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Yelp.com has closed my user account because they think I have been using it for fraudulent purposes to give friends good reviews. My business account is still active and people can write reviews of me there but my user profile is gone and the reviews I wrote along with it. I am furious. Here's the first email I got:
I'm writing to let you know about our decision to close your account. Your user account was flagged by the Yelp community, and our Customer Service team has determined that your account has violated Yelp's Terms of Service (http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos).
Specifically, the Terms of Service state that:
> "You shall not: create user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses."
We have determined that you have been using Yelp to improve your business' and your friends'/other small business owners' ratings on Yelp through review trading. We have determined that review trading does not reflect unbiased customer opinions which violates the spirit of Yelp.
We review every situation with detail and care and take account closure very seriously.
Regards,
Kris
Yelp Inc. User Support
San Francisco, California
I got this email from them a week and a half after I said no to advertising with them at a cost of $300 per month. I didn't know that my business profile was still up when I replied to them with a snarky email saying:
"I''m sorry but I don't undertstand this at ALL. Does this have anything to do with the fact that I just said no to advertising with Yelp at the cost of $300 per month?" To which they replied:
Hi Denise,
Thanks for contacting us with your questions regarding recent actions taken on your user account.
While in the past we allowed business owners to write reviews of their own business and other businesses, we have found that reviews written by other business owners or users with a special connection to a business contain a bias that does not reflect true customer opinions which violates the spirit and purpose of Yelp. For this reason your account was closed.
We understand that you may be frustrated with our decision, but unfortunately our position remains the same. Hopefully over the long haul, Yelp's commitment to unbiased local reviews will serve your business well.
Additionally, we have attempted to clarify our policy regarding reviews by business owners here: http://www.yelp.com/faq#great_review
I am furious with them. And I just get these form letters back from them. I called the sales rep who tried to sell me advertising. He said he had nothing to do with it but would try to get them to respond to me more quickly. What I am furious about the most is that I feel they are calling my integrity into question. I only review businesses I have tried. And I put a lot of thought into what I write. And because some of my reviews were for other health care practitioners, they cut me off. (I'm sorry,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
whittles - my review of you is gone.)
I decided to save the draft of the email I was going to write to them until tomorrow when I've had time to think about it. I probably won't sleep on it because I'm so upset I don't think I'll sleep that well.
I'm writing to let you know about our decision to close your account. Your user account was flagged by the Yelp community, and our Customer Service team has determined that your account has violated Yelp's Terms of Service (http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos).
Specifically, the Terms of Service state that:
> "You shall not: create user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses."
We have determined that you have been using Yelp to improve your business' and your friends'/other small business owners' ratings on Yelp through review trading. We have determined that review trading does not reflect unbiased customer opinions which violates the spirit of Yelp.
We review every situation with detail and care and take account closure very seriously.
Regards,
Kris
Yelp Inc. User Support
San Francisco, California
I got this email from them a week and a half after I said no to advertising with them at a cost of $300 per month. I didn't know that my business profile was still up when I replied to them with a snarky email saying:
"I''m sorry but I don't undertstand this at ALL. Does this have anything to do with the fact that I just said no to advertising with Yelp at the cost of $300 per month?" To which they replied:
Hi Denise,
Thanks for contacting us with your questions regarding recent actions taken on your user account.
While in the past we allowed business owners to write reviews of their own business and other businesses, we have found that reviews written by other business owners or users with a special connection to a business contain a bias that does not reflect true customer opinions which violates the spirit and purpose of Yelp. For this reason your account was closed.
We understand that you may be frustrated with our decision, but unfortunately our position remains the same. Hopefully over the long haul, Yelp's commitment to unbiased local reviews will serve your business well.
Additionally, we have attempted to clarify our policy regarding reviews by business owners here: http://www.yelp.com/faq#great_review
I am furious with them. And I just get these form letters back from them. I called the sales rep who tried to sell me advertising. He said he had nothing to do with it but would try to get them to respond to me more quickly. What I am furious about the most is that I feel they are calling my integrity into question. I only review businesses I have tried. And I put a lot of thought into what I write. And because some of my reviews were for other health care practitioners, they cut me off. (I'm sorry,
whittles - my review of you is gone.)I decided to save the draft of the email I was going to write to them until tomorrow when I've had time to think about it. I probably won't sleep on it because I'm so upset I don't think I'll sleep that well.