ComplaintsforOutboundEngine, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Outbound engine sales rep ****** told me that they would get me to the top of ****** searches. When I got to my onboarding call my account manager said that they actually dont do that. So I tried to cancel my account and have been told for about three weeks that I would get a call back from the manager. I havent received a call so I called in every single day. They said that the manager hadnt had time to review the call and that they werent available. Today I wrote a bad review about them and they finally called back. She said that she had reviewed the call and the sales rep never told me that. She is lying. I asked her to send the call to you all or to me and she said that she couldnt do that. They are offering me to downgrade my account or pay out the membership. I dont feel that it is fair for me to pay out the membership when I was lied to about what I was getting. The sales rep was so sketchy about her sales pitch that she even texted me about signing up at the highest membership so that I could get reviews and downgrading when it was time to start paying in March. This was her text: I cant say this on the recorded line but if you want the reviews we can add it on and you can take it off in March. Today after I told them that I was going to call you all they called me back and said that they needed to redo the onboarding call. I think it was so that they could record it and delete the one where I was told that I would get to the top of ******. What Im asking for is to just cancel my membership without paying out the membership.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  We have worked directly with this client to reach a solution. 

  Customer response

  01/24/2023

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed what I believed was an inital agreement to lock in a low rate. During the call I was told that I would receive the complete terms and agreement which I have not received. I let the sales person on the call know that my business partner would need to speak with someone at the company before we could lock in and that she would be the primary account holder. The sales person said she could ask questions and make decision then we could move forward with the Onboarding session and work would begin on our account. My business partner decided she did not want to move forward and was not willing to sign a contract so I called Outbound Engine to cancel the onboarding session. I was told I could not cancel based on the Terms and Conditions and that I would have to pay $2,694 to cancel. I was never told this on the sales call and I have not received the terms and conditions to verify if this is true. The person I spoke with when attempting to cancel said I "should have asked" what their terms and conditions were and they do not typically tell people that they can not cancel at any point. He also said I could not cancel because work had already been done to my account. This is the complete opposite of what the inital sales person told me. I find this to be very bad business practices as I never received any terms and conditions prior to signing and was not told that this was a binding contract. I've attached what was sent over after signing. Again, to this point I have never received any terms and conditions. They were not reviewed on our call and I find their tactics to be extremely predatory and based on countless other bad reviews with the exact same experience this seems to be the under handed way that they run their business.

  

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  Thank you for submitting this issue through the BBB so we can investigate. Your complaint seems to be because you want to terminate your 12 month agreement early because the salesperson said that this was a possibility during your sales call. We have reviewed the 75 minute sales interaction to verify this conversation took place. I have sent the call recording to the BBB for reference. They will be happy to share this with you upon request. 
  
  After reviewing the sales interaction, we can verify there was no mention of an additional account holder, decision maker, and certainly no mention there was an ability to end the contract early. The full pricing & 12 month partnership were represented accurately.  I see you have already uploaded the contract you signed outlining our terms and pricing. Please refer to this for our 12 month partnership terms. These terms were reiterated during a post sale script verbally on the phone with your sales professional (as heard on the sales call recording), signed by you on the agreement you attached, and sent on the verification email sent to ****************************** immediately once your payment processed which includes our early cancellation fees. Full terms of service are available at ****************************************************** and are covered in depth during the on boarding call. 
  
  Based on this evidence we can adamantly verify (without dispute):
  1) You were told of our terms pricing and 12 month partnership
  2) You were NOT told of an ability to cancel before your on boarding call
  3) There was NOT a conversation around an alternate decision maker that would need to approve this purchase
  4) You did ink the 12 month partnership agreement and have a copy as you have attached it
  
  Based on this evidence we are declining your request to cancel the partnership early without penalty. Please work with you solutions specialist to find the best path forwards. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I tried to cancel my account with them starting on 11/9/22. I emailed multiple times, at least 4 and called 5 times. Via I was told that I needed to "verbally" cancel. Every time I called and said I wanted to cancel I was told that I needed to talk to another department and no one was available to help me. I asked for a manager multiple times and was told no one was available. One time the customer service rep hung up on me. I would get a random callback days later and when I would call back no one was available again. I left multiple voicemails stating that I wanted to cancel as well. On Saturday dec 3rd my card was charged for another month. I have never dealt with such terrible customer service. They have completely wasted hours of my time sending emails and making phone calls about this. Finally I insisted on talking to a manager and sitting on hold and threatened to call a lawyer. I talked to a manager and was told they wouldn't give a refund.

  

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  Thank you for submitting this through the BBB so we can investigate this issue. It looks like your complaint is that a lack of communication led to an extra charge on your account. To confirm, we do require a conversation to cancel a client to ensure accurate passage of data. We hold our clients contact list and need to make sure no contact information is deleted during off boarding. We have this done by our solutions team directly vs. working with our general support reps. 
  
