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:01/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Town square interactive did not provide the services they promised. They created a website for my business that was inferior, they charge me $900 and I received absolutely no calls for my business I demanded a refund and they refused. Prompting me to file a complaint with the attorney general and small claims court.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2023

  Hello. In reviewing your account, I can see that we did build you a website per your instructions on your initial conversation and then made adjustments per your request. As a part of your package, you have unlimited edits to the website. SEO has also been added and continuously updated per ******** best practices. As your ***************** Specialist has explained, the timeframe for optimal results will depend on a variety of factors including the local population, competition within your market, the online presence you have carried over into your services with Townsquare Interactive, etc. Because we have and will continue to fulfill our obligations, we cannot warrant a refund. Please continue to work with your ***************** Specialist on the best plan to grow your business online.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/16/2022

  Type:Billing 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 town Square in September it is now December I told them I want to cancel my website and I changed bank cards so they didn't have the updated card info I NEVER gave them bank account information and some how they managed to get a monthly payment taken out of my account after I already canceled my services because I wasn't happy with paying $350 a month they took out $380 from my account with out authorization.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/16/2022

  Hello,

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have no record of the cancellation request prior 11/29/2022 bill date. Please feel free to forward any evidence of your cancellation request to ********************************************* for review. We do have a completed and signed agreement with payment information, which we can provide if that is helpful. Getting a new card is not the best way to cancel a subscription, because the card companies have measures in place to allow recurring transactions to process for the convenience of consumers who unexpectedly have to get new cards.  It is best to request cancellation per the terms of the agreement, which in this case would be at least the business day prior to your bill date. The most recent transaction is for the outstanding 11/29/2022 bill date. We are happy to review that amount, but the difference between the $350 monthly subscription and the $380 that was taken out was likely due to state sales tax.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/16/2022

  Because I did not authorize you to contact my bank.
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/19/2022

  Hello. Thank you for reaching out. To be clear, we did not reach out to your bank. Card issuers can automatically update card information for recurring payments like your Townsquare subscription. This feature was created to keep consumers from having to update their card information with subscription services each time they get a new card. If this is not a feature you want, please contact your bank. In signing your contract with Townsquare, you did authorize us to collect payment on the monthly bill date from the account information you provided.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2022

  Type:Billing 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 cancelled my service with this company, it was a month to month subscription for advertising services. I specifically told the company in writing that I was done and no more future payments will be acceptable. ***** (their representative) assured me I would no longer be billed. And then 3 weeks later I'm charged for their services again. I call to ask why and they tell me ***** is no longer with the company and 6 days later after calling and hounding the office, I spoke to *********************** who assured me I was to get a refund with in 7 days and he would email me with some login information to my account with them so I can take over and control the website I own. It's been 7 days and I've had no correspondence with ****. 2 days after I spoke with **** on the phone I received an email from ***** with a monthly report. I believe these people are now lying to me and planning on charging me for a monthly service I'm no longer receiving. I'm going to have to get a new debt card for my business because they plan to keep charging me. These people are scammers/con-artist/criminals that shouldn't be allowed to have a business.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2022

  Hi ******,

  **** just gave you a call and left a message. Please return his call when you are available and he will make sure this is taken care of for you. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/17/2022

   
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I spoke with **** and he said would process my refund and email me a confirmation and some other details also my website would be shut down but this still hasn't happened. I'm going to have to get a new debt card for my business because I believe they intend on charging my account again because I'm still receiving emails submissions through their platform. Terrible customer service, shouldn't be in business. 

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2022

  Hi ******,

  I can see the refund was submitted and your site will come down soon. We can take it down now if you would like just let us know. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/22/2022

   
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The transaction is still posted to my account. How hard is it to refund my $397 you took without my permission about a month ago? I've been requesting a refund since November 23rd. 
  

  I received another message through your email portal as if my website is still up.

  I still haven't received any email correspondence from *********************** like he said he would, so why would I believe the refund is going through? 

  Shut my website down please! I told **** to shut it all down over the phone. 

  Seems like you're dragging this out and going to bill me again without my permission. I explicitly stopped my service in October, yet your company is not following directions or doing what I was promised. 
  

  I expect my refund tomorrow December 23rd 2022 or I will be canceling my card you have on file and requesting a written check to be issued for my refund. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/08/2022

  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.

