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:07/30/2023

  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.

  A former client wrote a detrimentally false complaint about me using Avvos website, pertaining to a case that I did not represent her in. Avvo then called me - unprompted - and tried to convince me to pay for their premium services, and indicated they would remove the false review only if I paid for a premium account. They have been given evidence that the review is false, and are putting me in a position that I must file a lawsuit since I refuse to pay for their upgraded legal services. This is basically extortion.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/31/2023

  Thank you for your feedback.  Client Reviews on Avvo.com whether a paying customer or not follow the same guidelines.  As long as the review meets our Community Guidelines they stay up.  Avvo doesnt verify or investigate reviews, and we don't take sides when it comes to factual disputes .  Community Guidelines located here: ************************************************************************;

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/07/2023

  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.

  Regarding *************************** Attorney Ads for ************************************** we have been attempting to cancel our ad spend and gain resolution with Avvo for ad increases we did not agree to since 6/7/23.Since 6/7/23, we have made over 10 attempts reaching out to customer support, our account manager, ***********************, her manager ******************, and others, yet were just charged AGAIN on July 3rd ($441 & $580) and our accounts remain active despite our repeated cancellation attempts. We cannot get any responses or resolution. So despite communicating our cancellation on 6/7/23 we are still being charged.In addition, as weve communicated several times, we never agreed to an increased monthly amount that Avvo initiated in April 2023. Our account manager never communicated the rate increases to myself or *******************, who setup and pays for the ads. So not only has Avvo repeatedly charged us amounts we did not agreed, but theyve continued charging us after weve cancelled all of our services with them.Avvo needs to respond and resolve by:*confirming cancellation of ALL firm Avvo services (***************************- ******************* & *************************)*refunding the firm for the $1081 fraudulently charged on 7/3 after cancelling all services *refunding our firm the $460 in unauthorized/unapproved additional charges incurred on 5/2/23 ($230) & 6/2/23 ($230)

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  You will be contacted by your Account Manager to assist with resolving this issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/28/2023

  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.

  I have tried numerous times to review an attorney and this lawyer referral service keeps removing my reviews I have a right to inform the public that this attorney over bills by dragging out cases and does not do well for a non-custodial party as well as once replaced wont bring the next attorney up to speed after receiving thousands of dollars from my case.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/06/2023

  Thank you for your feedback.  We agree, attorney reviews are very important and we value them on our site.  We want you to talk about your experience with your attorney so that it helps others be able to make an informed decision when choosing theirs.  We only ask that reviews adhere to our Community Guidelines. 

  Located here:  *******************************************************************

  if you have any questions about them please reach out to our support team.

  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20249956
  
  I am rejecting this response because it still has not been posted on the Avvo site and it was an actual client atty ****************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2023

  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.

  Our law firm has enlisted the services of Avvo Inc for 5+ years. We expanded our advertising with Avvo over a year ago to include one of our other employed attorneys. Our law firm engaged into the advertising agreement and agreed to the monthly fees. Our employed attorney, *************************, was not involved in the agreement and does not pay the monthly fees. Avvo changed our monthly rate 2 months ago for Attorney ********************** advertisements without informing our firm (the payee) with whom the agreement was made. We have been trying to reach our account manager, ***********************, as well as Avvo customer support since June 7th when we became aware of the unauthorized changes and charges (an additional $230/month). We have since communicated to Avvo that they are to immediately cancel all of our services and issue a refund for the two unauthorized additional payments (5/2/23 & 6/2/23) totaling $460; however, Avvo and our Account Manager will not respond to our requests or cancel our services. We are not bound under a contract. We have communicated to Avvo and ****** multiple times over the past 2 weeks that we would be reporting them to the BBB if they did not respond and cancel our services. They will not respond to our multiple requests. Your assistance in holding this company accountable is much appreciated. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/05/2023

