Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Yelp Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Yelp Inc.

  350 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105

• 

  Yelp Inc

  P.O Box 204393 Dallas, TX 75320

• 

  Yelp Inc.

  140 New Montgomery St San Francisco, CA 94105-3705

• 

  Yelp.com

  11 Madison Ave Fl 14 New York, NY 10010-3670

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My name's *****, I'm in charge of business operations with Enthalpy HVAC systems. I'm writing this as a formal complaint regarding the ridiculous, exorbitant, unnecessary and unfair charges on our account with YELP that occurred in the month of June and early July 2022. We have since closed our account with YELP.First of all we only had 3 successful job leads from yelp and those are the only ones we're paying for. Second, we made it very clear with the person who signed us up, that we were not interested in anything called a contract and if it were so, we wouldn't move forward with the account. He made it very clear that it wasn't a contract and that there were no hidden fees. Then he never mentioned that we would be charged for having our logo on your page. and listing the services we offer on their page. Then, on the yelp page itself, it's very clear that YOU ONLY PAY IF THE CUSTOMER ACCEPTS. We are being charged with hidden expenses that were never brought to us upfront. This is open day theft. I know we have a bill to pay, which is $298 for the 3 leads which the customers accepted to do business with us. We requested to talk to the supervisor or manager and we were told by *****, a customer service rep that their managers or supervisors do not talk to clients. We filed a dispute with them and they are stating it is final and we have to pay. The bill we are being charged is around $1333.30. BBB can you please help us settle this dispute. Our company is still in its baby stages and only part time. For the three calls we got, we cant be charged over $1000? Please help us settle this dispute. NOTE; The guy who set up the account for us, ******* was his name if I remember well, promised to make a follow-up call to us, 2 weeks after opening up the account. He never called us at all. When we called him 3 times, he didn't even bother to answer or return our calls. Thank you!***********************.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Enthalpy HVAC Systems.
  
  We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. To be clear, while the goal of advertising on Yelp is to drive more traffic to the business page, which may ultimately result in more customers, it is important to keep in mind that results are not guaranteed. 
  
  Our records indicate you signed up for an advertising program on 6/3 with a $450 monthly Cost Per Click (CPC) budget (or a $15 per day average). You also included a $120 monthly Page Upgrade package (or a $4 per day average) for total charges of up to $570 per month. This monthly maximum was stated in the "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email we sent when you signed up for this program. Your advertising program was also billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. 
  
  Your advertising program also included a Yelp Boost promo of ** to an additional $900 in free Yelp ad clicks be applied over 3 months. Please note that this promo was for an additional ad budget of up to $150, $300, $450 each respective month, and not a discount on the services you signed up for.
  
  On 6/5, you also signed up for our Nearby Jobs feature, which is a pay per response with a variable cost.
  
  You ended your advertising campaign on 7/12. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms (https://biz.yelp.com/tos/master_advertising_terms_en_us_20220201) you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
  
  Regards,
  Daisy
  Yelp, Inc.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/01/2022

   
  Complaint: 18116482
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Complaint: 18116482
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  When we spoke to our Yelp account manager (I believe his name was Will), he clearly assured us of no hidden fees. He told us that we would only be charged for what we used and gave us the scenario  of an electricity bill. He stated with electricity you are only charged for what you consume and so will be the case for Yelp. He stated we would ONLY be charged for the leads we would get. He did NOT mention anything about advertising or any other charges involved. I have just read some of the ****** reviews for YELP and this is the same complaint most of the clients with YELP are against (hidden charges) No wonder YELP has a very poor rating. The sales people say something else and when the bill comes after 30 days, it is something else they are billing you. This is a hoax. We are willing to pay for the three leads we worked which comes to about $298 dollars. The other charges were unknown to us and had we known they were there, we definitely would not have signed up for YELP. 
  
  We were very clear with Will when he called us to activate the account, we told him that we were moving away from home advisor because of the hidden charges and we would not like to have the same experience. This is when he assured us we would only be charged just the same way we are charged for electricity. He requested us to sign up for a promo of $900 and we told him we didn't have this much money and he stated we did not have to pay anything, it was just a promo. I believe they use just the sales language to get you in their trap and then send you a bill unexpected. YELP should stop hiding charges and be upfront to clients and explain in detail the costs involved when you work with them.  Telling clients something else and then billing them outrageous charges they do not expect is THEFT!!!!!!!
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  

   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/06/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you for your response. We are sorry to hear about your continued frustration.
  
