RealTown's RealTalk

They've done it again!  Promised a product and I got sucked in for the second time.  I was called by an e neighborhoods salesperson and told that this product has greatly improved.  That they are now backed by NAR and that if I don't like their product after the trial period they would NOT charge my card.  I was even promised an email to inform me my time was up to give me plenty of time to cancel (which I thought I had done in the beginning of October).  I now find a charge on my November statement and after calling 3 people in Sales, Customer Service and client services was told that I was sent an email yada yada yada (still can't find an email and never received the ones stating my account is cancelled).

Now I'm out $87+ and will need to cancel my credit card because I don't believe they will stop charging me for a service I don't want!

I've reported this company to the Better Business Bureau of South Florida, but would like to know why NAR has them on the "approved vendors" list as they seem to be criminals in my mind.  Any suggestions on how to report these people to NAR and prevent them from scamming other REALTORS®?

Jolita Wagoner, REALTOR® , EXIT REALTY FIRST CHOICE

www.realflagler.com,  jwagoner@bellsouth.net, (386) 793-1283

Now I'm out $87+ and will need to cancel my credit card because I don't believe they will stop charging me for a service I don't want!..................

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When you cancel your credit card--especially if it is connected to your bank account--you run the risk of getting your account put on a watch list.  There is a better and MUCH simpler way to deal with these billing problems that seem to be more amd more prevelant. 

Just go to Walmart and get one of their reloadable VISA cards (not Gift Card) and put enough money on it to pay the bills that you expect to receive during the month.  (Of course if you are living off the credit line on your credit cards this will not work...but it is a great way of managing your bill paying.)  The cost of the card is under $10 ad the fee per month is under $5 for the card so it is not much more expensive than a "typical" credit card these days.  There is a fee of under $5.00 for each time you put money on the card.  But if you use your business account and do Direct Deposits to the card the reload fee is waived.  And also, if you load at least $1,000 per month on the card the monthly fee is waived.  So the card can be completely free. 

I use one of these cards to pay my regularrly recurring business expenses--electric, telephone, internet service, and subscriptions etc--as well as my out of pocket business expenses.  And I have my business account set up to transfer $250 per week to the card.  (Occassionally I need to increase the transfer depending on my business activity.)  This keeps all my business activity organized for my CPA and is easy to kill if I have any billing problems.

You should try it...

Steve Ervin
24Seven Marketing System, LLC
Connecting Realtors with Owners and Buyers
727-320-5436 Cell
www.24SevenMarketing.com (under construction)

I've had the same thing happen. It is my opinion they use deceptive practices

Charles Joiner www.chjoiner.com

Better Business Bureau seems to be the only thing that scares them....I too can't believe that NAR and others could recommend them with their horrendous billing practices.  Even if you wanted their product....they have no way of cancelling their trail membership without trying to bilk you for six months or more. 

Unethical YES!

I had a similar experience with e-neighborhoods.

I belong to the only, privately held, MLS in the country. They are a model of why we don't want this. Their software is totally outdated and they have absolutely no incentive to change since they are not accountable to the subscribers. We call it the "Windows 95 of MLS Software," it's that bad. They allow NO third party software to access the system. They don't come out and say it, they just let you find out the hard way. They did have one way to export data to Excel, but after the following, that ability mysteriously stopped working and then was removed from the menu choices on MLS.

When the e-neighborhoods salesman came to our office he was told all of this and promised there were ways around it. He recognized the software our MLS was using and assured us that e-neighborhoods would work just fine. Long story short, it didn't. Now that he accomplished the sale, the issues were handed off to tech support but the clock was running to a point that if you didn't cancel you were stuck with a commitment. Tech support bumbled, fumbled and generally did nothing to resolve the problem.  When asked they were always "working on it."

If I wasn't aggressive about it, they would have let this sail along unresolved and I would have been stuck.

Never again.

Chris Parks - ABR, e-Pro, GRI - Accelerated

Broker

CParksGo@Gmail.com

This company has a pretty large presence at the NAR convention this weekend.

Last evening, at the Active Rain party, we spent some time with a Realtor from Calgary, Alberta, who was at his first convenion. While discussing the various trade show vendors, he brought up this company and mentioned that the salespeople staffing the booth were the most aggressive and pushy of any he encountered. One of their reps kept trying to get him to give a credit card and get a free trial (sound familiar?).

I've read all of the excuses this company (and a couple of others) have posted here on RealTalk over the years and have rejected them as BS. In fact, they know that some people will sign up for the free trial, forget to cancel, and they will generate additional revenue. I'm sure it's hidden somewhere in their business plan.

At one time, when e-Neighborhoods was a RealTown approved vendor, John, Saul or Mike would be able to call Stu Seigel or Ann Kraft and get this kind of problem resolved. Now the company is owned by Dominion Enterprises, so you've got to go a lot higher up the food chain to get problems solved. I'm sure Stu is not really thrilled to see what has happened to the company he started from scratch become a marketing enterprise instead of the great service provider it used to be.

they definitely have a TRICK down pat, even after Halloween.  They offer a free trial and then continue to swipe the card.  They have you sign a form that states something of the nature that you are only getting a free trial as a way for "them" to keep up with who is using their system on a free basis trial time.  However, they then use thta form and your card as authoriztion to charge you each and every month.  I had to call repeatedly and finally had to get an attorney involved and take them to the group that I was involved with in order to have them removed from that approved vendor list.  I warn all of my agents to BEWARE.  I have had two additional agents in my office have the same or similar issues with them.  One incident went on for over a year.

I have had the same experience with eneighborhoods, inferior product,
nonexistent customer service, horrendous billing practices. The absolutely
worst vendor experience I have ever endured in twenty five years.

Mark Sawyer
mark@MarkSawyerRealEstate.com
http://www.MarkSawyerRealEstate.com
720-922-9266 office
720-981-1907 fax

JudiB?

I should have been a little more clear. Our MLS uses software that is known as the "Windows 95 of MLS software."

The reference was not about e-Neighborhoods. Sorry about the confusion.

Chris Parks - ABR, e-Pro, GRI - Accelerated

Broker

CParksGo@Gmail.com