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From the business
Bark is an online marketplace that connects customers with local and online professionals.
We take the hassle out of finding the right professional for any job. Whether you’re looking for a cleaner in Nottingham, a web design in Boston or a personal trainer in Auckland - with over 2000 professional services in 8 countries, you’re bound to find the perfect professional for your project on Bark. Simply tell us what you need and will send you a list of professionals - for free!
Need new customers? We’ve helped thousands of businesses of all sizes keep find new clients. We’re passionate about helping businesses of all sizes find customers for life.
Life’s better with Bark.
Bark Reviews Summary
Bark has a rating of 2.2 stars from 1,644 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Bark most frequently mention customer service, phone number and potential clients. Bark ranks 9th among Service Marketplace sites.
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Promised refunds on all jobs I did not get. Then they refused!
Some leads are fake and made up by bark to get sales!
Poor leads! Was told if I didn't book I'd get a refund. Called a representative to let them know if like my money back bc I didn't book anything. They told me I would get nothing back. They get your money promising good leads and job bookings but literally deliver ZERO! Don't waste your money. Better off spending it on advertising on social media platforms like Facebook.
Hi Katie,
We are sorry that you have not had success on our platform.
Our starter packs come with Credit Back Guarantees rather than a monetary refund. This is stipulated on the pack at purchase. If you email us at [email protected] we can see if you are eligible for this offer.
We offer professionals the opportunity to try and convert business and market themselves at the fraction of the cost it would normally be to get themselves to the top of Google (which is what we do).
We do not guarantee work, but provide a platform that should garner professionals a 1 in 5 conversion rate - essentially we want to get you a return on investment.
We do not charge commission and so do not take any earnings from you, nor do we take any earnings from repeat business you may win.
We hope that all makes sense, but do let me know if you have any further questions at all.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
This site spammed my company information and placed on their web site with no authorization from me, the owner. Do not use this site the information is obtained from false means.
Hi Teresa,
We are sorry to see that the leads we have sent you weren't of interest. If you let us know the email address they are coming to at [email protected] we can ensure you do not receive any more.
We reach out to new businesses when we receive requests for certain sectors or in certain locations that we may not have many professionals to currently fulfil. We offer a first lead for free for our service, however if the business is not interested, they can always click the unsubscribe button at any time to stop emails being received. Once an account has been created, we can delete the account if notified.
Our marketing team finds email addresses for businesses from their websites, and this is information that is in the public domain.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
The worse, its a fake overseas site who robs people telling them they have clients. As soon as you hit one of their clients they all of a sudden retract their request its a scam.
Hi James,
We're sorry to hear that you have had issues with some leads and thank you for sharing your feedback.
We are an open public platform, and whilst we do have a screening process it is mainly automated, and so we rely on our professionals to inform us of any issues in order for us to try to rectify them.
Please email us at [email protected] with any leads with incorrect details form the last 2 weeks, or any leads where you think the behaviour of the buyer is suspicious. We can then investigate and return credits where we are able.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Bark leads are very expensive when compared to other sources but they included a lot of info so we bought a few. Bark would send a lead at £40 on Monday and send it again on Tuesday saying the person was still waiting to hear from me but was now available at £30. I later discovered that Bark had already sold the lead to 3 other providers at the higher price before offering it to me a little bit cheaper. This is outrageous. Also it turns out that they are buying the leads from other lead sellers and then selling them to multiple providers. Not sure how this sits with GDPR? They are offering the leads to so many providers that the clients are sick of being contacted.
Hi Mark,
We'r sorry to hear that you have had issues on our site.
We email you about the leads the minute they are placed. Usually customers can only see profiles once a lead has been purchased by the professional, however we also have a feature called Bark Match where we market profiles in advance.