  While our sales reps are able to walk you through the steps of the sign-up, our program is designed to be a self-service program. Sales reps do not have the ability to sign up for features. Signing up for advertising required you to click through each on-screen prompt as they appeared. These prompts displayed information which includes a full description of the promotion, cost per click estimate, daily average budget, monthly maximum budget and first expected billing date. All information is available to review in the final step of the advertising set up before you select to start advertising. This information was also sent in the "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email, which was sent to the email used to login to the **** after you signed up for your program. We also provide multiple resources such as our Customer Success Team to assist you with any issues. 
  
  Our decision not to refund will stand. You may reach out to our Customer Success Team at ************ with any further questions.
  
  Regards,
  Daisy
  Yelp, Inc. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/10/2022

   
  Complaint: 18116482
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

   

  Your sales reps do not have the ability to sign up for the features so they use their cunning language to get us into unexpected bills. I believe they are supposed to outline any basic information especially when it comes to finances. At the end of the day, my business gives you business and you give me business and we need to both earn from this relationship not the other way round. YELP this is clear day robbery.  Do you even take time to read through your reviews? If you do and you realize there is a problem with your cunning sales people, why don't you train them better?  These unexpected costs are the main complaint your reviews are very bad. 

   

  We are ready to pay $298 and we will call in to pay this amount. We are not asking for a refund. Our final resolution is we will ask you to review this case again and offer a discount. Time is precious and we have no time going back and forth with you. Be fair to your clients by ACCEPTING your faults of miscommunication. 

   

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/12/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  We assure you that we have thoroughly investigated your account. All billing information is presented to you during the signup process. You would have needed to click through each prompt in order to proceed further. 
  
  We are unable to assist you further in this matter. Thanks for understanding. 
  
  Regards, 
  Daisy
  Yelp, Inc. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/16/2022

   
  Complaint: 18116482
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  It appears we will not get to a resolution. YELP is not able to understand our point. BBB could you please advise on way forward. We are not reaching a break point here!!! I still feel YELP is out there to gey money from their clients cunningly!!! The calls are recorded. We can go further to request for these calls to be pulled. At the end of the day when a sales person is selling something to you and you ask them specific questions, they should be able to answer your questions upfront not to give you half baked information to lure you into agreement. We are still not contented with YELP response and still they are unable to assist us further, BBB please advise us on how we can persue this further.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My husband has a business listed with YELP and has had 3 reviews from customers, and Yelp has removed all his reviews from customers. When speaking with a Yelp representative, they told him it's an automated system that they cannot control. They couldn't even explain why the reviews were removed. This has impacted his business and the customer service with ********************** has been very unprofessional, passive-aggressive, and unhelpful.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2022

  Hi *******,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns. 
  
  Please note we are unable to locate the business page with the information that you've provided.
  
  Yelp engineered its automated recommendation software in an effort to provide consumers with the most helpful and reliable reviews and level the playing field for all businesses. Reviews that the software determines to be less reliable and useful, or which are written by users we just dont know enough about, are moved to a not currently recommended section and do not factor into a businesss overall Yelp star ratings.
  
  We hope youll take the time to learn more about Yelps recommendation software here: https://trust.yelp.com/recommendation-software/
  
  You can also watch this video for an overview of how our recommendation software works: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIaOBxcntqw?rel=0
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  When researching my business I came across yelp with my business being advertised without my permission. Yelp had been promoting pictures Under my business name that were not of my business or employees that work for the business. I was forced to purchase a service from them to remove the photos. I have never signed up with a monthly service nor would I ever agree to have yelp advertise for me. There was never a clear indication or any type of notification that they would be charging me monthly. To be honest I did not know they were taking money from my account. When my credit card was stolen I had to replace it. Apparently at that time yelp decided that they were going to continue to charge me for services I was not using. I receive no notifications whatsoever that this was going on until late September 2022. When I called to see why they were fraudulently applying a bill to my account as well as threatening to send me to a collection agency to run my credit, I was met with no resolution or opportunity to dispute. I think this is bad business and I have received no business in the last few years for silver screen PR let alone would purchase advertising through yelp for the business. I would like a resolution of a complete wave of the $351 that they are accusing me of owing and I would like all of my information removed from yelp completely. I would like all of Silverscreen PR and any contact information about Silver Screen PR removed from yelp. I feel they falsely advertise my business and allow non-promotional photos to be put under my business of other people and businesses.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2022

  Hi ********,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Silver Screen PR.
  
