Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Hibu Inc's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Hibu Inc

  221 3rd Ave SE STE 300 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401-1525

  
• 

  Hibu Inc

  2701 Renaissance Blvd King of Prussia, PA 19406-2781

• 

  Hibu, Inc

  2560 Renaissance Blvd King of Prussia, PA 19406

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/13/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 21, 2023, I hired Hibu for two of their packages: ***************** Solution ($139/month) and Marketing Assistant ($149/month). This contract was for 6 months. Almost immediately, there were problems with the marketing part. Hibus dashboard would not accept our marketing email and it kept disconnecting. A manager for Hibu contacted me and walked me through what to do to ensure it was done accurately. This did not resolve the issue. I grew unsatisfied by 10/26/23 to the point I requested to cancel the service. However, I was not allowed to cancel.Nonetheless, when we decided to focus on ad marketing, we wanted to keep everything with the same company. We contacted Hibu around 11/15/23 to set this up, and we met on 11/17/23 via Zoom with ***************************. We agreed to spend $500 a month on display and social ads. The ads are what started our issues with Hibu. We disapproved of them and ***************************, our ad creator, edited and shared the updated ads. We were still unsatisfied. The ads were not competitive in style and did not fit our brand. We concluded Hibu would not be able to deliver what we were looking for. They did not have the experience working with a minority population or the knowledge to produce appealing ads. Their commitment to us in the agreement was that they would do so. This was not honored.We sent a termination request on 12/9/23 but did not get a reply. We sent a follow-up email on 12/12/23 and got a response directing us to call to cancel. During the call, we were told our agreement could not be canceled. Hibu suggested we talk to ****** and see what he can do to help with the ads. We have exhausted our options for helping Hibu develop our ads.We want the advertising contract voided, a refund of $477 for the email marketing service when it was not working, and to completely end our existing contract at the end of the 6-month contract we originally agreed to. This would bring our relationship with Hibu to an end on January 21, ****.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/18/2023

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on December 13, 2023.
  The details of Ms. ******* complaints were researched and found to have no basis for an adjustment. The Display and Social products were canceled pre-live as requested.  We have reached out multiple times over the phone and email to discuss the concerns addressed in the complaint and have not heard back.  **************** was notified if she still wished to cancel her remaining products at the end of the minimum term it is required that she call our Client Success team at ************ at least 15 days before the following invoice. 
  
  We apologize for any frustration this may have caused.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/19/2023

   
  Complaint: 20997647
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) I was not asked to respond to any email correspondence from Hibu in regards to this complaint. It was my understanding that once a complaint is filed, all communication goes through BBB.

  2) I reject my original SOW contract still being listed with a 12 month duration. The original SOW contract was for 6 months. If the second SOW contract dated 11/21/23 was voided due to the refund/cancellation that Hibu is offering, the deadline described in that contract should also be cancelled and default back to the original timeframe of 6 months. Hibu is agreeing to cancel services for the 11/21/23 contract, but choosing to still abide by the deadline of said contract. This is an attempt for Hibu to continue to get money from me.

  3) An adjustment for the months no email marketing was occurring is warranted. The plethora of emails shows I tried to connect to email marketing dozens of times. Hibu has no record other than 1 attempt at helping me with this.  Now the email marketing is working. That is strange since the email I have used has not changed from the beginning. Hibu finally established a connection, yet wants to ignore the fact for 3 months they could not connect because I had less than *************** good faith, they did not provide a service, therefore should not get to keep the money.

