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:08/10/2023

  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.

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because you have not refunded my money. I have nothing of any value to show for the services you are saying you provided. I have no idea how many dials you made, even if you made millions of phone calls, there have been no appointments set. Not a single lead was interested in our services. I have cooperated with the Success Manager, who actually recommended I put in my cancellation notice because the Success Manager agreed that the Abstrakt services were a complete waste of our money. 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******* ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us, and we apologize for any frustration you've experienced with our services. At Abstrakt, we strive to provide exceptional service to all our clients, and we are sorry to hear that we did not meet your expectations in this case.

  I would like to clarify a few points. First, our contract with your company outlined a specific number of dials we would make each month, which we have consistently met. Our goal has always been to provide you with qualified sales appointments, and we've worked diligently to reach out to potential prospects on your behalf. Second, we have been proactive in seeking your input to optimize our services. Our team has engaged with you on multiple occasions to adjust our targeting based on your feedback. We've kept you updated on our progress and worked hard to improve our results. Regarding your concerns about communication, I have confirmed that your Success Manager has reached out multiple times to discuss our plans to close out our relationship in a positive manner once your cancellation was submitted. While it is unfortunate that we were unable to achieve the results you expected, we have always acted in good faith and in accordance with our contract.

  Lastly, I want to assure you that we are a legitimate company with a long-standing track record of delivering quality marketing services. The accusations of being a ***** ****** are deeply troubling and unfounded. We have worked with many satisfied clients over the years, and we strive to deliver the best possible results for everyone we serve. We are saddened that your experience with us did not meet your expectations. We are open to having a further conversation with you to address any outstanding concerns you may have. We value your feedback and take it seriously, as it helps us improve our services for future clients.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/17/2023

  Courtney,

  While we understand your frustration, we did act according to your contract (attached). This guarantees a minimum number of 500 dials each month, which you can access the records of in your partner portal (we'd be happy to highlight on a call if you have any questions on that data). The goal of these calls was to cleanse the data in your market and get you and your team in front of decision makers, and we regret that we weren't able to set any held appointments during our time together. We do hope that the cleansed data we provided and sales consultations (detailed appointment track, email copy, etc.) will help you grow your business in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

  This is one of the many examples of the swindling and deceitful practices of Abstrakt Marketing. If you listen to this recorded call, you will hear the Abstrakt Marketing representative collect an email address from a Prospect who does NOT agree to a meeting with my company. Under the false pretenses, Abstrakt schedules a fake meeting between the Prospect and my company. These meetings are scheduled two to three weeks out to continue the deceit. Each of these meetings is considered a "success" for Abstrakt; however when my company tries to attend the meetings, no one is ever present on the virtual meetings. 

  
  This has happened to us over five times. In the five months of our contract with Abstrakt, we have not met or spoken to a single lead or prospect on one of these appointments. After wasting $27,000 we would like our money back and to warn other customers of the deceitful and unlawful practices of this business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/09/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  We signed w/Abstrakt in 4/23 for outbound lead gen on a 6mo trial. They had us sign a 13mo contract (w/6mo out) that guaranteed at least 3 appts/mo & 5 attempts to reschedule no-shows. We agreed to targeting 2 states, they pushed for 4, so we asked they prioritize 1 at a time. In 4 mos, only 8 appts were set across all states. Only 2 showed. We found they spelled our name wrong & their “best SDR” sounded unprofessional and ignorant about our biz. I shared concerns w/our “client success mgr”. He said SDRs are trained to sound like that b/c it helps them get appts. 2mos later I found they changed our SDR. We spent a lot of time sharing materials & training their team, only to waste more prepping f& waiting on calls w/no-shows, 1 was not even qualified. Before cancelling, I offered to put contract on hold until we could help them understand our biz. Our CSM became belligerent saying he went out of his way to help negotiate a good deal for us (he was never part of the negotiations). During contracting we were told in writing they weren’t making any $ on us, so, I reminded them they weren’t losing anything. After a very heated & disrespectful call, I asked for a f/up w/CSM's supervisor, but supervisor never showed. CSM acted like nothing happened & talked about ongoing activities. They cont’d to charge & harass us w/flip flopping stories @ our cancellation date. Legal threats followed from multiple contacts. I recv’d 2x emails @ bills vs actual work. CSM supervisor said he had hoped they could demonstrate their value the month after we cancelled, but even then, only 1 appt was set - another no-show. During this time, I recv’d solicitations from 2 other Abstrakt employees trying to upsell us. This company is disorganized at best and engages in deceptive and fraudulent business practices. I wish I had checked all similar complaints against them at BBB BEFORE I contracted. I’m seeking $8100 refund. Definitely would NOT recommend this company.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/11/2023

