Angie's List Review for January 2021 - Contractor Service Reviews

Item: Angie's List Review
Rating: 3

Thursday, January 28th

2021 Contractor Service Reviews

Angie's List

Over 60,000 reviews submitted monthly to Angie's List
Biennial criminal background checks run on business owners
Free and paid membership options
A+ Better Business Bureau Rating

Angie's List boasts that over 6 million people use their platform to connect with contractors like roofers, dentists, doctors, mechanics, plumbers, and handymen. They collect ratings on over 720 services to help customers make educated decisions on who they should hire to work on their home. Their website is professional, easy to navigate, and frequently updated.

Easy Search Functionality

You can quickly narrow down contractors for a project based on these popular categories:

Plumbing
Roofing
Heating & A/C
Electrical
Landscaping
Housecleaning
Remodeling
Painting

If it's easier, you can also use the search bar to briefly describe the project you need help on or the type of contractor you're looking for. There are thousands of contractors for hire on Angie's List that you can reach by either calling them or requesting a quote through the Angie's List platform. You can read their clients' reviews, see deals they are running, get a description of their services, and find other general information.

Free Browsing With Limitations

If you're wanting to browse the contractors on Angie's List for free, you can opt for the green membership plan. This means you can browse service providers, read reviews, and read the digital content from Angie's List Magazine, all without paying a dime. However, Angie's List has to make money, so they save their best services for paying customers. A silver ($24.99/year) or gold ($99.99/year) membership are optional for customers who want access to support that matches you to a professional, books estimates, schedules the job, manages the communication in-between, and gives you a service guarantee (unclear what this entails since it isn't spelled out anywhere).

Biennial Background Checks On Service Providers

Every two years, Angie's List uses a third-party service to run criminal background checks on owners of the Certified Service Providers listed on their site. Since a lot can happen within two years, they rely on customers to submit legal, ethical, or financial concerns about a company to them for investigation. It's highly recommended that you do as much research as you can about the company/individual you're looking to hire rather than relying completely on the criminal background check that Angie's List runs.

Great BBB Rating, Bad Customer Reviews

Angie's List has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. As happy as we were to see this, it was quickly diminished after seeing over 230 customer reviews left on the BBB's website that resulted in a 1.22/5 star rating. Over 500 customer complaints have been closed in the last 3 years with people reporting that they're given fake leads, it's difficult to contact customer service, they make it hard to cancel your account with them, and much more. Needless to say, the negative customer reviews found many places around the internet negate the A+ rating they have somehow held onto from the Better Business Bureau.

Good, But Not Good Enough

The idea behind everything Angie's List strives for and has set up on their site is great. It seems like it would prove successful in connecting customers to contractors with few issues based on their presentation. We are disappointed by how many people have had bad experiences when trying to connect with a professional through Angie's List. Most people who have posted reviews around the internet discourage others from using Angie's List for contractor services. Because of this, they've earned an average rating from us and we recommend using a higher-rated contractor matching site.

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The 8 Best Contractor Services

Where Can You Find the Best Contractors?

Unless you are knowledgeable about fixing any and all things in a home and have endless time on your hands, you'll likely need to hire a contractor at some point in your life. If you need your plumbing fixed, a fence put in, cement poured, or you get an itch to remodel your home, you will need help from a professional.

Contractors are great resources because they usually work independently and can get the job done quickly and more affordably than you'd find at a large-scale company. Contractors use their own equipment, make their own schedule, and set their own pricing to stay competitive with other businesses. Rather than working through a third party who puts you on a long waiting list and doesn't let you talk directly to their workers, hiring a contractor allows you to work one-on-one with the professional to get the job done efficiently.

Continue reading below

Contractor Service FAQ

What is a contractor?

A contractor is someone who runs their own business and sells their services to others. They are often highly-trained people who have worked for big companies in the past, but decided to break off and make their own schedule. Contractors communicate directly with clients to arrange agreed upon pricing, project details, and a timeframe for getting the job done.

What types of projects can contractors do?

