Review of Thumbtack: Thumbtack Generates FAKE Accounts to Send FALSE Leads; Will Not Refund
Thumbnail of user km435
New Jersey
4 reviews
24 helpful votes
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July 14th, 2023

Thumbtack generates numerous accounts to send false leads (potential customers) to the "pros." With each generated account, they send one "lead" to five pros. Each pro is charged $30 or more for each "lead," which I have experienced and observed, multiple times, every day I was a member of the platform. Shameful, deceptive and unethical practices. Customer service is poor, nearly non-existent. And, don't expect any refunds...you won't get any.

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Date of experience: July 14, 2023

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    Thumbtack

Thumbtack

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Overview

Thumbtack has a rating of 1.6 stars from 1,567 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Thumbtack most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and phone number problems. Thumbtack ranks 101st among Local Reviews sites.

  • Service
    294
  • Value
    286
  • Shipping
    119
  • Returns
    164
  • Quality
    256

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 2.6%
Positive
1
Neutral
1
Negative
36
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How would you rate Thumbtack?
Top Positive Review

“Moving with Krueger Enterprise”

Kevin F.
4/20/23

These 2 men are awesome. Their professionalism and the quality work reflect on how Kreuter Enterprise moving company run their business. Their responsiveness is like no other out there. If you want a moving company that care about you and your furniture this is the company you should hire. I will be hiring them again on my next move in 3 weeks. Thanks again. Kevin F Deltona Fl

Date of experience: 4/19/23
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Top Critical Review

“They steal your money.”

Isma V.
12/4/24

They steal your money. The client sends you a message and they already take 35 dollars from your card. This company should be closed. Absurd! You pay to receive messages from potential clients who have the right to write up to 5 professional messages. Imagine how much they don't earn per person if they don't close the business. Absurd!

Date of experience: 12/4/24
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Reviews (1,567)

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customer service (157) phone number (58) credit card (53) business model (30) home advisor (23)
Thumbnail of user tylers43
Maryland
1 review
6 helpful votes
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November 4th, 2015

For customers: The service companies providing services are rip offs.

For service providers: they send leads that aren't real people and you pay for nothing

Date of experience: November 4, 2015

Thumbnail of user josephr282
Connecticut
1 review
2 helpful votes
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June 25th, 2018

1-THEY KEEP REPORTING TO ME CONTACTS THAT ARE NON EXISTANT.
2-DESPITE MY CONTINUED INQUIRY ABOUT LACK OF CONTACT OR THEIR ERRONEOUS REPORTING, NO ONE FROM TT CALLS ME BACK OR RESPONDS WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAT AUTOMATED UNMEANINGFUL ROBO-RESPONSE

Date of experience: June 25, 2018

Thumbnail of user anthonyp112
Massachusetts
1 review
5 helpful votes
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March 23rd, 2017

Listen I've got one job only all the jobs they sent a fake. I've dropped my rate down I still got nothing and they refund the credit sometime. Their motto is we get you the clients to speak to you that's what you're paying for. If you use Company call Smith if you don't get hired they don't take your credit and they'll give you back your credits although that site is a scam as well just watching my money go back-and-forth with no results stay away from thumbtack put them out of business actually they are ripping us off and it's illegal to steal our money so hey thumbtack why don't you treat people better and stop stealing our money! I don't know who you think you are but I've contacted the Better Business Bureau about you and I will have you shut down if possible even if we have to have a petition going around in an investigation it will be underway and that will result in you closing your doors to stealing contractors money you're a bunch of shysters sitting on your couch in your underwear you're no better than a telemarketer losers. Of course you text me back saying we give you the leads and it's your job to contact the customer resend the quote send him an email why don't the customers have to put a phone number down because they're fake people and you are a fake company you should be ashamed of yourselves

Date of experience: March 23, 2017

Thumbnail of user jayder1
Maryland
2 reviews
17 helpful votes
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January 30th, 2019

HOW THUMBTACK SCAMS YOU. PLEASE READ!

