Yelp.com

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for [redacted].You expressed concern with [redacted].'s review. I understand that you’re disputing the accuracy of this review, and our team has taken another look...

at the review. However, we reached the same conclusion as before and are unable to remove the review. We don't take sides in factual disputes; if a review appears to reflect the reviewer’s personal experiences and opinions, it is our policy to let the user stand behind his or her review.We noticed that you've already used your free business account to post a public comment on this review. Many reviewers respond favorably to business owners willing to engage in constructive conversation, and at the very least, other Yelp users appreciate seeing business owners take a proactive approach to dealing with customer concerns.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  YELP published false rating to my business.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hi Heather,Thank you for your response.Per the terms and conditions you agreed to, after your initial 6 month term, the agreement automatically renews on a month-to-month basis. If you wanted to cancel your ads, we require 30 days written notice to Yelp's account management team.With regards to your comment, "$160 per month was what your representative said to me and that was definitely not applied to the account," we want to reiterate that the promotion was applied to your account and ran from October 27, 2017 - January 26, 2018. Please note that this promotion was a bonus ad budget, and not a discount. Additionally, this promotion was separate from your $275 monthly Cost Per Click budget and your enhanced profile features which cost an additional $75 per month. The promotion was for $160 in free ad clicks each month for up to 3 months in total, and you received a total of $480.01 worth of free clicks from October 27, 2017 - January 26, 2018. The promotion was applied to the following billing statements as follows: October 18, 2017 – November 17, 2017- You received $113.55 worth of free ad clicks from October 27, 2017 - November 17, 2017November 18, 2017 – December 17, 2017- You received $160.00 worth of free ad clicks November 18, 2017 - December 17, 2017December 18, 2017 – January 17, 2018- You received $160.00 worth of free ad clicks from December 18, 2017 - January 17, 2018January 18, 2018 – February 17, 2018- You received $46.46 worth of free ad clicks from January 18, 2018 - January 26, 2018You can confirm this information by viewing your billing statements in your account. To do so, you can log in to your your Business Owner's Account at[redacted]/login, click on the "Billing" link in the menu on the left-hand side, and then click on the dates of the statements you would like to view. Advertising services and the promotion were delivered in accordance with the terms and conditions you agreed to. Thus, we will not be able to offer you a refund or waive the remaining balance of $17.72. Thank you for understanding.Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Hi Lisa,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Lolarue.We've forwarded your message to the appropriate parties. As you may recall, a Customer Success Manager, Collin, reached out to you by email to clarify our...

cancellation policies and your billing cycle. We want to clarify that your advertising program had an initial 6-month term, and per the terms of your advertising agreement, your program continued to renew automatically on a monthly basis until we receive a cancellation request from you. We require 30 days written notice to Yelp's account management team if you wish to terminate your advertising program. We received a cancellation request on January 31, 2018, so your advertising program was set to cancel on March 2, 2018. Your advertising program was billed in arrears, which in your case means that we typically bill on the 12th of the month for advertising services that were delivered from the 12th of the previous month through the 11th of the current month. Thus, the $395 charge you paid on February 12, 2018 was for the advertising services you received from January 12 - February 11, 2018. The final charge of $326.25 that you paid on March 12, 2018 was for was for the advertising services you received from February 12 - March 2, 2018.Your advertising program has been terminated effective March 2, 2018 and you paid your final charge on March 12, 2018, so you will not incur further charges. If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to call the number Collin provided in his email. Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: someone went into my account and ran this ad because I did not authorize this and did not have money to even run ads so Yelp is taking advantage of me. They are not understanding and I'm done explaining myself. They treat their customers really bad and I'm just 1 of thousands of victims. Sincerely,[redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Hi Paul,Thank you for your response.Yelp's Terms of Service prohibit both compensating someone to write or remove a review, and being compensated to write or remove a review (you can find our Terms of Service here: [redacted]. Please forward any additional correspondence you had with this user to[redacted], so that we can better understand the situation and take action where necessary.Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/07) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing.
You expressed concern that your phone number was displayed on the business page for Video Game Mechanic. We've gone ahead and removed the phone number:...

[redacted] We apologize for any inconvenience.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.We wanted to let you know we've taken another look at [redacted] review of [redacted]. Upon further evaluation, the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines and it has...

