Yelp.com

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/01/08) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] 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 treatedBusinesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertiseWe 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 expressed concern with the recommendation softwareAs you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe 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 reviewsPlease also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, 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 You also expressed concern with your raking in our search resultsYelp's search results algorithm is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviewsWhile we can't guarantee specific results or business rankings, we are always working to improve our search tool so that we can deliver the most relevant local results to our users Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2016/01/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Thank you for Revdex.com's mediation effort and Yelp's responseHowever we still can't get rid of those suspicion that Yelp put their hands on rating and reviewsSome places only bad reviews are not recommended , and other places mostly good reviews are not recommended to keep a certain level of stars all the time Yelp should stand on neutral position, this means Yelp should not try to kill those businesses who don't accept their solicitations Sometimes customers post a unfair reviews that can damage local businesses for unfair reasonsFor example, we have a bad review from a person named [redacted] on 2/06/This is a order she placed online and delivery location was Hemit, CA, which is more than miles round trip from TorranceFlower shops have wire services network and when delivery location is not local, they send orders to another shop nearby destination areaWe explained this customer who took care of this order in Hemit,CA and the shop information was given and $was refunded( this flower was $52.95) and if she give us a chance to do local service we'll give her some type of creditAnyway this person placed a star review and again 2star review on Yelp and this did a considerable damage to our reputation for something we didn't doYelp should move this type of review to not recommended side Yelp should not take on one side, they should be fair and neutralYelp also should not act like a judge who decides who will live and who will die Thank you for reading this complaintOnce again we appreciate what Revdex.com do for everyone Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2016/01/27) */ Hi ***, Thank you for your response You have again alleged that Yelp manipulates reviews to favor advertisersHowever, with respect to reviews, paying businesses have absolutely no advantageThe 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 statementsYelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable onesThis means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cutWe 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 not recommend an active review or to restore a review that isn't currently recommendedThis 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-advertiserBut 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 appreciatedWhen it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviewsIt's no easy task, and there is always room for improvementWe hope to be able to continually improve on this issue You also expressed concern with [redacted] K's reviews of your businessThe reviews have been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as they were not found to be in violation of our guidelinesIf 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 Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/06/18) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] You expressed concern with a negative reviewWe assume you are referring to the review by [redacted] B, as you've previously flagged this reviewWe wanted to let you that after further evaluation, we have removed the review by [redacted] B because, as written, it falls outside our Content GuidelinesPlease keep in mind that if the user chooses to post a new review and that content falls within our guidelines, we will allow it to remain on the site You also expressed concern with the recommendation softwareAs you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measuredThe software 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 reviewsPlease also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, 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, with regards to your comment, " [redacted] opened up another yelp page, yelp deleted that one," it appears that the duplicate business pages have been merged Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/06/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) To Whom This May Concern; I thank you and I appreciate you removing that review by [redacted] BI do not think that you realize how much time we have spent on trying to resolve this directly with yelp earlier onNumerous calls, flagging, writing, setting up a new page etcetcThe most aggravating part is that your personnel that answers the phone is not helpful at allNo one seemed like the were even remotely willing to help us We are not satisfied with the fact that there are (eleven!!!!) reviews on our [redacted] page and none of them showAll of the are "unrecommended" and none of the factor into our ratingIt is sad to read that you still trying to make a case for your softwareIt is obvious to us and everyone around us that it is not a fair way to represent a business by showing one extremely negative review and none of the positive reviews As a last request, I ask you to please delete our page as it was opened up on yelp by [redacted] Bwith the goal of harming our businessThis has been a long and extremely aggravating patch and yelp has left nothing but a bad tasteTruly the worst "business experience" we have ever had Sincerely, [redacted] Owner Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2015/07/06) */ Hi ***, Thank you for your response You expressed concern with "how much time you have spent on trying to resolve this directly with yelp earlier on." 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...