  Townsquare collected money from me to start a web and email service. Since the minute they took my money I can't get a hold of ANYONE, I don't have email, I don't have a website, no one calls me back. When they do answer the phone they hang up on me. This is fraud! I want my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2022

  Hi *****,

  We see that you spoke to a service rep yesterday and your email was set up. We apologize for the wait here. We see you signed up with us on Dec. 6th and it took a couple days to complete your request to set up you email. We hope you have a good rest of the week!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Thank you. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 started a pest control company earlier this year, in May I received a call from Townsquare Interactive offering o service that included; 1 Create a more professional looking website, 2 SEO optimize my website so that it would appear on the first page of ****** results based on services offered or keywords that people searching for service needs, they changed me $299.00 per month, they completed the website after the first month but that website that they created wouldnt appear on search results only the old website would appear, that was because they used a different domain from the one weve purchased, when I reached out to speak to a manager or someone to help me a few days later someone called me after threatening them of canceling the service and ask for my money back, so the guy called me he was very nice and assured me that he was going to take care of the issue and he also offered me one month free, after that conversation the website they created completely disappeared, Ive been back and forth with this situation, ever month Ive been receiving their monthly reports and every month shows zero results every single month and after spending more than $1,500 without any results what so ever and now without a website that they created that I paid for, this was a complete waste of time, money and frustration, and when I only got started my pest control company this year every single dollar I spent here created hardship for me, my company and my family.Townsquare Interactive should be shot down for misleading advertising, for wasting peoples time and resources and specially for preying on struggling small business and basically steal their money,

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2022

  SEO does not show overnight results and is a process that takes time. We built the site on a brand new domain because we did not have access to the old domain. This meant that we had to start from scratch. We built the site and began the process of working the site up the rankings. There are some red flags that ****** will see online that does work against progress with SEO and one of those is a competing site elsewhere online. Once we received the cancel request that cancelation process began. We received the request on 10/17 and since our services are month to month the website would normally only stay up until the next bill date which would be 10/19 but since that was a short time span we did give the client a free month of service delaying the cancelation until 11/18. Since services were provided we are unable to process a refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/31/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Early this summer I hired Townsquare Interactive to make my business website more productive. They were very polite, but seemed very inexperienced with the verbiage/copy they used on the proposed site. This was annoying, but they promised to make sure it would not be put online until I was totally satisfied.They finally produced a site that looked good. They told me they would do a quick transfer of the site from my old platform (Wix) to theirs (Go Daddy).My site has now been offline for about a month. All of our business has dried up. It has cost me about 80k. We had to let our one employee go yesterday. My business is facing failure if I cannot get online soon.All they would offer me is excuses and 20% off for three months of service. I have now paid them $600 for the return of them capsizing my business.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2022

  Hi *****. I understand you have spoken with your ***************** Specialist to resolve the website issue and have resolved to stay on board with us, and will be given a free month. That's great to hear. We appreciate your business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 began my working relationship with Townsquare Media in March of 2022 for a monthly subscription of $399/month for them to create and publish a website for my business along with providing search engine optimization. Things were fine, but eventually I decided that for the price they were charging, it really wasn't worth the price. On September 27, 2022 I contacted my account representative to let them know that I would like to cancel my subscription and have my domain transferred. They acknowledged receipt but as of today (October 28, 2022) they still have not transferred my domain. I have followed up routinely and now am just ignored. In addition to that, the company charged me the monthly $399 cost on October 19, 2022. I reached out about that charge which they did respond to, but again when following up, I was ignored. I just filed a dispute with my credit card company for the charge.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2022

  Hi ****,

  Thank you for reaching out. Our team received your information earlier today and we have have someone reach out as soon as possible to help with your domain transfer and to discuss the financial request. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 hired this company for SEO and Analytics only. After three months there was no change in my web traffic due to their SEO. I did get an increase due to an influencer. Two months after using their service I began to get marketing calls and phishing scam calls on my personal phone number. After weeks of precious time researching what was going on I discovered that my personal phone number had been aggregated across the internet as my business phone number and this was done through Uberall and by Townsquare Interactive. Townsquare has not replied to a single email of mine to correct this issue. I had to contact Uberall myself and spend my own time to correct their error. So, I cancelled Townsquare's service via phone and REMOVED PERMISSIONS from my website - so they had ZERO access to do any kind of work - that month I was charged! So I followed up and sent an email cancelling and requested a confirmation email for the cancellation. I received am email response from the account manager on 9/6 confirming the cancellation and confirming I would receive a refund in **** business days. I did not receive a refund and the following month I WAS CHARGED AGAIN! I have sent numerous emails and have called the company for a refund - zero response. So, I cancelled the card that they were using to charge for the work they were not doing because they did not have website access. I have reported this to my credit card company and there is a fraud investigation. The credit card company did charge me back but the dispute is not resolved. More time wasted!

