Matchmaker Marketing...who are they? help!

[leeg]

I've just a call from Zenith media trying to get me to sign up with the promise of first page results, needless to say I politely refused their offer.

Afterwards I did do a bit of research to find out a bit more about them and under the Zenith media name couldn't find anything, however with a bit more searching I found out they also go under the Matchmaker marketing name.

The big question for me would be if they are a genuine company why would they operate under more than one name offering the same product, my advice would be to steer clear.

 

[Amt]

Hi Leeg,

The web address is zthmedia.co.uk the had to change their name as they were getting such bad press.

 

[concerned_exmm]

Matchmaker Marketing and Zenith Media are the same company!

 

[DoLally]

What a great thread - I have added this to my favourites

Now I have somewhere to send my potential clients who say "we have been guaranteed a position at the top of Google"......

There is another one doing the rounds who say they are a Google Adwords qualified company!! Just asked them for a link through to their Google Adwords professional page for verification - it is weird as they don't have the Google AdWords Qualified company logo on their website and you would think with this being quite difficult to achieve they would be shouting from the rooftops

Once I have / haven't had a reply I will post their details on here as another warning (just want to make 100% sure first)

 

[mrt]

have been with matchmaker marketing for a brief period with little return .got sucked in by another company called dotcomchrome.co.uk what utter crap they promised we would be on google 24/7 for our chosen keywords what ****e this firm are ****e avoid like the plague if you think matchmaker are bad these are far worse run by one of there ex employees jamie mcdougall and zac leonard who are young cocky jumped up mancunians who replies with rude replies and need slapping down to size if i wasnt down in essex id go round and rub his ears for them

 

[Codefixer]

I have a client that previously ran an adwords campaign with Match Maker.

If you're interested you can read it here http://www.michaelwall.co.uk/sem/google-adwords-ripoff/

I think he thought he was getting a good deal, when clearly he wasn't.

 

[mrt]

type this number 01619764745 into who calls me .com the positive posts have been made from the same ip address just shows how clever these kids are at dotcomchrome.com.heard reports of nasty phone calls and intimidation . At least at matchmaker they mybee scammers but they have educated customer service staff and dont start calling you names when you cancel your contract .Had far better response from google maps which are free

 

[lsmithTCSG]

We took out a one-month trial with Matchmaker Marketing last summer and had a terrible experience which we still haven't had resolved. It started first with 'We are calling from Google', then 'On behalf of Google' and then they assured us that they were authorised Google Adwords Resellers (which is not true as only BT Business, Yell, Infoserve, Portfolio Europe and ReachLocal are in the UK); so completely mis-selling their service. Some may say that this was our fault for not making the necessary checks, but it is not always easy for small 'hands-on' businesses to do so (a hard way to learn a lesson). The trial itself was unsuccessful and so we wrote to Matchmaker stating that we were cancelling our campaign with them. Taking into account a 30 days notice period, since what should have been our last bill they made a further 4 unauthorised debit card transactions. It is easy to say that this should have been picked up on the 1st unauthorised transaction, but i reiterate my point above; it is not easy to keep track of every transaction and is yet another lesson hard learned. When we contacted them they admitted to having our letter of cancellation and that these payments should not have been taken. However, we are still to receive our monies back and are still waiting for contact from anyone in a position of authority within the Matchmaker Marekting organisation. We have had to block our debit card and our Bank have now taken over in recovering the monies. Under no circumstances should anybody have any dealings with Matchmaker Marketing - they are nothing but debit/credit card thieving scammers in my opinion.

 

[Snowball]

Several of you are enquiring about Matchmaker Marketing and whether you should deal with them. I feel obliged to relate the experience that I and my wife had with this company.

Last August a Thian Brodie from MM rang us several times over two days to try and get business. In a weak moment I agreed to take out a sponsored link for £113.85 for one month and gave him my credit card details. The advertistement included 5 key phrases. During the telephone conversation his company associated themselves with Google. I did not understand the significance of this at the time. In his email communications to me Thian Brodie stated that "all we ask of each client is to try our service for just one month and allow us to show you just how effective Google can be for you".

