ComplaintsforHibu Inc

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I went online to a company called bark as I was looking to use a marketing company to help my business. Hibu called me within probably 3 minutes of me submitting a request and so I took the call. There were red flags from the get go - including the rep talking over me when I would ask questions and so on. However, after they "sold" me on why my business needed them so very badly and me continually telling them I needed to review the information prior to moving forward somehow I still ended up moving forward as I jsut figured I would cancel the service if it didn't make sense on paper. We had scheduled a follow up call for the next day so I could give them all my business information.So I decided to pay my deposit and from there hung up the phone and immediately started researching more on this company to assert I had made a good decision by signing up with them. i was truly hoping for a great outcome. I was mortified.... literally nonstop reviews about what a scam this company is. Within no less than 30 minutes I called back and said please refund my transaction and I wish to not conduct business with you - there is no need to continue - and said I will not be providing my company information to start. I forwarded the complaints I had read online to them and asked them to cancel the transaction - again - 30 minutes after we hung up. There is no agreeement in place, no work done nothing. The rep was outlandishly rude - trying to make me feel stupid for asking for a refund stating they are the best in teh biz with over a 1/2 a million clients. He also stated he had not idea how refunds even get processed. I told him it's very simple -billing hits a button and it gets voided and never processes. They did not cancel the transaction ************ is downright dirty with their practices. If someone wishes to not conduct business with them they are atrociously rude. Steer clear from this company. I'm so glad I did not move forward with them and never will.

  

  Business response

  04/26/2024

  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on 04/26/24.  Ms.  ***** advised that she had canceled and had not received a refund.  ************** paid a deposit on 04/23/24.  She then emailed her sales representative and requested to cancel and receive a refund.  On 04/24/24 her sales representative forwarded her request to our billing department and included ************** in the email.  The refund was processed today.  ************** should see this refund on her credit card in 3-5 business days. 
  We are sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused.

• Initial Complaint

  04/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I request immediate termination of my contract with Hibu for the following reasons:Misleading Expectations: Initially promised to enhance web traffic and leads, my $7,247.85 investment has yet to yield a single sale.Poor Communication and **************contract, my concerns were ignored, and my request to change representatives was denied.Ad Quality and Errors: Campaigns were filled with AI-generated errors and poor-quality visuals, including grammatical errors, nonsensical search terms, our own business name spelled incorrectly, and service descriptions.Lack of Results: Despite promises, the ads failed to appear in searches, and most calls received were from wrong numbers or existing clients.Contractual Issues: Attempts to resolve issues through upper management were unproductive, and my cancellation request was denied despite the evident lack of tangible results. The terms were not fully presented in the contract; they were only presented via a link on the document I signed digitally. Also, this is an adhesion contract, and I had no opportunity to negotiate, so the 6-month minimum term may not be enforceable in the first place.Customer Service Loop: I was continually redirected between reps and customer service without resolution.Failed Adjustments: Efforts to amend the campaign after the initial complaint were ineffective, so I am submitting this second complaint outlining these additional issues.Given these issues and the lack of any tangible benefits to my business, I believe canceling the contract is justified and would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. Furthermore, a quick internet search will show that this experience is part of Hibu's business model. After promising clients leads with the expectation that these will result in sales, it seems they spend limited funds on marketing so that their own dashboard shows misleading statistics that are not reflected in leads or sales generated solely for the purpose of combating complaints.

  

  Business response

  04/19/2024

  Dear ********************:
  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on April 19, 2024. The details of ********************** complaint were researched and no errors with the program were found. There was no basis found for an adjustment, and no basis found for an early-term cancelation. These are the same findings that were reported previously left BBB complaint # ******** on 10/20/23, and then the rebuttal that followed 10/26/23.All 3 were found to have no basis for an adjustment or early-term cancelation approval. If ******************** would still like to cancel at the end of his minimum term, at that time he would need to speak to Client Success at ************.
  We are sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused.
  

  Customer response

  04/19/2024

   
  Complaint: 21594554
  
  I am rejecting this response because the only thing Hibu has stated in their response is that their dashboard shows an increase in traffic and leads. It also states they have no obligation to guarantee quality leads or sales. Despite the fact that their sales person did use the promise of an increase in sales as the impetus for signing up with them with them. I have emails from the sales rep stating that they will "build build your business" and "reach more customers". The definition of a customer is someone that buys something so to claim that there was no expectation that marketing would result in sales is downright false. Regardless, in this complaint, I'm not disputing what Hibu's dashboard shows. I believe these figures are fictitious and any proper investigation would show that they are not reflected in our website traffic or actual leads generated. Surely the onus is on Hibu to prove that the data that shows in their system is factual. To date Hibu has not provided any 3rd party data to back up their statistic. Not only is this is explained in my complaint, but it's only one issue of many that I've had with the service.