  Our records indicate you redeemed an $84 promotional ad credit on 2/6. To redeem the $84 credit towards Yelp ads, you were required to sign up for our Page Upgrade Package, which includes features such as Business Posts, Business Logo, Removal of Competitor Ads, Business Highlights, a Call To Action, Business Portfolio, and Slideshow feature, which required putting payment information on file. Our records indicate you signed up for an advertising program on 2/6 with a $180 monthly Page Upgrade package (or a $6 per day average) for total charges of up to $180 per month. This monthly maximum was stated in the "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email we sent when you signed up for this program. Your advertising program was also billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. 
  
  Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can be turned off by the business at any time through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. If you only wanted to use your promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the programs once that credit was used. During your ad setup there were Q&As on the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site. Advertisers also have the option to opt in to receiving billing confirmation emails in the Account Settings section of their account. Your advertising program was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. Please note that your promotion was applied during these billing cycles. 
  
  You ended your advertising program on 6/29. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms (https://biz.yelp.com/tos/master_advertising_terms_en_us_20220201) you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
  
  Regards,
  Daisy
  Yelp, Inc.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I own a private massage practice. I have transitioned from using a phone number to only allowing emails, online booking, or messaging through my business social media. I have called Yelp to get my number removed from their site. They refused. They are the only platform that has my number, and I am increasingly getting calls from men who misunderstand the nature of my business. These calls range from suggestive to straight up explicit and I am tired of being sexually harassed by men who are finding me through Yelp (I haven't gotten a call from a person who is actually interested in real massage services in approx 1 yr). I called Yelp and explained the situation. They hung up on me two times as I was attempting to explain the situation and ask to get my number removed. They told me multiple times it wasn't their problem, but they'll start a case number for me - but again, that it wasn't their problem and probably wouldn't take the number down.I switched to a ****** Voice number on Yelp, but my personal number is STILL there and even so the calls will still be forwarded to my personal number. The point is that I don't want to hear men breathing heavily while doing things to themselves or asking me detailed sexual favors (all of which have happened) whether that's from ******Voice or my phone number. It's exhausting enough to be a woman, and massage therapist, and Yelp has an opportunity to help me from being harassed and they don't care.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2022

  Hi ********,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for Remedy Massage Therapy. 
  
  We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and have updated this business page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/**********************-**********
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company is unethical. Its the customers that make this site. They are biased with the businesses but isnt the whole point to leave bad or good reviews about the business. They take down reviews that are truthful. This cant be trusted anymore and favors businesses that many customers have bad experiences with. The whole point is to let other customers know to stay away but yet they remove reviews they want because customers are honest? Its unacceptable

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2022

  Hi ****,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns. 
  
  We want to clarify that our moderators will remove reviews only if they find them to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service. If one of your reviews was removed because it fell outside our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service, please provide us with the case number so we can pass this along to our moderation team for further review.
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/20/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I spent advertising money to gain clients and overall good reviews to better get future clients. After spending $500, I received 3 good reviews after which they removed all 3 of them. I got the clients thru there leads page and was messaging back and forth with them and even got pictures taken of my van with good reviews. But seems to me they pulled my reviews to ****** the foot traffic to my page, because I was doing such a good job. There putting a monopoly on the system by making people pay for advertising so they can keep there reviews on there

  Business Response

  Date: 09/21/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for Brymans Locksmith. 
  
  Our recommendation software does not take into account a businesss advertising status and never has. Yelp's recommendation software is completely automated. Theres also no connection between the time a business starts, stops, or declines to advertise, and the recommendation of reviews. 
   
