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So I sent a message to ripoffreport asking what their policy about removing postings that are false… Not that I’m on there… just thought it would be a good question.

I received a HUGE form letter in response that basically came down to “We don’t ever check if the info is false or not, nor do we care - Oh yeah, and F YOU if you try to sue us.”

That’s all fair and good - But here is the beauty of Ripoffreport and any other sites out there like them - You can always use these sites to SEO attack your competition. If you are in business you can get on ripoffreport and add anything you want about anyone you want - false or not - and it will hurt their online reputation since sites like this rank so well. The best part about this is that it will never come down and there is a great chance it will rank right next to your competitor - just get it a few links and blam, you may even outrank them for their own name.

My favorite thing about it all - the only option they have, if they want to do anything about it (other than outranking ripoffreport - and that isn’t too hard for an SEO - but Joe “Normal” Shmoe wouldn’t know how) you can “file a rebuttal” meaning you add more content to the ripoffreport site ultimatly making ripoffreport rank better in the SERPS… It’s genius.

The following is a full length response from Ripoffreport.com

We hear what you are saying – and let ‘ s say we believe you – but, we never really know for sure about those who email us, ..as you can imagine people tell us all kinds of things, lying to us… just to try to convince us to remove the report about them.  How are we to know who is telling the truth?  And how could we afford to investigate all of the claims that are made by people who want their report taken down.  Hopefully you realize the true value of Rip-off Report for consumers, the authorities and the media..

Our philosophy is that Rip-off Report is a permanent record just like when someone files a complaint in court.  You can file a rebuttal, like when you file an answer in court, but the court would never remove the complaint from the public records.

Read below the usual email we send to people who ask us to remove Reports, .. some even threaten us with a law suit. So, we’ve included that information below, .. so please don’t be insulted.

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We do remove social security numbers, bank account numbers, threats of violence, some foul language and links to places we do not know about. If we missed something and are notified about it, we will remove it.

This is the way the Internet is..

we did not create the laws.

we did not create the Internet.

we did not create the Report(s) filed.

if you don‘t care what we have to say and don’t want to read our philosophy below, you must read this first link below. Be warned. If you sue, be prepared to go the long haul, and when you want to do a walk away,  you will be paying for our legal bill and in some cases and then some, before we will let you out of the case. .. Just ask anyone who has sued us for years.  I hope you are personally prepared for this. We are.

For those who are thinking of suing…

http://www.ripoffreport.com/wantToSueRipoffReport.asp

you may be interested to know, since the above LINK was created, there have been a lot more legal superior court decisions, and other lower court decisions – some published decisions … ALL IN OUR FAVOR..  and we have been sued more than  2 dozen times and never, that’s NEVER lost a case. Suing us will only get you more publicity.

Why do we win? – just do a Google search for Communications Decency Act – CDA.

below is for those who have read the case laws and/or  those of you who have no intention of suing and are looking for ways to just make things right for your customers, or just setting the record straight  - … even if the comments are just about you personally, … we will all be blogged. Good or bad, right or wrong, we WILL all be blogged, somewhere..Best to set the record straight, here and now.  ..  Please read below..

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please read some of our Philosophy -

I know the below copy is long winded - -

you do not want to miss any of what we are saying  below - - many things are repeated so you understand our point,. this is all about NEW thinking for the 21st century… For many people, this just has not sunk in yet.

The short answer is … a Rip-off Report cannot be taken off.

if you keep reading, you will  understand how you will end up doing better with the Report staying up and not removing the Report..

You can simply file a rebuttal and explain your side of the story … it’s free … and you don ‘ t have to even read any further, just log on and file a rebuttal telling your side of the story, best to not be combative or insulting.

This is the 21st century. Good or bad, right or wrong … we will all be blogged.

This is the 21st century. Good or bad, right or wrong … we will all be blogged.

You can simply file a rebuttal and explain your side of the story … it’s free.

You can simply file a rebuttal and explain your side of the story … it’s free.

With or without Rip-off Report, someone would eventually blog you somewhere.

With or without Rip-off Report, someone would eventually blog you somewhere.

When the Reported business asks us, “why don’t you check out these Reports before you post them” … I ask you, where do we start and stop with evidence? … No system is perfect.

Here is a perfect example….

The United States of America puts people to death after 1 or 2 jury trials, all kinds of witnesses and countless appeals, to only find out 15 to 30 years later, ..ooops! … Gee, they weren’t guilty after all! … and businesses want Rip-off Report to figure out who is right and who is wrong?  Where do we start and stop with evidence?

