Yelp.com

Hi [redacted]Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted].We appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention, and we're sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. We have...

forwarded your message along to the appropriate parties, and a manager[redacted], reached out to you on May 31, 2016 to discuss your concerns.While the goal of advertising on Yelp is to drive more traffic to the business page, which may ultimately result in more customers, it is important to keep in mind that results are not guaranteed. When advertising with a Cost Per Click program, you are electing to pay every time a user clicks on your ad impression. You were also paying for an enhanced profile (which included features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow), a featured video, and call tracking.Your advertising program was terminated on April 13, 2016. As you may recall, you have been charged for the advertising services that were delivered, but we are not charging you the early termination fee.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 writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] & [redacted].We first want to address your comment, "this company is 'bullying' small businesses and startups if they do not pay up for advertising."...

To be clear, 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] and [redacted] to learn more.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: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_ReviewsYou also expressed concern with a review. It looks like you are referring to the review by [redacted]., which you've previously reported. We've taken another look at this review, but have come to the same conclusion as before and are leaving the review up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You claim that this review is "fake"; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputes. Rather, 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.With regards to your concern that you photo had not been approved, it looks like your photo was approved on August 31, and it appears you've since been able to respond to [redacted].'s review.You also wrote, "They have complete control over your business listing with them and you cannot remove your business without either paying for advertising or closing your business. You also cannot make any edits without their approval." Please note that 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. Additionally, while we enable business owners and users to submit changes to business pages on Yelp, our moderators evaluate those changes to ensure they meet our standards. This is to protect businesses from malicious or erroneous changes.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 first 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.If you believe, however, that an individual has provided you with different information, we would like to investigate further. To that end, please provide us with the name of the individual whom you spoke with, their phone number, and the date and time of your conversation with them, if known.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, 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.

Hi [redacted]Thank you for your response.We forwarded your message to our account management team. As you may recall, a manager, [redacted], reached out to you on May 27, 2016 to discuss your experience and to let you know your advertising program has been cancelled. Additionally, the charges for advertising services delivered in May have been waived, so you will not incur further charges. Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/22) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business pages.
You asked that the name on your business pages be updated to [redacted] Our moderators need...

to be able to independently verify each name change that comes in, and we want Yelp business pages to be simple, accurate, and generally reflective of the way consumers recognize a business. Not all updates are valid or fit our style guidelines, so we have to carefully evaluate each one and look for independent confirmation before we can approve the change. In this case, we have updated the business name on your Yelp pages to "[redacted]" so that the name falls within our current standards.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
First off, we've hardly taken advantage of any 'good will' provided by the prior owners and I find this response to be dismissive.
Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted]We first want to clarify that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on [redacted] 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.With regards to your 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, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp. This means that solicited reviews may not be recommended by our software, but sometimes a legitimate review may not be as well.It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. You asked that we "Restore the 'Not Recommended' reviews to [your] business page," 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: [redacted]Regards,[redacted] Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/07/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for My Dr Now.
You expressed concern with a review. We assume you are referring to the review by ** V, as you've...

recently flagged this review. As you may recall from the message you've received from the Yelp Support team, we have removed the review by ** V because it falls outside our Content Guidelines.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 12, 2015/07/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 18, 2015/07/14) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing again.
If you are referring to [redacted] O's review, we wanted to let you know that after further evaluation, we have removed this review because it falls outside our Content Guidelines.
For future reference, if you have already received an email from us about our decision to remove or leave up content you reported and would like us to take a second look, you can submit a new inquiry by providing the case number (this is provided in our previously emailed response to the content you flagged) here: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/Can-I-request-a-second-evaluation-of-somethi...⇄ /> Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Home Services.
We want to first address your comment that "We suspect Yelp has targeted our...

