Authority Builders Co

I am absolutely furious and feel completely ripped off by Authority Builders. I run a legitimate business (Bean Bags R Us) and trusted them with $22,250 of my marketing budget. What I got in return was zero delivery on one service, substandard quality on another, broken promises, false statements, and complete radio silence from their CEO when I tried to escalate. I'm writing this to warn other business owners - please learn from my expensive mistake.

THE DIGITAL PR DISASTER - $4,250 FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING:

In late 2025, I was sold on Authority Builders' Digital PR service. Their website clearly advertised "Guaranteed 24+ placements per month" for the Intermediate plan. The sales process seemed professional, and I was dealing with an account manager named Aaron Conway who seemed knowledgeable and responsive.

On December 2, 2025, I provided Aaron with everything he requested - spokesperson details, brand assets, topics, the works. He acknowledged receipt on December 3rd and told me work would start once payment was made. So far, so good.

Aaron told me January 16th was his last day with the company but assured me everything would be set up cleanly before he left. On January 28, 2026, I paid $4,250 via my American Express card. The invoice said "Intermediate PR Plus Package" - a term that was never explained or mentioned during the sales process, but I assumed it was just internal naming.

Then... NOTHING. Complete silence. No deliverables. No progress updates. No communication whatsoever. I waited, thinking maybe they needed time to ramp up. One week went by. Two weeks. Three weeks. THIRTY DAYS of absolutely nothing.

On February 25, 2026, I'd had enough and sent a formal complaint. That's when things got really sketchy.

THE BAIT AND SWITCH:

Daniel Humphrey responded on February 27th, and suddenly the story completely changed. Now I was being told the service was actually a "one-off batch of 10 earned media placements" - not the monthly recurring service with "guaranteed 24+ placements" that was advertised. This term "one-off batch" was NEVER mentioned during sales, never on the sales page, never on the invoice, never anywhere until AFTER I complained about zero delivery.

And get this - they claimed I provided the information on "February 10, 2026 after Daniel following up." That's a complete fabrication. I have the emails proving I provided everything on December 2, 2025 and Aaron acknowledged it on December 3rd. They're literally rewriting history to cover up their failure to deliver.

To this day - MORE THAN 40 DAYS AFTER PAYMENT - I have received ZERO placements. Not one. Nothing. Nada. They took my $4,250 and delivered absolutely nothing.

THE ABC+ QUALITY PROBLEMS - $18,000 FOR SUBSTANDARD WORK:

Okay, so the Digital PR was a complete bust. But surely the ABC+ link building service would be better, right? Wrong.

I paid $9,000 each for two ABC+ campaigns (one for my .com.au domain, one for my .com domain) - $18,000 total. Authority Builders advertises a "minimum 1,000 monthly organic traffic" quality standard for their link placements. That's literally on their website as their quality promise.

I'm not a dummy - I decided to verify the quality myself. I exported all 80 domains they delivered and ran them through SEMrush, a professional third-party SEO tool. Guess what I found? NINE domains out of 80 (16.4%) had LESS than 1,000 monthly organic traffic. They violated their own stated quality standards on nearly 1 out of 6 placements.

And here's the kicker - during the entire time these ABC+ campaigns were running (October 2025 to February 2026), my website traffic DECLINED by 32.9%. I went from 17,700 monthly visitors down to 11,800 (verified by SEMrush). I paid them $18,000 to build links and my traffic went DOWN, not up.

THE FALSE COMPLETION CLAIM:

On March 10, 2026, Corey Batt (their General Manager) responded to my complaints with this gem: "Everything has been completed to the agreed standards."

Are you kidding me? Let me break down what "completed to standards" apparently means to Authority Builders:

- Digital PR: ZERO placements delivered = "completed to standards"

- ABC+: 16.4% below their own quality standards = "completed to standards"

- My traffic: Declined 32.9% during campaign = "completed to standards"

How is ANY of this "completed to standards"? This statement is so blatantly false that it's insulting.

THE SPEC SHEET SCANDAL:

Want to know when I finally received the specification sheet that explained what I was actually buying? March 2, 2026. Want to know when I paid? January 28, 2026.

They waited 33 DAYS after taking my $4,250 to provide the document that explained what the service actually included. By that point, I'd already paid and they'd already failed to deliver. This is material information that should have been provided BEFORE payment, not five weeks after.

If I had seen that spec sheet before paying, I would have asked a lot more questions. But they conveniently provided it only after I'd already paid and complained about zero delivery.

THE CEO WHO DOESN'T CARE:

Here's what really *** me off the most. When I realized I was getting nowhere with Daniel and Corey, I escalated directly to Marc Hardgrove, the CEO of Next Net Media (Authority Builders' parent company).

