Vancouver, Washington: A couple says they’re being sued for $112,000 after giving one-star reviews to a roofing company.
Executive Roof Services (a family-owned business) was sent to do work for Autumn Knepper and Adam Marsh on the instruction of their landlord after the two reported a leak in the house.
Eventually, the couple left reviews for ERS claiming the receptionist of the company was ‘rude’, and that they did not follow through on the work they had been assigned to complete. In addition, they filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
In an interview with KGW News, Autumn said:
“[The ERS receptionist] refused to give me any information. She said I would have to get it from the landlord. I asked to speak with the manager and she laughed at me. She told me I was verbally abusing her and that she was the office manager. She hung up on me.”
Adam also described the receptionist as ‘super rude’, adding:
“[She] told me that she was office manager and there was no one else I could talk to and hung up on me.”
Image: KGW News
Adam and Autumn said that they were not informed about when ERS would complete the roof repairs, and after leaving their negative reviews, they were reportedly contacted by the owner of the company, Michael Mecham, who told them their reviews had to be deleted before ‘more damages were done’ to the company’s name.
Autumn said Mecham told her he ‘knew where [she] lived’, and that he had a ‘forensics guy’ and would ‘gladly spend a hundred thousand dollars suing [her]’.
The woman then called the police who told Mecham not to call them again, but ERS reportedly kept on pressing the couple through the Jordan Ramis law firm, which reached out to them demanding they remove the negative reviews.
Image: KGW News
The couple said they are being sued for a six-figure settlement, with Autumn recalling how she ‘cried immediately’ when she heard what was happening to them.
She went on to say:
“I was terrified. I can’t afford a lawyer. I can’t afford to pay $112,000. And I can’t, I don’t want to file for bankruptcy.”
The roofing company has also claimed the complaint the couple made with the Better Business Bureau is proof that they have done everything they can to harm them.
Lawyer David Bowser said:
“They intentionally harmed ERS by posting one-star reviews for the purpose of getting a report they weren’t entitled to.”
The couple is being accused of defamation and intentional interference with business expectancy.
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