Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/07/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This business advertises that it is a networking platform for small businesses--this is true. What is fraudulent is, their practice of data-mining (even a non-paying member's) personal contacts list without permission or consent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Thank you for reaching out about this issue. I looked into this and have gone ahead and removed your address book from Alignable.
  
  We do our very best to make sure all communication on Alignable is as transparent as possible. When you click "invite" or "add to network" emails are sent out to the contacts you select. In your case, you may have invited a few or added all of your contacts. Depending on the actions you took more or fewer email invites would have been sent out.
  
  At this point, I would like to provide you some assurance as to what we will never do. We will never contact anyone in our customer's address books without their permission. We do not sell or rent their contacts either.
  
  Despite this negative experience we hope you will see the value in Alignable that hundreds of thousands of small business owners are having every day. We apologize again for this inconvenience and if I can help you with anything else going forward please let me know.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/31/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 30 October 2022, I posted my concerns about a proposed local government measure that would harm the businesses and community I live in and recommended that measure be voted down in the upcoming November 8, 2022 election. About 8 hours later, I received an email that stated my post was not made public and that claimed it violated the community guidelines. I read the community guideline as that email requested and found nothing in those guidelines that prohibited the post I made. Further, a post similar to mine was publicly posted. I've encountered a very large amount of suppression, by the local government officials, of public awareness of how damaging that proposed local government measure is, and the censorship of the post I made is more of that same suppression.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Hi ****,

  Alignable is a referral network for small businesses. With over 7 million small businesses and growing every day, Alignable is the platform where you can network and build relationships with other businesses in order to create referral or ***promotional partnerships. Political posts aside from those that have called out why there is a direct impact or tie to small businesses, tax reforms for businesses or the like do not add value to other business owners. If you saw a similar post that was allowed through afterwards it was a mistake, we are human and occasionally do miss the mark.  We are working diligently to make the platform consistent and great for everyone.

  Check out our guide to posting on Alignable (https://www.alignable.com/blog/groups-content-creation-101-on-alignable) and hear what works from our members.
  
  Learn from *** is also highly recommended as part of your Alignable membership and is a great way to get further involved in the Alignable community.
  
  We value your contributions and are excited to see your continued success and contributions! Well be here every step of the way in support and coaching.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********.

  The business stated "...Political posts ASIDE from those that have called out why there is a direct impact or tie to small businesses, tax reforms for businesses or the like..."

  The post I made is about a proposed local government measure that will directly impact small businesses in our community, and is an major expansion of local government bureaucracy that will harm businesses in our community.
  

  Therefore, pursuant to the business' response here, my post should have been allowed.  I'm requesting my post be made public before the November 8, *********************************** my community are aware of that harmful proposed local government measure.

  Regards,

  ****

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Hi ****,

   

  Your post as written did not meet the guidelines that we outlined for you via email, or on this platform and therefore based on Alignable policy was not able to be posted.  You would have had to rewrite the post and tie it back to why that specific article was important to small businesses.  As this is a business networking platform rather than a social media platform you need to provide context as to how politics or issues relate back to the small business and how it impacts them.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/16/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********.

  The response the business gave here should have been included as part of the posting guidelines when I first made the post.  The posting guidelines are vague, cover only general situations like "...be civil, courteous and polite...remain professional and productive...," and don't include details like this.  In any event, the business' censorship was successful and the voters were successfully tricked into allowing the intended big bloated county bureaucracy to be instituted, and that's going to harm everyone in the community, including all local businesses.
  

  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ****

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/19/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I began using Alignable, a network for small-business owners some nine months ago or so. The ******* was free of charge. Suddenly, on or about Oct. 15 I got a bill from one of my credit cards (my wife is actually the primary holder on that one) for $313.57, the annual fee for their ********* ******** starting 9/30/22 that I NEVER asked for and NEVER authorized, let alone gave them information on any of my credit cards. Indeed, I hardly knew that ********* ******* existed,When I wrote to them demanding evidence, they sent me a picture of my credit-card number, and then later, a totally bogus list of "processes" that they used to sign me up for premium *******. Interestingly, the processes were ALL on Sept. 30 at 9:56 a.m. (they apparently happened at the speed of light), and contained the same words for supposedly different processes. The document was manufactured by them, and they never responded to my demand that they send me evidence that I had authorized them to do ANYTHING.To add insult to injury, Alignable refused to refund any portion of the annual fee, even though I supposedly enjoyed the benefit for only two weeks (and never, in fact, used at all). They wrote to me that I'd have the option of unsubscribing to the ******* beginning on 9/30/2023. Alignable is a criminal scam, and needs to be shuttered immediately!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/30/2022

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint. Not only has Alignable not contacted me but they never replied to a letter from my wife (a retired ** attorney) and me. The letter was very soft and reasonable, but I knew they'd ignore it. In fact, their "addresses" on-line are (1) a post office in North ********, **, whose box number they've rendered as a "Suite" number to fool people; and (2) a *******, ** address that's actually a ********************* center, not identified as such, with another box number disguised as a "Suite" number. They either never pick up their mail or do so but ignore it. And of course, they are unreachable by telephone.

  In sum, ALIGNABLE, INC. IS A SCAM that in my case (and perhaps in many others) has stopped to actually stealing one of my credit-card numbers and using the card to enroll me in a $300+ ***************** that I never wanted, knew about, or bought. ALIGNABLE NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR CRIMINAL ACTIONS AND SHUT DOWN!!

