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REMINDER ABOUT NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Karl

The Boss
Staff member
E50 Owner
Premium Member
North East
E50 Expert
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105,085
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Location
Billingham
First Name
Karl
Elgrand
E50
Region
North East
All,

I have, yesterday, received my first legal threat from a company who had a negative review left on this forum.

This is NOT a joke.

We all know that a bad review of a dealer is just as important as a good one, but we also know that companies do not want their name dragged through the mud.

If you DO leave a negative review, keep it FACTUAL and have EVIDENCE to back it up. This evidence needs to be made public, or at least given to the club administration team so that if we do have someone threaten us with legal action, we have the supporting documents to prove the claims that have been made.

You CANNOT leave a bad review based on your opinions, or how you "felt" about the company.

GOOD EXAMPLE OF A BAD REVIEW
"I avoided this purchase from Dealer "X" because I used the CarVX report and found the car to be clocked... attachments below (include screenshot of advert showing claimed mileage and screenshot of CarVX report showing correct mileage - BOTH NEED DATE STAMPS). I would strongly advise anyone looking to buy a car to use this report to check the mileage before placing a deposit or buying a car."

BAD EXAMPLE OF A BAD REVIEW
"Dealer X are to be avoided because my mate told me they clocked his car, and loads of people on the internet have complained about them"


You MUST be able to back up any claims you make on this forum, any negative reviews or comments about individuals or companies that CANNOT be backed up will be REMOVED without notice, and repeat offenders will be banned. This is to ensure that the administration team remain on the right side of the law and we are not exposed to any legal action from third parties.

I am not sure how the law works in terms of the staff members, but I created, founded and own this club, and I know I am not in any position to be getting into legal battles with dealers.
 
Maybe in future, to save hassle for you and the site, all negative responses to "has anyone had any experience with company X" can be sent via pm to member asking question?
 
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The PM system is free to be used by anyone wanting to warn others from a particular company.

Reviews are OK as long as they can be backed up with evidence of events.

Even things such as proof of payment/refunds dated, they help back up what the poster is saying.

We live in a world where the burden of proof lies with the guilty party... and the guilty party is the club, aka me, if anyone posts anything that can damage a businesses reputation. So unless I see any evidence, I have to be seen to be removing any content that can be taken as damaging.
 
Good post @Karl todays blame and claim society will sue everyone but nobody would give you a reward if they said positive things.
 
From what you've said @Highway Dave it seems we all got the same message, I know I did. I can understand Karl's points about bad reviews etc and will of course abide by the rules.

I don't know for sure what this is about but I might have a guess.

But there can be another side to the same coin which I don't think the points/rules will equally address. The other side of the coin would be in a situation such as - If there were some sort of voluntary membership scheme that some vendors might be members of, other vendors (say even most vendors) in the same field were not members of. If members started implying that customers of none members somehow disadvantaged themselves by using none-member services and then took their ball in and threatened legal action when none members had some very convincing points and arguments that showed the members claims to be false, then the members and perhaps the voluntary scheme would have themselves to blame for starting the whole episode and looking all the worse because of the episode. Question then is, do the rules equally prevent vendors that are members of voluntary schemes from trying to paint some picture in which none members seem a worse option for customers? Because this is surely the flip side of the same coin. Also, isn't it true that this hypothetical voluntary scheme/body wouldn't say a dickybird if they were advantaged because of something one of their voluntary members claimed, that any claims/points made should be open to questions and counter-arguments, otherwise any rules will always favour such voluntary scheme and it's members. I would say if someone or some voluntary membership scheme doesn't want open discussion on a point, don't make the point, but if you do make a public point be prepared to argue your case publicly.

Edit: Turns out I guessed wrong! Now I don't have a clue what this might be about. But I think the above is still relevant so I'll leave it as is.
 
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Everyone got it.

Phew!! That's a relief. As a newbie I was quite shaken by that message - I wondered what awful faux pas I had unwittingly committed. I'd hate to be barred just as I am getting to realise what a wonderful and useful community this is.
 