  I have listed all the errors in the marketing itself, including our business name being listed incorrectly and nonsensical sentences that describes our service, which I'm sure is more likely to damage the reputation of a business that promises their clients attention to detail rather than encourage them to book. While the contract itself is vague on the promises that the sales rep made during the sales process, it does state that Hibu will provide "professionally managed campaigns" and the issues listed explain how this was not what was provided. I also highlighted the conflict of interest generated by the sales team that signed us up for this, being my point of contact for complaints and the fact that they do not address the issues and sometimes ignore communications altogether, again not reflective of the promise of professionalism. Other than providing their own dashboard statistics that are not backed up by any 3rd party data, Hibu has yet to address any of the issues listed in my complaint.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  04/22/2024

  Our position stands as previously indicated. There is no basis for an early-term cancelation or adjustment. Thank you. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  HIBU representative was provided clear budget parameters and is attempting to exceed such parameters by refusing to terminate further digital and social advertising on behalf of my Company. This feels like a scam and I asked that they cease all further work to avoid going over my budget - which was conveyed on numerous occasions to the local HIBU representative. As if this month - the budget has been exceeded and they are insisting they will not stop as they are measuring the contract terms by months of service vs financial budget agreed upon, essentially overcharging my Company by over $1,000.

  

  Business response

  04/26/2024

  Please see attached.

  Customer response

  04/26/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have call from Hibu platform website service the service consist on HVAC website leads services,First month have received calls for **************** between February and March they promise to have more service calls and work something is never happen Im call to ask what is happening before finalice they said they are working on the problem is looking to me no finish the total work and starting charging the service not even done yet Im calling to cancel the service because is no working correctly because all prank calls and people calling me for **************** Im call to cancel the service because not complain for the service they are promised me, The first answer was the Im sign a contract ok Im not the person to not compliant for payment they are unreliable with the service theyre promised,Im losing business only prank call and no work , I performed work from my costumers reference only for this moments this is the third time to clear the my company is doing work is HVAC Not CONCRETE WORK is way Im asking to cancel all service

  

  Business response

  04/02/2024

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on April 02, 2024. The details of ************************** complaint were researched and no errors with the program were found.  There were no products that were found to advertise concrete work.  Spam calls are something that is normal to any phone number.  ********************** products have only been active 3-4 weeks, however, they are already meeting expectations for performance.  I spoke to ********************* today and let him know that his contract can not be canceled at this time.  He advised that he would be reaching out to his Sales Representative to request a meeting to go over possible changes that he may want.  I have also provided him the number to our support team where he can request the changes directly.  We are sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused.
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The business was supposed to provide marketing services for my office.The "LEADS" provided with the business were all fake. Every single "LEAD" would go straight to a voicemail. Upon trying to cancel services, the **** ******************** said we could cancel. He then said we couldn't. He kept saying something different each time. Upon further review of the contract, it was realized that the company, Hibu, put my wrong company name on the contract. Upon letting them know that they put the wrong company name on the contract, which was filled out by their **** they tried to tell me that I did it, which I did not. The rep has not contacted me in over 1 month. Their customer service team is unkind. What they don't realize is that it was their wrongdoing of putting the incorrect business name on the contract. I just want this company to leave me alone. My credit card has been notified to not allow their transactions to go through. They still keep calling.

  

  Business response

  03/25/2024

  
  
  Hibu Inc.
  *****************************************************************
  Tel: ************
  Fax: ************
  March 25, 2024
                              
  **********************;    
  Better Business Bureau Serving Greater ****, Quad Cities & Siouxland Region
  ******************************;
  **********, ** 50310
  
  RE:    ********************** 
            *********************;   
            8351 *******************************************  
            *******, ** 32819  
            Telephone #: ************                  
            Hibu Product: Display, Search and ***************** Solution
            Complaint # ********
  
  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is in response to the correspondence received on March 18, 2024, about Ms. ******** claim that the incorrect business name was on the contract and that leads were going to voicemail.

  
  The Client, *****************, authorized a 6-month contract on 1/5/24 for Display, Search and ***************** Solution. The products went live and started to invoice. ****************** has only fulfilled 1 month of the contract. The Display and Search have been paused for non-payment. ****************** has 5 months still on the contract.

  
  When ****************** agreed to the contract, she was in the process of having the name changed from Paradise Dental of ******* LLC., to Paradise Dental Studio. Once the name was changed it was changed on everything except the contract because this was already completed.

  
  ****************** had a website from another provider and when they revised the website, they did not put the coding on the website, so when there were leads, they were not appearing correctly. This was not a Hibu error.

  
  We emailed ****************** about her concern, and she replied that the balance would not be paid.

  
  There would be no basis for an adjustment to the account.