  Please get back to me at your early convenience.

  --*******************

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Hi ***,

   

  We are sorry that you are so frustrated.  I went ahead and did a search for communications between yourself and our company and we only have 2. One was a response to an automated email that let you know that you upgraded your account, you received an auto reply that it was an unmanned email and gave you the support email address to use.  The other was an unrelated matter on August 2nd.

  I am unsure what email you would have received with your credit card information as we use a secure 3rd party system that doesn't give us anything aside from the last 4 numbers.  With that being said, we cannot enter your credit card information for you as you need to manually punch in the card number in order to subscribe to a service we offer. You are able to cancel the subscription at any time as well

  As you are upset with the charge on the annual premium subscription; I successfully canceled your membership plan. You will no longer receive any future charges from us and your account was downgraded to the free, Explorer plan. Your refund will be available in **** days
  
  If you decide to upgrade your account again, you can visit our membership plans page here: https://www.alignable.com/biz/memberships/plans
  
  Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any more concerns!
  

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/02/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response BARELY AND PROVISIONALLY satisfies my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I will accept Alignable's response and close my complaint IF AND ONLY IF the $300.00+ fraudulent charge on my credit card, whose number Alignable stole--is refunded within 10 days, as the writer (who is he or she, by the way?) indicates.
  

  Their claim that I sent only two e-mails to them is patently false. For example, I responded to at least five or six e-mails just to "*****" at Alignable, and sent other e-mails to their overall Support unit. Worse, their claim that I "punched in" my credit-card number when signing up for Premium service--which I NEVER signed up for, asked them about, or even knew about until the charge hit my credit card--is not only false but criminal: Alignable somehow stole the credit-card number and is now trying to cover their tracks.        

  I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. I will do so BEGRUDGINLY, to extract myself from this morass, IF AND ONLY IF they refund the credit-card charge. If they do NOT refund the charge, I will re-open the case. 

  Thank you for all your help!
  

  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up with Alignable just a few days ago. I also bought ads. I cannot find a way to cancel future ads. I do not want the *************** since I have have heard from multiple scammers. I am getting several emails a day, and they are signing me up for groups that I didn't ask to be in. It appears that they are charging me for a full year of *************** when the website first shows a monthly fee. I have not heard from any legitimate businesses in my area. I have had lots of emails from people out of state who want my money. I checked reviews for several of the people that contacted me and they are not legitimate or not trustworthy. There should be a way to cancel future ads and premium service. I was charged $1600 for ads and $903.96 for premium service. I have tried online, but cannot find a way to cancel. I want a refund for all but the first week. Alignable did not give receipts so I cannot submit receipts.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Hi ******,

  Sorry you didn't have the experience you wanted.  I wish you would have reached out to us prior to posting on BBB, I checked all of our contact funnels and we don't have any record of contact.  No worries though.  

  It looks like you purchased a newsletter sponsorship for $1600 on October 6th, 2022. This ad was selected and placed by you and was sent to the *****, ** community on 10/09, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, and 11/06. Once you completed your purchase, you should have received an email with the subject "Your Alignable Sponsorship Purchase". There you can review your placement again, as well as make any changes if necessary.

  I cancelled your subscription to the newsletter sponsorship so you will not be billed again going forward.

  It looks like you signed up for our Premium Plan on October 5th to get more connection credits, you then replaced it with the Premium+ plan on October 6th to get the highest number of connection credits. Looking at your user history, you signed up for an annual plan versus the monthly plan, possibly by accident.  I did notice you updated your account to cancel after the billing cycle ended. 

  I immediately downgraded your premium+ plan to the free explorer plan and issued a prorated refund which should be available to you in **** days.

  You can confirm all of the details here: https://www.alignable.com/biz/memberships

   

  Please reach out to us directly if you have any other concerns or questions. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/07/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  There is a person using your alignable site as a massage therapist by the name of *************************** and he can no longer be advertised due to assaulting a female client. Not sure what you can do about this but it needs to be taken down immediately. ************************************************* therapist *********, **.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Hello!

   

  We received another complaint about this user as well and his profile has been removed from the platform.  Thank you for your feedback!

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/11/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I changed Mortgage companies and I am legally required to update my licensing information on the Alignable site. Since I do not have access to the old email at the old company (the one that Alignable has in their system) any longer, I do not have access to the emails Alignable is sending me through their automated system when requested to be able to access my profile and make the changes. I have emailed their customer service department twice with no response and cannot find a valid number anywhere (that doesn't go to a recording that says the mailbox is full and to hang up) to be able to talk to someone and get help. I could use your help getting me in touch with a live body that could help me gain access to my profile so I can make the legally required updates. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/23/2022

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2022

  Hi *****,

  I recently took over the Member Support role and am reaching out to see if your issue was ever resolved.  I will be happy to assist you to update the business, or you can do it on your own following this link https://support.alignable.com/hc/en-us/articles/216212263-Changing-Your-Business-Name 

   

  If you need any assistance please reach out to us directly at ********************************.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/02/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  *****

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Hi *****,

   

  We have emailed you at the address you provided in your note.  The email address has been updated so you can log in.

   

  Best,

  ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/16/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME GET THIS FIXED!  YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!

  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************