The following day a John Poole (from quality control) telephoned and talked to my wife informing her that the following months transaction (ie the month after the intial months advertisement which I had paid for) would be £20 per key word and not key phrase. At this stage I began to have doubts about MM integrity and efficiency. Firstly, because of their pushiness, the fact that they appeared to be changing their conditions, and lastly because they were trying to get the following months business out of me before I had even tried them out for the current month. A few minutes after the call I looked at my emails and to my amazement saw that MM had charged me twice ie 2 X £113.85 for my advert ie 2 separate invoices with 2 separate numbers!! I immediately telephoned MM and talked to their accounts manager Sabrina and informed her of the double charge. She told me that she had no record of these transactions which is impossible since the two invoices I received obviously came from MM. Sabrina told me that to obtain a refund she required proof of these transactions and I would have to supply her copies of my relevant credit card statements. I then requested a total refund of all money paid as I had lost confidence with MM and since my add would not be live until a further 24 hrs I had not yet availed myself of their services. Sabrina said my add had gone live - untrue because I had checked. Sabrina then said that all recorded telephone conversations would be passed onto management who would then make a decision regarding a refund and inform me in 24 hours. 72 Hours later Sabrina called to say that management would give me a refund. I was delighted but informed her that she only owed me 113.85 as my credit card company had already refunded me for the double charge. She seemed stunned and then informed me that MM could not now refund the remaining £113.85 as they might be overpaying me. I then wrote to Sabrina at MM and said that I never wanted to have any more dealings with MM and that I FORBADE THEM TO TAKE ANY FURTHER TRANSACTIONS FROM MY ACCOUNT. All my communications with MM have been via recorded mail.

Last week, three months after that date, MM had the audacity to telephone me and try get more business off of me. I told them to go away in a very harsh voice. The day before yesterday they telelphoned us three times within half and hour, and each time we made it very clear that we wanted no further dealings. In fact during the third call I initially asked the salesman why he had called me a third time during this period and all I seemed to get was dumb insolence and a total disregard of the fact that I did not want to deal with them.

I presume that the reason they h ave not made any further charges to my account is that my credit card company have issued me with a new card so the number and expiry date is different (so they can;t take money).

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU GIVE ANY OF YOUR CREDIT, OR DEBIT CARD DETAILS TO THIS TOXIC COMPANY. I notice that they have changed their web site and now no longer give an address where you may write to them. This means that you can no longer send recorded mail and therefore have proof of communication with them. However we have their address and here it is:

Matchmaker Marketing
Victoria House
25 Stamford New Road
Altrincham
Cheshire
WA14 1EB

No doubt they will change their address in due course so they can;t be contacted in this fashion. I intend to take legal proceedings under the Data Protection Act should this company continue to contact us. If any one has any ideas on how we can shut this horrible company down let me know. If I can be of h elp to anybody who has trouble with this company let me know.

 

[lsmithTCSG]

We have now made some progress with our ongoing dispute with Matchmaker after a string of unauthorised debit card transactions, as they have sent through a cheque to refund these payments. Not happy to simply leave it at that I insisted that they look into a few more points of complaint. You may find it interesting to read what the Customer Services Assistant Manager of Matchmaker had to say.

When I asked if Matchmaker were aware of a large number of Matchmaker Complaint Forums; he said yes they are. I asked if they were also aware of their telesales staff making claims that they were 'calling from Google', 'on behalf of Google' and that Matchmaker were 'authorised Google Adword Resellers'. And yes they were aware; and staff who were found to be making these claims were sacked. He said that staff sometimes say things like that because they are under pressure to meet targets. Surprise surprise: Both the telesales advisor who signed us up and our account handler have both been fired. All very well, but it doesn't help the small businesses who have been conned by them.

I also asked him if they had permission to use the Google logo on their press packs and marketing brochures (I have theirs in front of me with a nice big 'Google' logo on the front of the folder). He said that they were not made to stop using the logo, but took the initiative to stop doing so, and that ours was sent out before they stopped this practice. When asked exactly when they stopped using the Google logo the answer was 'possibly 5 months ago' (our pack was sent out in August).

I asked if he was aware that they were mis-selling their service and riding on the back of a trusted company to get sales, and there wasn't really an answer to that. I said that it was unfair using the Google brand to trick customers into thinking they were dealing with a trustworthy company. Again; there was no response to this other than they do have a lot of happy customers (ahem).

