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True Local

1.3

On SmartCustomer, businesses may not offer incentives or pay to remove reviews. Learn more about our Review Guidelines.

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True Local Reviews Summary

True Local has a rating of 1.3 stars from 90 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with True Local most frequently mention customer service, small business and star rating. True Local ranks 103rd among Local Reviews sites.

service
8
value
6
shipping
3
returns
4
quality
6

We monitor reviews for authenticity

Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Unhelpful in every way
November 29, 2023

True Local will not allow me to update my business details even after providing them with sufficient evidence of ownership
A lazy platform with no backup or service that is unhelpful for business's

Date of experience: November 28, 2023
NL
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
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Avoid like the plague
October 7, 2023

This company is harmful to small businesses. My dealings with them from 6 years ago, still harming my business to this day. They couldn't care less. In business 14 years, 6 years ago, I received a malicious review on True Local site. It was full of lies and contradictions and I dealt with each and every one of them, explaining I have a "no questions asked replacement/refund policy" and had in fact already refunded the item (which wasn't faulty, just not the same blue as on her computer (online site.) Never had another bad review on this or any other site in 14 years. At the time I asked them to retract this malicious review but they would not, despite my reply which discounted every accusation. 6 years later, I requested a retraction again - what good could come of that one bad review after 7 years and after 14 years in business? No, they would not. Do they exist solely to damage good businesses? Seems so. Avoid like the plague.

Date of experience: October 7, 2023
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Severely bias
August 30, 2023

Rejected two of my negative reviews. I provided facts and evidence of my very 1st hand experience. I went over the guidelines and was in breach of none of them. This to me suggests that this site doesn't have the customer in mind at all, and is protecting
Business's at the customers expense. Can't trust positive reviews if that's all it allows

Date of experience: August 30, 2023
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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True Local could potentially be a beneficial resource for users looking to support local businesses, but it falls short due to an unintuitive interface, inefficient search functionality, untrustworthy review system, and subpar customer service. It's disappointing to have had such a negative experience with a platform that has so much potential. I sincerely hope that they will take feedback like this into account and make necessary improvements. AND REMOVE MY LISTING which I did not place in the first instance.
They gather information from other sites some of which are outdated and incorrect and formulate an ad on their site.

Date of experience: July 16, 2023
Australia
1 review
2 helpful votes
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We put in a report as an abuser claiming to be a customer put in an offensive review (obscenity). They concluded that it met the guidelines and reposted. We changed the business profile to a fake. Stay away from them

Date of experience: March 14, 2023
Australia
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Hopeless.
March 8, 2023

I contacted them to cancel my listing as I closed the business 5 years ago. I've never advertised with them. They replied that they can't identify that I am the business owner. All they have to do is ring the number they have listed. So basically they are listing a business that doesn't operate anymore.

Date of experience: March 8, 2023
Australia
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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Truelocal infringes on business online presence by defacement, falsification, or removal of registered trademark but not limited to other IP rights, or its false use elsewhere without the sole proprietor's explicit consent. Truelocal's alleged purpose is to gain commercial advantages such as commercial competitive edge & revenue profits. Truelocal gives the impression of collaborating or networking with unlisted Truelocal businesses or individuals. Truelocal will allegedly override & impersonate by uploading to unrelated Truelocal businesses or individuals' Google Search -Images & Videos. These infringements are carried out with the intent to maximise Truelocal SEO ranking in local search results. Truelocal knows about its wrongdoing, but it will blame its current clients. Truelocal acts in bad faith conduct.

Date of experience: May 17, 2022
Australia
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Cunning and Unhelpful
April 17, 2022

They allow deformation reviews to stay on someone's profile despite them being over five years old and from un-reputable sources. They update your business details themselves, so no matter what you do you are always marked with their unprofessionalism. They are not about helping businesses. Read the fine print before signing up to them.

Date of experience: April 17, 2022
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Business Info Wrong
August 5, 2021

Business' I've owned and worked at are listed even though they haven't existed for up to 15 years or more

Date of experience: August 4, 2021
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Killing small Business
December 20, 2020

Success.
Finally got the review removed after many requests.
Be careful where you list your Business.

Date of experience: December 20, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hi John,

True Local works hard to ensure it's processes are fair to both reviewers and businesses and are in line with ACCC review guidelines. All reviews and comments are moderated before they are published on the site and True Local has processes and procedures in place to detect untrue reviews and any True Local user can report a review at any time. Please see our Review Guidelines here - http://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you have any further questions or concerns, John, please don't hesitate to email [email protected].

