Removing defamatory/slanderous online reviews

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  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229
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    Sarah5 wrote: »
    Well one of the reviews says that the hairdresser has cut the review poster's ear off and the person has nearly died from blood loss! Obviously this has never happened, and this is clearly an attempt to scare people away from coming to my salon. The same person has also left positive review for my competitor down the road!



    Well clearly that's no true (hopefully anyway), amateurs.


    Truth and honest opinion are the two defences to a claim such as this, obviously doesn't apply in this case
  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,194
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    Isn't a major problem going to be that the review is posted with a user name? You can't post a letter to haircut5777 and I imagine that it is difficult/impossible to find out who it is.
  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229
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    martindow wrote: »
    Isn't a major problem going to be that the review is posted with a user name? You can't post a letter to haircut5777 and I imagine that it is difficult/impossible to find out who it is.



    Not difficult or impossible, but time consuming. The DPA does not apply for the purposes of court action. So the OP would apply to google to get details, this may then require a further application to ISPs, but eventually he/she would get an address and could serve papers.


    If either google or ISP refuse, the courts can order the details be revealed.
  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,194
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    Comms69 wrote: »
    Not difficult or impossible, but time consuming. The DPA does not apply for the purposes of court action. So the OP would apply to google to get details, this may then require a further application to ISPs, but eventually he/she would get an address and could serve papers.


    If either google or ISP refuse, the courts can order the details be revealed.
    I'm not sure this will be straightforward. Google will only remove reviews that contravene their guidelines and I'm not sure the the OP's will be covered

    https://support.google.com/business/answer/2622994?visit_id=1-636478072346686996-2720082587&rd=2

    And on this page
    https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en-GB

    Check the policy. Only flag reviews that violate Google policies. Don't flag a review just because you disagree with it or don't like it. Google doesn't get involved when merchants and customers disagree about facts, since there's no reliable way to discern who's right about a particular customer experience. Read the policy before flagging a review.
  • scaredofdebt
    scaredofdebt Posts: 1,637
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    Google should have a record of the IP addresses used, they could cross reference those with the one used by whoever setup the rivals listing, might be interesting to see if they match.

    However, this review DOES contravene Google's policy so it can be removed - " Reviews should be a genuine reflection of your experience with a place - don't post reviews just to manipulate a place's ratings"

    Link to do so:

    https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en
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  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,194
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    However, this review DOES contravene Google's policy so it can be removed - " Reviews should be a genuine reflection of your experience with a place - don't post reviews just to manipulate a place's ratings"

    Link to do so:

    https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en
    True but this contradicts

    Google doesn't get involved when merchants and customers disagree about facts, since there's no reliable way to discern who's right about a particular customer experience

    in the same document you linked to.
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,086
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    Interesting thread. We have a negative review, posted with a real name. It's really nasty & malicious (jump on your grave stuff) but just short of direct lies. A client didn't want to pay his bills and got the hump. We let him leave without chasing up as it was only a few hundred £.

    Google won't take it down and our only option is to take legal action or bury it in genuine positive reviews.

    Bear in mind google don't care about you and your hairdressing business, and will do nothing for you. Your only hope is to bury it with good reviews.

    I don't think there's an option in google reviews to comment but i could be mistaken.
  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229
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    martindow wrote: »
    I'm not sure this will be straightforward. Google will only remove reviews that contravene their guidelines and I'm not sure the the OP's will be covered

    https://support.google.com/business/answer/2622994?visit_id=1-636478072346686996-2720082587&rd=2

    And on this page
    https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en-GB

    Check the policy. Only flag reviews that violate Google policies. Don't flag a review just because you disagree with it or don't like it. Google doesn't get involved when merchants and customers disagree about facts, since there's no reliable way to discern who's right about a particular customer experience. Read the policy before flagging a review.



    Google as still obliged to follow court orders....


    Their own policies are not relevant. Same way as I could say - I have a policy of punching anyone who rings my doorbell in the face - I'm still breaking the law...
  • If you are absolutely sure it is your competitor, then I suggest you give him/her a call or go and pay them a visit, tell them that you know it was them, and advise them that if they do not remove the fake review that you will take further action.
    Remind them that you are quite capable of doing the exact same thing back to him, which will simply result in both your online reputations being ruined.
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,086
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    The OP gave up on this thread in November 2017. Your advice isn't that good either...that should be.....Obvious.
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