Ripoff Report Removal: The Cheapest, Fastest Strategies

We can push down or remove Ripoff Report posts from Google for less than what the big corporate firms charge.

This includes service to remove links from both RipoffReport.com and RipoffReports.com.

I’ve updated this post multiple times over the years and you now have three effective strategies you can choose from for getting rid of all negative Ripoff Report links:  (1) guaranteed removal, (2) suppression, or (3) get a court order and take it to Google.

We provide the first two services; you’ll need to find an online defamation lawyer to carry out the third.

No matter which option you choose, the goal is to suppress false, fake, and anonymous posts on RipoffReport.com from Google’s index.

To understand which strategy is appropriate for your situation, please request a consultation.

  1. Update 2024 – Guaranteed Removal of Ripoff Report
  2. Ripoff Report Update 2020
  3. Ripoff Report Removal Overview
  4. Ripoff Report De-Indexing Case Study
  5. What You Can Do About A Complaint On RipoffReport.com
  6. RipOff Report Suppression
  7. Request A Quote

Update 2024 – Guaranteed Removal of Ripoff Report

Video Summary

In this 2024 video, we discuss RipoffReport.com and RipoffReports.com, both which are owned by Ed Magedson. We provide an overview of Ripoff Report’s history, highlighting its decline and recent resurgence. The focus is on services for removing and suppressing content from these sites.

  1. Introduction to Ripoff Report (0:00:00 – 0:02:03): History of Ripoff Report, its decline, and the owner’s attempt to revive it. The discussion also touches on the creation of ripoffreports.com.
  2. Two-for-One Service (0:02:03 – 0:02:19): We now offer a two-for-one service that includes de-indexing from Google, making content disappear, and removal from the Ripoff Report directory.
  3. Impact on Reputation (0:02:19 – 0:05:59): How Ripoff Report affects businesses, particularly in 2024. We discuss the damaging impact when negative content appears in search results and the trust issues related to paid removals.
  4. User-Written Content on Ripoff Report (0:05:59 – 0:06:17): We clarify that content on Ripoff Report is user-written, dispelling the notion of AI-generated complaints by the owner.
  5. Removal vs. Suppression (0:06:17 – 0:06:55): Two options for businesses dealing with Ripoff Report—removal or suppression. Removal involves de-indexing for a fee, while suppression focuses on creating positive content to outweigh the negative, on a monthly basis.
  6. Choosing Between Options (0:06:55 – 0:07:22): Factors like budget and the severity of the issue determine whether a business should opt for removal or suppression. We recommend considering the prominence of Ripoff Report in search results and are happy to offer a free consultation.
  7. Monitoring and Regular Google Searches (0:07:22 – 0:07:55): Business owners are advised to regularly search for their business name along with terms like “reviews” or “complaints” to monitor online reputation. We emphasizes the importance of managing auto-suggestions.
  8. Final Considerations and Contact Information (0:07:55 – 0:08:41): We suggest that you reach out for assistance. One remaining caveat is mentioned – that we cannot remove posts that are less than 12 months old. Estimated turnaround time for removal of qualifying posts is a few weeks.

You will need to contact us for an exact quote, as prices vary, based on the content in question.

We’re happy to spend time on the phone discussing your best course of action.

Ripoff Report Update 2020

Well, it’s been a while since I actually visited ripoffreport.com and I was shocked to see them begging for donations via a message at the top of their website and also this blatant message that appears as soon as you try to leave the site.

ripoff report donation message

Boy, owner Ed Magedson must really be panicking now, begging for donations like he’s Wikipedia.

The truth is that over the last couple of years, a couple of things have happened:

1 – Europe and other countries put in the place Right To Be Forgotten (RTBF) legislation. So, if someone publishes an article about you on Ripoff Report, all you have to do is request that Google remove the page from their search index and Google must comply. This means Ripoff Report can’t make any money extorting you or signing you up to it’s bullshit Corporate Advocacy Program.

2 – The other thing that happened is that Ripoff Report got slapped with a penalty by Google which means the site no longer ranks well. I can tell because the number of calls we get about the site has dropped dramatically.

So now, they’re asking consumers for a handout in the name of free speech. Man, what a racket this guy is running.

Ripoff Report Removal Overview

ripoff report logo screenshotThere are several methods for removing unwanted posts about you or your business on Ripoff Report.

Here is one way that can be used in the event a link is posted about you anonymously. Assuming the poster was fake and you cannot identify who it is, it can be permanently removed from Google’s index using the following steps:

  1. A lawsuit* is filed against the poster on published the listing on Ripoff Report
  2. Legal notices* are published in the newspaper for several weeks, notifying the poster of lawsuit*
  3. When no one replies to the newspaper ads, this is taken to the judge in the case and a default judgement is requested
  4. After the judgement is awarded, a list of all pages in which the negative post appears are given to Google for removal from its index
  5. When Google removes the content from its search index, it no longer appears in search results

*NOTE: WE ARE NOT LAWYERS AND THIS IS NO WAY DEEMED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. CONSULT WITH YOUR ATTORNEY FOR LEGAL GUIDANCE.