Thank you.

Australia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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True Local take it upon themselves to edit business information, discredit businesses, display incorrect information and then ignore business owner requests. As business listings are a free aspect, anyone wanting to dispute them has a hard time disputing this under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, as there is no service being purchased. They can do and say what they like. The business owner has no voice.

Date of experience: August 4, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hi Joanna,

We appreciate your feedback.

As mentioned, True Local only removes listings once we can verify the business has ceased trading.

However, you are more than welcome to access True Local's business centre via the website 24/7 to make changes to the listing.

Australia
1 review
4 helpful votes
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I have been a long term client of true local for over 7 years. The advertising campaigns did not succeed as expected regardless you how true local tried to assist in the early days before it was sold to Yellow Pages.

Since the merger my business account specialist never called to catch up and see how your advertisement is working along even after contacting them they where no help

I continued the pay the just under $300 per month for an advertisement that did not work and continually updated the add with new photos and done exactly what the previous business specialist recommended to achieve maximum results even gave me 1300 number to monitor how many calls actually came from the advertisement

I can say I didn't get any response from the true local advertising for years and I was on the TOP advertising package (top of the page priority banner)

I decided to cancel my service and completed the entire paper work process and received a confirmation email stating that the service will be canceled in 30 days

90 days later True Local Finance department is still deducting my account the full service fee
The last invoice 60 days ago was $50 but they had deducted the full amount and still are deducting from my account.

I have contacted true local about this matter numerous times as they advise me every time it will be sorted but once the following month comes they help themselves to the fee again without even advertising my add anymore

Save yourselves from this Thieving Company

Date of experience: July 24, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello John,

We are sorry you have been subjected to such a frustrating series of events.

If you would like to discuss this further, please don't hesitate to email [email protected].

Australia
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
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A pointless site if you're looking for a balanced and fair review of a business. True Local simply only publish good reviews and reject negative reviews without entering into any discussion why. They simply reject any review which talks negatively of a business which they promote on their site. If you then try to republish your review, even if it's edited, True Local stops you from publishing it with a constant error message stating "you cannot review the same business within a 24 hour period" this is even if you haven't written a review for this business for a week.
This makes their whole review policy pointless as you are never being given a true overview of a business, just being shown any positive feedback from consumers.

Date of experience: July 3, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello Ryan,

We greatly value all genuine experiences, both positive and negative. However, reviews are declined or removed from True Local if they don’t meet True Local’s guidelines.

To view our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you would like to discuss this further, Ryan, please don't hesitate to email [email protected].

Thank you.

Australia
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
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True Local will basically let anyone comment about anything even when it has absolutely nothing to do with your business. Their customer service is terrible with absolutely no respect for the businesses that they pretend to represent on their site.

There is no way you can respond to these types of comments even after typing an honest reply. As soon as you click on respond the site says it's invalid. The original comment is apparently valid no matter how malicious it may be.

You can not remove your business listing either unless you somehow prove to True Local that your business is no longer operating unlike other sites like this one.

So beware before you list any business on True Local, my advice is to look elsewhere and check the fine print first.

Date of experience: June 29, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hi John,

True Local takes the authenticity of reviews and comments seriously and we have numerous methods to manage the legitimacy of the content on True Local, including automated screening tools.

This will ensure that all reviews that are posted on True Local are genuine with a customer that's had a real experience with the business.

However, if you feel a review does not meet our guidelines and a review is not genuine, you can report it directly via the website by clicking on the ‘Report’ tab under the review. The review in question will then be reassessed by our moderation team.

Additionally, business owners also have the right to reply to all reviews.

To do this, simply log into your True Local business account, click the ‘Comment’ tab under the review you wish to respond to and follow the prompts. Please be guided, that like reviews, comments are also subjected to moderation before it gets posted.

To view our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you're still receiving the error message when you try to leave a comment, please email our support team directly at [email protected] with as much information on the issue that's occurring and they will be able to look into this further for you.

In regards to removing a business listing, True Local endeavours to be a comprehensive source of information for Australian consumers. Unfortunately, if your business has not ceased trading, the listing cannot be removed.

However, business owners can add or edit the business listing via True Local's business centre 24/7 via the website.

Thank you.

Australia
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
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I had a very bad experience with a computer company. They were unprofessional and disgraceful so after a long fight we ended up in consumer protection court. I wrote a genuine review without any swear words. True local rejected it without giving me any usable and reasonable information about their decision. True Local is only local not true.

