I had the joy of calling Angi, which was formerly Angie's List. For those not familiar, Angie's List was a service that acted as a go-between for end customers such as myself and a wide variety of service providers, including plumbers, electricians, etc. Customers could rate the providers and could use ratings to choose who to hire. We joined about 15 years ago and for a small annual fee, it provided good value. Up until now, every provider we hired through Angie's List did a good job for us.
Last year (or so?) the original owner sold out and the new owners renamed it Angi. New name, same service.
One difference is that Angi has its own stable of service providers. This is presented up front instead of the usual list of service providers.
Two weeks ago our well pump died. Switch and pressure tank seemed fine, but the pump wasn't pumping. I hit the Angi site and was asked to use their in-house provider. Being naïve, I did it and had an appointment for Sunday @ 8 AM. Two days without water is unhappy, but it could be worse.
To make a very long story short, the guy showed 3 hours late and apparently had to be contacted by Angi to get him to show. He brought his dog with him (seriously!). He didn't know what a pressure tank was, and left after 30 minutes, saying he couldn't help us and he'd contact Angi for a replacement.
Right ... first thing Monday morning I called a local plumber we had used before, who pointed us to a local well service. I called him, 1 hour later 3 guys were on-site, and 2 hours + $$$$ later we had water!
This afternoon it occurred to me that Angi probably charged us for the service. Sure enough, they did.
I got on the phone with their service center, and after a teeth-pullingly painful walk through the script the young woman with the thick Spanish accent was required to walk through, they accepted that no service had been performed.
The young woman said, "we will schedule you a new 'pro' (Angi term for service provider) to come ..."
I cut her off. "No. I had to hire a local service to fix our problem. I need a full refund."
She reacted well, and promised a 100% refund. I'm supposed to get an email within 24 hours and a refund on the credit card in 5 business days.
My advice?
I'll not use Angi's providers again, as they do not vet them. My wife and I was discussing dropping the subscription.
The owner of the well service and I discussed the situation. He recently subscribed to Angi from the opposite side of the coin. When I told him that Angi pushed their stable of "pros" before listing professional subscribers, his eyes opened wide. I doubt he'll be re-upping with Angi next year ...
Now I am the product they are selling to contractgors. 
Bryan! 
