Archives June 2013

RipOff Report is now offering for $89 per month a ongoing service of giving businesses 14 days to resolve complaints before a negative review is posted. Experts say that it may help boost rankings in Google and Bing.

Ripoff Report creates millions of dollars every year by charging implicated companies a flat cost based upon the number of problems have actually been made against them. Business are charged anywhere from $5,500 to even more than $100,000 to have their reports removed, however they only receive inspections rather than removal as advertised to them. If grievances have been dealt with according to the inspection, the website will permit a brand-new heading to be published above the initial post. However the initial complaint will never be eliminated touts owner Ed Magedson, proudly.

The questionable aspect of Ripoff report is that it does not right incorrect details without charge. Some implicate this to be extortion, however after numerous legal procedures, judicial bodies have stated that although they disapprove of the company practices that Magedson uses, because the postings are made by third parties, it can’t be labeled extortion.

Ever since L.A. County began to require public publishing of restaurant grades, the playing field has been incredibly leveled. A-rated restaurants as well as those with C’s had to bear all to public scrutiny, affecting business practices in the food industry greatly. Studies by Stanford and the University of Maryland calculated that customers rewarded eateries with 5% more revenue after the shift in practice, and those who failed to deliver a healthy environment dropped earnings by more than 20%. This kind of immediate response to consumer demand is what pushed New York City to do the same thing in 2010, although studies didn’t produce the same results.

Experts say that online reviews including Google and Yelp allow us to make informed choices before we eat at a restaurant. We no longer rely on health inspectors for information when quick access to fellow impartial foodies is all we need to determine where we want to eat. We can now easily hop on the internet and decide within a few seconds whether or not we want to eat at a particular place. We know that other customers are going to be honest about their experiences so we can trust them.

Other counties are starting to follow suit, as San Francisco has been publishing health inspections online since 2007. Apps like ABCEats in New York City make information instantly public. But government organizations are already using bad reviews to actually find unsanitary conditions before even entering the facility, giving restaurants less time to prepare for inspection. While researchers are developing algorithms to find subtle hints of fake reviews, reputation management may be needed for those who have been wrongly attacked.

If you have bad reviews on Yelp and need help with Yelp Review Removals or increasing your positive reviews, please visit our Yelp Review Removal page.

If you’ve ever suffered from nude or sexually suggestive photos of you posted online from an ex, you know how mortifying and out of control the whole situation can feel. Posting pictures of former partners online anywhere from sexually suggestive to explicit is considered “revenge porn” in the law making system.

Revenge Porn is highly damaging not only to an individual’s reputation, but their emotional well-being and confidence as well. Photographs meant to be something private and special are perverted and used as hateful backlash in the event of an altercation between two individuals. Lawmakers in California are appalled at this hateful behavior of posting private pictures of people online without their consent.

Once it hits the internet it becomes like a virus, and it can never go away. That is why revenge porn is so damaging. The bill presented by California State Senator Anthony Cannella has written a bill that makes revenge porn a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and possibly a month in jail. The bill is a reaction against the tragedy of Audrie Pott’s suicide after a sexual assault by three peers at a party. Graphic photos were circulated around the school, and feeling like her life was completely ruined, took her life soon after.

Victims of revenge porn know that a bill from Sacramento is a small reprehension against their aggressors. They are left with their lives turned upside down with no hope of reconciliation. They feel their lives are forever tarnished, and that they will never fully recover from the trauma acted against them. Many websites like “Is Anyone Up” provides links to social media profiles opening the way for relentless harassment.

Extortion claims are acted on behalf of revenge porn websites for requiring a payment to take the photos down. Sometimes the best protection these people can turn to is simply burying of their pornographic links in Google Search Engines, but removing them completely is hard work. Hopefully the law will discourage future revenge porn due to criminal repercussions that may be associated with it.

If you need revenge porn removal service contact us.

Yelp is under attack again, and it’s the same old story. The social review site was recently featured in the Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times regarding a claim that it manipulates reviews and ratings to favor advertisers or punish non-advertisers.

In an effort to clear Yelp’s reputation, Vince Sollitto, Yelp’s vice president of communications and public affairs, wrote in a company blog post, “ Let me be clear: This claim is not – and has never been – true.”

However, many business owners continue to say otherwise. The problem? Good reviews are often filtered while negative reviews are posted in plain sight for the online world to see. The Los Angeles Times reported that many business owners are upset, concerned, or just plain confused about Yelp’s review filter. According to companies that have filed lawsuits against Yelp, sales agents have offered to fix the issue as long as they paid for advertising on the site.

Nevertheless, Yelp continues to deny these claims. According to the blog, there are three reasons why this claim is not true: 1) Independent research by Harvard Business School and Yale professors has not found a connection between advertising and Yelp’s filter system. 2) The courts continue to dismiss the claims. 3) A Google search reveals that a simple Google search reveals that there are plenty of non-advertisers with four and five-star ratings.

While Yelp has received a lot of criticism for its filters, it has also been a blessing to many businesses. A Harvard Business School study conducted in 2011 on the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry found that a “one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue.” The study also found that customers prefer ratings with a higher number of reviews and whether the reviews are written by “elite” reviewers.

If you need help with Yelp reputation management, please visit our Yelp Review Removal page.

Below are a list of smaller scam reporting sites that may be up and coming to lookout for. If you are an individual that has been scammed, these are good resources for you, but if you run a business, you need to watch out for any negative reports on these sites that may hurt your reputation.

www.scamvent.com
www.fraud.org
www.hotcomplaints.com
www.hotscams.com
www.consumerreports.org
www.reportascam.net
www.my3cents.com
www.consumerist.com
www.scamwarners.com

If you are an individual or business that has been scammed, there are plenty of sites that you can report fraudulent businesses. On the other hand if you are a business, you must watch out for negative reports on these sites.

We provide you a list of some of these major sites below. If you click on the links you will also find more information on how these sites operate and what we can do to help you remove reviews from these scam reporting sites.

Ripoff Report
Pissed Consumer
Scam.com
ScamBook
Complaints.com
Complaints Board

In addition, there are plenty of local directories such as Yelp, YellowPages.com, Merchant Circle, and Google+ Local that you can use to post business reviews, but these would only work if you can find the business listed on them.

Most often, you can leave anonymous reviews on these sites and the only thing required may be a valid email address. This unfortunately makes it hard for business to track down the actual posters. In our opinion, it is not a good or ethical practice to leave anonymous reviews. If you were really screwed by a business, then use at least your real first name and last name’s initial so there is a way for the business owner to know who you are and try to reach out to you to offer you a resolution or refund.