  As you pointed out, your cancellation request was placed on 11/9/2022. We require a 30 day notification to cancel the account. Your next billing date was 12/3/2022 (within 30 days), so that would be the last bill date in a successful cancellation. I can confirm this was the final charge placed on the account. 
  
  Second to address your claim that we were unable to talk with you about the cancellation. Based on the activity history in your account, our solutions team (which handles off boarding) made 17 unsuccessful attempts to reach you via phone & email between 11/9/2022 & 12/9/2022. On 12/9/2022 we processed the cancellation. As your request was opened 11/9/2022, you final payment was 12/3/2022 so there were no additional payments due. 
  
  On 12/9/2022 we sent an email confirming the above and outlining our terms of service in regards to the 30 day cancellation policy. I have attached this email and all activity history to confirm the above. 
  
  In summary based on this investigation we can conclude:
  1) There was no undue charge made on the account
  2) Our solutions team made diligent attempts to complete the cancellation 
  
  Due to the results of this investigation we decline to provide a refund. Your account has been cancelled and you will not receive any charges moving forwards. Please reach out to customer support if you have any questions.  

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This is the 2nd time I am reaching out to BBB with help against this company. I signed up for the service when I was a real estate agent.After no longer needing the service I called to terminate my services with "outbound engine".I spoke with various people in various departments who told me they were going to credit my account and I had to wait until my contract ended. I did not use their service or have the need for it, so I waited and then tried to cancel. After not having success, I reached out to the BBB for assistance. I then got contacted from someone in their company saying they were going to both refund me for a partial amount and cancel the contract. I accepted the resolution.Upon checking today I saw another charge from "outbound engine" to my bank account and will even include a screenshot. To charge someone without permission is fraudulent. This is unacceptable. I ask BBB to please help me cancel my contract with this company and get a refund for what I was charged.

  

  Business response

  11/18/2022

  We have worked directly with the client on an agreeable resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have asked Outbound engine to cancel my account and stop running campaigns for 4-5 Months now, Since July of this year. They refuse to stop running my campaigns. I had to cancel the credit card I had on file with them as there was no way to remove my payment method from their website portal.They just received noitce, today, that another email campaign was run, without my consent!I am getting into trouble with my compliace department as some of the campaigns don't follow my company's strict compliace requirements.

  

  Business response

  11/03/2022

  Thank you for reaching out through the BBB so we can investigate the issue. It looks like your complaint is in regards to terminating your account during your initial 12 month partnership. In order to cancel your agreement you will have to pay an early 50% cancellation fee. As you referenced, to avoid doing that, you cancelled your credit card rather than working with our solutions team for an agreeable outcome. This caused you account to go delinquent. Our solutions team has reached out multiple times and have not been able to connect with you since July. I have attached the activity log on the account for reference. I have also attached the signed contract for your reference. 

  As far as actually sending and delivering emails, you can always opt out of any campaign in our dashboard. It's a very intuitive application but if you need help with doing that, our solutions team can also assist you with a walkthrough. Please get in touch with us immediately so we can workout a solution ASAP. 

  Customer response

  11/03/2022

  Complaint: 18316624
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  There is nothing noted about early termination in the contract, just a 12 month commitment.  Since a set up fee was paid, why must I pay for something I wish to cancel.  Also, why do they keep running campaigns, and how was I supposed to know I could stop campaigns by logging into my account and selecting something ?.  Also, I call back ***************** and no one is available when i Call the person whom left me a message is NEVER available
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My real estate sales team signed up with Outbound Engine for a 1 year contract in April of 2021. Our contract was up May 31, 2022. We did not wish to continue business with this company but were bill $399 in June. I emailed them regarding cancelling the service and was instructed that I would have to speak with the account specialist to cancel. I spoke with this person; they offered for me to continue the service for 50% off in July and if I still wanted to cancel at the end of July I could. When I spoke to my account specialist at the end of July I explicitly told them that I wanted to end the service and I was assured that I would not be billed further. I was billed $399 in August and again another $399 in September. I emailed them once again explicitly stating my wish to no longer be billed or use their services. Once again I was told to speak with an account specialist. I attempted to call and was told they were all busy but I would receive a call back. I never receive a call. When I was able to contact them and reach the specialist he refused to refund the money for August and September and claimed that we had agreed to a plan that was $150/mo from August going forward. When I told him that was not at all what I said and that I was still charged $399 he stated that he had the call transcripts to prove otherwise. I asked to receive the transcripts which he refused to give me. I asked to speak to his superior and he refused to allow me to speak with anyone else. He stated he would refund half of each month's charge and that I would receive an email confirming the cancellation which I have not received. I have been trying to have this service cancelled for 4 months and have been charged $798 more after I have emailed evidence of wanting to cancel the business relationship.