⇄ With regards to your concerns with the recommendation software, we can only stand by our previous statementsYelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable onesThis means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cutWe 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 recommendedBut 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 appreciatedWhen it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviewsIt's no easy task, and there is always room for improvementWe hope to be able to continually improve on this issue Finally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp; however, we don't remove business informationWhile some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the lawMore importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (4200, 11, 2015/07/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Thank you, I will certainly re-report the previously flagged comments Your software just proved the point again, twice: 1) a person posted negcomments for a friendThat review shows in the ratingYet, customers with personal direct experiences do not show in the rating and their reviews remain unrecommended and pretty much hidden to the viewers 2) a second person with completely information, is allowed to go on a rant but again, all the happy customers remain "unrecommended" I REFUSE to accept your explanation of your softwareIt only lists negative reviews, time after time, it is all it doesOld or new positive reviews remain hidden Fake are the ones who claim "to be posting for a friend"! It is not just frustrating, it is harmful to our businessThe fact that someone opened a yelp account on our behalf to go on a rant and the fact that myself as the business owner can't even choose to close the account because you won't let me is truly very concerning I am by all means not requesting that all negative reviews be taken down, all this only came about because you won't let any of the positive reviews from current customers showAll we see is negative reviews from past customers, or friends of supposedly "past customers" It is just wrong Sincerely, N [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: These reviews are fake and for some reason still pass your "algorithum" Check out the profiles of the people leaving the reviews, nearly all of them have no picture and just one review (of our old business) The reviews also have very similar stories which means they are most likely the same person using several fake accounts The reviews are also defamation Calling someone a scam artist and demanding money is against Yelps policy from what it says on your website, yet these reviews are still there Again, these reviews have attacked me PERSONALLY, not my business The least you can do is remove my full legal name If the page isn't removed soon I will escalate this matter to the FTC All i'm asking is for someone to actually do there job at yelp and not send me an automated response like you have done to this Revdex.com complaint Remove the page, remove my name The business is closed There is no need for it to stay Problem will then be solved Respectfully, [redacted] Mashal Sincerely, [redacted] Mashal

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because the information included is what I have already attempted and YELP has deletedIn the response to my complaint, the YELP representative states that I can state that I'm not accepting new clients on the page, which I have done several timesThe YELP representative also states that YELP reviews each edit individually, which I know because that is when they have repeatedly taken off that informationYELP further states that I can't state a business is temporarily closed, despite the fact that this is what was recommended to me when I called to find out why they were removing edits from my page repeatedlyYELP claims that they won't allow businesses to remove their accounts, despite positive reviews only, because they're protecting consumersHow is it protecting consumers to refuse to work with a well intended person who is trying to give consumers accurate information that YELP then takes upon itself to remove.This is not my full-time jobI put it on YELP because I wanted to explore doing it as a part-time practiceI am fully employed and can't respond to the numerous phone callsThis response is unsatisfactory because it includes everything I've already tried with YELP that has been changed or forbidden on behalf of YELPWhy will YELP not update to accurate informationThis isn't about protecting consumersIt's about YELPI requested to have my information updated on 8/5/I got a message from YELP completely ignoring the content of my request and notifying me that they'd revised my specialties area and that I could resubmit my specialties at a later dateWhy would I resubmit information to an account I'm trying to update as full/unavailable? I replied asking specifically that I'd requested to have my business page noted as temporarily closed and my phone number removedI asked if it had been done and explained that I continued to receive callsI further explained that I an now returning all calls and apologizing for their inconvenience and explaining the difficulties I have had with YELP representing me accuratelyI have never received a response to that emailIt doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that YELP trains it's phone representatives and those that respond to email to ignore any requests to close businesses etcI am not satisfied with this response because I have zero confidence that this company will do what it says it will do in the response it providedThey haven't yetWhy would they start now? Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Hi Jason,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Phoenician Financial PlanningWe are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaignTo 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 guaranteedOur records indicate you signed a 12-month advertising agreement on May 6, Your advertising program had $monthly fixed costs plus up to $monthly variable costs, for monthly maximum of $The monthly fixed costs were for your enhanced profile, which included features such as competitor ad removal, a photo slideshow, and account supportYour advertising program included a cost per click (CPC) program and your monthly cost per click budget cap (in other words, your monthly variable costs) was set at $275, which means you were charged when someone clicked on your ad and you agreed to pay up to $a month for those ad clicksIf you did not reach your monthly budget cap, you would be charged for the ad clicks you receivedHowever, 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.Your advertising program began on May 9, and was terminated on November 30, 2016.In your complaint, you wrote, "I was to be charged per interaction, with the cost of advertising capped at $per monthI used the service for four months before ending paymentsDuring the time paid advertisements were running, I had total client interactionsYelp still charged me $per monthMost would agree that $per page click is an outrageous sum, but the fact that they lied about how much each interaction costs is fraudulent." We want to clarify that you were not paying based on the number of "interactions" you had but rather the number of ad clicks you received, up to $worth of ad clicks per monthPlease note that ad clicks, user views, and Customer Leads are separate entities of information.An ad click is when a person clicks on your business's Yelp adWhen a user is searching on Yelp for a business in a certain area, we do our best to provide that user with a Yelp Ad applicable to their searchYelp Ads appear above the natural search results, on your competitors' business pages, and in various other places around the websiteThe Yelp Ad has the notation "Ad" in next to the business nameClicking on your ad impression will take the user to your business page on Yelp, and you were being charged when someone clicked on your adOur records indicate that the average cost of an ad click for your campaign was around $per clickCost-Per-Click ads are delivered in categories matching your specific business, as well as other similar categories that our ad delivery system has identified as relevantThe price you pay per click