|
Here are some questions that we hear quite often.
About us
How we handle complaints
Privacy
Mail & phone inquiries
Personal advice
Who are you?
ConsumerAffairs.com is an independent Web-based consumer news and resource center. We are not a government agency, not affiliated with any other consumer organization and not affiliated with any of the corporations whose products are reviewed on our site.
Back to the top
Are you non-profit?
No. We do not receive any taxpayer funds and we do not seek or accept contributions from foundations or corporate interests. Our site is supported solely by advertising.
Back to the top
Is this a government site?
No.
Back to the top
Why are there ads on your site?
The ads are the major source of revenue for our site. Without them, it would not exist in its present form. Our site is very large and handles a lot of traffic each day. It is very expensive to maintain. We also spend a lot of time (and money) fighting off companies that try to shut us down, sue us or intimidate us into silence.
One of the things that makes our country great is a free press, supported almost entirely by advertising. In totalitarian countries, the government controls the press. Bad news.
Back to the top
I see ads for companies that are criticized on your site. What's that all about?
We don't control which ads appear on our site. They are placed by outside agencies. The fact that an ad appears on our site by no means indicates we approve of the product. Same thing's true for an ad in the newspaper, or on television or radio.
Back to the top
This seems wrong. How can you take money to advertise products you don't approve of?
It's a free country. Companies, even the ones we don't much like, have as much right to advertise as we do to publish our site, just as we have the right to publish critical comments about them.
Back to the top
I'd rather depend on a government agency for my news.
Fine. We're not the only game in town and don't want to be. Keep in mind that governments publish an "official" version of the news, which tends to be mostly about what a great job the government has done for you today. If you want to believe that, be our guest.
Back to the top
Why don't you get rid of the ads and raise money from foundations and corporations?
Foundations, especially those backed by big companies, want to control the content of Web sites and publications they underwrite. We have sat at tables where big drug companies dictated, line for line, what a not-for-profit agency would say in a publication financed by a supposed "unrestricted educational grant" from the foundation. This goes on every day. Corporate propaganda disguised as unbiased truth is much worse than advertising, which is at least clearly identified as such.
Back to the top
Are you saying non-profits can't be trusted?
Yes. We have a very low opinion of most supposed non-profit groups, except for those that are legitimate charities. Most Washington non-profits are nothing but lobbying organizations in disguise.
Back to the top
How do I know I can trust you?
You need to read through our site and see if we seem to be brave, courageous, bold, etc., just as you would any other information source you might run across. OK, we're not The New York Times but we're not an infomercial either.
Back to the top
Are you hooked up with lawyers in some way?
Yes, lawyers read all of the complaints submitted to us by consumers. On occasion, the lawyers will find something they believe could form the basis of a class action suit on behalf of consumers. If a consumer has indicated on their complaint form that they want to be contacted by a lawyer, they then research the issue and, now and then, contact the consumer and file suit on his behalf. Since our founding, hundreds of class action suits have been filed on behalf of consumers. We are not a party to those actions and do not profit from them.
Back to the top
I sent you a complaint. How come it hasn't shown up?
We don't publish every complaint we receive. In fact, we publish less than five percent, simply because we receive so many that it would be incredibly tedious to read through all of them. Instead, we watch for trends -- consumer problems that seem to be representative, so that someone can read through the site and find situations that he or she might very well encounter. This helps consumers avoid falling into the same trap. At least we hope it does.
Back to the top
Aren't you being terribly unfair and one-sided? Where's the good news?
Well, it is basically a complaint site so, yes, it's mostly complaints. Besides, we don't publish complaints unless we think they are representative of problems others might encounter when making the same kind of purchase. Also, we are happy to consider responses submitted by the companies at issue. And we have a Good Guys section where consumers can recommend companies that have treated them well.
Back to the top
Shouldn't companies have a chance to respond?
We're happy to publish responses. There is a response form companies can use to submit their response. We are developing a system that will make it even easier for companies to respond, both for publication on our site and directly to the individual who filed the complaint. We hope it will be operational in mid-2008.
Back to the top
Isn't your site defamatory? How can you libel businesses like this?
There's no question that some of the comments made by consumers may be upsetting and offensive to business interests. However, it's important to understand that the consumer comments are written by users of our site, not by the site's owners and employees.
ConsumerAffairs.com is an “interactive website,” enabling members of the public to post comments about their experiences. Even if a user were to post a defamatory comment about you or your business, ConsumerAffairs.com is entirely immune from any lawsuit based on those comments because of a federal law called the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230 (the “CDA”).
