Empera Agency sells online courses in digital marketing, but since they started last year, they have had several clients who feel cheated by hidden conditions and flaws in the course. SVT’s review shows that the company that owns Empera received 15 complaints to the General Complaints Board, ARN.
Threatened with damages
One of those who reported is My Eriksson – she reported the company when she failed to cancel the agreement.
My wrote a negative review on Trustpilot about his experience.
– Then they wrote that I had threatened them. I had done damage to the company. That this could be defamation and that I could be fined or jailed.
My got scared and did as the company demanded, she withdrew the report and her review. SVT has been in contact with two more people who felt threatened by the company.
– According to Swedish law, it is not possible to defame a company, says Christina Ramberg, professor of civil law at Stockholm University.
Made a mistake
Cindy Lay, coach at Empera, first says that the negative reviews are slander:
– After all, they have committed slander when they spread information that is not correct and can damage the brand.
But later in the conversation she changes her mind. The company’s CEO Daniel Villacrez then writes to SVT Nyheter that they handled customer contacts incorrectly:
“As a company, we have an obligation to protect our reputation if we believe that incorrect information is being spread, but we are also aware that it is important to handle such communications in a professional manner. In some cases we have failed in this, and it is something we are now fixing. We are reviewing our current procedures to ensure that all communication takes place in a constructive and respectful manner, even in difficult situations.”
The bills keep coming
My Eriksson got back part of the money she paid for taking down the report and the review. But the company refuses to cancel the agreement.
– I don’t know what to do. I have called both the company and the bank, but they refer me to others, so I guess I have to pay, she says.