Thumbtack "Bogus" Leads Drain Small Businesses, Class Action Alleges

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit accuses Thumbtack of defrauding service professionals by charging them for low-quality or fake customer leads while obscuring the true costs.

Consumers Affected: Service professionals in the U.S. who used Thumbtack's website and paid for leads.

Court: U.S. District Court District for the Northern District of California

A group of small business owners is accusing home services platform Thumbtack of running a deceptive scheme that charges service providers for “worthless” customer leads—while hiding the true costs until it’s too late.

In a federal lawsuit, the plaintiffs from across the US allege that Thumbtack lures professionals onto its site with promises of high-quality leads, only to bill them for junk inquiries from unverified or uninterested users. The company’s practices, the lawsuit claims, amount to fraud, breach of contract, and violations of multiple state consumer protection laws.

While Thumbtack is free for homeowners, the company makes its money from the pros on the other side of the equation—those who pay per lead to grow their businesses. But plaintiffs say they’ve paid a steep price for a service that fails to deliver.

Service Pros Claim Thumbtack Charges for "Worthless" Leads

The plaintiffs include small business owners from Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, California, and Colorado. Many say they were repeatedly charged—sometimes hundreds of dollars—for leads that turned out to be bogus: disconnected phone numbers, wrong contact information, or people who said they never submitted a request at all. 

They say they lost thousands of dollars over time and had no control over what they were billed—or when.

Unlike platforms with flat membership fees, Thumbtack uses a pay-per-lead model. The company advertises these leads as “project-ready” contacts who’ve seen a pro’s profile and are ready to move forward. But the lawsuit alleges that many of the leads are funneled in through third-party companies, aren’t verified, and are never vetted for intent.

Lawsuit Details Alleged Deceptive Practices and Hidden Pricing

To make matters worse, pros say they don’t know how much a lead will cost until after they’re charged. There’s no published pricing guide, and sales reps allegedly downplay or conceal the range of lead fees, which can vary wildly depending on the service, location, and competition.

Despite Thumbtack’s claims of matching pros with serious customers and limiting competition, the lawsuit says the platform routinely distributes the same leads to multiple contractors—leaving pros in the dark and out of cash.

Thumbtack Joins Growing List of Platforms Facing Fee-Related Legal Challenges

The Thumbtack case isn’t an outlier. It joins a growing number of lawsuits accusing major platforms of squeezing users with hidden or misleading charges. Zillow is currently battling allegations that it collected fees from real estate agents while removing or masking their listings on StreetEasy. 

Retail energy supplier Nordic Energy is facing a class action for allegedly luring customers with low rates and then hiking prices with hidden markups. Even investing giant Vanguard has come under fire for a $100 account closure fee that disproportionately affects smaller investors. 

And platforms like 1-800-Flowers and Peek Travel have been hit with legal action over auto-renewals and surprise checkout fees.

In their lawsuit against Thumbtack, the plaintiffs want to represent any service professional in the US who used Thumbtack’s website and paid for leads. 

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Turbin, et al. v. Thumbtack, Inc., et al.
• Case Number: 3:25-cv-03388-AGT
• Court: U.S. District Court District for the Northern District of California

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Azar Mouzari and Nilofar Nouri (Beverly Hills Trial Attorneys P.C.)

Are you a service professional on Thumbtack? Share your experiences with lead quality in the comments below.