“Kudos to 118 Business Directory! I added my business, and the response has been overwhelming. The simplicity of the pricing structure and FAQs made the process hassle-free.”
“118BusinessDirectory is a treasure trove for local businesses. The range of categories and user-friendly interface make it a go-to platform for anyone looking to discover and support local businesses.”
“Being a real estate agent, I rely on platforms like 118 Business Directory. The diverse listings and easy interface make it a go-to for anyone searching for properties in the area.”
“Being featured on 118BusinessDirectory significantly boosted our online presence. It's a must-try for businesses aiming to be visible to a broader audience and attract new customers.”
“Thrilled with the results from 118BusinessDirectory's SEO packages. Our business is now prominently featured on Google, driving more traffic and potential customers to our site.”
“Shopping enthusiasts, rejoice! 118BusinessDirectory makes discovering local stores a joy. The detailed listings and customer reviews help in making informed choices. Highly recommended!”
“Ditched traditional advertising for 118BusinessDirectory and never looked back. The ROI is incredible, and the constant growth in their listings means more eyes on my business.”
“For any business without a website, 118BusinessDirectory is a savior. It's like having a virtual storefront that attracts customers looking for what you offer. Love it!"**”
“Using 118BusinessDirectory has been a game-changer for my beauty salon. The exposure is incredible, and the easy navigation makes it a joy for potential clients to find us.”
“Much like the below also lost £12.00 due to this company's website and unclear policies. There is no way to cancel your account with them/. I called my bank to block these clowns from taking anymore money. Also if you want to call them which a lot of people will they have set the per minute charge at £2.50 odd a minute. Total rip of merchants. Steer well clear. Dodgy as i'm afraid.”
“The same as everyone else. Asked me to confirm with £1, got that back. And then they deceptively STOLE £12 from my account. I'm waiting to see if they will refund me. After that, it will be Trading Standard, my bank, and every other inconvenience I can throw at them for their utter deception. Real businesses don't need to con their customers.”
“If you're here, it's most likely you were looking for a backlink to your website, you were asked for a £1 payment to 'prove your identity' (have they never heard of Cloudflare?) and they've since taken £12 - 60 from your card? Correct? All this hassle for a bloody backlink!
Keep emailing them and they will come back to you. I can't say if I've had the refund but I never got the £1 back so I'm doubtful.
Here's the full email transcript from my conversation with 118 business directory.
"Dear Kez
Thank you for your email.
We charge a verification fee to stop bots from creating fake listings and ask all businesses to verify their information with a payment card.
We can see from our records that you were refunded on the 3rd of May 2023, please can you confirm if you have received this?
After verification all customers are offered a trial of a primed listing, this is not compulsory and you are not automatically enrolled, you would have needed to opt-in at a point in the journey.
As a gesture of goodwill, we have issued a full refund and cancelled your account with us.
Please let us know if you need anything further."
My response:
"I can confirm I have not received anything from you.
I can also confirm that I did not opt into your service, it’s pretty clear from the layout of your website (I build them for a living), your impressive haul of 1* reviews and the unclear email you sent me asking me to UN-ENROL if the paid service was not what I requested that this is indeed your strategy, lure people in through a classic “prove it’s you” £1 payment, auto-enrol into a paid device and blame the consumer for not opting out."
For info, I have referred 118businessdirectory to trading standards, GDPR regulators for Europe, and Financial Ombudsmen. I've also been in touch with anonymous so we'll hopefully find out who these crooks really are.
They've unleashed Pandora's box and I really look forward to seeing justice prevail.
Best of luck guys.”
“Thank you everyone for your reviews. I was trying to get a free ad. I was asked to give my bank details to prove I'm not a robot. I was suspicious and it appears I was right. I didn't want to give my bank details and so relieved I didn't. Thanks again.”
“Signed up for free business listing carefully reading as I went along. Opted for free listing rather than upgrading but something is obviously wrong and they are clearly setting people up to subscribe. Charged me £60 without any authorisation and refused to refund when contacted immediately. There is no option on the account to remove the listing/personal details/card information or to unsubscribe to texts/emails.”
“Like most other reviews on here I also got scammed for 2x lots of £12, sound up for a free business directory and was no mention of this! Disappointing that companies today can get away with this immoral business practice, I’ve reported them to trading standards and strongly recommend everyone else does!”
“They shouldn't receive any stars, as with all the reviews here, what they do is very clever and if it wasn't for my bank letting me know they had taken £12, which is a monthly subscription of £10 plus vat, they offer a free listing, want a £1 verification transaction to verify the user, this then opens the door for them to take money at will.
Avoid, avoid, avoid!!!”
“I was charged £1 as verification for a free listing which was returnedto my account as promised. However a few days later and they have now taken a payment of £12 from my account without authorisation. Avoid these scam artists like the plague”
