LowerMyBills.com
| Private | |
| Industry | Personal finance, Mortgage broker |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
Key people | Matt Coffin, Founder |
| Website |
lowermybills |
LowerMyBills.com is a consumer finance corporate web site that connects prospective mortgage borrowers to lenders. It was founded by Matt Coffin in 1999. Its corporate offices are in Los Angeles, California.[1]
The site connects consumers who respond to their marketing with a network of leading service providers. This is done via lead "forms" where consumers voluntarily submit relevant information regarding the transaction under consideration. Consumers can approve who they will be connected with and are told that the service provider will contact them via phone and or email, in compliance with the TCPA and all other relevant regulations.
History
The then-privately held company was purchased in 2005 by Experian for $330 million, with performance-based incentives that could add an additional $50 million over the next two years. In the year ending March 31, 2005. the company had an operating profit of $26 million on sales of $120 million.[2][3] In December 2007, Experian launched LowerMyBills.co.uk for UK consumers.
In May 2012, Ybrant Digital announced that it has agreed to purchase PriceGrabber, LowerMyBills, and ClassesUSA.com from Experian. PriceGrabber provides price comparison shopping services to Yahoo! and MSN shopping. LowerMyBills.com offers savings through relationships with over 500 service providers, while ClassesUSA.com is an online higher-education portal. Steve Krenzer will move from Experian to Ybrant to continue to lead these three businesses. Ybrant expects the purchase to nearly double its revenues.[4]
In September 2012, the purchase of PriceGrabber, LowerMyBills, and ClassesUSA.com from Experian fell through.[5] In October 2012, Experian announced that it had completed the sale of its PriceGrabber, LowerMyBills.com, and ClassesUSA.com to the management team of those businesses.[6]
Advertising
TNS Media Intelligence reports that the company spent nearly $75 million on web advertisements in 2006 through November, making it one of the medium's largest advertisers.[7] The website's banner ads generally include animations or soundless video clips that are not related to financial matters.[7][8]
Complaints
There have been 14 complaints filed on ripoffreport.com, and 67 complaints filed on consumeraffairs.com.
References
- ↑ Home page. LowerMyBills.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2010.
- ↑ "ROUNDUP GUS beefs-up Experian with LowerMyBills.com purchase", Forbes, May 5, 2005. Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ↑ "Acquisition of LowerMyBills.com by Experian for $330m plus earn-out", Experian press release dated May 5, 2005. Accessed May 16, 2007. "The purchase price is $330m, plus a maximum performance-related earn-out of $50m over the next two years.... "On a pro-forma basis, sales in the year to 31 March 2005 were $120m with operating profit of $26m. Further strong growth in sales and profit is expected in the current financial year and beyond."
- ↑ "Ybrant to Buy US$283 Million (INR 1500 Crores) Business from Experian". Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ↑ "Experian’s PriceGrabber sale falls through". Retrieved 2012-09-26.
- ↑ "Experian plc : Sale of PriceGrabber and NA online lead generation". Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- 1 2 Stone, Brad. "Don’t Like the Dancing Cowboys? Results Say You Do", The New York Times, January 18, 2007. Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ↑ Gomes, Lee. "As Web Ads Grow, Sites Get Trickier About Targeting You", The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2007. Accessed May 16, 2007. "Advertisers say the biggest thing in online ads these days is "rich media," a catchall phrase for those ads whose contents shimmy and shake. LowerMyBills.com is notorious for its endless loops of silhouetted dancers and surprised office workers. Other ads come alive when you move the mouse over them, ballooning to claim even more screen real estate to sell cars, movies, laundry soap and more."