Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

nypost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 268 posts

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#151

Post by conanbatt »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #41
hycaria wrote: post #19

Patients are by far the worst kind of customer to deal with. So maybe if the costs were disclosed upfront ("I can perform an ultrasound if you have pelvic pain, but it will cost you/your insurance xxx") we wouldn't come to such he-said-she-said extremities. But I guess it's pure fantasy in the USA where I've heard medical costs can be negotiated... How could they announce full price / insurance coverage when you're a…

Why can't the costs be disclosed upfront? Whenever I go to the dentist and I need to have some work done, I get an estimate telling me how much it costs and how much they expect the insurance company to cover. This isn't rocket science, it can easily be calculated, and should be, as you said, for the benefit of everyone.

Because the dentist will diagnose you first. When someone says they have a headache, you dont know if he needs an MRI that costs thousands of dollars, or aspirin which is cents.

And also, each insurance pays differently for the same service.

You can always go as a patient to an all cash-clinic, which will have fixed pricing, but then you throw away the benefit of your insurance.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#152

Post by conanbatt »

oliv__ wrote: post #143
pliftkl wrote: post #139

A better headline might read "I wrote a review on Yelp in which I accused a doctor of committing insurance fraud on other patients that I had no actual knowledge of, and it made my life a nightmare". Courts have established that you can write negative reviews and that they fall well within rights to freedom of speech. She isn't being sued for giving the guy a one-star review and saying "This place sucks". There's one…

Well, if it happens to one patient, how likely is it that this is common practice? Also, she started the sentence with "I suspect", which is very different from a plain accusation.

You cant veil an accusation under a single adjective, come on..

It might happen to many others, but her accusation is baseless and she is responsible for it. Suing for libel is an appropriate right.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#153

Post by jayess »

Clubber wrote: post #128
pwaai wrote: post #116

I submitted a complaint to BBB once and the business owner sent me a letter threatening to sue. That was the day I realized we as consumers are truly vulnerable.

I've heard rumors that the BBB is pay to play, but I don't have any direct experience with them. Gotta watch what I say lest I get sued!

That is definitely the case. BBB is a scam.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#154

Post by OliverJones »

Yelp is basically bad news for everybody.

The subjects of negative reviews often attack the reviewers.

And, Yelp itself attacks the subjects of positive reviews. Their sales people call positively-reviewed small businesses and use hard-sell tactics to try to sell them advertising.

So, for your own sake don't post negative reviews. And, for the sake of the businesses you like don't post positive reviews.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#155

Post by aeorgnoieang »

MereInterest wrote: post #146
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The market isn't failing; that's the market rate!

The market is not failing to determine a market rate. The market is certainly failing to provide equal access to the legal system.

Or rather, the legal system is preventing the market from accessing it, e.g. there are something like 2 U.S. states in which one can currently sit for the state bar without having been awarded a JD.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#156

Post by jayess »

Call your home/renter's insurance agent and ask them to add a "personal injury" rider. Increase your liability limit to $1m. You'll be insured against suits for libel/slander (assuming you aren't doing so maliciously). It'll probably cost you another $50 a year. It's a life saver. I have a friend to was sued, wrongfully, for defaming someone online and his insurance covered the entire defense.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#157

Post by dawnerd »

jastanton wrote: post #6

I was nodding along until this: > They posted my entire medical record, including notes about my mental health, my bills, my insurance info, my driver’s license, birth date and home address,” she said. wow. That violates HIPAA law. The counter-sue is going to be huge. Also, I had a related issue where a doctor threatened to sue based on my yelp review. I cut the review back to verifiable facts instead of opinion and…

I've been threatened with a lawsuit over a review before. Even though I know I'd be in the right, just the processes of going to court and defending yourself is a huge pain. Not sure why a company would risk trying to sue someone over a review when it would undoubtedly backfire and be really bad pr for them.

Definitely recommend checking out libel insurance. Shouldn't cost much to get and will help protect against companies trying to go after you.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#158

Post by dawnerd »

jayess wrote: post #156

Call your home/renter's insurance agent and ask them to add a "personal injury" rider. Increase your liability limit to $1m. You'll be insured against suits for libel/slander (assuming you aren't doing so maliciously). It'll probably cost you another $50 a year. It's a life saver. I have a friend to was sued, wrongfully, for defaming someone online and his insurance covered the entire defense.

Just mentioned it above, but my insurance actually bills it as libel insurance, so might have to ask for that as well.

Re: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life a nightmare

#160

Post by maxxxxx »

OscarCunningham wrote: post #66
ssijak wrote: post #45

One thing that sticks to me when I read such articles (I am not from US) is how ridiculously pricey medical services are. Common, 1k$ for a regular exam that costs like 20euros in my country in private clinics?! And I read about this ridiculous prices US so often that I am dumbstruck that people are cool with it. Another thing that struck me is that if you don`t have money, evil people can just silence you by suing y…

The "prices" are moves in a game played between hospitals and insurance providers, and don't correspond to anything real or to the amount that gets paid. If a hospital discovers that the patient doesn't have insurance they'll be charged the real (more reasonable) prices instead.

"If a hospital discovers that the patient doesn't have insurance they'll be charged the real (more reasonable) prices instead."

Totally not true. Often they'll send a collection agency.

Post reply on HN