It all began when the woman was referred to B Dental by her NHS dentist for £10,000 worth of tooth implants. According to Allison Dore, she first endured a three week wait before she can even begin treatment. And when she began the treatment she claims that the plans she received were with the wrong prices. She eventually received a toothache on the other side of her jaw and when she confronted the dental practice about this they presumably refused to hear any more and said “they did not do general dentistry”.
The review in question was titled “Terrible Service – Avoid at all costs”. B Dental from Islington, London initially sent a complaint to Yelp in regards to the posted bad review claiming it was untrue and plain defamatory. B Dental has a series of five-star reviews and Yelp considered their claims. ‘The review has had, and continues to have, a significant financial impact on our business. We cannot allow that damage to our business to continue,’ wrote B Dental. The woman who later removed the review out of fears of being sent to court says that everything she posted on Yelp was true. She decided to keep a note on Yelp explaining why she removed her former bad review. In the note she explained that she did so due to the threat of legal action.
B Dental representatives offered to refund £185 out of her £384 payment fee if she was to remove the note too. Refusing to do so B Dental’s lawyers reportedly threatened the woman they will sue her. At this point Allison Dore felt sick just by thinking of what was happening and ultimately decided to take legal advice. This story should be a cautionary tale to anyone thinking of sharing their bad experiences and just goes to show that sometimes the freedom of speech could have a high price to pay. Ofcourse review site Yelp has condemned the firm’s action but there’s nothing much it can really do. Actions like this could have a serious effect on free speech.
