General Discussion

xchrom

(108,903 posts) Fri Oct 10, 2014, 06:26 AM Oct 2014

Corporations Are Trying to Take Your Right to Complain About Their Products Away

http://www.alternet.org/economy/why-consumers-are-fighting-their-right-gripe

Customers may unknowingly sign away their right to free speech by accepting the terms of service without reading the fine print. To prevent consumers from posting negative reviews, some companies are slipping non-disparagement clauses into contracts. If users post bad reviews online, even accounts that are completely truthful, they could be sued for violating the terms of these so-called agreements.

Companies do have the right to sue people for disparaging reviews if they are false. The issue at hand is whether a company can sue a client for posting a negative review that is true. As of now, litigation is largely determined on a case-by-case and state-by-state basis.

Recent Cases in the News

Kendra McConnell, a resident of Arizona, posted a review on Yelp after having her car repaired at Premier Coach Works in El Mirage. She stated that she was unhappy with the repair job as well as Premier's customer service. Shortly afterwards, McConnell received a letter from Premier Coach stating that she must remove her review from Yelp because it wasn't truthful. Instead of taking it down, McConnell posted the letter along with a rebuttal in her existing review. According to McConnell, Premier Coach sued her 10 days later.

"I was very upset that I would have to take time off, research, and find a lawyer to represent me because I was acting out my freedom of speech," McConnell told KPHO. When she finally agreed to remove her post from Yelp, Premier Coach Works dropped their lawsuit.

24 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Corporations Are Trying to Take Your Right to Complain About Their Products Away (Original Post) xchrom Oct 2014 OP

I've heard of this before and.... Takket Oct 2014 #1

Congress act? With the current clowns in charge? hobbit709 Oct 2014 #2

Precisely. Enthusiast Oct 2014 #5

I guess we can't complain about Congress anymore then either.. Bandit Oct 2014 #12

Thread winner malaise Oct 2014 #20

Take it to the Supreme Court! tecelote Oct 2014 #6

By doing business with us, you agree to our Terms and Downwinder Oct 2014 #3

I fucking dare them to try... TheVisitor Oct 2014 #4

Agreed. bvf Oct 2014 #8

Free speech? Maybe not any more! Nt newfie11 Oct 2014 #7

money is free speech. Got enough to sue? n/t librechik Oct 2014 #18

Free is the key word newfie11 Oct 2014 #24

Those "consumer recommendation" services dotymed Oct 2014 #9

A bed and breakfast claims to charge $500 per negative Yelp review KurtNYC Oct 2014 #10

Surprised they're still in business FiveGoodMen Oct 2014 #23

These arbitration clauses are really nasty Gothmog Oct 2014 #11

Freedom of speech is unlimited, corporations should know that. Lies, fear, hate, sedition, telling Fred Sanders Oct 2014 #13

good post. LawDeeDah Oct 2014 #14

I will also sign away my right to broadcast hate speech and genocidal urging when the law says so, Fred Sanders Oct 2014 #16

Good, important post, but old news hueymahl Oct 2014 #15

Everyone knows corporations are good people who'd never ''deliberately'' hurt anybody. Octafish Oct 2014 #17

Corporations are people my friend: Thuggish, fascist people. marmar Oct 2014 #19

Any attempt to stifle such complaints is a violation of my religious freedom!! Purrfessor Oct 2014 #21

I wonder when politicians will start playing this game grahamhgreen Oct 2014 #22

Takket

(21,573 posts)

1. I've heard of this before and....

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 06:33 AM

Oct 2014

It's pretty scary. I think the issue here is whether such a clause should even be allowed to exist. What if every company did this? Suddenly over night corporations would basically have created federal legislation making it illegal to complain about service. Companies would be allowed to rip people off left and right with impunity. Not a good thing! Congress should act to ban this practice.

hobbit709

(41,694 posts)

2. Congress act? With the current clowns in charge?

Reply to Takket (Reply #1)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 06:36 AM

Oct 2014

Most Congresscritters are wholly owned subsidiaries of the corporations.