  Thank you for your feedback.  Prior to the price increase for **************** advertising, the account manager reached out via email to ************ on 4/18 to inform him of the price increase, additional incentives, etc. and was also advised the increase would be in effect by 4/28 if we did not hear back from him.  We never got a response from the attorney as requested and the price increase went into effect.  His account is set to expire at the end of July.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 20218813
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As Avvo and our account manager are well aware, *************** had no involvement in the establishment of the Avvo ad accounts, did not enter into any agreements with Avvo, and does not pay for Avvo. All Avvo accounts were setup and paid through myself and our Business Manager, *****************************. All communication with Avvo has been with myself (**********************) or *****************************. A price increase communicated to an uninvolved party, who is not responsible for payment or the agreement, is irrelevant and does not address the issue. We have significant records and additional communications demonstrating that all communications setting up and paying for Avvo have only been with ***************************** or *******************. *************** is not a payor, nor is he a firm decision maker, nor is he able to enter into any firm agreements, and has had no previous record of communication or account setup with **********************. 

  In addition to the increased charges that we (the employer/payee) did not agree to, we communicated our cancellation of all ad services with Avvo on 6/7/2023 and continue to be charged. This is not for just the ads promoting Attorney ****, but also myself (**********************). We have communicated multiple times since 6/7 that they (Avvo) are to discontinue all ads for our firm, but we were charged again on 7/3/23 for $1081.
  
  Our firm did not agree to the increased amounts communicated to a non-party to the agreement and we continue to be charged for services weve cancelled. The amounts and actions appropriate for resolution are as follows:
  
  *Confirm cancellation of ALL firm Avvo services (******************************* ads running for ********************** & *************************)
  *Refunding the firm for the $1081 fraudulently charged on 7/3/23 after we cancelled all ad services
  *Refunding our firm for the $460 in unauthorized/unapproved additional charges incurred on 5/2/23 ($230) & 6/2/23 ($230)

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

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  Your account manager should be reaching out to you to resolve your concerns.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/05/2023

  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.

  Hired an attorney based off reviews on AVVO and to my shocking discovery, the attorney was unprofessional and simply put, awful. I tried multiple times to post a review about my experience to warn others and every time, it was removed after a few days. This company is falsely advertising fake reviews and making kick backs off the attorneys.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2023

  Thank you for your feedback.  We encourage former clients of attorneys to leave a review detailing their experience.  We only ask that reviewers follow our Community Guidelines when leaving a review.  Located here: *******************************************************************

  If you have any questions please contact our ************* team.

  Have a great day!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20023209
  
  I am rejecting this response because: this is simply an excuse. I read the guidelines and followed very specifically. I was asked for proof that I hired the attorney I was reviewing, not because I violated their terms. I sent them proof and even followed up asking why my review was not reposted- no response. Ive tried multiple times to post my review and it was removed every-time. This is not the only case of this happening. *** heard from others whom have posted a negative review for this same attorney with the same result. The attorney has one star rating on other sites, but 5 stars on this AVVO. And, the negative reviews keep getting removed on AVVO. So youre saying that every negative review is magically in violation but the 5 star reviews are all conveniently to community standards? I dont think so. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/23/2023

  We are currently in contact with the reviewer and working with her to resolve her concerns with the review she is referring to.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/03/2023

  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.

  I am a small business and I signed up with this service for marketing. I was told that I would be listed for advertising on 3 websites. I am only appearing on one site. The one site I am on is not bringing in anything but spam accounts. I have tried to contact Avvo to cancel and they have ignored by concerns.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2023

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

  Thank you for your feedback.  You are currently listed on our 3 flagship websites here; Avvo.com - ****************************************************************************************, Lawyers.com - *****************************************************************************, and also Martindale.com -  **********************************************************************; I hope this helps with finding your listings.  

  If you have any additional questions please reach out to your Account Manager, ***************************** @ **************

  Have a great day!

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20016017
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/03/2023

  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.