Doesn't matter which dealer complained and tbh that's nobodies business except the trader and Karl.
 
This is my comment,
We might have a good reason to highlight bad service or a bad product but some people will use it as way to discredit a competitor or a person even if not true. What we read is not always necessarily true, therefore such comments should not be taken as gospel and certainly should not be published lightly.
If we comment about a company we should do it based on personal experience not on our mates experiences, say clearly in my experience....., backup it up with facts and be prepared to take responsibility for what we say.
If I have an issue with a company I will go to trading standards or even take them to Court if necessary.

Kick some butts Karl
 
Thank you all for your input.

I know its a touchy subject because we all want to be warned about bad dealers, and they are out there.

I just want people to post facts, not just opinions based on hear-say or what they've read.

It needs to be a personal recall of events, with proof, and then there are no issues.

Proof can be an email, a payment, a refund... It can be a screenshot of the advert and then contradicting evidence (ie advert states 10k miles, car history report says 100k miles.

It's not hard these days to prove that something dodgy is going on.

If you're only dealings are done verbally, with cash, then you have no proof on your side, and I very much doubt even the police or trading standards would follow up on your report without any facts.

It's a case of covering your arse, and making sure you get everything in writing, because then you can post a negative review, back it up, and no one can be liable for slander/libel.
 
At the bottom of every post by "report like quote reply" put a disclaimer for the club maybe? "The thoughts of this post are those of the poster not of EOC & the poster assumes all responsibility for his/her comments" or something similar.

Add any comments of reply or complaint from the dealer as a right to reply. It must be legal otherwise all the review sites & ecommerce sites like ebay etc wouldn't get away with it.
 
1. i have not left a negative review
2. if i want to do that because some company has been rubbish i will
3.do not send me e mail telling me what i may or may not do
 
@neil12000

If you do leave a negative review then your review will be removed without warning if there is no supporting evidence. What you need to know is this forum and the staff can be held accountable for a members possible slanderous post.

You WILL recieve emails from the club regarding important rules.

If you don't wish to recieve these emails and obey the club rules then leave the club!
 
1. i have not left a negative review
2. if i want to do that because some company has been rubbish i will
3.do not send me e mail telling me what i may or may not do


:joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy:






:rolleyes:
 
1. i have not left a negative review
2. if i want to do that because some company has been rubbish i will
3.do not send me e mail telling me what i may or may not do

Everyone got a notification to remind them about leaving reviews because I got a legal threat for content on this forum.

I am responsible for the forums content, and anything that is damaging to a company without evidence is slander and that's illegal.
I'm not going to court because members can't/won't follow the rules.

If you have a problem with the rules, send a letter to your MP and get the law changed. Until then, you will have to abide by forum rules.

Also, if the emails bother you, there is an "unsubscribe" button that will turn email notifications off if you want to.
 
1. i have not left a negative review
2. if i want to do that because some company has been rubbish i will
3.do not send me e mail telling me what i may or may not do

Congratulations on both missing the point and looking like a spoilt child. The site has to abide by the law, a law that could see Karl sued for real money if someone posts something negative with no evidence to back it up.
 
I think people have got annoyed at the email Karl because the tone of it implies that the receiver HAS in fact overstepped the rules, I also got that feeling when I read it, but decided to wait to see if indeed it was a general email to everyone, which it obviously was.
As that is now obvious, and not aimed at any person in particular, members do need to be aware that the owner of the site is indeed liable in court for anything published on the site, so it's not far to slander companies or even people on an open forum, use a PM to warn others instead.
There have been court cases again website owners with those owners actually loosing a considerable amount to pay damages, in fact I believe one had to remortgage his house to pay the costs. So best not to put Karl or the other moderators in that position.
 
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Yes, global emails to members are automatically given a personal touch by the forum software by adding the recepricants name to the message.

Thanks to all of you who understand the situation and are willing to support the club and its staff :)
 
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