnswer help people every day, at all hours, 24/7. For more information, please email our Customer Service department at info@justanswer.com.

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