Car wrap ads investigated after negative reviews


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PROVO — A Provo company claims you can make easy money by advertising on your car. But some drivers say they actually lost money after signing up.

Nichole Carver was one of those drivers. She's often on the go, so when a friend told her she could earn extra cash by slapping a decal on her car window, she didn't hesitate to sign up with WrapMatch.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," said Carver.

On WrapMatch's website, the philosophy seems simple enough: Drive. Get Paid. #Yourewelcome. Carver would disagree.

"I feel like it's kind of a scam," she said.

When a driver signs up with WrapMatch, they have two options: the regular membership or the premium membership.

Regular members pay about $5 to get going and then they wait, sometimes for quite awhile, until they're hooked up with a company logo and number for their window decal.

Premium members pay the $5 start-up fee and on top of that, a monthly membership fee of about $8. With that premium membership, drivers are promised a decal with a company logo and number in six to eight weeks.

WrapMatch says both memberships will make you a commission, but the premium membership will get you a bigger commission and a base payment of gift cards.

Carver signed up as a premium member and for nine months she was charged the $8 fee. However, she was never matched with a company, never made a dime, and lost close to $100.

"I don't know if they're lying," said Carver. "I don't know exactly what they're doing, but what they're doing isn't exactly honest and I'm not a fan of that."


I don't know if they're lying. I don't know exactly what they're doing, but what they're doing isn't exactly honest and I'm not a fan of that.

–Nichole Carver


Neither are at least 56 other people, from 21 different states, filing similar complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

"They have an 'F' rating with us," said Jane Driggs, President of the BBB in Utah.

Driggs said she would have a tough time recommending anyone do business with WrapMatch.

With all that in mind, KSL Investigators decided to go in search of answers and caught up with Brad Cahoon, the owner of WrapMatch, to see if there was any truth to the long list of complaints.

"Do you guys have anything to hide?" asked KSL Investigator Mike Headrick.

"No, absolutely not," responded Cahoon. "Oftentimes, the reviewers leave a negative review before they come to us and try to resolve the concerns."

Cahoon admits mistakes have been made, but to call their fledgling company a scam, he said, is simply not true. He said all start-ups have a certain amount of growing pains.

"We launched a website at the very beginning not knowing if anybody would even really care about this," said Cahoon. "Much to our chagrin, we had a ton of drivers signing up and very few businesses signing up for this advertising form."


That guarantee, as a money back guarantee, it's an open-ended refund policy that if anybody's unhappy for any reason, then they can get their money back.

–Brad Cahoon, WrapMatch owner


This led to dozens of driver complaints, people saying they never got matched with a company, never got paid, and never got their promised refund.

But Cahoon said those days are over.

"Business has never been better," he said.

Cahoon said his company is now matching more than 2,000 drivers every single month. In fact, he said he has proof of happy customers on his website, which he believes is the experience currently shared by most. Cahoon said those who sign up are now quickly matched, getting paid, and problems are immediately resolved.

"That guarantee, as a money back guarantee, it's an open-ended refund policy that if anybody's unhappy for any reason, then they can get their money back," said Cahoon.

In hopes of making things right, Cahoon is putting his money where his mouth is. He wrote out a check to Carver for the full amount she paid to WrapMatch, and KSL Investigators delivered it to her.

If you have a problem you would like KSL Investigators to look into, contact investigate@ksl.com.

For those interested, here is the uncut interview with Cahoon.

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