  ******************************************************************************** I am a license attorney in the *****************. Unfounded advertising by this business entity. Refusal to take down illegitimate review that throughout the years caused me loss of business and recently a promotion. I believe it is racially targeted as I am Arab-********. Business entity attempted to blackmail me through harassing phone calls. Multiple attempts to reach out to this business entity and would not talk to me without me having to give funds or credit card information to them.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2023

  Thank you for your feedback!  We do allow former clients to review their attorneys and the experience they've had during the legal process.  We do not take sides when it comes to factual disputes nor do we verify or investigate reviews.  Please see our Community Guidelines here. *******************************************************************

  We give attorneys the option of responding to any reviews that are on their profile, if you are interested in pursuing legal action against the reviewer please see our terms located here: *******************************************************

  Thank you and have a great day!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/23/2023

  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.

  I am very curious why my review was taken down? The ** bar association had many concerns over the lawyer Avvo recommended and when he didn't act professionally (from their referral) I was told to take my review down. Why? I'm doing a decent person's job warning others? Your inability to properly vet "lawyers" cannot and will not violate my first amendment rights. I will *** the s*** out of you for that. Here, I'm happy to show the texts of your "great" lawyer who told me I'm "nothing special and worthless." But please, tell me: I'm inaccurate here. I'd love to have you defend your actions in court.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/03/2023

  Thank you for your feedback.  We appreciate your participation in our Client Review program. As an online community we host a variety of diverse opinions. We welcome this diversity, and ask that all of our participants adhere to our community guidelines located here:  *******************************************************************

  
  If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/08/2023

  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 have been using an attorney advertising platform and really have had no complaints. However, when I notified AVVO that I wish to cancel my account due to my closing my private practice down, it has been a real hassle. I have left numerous messages with *********************** ************ ********************************** my account manager, and with her boss. I have sent at least a dozen emails. ****** returned one message and said something to the effect of: I received your message and I need to confirm you are cancelling your account and that we will not charge you beginning March 2023. So, now, I'm supposed to re-confirm what I've already stated but they will not answer the phone, return messages, or return emails. I reached out to another attorney who I knew used AVVO and he said he had a nightmare of a time trying to cancel - same thing, AVVO refusing to acknowledge you want to cancel, and then switching his account manager on him, so then he was supposed to start all over again. This is unacceptable. My account is set up through an automatic withdrawal through my Debit Card. I am going today, per my Bank, to cancel that card and receive a new debit card - extremely inconvenient to have to do this. Thank you. I just want to cancel and I want them to "admit", VERIFY that they have cancelled my account and that I will no longer be charged anything per month, beginning March 2023. Attorney *************************** ************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2023

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

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear you had an unpleasant experience when trying to cancel your account.  I want to confirm with you that your account has been cancelled and you will not be charged anything going forward as you requested. 

  Have a good evening.

  Andr'e

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2022

  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 was called by Avvo this morning asking if I was interested in paying for referrals. I clearly stated no. I had received two or three emails from the same person at Avvo during the same time period, which I deleted. Within 5 minutes, I received a "receipt of Order" with an order number using my name and address, but the ******** address in a state I've never been to and a credit card that I'm not affiliated with.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2022

  Good Morning,

  We apologize for the error that was made on this individuals account and has since cancelled and marked her as Do not contact, this issue has been resolved.  I believe one of our sales managers reached out to her to confirm and apologize as well.

  Andr'e

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2022

   
  Complaint: 18452596
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  They are correct that I was contacted both by email and by phone, and they removed the subscription.  However, the email indicated they WILL NOT remove my profile or **** it unclaimed.  ******, who I talked to by phone, was apologetic and said he would **** my profile/email for no contact.  Additionally, I am now receiving daily ****eting emails from AVVO, which is the opposite of what I wanted.  So, while they corrected the fraudulent subscription, they have NOT removed any of my information and they are benefiting from the use of my name and business and continue to irritate me on a daily basis with unwanted emails.   

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

  Business Response

  Date: 12/07/2022

  Thank you for your feedback, I reached out to our ****eting team and had them **** your account as DNC (Do Not Contact) across all our business units; Nolo, Avvo, Martindale, Ngage, and Captorra.  I do apologize if you were told that wouldn't happen and it did.  In regards to your profile, we cannot delete that due to it being public information and listed in the Bar.  

  Andr'e