Recently, I was alerted that there were some not so nice reviews about Big Bucks Auto online. I was further disturbed when I saw that these listings appeared really close to the top on Google.  I, of course, checked out the review sites and immediately upon reading them, found the stories really absurd.  I mean, someone had done some of their homework, but for the most part, they read like constructed  nightmares designed to not just make Big Bucks look bad, but to make our competition look really good.

Uncertified Fake Reviews

Logically, if I could see that these had a good chance of being planted, I assumed that the websites that posted them be concerned as well and would listen to my reasoning and remove them. That’s when I began to understand what we were facing.

Reputations, Rip-Offs, Reports, and Rebuttals

I checked into Rip-off Report First since they were listed first.

 I am not listing a link here, since that how they get more power, but I went to the site and looked all over to try to find out what I could do. They have a program called “Corporate Advocacy” where they claim to help a business “Engages your business in a process that helps to satisfy customer complaints and make amends for past mistakes. “. I filled out all the forms and asked for more information.  They sent an email to me basically sounding incredulous since Big Bucks only had two negative listings with them. Apparently, they didn’t seem e to think it was a big deal? I don’t know, but I think it’s a big deal when someone calls me a liar. Anyway, I finally got the pricing for Rip-Off Report’s “help”:

• One time charge  of $7,500
• Then a Programming fee of  Plus $600 Per Report ( $1,200)
• Then a Monthly Monitoring Fee of  $40.00 per Report , but a  minimum $100.00 per month
• Times a minimum of 36 months of mandatory Monitoring

 Rip-Off Report would cost Big Bucks Auto a total of $12,300 over three years!  I didn’t know whether to laugh or choke! Needless to say, we choose not to go with that route because it really felt like pure extortion! It would have been more ethical to just demand payment to remove the listings. Then it’s just blackmail!

With little choice, we posted what is called a “rebuttal” and hope that anyone who reads the negative reviews can understand how we run our business.  Check out this link if you wish to know more about how Rip-Off Reports creates their extortion business. It’s complicated, but very insightful.

Pissed Consumer Personal Slurs 

The next “consumer advocacy” site was Pissed Consumer.

Here, we had three “reviews” (ETA:  now four!).  It’s funny how they called the entries “reviews” but that kind of wording is not reflected at all in the name.  One of the reviews was the same as a listed at Rip-off. Oddly enough it was also the same one that glorified the closest local used car dealer that we are in direct completion with. I understand that this is an internet marketing tactic that is considered unethical and “black hat”.  I am not crying sour grapes and I can stand the heat, but I am glad that I can say that I never got ahead with my business by running someone else through the mud.

 One review was more mild and, sure, we won’t make people happy all the time. I do wish though, that people would bring issues to my attention rather than just vent all over, but I can deal, I do just like to make people happy. It’s the final review;   I cannot classify it as anything else but a personal and highly discriminating attack.  I guess some people do enjoy not standing behind their words and the anonymity of the internet has appeal, but I cannot condone hatred by anyone.

This site too says they won’t remove anything and they are into “helping” with premium paid services. An individual person will be allowed contact with their accusers for $99.00 a month, while a small business also gets to control their profile for $1,999.00 a year. I wasn’t paying them any money either.

You see; these websites that are supposedly the “best consumer product reviews” are actually glorified extortion rings with little or no regulation.  Anyone can post a scathing negative review with absolutely no clarification process. What’s more, these sites openly and proudly admit that they will NEVER EVER remove any listing at all. They are set up so that blatant and slanderous lies can haunt a legitimate business with no recourse for the rest of its existence.

Optimized for Humiliation

What’s more, I have come to find out these websites are purposely designed to show up any time anyone search for the real business online! They employ website techniques called SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to be found quickly and high up when anyone looks for the business on a computer or mobile phone. It was explained to me (by someone who understands this kind of stuff better) that the huge size of these websites and the amount of pages they have makes  Google and Yahoo rank them higher and they  might never go away! I was enraged, not only that this was happening to Big Bucks, but that it could happen at all. The pure unfairness of this lead me to know more about what was going on and how it came to be so.

Big Bucks Auto Suffers from Search Engine Piracy

Since paying over 20 grand over the next three years to these places was not a remote possibility, I kept on looking into these sites.  I was actually happy to see that I was not only one experiencing a problem with them. In fact, there are quite a lot of folks who just hate them outright!  I What I found was some great investigative articles of people who really looked into how they manipulated Google for their own benefit, and unfortunately, trouble for people like me. Some of the information is really complicated, but it’s interesting!

Pissed Consumer and Rip-off Report: neither Respectable nor Legitimate

There are lawsuits against them: Rip-off Report Lawsuit Updates: Certain Approval Programs and Ecommerce Innovations

There are places that just outright hate them because it is seem that Rip-off Report IS an extortion business  and considered Spam. There are even whole blogs dedicated to complaints about Rip-Off report and a whole website about how horrible Rip-off Report is!

And, because they are being unethical; Google even knows that they are bad and Pissed Consumer was banned for over a year! It’s great that Google dropped them for doing what is considered link farming, but it looks like they are back.

Revealing the Extortion of Rip-Off Report and Pissed Consumer

Owning your own business is something like parenting. It can take over your whole life.  You worry about your business. You take pride when something goes right for it. And you want to protect your business from being hurt. Sometimes, over at Big Bucks Auto, these feelings are almost increased by the fact that it’s a family run business that has been my brother Bill and my legacy for generations.  While some people might laugh at the idea of being a proud used car dealer, we love what we do and we do it run the most ethical and best way possible.

Now granted, I feel the need to defend and protect my business, but that’s not the only reason to go into this much information.  I really believe in the internet and using computers and technology for the good of all people. Knowledge is power maybe this can help someone else who is being trashed by these places.  I know how very upsetting it is when it feels so undeserved; so if you are being trashed by these sites, then just know you are not alone.

While I don’t want people to think badly of my business, or that my employees or myself lie; but I also believe that we have to be truthful and honest and part of that is acknowledging both the good and the bad.  If people really have legitimate negative things to say about Big Bucks Auto then I actually DO want to hear them.  I don’t want to ignore it and hope that problems and issues just magically go away. I want my business to be better and the only way I can do that is to make you, my customers, happy.  Just do me huge favor and don’t subscribe to anger and give in to these private racketeers.  

Come see me and talk. I promise I’ll listen.

Thanks a whole bunch!

Buddy Evans

Big Bucks Auto