been removed.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thanks for writing back.It sounds like you still believe that Yelp manipulates reviews to favor advertisers. We want to reiterate that paying businesses have absolutely no advantage with respect to reviews. The automated recommendation software does not distinguish between advertisers and free listings, and the revenue side of our business operates independently of the content side of our business, just as a newspaper might put a firewall between their advertising and reporting functions.As previously noted, Yelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable ones. This means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cut. We acknowledge that even some legitimate reviews will not be recommended, but we still believe that the software as a whole makes our site more trustworthy and useful to consumers.As indicated in our prior response, the recommendation software is automated to help avoid the potential for human bias inherent in individual decision-making: we cannot reverse the software’s decisions, either to suppress an active review or to restore a review that isn’t currently recommended. This also means that we cannot manually manipulate the recommendation software to favor an advertiser or punish a non-advertiser. But once again, the system is not static -- reviews may come and go as the software picks up new information.We recognize that there have been news stories alleging that Yelp manipulates reviews and ratings to reward advertisers, yet these allegations are not based in fact. Please consider:1. Third party research (such as [redacted]) has debunked this conspiracy.2. Courts have rejected the conspiracy due to the lack of any fact-based evidence.3. A simple search across the site proves that non-advertisers often have excellent 4 and 5-star ratings while many advertisers have low ratings.You can find more information about this issue at: [redacted]We recognize that the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and we appreciate your feedback. Identifying fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviews is no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Yelp's recommendation software assumes reviews are expressed by our clients verses a competitor's false, defamatory statement. 
Yelp's intended goal of "Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content." However, Yelp DOES NOT verify the person who wrote the review was an actual client of ours.  As I wrote back, we have never had a [redacted] from cypress as a client.  Moreover, our office has NEVER had a trial regarding marijuana.  Also, if [redacted] review is true there would have been a Bar complaint. 
Yelp states,  "The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp."  However, not a single fact check is done such as Yelp confirming that the person was our client.  Our office is not a restaurant where the customer may well be unknown to the owner.  We are  law office that is required to have written, signed retainer agreements. for Yelp to allow anyone to post a review such as [redacted] is aiding and abetting a defamatory statement.
I as well as many others DO NOT want to be associated with Yelp and their business practices allow unverified defamatory statements to be posted on the internet.
in short the resolution I desire is to terminate the [redacted], Inc. free subscription to Yelp and to have all reviews removed.
Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for 1[redacted]You expressed concern with [redacted] reviews. To clarify, [redacted] review updates (posted on April 23, 2012 and April 6, 2016) have been removed because they...

fell outside our Content Guidelines. However, [redacted] original review (posted April 21, 2012) has been left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. If a review appears to reflect the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer, it is our policy to allow the user to stand by his or her review.We also want to be clear that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treated. Businesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertise. We understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit [redacted] to learn more.Additionally, it sounds as though you may have some concerns about the recommendation software. As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content. The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp.It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. Please also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, the system is not static -- reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors.To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/10) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Painting.
We first want to make sure you know that a business's decision whether or not to advertise...

on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treated. Businesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertise. We understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more.
You also wrote that you "had directed your past customers to leave their reviews of your service on Yelp." Please note asking for reviews is not something we encourage. For one thing, most businesses tend to ask their happiest customers to write reviews, not the unhappy ones. These self-selected reviews tell only part of the story, and we don't think that's fair to consumers. We would much rather hear from members of the Yelp community who are inspired to talk about their experiences without a business owner's encouragement. More information can be found here: https://biz.yelp.com/support/review_solicitation

It's important to note that Yelp uses automated software with the goal of showcasing helpful and reliable reviews from the Yelp community. As a result, you shouldn't be surprised if our software fails to recommend the reviews that you've asked your customers to write. Your best bet to get high quality and unbiased reviews about your business is to provide a memorable and amazing customer experience - it has nothing to do with asking your customers to post on Yelp.
The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. Even though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them).
It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. Please also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors.
To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US
Finally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp, but we actually don't remove business listing information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/10) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Inc.
We first want to clarify that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not...

affect how the reviews on its listing are treated. Businesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertise. Furthermore, there is zero relationship between the timing of when a review gets recommended and when a business decides to - or declines to - advertise: reviews can be recommended or not recommended days, weeks, or even months after they were first posted, and your Yelp sales representative doesn't have any influence over when that might happen. We understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more.
You also expressed concern with the recommendation software. As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content. The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. Even though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them).
We only look at recommended reviews in calculating a business's overall star rating, but it's important to note that the recommendation software applies the same analysis to everyone and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. You asked that we recommend all of the reviews, but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors.
To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted].We appreciate your feedback, and we'll be sure to forward your note along to the appropriate parties.You asked for your business to be removed from Yelp....

However, as you may recall from the conversations you had with various sales representatives you spoke with on the same day you filed this Revdex.com complaint, we don't remove business information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hello Ms. [redacted],Thank you for your response.Please be assured that we've evaluated the content of [redacted]'s review and are allowing the user to stand behind it.Additionally, we stand behind our previous statements regarding the recommendation software. Yelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable ones. This means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cut. We acknowledge that even some legitimate reviews will not be recommended, but we still believe that the software as a whole makes our site more trustworthy and useful to consumers.As indicated in our prior response, the recommendation software is automated to help avoid the potential for human bias inherent in individual decision-making: we cannot reverse the software’s decisions, either to suppress an active review or to restore one that isn’t recommended. But once again, the system is not static -- reviews may come and go as the recommendation software picks up new information.We understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and we appreciate your feedback. When it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviews. It's no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.We also want to reiterate that we don't remove business listing information. Yelp is allowed to publish business names and publicly available information about businesses under the well-established fair use doctrine, as well as First Amendment principles. Generally speaking, this means that we can display business names and trademarks "for purposes of comparison, criticism, point of reference, or any other such purpose." See [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted] 
I am not pleased with this action,  the letter recieved from Yelp via Revdex.com explains how the system works more than any representative that I previously talked to. I would have never signed up for a program of thos manner. Yelps agent didn't break down the financial obligation nor did she specify the Yelp would be charging us $2125 a month. And. I was also told I could cancel the program at anytime. I was completely misinformed in every aspect with Yelp. I feel like I was I was told anything just for the commission.
I am rejecting this response because:Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted].We're sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising program, and have forwarded your concerns to our account management team. As you may...