We sometimes place our professionals as "Suggested Sellers". The customer will be able to see 5 relevant profiles when they place their request, and if they then click a button requesting a quote/contact this will generate a specific lead to that professional. We find these are usually the strongest leads as that customer has shown direct interest in the professional, and that is why the credit amount is higher for those leads. Responding to these leads quickly however is key, as they may have clicked this button with other professionals too. Please be aware that it is always up to the customer to close their request once they have found a professional. They do not always do this however (despite our prompts) so we always advise professionals not to respond to old leads, and generally advise responding within the first hour of a request being placed.
It is possible that a lead was sent to you after they had requested direct contact, but it is difficult to see what has happened from the details given. If you email us the emails you received and gave us the information on the lead we can investigate and see what may have occurred.
We always aim to get each request 2 - 5 responses so we always advise professionals to respond quickly to any leads they are interested in.
Our prices are set based on the monetary value of the lead as well as the heat of the lead and it's chance of conversion. We do not charge commission or a monthly fee to use us and so we feel our prices are fair for this system.
We appreciate your feedback and it will be passed on to the marketing team for review.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Awful patronising customer services. All leads I bought are fake. They offer a get hired guarantee but never give you your money back. The get hired guarantee only lasts once and if none of their leads answer the call that's it you are stuffed. Lost loads of money. They even admit that their leads are old/bogus but that doesn't seem to bother them. Please please please don't use this service.
The only response I got was that "we have been around for 6 years so it can't be that bad" - Lots of scam artist have a long career. This is one of the best scams I've seen in a long while. I'm sure they will still be scamming 6 years from now.
Hi William,
We are sorry that you were not aware how our starter pack worked and have not had a positive experience of our site.
Our starter packs come with Get Hired Guarantees which means we can give the entire starter pack of credits back one more time for free rather than a monetary refund. This is stipulated on the pack at purchase. We do this to try and ensure that our professionals have the best chance of getting a return on investment.
We do not have fake leads and all leads are processed through a screening process. If any issues are found with the contact details after this point that can be verified, we will always return the credits for those leads.
We would be happy to offer any further help, should you wish to contact us at [email protected].
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
The leads are such poor quality. Of course, I don't expect the majority of leads to roll straight into wins, that would be too good to be true. But with 99.9% of them being fake or bogus then you will never see a ROI. The only answer they will give is well we will return your points, which just results in even more crap being sent your way, it is a vicious circle.
Hi Rebecca,
We are sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience using our service.
We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like a copy of this and if you would like to report any leads.
We are an open public platform and allow customers to place as much information as they wish to in the Additional Details section. We always advise our professionals not to respond to vague leads, as this then prompts us to get in touch and prompt them to add more details. You can utilise the Filter Questions section of your account in order to remove any vague answers from your leads and customise them fully. Do get in touch if you need any help with this.
If you would like us to send any extra hints and tips for making the most of the platform, please email us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help.
We have plans to introduce more filtering and screening in the New Year that will help improve the quality of our leads even further.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team.
I've just read several reviews calling Bark a scam. It isn't. The leads I have followed up have been genuine, although many were from time wasters. I use other agencies and this isn't unusual. There are time wasters everywhere. You can't blame Bark for that. Their screening process won't pick that up. I have communicated with leads, even met some of them, so I know they are genuine, just selfish. I have been hired by a few, but some have foundered and are on hold. I've probably broken even so far in terms of my spending and earning but I m not quite ready to buy more credits. I also did have some credits refunded when an address given with a lead was incorrect. A member of Bark staff did this without question. So I probably will persevere with Bark, but with caution.
Hi there Marion,
Thank you so much for your review,
We are very glad to hear that you are getting a return on investment. We would of course like to help you make a profit, so please do contact us at [email protected] for our best hints and tips for making the most of our platform.
We do the best amount of screening we can considering the size of our online company and hope to continue to improve on this as we grow. As you say, we will always return credits for leads where there has been an issue.
If we can help any further, please let us know.
Kind regards,
The BarKk Team
I tried this garbage. Someone proceeded to book me but as I moved forward they disappeared.
