Can you be sued for leaving a negative review?

wheresspot

I recently paid a company to do some work on a legal case I was taking. They ended up not completing the work I asked them to do but claimed that they had spent a significant amount of time on my case and therefore they retained the money I had paid. All I had to show for what I paid was a rather flimsy legal opinion on my case, that didn't stack up with the opinions I had received previously.

I put a complaint to them and asked them to refund my money. I pointed out several reasons why they should agree to this, including their legal opinion being flawed, that they did not complete the work I asked of them (they claim they didn't have time once they had read up on my case) and I questioned why they spent so long on certain tasks that ultimately were not needed for them to provide their opinion on my case. They refused to acknowledge their opinion was flawed (stating this was open to debate and we would never know for sure) and they ignored all the other points I put to them.

They did not take my complaint seriously at all. I therefore emailed them back to say I would have to look into my consumer rights further (although I'm not sure there's a great deal more I can do). I also explained that I would leave negative reviews on as many websites as possible so that other consumers would be aware of the problems I have encountered (one of the main problems I had when I was considering using their services was that there were no reviews at all on the internet). I did not however mention the refund again.

I have now received an email from the company essentially accusing me of trying to blackmail them and that they will sue for libel if necessary. I have already submitted reviews to a few websites (although none published yet). I feel I have been honest and as factual as possible in my reviews, although obviously me and the company involved disagree on various key points.

Anyway, can I be sued for writing an honest review? Or are they just trying to scare me into not leaving negatve reviews?

I feel I gave them a fair chance to resolve this issue, but they chose not to. I also don't feel I was blackmailing them as I did not mention leaving negative reviews at the same time as asking for a refund. I do not expect to get a refund, so now my focus is on ensuring other consumers are aware of the issues I have had - how is this blackmail?

bod1467

As long as anything you have written is factual then it cannot be libel (AFAIK).

Are this company registered solicitors? Are they subject to the auspices of the Solicitors Regulation Authority? If yes then you could look at reporting them to the SRA.

bris

You can be sued for anything, whether they win or not is a different matter. As long as what you write is honest and true then they can't win. The downside is if what you write may not be true and is your opinion over theirs, so you better be sure you are right. It could also get expensive trying to defend it, as well as time comsuming.
So yes they can take you to court, but can they win, is it worth the risk?

keyser666

Agree with both of the above response, would look into going via the SRA.

Also just out of interest why would you go to another solicitors when you had already had a opinion from what appears to be other legal sources

pinkshoes

They'd look pretty stupid suing you if you only write something factual.

I would perhaps reply, pointing out that you have paid £X, and as you have did not receive service that you paid for, you are requesting a refund of £Y.

I'd then say that you did not appreciate their threat of suing for libel, and that as they failed to carry out what you paid them for, and are refusing a refund, then they leave you no option but to write an honest and factual review of their services. Tell them that as your reviews would only contain factual information about their service, which can be backed up by evidence, then you fail to see how there would be a case for libel.

wheresspot

bod1467 wrote: »

As long as anything you have written is factual then it cannot be libel (AFAIK).

Are this company registered solicitors? Are they subject to the auspices of the SRA? If yes then you could look at reporting them to the SRA.

No, they're a tribunal advocate rather than solicitors. I used them on the basis that I couldn't afford a solicitor and they were cheaper - it turned out to be a massive false economy! I very much feel misled into instructing them - they knew the basis of my case, agreed to take it on, but then once they came back to me it was clear it was outside of their area of expertise, (they got some legal concepts very muddled when giving their opinion on the strength of my case) and I think this is why they refused to do any further work for me. But they weren't up front with me about this - they didn't tell me that they might read some of the details of my case to only then say they wouldn't do any further work. I didn't approach them for an opinion as I already had this from elsewhere (although I said I would be interested in one as they would inevitably form an opinion whilst working on the case) - I approached them for some of the practical help preparing for my hearing - none of which they completed.