is based on competition and relevance, but you'll always pay the least amount needed to win the clickWe aim to maximize the number of clicks you get for your budget over the course of the month, and you should plan to have 100% of your budget fulfilledOccasionally competitive demand prevents this, but you'll only be billed for the cost of the clicks you received in that monthly billing period.Information about the number of ad clicks you received and the average cost of a click was available in the "Yelp Ads" tab of your Business Account.User Views is a measure of how many times your Yelp page was accessed or viewed on the Yelp website, mobile website, and mobile appsOnce a user is on your business page (regardless of whether they found it through an ad impression or through another means, such as our natural search results), additional actions they take while on your page may appear in the Customer Leads and Activity Feed sections of your Business AccountCustomer Leads are intended to show you how our users are adding and accessing information located in your Yelp business page after they've landed on the pageFor example, Customer Leads activity shows clicks to your websitePlease note that you were not paying based on the number of Customer LeadsAs advertising services were delivered in accordance with the advertising agreement you signed, we will not be able to offer you a refundIt looks like there is currently an outstanding balance of $for ads delivered from October 1, - November 30, Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges.You also expressed concern with Yelp's recommendation softwareBecause our recommendation software is automated, the Yelp Support team cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewOur recommendation software is automated precisely so that it can apply the same objective standards to every business and every review without being overridden by someone's personal preferencesThat said, our recommendation software runs on a daily basis, so reviews that aren't currently recommended may be recommended in the future, and vice versaWe hope you’ll take the time to watch our video about the Recommendation Software: [redacted] You also expressed concern with a review that you believe is fakeIt looks like you are referring to the review by Nicholas VWe reminded the user that the review must comply with our Terms of Service and Content Guidelines, but for now we're leaving the review upFinally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp; however, we don't remove business informationWhile some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the lawMore importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.Regards,HelenYelp Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because I was never delivered any of the items that were promised to me by the Salesperson The salesperson did not understand what Yelp could actually deliver to a business owner, and I was promised many things that were not possible I did not find out that I was sold things that would not be possible until after I signed the contract and paid for the first month And, my account wsa set up incorrectly Simply put, what I was promised was not delivered [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: there is no resolutionI did not authorize these charges! I do not have a business and have not for some timeI was not aware of this bait and switch tacticI believed when the credit was exhausted the campaign would endI have no idea how a budget was determined or anything about what your talking aboutExplaining how you autobill and supertiously steal money from people need not be detailed to meI’m sure I’m not the only oneThishas happened toIf you are ordering a service to customers or just trying to bill? I need a full refund or I will file a lawsuitSincerely,Ericka***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because [redacted] was NEVER our client I have stated this numerous times, yet yelp ignores this fact Since Yelp will not provide [redacted] information so that he can be located, a subpoena will be directed to yelp.Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/07/14) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writing regarding your advertising program for [redacted] , LLCWe appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention, and we'll be sure to forward your note along to the appropriate parties We are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaignTo 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, we cannot guarantee a certain level of resultsWhen advertising with a cost per click program, you are electing to pay every time a user clicks on your ad impression as well as additional features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow You also expressed concern with our cancellation policy: "she told me that I have to write an email asking to cancel and after a month I'll receive a call because they need to review my account, I asked her if I needed it to pay that month too and she said yes! plus the $fee." Information about our cancellation policy is included in Section V of the advertising agreement you signedThe advertising agreement indicates that we require days' written notice if you wish to terminate your program: "For Ad Programs that do include a CPC program, Client may terminate the Purchase Order on any day of the month by providing thirty (30) days' written notice, including email, to Client's account management contact at Yelp." You also asked that we waive the early termination fee, but per the terms of your advertising agreement, early termination is subject to a fee of $Thanks for understanding Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/07/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) On July 17,I've received a phone call from [redacted] Associate manager saying that they're going to waive the $cancelation fee and the termination day it would be August 1,she told me and my husband that we only have to pay the days cancelation policyThen I've received an email confirmation from [redacted] saying the same thing but this time she mention that we are going to receive a "FINAL BILL"" on Sep 1,for the ads/profile cost incurred on Aug 1....THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I've email her back letting her know about my concern never she answered my emailSomebody need to investigate Yelp and the people operating this kind of business, they are very fishy and they are not clearThey have more than complaint in the last years so I may not be wrong!....If Yelp was able to waive the $termination fee and other monthly fee to other costumer they should be able to do the same with meI'm not HAPPY and I DO NOT recommend Yelp to nobody!...Nobody mentioned before that to cancel I have to write an email to the account manager, nobody mentioned to me before about the days policy, nobody mentioned that I have to pay for that wanting month, nobody mentioned about the "FINAL BILL"...ALL THEY TOLD ME IS WAIT SINCE I WAS UNHAPPY THE SECOND WEEK....BUT THEY KEEP TELLING ME WAIT YOU WILL SEE THE RESULT....ALL I HAVE RECEIVED WERE MARKETING PHONE CALLS AND WRONG NUMBER CALLS! I AM NOT WILLING TO WAIST A PENNY ON YELP! I hope Yelp waive not only the $termination fee plus the "final bill"" for the ads/profile cost!

