19 replies to this topic

[amberto]

Does anyone have any experience with ripoffreport.com? It's basically a non-edited database of consumer complaints. Anyone can file a "report" and say virtually anything about you regardless of the merit or validity of the claim (many companies have things posted like "The CEO is a pedophile"). The report is then posted and for many companies instantly shows up on page 1. Rip off Report will not remove the report. They allow you to post a rebuttal - or for a fee, the "editor" will post something next to the claim stating that it is false. What is seemingly a good service to consumers is basically nothing more than an extortion scheme. I am wondering what the best way to get something like this off the first page of google results. It seems like one would have to take measures such as releasing press releases and other documents and increase the amount of in-bound links in order to bump the rip off report further back in the SERP. I'm just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this website. thank you!

[Hyperformance]

Alberto -

Your "find" sounds like an awesome opportunity for the right person. How ironic to think that their same tactics could take them down.

- Scott

[torka]

I am wondering what the best way to get something like this off the first page of google results.

There can be benefits from having a negative review or two out there, as long as what they're saying isn't simply libel (i.e. "the CEO is a pedophile"). If the negative report is an actual customer service situation, resolving the situation and posting a mature, reasonable response detailing what you did to resolve it can actually be a positive.

But assuming for whatever reason that's not an option, the tactics you're looking for would fall into the category of "online reputation management."

Here are links to Andy Beal's "beginner's guide" for reputation management, and his 10 Ways to Fix a Google Reputation Management Nightmare. Perhaps there will be some ideas useful for you in there.

It's not a slam-dunk -- you can't guarantee any of these things will work to sufficiently "push down" the offending entry to get it off the first page -- but the kind of steps Andy outlines are probably your best bet if that's your aim.

--Torka

[Randy]

And if it's a libel/slander situation, simply hire an attorney. They will either remove it themselves or end up paying you for having to be forced to remove it.

First Amendment Rights do not protect every statement, especially ones that are blatantly false. And you get to drag 'em into your local jurisdiction to boot.

[amberto]

It's not necessarily a matter of first amendment rights - what this guy is doing is protected under the Communications Decency Act, which basically says that you can be aware of bad content online, do nothing about it, and still not be libel for it. Since he is not the one actually writing the content - he can't be held libel. The guy who started the site has been dodging court cases for years - there is an article about him here:

www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-02-01/news/the-real-rip-off-report/1

Pretty crazy stuff - but it looks like some SEO's are directing their business toward companies who have been listed on the rip off report - there are PPC ads that come up when you search "remove rip off report" and their are entire companies who are selling SEO services to "remove" or basically bury the listing in the SERP. It is kind of like what Scott said - people seem to be using the same tactics to bring them down - and of course, there are people out there who are using the same tactics to further scam the already scammed.

Edited by chrishirst, 28 December 2007 - 07:10 PM.

[fastreplies]

I agree that having bad publicity is not as bad as it may sound. As they say: better bad publicity than nobody knows if you exist at all. We have our share of bad publicity instigated by some morons because our editors rejected their “garbage” web sites or because they were too stupid to follow our Submission Guidelines in the first place.

One thing you have to remember that all negativity in most cases viewed as rants thus they had very little credibility if at all but as always there will be some people who will believe what they are reading and will made their minds about your company or name but then again they believe that skies are falling too.


fastreplies

[Hyperformance]

Amberto - Everyone,

Sorry I mispronounced (misspelled) your name in my last entry to you.

Here's a thought... What happens when you go there as a customer and post a rip-off report on their own (company) tactics and what they expect ($$$) for you to try and clean it up and yet it is never removed? Expose a SCAM for the scam that it is.

Even if they edit or remove it, then it goes to your Reporting Article (on your website) that they will not post Rip-off Reports about themselves? One could probably build a powerful page about that company and play by their rules... Once on the first page of Google (your report on them), I'll bet they would be willing to talk, especially if they took the same rights they post under and did not allow you to post against them (removed theirs, but have guidelines for everyone else who can't do the same). Hypocritical to say the least, huh? Oh!, and when they DO call? Have your terms for appendum ready or cost of ammending all layed out for them... with a premium $$ for all YOUR trouble.

I like it!!! But then again, I am always a little skewed in some of my thoughts. (But some of them have been quite successful)

Double edged sword, this Internet can be... (adoY)

- Scott
(Some people just don't play well with others)

[bluenote]

There can be benefits from having a negative review or two out there, as long as what they're saying isn't simply libel (i.e. "the CEO is a pedophile"). If the negative report is an actual customer service situation, resolving the situation and posting a mature, reasonable response detailing what you did to resolve it can actually be a positive.
.....
--Torka

I think that would be more the case if it was on a site with a more neutral name - e.g. "Business Reviews". In addition to what amberto described very well, a fundamental problem is that it's on a site called "ripoff reports" to begin with. Whether fairly or not, unconscious or conscious, the clear implication here is that every company mentioned on this website is a "ripoff". In other words, most if not all businesses would rather have no mention on the site than positive comments. Professional and courteous replies are a good idea, but that's a double-edged sword because it just helps the site and page rank higher.

