Last Updated: January 15, 2023
At first glance, JustAnswer would seem like an inexpensive way to get your questions answered by knowledgeable people and those who are considered to be experts in their field.
The experts would provide sound advice in exchange for a small percentage of the fees charged by JustAnswer.
But, is this site actually legit? Do you really get answers for a small fee? Can you really earn money from it?
In this article, I am going to cover EXACTLY that to help you avoid getting SCAMMED.
Let’s dive in.
Is JustAnswer Legit?
JustAnswer is not entirely legit as it uses shady billing practices and very misleading tactics to trick users and enroll them into their paid membership without their knowledge. However, it is true that experts are there to answer your questions for a fee.
Here’s a detailed explanation of how they mislead clients.
With the help of online advertisements, JustAnswer targets people who are looking for answers to difficult or personalized queries that ordinarily can be answered by subject-matter experts.
When you click on their advertisement or visit the website directly, JustAnswer typically shows you an automated chatbot along with claims that you can connect one-on-one with an expert and get your answer in minutes for a small joining fee that ranges between $1 and $5.
For such a low cost, it seems like a wonderful bargain to receive specialized assistance online from subject-matter specialists and avoid paying hefty consulting costs in person.
Upon asking a question, the automated chatbot will ask a few more questions from you and no matter what you type there, it will display the following message:
“OK. Got it. I’m sending you to a secure page to join JustAnswer for only $1 (fully refundable). While you’re filling out that form, I’ll tell the Expert about your situation and then connect you two. Continue >>”
JustAnswer will either prompt you to click Continue or take you directly to a page where you must submit your payment information.
On the checkout page, JustAnswer only disclosed this message “Unlimited conversations – one-time $1 join fee and $50/month. Cancel anytime.”
JustAnswer makes it sound like you can join their service for only $1 to ask questions from experts.
But, here’s the catch.
JustAnswer hides the following terms on the checkout page:
- The $1 joining fee is actually a 7-day trial fee and upon completion of your trial, your subscription will automatically upgrade to their paid membership and you will be charged.
- Afterward, they will automatically deduct the membership fees each month from your account unless you cancel your subscription.
- For a partial membership period, no refunds will be provided. This means that once your subscription begins, you won’t get a refund for that particular month. Only future costs can be avoided by cancelling the membership.
While these terms are disclosed on their Terms of Service page, JustAnswer does not make them clear at the time of payment.
And due to the fact that most customers do not read the actual “Terms of Service” page before confirming their payment, you unknowingly agree to their terms.
Basically, JustAnswer tricks you into thinking you need to spend only $1 to ask questions while, in fact, they are enrolling you into their paid membership without your knowledge.
In the event that you’ve been charged by JustAnswer unknowingly, you should NOT expect a refund from them.
Their customer service is extremely bad and they rarely refund their customers.
In most cases, they don’t even though you tell them that you were unaware of the membership fee.
When you request a refund, JustAnswer typically turns down the refund requests citing their “Terms” which state that membership fees are non-refundable.
They might refund you the small joining fee but not the membership fee.
Additionally, if you contact your bank or PayPal to file a dispute against JustAnswer, in most cases, they can’t get your money back since you unknowingly agreed to their terms during checkout.
So that’s how JustAnswer misleads and tricks users to enroll them into its paid membership without their knowledge.
Now that you know their misleading tactics, in case you are wondering:
I will just pay the joining fee ($1-$5) and cancel my membership within 7 days as soon as my questions are answered by one of the experts on their platform.
Before you do so, please BEWARE that it uses shady billing practices as well.
Sometimes they even instantly deduct the joining fee plus the membership fee when you enter your payment details.
Furthermore, cancelling the membership is typically not straightforward.
Generally, cancellation of your membership within the account isn’t possible.
In most cases, you’ll have to contact their poor customer service several times just to cancel your membership.
In addition to their complex cancellation process, there are instances where customers are being charged each month even after cancelling the membership.
On top of all that, JustAnswer claims that you can get an answer in minutes which is not true.
Generally, you’ll get a response in a few hours.
Additionally, you should be aware that JustAnswer charges you additional fees if you want an expert on the phone call.
Though JustAnswer is not legitimate for the most part because:
- It uses misleading tactics to trick users into their paid membership without their knowledge.
- It uses shady billing practices.
- They make the cancellation of the membership a headache.
- They are dishonest and not transparent.
However, it is legitimate in these two aspects:
- Experts are there on their platform to answer customers’ questions.
- They do pay the experts.
The first aspect that makes it somewhat legitimate is the fact that experts are there on their platform to answer customers’ questions.
Secondly, they do pay the experts by answering people’s questions.
Please note that there’s a difference between the service itself and the experts.
The experts at JustAnswer don’t belong to the company, they are individuals like you and me who earn money by answering people’s questions.
In case you don’t know, JustAnswer allows anyone who has expertise in their field to join their platform and earn money by answering questions of people.
While JustAnswer is not entirely legit, particularly for those who are asking questions, it is legitimate for experts to earn some extra money.
Do I Recommend JustAnswer?
Absolutely not, especially if you want to use their service to consult experts.
The reason why I highly recommend you to AVOID JUSTANSWER AT ALL COSTS is because of its misleading tactics, shady billing practices, difficult cancellation process, and poor customer service.
Instead of JustAnswer, I recommend you research your answers on the web or seek expert advice in person.
Do I recommend JustAnswer to experts to earn money?
If you are a true expert in your field, JustAnswer can be a good option for you to earn some extra money by answering questions.
However, it’s not a good option for all.
JustAnswer requires you to be a true expert in your field and only selects experts with recognized degrees, licenses, or certifications in their fields.
They do a thorough background check and take a few weeks to approve your application.
If you’re not a true expert with proper recognized credentials in your field or can’t wait for a couple of weeks for approval then JustAnswer isn’t for you.
If you have expertise in your field without any recognized credentials, I highly recommend you to join Fiverr, Upwork, or any other freelancing platform.
Conclusion
JustAnswer is not entirely legit. Indeed, experts are there to answer your questions for a fee but it uses shady billing practices and very misleading tactics to enroll users unknowingly into their automatically renewing membership.
Although it is not completely legit, especially for those who ask questions, it is somewhat legit for experts.
JustAnswer does pay the experts by answering people’s questions.
To wrap up, I would say:
If you want to use JustAnswer for asking questions, I highly recommend you to AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS because of its misleading tactics, shady billing practices, difficult cancellation process, and poor customer service.
However, if you are a true expert in your field, JustAnswer can be a good option for you to earn some extra money by answering questions.
Got any questions or want to share your personal experience with JustAnswer?
Please, let me know in the comments below!