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2023

  Our findings stand as previously stated, there is no basis for an adjustment.  On 07/25/23 both products were authorized as 12-month minimum terms.  As stated previously, if you still wish to cancel your remaining products at the end of the of the minimum term it is required that you call our Client Success team at ************ at least 15 days before the following invoice. Your ***************** Solution has been billed for 4 months, and the Assistant product has been billed for 3 months.  On the 11/21/23 contract, you added the Social and Display which placed you into a different package with different terms, however, with the request to cancel that package, the ***************** Solution and Assistant products reverted to the original contract terms.  Positive feedback started in the dashboard on October 8th.  I was able to verify that you spoke with our support team on 10/25/23 and advised that you were having a connection issue.  Your sales representative noted on 10/31/23 that the connection issues were resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Just so you know I have never filed a complaint for a business before. I am writing on behalf of ********************** I have contacted the company by email on the following dates to cancel my service: 9/27/23, 9/28/23, 10/2/23 in addition to the above emails: I placed a phone call to their customer service line only to be perpetually transferred and put on hold without resolution. I placed another phone call a few days later and talked to a person who said he could cancel my service, but it would take 15 days and he would email me a confirmation - no confirmation was received. I then contacted my credit card company and filed a dispute so they couldn't keep billing my card every month. Now on 12-3-2023 I received a bill from them claiming I owe the money that i had my credit card decline in the dispute. I called Hibu again today to make sure my account had been closed only to be given the runaround that I owed yet one more months payment. I strongly feel that their game is to make it impossible to stop the automatic billing even though i have completed my contract with them. Never in my life have I received such a run around for a contract that i completed and paid in full. I am requesting the following actions: -That the current balance of $81.14 be removed from my account and that the balance reflect $0.00 -That Hibu never contact ********************** again - That new customers can be warned of this billing and canceling issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/14/2023

  Please see attached.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hibu:1) Didn't do any keyword research for the keywords that were optimized for my page's SEO.2) Didn't improve my page's SEO over 9 months time 3) Didn't run my ******** ads when I paid for them 4) Took admin control of my ******** business page and kicked me off of it so that I only have partial access to my own ******** business page 5) Charged me $1500/month for SEO, ********/google advertisting and website design, and performed a horrible job on all services they were charging me for.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on December 12, 2023. The details of Ms. **************** complaints were researched and found to have no basis for an additional adjustment.  ********************** was previously compensated $745.00 on her Local Ranking product when her concerns were fully researched.  The products worked as they should.  We apologize for any frustration this may have caused.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/27/2024

  Details: I cancelled my agreement with Hibu early. The Vice President of the company literally said I owed nothing. But then they keep calling me over and over and saying I owe $407.48. It's literally harrassment at this point because ********** agreed with my dispute and awarded me credit in exactly that amount.

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/27/2024

  Our position stands as previously stated, there was no basis for an adjustment.  Your invoice date was the 1st of each month.  The $407.48 is for services from 11/08/23 until 11/30/23 when your products were canceled.  
  The Search product did not go live until 11/08/23, this was after the 11/01/23 invoice date.   The $383.41 charge for the Search on the 12/1/2023 invoice was prorated charges while Search was live in November, not services in December. 
  The $24.07 prorated charge for Local Ranking on the 12/1/2023 invoice, was due to the price increase from $720.00 to $745.00 on 11/2/2023.  This was after the 11/01/23 invoice date and the reason why the difference was reflected on the 12/1/2023 invoice.
  The charges are valid and were for service provided prior to the 12/01/2023 invoice date, there is no basis for an adjustment.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/06/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed a 6 month contract with hibu. I pay 1100/month for advertising my hair ********** of this goes to my ad spend. in 5 months I have not gained one single client from their advertising. I can not see any of my ads in real time, nor can anyone that I know. I have seperate social accounts and my ads do not show up on there either. I can only see my ad activitiy on hibus dashboard I do not see or can not access any of my ads from my business ******** page at all. aside from not seeing any legitimate results in real time the ads themselves I am having to provide them with, I provide the ad text as well. They offer absolutely nothing other than taking my money and providing zero results. I can place an ad myself on my ******** and get ***** messages as well as see the ads all over ********. This is not the case at all with hibu supposed placed ads. I can not see the ads at all and I have maybe received 5 messages in 5 months. I have voiced all of these concerns they have told me that i can not get out of the contract they offer no support whatsoever other than trying to convice me to stay on with them which is absurd at this point. My business income has decreased by half since signing their contract. By the end of this contract I will have spent over **** dollars with this business with absoutely zero return. I have tried to contact anyone at this business If i do actually get a hold of someone they are no help or send me over to someone who does not ever answer the phone or return my calls. They are absolutely avoiding me at this point. The only one who calls is my account manager who helps with nothing and tries to persuade me to stay in business with them. The "results" that they show are only viewable on their website. This absolutely is a scam to take your money.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/16/2023

