HomeAdvisor (Golden, Colo.) is facing a lawsuit by the owners of eight home improvement companies who claim the company sold them client leads that were “overwhelmingly bogus,” according to a report by BusinessDen.
The plaintiffs, who filed the suit July 16, claim that leads provided by the Colorado-based home services company were frequently “over distributed,” and at times featured disconnected phone numbers, contacts for non-homeowners or contacts with nonexistent residences, according to the report.
One business owner estimated paying HomeAdvisor $3,500 for leads that were unusable.
The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit. If granted, the class-action suit would include complaints from more than 880 home service professionals spanning several states, according to Patch.com.
The plaintiffs also allege HomeAdvisor represents that most of its leads are generated via its website, when a majority are actually generated by third-party affiliates. They also allege HomeAdvisor keeps company profile pages on its website even after the company has canceled its membership.
The lawsuit includes testimony from former employees who claim that supervisors encouraged them to mislead contractors.
Related:
HomeAdvisor Ordered to Pull ‘Misleading’ Ads About Background Checks