No doubt there are likely legitimate complaints on there, but how to truly sort it out? Anyone can just come on there and rant about anything they can think of (with no accountability) because a business wouldn't allow them to return a product after the stated return period.

The owner "Ed" pulls in a lot of money from donations (even though it's not a non-profit), extorting businesses, and advertising revenue. The extortion part is "Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Program". I don't know how it's explained on the site, but businesses have been charged $50,000 and more for this "service". It's quite a good scam actually. Furthermore, anyone who posts there is not able get their own complaint removed or edited.

The ripoffreport.com site isn't what it seems, so ironically ripoffreport.com is a ripoff. It's a clever scam, but it's clearly a scam.

There are some ways in which the site games/has gamed the search engines (specifically Google), to rank as well as they do, so hopefully they'll wake up to that. This will be less of an issue when Google stops giving them so much weight in the search results.

By the way, I read where people did experiments and tried to post "reports" on the site about ripoffreport.com, Google, or sponsors at ripoffreport.com, and the reports were never approved.

Edited by bluenote, 04 April 2008 - 03:04 PM.

[N-Mike]

And if it's a libel/slander situation, simply hire an attorney. They will either remove it themselves or end up paying you for having to be forced to remove it.

First Amendment Rights do not protect every statement, especially ones that are blatantly false. And you get to drag 'em into your local jurisdiction to boot.

If only it were so easy. I'm currently registered on this forum because a few people created ripoff reports about my company and they ranked in the top 5 of google SERPs within a week and haven't come down since. RoR is a serious problem for any SEO campaign and I still haven't found a good strategy on pushing them down.

[Links removed. Please see the [url=http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?act=boardrules]Forum Rules[/url].]

Edited by Randy, 12 August 2008 - 08:42 PM.

[Randy]

And have you hired a good attorney yet?

Seriously, if there are provable errors and inaccuracies and especially if there's libel or slander taking their tushie to court and getting a big award is your best recourse. Chances are they won't even show up to defend it. Partly because you'll be suing in your home jurisdiction, not their's, and partly because if they hire an attorney their attorney will tell them they have no leg to stand on if libel/slander is part of the equation. Same if they've not done proper fact checking, even if they try to bill themselves as Press.

[N-Mike]

And have you hired a good attorney yet?

Seriously, if there are provable errors and inaccuracies and especially if there's libel or slander taking their tushie to court and getting a big award is your best recourse. Chances are they won't even show up to defend it. Partly because you'll be suing in your home jurisdiction, not their's, and partly because if they hire an attorney their attorney will tell them they have no leg to stand on if libel/slander is part of the equation. Same if they've not done proper fact checking, even if they try to bill themselves as Press.

We have a legal team but its very hard to sue Ripoffreport.

Go to google and search for "anatomy of a ripoff report lawsuit", I posted links in my last post but they were removed because I'm new I guess

[nnh]

We have a legal team but its very hard to sue Ripoffreport.

Go to google and search for "anatomy of a ripoff report lawsuit", I posted links in my last post but they were removed because I'm new I guess

It is also difficult to sue because the libel is committed by the original writer of the post. Often the writer creates anonymous posts making him or her virtually impossible to find. This is what happened to me. Google is the only search engine that will not remove the links from my name to the post with out a court order and I can not afford to sue the rip off report. It is unfortunate that the rip off report does not give the same credence to a rebuttal that it gives to a defamatory post. Yelp is another site that is manipulating negative reviews and then contacting businesses and offering them the opportunity to push down their negative review posted on Yelp if you pay yelp $350. A spokesperson for Yelp, in a KPIX channel 5 report in San Francisco, said they can tell if a yelped business solicites positive reviews in response to negative reviews and yelp will kick out the positive review or letter but not the negative review. I don't know what kind of software they have to verify if the negative review is not a competitor but they keep things up that call business owner racists etc. It seems like another scam to me.

[bbdg1234]

The owner "Ed" pulls in a lot of money from donations (even though it's not a non-profit), extorting businesses, and advertising revenue. The extortion part is "Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Program". I don't know how it's explained on the site, but businesses have been charged $50,000 and more for this "service". It's quite a good scam actually. Furthermore, anyone who posts there is not able get their own complaint removed or edited.

The ripoffreport.com site isn't what it seems, so ironically ripoffreport.com is a ripoff. It's a clever scam, but it's clearly a scam.

