I was just snooping and poking around from my other phone number and email. I didn’t even say I was looking to get work done. Then to my amazement I got my own lead in my leads box on angi leads. I started the process, checked some boxes but never finished the process. Why are they not being vetted better for us contractors? What is the consumers process on line I thought? So I went online and acted as if I was a consumer. I wondered why there were so many leads that came through as no information. The lead hangs around as pending forever but not you paying for the lead that’s pretty quick. Once the lead is accepted you now need to wait for them to accept you back. Only problem is you need to accept the lead. I noticed the leads as they came in said owner left no information. They said their leads come from their subscribers who pay a membership fee. Most of the time, you may not even answer the phone.goodness knows, most of the leads sent to me never answer the phone. So: if you use Angi or HomeAdvisor, be aware particularly if you have a casual inquiry, that you may be costing a small independent business a lot of money. Who know how many other contractors paid similar based upon a single inquiry from a homeowner? The actual commission structure netted to be over 35% for those jobs won. A few were good that resulted in jobs, and the rest were wrong for other reasons. They were 'wrong task', nobody returned the calls or emails. Nice, huh? Of the first 25 leads sent my way-all of which cost me-16 were useless. Angi may have made $120 in commissions-10 leads sent out times $12 lead fee, but maybe the inquiry was casual and nobody won the job. In fact, it may not stop ringing, for a number of qualified contractors all received YOU as the lead. You make the inquiry, and you no sooner hang up the phone or close your computer and your phone starts to ring. Let's say you have a clogged drain, and you inquire about drain clearing service. In my profession, an average sale price may be $299-$399. No wonder they are under investigation in a class action suit in PA. However, the contractor gets charged regardless as soon as that lead is passed on to them from a homeowner inquiry, the contractor gets charged. Now that may be a fairly high commission for a sales lead, but if they were all legitimate, it may be tolerable. In my profession, it is routinely over 10% of the price of a job. However, Angi charges each contractor an alarmingly high fee for each lead. That by itself wouldn't be bad-not every inquiry is a sale in any business. That is, you cannot get in touch with the homeowner, or maybe it was just a random inquiry. My experience, and that of many others is that the leads are notoriously bad. The leads, depending on the nature of the homeowner inquiry, can be good or bad. So, you pay the startup fee, and you starting getting leads.

But I would guess few of you know the method of operation, and what a scam it is for contractors.Īfter paying an initial fee to join as a contractor, they claim (for the benefit of homeowners) to vett contractors but they don't they check on a contractor's existence, but they don't speak with your references or anyone else. Many of you who are homeowners, and have searched for home services from carpenters, plumbers, roofers, electricians, or what have you, have used 'Home Advisor' which is now Angi. I'm state-licensed and insured, and have started to grow my business. In a 'covid pivot' I became a contractor providing services to homeowners and Real Estate professionals.

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