A potenial customer is researching makeup artists for her 09/2019 wedding. She finds a artist/pro that she maybe interested in. She decides to send the pro message to ask"are you available"?
The potential customer enters demographic info and then...
Thumbtack prompts the potential customer to send 3 to 4 other pros a message as well.
This pop up message says "reach out to more pros just in case". The customer doesnt even so much as see your zipcode let alone your profile. But of course the non suspecting customer doesnt think twice she selects all 4 of the pros though she/he was only interested in the first one she chose.

You(the pro) gets the "you have a lead" message from thumbtack and you rush over and quickly respond. You get really excited since your the first one to message the customer that you're available.

However, you and the other 3 pros that the customer didn't want in the first place have been charged 20.00 to 40.00 a piece. The pro she did want of course is also charged 20.00

At the end of the whole transaction thumbtack makes anywhere between 80 to 100 just for a customer clicking an "are you available" button.

Please, please, please dont use this site. Please grow your business by using other legitimate business growing sites. Or you will be like me spending 300 dollars in two weeks without any business. I've spent a total of 15k over two years of using them. A complete scam.

Date of experience: January 30, 2019

Thumbnail of user christophern337
New Jersey
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 3rd, 2020

I have no words for them but they are BS and charges are outage! BS marketing company looking for themselves and not their customer base. Their leads are FAKE!

Date of experience: December 3, 2020

Thumbnail of user johnh522
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 13th, 2016

John Ciancia of CSM Masonry just completed a repair of brickwork around our front porch. Really nice workmanship and a good price. A nice guy to work with

Date of experience: May 13, 2016

Thumbnail of user katrinas21
Pennsylvania
1 review
2 helpful votes
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April 12th, 2017

Title explains the problem. I want a Mexican food caterer for my sons graduation. They suugested a photo booth, food truck rentals... not Mexican. A waste of time.

Date of experience: April 12, 2017

Thumbnail of user agatham5
Colorado
1 review
6 helpful votes
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January 25th, 2019

Thumbtack sucks big time!

Shout-out to all freelancers - DO NOT FAll FOR THUMBTACK PREDATORY PRACTICES!

I have been Thumbtack pro for a couple of years. After trying to compete with overseas talent - meaning not getting any jobs, I decided to change my email preferences with Thumbtack.

I chose to not receive any notifications. The moment I did that they started to charge me for "automated promotion od my business" - never sending me any info about those charges.

I never knew about the "auto promotion", never send any quotes and never got any jobs.

Now, a couple of months later, when I discovered those charges, they refuse to refund the money the charged without my consent. Even the money that was charged less than 30 days ago (which according to their refund policy should be refundable without questions).

Thumbtack management are predators preying on vulnerable small business owners, who cannot afford legal representation.

Product or Service Mentioned: Thumbtack Leads.

The reason of review: unauthorized payments for non-delivered leads.

Monetary Loss: $245.

Preferred solution: Full refund.

I didn't like: Predatory practices, Scammed me out of 245 dollars, Misleading policies.

Date of experience: January 25, 2019

Thumbnail of user allisonc346
Ohio
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 4th, 2022

AS A PROSAY NO! NOT WORTH THE MONEY! I would be sent leads that didn't fit my profile, leads that were outside of my scope of practice, leads that wouldn't be a match AND HAD TO PAY FOR THEM! So I was being charged anywhere from $20 to $75 per lead, over and over again. Money was flying out of my pocket! I actually feel scammed. As a Professional Life Coach, I had no ability to choose my clients. How can this possibly be ethical? Very disappointed and have lost quite a bit of money.

Date of experience: April 4, 2022

Thumbnail of user thumbtackt
Thumbtack-Support -. – Thumbtack Rep

Hi Allison, we just responded to your same review on a different platform. We'd like to get in touch and see what we can do to help, as well as collect any additional feedback you might have from your time on Thumbtack. Please send us a DM on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) or email us at: support@thumbtack.com.