This federal statute, which was passed by Congress with the intent to “promote unfettered speech,” provides in relevant part: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1) (emphasis added). Section 230 further provides that “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.” Green v. America Online, 318 F.3d 465, 470 (3rd Cir. 2003) (noting that the CDA, “‘precludes courts from entertaining claims that would place a computer service provider in a publisher’s role,’ and therefore bars ‘lawsuits seeking to hold a service provider liable for its exercise of a publisher’s traditional editorial functions - such as deciding whether to publish, withdraw, postpone, or alter content.’”)
As one authority has explained:
“[The CDA’s] provisions set up a complete shield from a defamation suit for an online service provider, absent an affirmative showing that the service was the actual author of the defamatory content. Accordingly, a number of courts have ruled that the ISP was immune from liability for defamation where allegedly libelous statements were made available by third parties through an ISP or were posted by third parties on the server’s billboards, as the ISP fell within the scope of 47 U.S.C.A. § 230.”
What all of this means is very simple — if a user of ConsumerAffairs.com posted something defamatory about you or your business, you have every right to sue that person for what they have said (assuming the statements are actually false and defamatory). However, you cannot sue ConsumerAffairs.com for any statements posted by its users because the CDA provides immunity to the site absent an affirmative showing that the site itself actually wrote the defamatory statements.
Despite this legal immunity, ConsumerAffairs.com does occasionally remove or decline to post comments. This is at the sole discretion of our editors, and is also protected by relevant law. If comments about your company appear on our site, you may respond to them through our Company Response Form. Your response should address the subjects raised in the posted comments.
Back to the top
A friend of mine sent you a complaint, then the company took care of him but you didn't remove his complaint. Why not?
First of all, when a complaint is filed it becomes our property, as clearly stated on the complaint form. We are under no obligation to the consumer who sent it to us to remove it just because he changes his mind. To be blunt, this is not an extortion service. If you send us a complaint about the Bucket of Bolts Store and the store owner then sends you a truckload of bolts, that's great for you -- but what about all the other poor boltless wonders he took advantage of? Sorry, that's not what we're here for.
Back to the top
You say you keep complaints indefinitely in a database. What do you mean?
We categorize complaints -- by vendor, industry, product, geography, etc. -- so we can spot patterns and trends. We think that as time goes by, this will be a great research tool. It's pretty good right now; we regularly spot new problems with various consumer products.
Back to the top
You keep complainants' names?
Of course. We keep the entire complaint. We frequently contact the complainants months later for a follow-up.
Back to the top
Isn't this an invasion of privacy?
Absolutely not. Accountability is the flip side of freedom. See our privacy policy for more information.
Back to the top
I mailed you a written complaint and didn't get a reply. Why not?
We really are a Web-based service. We're not set up to handle written or telephone complaints. We forward the written complaints to the lawyers for their review but at the moment, that's as far as it goes. It would be too labor-intensive and expensive to type them into the database or actually print out a response and mail it. Sorry.
Back to the top
I called to ask you a question and you didn't call me back. Why not?
See above. We're just not able to do this. Sorry.
Back to the top
You ran a story saying that most make-money-at-home schemes are scams, especially if they have anything to do with sending out bills for doctors. But I have found one, Ace Billing Co., that seems legit. What should I do?
We get countless inquiries like this. We really can't respond to them, partly because we don't have time and partly because no one can keep track of which companies are "legit" and which ones aren't. Consumers need to read our site, and others like it, and judge for themselves whether the company's claims sound credible.
Back to the top
I sent an email asking for advice. Why didn't you respond?
Two reasons. The volume of such emails is so great that we simply don't have the resources to respond to them. More important, we are not lawyers and we can't give legal advice. We publish general advice on our Web site and we have a resource guide that can help you find assistance elsewhere.
Back to the top
I saw some complaints on your site that are similar to mine. Can you put me in touch with those people so we can start a class action lawsuit?
No. Our privacy policy doesn't permit us to do this. Besides, this really isn't how class actions happen. It takes an experienced, well-heeled consumer law firm to mount a class action, not a group of individuals. Class actions are very expensive to prosecute and in many cases, a lawsuit is simply not feasible for any number of reasons. In most cases, consumers are better off going to Small Claims Court, often the simplest and most inexpensive remedy.
Back to the top
Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
|