  According to your 13-month contract, you were given the option to cancel after six months if we didn't hit specific requirements but you were locked in for that initial time period. During calls with our team in June and July, you stated that you thought the problem was with your market vs. the performance of our team and would be interested in working together again in the future. While I haven't listened to every call, I believe your frustration is with the fact that our team was holding you to the six month lock in vs. letting you pause or cancel early. We have this policy in place to protect our team, which is allocated in advance, and ensure we have enough time to ramp up the pipeline according to our best practices. While our team does hope to show value before our contract expires and help to generate ROI, we are obligated to continue this partnership with each other until that date. However, due to payment disputes, your account is currently on hold. We will not be giving the requested refund and hope to come to a resolution on current invoices.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/18/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  We contracted with Abstrakt to do outbound lead generation and sales for us starting in December 2022. They had us sign a contract which guarantees their performance, outlines exactly what prospect characteristics they should use to qualify leads, etc. After 6 months, they are setting up meetings with prospects who have no interest in the services we offer and most times, do not even show up to the meetings. When we attempt to contact the person we are supposed to be meeting, we have been told that they agree to the meeting just so the cold calls stop. We requested the $5000 guarantee for not meeting their commit after 90 days which they refuse to give. The callers are unprofessional, not knowledgeable at all about what they are attempting to discuss and any concerns that we bring up to our account manager fall on deaf ears. The SDRs have sent emails with a link to a different company, have gotten our employee names wrong, are very unprofessional on calls Will be paying them for another 6 months to do more damage to our company reputation and have no hope of gaining any business from this endeavor. Would not recommend using this company for any services.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/25/2023

  We are disappointed that you stated that you used the BBB platform as a way to get our attention and that you aren't willing to put additional time into our agreement and will continue to leave negative reviews until we let you out of the existing contract immediately. While this program has had a few hiccups, our team has been more than willing to make the necessary changes in order to see success. We see ourselves as an extension of your business, and that partnership takes communication and effort. We will continue to reach out to you offline to try to find a resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  We contracted with Abstrakt to do outbound sales for us. They had us sign a contract which guarantees their performance, outlines exactly what prospect characteristics they should use to qualify leads, etc. They assured us that their internal systems meant that even when our sales people or account managers turned over, we would not have to ramp up each time - the transition would be seamless. None of this has been accurate. Every time a sales person and account manager have turned over, we have had to ramp up again. After 11 months, they continue to set up calls with companies that are not even in the correct industry. Several months ago, we requested additional resources, or refunds or both. They say they invested additional time, but there are no improved results. We have requested a refund, which they initially said yes to but now have backed out. I had to stop payment on a check to get them to return my calls. They are not even close to meeting their guaranteed appointments and after months I am getting nowhere trying to talk to anyone.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/05/2023

  Hello *****! We would like to speak to you in regards to this complaint and remedy the situation. Please reach out to our team at your earliest convenience to speak on this matter. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/01/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  Abstrakt Marketing promises lead generation via a combination of phone calls and email campaigns. We did not receive any email campaigns and only 2 attended phone calls since May 3rd.
  
  On August 9th during a Business Review session, we notified our Account Manager (*****) that we would like to put in our 45 days' notice to terminate our working relationship.
  
  On August 10th, we were supposed to meet with our Account Manager and our sales rep to determine strategy for next 44 days. We received no communication.
  
  On August 24th, after we sent multiple emails, we finally received an email from **** (*****'s boss) at Abstrakt confirming the cancellation request from the call on the 9th.
  
  On September 30th, an invoice to pay for the month of October was received from ******** using a do not reply account. We had not heard from Abstrakt since the 14th and October 1st would mark the first full month of no longer being an Abstrakt customer. Forwarded to Account Manager *****, stating we were no longer customers and to cancel this invoice. On October 1st, payment was taken out of our account. Again, we contacted ***** to have the charges reversed with no response.
  
  By Wednesday, October 5th, we had not heard back from ***** and called his phone number, which went to a dial tone. Called **** in Billing, and he stated we were still listed as an active customer and would call me back.
  
  On October 6th, we received an email from ***** to which we responded that we were no longer Abstrakt customers and to process a refund. We did not hear back from Abstrakt and reached out to ******* *** to dispute charges with this documentation and they approved.
  
  As of November 1st, after several more emails reminding them we are not customers and to stop contacting us, they have again ignored us/not responded and attempted to collect on another invoice. Abstrakt, we are no longer your customers because you did not deliver on what you sold us. Cease and desist at once.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/05/2023

  Hello! We would like to speak to you in regards to this complaint and remedy the situation. Please reach out to our team at your earliest convenience to speak on this matter. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/19/2022

  Type:Order 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 company has failed to live up to the terms of the contract and was put on notice over 45 days ago that we would not continue with their service. We paid 3 months in advance through August 2022. Today, September 19, 2022, they billed my debit card, which they claimed they did not retain because they used a 3rd party billing company to bill and collect the first payment. They have done nothing to resolve the underlying issue with my company, even though they admit their mistake in how they were marketing my company even after a marketing plan was put in place. This company is all about billing, not how they treat their customers.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/22/2022

  ****,
  Our team apologizes for the billing error and reversed our credit card charge the same day it was issued so the amount has been returned. As far as any underlying issues, we adjusted our marketing strategy per our monthly discussions and during our time together were able to help to identify 100 key decision makers in your market that met your qualifiers, gather 1,400+ email addresses, and push 69 records into our lead phase. We hope that you continue to use this data for your benefit in the future and wish you best of luck in your sales endeavors.