  
  
  Hibu Inc.
  *****************************************************************
  Tel: ************
  Fax: ************
  November 15, 2023
                              
  **********************;    
  Better Business Bureau Serving Greater ****, Quad Cities & Siouxland Region
  ******************************;
  **********, ** 50310
  
  RE:    ******* 
            Skyler Strong    
            ********************************************************  
            ******, ** 78752  
            Telephone #: ************                  
            Hibu Product: ************************* Solution and Assistant
            Complaint # ********
  
  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is in response to the correspondence received on November 6, 2023, about Ms. ******* claim that she is not receiving any business from her products.

  
  The Client, ***************, authorized a 6-month contract on 7/6/23 for Social, ************************* Solution and Assistant. **************** agreed to an amended contract on 10/5/23 that removed the Search and moved the budget to the social product.  The Social has 4 months remaining on the contract and is not eligible for cancelation.

  
  Ms. ******* advertising continues to receive traffic during her contract and Hibu does not guarantee clients.

  
  We have tried to reach **************** by phone and email, but we have not received a reply.

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

  
  I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

  
  Thank you,

  
  *********************
  Hibu Client Services
  **************
  Email: ********************************************** 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/16/2023

   
  Complaint: 20831969
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The only results that I can see from what you are saying is impressions views etc. is on your business website page. I can not access any of these results from my social media account. Zero of these results transfer into real time and there is zero proof that the results your showing me are accurate - they are only viewable on your businesses page. I can not see any ad or its analytics from my social media the only ad I have ever seen is a preview of my ad via your businesses page. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2023

  Our position is unchanged. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Have been attempting to cancel the service for 1.5 months and either cannot get ahold of anyone or get the run around.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2023

  
  
  Hibu Inc.
  *****************************************************************
  Tel: ************
  Fax: ************
  November 1, 2023
                              
  **********************;    
  Better Business Bureau Serving Greater ****, Quad Cities & Siouxland Region
  ******************************;
  **********, ** 50310
  
  RE:    ****************************.  
            **********************;   
            1664 *****************  
            Camden Wyoming, ** 19934  
            Telephone #: ************                  
            Hibu Product: Smart Online Presence.
            Complaint # ********
  
  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is in response to the correspondence received on October 26, 2023, about Mr. ********* claim that he has been trying to cancel his products for a month and a half.

  
  The Client, ******************* authorized an amended contract on 10/11/22 for the Smart Online Presence. On 10/11/23 an employee of ******************** called in to cancel, but she was not the contract signer, and we were unable to cancel.

  
  We have reached out to ******************** by phone and email and have resolved the issue in a mutually beneficial manner.

  
  I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

  
  Thank you,

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to express my profound dissatisfaction with Hibu's services. Throughout our engagement, I have seen no tangible results from their marketing efforts. Despite their promises to bring in new business, my business has not experienced any increase in phone calls or revenue. What's even more frustrating is their consistently unprofessional customer service. Numerous attempts to contact them have gone unanswered.Hibu's failure to clearly and transparently communicate their contract terms has left me in an extremely unfavorable financial situation. It is evident that the terms of the contract were not adequately explained or disclosed. Im now out of pocket a staggering $4,577.73. Despite this significant investment, I have not received a single dollar in return for their purported marketing services. The lack of clarity regarding their pricing structure, cancellation policies, and expected results has created a situation where I have been subjected to significant financial losses without any corresponding benefits. Their lack of transparency and accountability has further compounded my dissatisfaction with their services and left me in an unjust and frustrating predicament.Furthermore, I find it deeply disheartening that despite my attempts to cancel my contract with Hibu, they continued to charge me $547.89 in both March and June 2023, even after I had informed both ***************** and *************************** that I would soon be closing my business. On July 25, after leaving numerous voice messages, I sent a nice letter kindly asking and begging for a refund and requested cancellation again. Its now October 25, and they are still attempting to bill me! This is utterly nonsensical. My business ceased operations as of August 1st. I am left with no business for Hibu to apply their services to, yet they persist in trying to charge me. I urgently request that Hibu refund the June payment and immediately cease all further charges and services.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2023

