can i sue for slander of my business??

cakelady2011

can i sue for slander of my business??
I am a cake designer and maker and had a customer ask me to provide a "blue" cake for a christening, i provided a blue cake in the sence the icing was blue and the customer collected and said how happy she was then contacted me hours later saying she was unhappy with the service that was provided by me as she actually wanted the cake base blue but never specified this at the time of ordering. As a considerable amount of time had passed i was unable to rectify this as it was too late but offered a full refund as a guesture of goodwill and a replacment cake but the customer declined the offer.
Since this has taken place the customer has posted comments on many review sites on the internet stating "i will not be using this company again and would not recommend them to my worst enemy"
Since this statement has been made we have been loosing a considerable amount of business.
Would we be able to sue on the grounds of slander??

Many Thanks for reading

no-oneknowsme

Firstly , to bring a case of slander you have to pay £10k to even start the case. Would you be willing to do this ?

Secondly , the onus is on YOU to prove that what this customer is saying about your company is untrue.

People are entitled to say what ever they want without the risk of a slander case against them as long as what they are saying is factual/true or their own opinion. You would also have to prove that her comments are actually damaging your business.

Unfortunately , if this woman is posting things which are her own opinion there is very little you can do about it although I do understand that this is damaging to your business.

If you do go ahead and start a case against her - paying £10k to do so , if you lose the case please bear in mind that you will also be liable for all legal fee's incurred by both sides....

Have you considered sending her a letter saying that you are aware of her comments/reviews and that you clase them as slander and if she does not remove them within ** days you will be left with no other option but to seek legal advice. This may well be enough to "scare" her into removing the reviews.

Hammyman

If I asked for a blue cake, I'd expect the cake to be blue - all of it except the sponge it was made of.

This is a google image search for the term "blue cake" and what I'd expect if I asked for a blue cake however I would expect sponge to be sponge coloured (light brown) and not blue.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=blue+cake&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gbK9TdrCHM2p8AOjxrG8BQ&ved=0CDAQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=679

If you did a white cake with blue piping and detailing, you rightly deserve the criticism.

And at the end of the day, someone is entitled to have an opinion. A local bodyshop who royally cocked up a custom paint job on my wife's car is finding this out right at this moment.

themull1

In future, have it all written down exactly and get the customer to sign. Then maybe this won't happen again.

pinkshoes

In most valid review sites, the business has chance to respond to the criticism, so you MUST do this. You can also contact the review site and tell them that the review is untrue, therefore you should be given the chance to respond.

Be polite and calm in your response, and just state the facts in your response:

"Customer requested a blue cake for a christening, and as per their criteria, I made them a blue cake. Customer was happy with the cake when collecting it but later decided that she wanted it to have a blue base, which obviously could not be rectified at such short notice. Had the customer specified a blue base upon ordering, then this would have been provided.

Customer was offered a full refund as a gesture of good will, or an alternative cake, but declined both"

Errata

Get a solicitor to write a stiff letter to them. If you have bottomless pockets instruct a solcitor to sue. Your choice, your money.

cakelady2011

Hi thanks all for the replys, the customer received a vanilla sponge cake as requested with baby blue icing apparently she is now saying she did not want icing at all just a blue sponge but we do have proof of a conversation i had with her where i stated the terms blue icing and she said yes thats great.

Each order we send through email conformation stating what the order was and she agreed.

We get people ringing on a daily basis asking for pink, white yellow cake ecct and they refer to the icing not the actual cake colour as it is a very unsual request.

I didnt realise in order to sue someone you had to pay 10k there is no way we can afford this as we have only just opened a shop and have only been open since november so there is abs no way we can afford that but yes we will send her a letter stating we will be seeking legal action.

She is entitle to her own opinion and i know she is upset regarding the matter, we are as well but using the terms "the way they conduct there business is rubbish" - how does she know how we conduct our business and " i wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemy is just downright nasty.

Thanks for your posts!!

DCFC79

Definitely consider getting something like a form where you fill in the requirements eg what colour icing etc. Her own fault for not checking the cake when she picked it up, everyone knows you check stuff like that when you pay.

Premier_2

If it's been published on the internet, you'd actually sue for libel not slander (which is easier to establish as presumabaly it is still there for all to see).

However, the best defence to an accusation of libel (or slander) is to prove the comments were true.

In this matter it appears there is no dispute over the facts of the cake you produced, and the opinions of the individual not to use you again are just that, their opinions and you cannot sue them for those. Hence any claim is likely to fail. Save your money and put it to better use attempting to save your business.

KiKi

It's libel, not slander - as someone else correctly pointed out.

However, it seems that what she has posted is opinion, not incorrect facts. As I understand it, anyone can post an opinion (such as "I hate this company") without any threat of libel because it doesn't state anything incorrect about the company itself.

Sorry this has happened to you, but I would personally tighten up checking customer requirements (such as icing, sponge, wording etc) so that there's absolutely no confusion in future.

I'm not sure of the benefit of telling her you're seeking legal action unless a) she's actually posted something factually incorrect, or b) you intend to follow it through. What happens if it turns out she's a very well-off lady (or married to a solicitor), and gets her legal team to write back pointing out that she's done nothing wrong, but will be suing you for stress and the impact of your letter on her which was unfounded?! Okay, that's extreme, but I'm not sure you've got much to go on unless she's actually posting incorrect information.

As someone else says: post a response to her reviews - one that's balanced, fair and, most importantly, unemotional.

KiKi

dacouch

This is an open and shut case of the customer...having her cake and eating it