I started to suspect fraud so I called up one of the venues of where a gig was being held. They never heard of the event.
I called back another number and coincidentally, they were just running out.
I think this site is fake and collects money from people looking for work. DO NOT BOTHER. If I had more time, I'd report them and file a case with all my evidence that these guys are BOGUS.
Hi Margot,
We can assure you that we do not take part in any fake lead processes. We are an open online public platform where customers place requests for services they require. Our automated system will look fro incorrect numbers and email addresses, however if any leads get reported to us that have been released with incorrect information, or indeed in this case where someone may be testing the system, we will investigate the lead, and shut it down and return credits where the issue has been verified.
If you have any to report, please email us at [email protected].
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
What a massive waste of money - The leads are garbage and they cost the earth to get! I can't see how you get anyone being a supplier on that platform.
Hi Matthew,
We are sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience using our service.
We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like a copy of this and if you would like to report any leads.
Our average conversion rate is 1 in 5 with many managing a 1 in 3 so we can certainly offer you some tips for making the most of the service - please get in contact and we will be happy to help.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Unlike others here, I have completed a handful of jobs via Bark but my biggest complaint, as a professional photographer, is the quality of most of the leads. It costs us real money to receive the contact details only to find that the lead wants something different than they originally described. Bark's vetting / intake questionnaire is garbage and they're not interested in constructive suggestions to improve the process. "We're getting our money, sucks to be you."
Hi Miguel,
We're glad to hear that you have had success using our service, but we're sorry to hear that you do not like our screening process.
We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like a copy of this and if you would like to report any leads.
We do appreciate that it is frustrating when customers are not clear about what they want. This is why we have our Filter Questions so that you can filter out any vague leads, and where they put incorrect information in their request we will always return the credits.
If you need any help with this, do get in contact with us.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
I used Bark to receive leads as a personal trainer. I brought 3 sets of credits in total - really should have listened to my internal alarm bells after the first 2 sets.
Had plenty of leads sent my way, but only had two responses.
After the second response I contacted the client to ask if her request for PT services was legit as in her reply to me she said that she had other things to deal with at the moment. This seemed really odd as her lead was less than one day old.
She told me she had never heard of Bark, had advertised requesting PT services elsewhere and had a recent bereavement so no way was she looking nor had been looking for a while.
Long and short of this is, that Bark are obviously finding requests elsewhere and then using them to create leads on their own site. So, these leads are not legit, not current and in my eyes fraudulent.
Am trying to get some of my money back at least. The last set I paid for on a credit card, so I should be able to retrieve that.
Please spread far and wide that this is a fraudulent company.
Hi Helen,
We are sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience using our service.
We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like a copy of this and if you would like to report any leads.
We are an open public platform and allow customers to place as much information as they wish to in the Additional Details section. We always advise our professionals not to respond to vague leads, as this then prompts us to get in touch and prompt them to add more details. You can utilise the Filter Questions section of your account in order to remove any vague answers from your leads and customise them fully. Do get in touch if you need any help with this.
In the case of the lead you mention we would have returned credits where we found the details had been incorrect - we categorically do not create leads.
If you would like us to send any extra hints and tips for making the most of the platform, please email us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help.
We have plans to introduce more filtering and screening in the New Year that will help improve the quality of our leads even further.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team.
Business owners stay away from Bark.com- it is an absolute rip off and scam. Leads are false/fictitious and uncontactable everytime and they refuse to refund. Don't believe them they are stealing your money by not providing any real service or lead. The customer service is beyond horrible. After I explained to Sam at Bark, that I was called crude names by a lead who had NO interest in me contacting them rather than solve the probelm he deleted my account won't refund my money for the credits I had just purchased. AND I was HIGHLY rated on their site with reviews.
Hi Jody,
Firstly, we do not have fake leads. We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. We can't return credits where the customer hires another professional or chooses not to contact you as we are merely a marketing platfrom and not an agency.