  
  I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

  
  Thank you,

  
  *********************
  Hibu Customer Service
  **************
  Email: ********************************************** 

• Initial Complaint

  02/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I hired on with Hibu to promote my business. Was promised all kinds of results. They kept telling me I need to pay more for more results. So started paying them 5k a month, still no results for 2 years!!! They always have an excuse of why, they never could get results. I hired another company and only pay 2k a month and in less then a month have got more calls form customers then Hibu in a year!!! I called my account rep at ********************** as we had a good relationship and told her I wanted to cancel. She kept trying to talk me out of it and kept giving me promises they could do better. I told her no I wanted to cancel. 3 days passed and she said she would put in for my cancellation. I still got billed for another month and refuse to pay it. They are now stating I did not give them the 15 day notice to cancel so Im on the hook for another month of payments Its not my fault the rep **** her feet to get it canceled. When I spoke with her I was in my grace ****** to cancel. Kinda funny how Ive read all other complaints that this is a normal thing from them. *** contacted my attorney and willing to take this to court to fight them. Im not gonna be bullied by a big company and think they can scare me off.

  

  Business response

  03/08/2024

  Please see attached.

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I called to cancel our service with Hibu in November of 2023, and we have continued to be billed for the service. They are non responsive and they continue to fraudulently bill ** for a service that we have already canceled.

  

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on February 06, 2024.  We have reached out with the contact information provided on the complaint several times and have not heard back.
  Unfortunately, with the limited information provided we were not able to know for sure which account ************** was disputing.  There were three accounts found with the information provided, we have researched all three accounts and found no basis for an adjustment.  
  Two of the three accounts found do have active products on them.  Per the terms and conditions of the contract, if ************** wishes to cancel any of the active products on his account, he will need to request this by calling Hibu Client Success @ ************.
  We apologize for any frustration this may have caused. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The price is too high for our small business as the results are not off setting the charges, contracted for six mos from 7/23 but made changes in Sept and they say it now adds six mos from then. We need to get out . I hope you can help

  

  Business response

  01/17/2024

  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on January 17, ****.
  I spoke with **************** today and reminded her that the contract and statement of work were both emailed to her on 09/29/23 when they added the Assistant product to their contract.
  Both clearly state the Assistant product is a 6-month minimum term.  I also spoke to her sales representative who advised the minimum terms had been discussed.
  We spoke about the products and that they have been performing well.  All of the products have been meeting or exceeding the expected results that were provided at the time of sales and signed by the client. There is no basis for an adjustment or an early-term cancelation.
   We apologize for any frustration this may have caused.

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am the owner of small business that was stabilished ****. Our new website was created 10 years since we there was some changes on ownership, we normaly always have the *** crew to maintain our website running ****** ad based on our budget, one of the most important thing is to making sure that our website/ business name pops up in any search engine and keeping the website safe from bugs and h risck of being hacked, on September 2022 A representative from Hibu was coming to our office every week and pushing us to do business with them, I ended up being tempted by his seemingly effective promises to help with bringing more leads more customers and multiply our sales so I signed a contract with Hibu to *** my website and running ad on ****** for us, It toke about a month or so until we supposed togging live, there were some issue with the management and the way they designed the ad, tokes another two weeks to fixing the issue, however the issue did not ended up here, in fact just started, so many issue appeared and every time I was contacting the rep, he was bringing excuses or was given me false promises, in the second month they charged me twice more than what it was agreed in our contract, I contacted them, they bought some unjustified reasons, so we got to the disagreement for so many issues including extra charges, As usual no one were responding or false info was given to me over and over again, minwile my website suddenly got disappeared from al the search engines, i contacted the rep. no response at all, the website was gone for over 10 days, we have lost leads, business and our customer trust, contacted the mine office after many back and fourth they got my website back, I asked to cancel my contract beacouse their clumsy performance and irresponsibility that put my business in danger, same story with higher level, cancelation toke two months, My website was disappeared again, for another two weeks, I find out that they never maintain my existing website.

  

  Business response

  01/03/2024

  
  
  Hibu Inc.
  *****************************************************************
  Tel: ************
  Fax: ************
  January 3, 2024
                              
  **********************;    
  Better Business Bureau Serving Greater ****, Quad Cities & Siouxland Region
  ******************************;
  **********, ** 50310
  
  RE:    Flooring Kitchen & Bath Design 
            ***********    
            25626 ***************** #B-9  
            *************, ** 92694  
            Telephone #: ************                  
            Hibu Product: Smart Online Presence, Assistant, Social and Search
            Complaint # ********
  
  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is in response to the correspondence received on December 27, 2023, about Ms. ******* claim that her Website went down.

  
  The Client, *************** authorized a contract on September 20, 2022, for the Smart Presence +Social & Search Large with the Assistant and Local Ranking. The website went live on October 30, 2023, and numerous changes and a redesign was done for the website. There was no error found on Hibus part.