FACT: CONSUMERS WANT TO HEAR A 3^rd PARTY OPINION:

Most businesses ask: “In 2008, what good does it do if a consumer sees Rip-off Reports from back in 2005?” - - We tell them that this is THE most important benefit you can ever get from Rip-off Report! … Yes, you the business, the person that was reported … Any educated consumer who is surfing the web in July of 2008 and comes across a Rip-off Report on you personally or your business … consider yourself lucky. … Think about it.  Remember, all businesses will get complaints: ALL!! …. If you address the complaint, rectify the situation, be nice and not combative, this will show the consumer that you were man/woman enough to address your issues … This will also show how you are committed to making changes and committed to total customer satisfaction! … What consumer would not want to do business with you after seeing how you took care of business by fixing a complaint and was nice about it ? .. to err on the side of the consumer.

For example, even if YOU were not wrong and the customer was being a real jerk … Here’s what you do: without insulting the consumer you explain in your rebuttal in a very nice way why they should not be getting a refund, but, in the name of good customer service we will make things right with you.  However, it is always best to add some sort of an admission of at least the possibility you or your company did make a mistake or someone from the company might have made a mistake, so, in the name of ”good customer service make a statement on how you will be giving the customer the benefit of the doubt and will just issue a refund.” .. this will go a long way! imagine what the consumer is thinking when they read this … Even the guilty businesses with real customer service issues will look responsive (like a hero) and, hopefully, will get tired of making refunds and change their ways. Yes, this has always been one of the main goals of Rip-off Report.

EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A BUSINESS = YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL WITH A REPORT(S) FILED AGAINST YOU? ….

Even if you are an individual and might have pissed off someone in the past, you need to do what you have to to just make it right with them. Like we stated above, …  just give them the benefit of the doubt … file a rebuttal to the nasty Report about you, state that you had made a mistake in the past and explain how you’ve contacted (or are contacting if the rebuttal is your sole method of contact) the author of the report to make things right with them.  You can also state — that you don’t blame them for being upset with you. … NOW, … if you stated something like that on that nasty Report about you, … after someone is looking you up on the Internet and reads what you wrote (what we’ve suggested here), … please tell me, who would not want to do business with someone who took care of  a situation like this! ??  We know it works — from dead beat dads who did not pay child support to the business that actually ripped someone off … they just show how they made things right. - You have to admit, if you read a complaint that way, you too would now trust that business. We are told this all the time by businesses. People who once threatened us, cursed us out and even businesses that sued us and lost (like they all do) .. they all say to us, they should have handles it this way from the very beginning as we’ve suggested to you hear in this email.

Rip-off Report did not invent the Internet,

and with or without Rip-off Report you would be blogged about your  business or just you personally  – and again I say, … this IS the 21st Century … True or false or partly false, right or wrong, . we will all be blogged!

Because so many people just don’t get the concept that we know works so well …. I must reiterate…

FACT: Businesses that admit they may have made a mistake, give their customer the benefit of the doubt, and show how they took care of the complaint. … TELL ME, what consumer would not want to do business with them.  Even if the complaint is totally false but the customer feels in their heart that they were wronged in some way, you can turn that around by explaining what you know in a nice way, maybe getting them to still do business with you by replacing the product, or the sales person, agent etc. …. If handled correctly, you will turn a negative into a positive.. Either way… The Internet is here to stay, and the tides have turned for the benefit of the consumer.  BIG BUSINESSES with lots of money is no longer in control. … This will not change.

Rip-off Report is thanked all the time

by businesses that first said, “this will not work, you are full-of-it!” … Most Businesses admitted after doing what we suggested, they now get business from the Report, new found business they would have never had if the Rip-off Report did not exist.

Those of you that have many complaints and need more help can always look into Rip-off Report’s Corporate Advocacy, Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program… a long name for a program that does a lot for both the consumer and businesses alike.

AGAIN, YOU CAN FILE A REBUTTAL(S) FOR FREE

We DO NOT author the Reports.  Consider yourself lucky the customer did not make up some sucks.com website on your company located in some 3rd world country where you could not respond to the charges like you can on Rip-off Report.  We think if you handle your response in the correct way, that will say it all, and in your favor, turning that negative into a positive, taking the high road.