Ripoff Report De-Indexing Case Study

Here’s a case study interview we conducted with a business owner in 2013 who successfully got an anonymous review of his business de-indexed from Google and Bing.

Note: Our faces are not shown because the business owner wanted to help others, but remain anonymous.

I encourage you to listen to the entire interview.

Below is a summary and chronology of the exact steps he took to get rid of Ripoff Report, after he became aware of the false information on Ripoff Report about his business, which was posted under a fake alias.

#1 Mediation

  • Client reached out to Ripoff Report owner Ed Magedson (editor@ripoffreport.com) to request content removal
  • Client received an email response, which included payment options for mediation in the range of $2,500 to $5,000
  • If client paid for mediation, Ripoff Report would send an email to the person who posted the article on the website and hire an Arizona mediator for 1-2 hours to mediate the issue
  • If mediator found in client’s favor, article will remain on Ripoff Report, but a tagline would be added to the article saying: “Resolved In Your Favor”

The client considered the mediation offer unsatisfactory because the content would still exist.

Further, he felt the additional content created through the “Resolved in your favor” tag added to the title could make the article even stronger for search engines.

#2 Corporate Advocacy Program

  • Ripoff Report charges $10,000 – $20,000 per month
  • Program includes writers creating researching and creating blog posts highlighting the positive aspects of the client’s business
  • These blog posts will be published to RipoffReport.com

The client considered this option unsatisfactory because having more content on the RipoffReport domain seemed like a bad idea.

He didn’t want to associate his business with RipoffReport, regardless of how good the blog posts were.

#3 Threaten Legal Action

  • The client spent 100-200 hours researching online about how to carry out legal action against Ripoff Report
  • He looked for laws and jurisdictions that might be favorable to helping him bring a successful case
  • He noted that at the time, Ripoff Report claimed to have 50-60 lawsuits against them and they’ve never lost
  • He learned that the Community Decency Act protects a website owner from being held responsible for content published on the site by a third party, even if that content is deemed false, slanderous, or libelous. (Whether the individual who posted the content can be held responsible remains to be seen.)

Since the Act protected Ripoff Report and content could remain forever on the site, the threat to legal action was not pursued further.

#4 Exploring Reputation Management Services

  • Contacted Reputation.com who proposed a monthly budget of $20,000 to $25,000 to address the issue
  • Feared Reputation.com was researching the issue in Google by typing in related search terms which could negatively impact Google Autocomplete and Google Related Searches

He decided he didn’t want to spend that kind of money, so he opted to do his own reputation management.

#5 DIY Online Reputation Management

  • Invested significant time and tens of thousands of dollars into self-managing his online reputation
  • Despite creating a lot of new, positive content on his own, Ripoff Report still outranked everything

He decided that doing his own reputation management and SEO to suppress Ripoff Report was not working.

It still appeared on page 1-2 of search results.

At this point, his clients and business partners were threatening to sever ties with him due to his poor online reputation on Ripoff Report.

#6 Hires Law Firm Specializing In Online Defamation

  • He discovers Cincinnati law firm, Vorys, who specializes in online defamation cases
  • The problem isn’t Ripoff Report, the problem is search engines, who index and promote the content
  • Researched Vorys and found they had successful case studies removing Ripoff Report from Google, Bing, and MSN
  • Their strategy is to file a lawsuit against an alias to prove to the judge they had spent time and effort to find out who the person was who originally published the post on Ripoff Report
  • Ran newspaper ads for several weeks to try to locate the person who posted the article
  • If no one responds, they can then show the judge that they could not locate who the person was who published the article and that the article was written with malicious intent to harm someone’s business
  • The judge then has no other option other than to enter a default judgement

The result of this effort is a default judgement and a permanent injunction, which can then be taken to each search engine.

#7 Contacting Search Engines

  • Take injunction court order to search engines, primarily Google and Bing
  • Requested the removal of the content from their search results
  • He had to be careful to include ALL links from Ripoff Report, such as category and tag links
  • It took Google 8 weeks to remove all of the links from it’s search index
  • Microsoft (Yahoo, Bing, and MSN) initially aligned with Google’s policy
  • Policy changed to a discretionary stance during the case, requiring additional efforts and legal threats to get Microsoft to remove the links from its search results

The client added that the frustrating thing he learned was that Ripoff Report would not disclose any information, even if you had a subpoena.

Their domains are hosted outside of the United States and you wind up in a huge legal battle trying to find out who made the original post.