You can hire a contractor to help with almost anything you can think of when it comes to fixing or remodeling a home or office. Some areas of expertise might include repairing home appliances, painting, building a deck, carpentry, laying a foundation, yard maintenance, tiling, installing windows, and much more. Anything that is needed for home maintenance and requires specific knowledge can be taken care of by a contractor.

Why should I hire a contractor online?

The real question is where are you going to hire a contractor if it isn't online? If you want to get in touch with someone who might give you a better deal than a big company, the best way is to use a service that has a big list of available professionals. This way you can read reviews from other customers, see their pricing, get familiar with their background, and ensure they pass a background check before deciding if you want to hire them or not.

Do I get to choose the contractor that I hire?

Depending on the service you use, you'll either be matched with the best candidate for the job you are requesting or be given a list of people you can contact. Regardless of how the process works, you always have the final say in who you hire. If you're automatically matched with someone and you don't feel like they're a good fit, you can reject the match and be paired with a different contractor. In addition, you can always request the service pro you want if there is someone you've liked working with before!

Do contractors use their own equipment?

Yes! Since you're hiring someone who is an expert in their field of work, they have all of the essential tools to complete the project. The only exception would be if you're wanting tile installed or a new window or door, you'll need to buy those beforehand. You're purchasing a service from the service pro, not a product.

What is the cost of finding a contractor?

Most sites that connect individuals with contractors are completely free! The platforms make money by charging service professionals a fee for leads they receive in exchange for letting them be part of their network. The only thing you'll need to worry about paying for is the actual cost of services once you've found someone to come do a job for you.

How long does it take to get a contractor to my home to start working?

You can usually have a contractor to your home in just a few days after booking them. Most of the time you can view a calendar of available dates and times from the site you use. You'll select the hours you want someone to come work to make sure that you're home when they arrive! This also helps the system narrow down the available professionals in your area.

Is it safe to have a contractor in my home?

As long as you use a highly-rated company that matches you with your contractor, you shouldn't have to worry about whether or not you're getting a good service pro. Most of the time, contractors are vetted with background checks, license verifications, and the standing of their company before being available to work in someone's home. As long as you do your own research about the company you're using and their processes before hiring someone from their site, you don't need to worry!

Continued from above...

When you encounter a hiccup with something in your home like a broken shower, a problem with the water heater, or an issue with your refrigerator, you will need urgent help getting it fixed. Finding contractors online lets you know who is available close by to come out right away, compare pricing, verify business licenses, and decide for yourself who you trust to come into your home.

Before choosing a site to find a contractor, we recommend you keep the following criteria in mind:

Price. Will you need to pay a fee to access contact information for contractors? Or does the contractor pay to be found? Is it free to get a bid for your project?
Database. Ideally you want a lot of contractors to choose from when you're searching for someone to do your home project. How many people are there to choose from and how active are they in checking messages from clients?
Reputation. Have clients been happy with work performed by contractors on the site? Is everyone legally qualified to perform the services they are offering? What does the Better Business Bureau rate the company?

To help you identify the best sites to find contractors for hire, TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked a variety of options. We hope this information helps you find the right person to perform whatever job is needed for your home project.

Compare Contractor Services

Select any 2 Contractor Services to compare them head to head

best-contractors

HomeAdvisor

Houzz

Networx

Handy

Angie's List

ServiceLive

QualitySmith

iHome Experts

HomeAdvisor vs Houzz HomeAdvisor vs Networx HomeAdvisor vs Handy HomeAdvisor vs Angie's List HomeAdvisor vs ServiceLive HomeAdvisor vs QualitySmith HomeAdvisor vs iHome Experts Houzz vs Networx Houzz vs Handy Houzz vs Angie's List Houzz vs ServiceLive Houzz vs QualitySmith Houzz vs iHome Experts Networx vs Handy Networx vs Angie's List Networx vs ServiceLive Networx vs QualitySmith Networx vs iHome Experts Handy vs Angie's List Handy vs ServiceLive Handy vs QualitySmith Handy vs iHome Experts Angie's List vs ServiceLive Angie's List vs QualitySmith Angie's List vs iHome Experts ServiceLive vs QualitySmith ServiceLive vs iHome Experts QualitySmith vs iHome Experts

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