Response from: NewHorizon (Check me out!)

So today we get a pre-recorded phone call telling us that somebody googled us and rated us at merchantcircle.com - only to find no such ratings at merchantcircle.com ? I'm not against networking businesses, and I'm aware that MerchantCircle will remove listings upon request. Nonetheless, unsolicited pre-recorded phone calls containing false/mis-leading information isn't the way to grow a business nor to build a positive reputation. More comments from merchants:
http://battellemedia.com/archives/002632.php

Response from: NSX00 (Check me out!)

I just got a similar message on the machine, however it informed me that a NEGATIVE review had been left. There are no such ratings that I can find. I am very annoyed. Dirty, sleazy marketing if I've ever been a victim of such.

Response from: SR (Check me out!)

Ditto the above comments!

Response from:

I got a message informing me of a negative rating on my company. I am not going to respond and am calling for a boycott of MerchantCircle.com. Using prerecorded scare tactics to drum up business.

Response from: tauroscatophobe (Check me out!)

Perhaps a 100% boycott of this misbegotten spamspawned abomination is in order? That as a clear and unarguable sign to forever bury the ethics of spam.

Response from: DH (Check me out!)

I also received call advising me that I had a rating and to check out the website for info. Of course, no rating was there. And I am asking myself how could there be a rating anyway as I have never heard of this merchantcircle.com and anyone who I have done business with probably hasn't either. Total load of horse manure!!!!!!!!!!!!

Response from: Ray (Check me out!)

I would suggest a call to the Better Business Bureau is in order. Just what we all need...more deceit.

Response from: NewHorizon (Check me out!)

Fast-forward 5 months, and I'm back.
I got another pre-recorded call from merchantcircle.com. This after sending Email to their support@... address to cut it out. I guess my Email fell into a black hole, and that boycott movement (above) didn't quite get off the ground, eh? :) OK, well, somebody posted an 866 number at
http://battellemedia.com/archives/002632.php
.
I dialed it and pressed "1" to opt out. We'll see....

Response from: ClevelandCleaner (Check me out!)

It is definitely unsettling to get an unsolicited phone call saying I have a negative rating and to go to this merchantcircle.com to find it only to not find anything about my company. Terrible way to get new customers and certainly not me.

Response from: eileen (Check me out!)

Received same call as above. This tactic was certainly paid for by merchandise.com for promotional campaign. Very, Very, bad investment. Has the opposite effect. Distasteful!

Response from: Manassas Raider (Check me out!)

I agree about 13 months ago I also got a call saying that there was a negative comment so I checked it out. Nothing was there. Today I got a call saying that there was another negative comment about my business just posted. I checked and there was a message rating my business as 5 star exceptional but it was from about 10 months ago. Again, it was very unnerving to be told that there is a negative comment. I am a home based business of over 24 years and I am not aware of any customer who has been upset with my product or personal client services. Who are these people and where do they get off randomly calling businesses and making comments like that. Before my first call, I had never heard of this merchantcircle nonsense!!

Response from: (Check me out!)

THEY HAVE THE INFO BUT MINE WAS ALL WRONG, ADDRESS, ZIP CODE, STREET NAME ETC. YIKES!

Response from: Joe (Check me out!)

Hello, I am a small business owner. I also received a voice message informing me that a customer posted a review of my business on merchantcircle.com. There was now review. My business can only thrive if our family owned roots are well reflected in our customers perception. I was both elated and scared to thing that a customer or potential customer would have reviewed my business and that merchantcircle.com would post a false or unfounded review. Let alone go to their site and find no such review. This type of marketing is harmful to the sites that do provide online customers with valid reviews.

Response from: Pat (Check me out!)