There was of course the issue of making numerous debit card transactions without consent and they believe that they are acting lawfully in doing so. He did explain the process to me but it sounded like a dodgy loophole. They now set up direct debits... Another surprise!

In my opinion they are absolute cowboys. It is disgusting that they continue to trade and operate in such an awful manner; basically scaring the hell out of telesales staff with the threat of not meeting targets and then firing them when complaints come in........ I'm just waiting for the cheque to clear (fingers crossed).

 

[eventdomain]

Unfortunately you won't be able to 'shut them down' - I think only the Department of Trade and Industry have such powers. But its all changed now and is run by http://www.berr.gov.uk/ - although am not sure if this dept can shut down companies.

The only thing you can do as a member of the public is inform your Local Trading Standards Office, who can step in and investigate - but I think they need strong evidence from many complaints to warrant action.

But you have to contact Consumer Direct first http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ and they'll decide if TS should be involved - not you (the consumer).

Try this website to air your grievances:

http://www.ripofftipoff.net/ (created by Trading Standards and BERR)

and this: http://www.rip-off.co.uk/

This blog explains all you need to know about Adwords resellers:

http://www.jonsilver.me.uk/jonsblog...ers-and-google-adwords-advertising-resellers/

 

[petera]

In my opinion it can only be a matter of time before an approved SEO companies assocation happens. In almost every other industry beset by dodgy dealers an assocation is setup whereby companies have to prove their worth.

 

[david8765]

I actually want these people to call me, sounds like fun.

 

[eventdomain]

There was of course the issue of making numerous debit card transactions without consent and they believe that they are acting lawfully in doing so

Yes, unfortunately its legal, according to my Trading Standards office. I had dealings with a different company in different industry, and they took money from my account, made false promises etc - not much I could do really


You signed/agreed to a contract, and gave authorisation for them to take money from your account. But then again, if a service 'appears' to be on the level, then its tough, not to sign....... This so much depends on the other side keeping their word, and not lying etc, so its an easy trap to fall into and too easy for companies to steal money with the 'contract' loophole.

Laws need to change to protect the poor, unsuspecting consumer

 

[lsmithTCSG]

Fortunately for us Matchmaker were completely at fault as they had written confirmation cancelling our account with them. An 'admin error' meant that they failed to shut the account down and continued to take card payments without consent. We have now received a cheque from Matchmaker to refund the unauthorised transactions.

It just struck me as odd that if this way of taking payments from customers is good and normal practice, then why have they now stopped this process and gone over to direct debits? (According to recent correspondence from Matchmaker).

Funny that despite our very bitter relationship and on two occassions instructions to remove us from their database, we continue to get sales calls. We had another one yesterday afternoon . How small exactly is their database?

 

[learn_the_hard_way]

They are selling a service that they are unable to deliver. They "guarantee" front page position on google for specific phrases which are supposedly unique slots only available to one subscriber first come first served. This is bull.

They're selling simple ppc google adwords management and they are very poor at delivering it.

I could do it myself better for less than one-tenth the cost. They add no value.

When questioned they claim not to receive emails and they do not terminate when requested. I am claiming back all money paid to them via chargeback on my credit card.

I recommend not touching them and if you already have and are unhappy, get your money back, all it takes is a quick letter to your credit card company.

I am now receiving phone calls threatening my business and have logged details with the police who are investigating this criminal activity.

This applies to dotcomchrome and rawmarketing as well. I was naive enough to try them as well. Never again.

 

[Snowball]

Hi Learn the hard way. I am intrigued by your post as I tried to get my credit card company to reclaim £113.85 that MM charged me for a months advertising. This was before the ad went live. MM infact charged me twice (£113.85 X 2). It was this act and the fact that they kept changing the conditions of the agreement on the telephone that made me realise that I was probably being conned. The fraud department of my credit card company immediately refunded me the second payment of £113.85 but said their powers were limited to obtain the initial payment £113.85 despite the fact that they understood that I had been mislead. I would love to know if you are successful in getting all your money back and the name of your credit card company because I would seriously consider changing my credit card company.

I talked to Trading Standards about this prior to contacting my credit card company and they were confident that I could reclaim the second payment and block all future transactions but they were very sceptical about being able to claim the initial charge back just because I was dissatisfied with the service. Infact they stated that when you give the credit card number out over the teleophone like that the consumer has very limited protection.

