How to trace False Reviews

[wildchief]

Hello

Recenty someone has written a false review on trustpilot.co.ukregarding my business.

It is entirely false. Now I am confident tustpilot will take it down however I would like to trace the originator of this review and take appropriate action.

How can I force trustpilot to hand over the details?

Thank you

 

[Nochexman]

You can't. Move on.

 

[wildchief]

You can't. Move on.

Thank you for your reply. They have called my business "thieves" so it is fairly serious. I am surprised that I can't.

 

[Nochexman]

I feel your pain, but it is amazing what people have the brass neck to say on a review website. If they can prove they were your customer they can pretty much say what they like.

 

[wildchief]

Thanks Nochex, thats interesting "if they can prove they were your customer" well it would appear they aren't - we think its a competitor but finding out who is the trick

We don't use trustpilot as paid for service so its someone doing it off their own back

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Does it really matter ?
If your sales depend on the internet and then it might . For those of us that don't depend on the internet then they can write what they like

There is hope a company in London called reputation.com do a really good job but they are not cheap

 

[Nochexman]

Does it really matter ? If your sales depend on the internet and then it might

That is a pretty curious thing to say on an internet discussion forum for businesses!

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

That is a pretty curious thing to say on an internet discussion forum for businesses!

Hello Nochexman that's why curiosity is a large part of our human make up !!

We have a very high presence on tinternet but the reality is its mostly a day of wasted calls for people selling or buying things on ebay . .We do get some good work but the costs over the years and the hassle are probably not worth the work

I can cold call a company and gets some good contracts by going to see them in an old fashioned business to business way . This is where the profit is for us not internet sales . There is little money to be made for our type of work online . Its the old ways that still make the money in this game

 

[The Resolver]

There is hope a company in London called reputation.com do a really good job but they are not cheap

I think, Jeremy, they seem to just offer a service to drown out adverse reviews by increasing the positive reviews. They are primarily a Silicon Valley company with a Liverpool office (have you seen a London office as well?)

.

If they can prove they were your customer they can pretty much say what they like.

Not so. Help is now at hand ,( since January 2014) with the Defamation Act 2013. You serve a notice under s.5 and the website has to contact them within 48 hours else must take down the review and also loses any defence to liability for damages from the defamation through not being the person who posted it. They also have to take it down If the site does not have any contact details or if the poster of the review fails to respond within 48 hours. They must request consent from the poster of the review to provide the complainant with the poster's contact details. If the poster fails to give such consent then the site cannot pass them on but you can then seek disclosure through the courts.

Trustpilot is based in the USA but under the Defamation Act you can sue if you can show that the courts of England and Wales are more 'appropriate' - too early to say what would qualify but if you are based here- and the 'customer'/competitor is also based here then I think this should qualify for issuing here.

Damage from adverse reviews can be huge especially since Google etc aggregate reviews from wherever they can find them to include in their star rating metrics. I had a client who lost over 2 stars overnight (and much business) thanks to a series of false reviews (by the same person over the same matter) on Trustpilot. Consumer reviews were once thought of as a great development in consumer power but cynical use has changed the dynamics and the culture. Sites like RipOffReport.com (as its name suggests are not interested in positive reviews) aggravate the situation. Its vital that people know about and use the new tools in the Defamation Act to bring some balance (and also encourage review sites to be more pro-active) . I also feel that the UK Government should make use of the option Brussels has given it to widen the implementation of the Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution and its accompanying Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution to make it open to claims by traders on consumers (for damage from false and malicious reviews) rather than just the other way round.

Rant over

 

[paulears]

This isn't quite correct. If defamation has occurred, then the publisher is responsible and will normally respond to a proper request from a legal professional with the details they hold. This happened to me, and although in my case the facts I posted were correct, the forum, when threatened, immediately removed it and gave the details they had about me, including three IP addresses I had posted from, to the complainant. I suspect that as they would have to provide this to a court, they simply duck out, pass on the details and try to keep out of it. Worth a try if you are really cross.

 

[The Resolver]

I am correct about the new law. Either the complaint about your posting arose before this year or that either the complainants lawyer or the website were unaware of the new law or the website preferred to remove every post as soon as a complaint was raised ( which was the wise policy anyway before the new Defamation Act ). As to providing your details, they could have done this to avoid court action or by 'consent' from you under their terms and conditions .

 

[paulears]

That's quite informative, thanks.

 

[Nochexman]

...You serve a notice under s.5

That is very helpful. Apologies for my ignorance, but how do you serve a notice under s.5?

Is this something anyone can do or does it help to be a lawyer?

Is there a simple s.5 online form that anyone can use?

Thanks,
- Peter