Thumbnail of user jamiep18
Nevada
1 review
1 helpful vote
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August 26th, 2014

We use thumbtack to find our pastor to marry us pastor Donald W Smith from Paso Robles CA he is from the ChristianLifeCenter and it was a great experience we are very happy the pastor was wonderful we love him we suggest him to anyone

Service
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Quality

Date of experience: August 26, 2014

Thumbnail of user julianj38
Missouri
1 review
4 helpful votes
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August 26th, 2019

I utilized thumbtack as a pro for over two years, and was a "top pro" all of 2018. I wasn't totally satisfied with the quality of leads but a good portion of my business came from them. Then suddenly my account is deactivated due to "strong links" to an account that had not paid a $17 bill. The problem is, I've never heard of this other account and their customer service couldn't give me any info unless I was able to verify the log in information. Of course I can't, IT'S NOT MY ACCOUNT. I've called their customer service numerous times but get no direction as to how to resolve this and promises that a "team" is working on it and I'll get a call or email back in 24 hours. Never heard a word back yet. It's clear they have no idea how this happened or how to fix it and are just telling me some crap to get me off the phone. I guess thumbtack has gotten too big to care about losing a measly few thousand a year from one client, but I'm pissed and severely disappointed in their garbage customer service.

Date of experience: August 26, 2019

Thumbnail of user jc1209
North Carolina
1 review
7 helpful votes
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July 4th, 2020

I used thumbtack, given the guarantee (they don't honor it) and belief that the contractor I hired to replace my roof, who is still listed was licensed, insured and bonded. After all, thumbtack clearly stated that - and if there was a problem they would cover "damage to property" caused by one of their listed service providers. The "contractor was not licensed, stated he was insured by Thumbtack (they both misrepresented the coverage and never paid one cent); the contractor is convicted in 3 states on multiple fraud (felony and misdemeanor) in NC (as recently as 2020), NJ, FL, VA. Thumbtack lied about having an attorney (the last one left); lied to State of California Consumer Affairs (in writing) and Attorney General's Office. Beware. This listing service is in it to get money from contractors - to hell with consumers they burn or houses they ruin (due to negligent failure to tarp and pulled roof, use competent staff causing additional damage to walls, collapsed ceilings, ruined floors, electrical damage, and more)

Date of experience: July 4, 2020

Thumbnail of user mugurelo
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 11th, 2015

Yefri and his partner from Castillo Flooring Services in Marietta, Georgia did a great job installing my bamboo floor. Their job met all my expectations and was completed in the time.

Date of experience: December 10, 2015

Thumbnail of user joej49
California
2 reviews
22 helpful votes
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August 6th, 2018

I started using thumbtack a few years back and although most of the leads were crap there was still a few that were ok and it was reasonably priced, Now however thumbtack is using the same business model as Homeadvisor another rip off lead service but that's for another review! Since thumbtack has changed their business model they have become very expensive and their leads have gotten even worse, I ead some contractor reviews and they all said the same thing phony leads! In the last week I paid $ 300.00 for (4) leads none of them a solid lead, with thumbtacks new business model they say they only charge for a lead if a customer contacts you so what I got for $300.00 (4) leads at $75.00 each was hi thank you for your interest that's it! So after reading the contractors reviews claiming that thumbtack subits phony leads I decided to get on their website and put in a work request yes a phony one and guess what in a matter of minutes I received and email on my business email saying that Joe is requesting lighting installation HMMM when I confronted thumbtack about their phony leads they said oh there is no way there are any phony leads, then I told them really I just created a phony lead yesterday and in a matter of minutes they sent the lead to my business email the response I got from them was you shouldn't do that and we can cancel you as a pro, well I just laughed and said that's fine by me because I am not going to pay for phony leads anymore :) !