 

[learn_the_hard_way]

Hi Snowball. I wrote to my credit card company and requested a chargeback against this transaction on the basis that the company had not delivered the promised service. They had promised front page google ads every day for a month.

I checked nearly every day and kept a comprehensive log. I had also corresponded with the company (dotcomchrome) regularly (sticking to facts and polite emails) asking why they were not delivering the promised service. As you can probably guess, most of their responses were rude and became abusive.

The credit card company (NatWest) refunded the money to my account reasonably quickly (a couple of weeks) as a result of my letter.

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Naively [/FONT]I tried another service (rawmarketing this time) as they were slightly less pushy and confirmed in writing (email) before I signed up exactly what they would deliver and they confirmed their money back guarantee. They also failed to deliver and charged for a second month despite me cancelling before the end of the first month. I am now waiting for these to be refunded too having written another chargeback letter to NatWest. I have also cancelled the card to prevent any further unexpected charges from these companies.

I have subsequently received several threatening phone calls (amusingly one was not from a withheld number so I know exactly who it was from - putting the number into google revealed that it's listed on many websites as the number for dotcomchrome). These details are now in the hands of the police.

Moral of the story is: (1) don't do business with any of these companies and (2) write to your credit card company (chargebacks) to get your money back. Eventually this will put these people out of business as their card payment facilities will be removed if there are sufficient chargebacks by us, the (ex) customers.

 

[jinty]

Just had a call from an annoying sales person who wouldnt get off the phone...suppose I was too polite to hang up.

He was going on about guarenteeing me top position on google for printers in the Worcestershire area.

Told me to try it for 30 days and then was pressing for my details so he could charge me £140 for the month! and then £20 per keyword phrase after that

Anyone know who they are and what they do?

:|

Thanks

James

Yes James
I had same call. They did actually do what they said on the tin. Im thinking of going with them again. I had a Psychic business and they did get me to three on google. It goes with most used phrase to get site. You get a management section with your account, and you are free to change any aspect of your agreement. They are not a scam, maybe a bit of a shaft, but if its a good business idea, to fork out £140 as a one off, then on £20 per month is not a bad deal. I used to check my site was placed all the time, and it nearly always was. Hope it goes ok for you.

:redface:
Good luck

 

[learn_the_hard_way]

The police are actively investigating the activities of dot com chrome and the director Jamie McDougall. Anyone with any information about any threatening or abusive telephone calls or emails received from this company should contact PC 6755 Pat Murphy or PC 6274 Andy Jordan, both of the Sale Neighbourhood Policing Team, telephone number 0161 856 7865.

You can also report any such incidents as a crime to your local police force who will pass the details on to Greater Manchester Police, or directly to Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050.

dotcomchrome, matchmaker marketing and raw marketing all appear to be linked companies and all three are running the same scam. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Certainly is in this case!

 

[rogue trader]

all of these PPC scam companies are from the same rotten seed. and are all linked maybe not al by association but ex members of staff see how easy a scam it is and set up from their bedroom with little or no costs. to name but a few Matchmaker, Lavora, Getclickedon (fulcrum media) apex, page hog, cpc, topspot. and so many more. I worked for one of these companies up until 6 months ago and can confirm the following.
1) there is no exclusivity (one company per market sector per region) total BS.
2) sales people elongate phrases so that they are less competitive therefor making the cost of the campaign alot lower as well as how effective it is. I have witnessed a client having paid 2000 for a campaign that cost the scammer 200...
3) during the sales process potential customers are told that there have been so many searches for what they do in the past month, this is usually made up on the spot.
4) appearing on google 7 days a week only requires them to ensure that your ad appears once a day.
5)Sales people are bullied to sell, if they go a day without a sale they can be fined up to 50 pounds some times after a bad week this can total to over 160 the sales people constantly fear for thier job as they can be sacked at anytime!!.

there is so much more about these companies that is rotten.

