If you get ripped off or bad work done I think you should post about it. I also think that other forum users should be entitled to question you about it and I'm pretty sure any fakers would be quickly identified by using common sense. For example if a certain trader gets consistently complained about for example bodged work, not exercising due care, car returned in worse state than supplied, parts missing, then it's pretty obvious something is wrong. Likewise if a supplier gets consistently good feedback for honesty integrity and good service then once again that helps people draw their own conclusions. Feedback is about opinion and consistently. Just look at Google company feedback provided as a free service for any business on Google or eBay or Amazon. Even courtesy of employees is a factor in making a spending decision.
No one is naive enough not to question anything they see online! LOL
Have you any idea how difficult and expensive it is to prove a causal link between business loss and comments online? You would have to have like 20 people come forward and say I read this particular post and was about to take my car in for repair when I decided to spend my money with a company with better overall feedback. It would take years and hundreds of grand to even initiate such an action. No no fee solicitor would touch it. Never mind the fact that this particular company no longer exists
I mean there's more chance of being hit by a meteorite
Also do you really think that a club would share personal data without someone's permission about the location of a valuable classic car breaching just about every data protection law there is?
Honestly I am still at a loss for words