  
  We have reached out to **************** via email and advised that there was no Hibu error. 

  
  There would be no basis for an adjustment to the account. 

  
  I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. 

  
  Thank you, 

  
  *********************
  Hibu Customer Service
  **************
  Email: ********************************************** 

  Customer response

  01/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 21062298
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Unfair Billing, Impact On My Bossiness, Taking Advantaged Of Language Barrier  Practices by Hibu 

  Dera BBB, 

  I am writing to file an urgent complaint against Hibu regarding their billing practices, Impact On My Bossiness and Taking Advantage of Language Barrier. Despite my previous attempts to resolve the issue, Hibu has continued to charge and bill my account for services I no longer need. I have already submitted a complaint, but recent developments have prompted me to provide updated information 

  Here are the Key details of my complaint:

  1- Lack of response: Hibu has constantly failed to respond to my emails and address my concerns regarding their service.

  2- ***** promises: Hibu made ***** promises regarding the performance and results of their services, which ultimately did not meet my expectations.

  3- Sudden disappeared of website: Without any warning or explanation, my website created by Hibu disappeared, cussing a significant negative impact on my bossiness, this happend Jan-***** that my contract with Hibu were still active  

  4- Difficalty canceling the contract: Despite my repeated attempts to cancel the contract, Hibu has refused to acknowledge my cancellation requests for several months and continued to charge my account. 

  5- Aggressive action: Hibu has now escalated the situation by providing my information to a collection agency, further exacerbating the issue.

  6- Taking advantage of language barrier: I Felt that my language barrier was exploited, which greatly impacted my ability to receive service I deserved. Hibu representatives took advantage of my language barrier, which led to me being unable to assert my rights effectively. Despite my efforts to communicate my concerns, the representatives failed to provide the necessary support and fair treatment.

  Attached to this complaint, you will find all the relevant evidence, including emails, screenshots and any other documentation that supports my claim. 

  I kindly request your immediate attention to this matter, as i have been bothered by collection company constantly, I trust the BBB will investigate this complaint thoroughly and help me find a fair resolution  

   

   

  Sincerely,
  
  Bita (saeideh) ******

  

  Business response

  01/09/2024

  Our position stands as originally issued. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We originally signed with Hibu in 2014. We had a great rep who was honest and kept us informed. He has since left in 2019. Since then we have had numerous repa. All of which would be assigned and no one informed us who the rep was, who to contact, or who to work with. We have on many occasions asked to cancel since we are NO LONGER UNDER CONTRACT. Every time the new rep offers false promises to us. They will stay but do not. They will fix things they do not. We have made it VERY CLEAR to all reps, website designers and hibu contacts that we only want our business photos used no stock, yet they say its done and still stock photos. We have made it clear we dont do aluminum roofing we fabricate our own standing seam metal on site.. yet they are still advertising aluminum roofing. We have called, emailed, called customer support everything in our power as a business to have things fixed nothing is done. Or new rep who has been there over 20 years she states ***** contacted us in months even after calls and emails for her to do so.We are charged well over **** a month for a website, social campaigns, and calls yet the only ads I see on social media are ones I have paid ******** myself for. Most of the calls hibu generate are other marketing companies asking us to join them. Or voicemails saying they cant see our ads and they can offer a better presence and better results. We have for over a year been fighting with this and making it know we are getting these call all to be told we cant control spam calls Well the spam calls are what we are paying for apparently since thats all we seem to generate from hibu.This company is a joke and ***** on small businesses. Its disgusting and distributing to say the least. They take your money with ZERO RETURN OF INVESTMENT.

  

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on December 19, 2023.  ****************** had mentioned several concerns.  He advised that Hibu was advertising aluminum roofing and they had called and emailed support but the changes were not made.  I checked Mr. ******** dashboard,and the aluminum roofing Search ads were paused 03/03/21 as requested.  The ads still show in the dashboard, but they are not running.  On 06/22/23 ****************** provided to have some photos added and stock photos removed.  The changes were completed the same day.  Unfortunately, it is hard for the artist to spot all of the stock photos unless specific photos are pointed out to be deleted.  ****************** was notified via email address  ************************ when the changes were completed, and nothing was brought to the attention of the support team about additional stock photos still showing.  Regardless, I was able to verify there were at least three stock photos still on the website, these photos have now been removed.  We have extended an offer of $337.50 to cover 25% of the website package for that 6 month period.  ****************** has not responded to the offer.  The claim has been closed as a pending offer.  It was also stated that sales were not responding to ******************, however, I found several notes about messages,and calls that sales made.  I also spoke to sales who advised that she does not hear back when leaving messages.  Another frustration was spam calls.  This is something that is common, none of our programs are charged by the number of calls received so that would not warrant an adjustment.  We are always happy to make changes to the advertising programs by contacting our support team. 
  
  We apologize for any frustration this may have caused.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