business." We want to assure you that Yelp does not retaliate against businesses for any reason, including asking questions, expressing concerns or filing complaints.
We also want to be clear that 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 expressed concern with a review of your business. We assume you are referring to the review by [redacted] P, as you've previously written in about this review. As you may recall, the review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You stated that you have "ample documentation ... proving our case," but as frustrating as it may sound, we don't take the place of a court of law and make evidentiary determinations. Additionally, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputes. Rather, 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/her review.
You also wrote, "any time a representative tries to sign on to Yelp through the Business Owner's portal, Yelp presents them with a threatening message, saying that billing is past due and that [redacted] Home Services owes Yelp $400" and that "none of our company representatives can make any alterations to our Yelp page." Please note that you should still be able to access the features of your Business Account, even if you have an outstanding balance. If an Account Past Due pop up message appears when you log in to your Business Account, you can close the message by clicking the X in the upper right corner of the pop up.
Your advertising program has been terminated as of July 17, 2015. Because your advertising program was billed in arrears, there was an additional balance due on August 1, 2015 for services delivered in July. You are currently responsible for an outstanding balance of $400 for advertising services delivered in June and July. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with your contract, we will not be able to waive the outstanding balance. Once this amount has been collected, you will not incur further charges. You can update your credit card information by logging in to your Business Account at https://biz.yelp.com/ and clicking on the "Update Credit Card" button.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/05) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.
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.
If a review is not appearing on the main Yelp listing of a business, it would be for one of three reasons: the review is currently not recommended by Yelp's automated recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews); the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service and has been manually removed by the Yelp Support team; or the user elected to remove the review him/herself.
If a review is brought to the attention of the Yelp Support team and is found to fall outside our Content Guidelines, the Yelp Support team will take appropriate action, such as removing the review. That said, please note the action that the Yelp Support team takes is separate from actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation software. If a review is not recommended, that does not necessarily mean it is in violation of our guidelines.
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: 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 advertising program for [redacted]. You indicated you sent a cancellation email on April 18, 2017, but please note that we require 30 days written notice to your account...

management contact if you wish to terminate your advertising program. With that in mind, your advertising program was terminated on May 17, 2017.Additionally, please keep in mind that your advertising program is billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. Thus, the $850 you were charged on May 1, 2017 was for advertising services you received in April, and the outstanding balance of $553.69 is for the advertising services you received from May 1 - 17, 2017. Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/20) */
Hello,
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Kids.
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.
If you believe, however, that an individual has provided you with different information, we would like to investigate further. To that end, please provide us with the name of the individual whom you spoke with, their phone number, and the date and time of your conversation with them, if known.
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).
It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. You asked that we recommend the reviews that are not currently recommended, 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.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/31) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The man we spoke to worked in the advertising department in the San Francisco office I am unsure of what his name was but he did contact us so it should be in your record somewhere it is completely unacceptable and unexplainable that all of our good reviews are being put on the unrecommended page.
We have tried going through the process that yelp has recommended to us. This has resulted in no resolution and the second suggestion we are getting from yelp is That we should consider advertising ! Although we've already been told that it's an automated filtration system and therefore cannot be bias or changed. We unable to expect this and strongly feel as if yelp is participating in in fair business practices .
The only resolution we are willing to except is post all of our reviews without filtering or completely remove us from your website.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/09/10) */
Hello,
Thank you for your response.
It sounds as though you still believe that Yelp manipulates reviews to favor advertisers. However, with respect to reviews, paying businesses have absolutely no advantage. 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.
It also sounds as though you don't accept our explanation of the recommendation software, but we can only stand by our previous statements. 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 recommendation 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 (and I can say this with 100% certainty) 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 recommendation software picks up new information.
We do understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and your feedback is appreciated. 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.
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.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/09/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We've gone through all the hoops yelp has suggested and tried to be as proactive on the site as possible. Still no resolution after reaching out to yelp and customers, red flags ect. I can't just accept that yelps software just has a mind of it own (filter) and decides what stays what gos. Thats like me saying my 4 year old said so, period. This situation is poor and its a good thing people in our community don't rely on yelp and know our reputation to be what it is and always has been over the last 12 years. Give me a solution that will repair online business image that we are deserving of. If a human looked at our yelp page one would see we have an abundance of positive reviews. We will only be satisfied if all opions were reWe don't deserve this reputation.
Thanks [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/13) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted]
You expressed concern with [redacted] R's review. We've taken another look at this...

