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Report: #550503

Complaint Review: HomestarSearch.com - Internet Internet

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Gail — Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States of America
  • Author Not Confirmed What's this?
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  • HomestarSearch.com Internet United States of America

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I discovered Homestarsearch.com when I was searching Craig's List for apts./townhomes to rent. Several times I came across what seemed like ideal listings - with wonderful amenities great location, and very inviting photographs of the space.

There was no real estate company or individual listed on the Ad. Just a toll-free number. When I called I was instantly put into a phone queue and waited when I finally got through, the person told me about signing up for the monthly subscription of 39.95 to get more information. I had to ask what the name of the company was that I was calling. He also told me when I said what area I was interested in searching that Homestar had "over 800 listings for that area"

I signed up for the "risk free trial offer" of $3.95 for 3 days of searching.

After I paid and got my password and attempted to do some searches, I would continually get "No Results"  with every search I attempted. I made the search parameters as wide as possible, to make sure that wasn't the problem.

When I called the customer service help line Adam, the cs manager told me I was being impatient, that I was doing searches wrong and that he was able to get 17 pages of results when he did the search. He told me to reboot my computer and be more patient. After re-booting still no results, I called again and was told that the system was down and they would send a email out in a couple hrs. When I asked for my 3.95 refunded Adam patronizingly told me I should have read the fine print that its non-refundable. he was extremely rude, unprofessional and I paid 3.95 for nothing except a waste of my time- not even one result ever came up.

This company is a sham, and a scam. Please do not give them a cent. They are probably raking in the $3.95 at a fast clip with their fake apt. ADs and then making excuses for the lack of real listings. Don't sign up!

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/06/2010 05:12 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/homestarsearchcom/internet/homestarsearchcom-false-advertising-no-results-patronizing-and-rude-customer-service-550503. 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:
1Author
2Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#3 Author of original report

Want my $39.99 back, never signed up for this monthly service, never used it.

AUTHOR: Gail Fireman - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, January 22, 2010

Not sure what you mean by "still using the website" but if you are referring to searching the database, I have not attempted to search since my unsuccessful search on the first day of my "risk free trial" on Jan. 5th. I have accessed the front page of the web page to get contact information only.  Again, not sure what you mean by "upset." I simply want a refund of the erroneously deducted $39.99. I have NEVER expressed interest in joining as a montly customer. And I simply want to be treated fairly.


The above remark sounds more like a taunt than a legitimate response from a "customer service manager."

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#2 UPDATE Employee

Strange "gail" is so upset yet still is searching on the website..

AUTHOR: Alex - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, January 12, 2010

My name is Alex I am an employee of the company and was very concerned when I discovered this post.I took the liberty of pulling up Pittsburgh, PA in "gails" defense to see if her claim was in fact true. I did a very broad search as 1 or more bedrooms and bathrooms as well as the minimum and maximum price ranges we have to offer and found we have 19 pages with 25 listings per page which are currently active and for rent now.Myself as well as Gail will verify this for you and the reason being is Gail has yet to cancel her account with the company she so strongly dislikes. I had a programmer from the IT department do a search on Gail and found out not only did she use our services for the 3 day trial but it seems she was so happy with the service that she decided not to cancel and still has an active account with us. Now if someone was so upset with a company that was not providing the service she asked for then common sense would say as a customer you would cancel your account and end all relations with that company period. I found this to not be the case. Our research not only shows that Gail has an active account with us but has been using the site to search for a new property. I only wonder why someone would slander a companies name so severely and then continue to use the service she has such a problem with. It just does not make sense for someone to actively use and keep a service they "hate" so much.The only conclusion that can be drawn from the FACTS is that gail is using the website now as an active monthly member and the day she may have posted this was clearly upset and overwhelmed that her search was not working. I myself am very curious as to why someone would slander another companies name at their own expense when asked on recording if she wanted to cancel her account or keep it open she chose to keep her account open? This just does not make sense on gails part and proves gail is not a credible source.

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#1 Consumer Comment

Deeply saddened by "Gails" comments..

AUTHOR: Mitchell - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, January 07, 2010

Hello, My name is Mitchell and I am a former subscriber to Homestarsearch.com. I happened to come across the defamatory comments "gail" had posted about this company. Roughly a month or so ago in early December my wife, 2 small children and myself were desperately in need of finding a new home to live in as our previous landlord was being foreclosed upon. I immediately began my search for a new home for my family and I. I as well turned to craigslist as my first option because its free and widely known. I came across a property I found fit for my family and I however I noticed the property said "for advertising purposes only" however i was still intrigued and decided to give them a call. What I found was HomeStarSearch.Com and I was informed about a 3 day trial they have for $3.95. I figured for 4 bucks I can atleast try them out and see if they have anything to offer. I received my login and password and started searching. The first 3 days were good, I searched and found some potential properties however not quite the "dream home" just yet.After discussing with my wife we decided to give it a shot and start a month membership with the company. After roughly 10 days of searching I was able to locate my family and I a lovely 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house in northern Oregon for a price that was very reasonable. Needless to say a GIANT weight had been lifted off my shoulders and Im not sure I would have found a home so quickly if had not have been for HomestarSearch. This is why I have taken the time to write this post today because I am DEEPLY SADDENED that someone would slander a companys name that is helping familys like mine locate new properties. I'm not sure why someone would do such a thing and call someone a scam when they give you a trial period before you commit to a membership with them. If "gail" was so unhappy with the service she can cancel her account during the 3 days and not be charged just like myself and every other customer had.Also, I am not sure of the customer representative who I spoke with however they were very helpful and my call lasted only a few minutes when I called to cancel. Of course I can not speak on everyones behalf however my experience with customer service for Homestarsearch was an A+. To any future consumers, With my personal experience with this company I highly recommend Homestarsearch if you are looking for a rental. They do offer a risk free 3 day trial so you can try the service yourself without having to become a member and not rely on everything you hear from someone who may have had a bad experience and let their emotions get the best of them at the time. 

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