Issues with refunds

MenfisCreg

I've been using Thumbtack for many years and it was great experience. But recently I feel like something changed and the Thumbtack cares about money only. I've submitted refunds for leads which are clearly fall under refund policy. The one was where the customer requested from me something I cannot assist in any way. I believe I don't have to be charged for this lead $25 bucks and this is fair. However Thumbtack denied my request saying it isn't eligible for a refund. The other two - didn't match theirs description and my target preferences. Again - it's clearly that those type of leads have to be refunded according to Thumbtack policy , even though some time ago I WAS refunded for the same reason leads (5-6 leads with the same reason were refunded). And again - I was denied. Why? Thumbtack can't explain and started ignoring my emails...Another lead was with invalid phone number !!!, after I requested a refund - I was denied. I've got another lead today: it came in and literally in 5 min the request was cancelled by the customer- to me it looks like a scam or fake lead and I don't feel it right to pay for that quality contact. Guess what? I was denied. I had to email each time to customer support asking for help and for reconsideration of refund decision - I was rejected every time, I've been trying to reach out to them again and again for 3 weeks already - they just stop responding and nobody got back to me within these 3 weeks. What the hack is going on with Thumbtack? I feel there are no people who really cares about experience Thumbtack delivers to its pros, they only think how to charge you more and more! Does anyone have the same issues lately?

DustiO

Hi @MenfisCreg - thank you for coming to the Community! So sorry to hear about your experience - I wanted to let you know that someone will be reaching out to you today. Have a great day and we hope to see more of you in the Community!

Joe

Honestly I completely agree with this - I recently had a lead that requested my availability, never read the reply and had a disconnected phone number. I submitted a request for refund and was denied despite Phone Number Guarantee.

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pnyame_13

I am having the same experience you are having now. I was charged 3 times for the same lead and my request for a refund was just denied. Reaching someone to discuss a refund is like finding a needle in the haystack with TT these days.

DustiO

@pnyame_13 If you check your Thumbtack account you will see that the lead was refunded - I am guessing it took the team a while to get to all of the requests due to the holiday. I have responded to your post, please DM me with any more questions. And, please check out our Community Guidelines. Thank you!

MenfisCreg

@pnyame_13 right. And if some time ago they could really try to listen to your concern and help you with a refund - Now they just deny every single request even if the reason is clearly eligible and comply with their own policies. Absurd! All their replies to the issue is just the same pattern repeatedly canned text (received the same or very similar emails from different reps) which isn’t related to what you sent them in your previous email/message 🤦🏽 I send them “why my numerous previous requests for a refund under the same reason were approved, and now the same reason request with the same issue was denied? What’s the difference?”, they reply something like “You are being charged when a connection occurs between you and a customer”🗿🗿🗿nothing in essence

pnyame_13

@DustiO It took me 4 attempts over a 2 day period and countless hours of waiting to get one refund out of the two leads I requested. Stating that it looks like my lead was refunded is deceptive in a way. First off, the TT agent told me today that all 3 charges are valid charges and I am not eligible for a refund. However, out of courtesy, they will provide a one-time refund. This is the part that is disheartening. The double charges in September were a mistake on TT's part. Since I did not catch their mistake in time, their policy basically says, "sorry, we messed up but since you did not catch our screw up in time, we won't refund you." So yes, TT made a mistake but shows no remorse or attempt to rectify it so I have to suck it up. Again, I was not refunded for this extra charge and I want to state it that way, readers do not confuse your earlier statement about me getting refunded for the lead. So help me understand how this refund (or credit) makes up for TT not admitting that they made a mistake with the double charge and claiming that all the charges are valid? How can a double charge be classified as valid?! I was not refunded for the two extra charges, I was given a "courtesy credit" for one.

DustiO

@pnyame_13 I see, sorry I misunderstood that! (I was just taking a brief look and saw that, but didn't understand the circumstances fully). I apologize for the frustration - having been a Thumbtack pro for several years before joining the team, I understand that these things matter and so does the time that you spend trying to get them resolved. If you want to DM me more of the specifics I would be happy to look into it further for you.

I do want to make sure everyone in this thread understands our Community Guidelines and that we are here for solutions based conversations and to help pros make valuable connections with other entrepreneurs. So, I am happy to take the feedback to the team and I welcome anyone to please send me a DM with more information if you'd like help with matters specific to your accounts.

Would also encourage any of you to reach out to our Community Leaders with questions about how they manage their Thumbtack accounts or whether they have encountered any similar issues and have any advice.

I sincerely don't want any of our pros to feel like they aren't getting the support they need. Thank you for being here and for raising these concerns. Hopefully we can get them resolved, together.

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Joe

For what it is worth - I feel the support system for Pros is abysmal. It is almost non existent. You advertise phone support which is really text message support - to which no one replies for hours or days. Chat support sometimes takes hours for someone to pick up and when requesting a refund I completely agree with the point of this thread - you rarely get the refund even when you are right. I recently had a refund request for an unanswered lead with a disconnected phone number - denied! Things have changed and they aren't for the better. There are plenty of other services, I hope this feedback is heard and Thumbtack starts to do better by those who make this site possible - the pros.

I started a thread about the lack of support and it was deleted!

MenfisCreg

Another day - another denial. How ridicules is that!?!

I’ve got another lead with disconnected phone number. Requested a refund. Again rejected. And this happens literally every single time!

attaching the screenshots

@DustiO does your team ever to look into the request first or they just deny all of them indiscriminately?

MenfisCreg

I’ve got 2 identical leads from one customer, just under different categories, but the list of requested services, locations and date is the same. The one for packing includes moving in the “extra services” section. The other for local moving includes packing in “extra services” section. Both requests are moving + packing. Same project sent twice. Request is denied. Attaching screenshots. People who see that, could you explain me, maybe I don’t understand something? Perhaps Thumbtack sees something I don’t see but so far in my opinion IT IS CLEAR IT IS A DUPLICATE. Shutting down my campaign

DustiO

@MenfisCreg I have reached out to that team to see if I can get more clarity on this. Will let you know what they say! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

gulabimango

@DustiO I have filed so many refund requests for unavailable and fake numbers and Thumbtack does not refund me. I really think Thumbtack cares about money. I submitted requests saying to make sure the number is valid.

DustiO

@gulabimango I know some pros have shared some tips/tricks for this in our CommuniTEA meetings - including making sure you keep screenshots of messages (ie if you text someone and they let you know that it was a wrong number, for example) and following up with support via email after a refund is denied. Not sure if you've tried any of those things, but maybe that will help. I wish there was more I could do to help out!

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Tiffany_Mcwhinnie

I get it now… they are declining request for refunds without really looking intO the issue. Their own verbiage states why I should have been issued a refund. But then was told to refer to their refund policy. Language on the front end is deceptive therefore technically a lot more things should refundable. For instance I guess the customer is asked for travel preference. In my case I am only taking remote clients. But somehow they are allowed to change their mind after I have paid and I just lose out on my funds and a real lead. Then come the fake apologies and oh change this and change that on your preferences. My preferences couldn’t be more clear remote or nothing.