review, and have carefully considered your concerns that the reviewer may have a conflict of interest. However, we are still unable to confirm the conflict using the information we have in our systems. Additionally, please note that 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. You also wrote, "She can't support her words with documents and I can," but as frustrating as it may sound, we don't take the place of a court of law and make evidentiary determinations.
In some situations, business owners may want to message the reviewer privately, or post a public response explaining their own version of events. You can access these features using our free accounts for business owners (https://biz.yelp.com/), and you can find more information about how to respond to reviews here: http://www.yelp-support.com/Responding_to_Reviews?l=en_US.
These decisions aren't always easy, but please know we looked at this review closely before reaching our decision.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Hello,
Thank you for your response. I do not agree with Yelp response.
Let's use the common sense. [redacted] R said that I operated my Day Care without license but I hold my State License since September 2005! What else should I tell or proof? On my offer to show it Yelp responded : " we don't take the place of a court of law and make evidentiary determinations"?! But WHY Yelp makes determinations on which comment is not recommended or must be deleted if they don't take the place of a court of law??? Yelp must leave all comments but they sort comments in their own way making favor for some businesses and disadvantage for the others. To me it looks like the "double standards".
I understand why many people call Yelp a SCAM becauseYelp Calls Lying "Personal Opinion" even if you can proof them that the other party is lying.
I have the very successful business with the waiting list for 3 years until October 2018. I do not need anybody opinion especially if it is not true. Yelp doesn't let me close my page saying : "Our moderator will take a look ..." for a week already. It is my business and my decision to where to advertise it! Yelp is not the Government Authority which can tell me what to do with my business.
Kindly, please consider my complain and force Yelp to leave me alone!
Best Regards,
[redacted] owner/director of Valley Village Little School
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing back.
You have again expressed concern with the review by [redacted] R. However, we don't take sides on factual disputes, so we can only therefore reiterate what we previously communicated to you: if a review appears to reflect the user's personal experience and opinions, we allow the user to stand behind their review.
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, 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: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US
With regards to your concern about the order of the recommended reviews, the default order is Yelp Sort, which attempts to show reviews that help consumers make informed decisions. For example, the first review displayed for a business will be one that reflects the average star rating of a business. The order is determined by recency, user voting, and other review quality factors, which is why an older review may appear before a newer one. Keep in mind when viewing a business a user can sort the reviews in a few other ways by date, star rating, and those written by Elites.
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.

Revdex.com,
I am not satisfied with the amount due to the fact that i received no business whats so ever and I am still getting harassed from solicitors due to my company listed with yelp.com.  I would like to receive my entire amount back of $1597.00
Complaint: [redacted]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 business page for [redacted].You 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, 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]You also wrote, "Two of the reviews have flat-out lies in them which I can document, and also violate Yelp's guidelines." Please note that as frustrating as it may sound, we don't take the place of a court of law and make evidentiary determinations. In general, 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. That said, if there are specific reviews you feel may violate Yelp's Content Guidelines [redacted] please provide us with the names of the reviewers. If you have not yet reported these reviews to our moderators, you can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (3 dots) on the app. You'll need to be logged into your account to report content.To learn more, please visit: [redacted]While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/19) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] - N - [redacted] School.
You expressed concern with the review by [redacted] L. As you may recall from the...

correspondence you've had with the Yelp Support team, the review has been evaluated and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You claim that "A competitor had a friend write a scathing review with untruths"; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputes. Rather, 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/her review.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted]We are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. To be clear, while the goal of advertising on Yelp is to drive more...

traffic to the business page, which may ultimately result in more customers, it is important to keep in mind that results are not guaranteed. When advertising with a Cost Per Click program, you were electing to pay every time a user clicks on your ad impression. You were also paying for an enhanced profile (which included competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow) and a featured video.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.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]We also wanted to let you know that we've forwarded your message to the appropriate parties. It looks like an account manager, [redacted], reached out to you by phone and email. As you may recall, your advertising program has been terminated as of August 3, 2016 and the early termination fee has been waived. As advertising services were delivered in accordance with your advertising agreement, you are responsible for the remaining balance of $570 for advertising services delivered in July 2016. Once that amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/07) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for California Solar.
You expressed concern with a review. We assume you are referring to the review by [redacted] C,...

as you've recently flagged this review. As you may recall from the message you received from the Yelp Support team, we've looked at [redacted] C's review and are leaving it up. Based on what we can see in the review, we're unable to confirm that it was posted in error, but we've reached out to the reviewer to let him know he may have posted to the wrong business.