  We hope youll take the time to learn more about Yelps recommendation software here: https://trust.yelp.com/recommendation-software/
  
  You can also watch this video for an overview of how our recommendation software works: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIaOBxcntqw?rel=0
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/24/2022

   
  Complaint: 18052873
  
  I am rejecting this response because: nothing is ever completing automated. There are safe guards to access in case something goes wrong. Your just making excuses up at this point. Its okay weve got ********************** our ************** just waiting for a civil court lawsuit 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/19/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We are very concerned about the algorithms used to suppress real reviews our kind customers take the time out of their day to leave for our business. I have noticed since we decided to stop advertising on yelp, that more and more of our reviews are appearing in the "Not Recommended" section of the site. Since we have added the link to our yelp page in the footer of our website and emails, we have began to gain the traffic we tried to obtain through advertising with Yelp. Now that we are no longer advertising because yelp did not offer any return on that ad spend, we have notice its like we are being punished by taking great reviews from active yelp users and hiding them, meanwhile competitors of our are permitted to have family and friends leave glowing reviews and they are highly recommended reviews on their yelp profiles. We believe that a review should not be suppressed in this manner when so many apple users only get to see Yelp reviews on their device maps. This practice should be based only on someone flagging a review as inappropriate, and after a human review is conducted, not based on how much money you spend with yelp.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/20/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for Luggage Drop. 
  
  We want to clarify that our recommendation software does not take into account a businesss advertising status and never has. Yelp's recommendation software is completely automated. Theres also no connection between the time a business starts, stops, or declines to advertise, and the recommendation of reviews. 
   
  Additionally, no employee at Yelp has the ability to override the decisions that the software makes. This approach is deliberate to avoid conflicts of interest.
  
  We hope youll take the time to learn more about Yelps recommendation software here: https://trust.yelp.com/recommendation-software/
  
  You can also watch this video for an overview of how our recommendation software works: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIaOBxcntqw?rel=0
  
  Please also note that actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation software are separate from our moderators' evaluation of reviews against our Content Guidelines. Our moderators will remove reviews only if they find them to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service. 
  
  If you come across content that you feel *** violate Yelp's Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines), please let our moderators know by reporting it. You can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (3 dots) on the app. You'll need to be logged into your account to report content.
  
  To learn more, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-content-that-violates-Yelp-s-Content-Guidelines-or-Terms-of-Service?l=en_US
  
  While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received. 
  
  Typically, you will receive a response to your report of a review within a few business days. If you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you *** want to add [email protected] to your contact list).
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/18/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Yelp.com facilitates fraudulant contractor activity by removing negative reviews from *********************************' business profiles. I have seen 4 negative reviews similar to my experience removed in the last 2 days. As a result, *********************************' All Pro Fences and More business profile has a 5 star rating.Being a victim to *********************************' fraudulant activity is a highly stressful and financially damaging experience that yelp.com facilitates by removing negative reviews and bringing more victims.Here are the business profiles:All Pro Fences and More https://yelp.to/6ScfHgUaptb At least 2 reviews reporting fraudulant activity were removed from this profile since Friday September 16 Moses ***** *** ************* https://yelp.to/3W9Rd25rqtb At least 3 reviews reporting fraudulant activity were removed from this profile since September 16.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns. 
  
  If a review is not appearing on the main Yelp business page of a business, it would be for one of three reasons: the review is currently not recommended by Yelp's automated recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews); the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service and has been manually removed by the Yelp Support team; or the user elected to remove the review him/herself. 
  
  Yelp engineered its automated recommendation software in an effort to provide consumers with the most helpful and reliable reviews and level the playing field for all businesses. Reviews that the software determines to be less reliable and useful, or which are written by users we just dont know enough about, are moved to a not currently recommended section and do not factor into a businesss overall Yelp star ratings.
  
  We hope youll take the time to learn more about Yelps recommendation software here: https://trust.yelp.com/recommendation-software/
  
  You can also watch this video for an overview of how our recommendation software works: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIaOBxcntqw?rel=0
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/15/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Yelp runs a completely unethical business. Myself as well as other businesses have been charged for fake or non existent leads. They also take legitimate reviews and hide them. Yelp needs to be further investigated.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/16/2022

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising programs for ************************* - ***** Real Estate.
  