According to our records, we had received complaints from customers that you had taken funds and not finished work agreed and legal proceedings had begun. You were also verbally abusive to our staff - including a senior member of staff Sam - which is why your account was deleted.
We do not tolerate abuse of our platfrom in anyway, and this is why we are no longer able to work with you or your business.
The Bark Team
Don't waste your money! I think most leads are made up by the company. You will spend money purchasing leads that never respond to your calls or emails. Bark.com will not refund your money.
Hi Sally,
We're sorry to hear that you didn't receive responses from some of the clients you reached out to.
To be clear, we do not have fake leads. We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. We can't return credits where the customer hires another professional or chooses not to contact you as we are merely a marketing platfrom and not an agency.
We appreciate that is frustrating when customers don't reply, and whilst we do our best to prompt customers about responses from professionals, there is only so much was can do as a pay as you go introduction service. We did launch a Customer App a few months ago to help make the connectivity between Customers and Professionals better. We also let them know that professionals pay to use our service.
If you have had any issues with incorrect information in a lead, please do email us with the details at [email protected].
As part of our commitment to providing quality leads we also have more changes planned in the New Year.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Business owners stay FAR FAR away from Bark they are an absolute rip off and scam. Leads are false/fictitious and uncontactable everytime and they refuse to refund. Dont believe them they are stealing your money by not providing any real service or lead
Hi Alex,
We categorically do not have fake leads. We screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. We can't return credits where the customer hires another professional or chooses not to contact you as we are merely a marketing platfrom and not an agency.
We appreciate that is frustrating when customers don't reply, and whilst we do our best to prompt customers about responses from professionals, there is only so much was can do as a pay as you go introduction service. We did launch a Customer App a few months ago to help make the connectivity between Customers and Professionals better. We also let them know that professionals pay to use our service.
We also provide a filtering system in Filter Questions to ensure that our professionals can filter the best leads their way.
If you have had any issues with incorrect information in a lead, please do email us with the details at [email protected].
As part of our commitment to providing quality leads we also have more changes planned in the New Year.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
If I could give negative stars I would. DO NOT waste your money. They do not have any leads and the only one I got was trying to get groupon prices. They force you to by credits up front, you will not use them bc they do not send any leads and you will not get refunded. The customer service is the worst I've ever encountered. RUN! They will be out of business in a year! Should've looked up these reviews before! What a waste of money and time!
Hi Aggie,
We're sorry to hear that you have not had a positive experience using our site.
We can assure you that we screen every single lead using our automated system and have a credit return policy which allows us to return credits for any leads which are found to have incorrect details. We are a competitive site but we do not force any professional to charge any particular price - we give you the opportunity to market yourself alongside other local professionals.
We appreciate that is frustrating when customers don't reply, and whilst we do our best to prompt customers about responses from professionals, there is only so much was can do as a pay as you go introduction service. We did launch a Customer App a few months ago to help make the connectivity between Customers and Professionals better. We also let them know that professionals pay to use our service.
If you have had any issues with incorrect information in a lead, please do email us with the details at [email protected].
We have actually been in business nearly 7 years now and are active in 5 countries. As part of our commitment to providing quality leads we also have more changes planned in the New Year.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
I have had hardly had a potential customer answer the phone which in itself begs the question.
After spending hundreds of pounds I have come to my senses and won't use Bark.com again.
I would urge any other hard working lads and lasses to steer clear of this company to save you losing hard earned money chasing ghosts.
Hi Eddie,
We're sorry to hear that you have not had more success using our platform.
We appreciate that is frustrating when customers don't reply, and whilst we do our best to prompt customers about responses from professionals, there is only so much was can do as a pay as you go introduction service. We did launch a Customer App a few months ago to help make the connectivity between Customers and Professionals better. We also have a credit return policy for any individual issues with leads.