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2022

  Hello **********,

  Thanks for bring this to our team's attention. We did our due diligence and have heard that you spoke to a ************** Manager yesterday. It was told to us that you did charge backs on your credit card. We will be crediting those charges internally so that you will NOT be sent to collections. We're very sorry for the trouble here and very glad your issue was resolved. We hope you have a good rest of the week!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/28/2022

   
  Complaint: 18319190
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Your company has still not corrected the mistake of aggregating the incorrect business phone number. Please correct the error. My understanding is that this error was made via TSIs contract business with ********

  Thank you for correcting the fraudulent charges and for confirming in writing that those fraudulent charges would not be sent to collections. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  Hello **********,

  We see continued communication with ***** and yourself this week. He would be the one to address anything pertaining to this account. We will let him know you still have questions regarding your account.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2022

  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 started business with Townsquare in May of this year, They set up my website, and SEO, and my *** all for me, and it was pretty nice in the beginning. However, after the first month is when my problems started accumulating. I had this happen multiple times, when I would set up a call with my account manager, even though I set up a time and day to talk to them over the phone, they wouldn't call me, and wouldn't be reachable at that time. I'm pretty easy about that sort of stuff, I understand that people can get busy, however this happened about 5 times, and the last time I got sick of it. I've felt ignored by them, and any changes that I have wanted to make, they have not went through with, even though they are the only ones able to access my website. I also started ads with them, and wanted to change the ads around, however I decided at the end of September that I wanted to Stop using them because I didn't feel like I was being listened to.This is the reason I am writing the complaint, because they told me that I won't be able to cancel with them because It would be breaking terms and conditions with them because I didn't let them know 3 days before the billing period, however, now that they know that I don't want to use them anymore, I haven't been able to get ahold of anyone in my account team at all, even the Ads portion, and am wanting a refund. The changes that I asked for to be made on my ads for me to be extending the period that I am using the ads, weren't made, and therefore breaking the agreement that we made. I want my money back, because It isn't being put to use in the way that I was asking them to do so. I am a new business, and every bit of my money matters, and it seems like they could care less. I don't want a back tracked refund going into May. I just want the money that I have paid this month back.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/21/2022

  It appears that we were able to make contact with the client at least once a month since the client had signed up with our company. Since launching the website we were able to complete several edits. During the six months that the client was with us we were also able to optimize the website for search engines. Our billing is completed first thing in the morning so cancelation requests are required to be made at least one business day before the scheduled bill date. Since services were rendered during the six months we are unable to issue a refund. We do not have record of the cancelation request within the timeline needed. If we are provided with proof of the cancelation request we will then be able to issue a refund for the most recent month.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2022

   
  Complaint: 18224460
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I asked for changes to be made for several months now. Just because you made a couple changes, does not mean that you made changes that I wanted. I was also told by the manager of the ads account that they could just make whatever changes to what I want for my company at any given time. The extent of you "getting with me once a month" is sending me a email with reports. I was ghosted by *******, and have not been able to get ahold of him, and the ************* said that as well. However, The ads were not put together the way that I discussed with who I was dealing with for it(*******************************), and I was admitted to that It was a clerical error on your part that I wasn't told about any of this. I want my money back because I am not getting what I agreed to for the money to be spent. If I was told no upfront, I would have went somewhere else, which would have been before the date that I would have needed to be before. I shouldn't have to pay for Townsquares Mistakes.
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/26/2022

  We built and maintained the website online, rendered SEO services and were able to expand your online presence to surrounding areas, maintained online directories, and had ****** ads online. There were several calls and emails exchanges between our team and the client and several changes made to the website. Unfortunately since services were rendered we are unable to issue a refund. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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 hired them to make a website for my company. They did not use the information, pictures, and descriptions I provided for them outside of my logo image. They also made a domain I did not authorize and launched the site without my approval. I asked them several times to take down the site so we can make necessary changes and once it was done correctly we could use the domain I have already purchased. Instead, they only ********* problem with the site and scheduled a meeting to go over necessary changes. They did not call when it was time for our meeting. I once again asked them to take down the site and cancel my services. They refused once again and had an agent call me and assure me it would get done. Another week passed and now I am over 6 weeks into this and 600$ for a site I am embarrassed of. I said I wanted the site taken down and my money refunded. They said they would leave it up and not charge me for the next bill cycle but they wanted to make the changes. They once again did not and I once again requested they take it down immediately. I have asked them to take the site down now 4 or five times and they will not do so and have had to pay for services not rendered.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/22/2022

  Hello ****,

  Thank you for the insight. After reviewing your account, I do see where your project manager sent a production link of the site on 7/21/2022 and then notified you both by phone on 7/27/2022 and email on 7/28/2022 that your site would be launching on 7/28/2022. Unless someone specifically requests not to launch the website, we will launch it to begin the indexing process with ****** in order to get a jump start on rankings in your area. We kept the website on a production link to gain the benefit of indexing, while also having the ability to make updates with you until we receive the information for your primary domain. I do see that your site is in maintenance mode and, because you were not satisfied with the content, we gave you a free month of service (which is still ongoing) so we could get the site where you want it to be. Your ***************** Specialist, ******, noted that you wanted to write content on "Shouses" for us to use, but any time he followed up with you on that, you mentioned you were busy. We would love to update the site with this content and make the necessary changes to get the website to a place where you would like to put it on your primary domain, and management has agreed to be involved in expediting any changes.