You seem to have forgotten Rule #5--"Badmouthing other forums, sites, companies in general, is not allowed." I'd say what you have in the above qualifies as "badmouthing". Sites like ripoff report have to make money somehow, and given the lawsuits to date (none of which they've lost), their legal bills must be sky high. If they modified or removed even one report, then ALL reports would be suspicious and the lawsuits would bring them down. That's why they don't remove anything (except personal info like phone numbers, which they warn you about when you post something). Their CAP program draws fans and foes, but if you look at it like it's an extension of your advertising and PR, it's really not that expensive. I've had clients that paid $50,000 for one 3-month ad, and given how many eyes view ripoff report, a good review could be worth several times that amount. IMO and that of many others, they provide a valuable service for A LOT of people, including the news media and law enforcement.

You don't have to like the site, but you should respect it, if only because it provides an opportunity for people who have little or no voice to speak out in a forum and warn others of potential pitfalls. Like everything with the web, you take the bad with the good, and if you're a smart consumer, you probably understand that one bad review doesn't mean the site or company is a total loser. If one friend says he hates a movie, but another likes it, does that prevent you from going? No, you do a little of your own research.

It's unfortunate for amberto that his name has been besmirched at the ripoff report, but I agree with Vintage Babe that a little bad press can be turned into a positive thing. Follow the site's rules and post your rebuttal. Get some friends to post positive reviews and comments. Talk positively about how you fixed or want to fix problems. Explain yourself positively when and where you can. Start a few blogs here and there and post to them positively every day. If your good stuff is out there, it will get found, too, and if it's just one bad apple, believe that the best customers are those who do more homework than just reading one comment at ripoff report. I personally use the site as a reporter (I've embarrassingly been fleeced by a scammer) and as a researcher.

As a side note, it's good to be back at High Rankings. I was a fan of Jill and joined in 2003, then my business went a different direction for awhile, but I'm back.

[Orpheus Descending]

ˇSites like ripoff report have to make money somehow,

No, actually they don't. No one has to make money - it's not a given, and certainly not at someone else's expense. That's like saying everyone has to have sex somehow - so that when the 'somehow' is at someone else's expense, they have an excuse. And this site could make money a million other ways. Extorting money from the people slandered is the least appropriate.

If one friend says he hates a movie, but another likes it, does that prevent you from going? No, you do a little of your own research.

You've missed the point here. No one is saying people don't have a right to their opinions and that they don't have a right to write about their opinions, experiences or even bias' against a company - BUT there is a HUGE difference between that and calling someone a pedophile just because you don't like a product or the way you've been treated. Especially if that statement is a blatant lie.

(I'm also concerned that a reporter would champion something like this or use it for research. I hope you make sure to get corroborating sources before you publish.)

You don't have to like the site, but you should respect it, if only because it provides an opportunity for people who have little or no voice to speak out in a forum and warn others of potential pitfalls.

I don't have to respect it. They don't respect the rights of others not to be slandered. Respect is not a given. Sites get my respect when they earn it and this company is working against its own ends. If I had posted on this site, and then found this out, I would be livid because this kind of thing taints everyone who uses the site who has a legitimate complaint.

Why does this seem eerily like the post about being in the top 10 most dependable companies - only reversed. So if you're a good company, someone can bad mouth you inappropriately and if you don't have the money to pay to clear your name, too bad. But if you're a terrible company, and you rightly have screwed people or given bad service, you can pay to clear your name? Doesn't this just keep the PR power in the hands of those with the deepest pockets - EXCEPT now there's a middle man who exploits it and makes his own profit.

I wonder, for the people who really do get ripped off, is this site giving any compensation to the people who have really been fleeced? I'm thinking not. They are only there to provide the fodder for companies like this to exploit, and they are then also exploited.

Follow the site's rules and post your rebuttal.

I'll get off my in a minute, but this made me laugh because most customer complaints have to do with not following the terms and conditions of a contract because they didn't read the fine print. Now I am not a fine print proponent, but I think it's ironic that to clear your name from a complaintent that probably didn't read the fine print, you should have to read the fine print.

Seriously, if there are provable errors and inaccuracies and especially if there's libel or slander taking their tushie to court and getting a big award is your best recourse.

Sorry Randy but there was just big court case in the States where a top CEO took Wikipedia to court and lost. The comments written about him were absolute lies but the owner/publishers of Wikepedia didn't write the content, and the writer didn't identify himself. Wikipedia now requires writers of content to register, but the courts found in favor of them not the plaintiff - and this guy was big, had lots of money, and his reputation was actually damaged for a while.

And what a sad day that was for responsible publishing. There should be editorial responsibility if a complaint has been made to the owner/publisher about libelous content, it should be removed - until proven. The fact that someone can't lie about someone else on my their own site, only drives them to sites like these where no one has to take responsibility for what is published. And this ripoff report know it and are taking advantage of everybody.

[Orpheus Descending]

I don't know why I'm in such a twist about this, but what if someone started an anti-ripoff site? It could be called Serves_Me_Right. com, and it could be a place where people who get really great services and products go to write about it! But that's not possible because some marketing hacks would exploit it. Didn't Sartre write something about the hell you burn in is the one fashioned by your own designs?