I sent detailed emails with all the evidence - invoice showing $22,250 paid, sales page screenshots showing "Guaranteed 24+ placements," email trail proving I provided information in December (not February), SEMrush audit showing quality violations, everything.

I addressed him directly. I CC'd him on correspondence. I laid out all the facts clearly and professionally. I gave him every opportunity to make this right.

His response? NOTHING. Complete silence. Not one reply. Not one acknowledgment. The CEO of a company that took $22,250 from me and delivered garbage couldn't even be bothered to respond to a customer complaint backed by extensive documentation.

That tells me everything I need to know about this company's values and integrity. When things go wrong, leadership hides.

THE UNAUTHORIZED CHARGE ATTEMPT:

Oh, and one more thing - on February 26, 2026 at 7:56 PM, they tried to charge my American Express card an additional $2,000 AFTER I had already sent written instructions to stop all charges. Thankfully my credit card company blocked it, but the fact that they even attempted it after I explicitly told them to cease all billing is outrageous.

WHAT I'VE DONE ABOUT IT:

I'm not taking this lying down. I've filed:

1. FTC Complaint - For false advertising and deceptive trade practices

2. FBI IC3 Complaint - For wire fraud (taking $4,250 and delivering nothing)

3. American Express Chargeback - Disputing all $22,250

4. BBB Complaint - For business ethics violations

I've also sent a formal settlement demand directly to Marc Hardgrove giving him 24 hours to refund the full amount and remove all the substandard links. If he continues to ignore me, I'll be pursuing legal action.

THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE:

Let me summarize this disaster in bullet points: Total Paid: $22,250 Digital PR Deliverables Received: 0 (zero, zilch, nothing) Digital PR Days Since Payment: 40+ days and counting ABC+ Links Below Quality Standards: 16.4% (9 out of 80) Website Traffic Change During Campaign: -32.9% (DECLINED) Days Spec Sheet Was Hidden After Payment: 33 days Emails to CEO: Multiple Responses from CEO: 0 (zero) Unauthorized Charge Attempts: 1 ($2,000)

WHAT AUTHORITY BUILDERS PROMISES VS WHAT YOU GET:

PROMISE: "Guaranteed 24+ placements per month"

REALITY: Zero placements after 40+ days

PROMISE: "Intermediate PR Plus Package"

REALITY: Changed to "one-off 10 link batch" after payment (and still got zero)

PROMISE: "Minimum 1,000 monthly organic traffic" quality standard

REALITY: 16.4% below this minimum

PROMISE: Professional service and communication

REALITY: 30 days of silence, then false statements, then CEO ignores you

MY WARNING TO OTHER BUSINESSES:

If you're considering Authority Builders, please ask yourself:

1. Are you okay with potentially receiving NOTHING after payment?

2. Are you okay with the service description changing after you pay?

3. Are you okay with material terms being hidden until after payment?

4. Are you okay with substandard quality that violates their own stated standards?

5. Are you okay with false statements about completion?

6. Are you okay with the CEO completely ignoring your complaints?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, DO NOT USE AUTHORITY BUILDERS.

There are plenty of other digital marketing and SEO companies out there. Find one that:

- Provides specification sheets BEFORE payment

- Puts promises in writing with specific deliverable counts

- Actually responds when things go wrong

- Has a CEO who gives a damn about customers

WHAT I WISH I'D DONE DIFFERENTLY:

1. Asked for the spec sheet BEFORE paying

2. Got the "Guaranteed 24+ placements" promise in writing on the invoice

3. Required weekly progress updates in the contract

4. Set up milestone payments instead of full payment upfront

5. Checked reviews more carefully (I see now there are other complaints)

6. Gone with a more established, transparent provider

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I'm a business owner. I understand that sometimes things don't go perfectly. I'm reasonable. If they had communicated, explained the delays, offered partial refunds, or made any effort to make things right, I would have been willing to work with them.

But that's not what happened. What happened was:

- Take the money

- Deliver nothing (or substandard work)

- Go silent for 30 days

- Make false statements when confronted

- Have the CEO ignore everything

- Try to charge more money after being told to stop

This is not how legitimate businesses operate.

I run a business myself. If I took $22,250 from a customer and delivered nothing, I'd be ashamed. I'd refund them immediately. I'd apologize profusely. I'd do everything in my power to make it right.

Authority Builders? They just don't care. And that's the most infuriating part.

SAVE YOUR MONEY. SAVE YOUR TIME. SAVE YOUR SANITY.

Find a different provider. There are hundreds of digital marketing companies out there. Pick literally anyone else.

Would I Recommend Authority Builders? ABSOLUTELY NOT

Would I Use Them Again? NEVER

Overall Rating: 0/10 (would give negative stars if possible)