While we share your concern about the possibility of a defamatory review on our site, we don't adjudicate disputes between businesses and their reviewers. Congress acknowledged this predicament by passing [redacted] that provides statutory immunity to online service providers such as Yelp for the content of third-party posts. See 47 U.S.C. §230. The case law is clear on this point in support of online service providers because of concerns that they would otherwise be forced to remove third party posts every time someone raised issue with their contents. See Carafano v. Metrosplash. com. Inc., 339 F. 3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2003); Zeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997); Barrett v. Rosenthal, 40 Cal. 4th 33 (Cal. 2006).

That said, we will revisit your request if you provide to us a final judicial determination that the contents of a review are defamatory and will, at our discretion, take appropriate action with respect to the review and the user responsible for the review.

We encourage you to contact the reviewer directly using the private messaging function on our site in order to constructively address your concerns. We do not recommend that you engage in anything other than a well-meaning dialog with the reviewer in order to sort out any misunderstandings.
You can access your account by visiting https://biz.yelp.com/
For guidance on using your Business Account, check out https://biz.yelp.com/support/using_business_account
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/07/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
NEVER TRUST YELP!!!!!! HERE IS WHY.......
Its very simple! If YELP can't figure out we don't work in an area 400 miles away! I think it is a shame that YELP has there head so far up there [redacted] that they can't even comprehend straight.
Like I said in the complaint we NEVER installed this persons system and we NEVER even contacted them!
I understand why now YELP has so many complaints against them at the B.B.B.
YELP needs to get a grip of there complaints and them self!
YELP you are a scam and a lying company that will find themselves in a defamation case.
You won't remove it we will have our legal team now going after you for damages as well as the customer who responded to this bogus claim!!!!!!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/24) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing back. We understand you believe [redacted] C. posted to your listing in error. While we do not take sides in factual disputes, the user's response to our messaging indicates that he believes he posted to the correct business. As such, we are leaving the review intact.
As you've already used your business account to publicly comment on the review, we would again encourage to privately message the reviewer to attempt to resolve any concerns. We provide guidance on responding to reviews at https://biz.yelp.com/support/responding_to_reviews
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
How can you work for Yelp and claim you cannot "locate" our business listing when I ,who does not work for Yelp, can see and find it within seconds.
I also like how Yelp jumps right to noting lawsuits protecting their practices. I take it we are not the first business to find fault with your practices. 
Why not show reviews in date order? I would think if you are trying to "properly inform" the public the most recent business encounters would be the most accurate information.
I am prepared to see this as far as it needs to be to make sure my business is represented properly. Yelp is not taking into consideration that their faulty business practices could possibly cause harm to hard working people.
I have a feeling if I took one of your 20 plus sales calls a week we get from yelp and signed up to pay for your services our listing would magically change to more positive reviews. Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: You failed to address the issue. The issue is we have SEVERAL customers tell us they posted a 5 star review only to have yelp remove the positive comments and only leave negative comments up. Again, my mom and my aunt posted positive reviews and it's nowhere to be found so she posted it again, it stays up for 1 day then it gets taken down by yelp. So how do you explain this? This is over 20 reviews we're talking about but all you show is 1 negative review. We can prove this is happening but I'm sure you'll just reply with a lie. If you don't want all the negative feedback from businesses maybe you should stop being such a corrupt untrustworthy company. We don't mind negative reviews the issue is yelp removing positive reviews and only leaving up negative ones. You are very bad people.
Sincerely,
[redacted]