  Please see attached.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to file a formal complaint against Hibu **************** regarding the subpar services we have received as clients. Our business, ********************, based in ***********, ******, entered into a six-month marketing agreement with Hibu two months ago, which has left us deeply dissatisfied. Our experience with Hibu has been marked by the following issues:Lack of Results: Despite a significant increase in our marketing budget, we have not seen a notable improvement in website traffic or received any leads directly attributable to Hibu's services. Our ****** Analytics shows no substantial increase, and no phone or website leads have been linked to Hibu.Misaligned Expectations: Our initial communication clearly outlined the need for high-quality leads from specific traveler searches. However, there was a disconnect between the salesperson and the search specialist who set up our account. This resulted in poorly written ads, misspelled business listings, and ad titles that did not align with our objectives.Unfulfilled Promises: Promised updates and corrections were not executed as agreed. Our business name remains misspelled, ad titles lack structure, and the campaign focuses on narrow search terms that do not reflect our services.Lack of Transparency: Attempts to address issues with our campaign were met with resistance and a directive not to search for our own ads on ******.Premature Activation: Our listings solution was activated prematurely, adding to the confusion surrounding our campaign's strategy.We have unsuccessfully communicated these concerns to Hibu's customer service (the letter we sent via email is attached). As responsible business owners, we cannot justify spending over $2000 on marketing services that produce no results.We kindly request the cancellation of our Hibu agreement at the end of this month. A written confirmation of the cancellation and any necessary instructions for closing our Hibu services are requested.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2023

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on October 20, 2023. The details of ****************** complaint were researched and found to be no basis for an early-term cancellation. When ******************** authorized the advertising, a statement of work was sent to him that outlined the expectations of each product.  Each product has met or exceeded the expected results.  There have been multiple changes made to the account and changes can also be made moving forward.  Calls and/or business are not something that can be promised with the campaigns.  Based on the budgets of the products the statement of work that was sent to the client when the program was authorized suggested the Search program would have a click-through rate typically greater than 1%. In the last 30 days, the Search program had a click-through rate of 5.67%.  The Display program should produce ****** ****** impressions and ******* clicks.  ********************** program generated ****** Impressions and 162 clicks.  For the Social program with a traffic objective, we would expect to see ******* clicks,there have been 209 clicks over the last 30 days.
  Even when the program is working as it should be, changes are always welcome.  ****************** and I spoke over the phone, and he has requested a meeting with our escalation support team to review the products and suggest changes to the campaign that *** lead to more calls.  I reminded him that calls are not promised but that I would be happy to request a meeting to review his products and make suggestions for possible changes moving forward.  We apologize for any frustration this *** have caused and look forward to working with ****************** on possible changes to his advertising.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 20754758
  
  I'm not sure who ****************** is, but I am rejecting this response because:

  We signed up with Hibu to increase our website traffic, leads and calls coming into our office. While Hibu shows an increase in traffic on their dashboard, they have provided me with no evidence that this is true and surely if it were accurate we would see at the very least a substantial increase in our website traffic which we have not. I understand that the dashboard numbers are the metric that Hibu based their claims of success on, but the massive investment I made in this service was to produce leads and calls and all parties were aware of this.

  As a compromise I have suggested that I work with a specific sales person within Hibu who I know has a track record of producing the results that I was promised. I await their response.

