Key people Zac Carman (CEO) Founded 1998 | Headquarters Nevada Type of business Private | |
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Industry Consumer protection
Industry self regulation Website www.consumeraffairs.com Profiles | ||
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ConsumerAffairs is a Dot-com company founded in 1998 by Jim Hood. It is headquartered in Stateline, Nevada with an office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is not a government organization or a non-profit organization. The company provides consumer news and a SaaS that allows brands to connect with consumers called ConsumerAffairs for Brands. The current CEO is Zac Carman.
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History
The company was founded in 1998 by Jim Hood, an Associate Press executive, editor and reporter, as an easier way of collecting consumer opinions.
In 2010, the company was purchased by Zac Carman as an "opportunity to turn customer complaints into an opportunity for brands." They moved to Tulsa, OK in 2010.
In 2015, the company had a $1.1 million renovation of the Petroleum Building in the Oil Capital Historic District. The renovation was to increase their employee base from 120 to 220.
Criticism
In October 21, 2014, Truth in Advertising published "Who is ConsumerAffairs.com Really Advocating For?" In the article, Unbeatablesale.com complained to the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program, a division of the Better Business Bureaus and National Advertising Review Council, that ConsumerAffairs "creates biased and negative portrayals of companies that don't pay for its service called ConsumerAffairs for Brands." The service collects reviews from customers and gives brands an opportunity to respond. The ERSP "determined that ConsumerAffairs did not adequately disclose its paid affiliation with company members on its website and recommended it do it in a more clear and conspicuous manner." After reviewing ERSP's recommendations, a banner disclosing paid affiliation or non-paying affiliation was added to the ConsumerAffairs website. ConsumerAffairs reported that, of the 115 paying companies, 80% of paying companies received a 3.5 star or higher rating and 20% of paying companies received a rating lower than 3.5 stars.