The RateMyAgent terms and conditions of use prohibit the posting of content which is defamatory or which infringes the intellectual property rights of a third party.
RateMyAgent has established a takedown procedure, for the purposes of enabling the efficient resolution of any allegation of infringement. The first step in this process is to notify RateMyAgent of the relevant complaint.
Notification of a complaint, or the investigation of a complaint by RateMyAgent, as described below, does not in any way limit or waive RateMyAgent's rights and/or remedies in respect of the complaint.
Depending on the nature of your complaint, please select one of the following notices:
Notice to RateMyAgent for takedown of a statement due to Defamatory Content
Notes
RateMyAgent provides a forum whereby real estate agents may be openly reviewed by their customers and others they interact with. RateMyAgent expects that reviews which are posted will be constructive. RateMyAgent's terms and conditions prohibit the posting of reviews or other materials which are defamatory. Visit RateMyAgent's terms and conditions at https://www.ratemyagent.co.nz/terms-and-conditions.
If you are a real estate agent and you receive a defamatory review, then you may submit a takedown notice in the form below. Note that just because you receive a negative review, it does not mean that the review is defamatory. Statements that are true or reflect an honest opinion, including those found in negative reviews, are not usually enough to support a claim of defamation. You should carefully consider the facts before you make a claim and seek legal advice if necessary, as a false claim may expose you to liability.
RateMyAgent reserves the right to request verification of your identity and to seek further information from you to clarify the basis of your claim. Please note that RateMyAgent may not be able to investigate claims that are anonymous or incorrectly addressed or do not provide sufficient information in the form of the Notice set out below. RateMyAgent will use reasonable efforts to identify alleged defamatory content when notified but will not be responsible where you have failed to provide all the relevant facts or where these facts cannot be ascertained. Any personal information you provide to us will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy which can be viewed at https://www.ratemyagent.co.nz/privacy-policy; please review this policy before sending personal information to RateMyAgent.
Upon receiving your takedown notice, RateMyAgent will assess the relevant content and the information you have provided and then determine the course of action it will take. This action may include one or more of the following:
Retaining the review on the website.
Removing the review.
Requesting the person who posted the review to remove any defamatory content from the review.
Editing the review to remove the defamatory content.
If you wish to notify RateMyAgent of an allegedly defamatory statement contained on our website, please complete the 'Notice to RateMyAgent for takedown of a statement due to Defamatory Content' below and send a signed and dated copy to:
You must include a return postal address, your daytime telephone number and an e-mail address so that RateMyAgent may respond to the Notice.
Notice to RateMyAgent for takedown of a statement due to Defamatory Content
I, [state your full name], of [state your postal address, daytime telephone number and email address], say as follows:
I refer to the website https://www.ratemyagent.co.nz (the "Website") and now give notice to RateMyAgent that via its Website it is causing or contributing to the publication of an allegedly defamatory statement.
The relevant statement appears on the Website at: [please copy and paste the web address where the relevant post appears]
The relevant statement is contained in the following: [please copy and paste the title, subtitle and body of the post, or any other part in which the relevant statement is made as it appears on the Website].
The words I consider to be defamatory are: [please repeat the exact words within the post which you are complaining about].
I allege that these words are defamatory because: [please state why you consider these words to be defamatory].
The alleged defamatory words are untrue because: [please state why the words complained of are untrue and what you believe the true position to be].
[If the person making the statement is acting on behalf of the claimant, please include the following statement: I am authorised to act on behalf of the claimant. The [person/entity] [delete as appropriate] claiming that the words are defamatory is [please state the name and address of the person/entity] ("Complainant"). I am [please explain the relationship of the signatory to the Complainant]].
I warrant and represent that the above claim is true.
Sign:
Date:
Notice to RateMyAgent of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement
Notes
RateMyAgent prohibits the infringement of third party intellectual property rights. If you believe your intellectual property rights have been infringed by content posted to our website, then please use the process outlined below.
RateMyAgent reserves the right to request verification of your identity and to seek further information from you to clarify the basis of your claim. Please note that RateMyAgent may not be able to investigate claims that are anonymous or incorrectly addressed or do not provide sufficient information in the form of the Notice set out below. RateMyAgent will use reasonable efforts to identify allegedly infringing content but will not be responsible where you have failed to provide all the relevant facts or where these facts cannot be ascertained.
Upon receiving a takedown notice RateMyAgent may at its discretion:
Take no action.
Remove the allegedly infringing content from the website.
Modify the allegedly infringing content so that it is no longer infringing.
Request the person who posted the infringing content to the website, to modify or remove the content, so that any alleged infringement no longer occurs.
If you wish to notify RateMyAgent of an alleged intellectual property right infringement contained on our website, please complete the 'Notice to RateMyAgent of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement' below and send a signed and dated copy to:
You must include a return postal address, your daytime telephone number and an e-mail address so that RateMyAgent may respond to the Notice.
Notice to RateMyAgent of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement
I, [state your full name], of [state your postal address, daytime telephone number and email address], say as follows:
I refer to the website https://www.ratemyagent.co.nz (the "Website") and now give notice to RateMyAgent that the content on its Website as identified below is infringing or contributing to an alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.
The work in which intellectual property rights are claimed is: [please clearly identify and describe the material or work(s) claimed to be infringed] (the "Work"). [Note: Please specify the intellectual property right being infringed e.g. copyright; patent; trademark; design right; and give details of relevant registrations as applicable]
The relevant content appears on the Website at: [please copy and paste the web address where the relevant content appears]
The content that is claimed to infringe the Work ("Infringing Content") is: [please clearly identify and describe the alleged infringing content, if applicable copy and paste the relevant content into this section].
The use of the Infringing Content described in paragraph 4 infringes [my rights/the rights of the Complainant] [delete as appropriate] in the Work and is not authorised by the owner of the Work, its agent(s) or any applicable law.
[I am/I am authorised to act on behalf of] [delete as appropriate] the owner of an exclusive right in the Work that is claimed to be infringed. [If the person making the statement is acting on behalf of the claimant please include the following statement: The [person/entity] [delete as appropriate] claiming that its rights in the Work have been infringed is [please state the name and address of the person/entity] ("Complainant"). I am [please explain the relationship of the signatory to the Complainant]].
I warrant and represent that the above claim is true.
Sign:
Date:
