Furnace duct cleaning scare tactics

[RVThereYet]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

Remove it from their "own" website? If they don't like your review they can remove it themselves (from their own website). How are you supposed to alter their site? Unless its like this forum where you can edit your post maybe?

Look at the work order you signed, did it have a “non-disparagement” clause in the fine print? You may have agreed to not write any negative reviews after the service is completed, though it think their lawyer's letter would have reminded you of that.

If you left your review on something like Google reviews you can stand your ground - Its your (negative) opinion of their service and you are entitled to it (unless you agreed otherwise as noted above) and as long as it is factual and there is no defamation (libel) etc., and most importantly, you have proof to back up your claims. Perhaps you need to change it to something more neutral and less specific like, "Didn't live up to my expectations, would not use again".

Lawyers are very good at writing those "strongly worded" letters, they assume you will be intimated by them because you don't know what laws apply, and that you are worried about having to hire your own lawyer (i.e. spend lots of money). Most people that receive those type of letters will get scared and remove the review out of fear, and companies that send those letters most often count on that to happen.

But in the end, if the company decides its worth their money to fight you on this using a legal challenge, you have to decide if its worth it to you to fight back. It may mean having to spend your own money to defend yourself, and, if you have facts and proof, you may well win and perhaps even be awarded costs (or not). My bet is that the company is counting on you to remove your review and decide its not worth your troubles.

Good luck!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.2803572

[dasandman]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

Remove it from their "own" website? If they don't like your review they can remove it themselves (from their own website). How are you supposed to alter their site? Unless its like this forum where you can edit your post maybe?

It was a google review on their website, So yes, they can't remove it.

[alanjh595]

It was a google review on their website, So yes, they can't remove it.

Stick to your guns and wait to see what their next move is. You can always back out at a future date, without penalty or cost.

Silence speaks volumes, do not engage them.

[just popping in]

Just curious, did you file a complaint with Better Business Bureau? Usually get good results in doing that.

[alanjh595]

Just curious, did you file a complaint with Better Business Bureau? Usually get good results in doing that.

They don't do anything but document complaints. Only useful if you check with them prior to having any work done. Old school way, pre-internet.

[Bsuds]

Just curious, did you file a complaint with Better Business Bureau? Usually get good results in doing that.

They are a joke and only care about collecting their dues.

[dodgerdodge]

Like i said its really down to proof of the OP's allegations. If he/she cannot prove what they posted they could be sued for damaging the companies reputation or some other such charge. You cannot make blatant statements about a business that could cause them harm if you don't have any way of proving the point. I am not saying its right or that they didn't do exactly what was stated but without proof there is no real case.
Here's a recent clip from article in Edmonton:

Many of us check online reviews of restaurants or businesses before we try them, and many of us have written a few of those reviews too. But legal experts say it’s important to be careful what you write, because a nasty comment left on a review site could land you in court.

There have been many cases in recent years of companies suing online reviewers for defamation or libel -- often successfully.

Just recently, an Edmonton man told CTV News that a local tech company had threatened him with a six-figure lawsuit after he posted a negative review of the business on Google. He said that the business ordered him to remove the review, or face the prospect of a $150,000 defamation lawsuit. He was refusing to pull the review, however, saying he shouldn’t be penalized for being honest.

[Deean]

Happened to me two years ago. Got a "reputable" company to come and clean my furnace two years ago. The guy came in with a bunch of gauges and found a problem with the heat exchange and told me he was shutting the furnace off until I replaced the furnace. He said it was very old but I knew it wasn't. I asked him to leave, he said he wasn't done. I told him he was and asked him to leave again. The previous owner of the house kept good records of major purchases, which were passed on to me. I phoned the company that had installed the furnace and found it was still under warranty and they replaced the part and finished the job.

[just popping in]

I am assuming you tried BBB without good results.
Well how do companies get the good ratings if they aren't doing something to resolve issues?
Silly me, I get it, they pay annual fees.

[just popping in]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

Any update?

[common_sense_guy]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

with all this talk about your review that they want you to pull down. Why don't you either give us a link to the review so we can see ourselves what you said
Or tell us what exactly you said in the review. My guess if they actually sent a letter something you said in the review was not provable.. I looked through all the pages in here and couldn't see anywhere where you posted what the review in question said. why not.? it seems like a lot of people are on your side and I possibly would be too if I could read what you said about them. But I don't pick sides unless I got all the information and lawyers don't usually get involved unless it is warranted and they think they're going to win

[Bsuds]

I looked through all the pages in here and couldn't see anywhere where you posted what the review in question said. why not.?

Negative Business reviews are against Castanet forum rules and would be removed.

[Bpeep]

lawyers don't usually get involved unless it is warranted and they think they're going to win

That's not exactly correct.
They won't get involved if they don't think they'll win if they are hired on contingency, otherwise, if they're paid, they'll get involved and winning becomes secondary.

[Snman]

Duct cleaning itself is a total scam and complete waste of money. Change your filter regularly and if your kids drop crap down the registers, lift them up and drop the old vacuum hose down there. If there's dust sitting in your ductwork then it's clearly not becoming airborne when the fan runs, so forget about it.

[rustled]

Duct cleaning itself is a total scam and complete waste of money. Change your filter regularly and if your kids drop crap down the registers, lift them up and drop the old vacuum hose down there. If there's dust sitting in your ductwork then it's clearly not becoming airborne when the fan runs, so forget about it.

Can't agree. The return ducts on the house I bought had a rather thick layer of filth in them, and the house had been home to pets and smokers for several years before we bought. If I hadn't had them cleaned, it would have stunk forever. (And who knows what else was living in the layer of dust on the bottom of those ducts.) If my vacuum reached, I'd have done it myself, but it only got the first few feet. Leaving all that filth in there really wasn't an option for us.