Homeowners, you may have to fact-check Yelp for Business companies for legitimacy
Yelp for Business companies can be using information that doesn't match
After a frustrating price negotiation and warranty experience with Fixer (under new and far-less-desirable ownership than the times I used it between 2020 to 2022), I smiled at the Yelp for Business $2,500 coverage. Even if I was at risk of my homeowners insurance company rejecting two of my repair claims as “wear and tear,” at least I’d be able to create a Yelp Project to find reasonable contractors. And if they were Yelp for Business contractors, it appeared that I’d have some kind of security if the job went awry. (Yelp for Business doesn’t cover bad customer service, such as a plumber being rude, but claims it’ll cover faulty workmanship.)
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, I enjoy promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All four of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect your decision.
I set up a project and waited for handiwork companies to respond to my homeowner requests. Within minutes, I received six responses from one of the two Yelp Projects while others trickled in over the next few days. Sifting past contractors who refused to give pricing or speak much about the project without getting my name, address, phone number and wanting me to text them — red flag and a quick way to end up on an unsolicited mailing list while removing themselves from Yelp’s messaging platform — I conversed with a few other handymen.
Recommended Read: “5 lessons I learned the hard way about working with contractors ~ From homeowners to condo board members, do these things early to avoid home repair and multi-unit nightmares later”
Curiously, I watched two contractors’ 5-star reviews go missing and their handiwork get flagged and disappear. Then, a couple of handymen stopped responding altogether when I asked about being insured, no mention of a website, and no explanation whatsoever of “Terms and Conditions” related to warranty policies on the sites they did have. (These websites were always one page with bare minium information but stunning photos that looked like they were pulled off of a fair-use photo site.)
Recommended Read: “Property owners, be careful while conversing with Yelp for Business contractors ~ Does Yelp for Business honor contract agreements made outside of its messaging platform?”
When I finally thought I had found the right handymen for the job, I requested a contract to sign and confirm all of the Yelp for Business messaging so I could send it to my insurance company. But when I looked a little closer at the contract, I realized something wasn’t quite right. The company name on the contract was different than the one on Yelp. The company’s address on the contract was in a completely different state than the one on Yelp. Even the company’s logo on the contract was neither the name of the owner I was talking to nor did it match the logo on the company’s website.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for every purchase with my referral link.
Because I was a prior condo board member who had to renew our own LLC to make sure it was in “Good Standing” each year, I went to the state site for the unfamiliar company. After typing in the unfamiliar LLC listed on the contract, that company’s name was nowhere in sight and the closest name to the handyman’s contract had a suspended LLC.
Recommended Read: “Why are you rating black churches on Yelp? ~ Should churches receive travel reviews?”
That left me wondering how thoroughly does Yelp for Business verify the companies they claim are covered under this $2,500 coverage. And after speaking with three Yelp for Business representatives and two consumer Yelp representatives (two of which hung up on me and refused to let me speak to a supervisor), why did none of the five know how the verification process worked?