Hi [redacted] ,Thank you for writingWe 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 campaignWe've forwarded your concerns to the appropriate parties, and a manager, ***, has left you a voicemail to let you know we will be refunding you the early termination fee of $that was collected on July 7, If you would like to discuss your concerns further, please reach out directly to ***Regards,***Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/05/19) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] You expressed concern the the average cost of each click has gone upAs you may recall from the conversation you had with your account manager, ***, the packaged cost per click advertising program you initially signed up for had been a trial program that was offered to a limited number of customersWe opened up packaged cost per click programs to all customers in September, which has resulted in an increase in demand and price With regards to your comment, "I believe this click rate increase in fee is directly related to my decision to cancel their service," we want to assure you that Yelp does not retaliate against businesses for any reason, including deciding to cancel an advertising program You also wrote, "Yelp sends a weekly report of ad salesWeekly report breaksdown clicks and calls you receive which yelp is charging you forI noticed the weekly emails totals did not match/correlate with Monthly totals I was being charged by yelp, in yelps favor." It sounds as though the email you are referring to contains information about Customer Leads, and that you are comparing that information with the ad clicks information in the Yelp Ads tab of your Business AccountHowever, Customer Leads and ad clicks are separate entities of information Customer Leads are intended to show you how our users are adding and accessing information located in your Yelp business page after they've landing on the pageFor example, Customer Leads activity includes mobile calls, directions, user uploaded photos, clicks to your website, Call to Action clicks, and bookmarksCustomer Leads can be found in your Business Account, under "Activity." An ad click is when a person clicks on your business's Yelp adWith an advertising program, ad impressions will appear in places such as above search results and on your competitors' business pagesThese ad impressions have an orange border and an "Ad" notation to the left of the business nameClicking on your ad impression will take the user to your business page on Yelp Your advertising program is set to cancel as of May 31, As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with your contract, we will not be able to offer you a refundThanks for understanding Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/05/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Im going to agree to disagreeI understand you opened up your click Advertising in September of and rates increased I see that and completely understand it but it was a steady consistent increaseWhat changed happened in April of ? The month I cancelledThe cost per click jumped from March $to $in April after I cancelledNot in September, when as you stated, you opened up ads to all customersFor me to accept your explanation I would have to believe that Yelp managed in a month period to double their demand for advertisingI would have to ignore common sense to accept that explanationPlease let us fellow business owners how one doubles the demand for their product and their prices in days, because its a true miracle Im not interested in a refund anymoreSpending money on advertising that doesnt work out is part of businessI am however interested in Revdex.com posting both of our explanations for general public to view and make their own determination and view my experience Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2015/06/04) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for your responseWe appreciate your feedback regarding the price increase and have forwarded your messages to the appropriate parties for their consideration Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/05/08) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Program You expressed concern with [redacted] Z and [redacted] N's reviews of your businessAs you may recall from the correspondence you've had with the Yelp Support team, the reviews have been evaluated and left up, as they were not found to be in violation of our guidelinesPlease note that Yelp does not take sides in factual disputesRather, 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 reviewYou expressed concern that you are not able to respond to these reviews, but currently, businesses that have been marked as closed are not eligible for a business account We also want to address your comment, "I am thinking that Yelp put them there to punish me for not purchasing advertising with them." To be clear, a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treatedBusinesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertiseWe 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, "they delete positive reviews I get from time to time." If you are referring to the reviews by LeeAnn W, Lenny D, and Ying Ying Y, these reviews were removed for violations of our Terms of Service Additionally, you expressed concern that the changes you have submitted to the business listing have been rejectedWhile we enable users and business owners to submit changes to business pages on Yelp, our moderators evaluate those changes to ensure they meet our standardsAdditionally, our system will often automatically lock business information once it's evaluated by our moderatorsThis is to protect businesses from malicious or erroneous changesIn this situation, it looks as though your suggestions have been rejected because the changes were not appropriate or because we could not verify the new information You also expressed concern that the business page has been marked as closed, but it appears that you previously informed us that [redacted] Program has closedIf, however, your business is still open, could you please reply to this message with a link the the current business information on your business website or another public-facing source so we can verify it and update the business page on Yelp? Regards, Helen Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 9, 