I also received a recorded message from MerchantCircle, despite being on the DO NOT CALL LIST. They said someone had left a review and I could check it by logging into merchantcircle. Despite my extreme reluctance to do so, I logged in because I found posts online that said merchantcircle.com starts everyone off with a negative review ! There wasn't any review at all - obviously this is just a dishonest ploy to get people to sign up for an account so that they can boast that they have so many businesses signed up. These guys are scams, I urge everyone to report them to your local attorney general.

Response from: Wayne from Maine (Check me out!)

for those who didn't find the rating... bear in mind that merchantcircle.com and others use information bought from third party yellow page sources... so if you find your company it often has incorrect or outdated information. I had an inflammatory comment on a site that listed my fax number as my main number. To find out if you have a rating good or bad, google your name, google your business name, also your main number, alternate number, fax number, cell number. My bogus information with a blatant smear from someone i'd never met held three of the top 5 spots when googling my name. (2 of the 3 have now been cleared by merchantcircle.com). Be aware that you may also be listed at any or all of the following... many which 'invite' ratings by the general public: www.thinklocal.com
www.merchantcircle.com
www.yahoolocal.com
www.allpages.com
www.superpages.com
www.insiderpages.com
www.yellowpagecity.com
www.usdirectory.com
aol.digitalcity.com
www.local.com
and there are many more.... While some businesses can dedicate staffing to 'control' their internet presence and reputation, there are many of us who are self-employed and don't have the time to monitor the internet on a daily business. Beware! You can be rated whether you want to be or not!

Response from: Ellen J. Barrier (Check me out!)

I received a automated message today that informed me to go to merchantcircle.com and put my business telephone number in a blue box to review the positive review from someone who had visited my website. This was fraud.

Response from: jackie (Check me out!)

Got a call no info. In a high call business this is very annoying. We handle calls all day from customers that need help and they are annoyed because they have to wait. So when we receive these pre-recorded calls they are very upsetting. Why do you do business like this?

Response from: Robert (Check me out!)

Received a solicitation call for POSITIVE rating. Went to site and saw no ratings at all. Marketing scam! I would place no trust in a company like this that resorts to fraudulent information to direct potential customers to their site.I would nit rely on a company like this to provide anything positive for your company.

Response from: joe (Check me out!)

same call as everyone else.good luck telling on them to bbb.the bbb office here in raleigh has been leaving messages for years telling me that they had many [19 last time] inquireys about my buisness that year.i average about 7 jobs a year,maybe 20 estimates.their claim is NOT credible.when i returned their call they wanted to sell me a membership. i told them someone should report the bbb to themselves.i was met with silence.

Response from: joe (Check me out!)

Same call as everyone elseGood luck telling on them to bbb.The bbb office here in Raleigh has been leaving messages for years telling me that they had many [19 last time] inquireys about my buisness that year.I average about 7 jobs a year,maybe 20 estimates.Their claim is NOT credible.When i returned their call they wanted to sell me a membership. I told them someone should report the bbb to themselves.I was met with silence.

Response from: Horse Dr (Check me out!)

We just signed up on Merchantcircle.com, & have had nothing but EXCELLENT responses, NO PHONE CALLS AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. We certainly hope Merchantcircle does not operate this way, As long as we keep getting the great service we are from them, We will stay there !
We Love It.

Response from: caseyatbat (Check me out!)

Add us to the list of people who received an unsolicited call from merchantcircle saying that we should check their site for the negative rating. I am offended by their subersive marketing tactics and blatant LYING. we did not have any negative ratings (actually no ratings at all). All this unwarrented call did was scare our secretary and those she told.

Response from: Kevin L. (Check me out!)

MerchantCircle is proud to help more than 500,000 local business acquire customers by offering an alternative to over-priced, ineffective offline marketing channels. We’ve been interviewing our merchants in all 50 states – you can read about their MerchantCircle experience here: http://www.visualcv.com/merchantcircle.
We’re committed to providing every local business a web presence, easy-to-use marekting tools and a platform for connecting with other merchants, all for free. As always, please email any questions or concerns to support@merchantcircle.com and we will respond as soon as possible.