Even though the client had a strong suspicion he knew who it was, there was nothing he could do about it.

Summary

  • The entire process spanned almost three years
  • Estimated spending $40,000 to $50,000 in legal fees and reputation management efforts
  • Feels this single negative article cost him several hundred thousand to $1 Million in lost revenue
  • Dates would Google him and see the negative article
  • He wrote former President Obama a letter that he do something about it and encourages others to advocate for changes in laws to prevent online defamation
  • Ongoing efforts included addressing negative Autocomplete suggestions (scam and lawsuit) and proactive online reputation management

Even though the client went through this entire process, the original links still remain on Ripoff Report.

If someone had those links, they could still see them.

The client also noted that other future search engines might index the pages from Ripoff Report and he’d have to repeat the entire process again.

The same laws that protect sites like Ripoff Report also protect the mugshot websites which we provide removal services for.

Here’s what it will look like after your legal team gets Google to remove the links from its search index.

You’ll see the Chillingeffects.org statement below when you look it up in search results.

chilling effects

IMPORTANT NOTE: We are not lawyers. Feel free to contact of lawyer of your choosing. If you’d like to pursue removal or suppression, please reach out to setup a phone consultation.

What You Can Do About A Complaint On RipoffReport.com

If you’re the victim of a complaint about you or your business on Ripoff Report, you have several choices, which we’ll outline below.

1. Do not reply to it! I can’t stress this enough. I know your natural reaction is going to be to set the record straight, but when you comment on an article, you just make that article stronger. Longer content usually ranks better than shorter content and by adding your input, you increase the length of the page. Also, comments make the page appear more relevant to Google. So, bite your tongue and refer to the rest of this guide.

Also, commenting on a complaint can show that you know who posted it (even if they used an alias), and this can automatically avoid your chance of getting it removed legally (see #3).

2. Don’t click on it! Each time you Google your company or keyword and click on the ripoffreport link, you are signaling to Google that it is a relevant search result to your query. This can help nudge it up in search results. If you must look at it, use Google Chrome as your browser and open Google with incognito mode, so that Chrome doesn’t save a record of what you do.

3. Get it removed from Google’s index. Removal of negative content is always your best course of action because it nips the problem at the root. By removing the content, you won’t have to worry about it re-surfacing years later, you won’t ever have to explain it, and you won’t have to worry about Google autocomplete picking up on it and publishing unwanted suggestions next to your name. It doesn’t matter whether the post about you is:

  • Fake or alias author or
  • False or defamatory content
  • You know who posted it

We can remove it, guaranteed.

Simply fill out the form on this page for a quote.

4. Push it down off page 1. We are specialists at pushing down negative listings on ripoffreport.com. We’ll create positive content about you and promote it until the unwanted ripoffreport article is buried in search results, where people won’t easily find it.

5. Create Your Own Reply. If you really can’t help yourself and just have to state your piece, go to WordPress.com and create a free 1 page response. Be sure to choose a URL like yourkeyword.wordpress.com and title it “Your Keyword Reply To RipoffReport”. (Your keyword is whatever keyword is causing the negative listing to appear – most likely your name or company name).

Then you can write your response (remember, the longer the better) which explains your side of the story. Do not hyperlink to the article on ripoffreport, this only helps it get stronger.

The advantages of creating your own reply are:

  • Your reply might outrank the original complaint
  • You’ll have a professional site you can refer your clients to where they can see your version of the story

We’re not big fans of this method because creating more content that includes your keyword + ripoff, can lead to ripoff appearing as a suggestion in Google Autocomplete – and then you’ve got another problem.

6. Ignore it. If you’re unable to afford removing it or suppressing it, this is your next best solution. I know – this is not why you’re reading this post – but consider these factors: First, the word about ripoffreport is slowly getting out. Consumers are beginning to learn the site is garbage and know a lot of what appears there is just wining, complaining and false statements from people hiding behind their computer. As word gets out, it’s only a matter of time before major news media expose the site for what it is – a fraud.

The other thing is that Google may one day take manual action, like it did on the many different mugshot websites.

These sites collect public mugshot photos of arrestees and publish them to their website under the guise of offering a “public service.”

Then they extort you to the tune of $400 or more if you want your image removed.

With any kind of luck, ripoffreport will meet a similar fate.

RipOff Report Suppression

I think RipoffReport.com is a disgusting website and I know I’m not alone.

They’re in the business of collecting as many consumer reviews as they can – whether they be false, fake, or defamatory – they don’t seem to care.

I’ve tried to publish a positive review on Ripoff Report and it was rejected. That tells you something about the kind of operation they’re running.

Learn more about our suppression strategies in the video below.

Request A Quote

If you’d like to get a quote on removing, suppressing, or de-indexing a RipoffReport listing about you or your company, please use our online form from this page to request an official, firm, and confidential quote.