2015/05/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) #I have been attempting to get Yelp to address the fact that Ying Ying accused me of a FELONY on their website, and I have had no vehicle to respondI cannot imagine too many people who would let this go YingYing did not review my business, she is trying to ruin me personally, all because I would not change my business practice for herThis has endured for over years nowYelp removed the link for me to write a response, and now they tell me I cannot respond because my business is closed, largely to YingYing's diatribeI want my day in court, so I will simply take YingYing and Yelp to small claims and let them explain to the judge what is going onYelp does not help its customers; it slaughters themYelp is all about ruining small business and mine is by far not the only oneYou also allow others to post on my "closed business" but bar me from answeringWhat a scam you are Yelps extortion practices are also well knownThey routinely punish people for not doing paid advertising with themCheck in one of the other postings on this very websiteThat could be a motivation for themThe only other possible motivation is that they are antisocial and regulate their own emotions by picking on others Positive review deletion: no, I am not referring to the ones you listedI am referring to Minh Ha's review, which you re-posted after I made this complaintIt "disappeared" and now has "re-appeared." I have changed aspects of this business listing at least times, all have been rejectedVerify? How do you do that? With your search engines? Had you really verified what I wrote, you would find it trueThis is but one more example of your deceptive and brutal business practicesYou belong in a third-world country In conclusion, Yes, I have closed all piano teaching businesses and happily I do not list my other businesses with YelpI rue the day I did so with the piano teaching businessesThis mistake has cost me thousands of dollars and will continue to do so So, Yelp, explain how it is you allow others to post to my "yelp listing" but do not allow me to answer itExplain why, even though my Preschool P_iano Kids listing is still "open" that I cannot make changes or answer the "reviews" there, either I have a newsflash for you, YelpPeople become angry when they do not get what they wantOften, in business, people want more than the business can deliverThe few that are pathological enough to project out their own problems are the ones who review on YelpThey need a therapist, not the power to ruin someone's life because they did not get their wayThey should have gotten over that in childhood I have a suggestion, Yelpjust call me and talk to me to get everything straight so I can answer these folks on your siteOr, say why you are barring me from doing so Dr [redacted] Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 11, 2015/05/29) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for your response You expressed concern that you are unable to respond to [redacted] Z's review because the business page has been marked as closedWe have temporarily reopened the business page for [redacted] Program so that you can send a private message or post a public response to this review, and we will remark the page as closed on June 15, To respond to a reviewer, log in to your Business Account at https://biz.yelp.com/, click on the "Reviews" link in the left-hand sidebar, and then click "Send Private Message" or "Add Public Comment" below the specific reviewPlease note that in order to message users or publicly comment using your Business Account, we require business owners to upload a photo of themselvesOnce you've uploaded the photo and it has been approved by our staff, this function will be enabled on your accountFor guidance on using your Business Account, check out https://biz.yelp.com/support/using_business_account Additionally, while we share your concern about the possibility of a defamatory review on our site, we don't adjudicate disputes between businesses and their reviewersCongress acknowledged this predicament by passing [redacted] that provides statutory immunity to online service providers such as Yelp for the content of third-party postsSee U.S.C§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 contentsSee Carafano vMetrosplashcomInc., F3d (9th Cir2003); Zeran vAmerica Online, Inc., F.3d (4th Cir1997); Barrett vRosenthal, Cal4th (Cal2006) 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 With regards to your allegation that Yelp "routinely punishes people for not doing paid advertising with them," we want to reiterate that businesses are not punished if they don't advertiseWith respect to reviews, paying businesses have absolutely no advantageThe 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 You also wrote that Minh H's review "'disappeared' and now has 're-appeared.'" As you may have read, we use automated software developed by our engineers to recommend reviews from the Yelp communityPlease note that because our recommendation software is automated, the Yelp Support team cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewThat said, our recommendation software runs on a daily basis, so the results can change day-to-dayFor example, the software might pick up new information as time goes by that makes a reviewer seem more trustworthy, or the information we have about a reviewer can grow staleTo learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US With regards to your comment, "I have changed aspects of this business listing at least times, all have been rejectedVerify? How do you do that?" our moderators need to be able to independently verify each suggested change that comes in, for example, through a business's website or another public-facing sourceNot all suggestions are valid, so we have to carefully evaluate each one and look for independent confirmation before we can approve the changeIn some cases, your suggested change simply may not have fit our particular standards for business page informationWe want Yelp business pages to be simple, accurate, and generally reflective of the way consumers recognize a business Finally, you wrote, "Explain why, even though my Preschool P_iano Kids listing is still 'open' that I cannot make changes or answer the 'reviews' there, either." It appears that the business information fields have been locked to prevent malicious or erroneous