Date of experience: April 8, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello Puncs,

We greatly value all genuine experiences, both positive and negative. However, reviews are declined as they don’t meet True Local’s guidelines.

To view our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you would like to discuss this further, please don't hesitate to email our support team on [email protected].

Thank you.

Australia
1 review
2 helpful votes
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What a joke these people feel they have the right to list my business on there site without my permission and then asked for ASIC details to remove it i will not stop until this listing of my company is taken of there site TAKE MY BUSINESS OF YOUR SITE TODAY! Then they said we get your details from the white and yellow pages what a scam i have never been listed with any of these companies TAKE ME OF YOUR SITE TODAY!

Date of experience: February 17, 2020
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello,

True Local endeavours to be a comprehensive source of information for Australian consumers. Consequently, True Local collects publicly available information about businesses and creates listings.

Unfortunately, if a business has not ceased trading, True Local will not remove the listing from the website.

If your business has ceased trading, we will remove the listing, but we will first need to establish that the business has ceased trading before doing so.

If you would like to contact True Local support at [email protected] with documentation to confirm the business has ceased trading, our support team will be more than happy to assist you further.

https://support.truelocal.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115011290107-My-request-to-delete-remove-my-listing-was-denied-What-do-I-do-now

Additionally, you are more than welcome to access True Local's business centre 24/7 to make any changes to the listing (E. G: updating contact information, trading hours, business name etc)

https://support.truelocal.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115008475408-Video-instructions-add-your-business-details-on-your-listing

Australia
1 review
8 helpful votes
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Had an extremely unprofessional experience with an electrical contractor. When I wrote a honest review explaining what had happened (without being abusive), they did not publish it. No clear reasons given, just a copy paste of their standard response email.
I think one of the other reviews about True Local was correct.
They seem to take Money from business to take down negative reviews...

Date of experience: November 18, 2019
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello Ash,

We can assure you that True Local does not accept payment from business owners to remove negative reviews.

True Local greatly values all genuine experiences, both positive and negative. However, reviews are declined or removed if they don’t meet True Local’s guidelines.

To view our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you would like to discuss this further, Ash, please don't hesitate to email our support team on [email protected].

Australia
1 review
4 helpful votes
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Woeful
November 3, 2019

Have read over the guidelines for writing a review- written multiple reviews on different business where I have had pleasant experiences only to have them approved & then removed within 48 hours with no explanation- I believe this is a scam.

Date of experience: November 3, 2019
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello John,

We greatly value all genuine experiences, both positive and negative, However, reviews are declined or removed as they don’t meet True Local’s guidelines.

True Local takes the authenticity of reviews and comments seriously and we have numerous methods to manage the legitimacy of the content on True Local, including automated screening tools. So some reviews can be flagged and removed after they have been published.

For information on our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

However, if you would like to discuss this further, John, please don't hesitate to email [email protected].

Australia
1 review
4 helpful votes
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Scam
October 28, 2019

They take money off business to remove negative reviews which are legitimate reviews. The owners of a particular business have had my reviews removed.

Date of experience: October 27, 2019
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello John,

We can assure you that True Local does not take payment from business owners to remove reviews or comments.

We greatly value all genuine experiences, both positive and negative, However, reviews are declined or removed as they don’t meet True Local’s guidelines.

As we perform frequent checks on all our reviews, some reviews can be flagged and removed after they have been published.

For information on our review & comment guidelines, please click here: https://www.truelocal.com.au/cms/review-guidelines

If you would like to discuss this further, John, please don't hesitate to email [email protected].

Australia
1 review
6 helpful votes
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With multiple emails of requesting the listing of my business that was NOT approved or have permission to publish in the first place, this is affecting my current business as the details are wrong and the store has been closed down for over a year.

Date of experience: October 10, 2019
Jayde M. — True Local Rep
over a year old

Hello Ashleigh,

Please be advised that True Local removes listings only if the business has ceased trading.

If your business has ceased trading, we will remove the listing, but we will first need to establish that the business has ceased trading before doing so.

Ashleigh, if you would like to contact True Local support at [email protected] with documentation to confirm the business has ceased trading, our support team will be more than happy to assist you further.

https://support.truelocal.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115011290107-My-request-to-delete-remove-my-listing-was-denied-What-do-I-do-now

Additionally, you are more than welcome to access True Local's business centre 24/7 to make any changes to the listing (E. G: updating contact information, trading hours, business name etc)

https://support.truelocal.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115008475408-Video-instructions-add-your-business-details-on-your-listing

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truelocal.com.au
Founded in 2006
Sydney, NSW, Australia