Why is Yelp not being charged with fraud?
Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
11–20 of 300 posts
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#12Yelp executives belong in prison for fraud.
Seems obvious that a company could sue them for fraud by misrepresenting a phone number. I really don’t understand how or why this could be legal.
The problem is yelp has more money for lawyers than a low-margin local restaurant. That's why this should be treated as a criminal matter, with state prosecutors taking down Yelp.
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#13Very cool update at the top of the article "NEW: As of May 14, 2020, New York City has passed a bill to ban the practice of third parties charging a fee for phone calls that don't end in a sale. You can read about that here." Glad to see reporting working successfully and highlighting abusive practices which then leads to changes in the law.
> that don't end in a sale. i would bet 99%+ of all calls to restaurants from grubhub end in a sale, thus making this law meaningless. edit: why did i get downvoted for this? it adds to the discussion and it doesn't break any of HN's rule. are people just not happy about it or something? wtf.
Have any data to back up that claim?
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#14I am not a big fan of regulations unless it is to provide more transparency so people can make informed decisions. There should be regulations that require when listing a number for a business that there is a large disclaimer when the number isn’t actually owned by the business. I am sure that will kill this practice.
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#15Apple's use of Yelp in Apple Maps is the one reason I can't uninstall Google Maps completely from my devices.
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems obvious that a company could sue them for fraud by misrepresenting a phone number. I really don’t understand how or why this could be legal.
The problem is yelp has more money for lawyers than a low-margin local restaurant. That's why this should be treated as a criminal matter, with state prosecutors taking down Yelp.
But a restaurant association (like the one mentioned in the article) could definitely foot the bill to get a class action started.
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#17Could this be considered libel?
‘Publishing’ knowingly ‘wrong’ phone numbers associated with a business, would that cause damages?
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#18Yelp executives belong in prison for fraud.
Where is the fraud? The restaurant must have agreed to the commission Yelp is asking for if the restaurant owes it to Yelp.
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems obvious that a company could sue them for fraud by misrepresenting a phone number. I really don’t understand how or why this could be legal.
The problem is yelp has more money for lawyers than a low-margin local restaurant. That's why this should be treated as a criminal matter, with state prosecutors taking down Yelp.
Could this be considered a RICO violation?
Is this not bribery?
Re: Yelp Is Replacing Restaurants’ Phone Numbers So Grubhub Can Take a Cut (2019)
#20Why is Yelp not being charged with fraud?
The problem with these fast moving situations is who would actually initiate that expensive legal endeavor. Yelp has a history of preying on small businesses with what is effectively extortion to remove promoted negative online reviews in what are essentially digital protection rackets. You could argue this is RICO territory.
This new pernicious hijacking of contact details is likely to be deployed by other future 'startups' to siphon off profits, so it's important that Yelp gets sanctioned.