If a Report is responded to properly, any half intelligent consumer will know what kind of company or individual you are…

The nicer you are, the more you turn around the possible negativity of a Rip-off Report. We live in the Internet age. Unless Al Gore pulls the plug on the internet, we are all stuck with it. Deal with it, and show what a good business or business person you are: put your best foot forward, go beyond the call of good customer service, then the Rip-off Report will work as a positive advertisement you will want ALL your customers to see.  Better yet, Rip-off Report is a lot cheaper than those costly full page ads in the paper, advertisement on the Internet or on TV.  Once you see this is working as a positive for your company, maybe you will think about donating some of those advertising dollars.  As you will see, Rip-off Report WILL GET YOU NEW FOUND BUSINESS, if, but only IF, you handle the Report in a positive way.  Anyone thinking of coming after Rip-off Report (filing a lawsuit) will get nowhere and will only, more than likely, get even more bad publicity, because  that lawsuit is public information.

Rip-off Report has no way of determining whether you or the author of the report is telling the truth. We encourage you to post a rebuttal explaining your side of the story, but we have a uniform policy against removing reports posted by consumers.

I know at this point you don’t want to hear it, but… here are more reasons Why WE DO NOT Remove any Rip-off Reports:

If we remove a Rip-off Report, we would be no better than the BBB.  Although we do not remove reports, we do provide for the Author of the Report an UPDATE feature that allows the Author of the Report to supply additional positive or negative information regarding your business dealings.

Do what’s right – or, what about going beyond the call of good customer service. The consumer will be surprised and post your response - - you won’t have to worry about them saying anything bad.. just show that you understand their point, and make it right with them..!

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND OUR PHILOSOPHY:

If Rip-off Report removed a Report every time a business threatened, consumers would be back to where they were before.  There would be no history of how the business took care of past problems.  This Report on the business or individual can work as a positive or as a promotional tool if they respond properly and do the right thing by taking care of their customer.  Consumers will see this and will want to do business with them in spite of what has been written about them. …

That is why we supply a REBUTTAL feature so that the company reported has a chance to respond by agreeing, disagreeing, or apologizing and explaining what will be done to fix the issue.

By allowing consumers to view the original report, updates, and rebuttals, consumers will be able to make informed and educated decisions. This is mainly because consumers will be able to see how the company in question deals with complaints. All business get them from time to time.

Regardless, as a matter of policy, we do not remove a submitted Rip-off Report, and we never will. Some people claim that we remove reports for money, but that is just plain false. We have been offered as much as $50,000 to remove just one Rip-off Report, but we declined because doing so is in violation of our policy, and more importantly, goes against what we what we stand for … Please understand our position.

Remember, all businesses will get complaints … ALL! … as stated above, at least file a rebuttal that is pleasant and, if you wish, mention that you support this forum and freedom of speech — even if you disagree with what was said.  Whining to consumers about how bad and unfair Rip-off Report is will only sour their opinion of you.

Also tell what the situation was at the time the Report was posted, even if it’s a long time a ago and how you made improvements to your company to avoid this and similar things from happening again, and other positive comments about your company … that is free.  You can turn that negative into a positive!  Consumers are probably finding your business on search engines that would never even know about you!  If handled correctly, this can come permanent positive advertisement! ….

You may have not mentioned it, but, we know it’s always in everyone’s mind that they want to sue us — usually it’s the dishonest companies that cannot admit wrong doing and could never change their ways that threaten to sue us..

For those who are thinking of suing…

http://www.ripoffreport.com/wantToSueRipoffReport.asp

For those of you who are a business only and have many Reports filed against them, read the following…

Those of you that have too many complaints and need more help can always look into Rip-off Report’s Corporate Advocacy, Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program … a long name for a program that does a lot for both the consumer and businesses alike. This is a program that gives consumers confidence in doing business with you or your business.

• This program changes the negative listings on search engines into a positive along with all the Reports on Rip-off Report …. (Reports are never deleted).
• As a condition of joining this program, the Reported business allows us to email everyone who filed a complaint that the business has contacted Rip-off Report and wants to make things right . This weeds out false Reports and shows your commitment to your customers and is later Reported in our findings about your company we post to every Report about your business.
• You must live up to your stated commitments through our program requirements.
• Read about this program and how it changes all the negative into a positive - fill out our Corporate Advocacy Program intake form.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/corporate_advocacy.asp

We’re always open for suggestions and improvements to our programs, even if we don’t agree with you…

ED Magedson - Founder
EDitor@ripoffreport.com

www.ripoffreport.com

Rip-off Report

badbusinessbureau.com
PO Box 310 Tempe, Arizona  85280