  We are sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. To be clear, while the goal of advertising on Yelp is to drive more traffic to the business page, which *** ultimately result in more customers, it is important to keep in mind that results are not guaranteed. 
  
  Our records indicate you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit on 11/4/21. To redeem the $300 credit towards Yelp ads, you were required to sign up for our Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising campaign and put payment information on file. Our records indicate you initially signed up for an advertising program with a $150 monthly Cost Per Click budget (or a $5 per day average). You also included a $120 monthly Page Upgrade package (or a $4 per day average) for total charges of up to $270 per month. This monthly maximum was stated in the "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email we sent you after you signed up for this program.
  
  Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can be turned off by the business at any time through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. If you only wanted to use your promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the programs once that credit was used. During your ad setup there were Q&As on the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site. Advertisers also have the option to opt in to receiving billing confirmation emails in the Account Settings section of their account. Your advertising program was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. Please note that your promotion was applied during these billing cycles. 
  
  I want to assure you with certainty that Yelp treats advertisers and non-advertisers exactly alike with respect to reviews. Advertising only buys ads and never higher ratings, removal of negative reviews or promotion of positive reviews.
  
  You'll find plenty of Yelp advertisers with negative reviews, and plenty of non-advertisers with five-star ratings across the board. Furthermore, there is zero relationship between the timing of when a review gets recommended and when a business decides to--or declines to--advertise. Reviews can be recommended or not recommended days, weeks, or even months after they were first posted, and a Yelp sales representative doesn't have any influence over when that might happen.
  
  Because our recommendation software is automated, the Yelp Support team cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. Our recommendation software is automated precisely so that it can apply the same standards to every business and every review without being overridden by someone's personal preferences.
  
  That said, please note our recommendation software runs on a daily basis, so reviews that aren't currently recommended *** be recommended in the future, and vice versa.
  
  We hope youll take the time to watch our video about the Recommendation Software: https://www.yelp-support.com/article/What-is-Yelp-s-recommendation-software?l=en_US and read more about common misconceptions here: http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq
  
  If you come across content that you feel *** violate Yelp's Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines), please let our moderators know by reporting it. You can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (3 dots) on the app. You'll need to be logged into your account to report content.
  
  To learn more, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-content-that-violates-Yelp-s-Content-Guidelines-or-Terms-of-Service?l=en_US
  
  On 12/29/21, you canceled your CPC campaign. In doing so, your upgrade package monthly cost increased to $180 monthly (or a $6 per day average). 
  
  On 1/31/22, you added a CPC monthly budget of $150 (or a $5 per day average).
  
  You ended your upgrade package on 5/18 and CPC campaign on 5/28. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms (https://biz.yelp.com/tos/master_advertising_terms_en_us_20210513) you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
  
  Regards,
  Daisy
  Yelp, Inc. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/15/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Today I went on to review our Yelp page for our company and see about the possibility of doing some advertisement with them since they call and email me all the time. I noticed that we have two reviews from someone we have never worked for. It is very odd because this person is using our names and saying we started her project and did not complete it, but we are stucco inspectors and do not make any repairs. I reported these and am waiting for response for removal. While looking at the page I noticed that I have 17, 5 star reviews from clients we did work for that are not being allowed stating that they are not recommended reviews. I reached out the customer service line that told me they could do nothing about this. I even went as far to say I would be happy to show receipts and reports where we worked for each of these clients but was told it didn't matter because they can't help me. Why is yelp so quick to put two bad reviews on my account from people we did not even work with, but won't allow reviews from paying customers to be posted? I am highly disappointed in the fact the customer service representative told me they just don't have the man power but they have the man power to call me all the time asking me to advertise with them. I realize we still have a 4 star review and that *** seem ok to most but it would be much higher with the 17 other reviews. Yelp please help me out here, we are a small family owned business who lives by their reputation. You are playing with our lively hood and it is unfair.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/21/2022

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for ****************. 
  
  Our moderators have taken another look at **********************'s review of **************** and have found it to be in violation of our Content Guidelines, so it has been removed. 
  
  Thank you for using Yelp.
  
  Regards,
  *****
  Yelp Inc.