Ed Magedson – Founder

Did You Know??…..

Here are some little-known facts you might find interesting:

• For over 25 years, Ed Magedson / Ripoff Report’s parent company, Xcentric Ventures LLC, has spent over $10 million in legal fees protecting and defending consumers’ First Amendment rights. It’s true! In recent years, many of those who have sued paid back over $3 million to Xcentric — paid by the plaintiff, their attorney, or both.
• Other complaint sites (mostly from Russia) will delete your report they stole from Ripoff Report for money. Ripoff Report won’t.
• Other complaint sites got started by stealing content from Ripoff Report — absolutely true!
• Most of these sites are based outside the U.S. (mainly Russia and some from India) because they are trying to hide from the U.S. court system. Some make it look like they are U.S.-based. Not Ripoff Report!
• Those complaint sites that have stolen Ripoff Report content — if they have any of the following words in their name “Pissed” or the word “Complaint”, complaints, scam, US, USA. — they are Russia owned or India and have been caught stealing Ripoff Report’s content for many years. Some of them make it look like they are here in the USA.
  
  A lot of sites now take our content and put the content thru AI to have it rewritten so its impossible to know the content is stolen.
  
  These sites work to rank high on search engines, thanks to Google turning a blind eye, and then charge businesses large sums to remove stolen content.
  
  Watch out for complaint site domains containing the words: complaint, Complaints, scam, US, USA, or the word Pissed.
  
  FROM RUSSIA, WITH REPUTATION FRAUD — read how Ripoff Report sued and won against sites that steal content for profit. Many shut down, but more keep popping up stealing our content making it look like consumers filed complaints with them.

“The fact that society may find speech offensive is not a sufficient reason for suppressing it. Indeed, if it is the speaker’s opinion that gives offense, that consequence is a reason for according it constitutional protection.”

— FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726, 745-46 (1982)

Other sites CLAIM to help consumers. The truth is they really only care about one thing — themselves.

Ripoff Report is different. We’re not like other sites.

When other sites run and hide, Ed will stand and fight – FOR YOU! Protecting the consumer.

Other complaint sites say they support free speech, but when the going gets rough, they protect their bottom line rather than the Constitutional rights and freedoms this country was founded upon. Unlike other sites, even when the speech involved is harsh or negative — and even if our position sometimes generates negative press — we believe the First Amendment requires us to put our principles before our pocketbook and fight against censorship.

Ripoff Report is the original consumer reporting website started in 1997. Others have tried to copy us but have no commitment to free speech or the First Amendment — and none of them help businesses change their reputation like Ripoff Report does. Other copycat websites accept money to take down postings, cave under pressure of lawsuits or threats, and never spend a dime protecting the First Amendment. Not Ripoff Report. We have spent more than two decades defending your Constitutional rights. No other consumer complaint website even comes close to our track record of success.

Ed Magedson

Ed Magedson started the Ripoff Report in 1997 with one goal in mind — to empower consumers by helping them speak out, share information, and fight back against bad business practices. In the old days, companies knew that it was difficult for unhappy customers to reach a large audience. Because it was hard for victims to warn others, this made it much easier for scammers and crooks to find new victims. Ed always said, “It’s no longer just buyer beware — it’s seller beware.”

The Internet changed all this. Since 1998, the Ripoff Report has helped educate and empower millions of consumers by creating a database of more than 2 million complaints, growing every day. As part of that mission, we have adopted a strict policy — we don’t remove reports from our site, period. Even when companies threaten to sue, we stand behind our users and fight for their First Amendment rights by refusing to remove their reports or reveal their information. Because of this policy, we have spent millions of dollars in legal fees defending freedom of speech, with a long track record of victories to prove it. Over the years, those involved in lawsuits with us have paid over $4 million in restitution.

Recently, our success has resulted in many new “copycat” sites, several of which pretend to share the same pro-consumer goals. Unfortunately, most of these sites are not what they appear to be. Some are known to remove consumer complaints in exchange for payments of $5,000 or more. Some have stolen content from Ripoff Report as part of their scheme. One site — based overseas in Latvia — not only stole reports from us, they even copied our entire Terms of Service, replacing our name with theirs (except for one paragraph where our name was left on their site).

Don’t help these scammers by using their sites. The only consumer complaint website you can trust is Ripoff Report — we don’t remove reports for money (never have, never will), and we don’t steal content from other sources.