Date of experience: August 6, 2018

Thumbnail of user wessy1
Texas
1 review
6 helpful votes
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September 20th, 2017

I have been on thumbtack since 2009 and all I have ever gotten was bogus leads always kept fifty to a hundred credits on my account and when I cunfronted thumbtack about there service they deleted my profile and would not refund me for the credits I did have not to mention all the other businesses I had referred to them and this is how they treated a five star reputable company that has been with them for eight years and have waisted countless time and money beleaving that thumbtack was a fair lead company I was so wrong because after eight years I have still yet to receive one call from any customers needing our companies services so please do not waist your time and money like I did also I will be reaching out to more people on Google Facebook and where ever I can post to help future business owners not to be taken by thumbtack

Date of experience: September 20, 2017

Thumbnail of user renel63
California
2 reviews
20 helpful votes
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March 15th, 2020

I had hire Luis Orellana Investigations, and the guy turned out to be a lazy, lying, deadbeat, who not only ripped me off but also did not pay me back after I was awarded a full refund.

Tip for consumers:
Stay away from Luis Orellana Investigations

Products used:
Garbage

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: March 15, 2020

Thumbnail of user annap81
Arizona
1 review
5 helpful votes
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March 6th, 2017

This is a fake site. I waisted money on this site and now I can't remove it. I responded to so many people and never got one job. Save your time and money.

Date of experience: March 6, 2017

Thumbnail of user yunkais
California
2 reviews
8 helpful votes
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March 18th, 2019

They changed the game rule in 2019 and pretty much ruining everybody business. Deleted~
Before 2019, I spent $200/mo and earned $2000/mo
In 2019, I spent $400/mo and earned $400/mo
Scam

Date of experience: March 18, 2019

Thumbnail of user matthewc1615
Massachusetts
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 19th, 2022

They matched me with a restaurant owner who never paid I had to sue him for payment when I alerted thumbtack they banned me and kept the thousands of dollars I paid them

Tip for consumers:
Save your money

Service
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Returns
Quality

Date of experience: September 19, 2022

Thumbnail of user thumbtackt
Thumbtack-Support -. – Thumbtack Rep

Hi Matthew, this is very concerning to us. We want to fully understand your concerns and help you with a resolution. Please submit a formal complaint here: https://help.thumbtack.com/report-a-concern and our Trust and Safety Team will reach out to you within 2-3 business days.

Thumbnail of user tessar12
Washington
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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February 27th, 2019

This business was recommended by your site. They came out to my home and gave me a estimate for the work to be done. They required 1/2 down to start work. I paid them on the 8th of February, they scheduled the work to start on the 15th. Come the 15th I had not heard from them. I called the number on their estimate repeatedly and did not get an answer. By the 20th I was beginning to panic. I finally found their number on a business card that had become detached from the estimate and called the number. I was told that the man who was going to be doing the work would be at my house on the 24th and work would start on the 25th. Now the voicemail

Date of experience: February 27, 2019

Thumbnail of user alekss45
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 11th, 2023

I had experience with this app as a pro. Never get a quality leads, my money dissaper from my bank account. NEVER! Cooperate with this company

Date of experience: January 11, 2023

Thumbnail of user elen.plesco
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 21st, 2023

They didn't take me a job, but take my money. They didn't answer when I call. Terrible company andworkers

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Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: June 21, 2023

Thumbnail of user reneeg357
North Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 1st, 2022

I posted a simple job on Thumbtack and immediately started getting bombarded with spoofed numbers. I have a spam blocker on my cell phone. The telltale sign that the numbers were spoofed is that they were coming from the same area code as my number, which is an out-of-state area code I just switched to a month ago. The callers do not leave a message with a call back number so you can return the call to arrange to have the job completed. This is the worst referral service I've ever used and I have deactivated my account. I thought Home Advisor and Angi were annoying because of how they hounded you, but at least they didn't use fake numbers or block their numbers, and they left voice mails or emails so you could reach out to them to schedule your job. Unfortunately, because most scammers and sales people do not respect your privacy when you place your number on the national do not call registry, it is necessary to have a spam blocker to avoid those calls. Therefore, any business who legitimately contacts me needs to leave a message and contact number. If they are unwilling to do that, I assume they are shady. Those are the kinds of referrals you get through Thumbtack. And if a business referred by Thumbtack contacts you through email, you can't respond to them directly. They have some convoluted system that I can't figure out. It's unnecessarily burdensome. I would give Thumbtack zero stars if that was an option.