I am on a moral crusade to rid the advertising industry of scams and tricksters and educate all SME's on the right way and the right companies to use for advertising and uncover all scamers. not just ppc scams but all advertising scams that are sold by cold call pressure sales... if you would like to show support for my campaign please email me at

ad scams exposed at google mail

 

[MR551]

After reading the many complaints about this company i felt compelled to let people know what a badly organised bunch of fraudsters Matchmaker Marketing are. I had the misfortune to work for this company for a short period and during that time i was appalled at they way they treat customers and staff alike.
Here's just a few facts about them:

• They have no affiliation with google and were actually ordered to stop using the Google logo on their advertising(although im sure they still use it)
• They mention that they have offices all over the world including New York, Barcelona etc This is a lie, The addresses and phone numbers they list are dummies and all redirect to manchester.
• Their staff are told not to lie but to deliberately mislead customers and part of their in house training is based around this.
• The top page of google 7 days a week means that you technically only have to show on that front page once a day.
• The exclusivity they talk about 1 company per sector per region is a lie as is anything about their database. Staff are made to go through Yell.com and other directories number after number (hence the repeated phonecalls even to former disgruntled clients)
• I have never worked anywhere with such disregard for security, staff are allowed to keep mobiles on their desks even though they will be taking Credit Card details and are also encouraged to write Credit Card details down to speed up the calls process.

It isnt just the clients these guys rip off though,on my second day there i realised that there were only 8 people in the office with more than a month's service. The training there last a day and a half so most staff no less about google than the people they are calling, they also conduct group interviews so essentially will take on anybody. After speaking to other former staff i have noticed another way they make money. They sack people daily but then refuse to pay staff what they earned for hours worked which with how many people come through their doors must make them a fortune.
I strongly urge people to avoid this company either as a marketing solution or a potential employer, they have no scruples and you will get burnt.
If anybody has any questions about them or anything related don't hestate to ask and i'll do my best to answer.

 

[lsmithTCSG]

After reading the many complaints about this company i felt compelled to let people know what a badly organised bunch of fraudsters Matchmaker Marketing are. I had the misfortune to work for this company for a short period and during that time i was appalled at they way they treat customers and staff alike.
Here's just a few facts about them:

• They have no affiliation with google and were actually ordered to stop using the Google logo on their advertising(although im sure they still use it)
• They mention that they have offices all over the world including New York, Barcelona etc This is a lie, The addresses and phone numbers they list are dummies and all redirect to manchester.
• Their staff are told not to lie but to deliberately mislead customers and part of their in house training is based around this.
• The top page of google 7 days a week means that you technically only have to show on that front page once a day.
• The exclusivity they talk about 1 company per sector per region is a lie as is anything about their database. Staff are made to go through Yell.com and other directories number after number (hence the repeated phonecalls even to former disgruntled clients)
• I have never worked anywhere with such disregard for security, staff are allowed to keep mobiles on their desks even though they will be taking Credit Card details and are also encouraged to write Credit Card details down to speed up the calls process.

It isnt just the clients these guys rip off though,on my second day there i realised that there were only 8 people in the office with more than a month's service. The training there last a day and a half so most staff no less about google than the people they are calling, they also conduct group interviews so essentially will take on anybody. After speaking to other former staff i have noticed another way they make money. They sack people daily but then refuse to pay staff what they earned for hours worked which with how many people come through their doors must make them a fortune.
I strongly urge people to avoid this company either as a marketing solution or a potential employer, they have no scruples and you will get burnt.
If anybody has any questions about them or anything related don't hestate to ask and i'll do my best to answer.

This basically confirms my suspicions about Matchmaker Marketing - Once challenged about being forced to stop using the Google logo they said they were never made to, but took the decision' to stop using it - And yes, they do still use it on their presentation packs. When we requested to be removed from their database they said 'we can't do that' and 'it doesn't work like that'.... Well of course they can't seeing as they don't purchase marketing databases, but use legitimate ones that businesses actually pay to be listed in - not that they would admit to it! The security issues are shocking to hear; writing down Credit Card details and mobile phones on desks is close to criminal. As to the way they treat employees I can't believe that Recruitment Agencies are still advertising their vacancies.

 

[sb12]

mr 551 i too worked for this company last year, it just screwes customers for everything they have, i would advise no one to work for this company or even listen to what they have to say. I was working with this company made a couple of sales and was told that i had to get more after 6 days they decided to get rid of me, and i had to phone up to see if i was fired!!!!
I wouldnt even waste my time listening to them because more than half of the people you talk to wouldnt even know much about the company and the people who do work for them for a while is just screwing money out of customers. they find your numbers from yell.com and also they phone america too...
dont waste the time its a waste of money!