changes to the business informationHowever, you should be able to respond to reviews on this page by following the instructions given above Regards, Helen Yelp Inc Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (4200, 13, 2015/06/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Yelp is an online business that likes to publish gossip and start fightsI have tried for years to get them to allow me to rebut Ying's "review," or delete it, and I had gotten nowhere until I reported them to the Revdex.comSo, thank you for that, at least I am in awe of the wide-eyed, bushy tailed response they give, making their decisions sound so benignYing Ying Ying (I think that is the name) accused me of felony child endangerment on her "review" causing me great harm since I did not do what she said I didIf anyone doubts that, ask yoursel (as you read the "review") why she did not report me, why she did not take her child to an ER or other facility to have her hand evaluated, and why she came back the following weekOf course, I did not hurt her little child, and I was not even rude to themI had no idea Ying Ying Ying was so angry at me until I saw that defamatory "review." There is no more [redacted] Program The address is incorrect, since the [redacted] Program is no longer in businessThat address has another unrelated business there The [redacted] Program's phone number is not working, because there is nothing to call There is no website There are no hours Yelp is now allowing others to place photos on the web page of my closed business, and there is no way for me to remove themI can't even remove my own photos, so I put photos of my dogs and cats up out of sheer exasperationI would like to hear from them how it is that others can place photos on my web page? Since they will not delete itthey will no doubt run it decades after my deathhow is it that they allow others to put photos on the site? Yelp also does not allow me to change the business information, and people are going to these old addresses expecting piano lessons and disturbing the businessesThen the business calls me and asks why I don't change the business informationThis is harassment for them, and from now on, I will tell them to contact Yelp Yelp allows others to put photos on the page with the defunct business information on it, but won't allow me to remove themAnyone can put whatever they want on that page For Preschool [redacted] Kids, same thingI can't change the outdated information, and this business is also closedSomeone came to my door yesterday, wanting preschool piano lessons and did not believe me when I told her we were no longer in businessShe left here angryI'll bet she writes a "review." Luckily there were others here to witness the fact that I simply told her we were no longer in business Yelp continues to allow anyone to levy accusations without any sort of proofThey are the only website I know of who will allow such things I know how they hide behind the freedom of the internet, etcThat is very unfortunateMy next move will be to start a site of my own whereby it only "reviews" sites like YelpYelp will be the first

Hi [redacted] ,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] ***.We forwarded your message to the appropriate partiesAs you may recall, a manager, ***, reached out to by voicemail and email on November to schedule a time to discuss your concerns.We are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaignTo 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 guaranteedWhen advertising with a Cost Per Click program, you were electing to pay every time a user clicked on your ad impressionYou were also paying for an enhanced profile, which included features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow.You wrote, "I canceled the service at the end of April or Beginning of May not even days into the verbal contract." We want to clarify that you have a written advertising agreement which you signed electronically, and per the terms of this advertising agreement, we require days written notice to your account management contact if you wish to terminate your advertising programYour advertising program began on April 28, 2016, and we were unable to locate a written cancellation request from you dated April or May Additionally, our records indicate that several members of our Account Management team were in touch with you throughout May regarding your advertising program.It looks like we received a written cancellation request from you on July 1, 2016, so your advertising program was terminated on July 31, As advertising services were delivered in accordance with the advertising agreement you signed, we will not be able to offer you a refundThere is currently an outstanding balance of $for advertising services delivered in June and July Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges.If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to [redacted] directly.Regards,***Yelp Inc

Hi [redacted] ,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for St [redacted] Preschool.You expressed concern with a reviewIt sounds like you are referring to the review by [redacted] * [redacted] *[redacted] previous review was removed by our moderators because it violated our Terms of Service, but they weren't prohibited from posting a new reviewIn these situations, we allow reviewers to post an edited review, and will evaluate that review on its own merits if necessary.With that in mind, we've looked at [redacted] *[redacted] current review and review udpate of St [redacted] Preschool, and have elected to leave them upIf a review appears to reflect a user [redacted] personal experience and opinions, it is our policy to let the user stand behind his or her reviewFor future reference, if you come across content that you feel may violate Yelp [redacted] Content Guidelines [redacted] , please let our moderators know by reporting itYou can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (dots) on the appYou'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 guidelinesEach case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was receivedTypically, you will receive a response to your report within a few business daysIf you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you may want to add [redacted] to your contact list)Regards,***Yelp Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: The alleged leads and advertising generated by Yelp did not translate into increased salesIf our sales were skyrocketing due to Yelp, we would not be filing complaintsWe track all our customers to see where they found usOut of all the campaigns we have started, Yelp has been by far the worst performer In addition to terrible ROI results, Yelp has the audacity to require additional monthly fees, and other charges to cancelI was unable to decrease the monthly capDue to these unsatisfactory results, any Yelp charges going forward will be declinedI would also request a refund on the charges already paid Regards, *** Sincerely, [redacted]