Service
Value

Date of experience: September 1, 2022

Thumbnail of user thumbtackt
Thumbtack-Support -. – Thumbtack Rep

Hi Renee, we're sorry to hear about these frustrating experiences. It sounds like there may be a misunderstanding of the platform. We encourage and ask that users communicate directly through Thumbtack, through the messenger function. Our Help Center has great tips and information about how to communicate with pros on the platform: https://help.thumbtack.com/article/chat-with-pros. You shouldn't be receiving much communication outside of Thumbtack from pros you might hire, unless you've already started working together and have taken the messaging outside of the platform. Even at that point, we still encourage you to remain communicating in the messenger, so that it's documented in case anything goes unplanned or you need to reference it later and/or work with our team. The emails you mentioned are likely notifications from our platform, alerting you of pros attempting to contact you via the messenger. If you receive concerning information from a user on our platform, or feel that a user is spamming you, please let us know so that we can help: https://help.thumbtack.com/report-a-concern.

Thumbnail of user chrisa185
Washington
1 review
6 helpful votes
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June 1st, 2017

We hired T&S Tiling through Thumbtack, who said he has 15 years experience remodeling bathroom. He pretty much butchered our bathroom, took our downpayment of 2,000$, and did not finish it. Our bathroom has been unusable for a month now and we are now waiting for a verified/recommended bathroom remodeler (not through thumbtack!) to put us in his schedule. We have reached out to thumbtack because they have "guaranteed PRO" but have still not heard anything back from them. This is a joke. Anybody with 15 yrs or even a decent "tile installer" would not have done such a bad job as this T&S Tiling company (Leon) did. He is pretty much a scammer and I'm surprised Thumbtack has not done anything. We have sent them pictures of the work and screen shots of communication with T&S Tiling as well as a copy of our "contract" where he said it will be done PROFESSIONALLY and within a week. https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/*******/what-do-you-think-of-this-recent-unfinished-bathroom-tiling-work
This "professional" from thumbtack also damaged our toilet.
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/*******/is-grout-in-the-toilet-a-plumbing-clog-concern.

Date of experience: June 1, 2017

Thumbnail of user brucep36
Pennsylvania
1 review
1 helpful vote
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March 20th, 2016

Recently I just had a electrician referred by Thumbtack in the Pittsburgh area. His name is Glen Beu from GPB Electrical Services. I must say that I made a excellent decision in contacting him and hiring Glen to do the job. I did call a few other electricians for a quote thru email, plus also had a on site quote. The others were a lot higher, plus they were trying to convince me that they needed to do additional work on my house before they could do the work I wanted done.
Glen came up completed the work without trying to convince me that I needed additional work before he could start the work that I wanted done. My opinion of Glen he is very professional, courteous, thorough and honest. He cleaned up after the job was finished and appreciated that we were pleased with his work. I am a member of Angie's list but I must say that Thumbtack is a lot more efficient and prompt in having the professionals contacting you. If all the contacts from Thumbtack are like Glen Beu I will use Glen and Thumbtack all the time. Again, if you are looking for a great electrician. Contact Glen Beu for your electrical work.
Thanks,
Bruce P
P.S. I must inform you that I am not affiliated with Thumbtack and/or to Glen Beu. I am just a happy and satisfied customer.

Date of experience: March 20, 2016

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From the business

Thumbtack is a technology leader building the modern home management platform. Through the Thumbtack app, people can effortlessly care for their homes — confidently knowing what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. Bringing the $500 billion home services industry online, Thumbtack empowers millions of people to fix, maintain, and improve their most valuable asset. The company’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Javelin Venture Partners, Baillie Gifford, and Capital G, among others.

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