![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-33183-100x100.png\")
Can't you contact a wiki mod to lock the page if they see a conflict?
Can't you contact a wiki mod to lock the page if they see a conflict?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
He got himself in too deep when he contacted those tools at ReputationDefender and instead of defending his reputation, they smeared it beyond belief. He SO stood up for himself by harassing priceline. He should let those actions stand for themselves.
I'd say he should call it a big ol' \"whoops\" and walk away from those 'tards at ReputationDefender.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-8063-100x100.png\")
His arrest should be public record that you can cite.
If they then try to remove it, the shills can get locked out.
FYI: The best way to fix a bad reputation is to make a new good one, not try to undo what you've done.
With all of the cross-linking of this story, his wikipedia page is probably going to end up being first on a google/yahoo search on his name.
Looks like that entire history of the edits has been deleted and the arrest portion has been added back on.
Though with 215 phone calls to Priceline, Someone with Segev's level of OCD will probably be re-editing that page the rest of his life.
Segev, sweetie, either sue Priceline in civil court or let it go. Nobody actually gives a fuck.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-25844-100x100.png\")
Yeah, so I was right. In the previous post about this, some folks were saying \"But they asked so politely!\" Is this polite? Are they harmless, just asking a favor? Or are they evil revisionist censors, out to make a buck off of censoring the Internet?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1461-100x100.png\")
I am proud to have incited this entertaining disagreement.
The best part, of course, is that when you have a fight with Wikipedia about something, the fact that you have had that fight can become a notable fact about you all by itself.
This can obviously be unfair if the original claims about you that started the argument were indeed incorrect; it's a parallel to the situation where discussion about the truth of an issue mutates into discussion about the controversy, which is often encouraged by the side of the debate who know their arguments don't actually hold much water.
But in situations like this where the claims are (apparently) grounded in fact, this provides a handy workaround.
Case in point: Daniel Brandt.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-24620-100x100.png\")
It occurs to me that Segev may have come to some kind of off-the-record settlement with Priceline, and one of the conditions of that settlement is to make the incident \"go away.\" If he doesn't, he loses his compensation and might even become liable for a penalty. That would explain the belligerent tone, but again, the smart thing would be to 'fess up and say that's the deal.
BTW, insistently fact-correcting a person's wikipedia entry could be considered pretty compulsive, unless they are a person of historical importance for future generations. Sorry, Segev, you don't qualify, but then that means you're not in the same bucket with Hitler.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-34627-100x100.png\")
The current Wiki entry has a link to another website that received a letter from Reputation Defender. Going to that site http://comedian.blogspot.com/2007/01/received-in-todays-em...
they hypothisize that Priceline might be doing this to get rid of some negative material.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-38607-100x100.png\")
The over/under on the number of calls Ronnie aka Ronan makes to ReputationDefender aka ReputationBender for a refund is now at 352.
Good luck all!
The letter from Reputation Defender says they're writing on behalf of Ronnie Segev. If they had actually been hired by PriceLine, that would be libel :)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-5372-100x100.png\")
What amazes me is that Reputation Defender thinks it can go in and manhandle Wikipedia under an anonymous IP username. You'd think that if they knew what they were doing they'd deal with the various websites in a very judicious, crafty, and skilled manner.
They at least claim that it's not them in the FAQ:
\"What is ReputationDefender's policy on Wikipedia?
ReputationDefender does not delete content from Wikipedia. ReputationDefender is only involved with Wikipedia when our clients request that we add factually accurate and independently vetted information to provide context to a client's entry. Such efforts on behalf of our clients fall well within established Wikipedia norms and we are proud to be a contributor to this important online community.\"
Ronnie, you need to get the hell over it and move on with your life. You cannot change facts, you cannot change the past, you cannot make this disappear.
Give up.
Do something constructive.
Like burning down the offices of ReputationDefender.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1486-100x100.png\")
Wow, the first story that I ever submitted to Consumerist, the submission that lead to me getting a commenter invitation, certainly has some legs!
Here's a less excerpted version of the article I tracked down on Digg.
January 22, 2006 -- A meek but persistent concert pianist was tossed in jail after repeatedly demanding a refund from Priceline.com.
In a bizarre tale of \"extreme customer service,\" Juilliard-trained Ronnie Segev sued Priceline earlier this month alleging the corporate giant billed him for a $953 plane ticket he never purchased, then had its top lawyer call the cops after he phoned 215 times to ask for his money back.
Segev, who has played Carnegie Hall, was handcuffed and hauled out of his Hell's Kitchen apartment building early one morning in May.
The cops hit him with 215 counts of harassment - one for each call he made to Connecticut-based Priceline from January until his arrest.
\"I tried to talk to them,\" he said, shaking his head. \"Now I get the chills every time I see a Priceline commercial.\"
A judge later dismissed the charges, but not before Segev spent 40 hours in a Manhattan holding cell with hardened criminals who laughed at him, threatened him and tried to steal his fancy watch and sneakers.
A tough-looking cellmate asked him, \"So, what are you in for?\"
\"Priceline refund,\" the musician sheepishly replied. It went downhill from there.
The NYPD and Priceline declined to comment on the lawsuit.
In a sworn statement, Priceline's general counsel had told police that Segev's persistent calls forced the company to switch to an automated customer-service system.
Segev's strange odyssey began in January 2005, when he bid $500 for a ticket to Haifa, Israel, to play a concert. The bid was rejected, but Priceline offered him the ticket for $953 and asked him to check a \"yes\" or \"no\" box on-screen. Segev said he clicked neither box and closed the screen instead. When he got an e-mail confirming his purchase, he dialed customer service.
\"I said this is some sort of computer glitch, please take a look,\" he said. \"I tried to reason with them . . . They're so heartless. They don't care.
\"The only thing I could have done was give up, and I didn't feel that was right.\"
On May 2, four months after his first call, two plainclothes detectives knocked on Segev's door.
A startled Segev said he didn't understand what was happening and called 911. More officers arrived, and he was marched past his neighbors in cuffs.
The pianist said he won't be calling Priceline anytime soon, but hasn't played his final note in the dispute.
His lawyer, Thomas Guiffra, accused Priceline of \"corporate thuggery.\"
Segev filed suit Jan. 12 in state court in Manhattan, accusing Priceline of malicious prosecution and other offenses. He also is suing the NYPD, which he claims didn't investigate the charges before arresting him.
\"I still would like to get that refund,\" Segev said.
I love how we're all referring to ReputationDefender as \"They\" and \"Their Offices\" like its some kind of multinational corporation.
I think this section in the \"Contact Us\" of their website speaks VOLUMES:
\"Why don't we have a phone number?
We will soon. But we are in Beta and we are keeping our costs low, which allows us to keep our prices low. Go ahead - please try us through this message form. You will hear from us fast. And you will know we are exactly as honest as you would like us to be!\"
Something tells me that there's a 17 year old community college stundent living in moms attic behind this.
homerjay: I would tell you to just whois the domain but that didn't work out so well for the PSP fiasco. :>
The page is now semi-protected which should keep the reputation defenders out, at least for a while.
The pure unadulterated schadenfreude of watching a company calling itself \"Reputation Defender\" cause their customer's reputation to worsen is a glorious sight to behold.