Hi Mac,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for Mac Partlow, MAOne of the ways we try to help Yelp users discover local businesses is by using automated software with the goal of showcasing reliable reviewsThis means Yelp doesn’t recommend every review from every user and the software is automated so that it can apply the same objective standards to every business and every reviewThis is very different from other sites that tend to feature every single negative rant and positive raveThe software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability and activity on YelpWhat is recommended can change over time, and a review that is currently not recommended may be recommended on another day.Please note that our recommendation software recommends both positive and negative reviews in an effort to show the most helpful and reliable reviews to our usersThat said, Yelpers write more positive reviews than negative reviews, so it isn’t necessarily surprising that Yelp’s recommendation software might impact more positive reviewsWe hope you’ll take the time to watch our video about the Recommendation Software: [redacted] We also want to be clear that actions taken by Yelp’s automated recommendation software are separate from the Yelp Support team's evaluation of reviews against our Content GuidelinesIf you come across content that you feel may violate Yelp's Content Guidelines [redacted] please let our moderators know by reporting itYou can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (dots) on the appYou'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 guidelinesEach case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was receivedTypically, you will receive a response to your report of a review within a few business daysIf you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you may want to add [email protected] to your contact list).If you have reported a review, received an email from us about our decision to leave it up, 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 reported) here: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/Can-I-request-a-second-evaluation-of-somethi...⇄ Inc

Hi Kyle,Thank you for your responseYou wrote, "There was no notification of charging my credit cardNo receipts, no invoices." After you signed up for your advertising program, we sent you an automated email with the subject line "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" that recapped your purchase and the details of your campaign, including the maximum you would be charged per month and what your billing date wasAs stated in this email, "The payment method on file in your account will be charged monthly, up to a maximum of $375, and your programs will continue unless cancelledYour Yelp Advertising program will be billed in arrears (after services are rendered)[...] Your billing date is the 1st of the month."Advertisers also have the option to opt in to receiving billing confirmation emails in the Account Settings section of their accountYou can view your billing statements at any time by logging in to your account at [redacted] and clicking on the Billing tab.Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback, and we'll make sure to forward your concerns to the appropriate parties so that they can take your suggestions into consideration.Regards,HelenYelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/05/13) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] You indicated that you would like to terminate your advertising agreementWe have confirmed with your account manager, [redacted] , that your advertising program has been terminated as of April 27, 2015, and that you will not incur any charges You also expressed concern that your sales representative had not followed up on your request to cancel your advertising agreementAs you may recall from the email you received from [redacted] on April (the same day you filed this complaint with the Revdex.com), he confirmed that he had your advertising program cancelledHe also let you know that he had been unable to return your emails and voicemails because he had been out of the office With regards to your request, "I want yelp to Remove the entire business from their website," please note that we don't remove business informationWhile some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the lawMore importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses You also stated that there is or was incorrect information on the business pageIt looks like the incorrect website has been removed and the phone number has been updatedHowever, if there are additional changes you would like to submit and if the new information is available on your website or another public-facing source, please reply to this message with a link so we can verify it and update the business page on Yelp Finally, you expressed concern that you have been unable to access the business account for [redacted] We've gone ahead and added you to the business account and have sent login information to the email address you providedIf you have not seen this email in your inbox, could you try checking your spam folder as well as any other email inbox tabs you might have, such as the social tab? Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (2000, 7, 2015/05/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) ***, Thank you for your responseI do not have any official records sent from the Account manager " [redacted] " and " Taking Care of it" by [redacted] does not seem like an official confirmation to a contract termination dealIn order for any customer to write an official letter to Yelp one must first sign in to the accountBecause I had no access to this account I could not get to the link.Everytime I called your answering service sent me to a voicemailThere was no other way of resolving this issueAs of today 5/27/2015, I will use this Revdex.com case number XXXXXXXX with your response to officially close my part in thisThank you for fixing the incorrect information because if your impressions work as well as your company states then having the yelpers see the wrong information on your page was costing me moneyBecause you are representing Yelp and my business is listed on your page I suppose we will continue to do businessMy concern is that your company is not equipped with the staff to manage and update customer business needs...for example the business name has changed from [redacted] fabrics and more to Owl you need is Fabrics and CraftsThe Phone number and name request have been submitted and it has not been updatedYou have stated that yelp "believes that the public benefits from sharing their experience with local businessYet again it takes so long to correct the information on your side of this webpageI am thankful that we have this Revdex.com to assist with situations like thisI firmly believe that if it was not for this official complaint my problem would not have been resolvedI have accepted this response because the contract is terminated and no further charges applyI have to continue to deal with the Yelp website because my business cannot be removedHaving access to my account allows me to submit information that needs to be updated but there is a lag time until the information gets updatedIf yelp was a bit more helpful to new possible customers you may acquire more businessWith this experience I highly doubt the possibilities of ever hiring your company to advertise for my businessSimply because yelp lacks a problem solving departmentThank you for your time and I hope that your company can become better at assisting new customers and resolving issues ***

Hi ***,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] We appreciate your feedback, and have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate parties.We want to clarify that having a business page on Yelp is freeHowever, Yelp also gives businesses the opportunity to sign up for enhanced profile features, such as a Call To Action button, a photo slideshow, and competitor ad removalAdditionally, businesses can sign up for paid advertising to increase the exposure of their business via features such as targeted ad impressions.Our records indicate that you signed up for a self-serve enhanced profile through your Yelp for Business Owners account on November 20, The enhanced profile cost $per month, and was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for services that were delivered in the previous monthIt looks like the enhanced profile was successfully turned off per your request on November 29, 2016, and the $you were charged on December 1, was for the enhanced profile you had from November - 29, 2016.It also appears you were in touch with one of our sales representatives, [redacted] , in November 2016, and that she was showing you some of our full serve advertising packagesIt looks like [redacted] sent you some pricing emails to show you how much these full serve programs would cost, and it appears you decided not to sign up for one of these full serve advertising programs.With regards to your comment, "Repeated automated emails showing the account is still active continues to come," it sounds like you may be referring to the Yelp Activity emailsPlease note that these emails are simply information about how your business is doing on Yelp, and any business owner who has claimed their Yelp page can receive these emails, regardless of whether or not the business is advertising on YelpFor information about how to change your email notification settings, please visit: [redacted] Your enhanced profile was turned off on November 29, 2016, but you still have a free business page on YelpWe hope you will continue to take advantage of the free features available to you on your Yelp for Business Owners Account to engage with the Yelp communityFor guidance, please visit http [redacted] Regards,***Yelp Inc

Hi [redacted] ,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] .We appreciate your feedback, and have forwarded your message to the appropriate parties for their considerationAs you may recall, a manager, [redacted] , emailed you on July 6, 2017, to provide you with some additional details about how the promotion was applied and what you were charged for.Our records indicate you redeemed a $promotional ad credit on May 11, To redeem the $credit towards Yelp ads, you were required to sign up for our Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising campaign and put a credit card on fileOnce the promotion runs out, advertising continues until you stop your ads through your Yelp for Business Owners AccountYou initially set your Cost Per Click monthly budget at $450, and also signed up for enhanced profile features which cost $per monthThat same day, shortly after you signed up for your ad campaign, you decreased you Cost Per Click monthly budget to $but kept the $per month enhanced profile featuresThen on May 12, you increased your Cost Per Click monthly budget back up to $450, and kept the $per month enhanced profile features.Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can be turned off by the business at any time through the Yelp for Business Owners AccountIf you only wanted to use your $promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the program once that credit was usedDuring your ad setup there were Q&A's on the right side of the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site.You can view a breakdown of how many ad clicks you received by logging in to your Yelp for Business Owners Account at https://biz.yelp.com/ and then clicking on the Yelp Ads tab.Please also keep in mind that your advertising program was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous monthThus, the $you were charged on July was for advertising services you received in June.Your advertising program was terminated on July 3, per your requestAs advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, we will not be able to waive the remaining balance of $for advertising services delivered from July - 3, Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further chargesThanks for understanding.Regards,***Yelp Inc