How to Cancel Your Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) Contract

Want to cancel your Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) contract? It can be difficult, but not impossible. Find out how!

As a web designer and SEO company, I work with mostly small businesses, particularly contractors, landscapers, etc. Many small business owners I talk to have tried Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) at some point, and very few have had anything good to say about them.

So what is a business owner to do if they're stuck in a Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) contract for services that aren't working? I've spoken to quite a few small business owners who were able to cancel their contracts, as well as many of whom got all or most of their money refunded! Most companies will never guarantee a particular ranking in search engines, or that their services will result in paying customers, and that's okay. But the Thryv/Dex Media contracts have lots of loopholes, and when you sign up with them, you're agreeing that they're held harmless for pretty much everything, even if their reps are less than truthful!

Before you even start discussing cancellation and refund discussions with Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media), you must take some protective measures first (a new web designer/online marketing person can help you with this). That's because if you do successfully cancel, then you'll have no website, much of your online marketing goes bye-bye (or worse, held hostage by Thryv/DexYP), and they may still own your domain name, Google My Business listing, and company Facebook page. Once Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) gets their hooks in, it's difficult to get out!

• Copy all your content from your Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) website, including text, photos, and videos that you own. If your website is already gone, a resourceful website designer may still be able to access it.
• You will have to work on getting the domain name back from Thryv/DexYP (which is most likely owned by them, not you). Your website may be able to guide you on what to do and exactly what to say. You have to be clever!
• Request that they transfer ownership of your Google My Business listing to you; your Google My Business listing is VERY important, and if you don't own it, you can't ever update it, and chances of getting it back later are almost zero.
• Have them make you an admin of your company Facebook page; again, this is important, as you'll never get it back later and will have to start from scratch (a waste if you already have a lot of content and likes on the page)
• Now it's time to get a new website built, ideally by a smaller company where you can actually talk to the same person every time you call. When the new website is published using the old Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media) domain name, that will effectively replace the Thryv website, so the transition should be seamless.

NOW you can start your cancellation and refund discussions with Thryv/DexYP (Dex Media), since you are now the owner of your domain name, Google My Business listing and Facebook page, and you have a new website either published or ready to publish.

• You'll have to do a lot of legwork and provide proof that their services didn't result in legitimate calls to your company.
• You'll have to prove that, if they were handling your Google Pay‑Per‑Click, your ads didn't display for the keywords and search phrases that were agreed upon.
• Keep track of who called through their special tracking phone numbers (don't leave it up to them).
• Routinely analyze your Google Analytics reports (rely on Google Analytics, not Thryv's own tracking program). Specifically look at what cities and countries those website visits and Google AdWords clicks are coming from, and the Network Provider. Or you can hire someone to do it for you, as it can get quite complicated, detailed and time-consuming.
• If you can't make any headway on your own, submit a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Better Business Bureau, and/or your state's Consumer Protection agency.
• Speak with an attorney, especially if the charges in question are high.

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