Call Kurtis: What You Need To Know Before Hiring Someone From An Online Site

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - It's sometimes a pain to find the right people to do work around your house.

The site Thumbtack claims to be the smarter way to hire local professionals and that you can hire with confidence.

Here's how it works: You go on Thumbtack and put in a project, anywhere from tree trimming, a photo shoot to needing movers. Companies then bid on the job and you pick who you want.

RELATED: Call Kurtis: What Happens When Your Tree Removal Company Doesn't Cut It?

But it didn't work out so well for two local women.

Lily Ross of Wheatland hired a tree trimmer to cut down a tree that was hovering over her kids' bedroom. Ross says the tree trimmers did not complete the job, "I'm so mad, I feel so deceived."

Despite Thumbtack showing it verified the tree trimmer's business license, the site says nothing about the fact the tree trimmer did not have the required contractor's license.

"I feel like an idiot because I trusted them," said Ross.

Kimberly Meyers of Sacramento also trusted the movers she found off Thumbtack, paying them $1,900 upfront for the move.

"[They] just seemed really legit," she said.

But just last year, the moving company vanished with all her stuff.

"I thought for sure my life was gone forever," said Meyers.

She didn't realize the company didn't have the appropriate license movers must have.

Public relations expert Doug Elmets has a problem with Thumbtack using marketing lines like "Hire with Confidence" and "Consider it Done."

"They need to back that up," he said, pointing to a place on the website where people are told they may want to check for credentials.

"It's mixed messaging when you say you're in control and you can hire with confidence and you're not delivering," said Elmets.

Additionally, consumer attorney Stuart Talley thinks Thumbtack could be held liable.

"They sort of made warranties about the quality of the service that turned out not to be true," said Talley.

When we contacted Thumbtack in each of these cases, they blocked the tree trimmer and the moving company, claiming, "We have no tolerance for this sort of conduct," and "We have zero tolerance for this sort of behavior."

But that didn't bring back Meyers' life possessions or cut down Ross' tree.

"Thumbtack makes money off this. If this is your business to have good clients, you should support the experience and the transaction," said Ross.

We repeatedly tried to speak with San Francisco-based Thumbtack about its online promises, but the company stopped responding to us after issuing this statement:

"Thumbtack works hard to give tools to our customers and professionals to help promote trust on Thumbtack. In the rare event, there is a problem, we work hard to help both sides communicate with one another and resolve it."

Once we got involved in Meyers' case and alerted police, they tracked down her stuff to a storage facility.

Meyers got her life's possessions back. "I was just wowed and very happy," she said.

However, Ross is not so happy. She is out $1,000 and unwilling to have the unlicensed company back to finish the job.

Now she has to find another company to take down the tree.

"Looking back, I won't use Thumbtack. It was not a good experience for us," she said.

Meyers couldn't tell us how her case was resolved but said Thumbtack worked diligently with her.

In Ross' case, after we got involved, the Contractor's State License Board fined the landscaper for contracting without a license, illegal advertising, and failing to have workers comp insurance.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHOM YOU CAN TRUST?

Figure out who regulates the company or person you are thinking of doing business with. For example, for a contractor, go to the State Contractor's License Board. For a mover, check with the California Public Utility Commission.

The easiest thing to do is Google the company; take 10 minutes to see what people are saying about them.