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/27/2023

  We can certainly understand the desire for a high number of calls;however, our response stands as previously stated, there was no promise of an expected number of calls.  The expected results were included in the statement of work that was sent to ******************** when he authorized the contract.  The expected results have been met.  Unfortunately, there was no basis for an early-term cancellation since the products are working as they should.
  We did receive ********************** request to have a new account manager assigned.  His request was forwarded to the regional sales manager in his area to follow up with him on the request.  Our escalation support team reached out in an attempt to set up a meeting yesterday to review the products and suggest changes to the campaign that *** lead to more calls, again calls are not something that can be promised. They were unable to connect yesterday with ********************, but they did leave voicemails both times they reached out. We look forward to working with ******************** on possible changes to his advertising.   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We signed a 6 month contract with Hibu to assist with our online digital marketing on 3/31/23. With the agreement, the expectation was to meet with our account manager once each month to review our *********************** and help us generate leads for our small business. After the first 2 months we were no longer being contacted by our account manager unless we initiated the contact. They failed on multiple occasions to make the agreed upon changes to our *********************** and after chasing them down to do so they weren't always the correct changes. As of this date, 9/22/23, Hibu has failed to help us in any regard in the growth of our lead generation. As a small business, the monthly charge of $1,100.85 is no small fee. I have no dispute over the first 5 payments. Sub par service, but ****** learned. On 9/15/23 I wanted to make sure the contract would not extend beyond the agreed upon termination date of 10/2/23. I sent an email to my account manager since we had not had a meeting since 8/3/23 to confirm and follow up on the current campaign. He informed me that he was no longer my account manager, news to me, and that his current manager ************************* (CC'd on the email) would be handling the transition and I would hear from her later that day. As of 9/22/23 I have not heard from her. I also sent an email to our new account manager on 9/15/23 and have not heard back from him either as of 9/22/23. I was able to cancel the contract and it will not renew after 10/2/23. However I was told that their would be a final payment processed on 10/15/23 for the final month of services from Hibu (9/2/23-10/2/23). We have not received any of the services and nobody is responding to emails. I do not expect to pay for a month of services that I'm not receiving even though I am still under contract until 10/2/23. I have saved emails if they are needed. Thank you

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2023

  Please see attached.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In February of 2023 I contracted Hibu to create a website for my small painting business with a concentration on cabinet painting. I was told by the sales rep that eventually the website would ****** online traffic and move up it's rankings in ****** search. I paid a total of $4500.00 and after 6 months I got absolutely nothing for my money not even one lead. During the six months I was in contact with the sales person and told him I was not happy with the website, it did not concentrate on cabinet painting and it did not use the photos that I uploaded for them to use, instead they used stock photos which made the website look like every other painting company websites. I tried to cancel my contract in July and was told I could not do that until the end of my contract in Sept so I had to pay another $1500. I feel foolish for going into this so light hearted, I assumed I was paying for a professional website and it would be presented the way I wanted. After cancelling the contract in Sept of 2023 I now have no website, there is nothing to show for the $4500.00. I tried talking to a rep but that was impossible. Ideally I would like my money back, I feel I was robbed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/25/2023

  This letter is being sent in response to the correspondence received on September 21, 2023.
  The details of ********************************* complaint were researched and no errors with the program were found. The local ranking keywords improved from a baseline ranking of 999 to 14th and 18th.  The ranking improved each month while the Local Ranking product was active.  Although there was no call tracking on the package to verify if calls were received and new business is not something that can be promised, we are able to verify there were 6 form fills received from the website as well as 494 visits to the website with ****% of those visits from new visitors.
  Our goal is to make our clients happy; we extended a goodwill offer to ****************** to cover a portion of her bill for the next few months so that she would have time to request changes to her website.  ****************** was happy with this resolution and was going to work on making changes to her website.  We are sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused, and we're happy we were able to come to a mutually satisfactory resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Through a phone conversation with a Hibu representative on 25 August 2023, we contacted Hibu ***************** to cancel our account and subscription. We then asked to have our website and all of the intellectual property of the website transferred to us. We initially were able to cancel, but then on August 29th, we were still charged for services. We have an email detailing the canceled subscription from Hibu ***************** for all services except for $242.44 per month for website hosting aka "Smart Online Presence". We then received an invoice for the total, and Hibu claimed that we were unable to cancel and is continuing to bill us. They still will not give us the database files for our website that we paid them to build, and they are holding it hostage until we pay. We've called Hibu several times, in recorded conversations, and they continually transfer us to other departments, claim that they are opening investigations into the matter, and have completely disregarded their own email that they sent as not existing. We have a copy of the email from their email address, which makes it clear that every service is canceled except for the website hosting, which we are only paying for so that way our website doesn't go offline. We also believe Hibu to be in breach of their own contract because: 1) they will not transfer the website files to us, and 2) our account manager as is listed on our billing statements and on file according the Hibu **************** and Cancellation Team through recorded conversation is claiming to us that she (*************************) is not the account manager. ************************* is also per terms of their contract is supposed to be in contact with us, yet refuses to do so claiming she isn't the account manager. We feel because of these reasons, Hibu is in breach of contract, and we should be able to cancel our subscription services. There is a myriad of additional reasons we would like to cancel, but for brevity we will not go into all of them.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/28/2023

