Is there a way to block someone on Yelp?
Is there a way to block someone on yelp from messaging you or looking at your profile? If so. please tell me how? i posted a review on Yelp and someone messaged me and reported my review because they were affiliated with the business and sent me a message. Can i block this person from messaging me and viewing my profile?
If I yelp, will they see my email? ?
It is most probably they will try to dig out information about the person who posted a review that is not entirely in their favor and will find your email address. Make a fake account with a fake name and address but the review would be honest. Don't make your review private as it would have less impact, if the public would see it, managers would be troubled to correct their mistakes.
Threatened by a business owner for a yelp review, is this legal?
You are entirely permitted to post a negative review of a place where you have had experience. If you found the staff to be rude, you are legally allowed to share that information with anyone at all, including on the internet. The business owner is trying to contact you and is trying in multiple ways, including your parents. This is harassment only when you tell him to stop. If I were you, I would create a "cease and desist" letter (do a search online for a sample template), sign it, and mail it to him certified mail, return receipt requested. When he gets it, he runs legal risks if he contacts you again, other than to serve you legal papers. The second negative review is also legally protected as well, even if it really did come from you as a second posting. He cannot sue you for libel, since you had an experience, were not lying, and were legally sharing the experience with others. You can share the voicemails if you so choose. Once the person leaves a voicemail, they become the property of the recipient to do with as he or she pleases.
If you have a dispute with a company, and threaten to post a negative review if they don't refund you, is that considered blackmail? Or does the fact it's in the context of a commercial transaction make a difference?
As an avid Elite Yelper we know that this tactic would violate both sides of the Yelp policy against this type of action. As a reviewer it is abhorrent behavior on your part and those of us who appreciate valid reviews on the platform would shun you. In returning your fee to avoid a bad review, either before or after it is posted, the business would be in direct violation of the Yelp Business rules, because they would be guilty of essentially “buying” false reviews. The consequence of that is to be forever banned by Yelp.Most other review platforms have similar rules and/or policies for both businesses and for reviewers. So if you threaten the business you are stepping into the category of “blackmail” by crossing the line of reasonable social interaction and fair commerce. It’s a slippery slope and can damage your reputation as a reviewer forever. If we knew the business agreed to your tactic we would never spend there. Besides that, you are cheating those of us who need to know about poor performance so we won’t waste our money with that business.Let’s take a short look at how most people actually read reviews. The majority of platform users skip over reviews by people with only one review, and Yelp even has a category of “Not Recommended.” Most people wonder why businesses have so few reviews, and look for how many stars a business has after lots of reviews. It makes sense to go to a restaurant lots of people liked, right?My practice on the Yelp platform is to read only reviews by people with “triple doubles” i.e., double-digit 1) friends, 2) reviews, and 3) photos, because having those numbers means that you are also an avid Yelper. Those reviews are sound, and usually spot on. We can read other reviews if we are searching for essential details that we can use to our advantage. But we’ll never get to see yours, because you sold out.
I left a bad review on yelp of my apartment complex, manager threatening to kick us out?
So, I left a bad review on Yelp about my apartment complex. My family and I already have a bad relationship with the management because we housed a dog when they have a no pets policy. I am planning on rehoming my puppy. I left a bad Yelp review a few weeks ago and I guess management just now saw it. They came into my apartment this morning, WITHOUT A NOTICE. (I live in California, and law states they need a 24 hour notice before coming in to the apartment, right?). Anyways, because they saw the Yelp review, they told my mom "if your daughter hates this place, you guys should pack your things and move out." (I was at work during this time) I know it s not a threat EXACTLY, and I m being over dramatic. but what can I do? She came in this morning, no notice at all. and threw a fit because I left a bad review. I deleted the review. but I still think I had the right to post the review on the place, right? or am I just being completely insane?
Can you sue for someone using your picture without permission?
My dad owns a shop and a customer subtly took out his phone and took a picture of him without him seeing. He then posted the picture on yelp and wrote a negative review. Can my dad sue him for not asking his permission to use the picture?
What can I do when you post a Yelp review and the restaurant manager attacks you?
Assuming this is a virtual/written attack, edit your original Yelp review and include the attack and make sure you state it's the restaurant manager's response.Be sure to leave a review on TripAdvisor as well, mentioning the poor service and abusive restaurant manager. With any luck he'll lose customers very quickly.If this is a physical attack or threat face-to-face, report him to the police.In any case, make sure you to post on Facebook, to warn your FB friends.
Is it illegal blackmail to accept a refund from a business, which is offered conditionally upon agreeing to take down a bad Yelp review?
Is it illegal blackmail to accept a refund from a business, which is offered conditionally upon agreeing to take down a bad Yelp review? Assume the Yelp review is 100% truthful and describes a provably worthless service, that cost thousands.It is going to depend on the wording of the applicable statute. In the U.S. that would include that of the state of the reviewer (and that of the business if it is in another state) as well as the Federal blackmail statute. There is also in addition to the foregoing “common law” extortion. And there are likely some provisions in the Yelp terms of use that might be exploitable by a plaintiff.The text of the Federal blackmail statute can be found here: 18 U.S. Code § 1951 - Interference with commerce by threats or violenceKeep in mind statutes such as these can never be read under what might appear to be the “plain meaning”. They are invariably interpreted in an expansive manner (there are reasons for this, but not worth going into here).The Federal Statute states: The term “extortion” means the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.So I would not so glibly assume that doing what is proposed would be found to be legal. The issue is not about truth. Let’s say the blackmail was about threatening to disclose truthful bad acts in the past by a person. That is classic blackmail.Also “100% truthful” Yeah sure. Inside your mind. Good luck trying to prove it when you are fighting competent counsel in court. Rest assured the complaint will state the exact opposite. Have you given any thought to what admissible evidence you will have to submit to the court?Before filing a lawsuit, you would want to research the extent to which, if at all, there is a private cause of action under any of these statutes. Here is an interesting private cause of action case Flatley v. Mauro, 139 P.3d 2, 46 Cal.Rptr.3d 606, 39 Cal.4th 299 (Cal., 2006).Subject to a little more research… Yeah this is a case I would take as a plaintiff’s attorney. Especially if the reviewer had done this one or more times previously (thereby evidencing a “plan or purpose”).
Can you go to jail for writing a bad review on yelp?
No. You can't go to jail. If what you posted was factually incorrect, then you could be sued. But if everything you said was factually correct or your opinion, then she would not be able to successfully sue you. Defamation is not as simple as suing anyone who says something negative. The allegations have to be factually incorrect, i.e. "The owner doesn't pay taxes", when she does in fact pay taxes. A statement of opinion, i.e. "The owner is not very nice", is an opinion, and you have the legal right to post that anywhere you want, and she cannot sue you over your opinion. But either way, you can't go to jail over a lawsuit.
Why doesn't Yelp allow users to post anonymous reviews?
{Disclaimer: This is my personal perspective only; I don't recall ever directly discussing this issue with the management team.}yelp's motto is "real people, real reviews." A key value proposition that yelp offers is reviewing businesses where subjective taste matters, such as restaurants, bars, hair stylists, personal trainers, primary-care physicians, dentists. As a result to gauge a particular establishment (especially when substantial money or social capital is at stake), it is crucial to triangulate the reviews of a specific user against a common reference point. For example, if I want to ascertain whether to defer to Jack Stahl's yelp review of a particular restaurant, I will read his reviews of places that I am already familiar with and test whether he is a good proxy for my perspective. Similarly, if I discover a user who has posted an insightful review of establishment X I will often browse all of her reviews to identify a new interesting establishment Y to experiment. None of this is possible with anonymous reviews.