Did you see an offer on TV or the radio which sounds too good to be true (pretty much all of them are)? If you still want to do some homework to see if the offer is legit, a great resource to take a look at is Ripoff Report.
What is the Ripoff Report?
Ripoff Report is a service to the world’s consumers. The Ripoff Report enables YOU the consumer to be armed with the opinions and comments of your fellow consumers. This report will help you exercise your first amendment right to freedom of speech. By using our forum, you will have an opportunity to speak out against companies, businesses, governments, and individuals that have treated you unfairly. The bad Business Bureau’s … Ripoff Report will help you do that! Once your report is posted, millions of fellow consumers worldwide will have access to your information!
You can search their database which has over 500,000 reports ranging from “make money by doing nothing” to insurance schemes. While the “if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is” rule is usually right on, this site is a good way to find out what experiences other people have had with the product or service in question.
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The RipOff Report is itself a ripoff. They have no system in place to vet reports, and as a result, competitors can defame their competition with impunity. And while the owners of RipOff Report state that they cannot interfere with “free speech”, for a hefty fee they will offer a solution that helps mitigate the damaging information (which can be 100% false)
I would never use them, and I would CERTAINLY never recommend them.
Ripoff report is just a place for whiners who didnt bother to read what they were ordering. No one validates what is written. Some of the reports are just ludicrous. I suspect that some websites are just making up stories about their competitors, When I tried contacting them about a vicious lie posted about a business of which I have been a client for years (this report claimed they were affiliated with another business who is a major competitor of theirs) I received no response. If you think I’m making this up, nothing stops me from going their and posting that PCmech is a bunch of crooks and that report will sit there forever for all to see.
The same could be said about product reviews on sites like Newegg and Amazon and/or local company review sites. Reviews are almost never validated since they are always opinions.
If you are malicious, there are no limits to the outlets you have.
You almost always have to be skeptical of all reviews on the internet. Negative as well as positive. I’ve heard of companies that have their employees post on their products/services, to up their “good” ratings.
Not that they’re not useful. You just have to be careful.
It goes to show, the internet is still (and should remain) the Wild West where people can pretty much say whatever they wish.