Companies going after negative reivews.....

[ImAnOgre]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/02/tech/c...gative-review/

(CNN) -- A Utah couple is facing a $3,500 fine and a damaged credit score for doing what many people do after a bad purchasing experience: posting an online review.

Their story -- first reported by CNN's affiliate in Salt Lake City KUTV -- started in 2008 when John Palmer bought his wife Christmas gifts off KlearGear.com. The items never arrived and the Palmers said the transaction was automatically canceled.

"After 30 days, PayPal said 'Hey, there's no activity here' and they turned around and gave the money back into my husband's account and effectively canceled the sale," Jen Palmer told CNN.

After repeated calls to KlearGear.com to find out what happened, Jen Palmer posted a review of the company on ripoffreport.com saying in part,"There is absolutely no way to get in touch with a physical human being. No extensions work."


More than three years later, the Palmers received an e-mail appearing to be from KlearGear.com stating that they would be fined $3,500 if the negative review posted on ripoffreport.com wasn't taken down within 72 hours.

"We were shocked that someone would attempt to do this because it's ridiculous that anyone would turn around and try to extort us like this," Jen Palmer said.


The e-mail cited an obscure non-disparagement clause in the terms of use contract that states: "Your acceptance of this sales contract prohibits you from taking any action that negatively impacts KlearGear.com." The Palmers say this clause was added after they purchased the items, citing their 2008 customer agreement which they found.

Legal experts warn that more and more companies are adding this type of language in the fine print as protection.

"The First Amendment does not protect certain kinds of free speech and you can sign a contract giving away your free speech," according to CNN legal analyst Paul Callan.

He said he believes KlearGear.com's terms of use contract is not fair and would likely be thrown out by the court.


The Palmers tried to take down their online review, but couldn't because ripoffreport.com requires the company to enter into arbitration to have a post removed, which would cost $2,000, and KlearGear.com refused.

So KlearGear.com reported the Palmers' $3,500 unpaid fine to a collections company. After that, Jen Palmer said the couple had trouble getting approved for financing because their credit score took a huge hit.

CNN e-mailed KlearGear.com and tried multiple phone numbers listed on its website. No one responded back and all the numbers were disconnected. KlearGear.com did respond via e-mail to KUTV, defending its actions, referring to its "terms of sale," and saying its request that Jen Palmer remove her post was not blackmail but a "diligent effort to help them avoid (the fine)."


The Better Business Bureau is investigating KlearGear.com separately and has put the company on alert.

KlearGear.com isn't the only company with a so-called non-disparagement clause in its customer agreement terms. CNN found a similar clause on a vacation rental company, shoredreams.net, that threatens a charge of up to $10,000 for online reviews containing "unreasonable negative sentiment." After a CNN report about the clause aired, the company removed it from its terms and conditions, citing customer feedback.

A spokeswoman for shoredreams.net explained that the non-disparagement clause was intended to provide protection against customers who demand compensation by threatening unreasonable negative reviews after leaving a unit. The company adds it has never imposed a fine on a customer for violating the clause.

We are apparently not the only ones that they have done this to, but we are the only ones who are fighting back.
Jen Palmer

Since the Palmers' story first surfaced, a wave of outrage has made its way across the Internet against KlearGear.com and as a result, the company has since protected its Twitter account and shut down its Facebook page, according to Techcrunch.com.

The Palmers say they're taking their fight all the way to court.

"We don't want them to get away with this," Jen Palmer said. "We are apparently not the only ones that they have done this to, but we are the only ones who are fighting back. And we're not giving up."

During this busy online shopping season, retail analysts suggest you take steps to protect yourself by taking the time to read the fine print and ensure a company is legitimate before buying a product online. And if you do write a negative review, make sure it's accurate because you could be sued for libel even if the company doesn't have a non-disparagement clause, according to CNN legal expert Paul Callan.

Stuff like this really makes me mad, and it is stuff like this that makes me hope this company goes out of business.

www.KlearGear.com

Fuckers

[Ominous Gamer]

The best part is that the sale didn't go through, so even if that clause of the contract was enforceable (and existed at the time of attempting purchase), the entire thing was voided. Kleargear wont survive the court battle, which was picked up pro bono for the couple. Kleargear abandoned its social media pages less than a day after this story went viral.

The court complaint: https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...complaint.html


An equally big WTF is that ripoffreport charges 2 grand to remove a review.

[ImAnOgre]

I so WIIIIISSSSSHHHHHH i could be on that Jury.

I see a multi million dollar pay out coming. Of course, since the company is privately owned it'll go bankrupt and not pay, but still....

[Loki]

I'm curious how the company could levy that fine without any kind of a legal process...

[Flixy]

Send you a bill, and when you don't pay use the legal process? Same way a company levies any bill? And probably hope to scare people into buying by claiming you have a contract and the law on your side.

[Khendraja'aro]

Yeah, a cease-and-desist order (or similar) doesn't have to go through the courts (at least over here). It's only when you challenge the order that something like an actual legal process comes into play.

That's why you either pay the bill or involve a lawyer right from the start. Because if you don't you invite all kinds of problems, like that Utah couple found out.

[Dreadnaught]

I think the interesting thing here is how powerful these review sites have become -- and how their business model is adapting to take advantage of that.

Though it's also stupid how easy it is to ruin someone's credit. The credit bureaus should really have better processes for this in exchange for their tri-opoly.

[Khendraja'aro]

Erm, Dread, part of that was their own fault - if you receive a cease-and-desist-order over here, ALL experts agree on something: Either you pay the fine or you involve a lawyer.

Because if you don't, stuff like that happens.

[Veldan Rath]

But hilarity is that Kleargear did not want bad reviews...then got it tenfold with the bad press...and that will get even worse with the lawsuit...that they will lose. You would think that SOMEONE at Kleargear did not have their head shoved that far up their ass.

[LittleFuzzy]

I think the interesting thing here is how powerful these review sites have become -- and how their business model is adapting to take advantage of that.

[/QUOTE]

In this case and likely most others though, it serves as a barrier to prevent exactly the kind of strong-arm tactics which Kleargear attempted to employ to get the review removed. It's a good thing.

[Dreadnaught]

Except, of course, in the cases where people actually do try and blackmail vendors with threats of bad reviews. Though it's up to the vendors to decide when to blink.

Though this just feeds into my problem with Internet mob mentality these days.

[LittleFuzzy]

The best response to bad reviews is positive reviews. I don't really see single bad reviews or repeated bad reviews from a single person as something to be concerned about.

[GGT]

Except, of course, in the cases where people actually do try and blackmail vendors with threats of bad reviews. Though it's up to the vendors to decide when to blink.

Though this just feeds into my problem with Internet mob mentality these days.

Gonna pimp one of my other threads, right up your alley

http://theworldforgotten.com/showthr...946#post146946