  

  Business response

  10/14/2022

  We have worked directly with the client to resolve this complaint. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Signed up for a service and tried to cancel before service was received. Was told by ***************************** and ***************************** that because I signed the term of agreement( just a box and never saw terms until next day) that I would be charged ******* to cancel and no service provided. When asked why I could not cancel less the 24hrs later when service had not been rendered they refuse to answer and tell me pay or stay. My choice. When asked about a higher supervisor ****** said whatever they wont help you. Im the manager of this ***** I feel after looking at other reviews this company does a lot of bait and switch along with steeling money for a service not performed.

  

  Business response

  10/10/2022

  Thank you for reaching out through the BBB so we can investigate this issue. It seems like your complaint is about wanting to terminate your partnership early without being charged cancellation fees and to be refunded. After reviewing your sales call it seems everything was communicated accurately about our 12 month partnership agreement, pricing and terms. We have shared this call with the BBB for reference. You also signed the 12 month partnership agreement acknowledging the pricing and 12 month partnership on the phone call, I have attached a copy to this complaint for your reference. The product specialist also read a post sale script to confirm everything for quality assurance. From this investigation we can conclude everything was communicated accurately and all pricing and terms were accepted by you, the client. Based on this evidence we are going to reject your request for a refund and early termination without incurring fees. We encourage you to work with your solutions specialist to find a path forwards to complete the on-boarding call. 

  Customer response

  10/10/2022

  Complaint: 18143190
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Advertising/Sales Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  9/21/22 Got a call from a ******** who gave a sales pitch about helping with my Linked In. I told him that *** received calls from them in the past and ask them to remove me from their call list multiple times. I told him I am still not interested, please remove me from his call list, and dont call again. As soon as I was done speaking, he continued asking questions about why I was not utilizing my LinkedIn and continued his sales pitch. I kept trying to interrupt him to tell him that I was not interested, and please take me off of his list, he just continued on as if I was not speaking. He seemed to be doing this on purpose to be rude. I ended up having to hang up. And then got a call from the same number a few minutes later asking to speak to someone by a different name. I said you have the wrong number, but I told you to remove my number from your call list so you shouldnt be calling this number. He hung up immediately. When I tried to call back, my call kept getting dropped. I feel these calls are very harassing and disruptive to my business. I believe it was a cell phone number that I was contacted by. The phone number is ************ I just want to be removed from their marketing list.

  

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  We have removed your number from *********** database and will no longer reach out to you. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I signed a contract with OE for one year on 8/9/22. Part of that contract was for Listings Pro which gave visitors to the Website (That OEE provided) to search for real estate listings. OE never provided that Listings Pro function (Listing Tab on the website). They kept saying I needed to provide information, which I did. On 8/26/22 I tried to terminate my contract and request a refund of my first months service and set-up fees in the amount of $421.88 in writing. They told me I had to call their 888 phone number which I did the next business day (8/29/22). I talked to a person from the department that handles termination and cancelation. I explained the situation.. He told me he couldn't take my word at face value and that he needed to talk to his customer service people. He did say that according to the notes on my account I called several time about the *** tab. He asked me to give him until that afternoon or the next day to get back to me. I said okay. I also gave him information so he could verify that the information OE request to set up the *** tab was sent three times. I did not hear from him so I called him the late afternoon on 8/30/22. I was told he was with a customer and would call me back. He never did. That was two days. ago and as of today (9/1/22) I have not heard from anyone at OE nd their is sill no *** tab on my website. The *** tab is crucial to my real estate business.

• Initial Complaint

  08/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been subscribing to Outbound Engine for many years and have been happy with the service they provided in the past; however, my real estate career is taking on some changes and I no longer need their service. Since I am on a month to month membership plan being charged $329.00 and now want to terminate my account, I called them and spoke to the customer service representative on June 15, then received an email June 16 after my email to them requesting to terminate. i again attempted to speak to ****** the 3rd week of July, ************************************************************************** to a manager. All managers were busy; therefore she said someone will return my call immediately. ****** returned my call and asked me to consider keeping my service if he dropped the cost to $149.00. I responded, please terminate my service for August 2022 unless I call back. Upon checking my credit card Statement in August, I saw I was charged $329.00 on July 29, 2022. My second call on 8/4/2022 was again answered by the receptionist who attempted again to get a manager on my call, all were busy. my call was not returned. I called again on 8/12 and was transferred to ******, a manager. He said he would see if his upper manager will credit me for the payment in August and would email me on Monday, August 15. I contacted Outbound Engine on 7/20, 7/30, 8/4, 8/12, 8/22, 8/26 by phone and emailed them

  

  Business response

  09/08/2022

  We have worked directly with the client to resolve the issue. 

*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. ↩