ComplaintsforCole Information

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I subscribed to this service at the tune of $*** last year with the idea that it could be used for both my real estate and insurance business and with a 30-day return policy. However, I had issues initially getting logged in and getting phone support. Needless to say, my 30 days ran out, and they refused to refund me.....only to learn that the system is complicated, doesn't work as it should and I could only use it for one business or the other. I became very frustrated with it and have only used it a few times. Recently, I attempted to download contacts into my ************* crm/dialer and the system won't transfer to the crm which it is supposed to be compatible with. I reached out several months ago and spoke with Luanne and she informed me that I needed to choose real estate or insurance. I appealed to her that I was given bad info when I made the decision to purchase and if there was anything she could do to resolve. We got disconnected & I believe she hung up on me because she never called me back and when I tried to call back no one answered. I also asked if I could get an extension on the time considering, I wasn't able to use it in the way I was told & she said that should not be a problem, but they never delivered. I reached out several times in the past few weeks both on the phone & thru email, but no one seems to care to resolve the issue. This company uses deceptive practices and false advertising to scam people. I will be filing additional complaints with FTC, Consumer Protection and our National, State and Local Board of Realtors if this is not soon resolved.

  Business response

  04/06/2023

  Carole signed for the subscription on June 30, 2022, with a discount of almost **% for ($***) not $*** as she has indicated. Since then, we have been sending her training links and updates through our nurturing process.
  Carole emailed our customer service team on August 24, 2022, asking for a refund after our 30 day guarantee had expired. We asked her to call us so we could help her get the most out of her subscription service since the refund window had expired.
  The next communication was on March 8, 2023, we received an email saying we had promised her she could use the data for real estate & insurance, and she determined that this is not the case, plus other complaints about not using the tool or the data and lack of support etc.
  The facts are, we have responded to the emails and calls with courtesy and within a timely manner and we have attempted to address her complaints, the data and tool can be used for real estate and insurance, we cannot control if a subscriber uses the tool they have purchased, we have offered to assist her on how to use the tool on several occasions, however when she calls into our customer service agents she is not open to our feedback and assistance.
  A meeting was set up with her on March 22, 2023, to discuss the issues that she was claiming, we have listened to the complaint and investigated them and turned out that none of the claims is accurate.
  Out of good well, we offered her via email, a free extension for 60 days, additional training, and VIP support, and the response we received via email on March 27, 2023 is:
   “Thanks but that is not good enough.  I am thoroughly frustrated with this. This is not the system/service I signed up for.
  What a waste of money. I just want my money back”
  We believe that we have attempted to address her complaints, but unfortunately her only resolution that will satisfy her is to receive a full refund. In order to meet in the middle, we did offer a prorated refund of the remainder of the subscription. 

  Customer response

  04/06/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:   Their comments are NOT true!  I reached out to them several times over the months and half the time could not get anyone on the phone. They even admitted that they were having issues providing support in my last conversation.  I was hung up on by Luanne who didn't even pick up when I tried to call back. 

  The software does not work as it used to so there is definitely something different than what I originally signed up for.  Two month extension does not make up for the many (7-8) months I lost trying to get support and the fact that I was misinformed regarding the type of service I signed up for. Initially, I was told by Lyndon ****** that I could use this service for both insurance search for age and property search for real estate.  Luanne told me later that I had to choose one or the other, that is when she hung up on me and never attempted to resolve the issue. Furthermore, it took time after my initial to get a hold of anybody regarding the refund because I could not get logged in and couldn't get the support I needed when I had the time to work on it. Therefore, I did get frustrated and basically gave up on trying.  I can testify for sure that the service is not the same because I had tried it out previously a year or two prior to paying for it and had no problem downloading data and moving it to ******** ***** crm/dialer.   Now I can't even select anything to download....the system is a total failure.  I hoped to resolve these issues but had a lot of push back from over the months and feel they were just running out the clock purposely because all they care about is the sale. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Carole ***

  Business response

  04/11/2023

  We will refund the customer due to our limited resources to deal with such complaints.