 

[wildfire_pro]

Well, well, well... I got a call today from Matchmaker Marketing and the sales guy was initially quite pleasant. I was interested to hear what he had to say, not only because we are currently optimising our new cheap eco friendly print company site, but ORGANICALLY for the time being (check it out... you may get some good ideas for free!), but because the deal seemed unbelievably good.

He said to me that he could offer me two great keyphrases a month for £99: 'cheap printing services', and 'cheap printing companies' and GUARANTEE that I would be at the top of the page in the sponsored listings EVERY DAY, and nationwide! Not just in London.

Well, this immediately got the alarm bells ringing and dinging, so I told him I would have to get back to him after I spoke with my business & accounts managers, and from that point on, he got EXTREMELY aggressive, told me I didn't know how to run a business, and said he would find 'a business owner that had the balls to make a decision for themselves'!!! (clearly, as a woman, I do not have said balls in any case)

I couldn't believe how rude and pushy he became... how does he expect to make a sale after that sort of behaviour? Yet he carried on. I did, obviously, end the call not long after.

It seems they try and get you to make an impulse decision to strip you of your hard earned dosh. I have since done some research and have discovered there is no way they can be guaranteeing these sorts of placements on Google. Has anyone reported these nasties to the Office of Fair Trade? They should be struck off!

 

[JElder]

Businesses get far less protection than consumers, as they are supposed to have the ability to correctly assess any offer themselves.

There are still some bodies that may take an interest, but unless they are doing something illegal, it would be hard to get any major action against them. Of course, if you refused to pay, and they took you to court, the court would look at whether the service provided was as described and worth the value before making a judgement - but remember that something told you you over phone may well be over-ridden by a contract with lots of small print.

The best course, with a business, is what seems to be happening - word will get around, and people will become more aware of how the internet works, and what can and cannot be done. Forums like this are a vital resource - so congratulations to UK Business forums!

 

[kalooki]

Had a call for these earlier did'nt answer but did put the number in google so will now save the number and have a bit of fun if they ring me again.

 

[bigjohns747]

Well where do you Start with them . . . . "There Ripp-off artists"
I know . . . as i was one of the muggs that beleived them . . .

They say "That ther'll get you up to position 1 on Google aswell as on the first page for an initial payment of £140.00 - then £20.00a month thereafter to stay there.

They also say that ther'll give you 5 or 6 Key words, with your advertising (i.e plumber northampton // plumber wellingborough // plumber kettering // blocked drain wellingborough // blocked drain northampton // blocked drain kettering etc) the thing is they only advertis one key phrase out of these 6 & thats at the top of page two . . .

Not only is that all you get one key phrase . . . but someone els then phones you up, (when 1 phrase is live) and tells you - its now £100.00 per month thereafter not £20.00 to keep it running.

Also the ads can now be on the right hand side or evidently anywhere - "so thats NOT position 1 on the first page of Google then . . . ohh & didn't the salesman tell you that. . . .

i'll just put you through to customer services or was it accounts . . . . THEY THEN PUT THE PHONE DOWN ON YA . . . . .

Does anyone know haw i can get my Money back . . . . from them . . . ?

 

[callummarsden]

i have ran a campaign with matchmaker for 3 years now spending over £2000 a year with no problems and am considering upping my budget..????

 

[david8765]

i have ran a campaign with matchmaker for 3 years now spending over £2000 a year with no problems and am considering upping my budget..????

they must be good for you to join this forum just to tell us that, welcome

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Bet they're based in Manchester!

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I removed all three posts because they don't ring true, they are obviously out of date, and the massive red text and formatting was simply a rant.

Feel free to post again, but please remove the massive red text formatting, and make it clear that your issues are ongoing from 2008 (assuming they are.)

 

[deathstar81]

are now called Zenith, and they still rip you off.

 

[focusedhypnosis]

Well where do you Start with them . . . . "There Ripp-off artists"
I know . . . as i was one of the muggs that beleived them . . .

They say "That ther'll get you up to position 1 on Google aswell as on the first page for an initial payment of £140.00 - then £20.00a month thereafter to stay there.

