Peruse online companies' refund policies carefully
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Q. I have had a huge problem trying to get my full refund from ISoldMyHouse.com. There were a lot of problems from the start. All my information was sent to a totally different e-mail, and I never did receive the services that I signed up for. Their radio ads state a money back guarantee. Three months later, and many calls (unreturned), they still owe me $500. Has anyone else complained? Is there some central office I could complain to?
Babbie Swan, Marshfield
A. ISoldMyHouse.com, an advertising company that helps people sell their homes without a real estate agent, has a pretty good track record. The Marlborough-based company generated 13 complaints to the Better Business Bureau over the past three years - each of which was dealt with. For a business with more than 3,000 customers a year, that's respectable.
Company president Dennis Craig said that for whatever bumps there were along the way, the business not only gave back $400, but still provided the promised services.
Indeed, the home listing has been on both ISoldMyHouse.com and on the Multiple Listing Service database for months.
Details of the company's money back guarantee are posted on its website - as referenced in the ads - and clearly state the terms, which include hiring a real estate agent and getting the money back at closing once the property involved is sold.
The Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) and the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (www.mass.gov/consumer) are good places to lodge a complaint of this type.
But, unless there is an overt deception or gross misrepresentation, the most a consumer could hope for would be mediation. And the most someone could expect to recover under the circumstances would be about what was already refunded.
Craig acknowledged this is a tough time for people selling homes.
"Even with a good realtor, people are going to get frustrated," he said. "A house is going to sit."
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