recall, a manager, [redacted], reached out to you to discuss your concerns and explain the pricing structure of your advertising program.You signed up for an advertising program with $100 monthly fixed costs plus up to $275 monthly variable costs, for a monthly maximum of $375. The monthly fixed costs were for your enhanced profile (which included features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow) and for the video feature. Your advertising program was a cost per click (CPC) program and your monthly cost per click budget cap was set at $275, which means you were only charged when someone clicked on your ad and you agreed to pay up to $275 a month for those ad clicks. If you did not reach your monthly budget cap, you would be charged for the ad clicks you received. However, if you did reach your monthly budget cap, we no longer delivered ads for your business for the remainder of the month so that you wouldn't have to pay more than you agreed to.According to our records, it looks like you spoke with an account manager, [redacted], in early May and you indicated you wanted to cancel your advertising program. It appears our account management team did not get back to you regarding this request, and we're sorry that we did not follow up with you in a timely manner. Had we done so, your advertising program would have been terminated on May 31, 2016. With that in mind, [redacted] is refunding the $362.51 you were charged on July 1, 2016 for advertising services that were delivered in June.Your advertising program was terminated on June 29, 2016. We hope you will continue to take advantage of the free features available to you on your business account to engage with the Yelp community. For guidance, please visit [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your feedback.While we understand you are concerned that some reviews are not currently being recommended on your listing, it's important to keep in mind they might be recommended on another day.You have again expressed concern with a review "which was not written by a customer." We have taken a second look at [redacted].'s review but, after careful consideration, we reached the same conclusion as before and are unable to remove the review. If a review appears to reflect the reviewer’s personal experiences and opinions, it is our policy to let the user stand behind his or her review.You have also asked that your business listing be removed, but as previously stated, we don't remove business listing information. Yelp is allowed to publish business names and publicly available information about businesses under the well-established fair use doctrine, as well as First Amendment principles. Generally speaking, this means that we can display business names and trademarks "for purposes of comparison, criticism, point of reference, or any other such purpose." [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/06) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] Company.
You wrote, "Yelp Contract was signed/forged by marketing agent that was hired...

by [redacted] movers not [redacted]." However, according to our records, it looks like our sales representative, Charles, was in contact with [redacted] at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, which is the phone number listed on your Yelp business page. It also appears that the advertising agreement, which has an electronic signature for [redacted], was sent to the email address that appears on under the Client Information section of the contract.
Generally speaking, an advertising agreement is sent to the business owner's email address via Echosign, a program that collects electronic signatures for purposes such as remote contract signing. The agreement is then e-signed, meaning a name was typed in indicating acceptance of the terms of the agreement. With regards to the appearance of the "signature", with Echosign, the program creates a stylized signature for the person who e-signs the agreement, which may be why you don't recognize the signature's appearance.
As advertising services were delivered in accordance with the advertising agreement, we will not be able to waive the remaining balance. Additionally, early termination is subject to a fee per the terms of the contract. Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/10/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
From what I am reading you company does not want to take responsibility and change their policy on contracts. I am bluntly telling you that someone forged documentation and you are coming back telling me something I have told you and your staff that the person that we hired set up the account and spoke with your staff, for this reason I requested recorded calls . I know you do record calls. If I hear [redacted] being told all the contract info and verbally accepting this then that is completely different. And in regards to the email.. the email that was given to me by you staff you said the contract we sent to that email is not our company email, also our phone XXX-XXX-XXXX is a company phone meaning not one line so the person in question is able to say oh I am [redacted] and speak on his behalf with out out us knowing. once again for this reason I requested a recorded call to be heard to see who's voice is on the call. Yelp is a bully and after your response I see that very clear!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/10/22) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You have again alleged that "someone forged documentation," but we can only reiterate that according to our records, it appears that our sales representative was in contact with [redacted] at your business. With regards to your concern about the email address, it looks like the email address that the advertising agreement was sent to was the same email address that was associated with the Business Account login at that time.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/10/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
It is in plain english when I have said multi times that Marketing company called Design Portfolio created the account and the email, I have stated multi times that the email the owners use is [redacted].com, after reviewing more then 50 complaints against yelp from other angry business owners over the same issue I can see that I only have one option and that is to see an attorney,. I know they record there calls but yet they have not produced this.. if someone is paid to do the marketing for a company of course they will have access to that email.. an it can figure that out... and electric signature is bull.. an actual signature should be required.. so I will be seeking an attorney for this an effort to change there bull policy on contracts!!!!!!!!!!!