They also say that ther'll give you 5 or 6 Key words, with your advertising (i.e plumber northampton // plumber wellingborough // plumber kettering // blocked drain wellingborough // blocked drain northampton // blocked drain kettering etc) the thing is they only advertis one key phrase out of these 6 & thats at the top of page two . . .

Not only is that all you get one key phrase . . . but someone els then phones you up, (when 1 phrase is live) and tells you - its now £100.00 per month thereafter not £20.00 to keep it running.

Also the ads can now be on the right hand side or evidently anywhere - "so thats NOT position 1 on the first page of Google then . . . ohh & didn't the salesman tell you that. . . .

i'll just put you through to customer services or was it accounts . . . . THEY THEN PUT THE PHONE DOWN ON YA . . . . .

Does anyone know haw i can get my Money back . . . . from them . . . ?

I had a call from Matchmaker today. At the end of last year I had a run in with a similar PPC company so I have been alerted to their nefarious ways! As soon as the matchmaker sales guy realised I wasn't going to buy he began shouting over me and didn't let me politely end the call so I hung up. Why they think shouting will help I don't know, maybe they do it so the boss thinks they are really trying.
As far as how you can get your money back after you have been stung I have a tip that worked well for me. Type into google the company name and try and find a forum that is discussing the company. A forum like this or a google questions forum is also good, anything thats on the 1st page of google should do. Then write a very long description of what has happened. Go into all the details, tell people the effect it has had on your business, list the aggressive sales techniques, broken promises etc that all these companies make. Also make sure you frequently mention the company's name, their address, their phone number, the name of the owners and managers. These companies HATE being slated so publically cos it means they sucker in fewer and fewer businesses. You could also set up a free website through google sites or the like and again detail exactly what happened, who said what and the impact it has had on your business. Again, use as many key search terms as possible with lost of links to the company you have an issue with.

I did this with a particular manchester based company and got hundreds of pounds back. I also got hundreds of pounds back through my bank as I paid on credit card and the company I was dealing with had no evidence that I had signed a contract with them.

Good luck to any of you who have been screwed over, hopefully you will get some money back, if not lets hope you make it even harder for these rip off merchants to dupe other trusting business owners.

 

[focusedhypnosis]

Oh, one other thing, these companies staff and directors come onto forums just like this and in their very first post ever they tell people about how they have never had any problems with x company, how their staff are all lovely and that they have no idea what the people on these forums are on about!
I would like to second the welcome that was extended to Callummarsden on the previous page! ;-)

 

[popunder]

The top link for "printers bromsgrove" is occupied by thebestofbromsgrove, you could do worse than talk to them about what they can do for you - online, in print, and through personal introductions to their business clients.

 

[zigojacko]

Take a look at this http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01619417944

Seem to be annoying quite a few people!

R

Interesting to see a previous employee of theirs state this:

"I have worked for this company in the past, and can confirm that they encourage their sales staff to search yell.com for businesses, call them citing they're calling on behalf of google, and bully them into taking out a months trial with the advertising, stating that they guarauntee you to be in the sponsored links area on your chosen key phrases.
Infact, you will occasionally be in the sponsored links area on your phrases, however this could be as little as an hour a day.
Highly aggressive cold calling."

There are many companies out there adopting exactly the same policy... The thing is, hundreds of people are still falling for it and losing their money.

I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll probably end up saying it another 500 times...

If any company cold call you claiming to be Google, claim to be calling on behalf of Google or offering you number 1 spot on Google it is a scam and they are lying! Stay well clear.

 

[michellemoore]

I don not think, it is good to deal with a company you are not aware about it. ask about their website and see the work they have done before and decide later.

 

[Doggy]

We just got a call from these people, claiming to be in association with Google adwords and claiming to be able to get our business on the first page of Google at all times. We were wary of these kind of calls having got [removed by mod] by the Business Internet Directory in the past- a £300 mistake which was passed to a debt collector. (Nice)!!
We did not agree to Match Maker Marketing's offer, and have since phoned Google who have told us they are nothing to do with them! (In fact UTTER CRAP was his response) Stay away from these people!!!! And people like them. *******!!

 

[david8765]

[removed by mod]

Brilliant, surely there is the begining of a great game here