  
  
  Hibu Inc.
  *****************************************************************
  Tel: ************
  Fax: ************
  September 28, 2023
                              
  **********************;    
  Better Business Bureau Serving Greater ****, Quad Cities & Siouxland Region
  ******************************;
  **********, ** 50310
  
  RE:    ****************** 
            *******************;   
            ****************************   
            *********, ** 84106  
            Telephone #: **********        
            Hibu Product: Smart Online Presence and Search
            Complaint # ********
  
  Dear ********************:
  
  This letter is in response to the correspondence received on September 27, 2023, about Mr. ****** claim that Hibu would not cancel his Search contract.

  
  The Client, *************, authorized a 6-month contract on 6/20/22 for the Smart Online Presence and Search. After the search had been active for one month ************** requested to pause the search. The search reinstated briefly in March before being paused again. The search was reinstated in September and has only fulfilled two months of a 6-month contract.  The contract is not eligible for cancellation until the terms have been fulfilled.  

  
  ************** does not wish to be contacted by Hibu; however, if **************** wishes to discuss this further, he can reply to the email below.

  
  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 Answer

  Date: 09/29/2023

   
  Complaint: 20632113
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Hibu ***************** has tried several times to use the contract we signed as their way of defending their position to continue billing us. If they would like to revert to the contract to collect money than we will also revert to the contract and their own Statement of Work document that was sent to us via email. We can show clearly that they are in breach of their own contract. In their own Statement of Work, which is attached, it clearly states that our Hibu account manager would be in contact with us bi-monthly to discuss marketing options, our overall marketing program, and that we would have direct access to our account manager. We have recorded phone conversations, text messages, and emails to prove that our account representative has been completely absent from us, has not returned emails, texts, or phone calls in a timely manner, or in most cases not at all. This is in direct contradiction to their stated responsibilities on their own documentation provided to us via email. 

  The account representative completely misrepresented the products and services to us in an in-person meeting which included both business owners and with two other managers present. We were told when we purchased the product that we would have the ability to transfer the website to our own domain if we canceled the service. This is a direct quote from *************************, our listed account manager. She also said that we would have direct access to her and that we would be having conference calls bi-monthly to discuss our marketing strategies. When she failed to do this, we tried several times to get ahold of her using every possible mode of contact. When she eventually did respond, she said that she was no longer our account manager. We have called the main Hibu Customer support line multiple times, and when we asked to be transferred to our account manager, we get transferred to a voicemail, in which no one responds to our messages. This is not in line with any of the services that Hibu claims they are giving us, and we refuse to pay for services we are not receiving. Hibu has made no effort to give us a new account manager, they have made no effort help us change our marketing strategies, and at this point we aren't even sure they are doing anything at all.

  If hibu can prove that we have been receiving calls from our account manager bi-monthly, or emails showing that they have attempted to make contact with us and it was our company that failed to respond, then we will submit to paying the last few months of the service and we will go on our way. For this to be accepted by us, we would need independent third party evidence that phone calls were made, emails were sent, and we were attempted to be contacted bi-monthly. Our evidence shows otherwise.

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2023

  Our position has not changed.