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)

5. Precisely.

Reply to hobbit709 (Reply #2)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 07:35 AM

Oct 2014

In some way or another we must take measures to restore this nation.

Bandit

(21,475 posts)

12. I guess we can't complain about Congress anymore then either..

Reply to hobbit709 (Reply #2)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:53 AM

Oct 2014

The corporate owned ones anyway...

malaise

(269,024 posts)

20. Thread winner

Reply to hobbit709 (Reply #2)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 10:38 AM

Oct 2014

by a distance

tecelote

(5,122 posts)

6. Take it to the Supreme Court!

Reply to Takket (Reply #1)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 07:51 AM

Oct 2014

They'll bar any bad reviews of any business.

Case closed.

Downwinder

(12,869 posts)

3. By doing business with us, you agree to our Terms and

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 07:00 AM

Oct 2014

Conditions. The world of shrink wrap contracts. by reading this web site, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

TheVisitor

(173 posts)

4. I fucking dare them to try...

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 07:08 AM

Oct 2014

bvf

(6,604 posts)

8. Agreed.

Reply to TheVisitor (Reply #4)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:16 AM

Oct 2014

Bad enough that a corporation can be treated as a person. To accord free speech rights to a corporate entity that actually override my own sounds like an invitation to open challenge.

newfie11

(8,159 posts)

7. Free speech? Maybe not any more! Nt

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:04 AM

Oct 2014

librechik

(30,674 posts)

18. money is free speech. Got enough to sue? n/t

Reply to newfie11 (Reply #7)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 10:34 AM

Oct 2014

newfie11

(8,159 posts)

24. Free is the key word

Reply to librechik (Reply #18)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 10:23 PM

Oct 2014

Suing is not free.
It's all about money.

dotymed

(5,610 posts)

9. Those "consumer recommendation" services

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:17 AM

Oct 2014

are a scam anyway.
They charge you for a rec. and they charge the businesses to be "on the list." capitalism in action..

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)

10. A bed and breakfast claims to charge $500 per negative Yelp review

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:34 AM

Oct 2014

They said on their website:

If you have booked the Inn for a wedding or other type of event anywhere in the region and given us a deposit of any kind for guests to stay at USGH there will be a $500 fine that will be deducted from your deposit for every negative review of USGH placed on any internet site by anyone in your party and/or attending your wedding or event.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/04/union-street-guest-house-yelp_n_5648082.html

Made national news 2 months back and they were slammed with thousands of negative reviews every day.

FiveGoodMen

(20,018 posts)

23. Surprised they're still in business

Reply to KurtNYC (Reply #10)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 06:13 PM

Oct 2014

Gothmog

(145,291 posts)

11. These arbitration clauses are really nasty

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 08:40 AM

Oct 2014

There are grounds to claim that they are contracts of adhesion but that is a difficult fight

Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)

13. Freedom of speech is unlimited, corporations should know that. Lies, fear, hate, sedition, telling

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:21 AM

Oct 2014

troops to abandon the President at a time of war and broadcast it on national cable, all good, not to be tampered with in the slightest way.

I will sign away my right to lie when Fox News does.

LawDeeDah

(1,596 posts)

14. good post.

Reply to Fred Sanders (Reply #13)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:24 AM

Oct 2014

Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)

16. I will also sign away my right to broadcast hate speech and genocidal urging when the law says so,

Reply to LawDeeDah (Reply #14)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:29 AM

Oct 2014

which it does not.

hueymahl

(2,497 posts)

15. Good, important post, but old news

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:26 AM

Oct 2014

Premier Coach works did this in 2013. BUT, they are still in business. If anyone happened to want to express your feelings about their behavior, I would suggest you exercise your free speech! These asshats can be found here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/premier-coach-works-auto-and-rv-body-shop-el-mirage

Have fun!