Due to us being an open public platform there is a certain amount of personal filtering that can help with these leads. By going to Settings, My Services and Filter Questions you can remove leads that include "other" and "I don't know" - essentially anything that makes the lead more vague or not customised for you. This should then mean you receive leads where the customer has been specific about their needs which suggests they are fully aware of the service they desire. We always advise our professionals not to respond to vague leads, as this then prompts us to get in touch and prompt them to add more details.
As a general note we also advise that you respond to leads within the first hour of them being released. This is due to each request getting up to 5 responses, but also because despite our regular prompts to the customers to close their requests once they have found a professional, they do not always do this.
If you would like any help with the making the most of the platform, please email us at [email protected].
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Fab concept - not a scam but it a crap company. Prefer "Add to Events" - far more useful and provide copious amounts of client details enabling a much better judgement before accepting the lead. Conversion rate far better too! If Bark would simply provide suitable "questionnaire" for potential clients to complete so that we as suppliers could make a better judgement as to whether we spend our VERY EXPENSIVE CREDITS (and deffo NOT good value) to respond to a client request. We get lots of CRAP leads via BARK and many that we can't respond to and have to decline simply because the enquirer/s have not submitted the relevant info to enable us to quote.
Hi David,
We're sorry to hear that you have not found our platfrom useful for finding leads.
We screen all our leads via an automated system, however we also have a filtering system that allows all professionals to customise the leads for themselves. This often ensures that you are getting the best leads coming through. If you need help with how to do this, please email us at [email protected].
Our prices are regularly monitored and set based on the monetary value of the lead as well as the chance of conversion. We feel this is the fairest way to price our leads, but we are always open to feedback. You can always let us know about the prices for your profession at [email protected].
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Rip off merchants! DO NOT USE! Terrible customer service & "do not offer a refund its There company policy"?!? What kinda of shady business put that in there company policy! Sums them up though
Hi Dan,
We're sorry to hear that you have not had a good experience with us.
We are a lead generation platform, which means our business model is based upon business to business (b2b) and not business to consumer. As such, we cannot provide monetary refunds for used credit packs as we cannot take back the marketing that has been done or the contact details you have purchased. We do however offer credits back for starter packs where you have not been successful. Please email us at [email protected] if you think you may be eligible for this.
We offer professionals the opportunity to try and convert business and market themselves at the fraction of the cost it would normally be to get themselves to the top of Google (which is what we do).
We do not guarantee work, but provide a platform that should garner professionals a 1 in 5 conversion rate - we want to get you a return on investment.
We do not charge commission and so do not take any earnings from you, nor do we take any earnings from repeat business you may win.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
This company has a confusing setup and will end up charging you an insane amount of money for the privilege of essentially cold emailing prospective clients. If you're a freelancer or a small business you should avoid this like the plague.
Hi Caz,
We are not a "cold calling" company. We use SEO to bring customers to our website when they are looking for a service provider. They can then choose to fill our our online form with their contact details if they want to be connected with local professionals.
We will be happy to explain everything about how our service works of you make contact with us at [email protected].
Our prices are regularly monitored and set based on the monetary value of the lead as well as the chance of conversion. Our costs are £1.20 plus VAT per credit with the credit amounts changing from service area to service area - for example Dog Walking leads are 5 credits per lead whilst Accountancy is 15. We feel this is the fairest way to price our leads.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
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- SmartCustomer’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- SmartCustomer has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Hi Tim,
We are sorry to hear that you have not had success on our platform.
Firstly, we do not promise refunds on all jobs. We are a competitive marketing platform and would not make any money as a business if only those that won the work paid for the lead. Our starter packs come with Credit Back Guarantees rather than a monetary refund. This is stipulated on the pack at purchase. If you email us at [email protected] we can see if you are eligible for this offer.
We are an open public platform that receives leads from the public. We categorically do not fabricate any leads. If any details are found to be incorrect after they have been inputted and gone through our computerised screening system, we can return the credits for that lead.
If we can help any further, let us know.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team