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They "automatically renewed" a subscription I had no intentions of renewing, charged a card on file and then refused to cancel when contacted. After several exchanges that went no where, they offered to extend my 12 month period by 2 months, but then they said they had another tier that removes the very limited download cap of 1500 records and replaces it with either 30000 or 35000, which would make downloading large leads lists MUCH faster but they then said they "Can't" pro-rate the difference for me, or even JUST let me add the difference to the higher plan, they wouldn't agree to EITHER option and instead suggested I buy a WHOLE NEW ACCOUNT and pay a year for that account, instead of any option for the monies they already took. It's just ridiculous, and then I've asked several times about a supervisor, no one. Someone in charge? Nope. ******************************************************************************************************** Honestly I'm unsure how they stay in business with that kind of customer service. ********************************************************************************************************

  Business response

  01/18/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/12/22) */ Dear Mr. ****- BBB CASE #: ********* Thank you for inquiring with the BBB regarding your Cole ******* subscription. Thank you for being our customer since 2020 and entrusting our product to fill your pipeline with quality prospects. I am also sorry that you are unhappy with the service you have received. I have talked to the CSR you worked with, reviewed all the notes and email correspondence from over the year, and our VP of Finance has also been consulted regarding your account. After conducting this full review, Cole feels we have fulfilled the original agreed-upon subscription you signed up for. We extended two free months to your subscription in October as you expressed that you hadn't used it much. Further reviewing the notes, you and our CSR had some great correspondence on how to use Cole ******* and get the best prospects for your agency, along with offering some how-to-videos. All email exchanges seemed reasonable and cordial until October 5th, 2022. In our CRM, here are the emails you sent our CSR that concerned our team and led upper management to determine the cancelation of the subscription at the end of the extended two-month period, which would be in April of 2023. Here are two emails you send our CSR. On 10/5, you asked the CSR for his personal contact information and asked them if they "are you local to my area" ***?" "If so, care to come by the office and chat? I'd love to meet you...." Then, later that day, you chose to share your work address with our CSR and offered, "if my home address is better, I'll share that too and would LOVE for the chance to explain to you IN PERSON how much I appreciate your lack of help and attitude the entire time you think its so funny you guys took my money.... Let me know if you'd like to come chat my friend. ******************************e...come see me." These are not professional correspondence, Mr. ****. These statements are why Cole has decided to terminate our business relationship with you going forward. Because we believe in small businesses and stand behind our products and customer service, we will grant you a full refund of $***. We will terminate your subscription today (December 22, 2022) with this refund and permanently part ways with your agency. Per the other points, you submitted to the BBB, here are our responses. THEY "AUTOMATICALLY RENEWED": Mr. ****, per our T&C, agreed upon at login; we are an auto-renewing subscription service. These terms can be found in Part 3: PAYMENT TERMS section one. You opted out of our emails, and when a customer does this, it will prevent the system from sending out a notice of renewal that is provided as a convenience beyond the T & C terms mentioned. ACCOUNT EXTENSION: We extended your subscription by two months as we understood you hadn't started using Cole ******* for your prospecting. Since you had been a good-standing customer, we decided to provide you the value of two free months on the tail end of your subscription. Thus, allowing you extra time to maximize your prospecting but also accommodating your desire not to renew in 2023. REASON WE TERMINATED YOU AS A CUSTOMER: Our customer team worked with you on multiple occasions to maximize Cole ******** and the different selects to get you the best prospects in your market. But when you sent the emails indicating a personal meet-up with one of our CSRs, we decided it was best to end our business relationship moving forward. FINAL RESOLUTION: A full refund of $*** has been granted; your Cole ******* subscription will be terminated on 12/22/22. Please allow three to five business days to see the refund on your original form of payment. With this resolution, Cole has decided to no longer do business with Mr. **** based on his comments to its customer support team.

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a one year subscription for their service which expired 6 months ago. I was Contacted several times asking me to renew it I declined every time. I received a receipt for $*** from them indicating they had renewed their service. I checked my email and two days ago they sent me an email and at the very bottom of it it read if you do not Reply to this email We will reactivate your account and you will be charged.

  Business response

  10/25/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/09) */ Dear Mr. ******- Thank you for your notice filed with the BBB and we have reviewed your account. Our products do automatically renew, but it was due to a system migration adjustment that caused this billing error. We do apologize as we strive to take steps to make sure we manage our subscriptions appropriately. On 10/3/2021 we received your voicemail and immediately began to research what had happened. One of our team members has been calling and emailing you to quickly provide a refund. We found that your voicemail was full and unable to leave a message. Thank you for replying to our emails and from the notes on your account it appears that we have tried to issue a full refund to your payment company, but are unable due to the charge being disputed. Please work with the customer team member on one of two options: 1) Call your CC and drop the charge dispute, confirm with us and we will run the refund. 2) If you want to hold the dispute of charge with your CC, that is fine. When they reach out to us about this dispute we will accept it and they will continue their process. Either way, we are here to provide a full refund due to our billing issue. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience that has caused you and your business. Based on the email exchange with you on 10/7, please continue to work directly with our team member on the above options. Thanks, Cole Customer Team

*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. ↩