Threat of legal action against me over Trustpilot review :(

BunnyBurrow

Hi, does anyone know if its possible for a company to actually sue an individual for a review left on Trustpilot about a genuine experience?

I have not said anything that isn't true in the review.

The company in question, an estate agent, who in my view, use dishonest means to trap property buyers into handing over thousands of pounds as a "fee", has sent me emails threatening legal action on the grounds of defamation and slander.

(Personally I think they need to look up the definition of defamation and slander).

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

pinkshoes

You can leave honest reviews as long as they contain facts rather than opinions.

E.g. you can say that they wanted a fee off £XXXX to leave the contact which wasn't agreed in the signed contract, but you cannot call them dishonest as that's your opinion.

If the review is only factual then that's fine. If it contains any opinions then I would suggest editing to remove them.

Thrugelmir

When accusing someone else of dishonesty and entrapment you certainly will need to walk carefully. Not uncommon for people not to read paperwork they are given properly. 

Undervalued

BunnyBurrow said:

Hi, does anyone know if its possible for a company to actually sue an individual for a review left on Trustpilot about a genuine experience?

I have not said anything that isn't true in the review.

The company in question, an estate agent, who in my view, use dishonest means to trap property buyers into handing over thousands of pounds as a "fee", has sent me emails threatening legal action on the grounds of defamation and slander.

(Personally I think they need to look up the definition of defamation and slander).

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

Yes. Obviously they can sue, whether they will win or not is another matter.

If it is written down (or broadcast on radio / tv) and untrue it would be libel, not slander which otherwise relates to the spoken word.

Being true is (nearly always) a complete defence. However it is possible to deliberately mislead without straying from the truth. This is how undoctored photographs (pre digital) could sometime be libellous even though "the camera never lies". 

Threats of legal action and carefully worded solicitor's letters are a common way of getting unfavourable material removed, simply because of the (slight) risk of losing. Plus, even if you win you are unlikely to get all of your costs back.

Sadly this is an area that is the province of the rich and, to some extent, those with nothing to lose.

Jenni_D

Bear in mind that any court action for defamation would NOT be in the small claims track (unless things have changed recently). Hence the losing side could be liable for all the winning side's costs. Therefore it may be wise to seek proper legal advice IF he does follow through with the threat.

theoretica

Have you contacted Trustpilot about this?

user1977

BunnyBurrow said:

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

There's no rule prohibiting people from throwing around fanciful claims of suing each other. I wouldn't worry about it.

Apart from anything else, if they've got any sense they'll be aware of the Streisand effect (and become well-known not only for their dubious business practices, but for being litigious about anybody daring to criticise them).

Ectophile

user1977 said:

BunnyBurrow said:

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

There's no rule prohibiting people from throwing around fanciful claims of suing each other. I wouldn't worry about it.

Apart from anything else, if they've got any sense they'll be aware of the Streisand effect (and become well-known not only for their dubious business practices, but for being litigious about anybody daring to criticise them).

That depends who wins.  People have been successfully sued after leaving bad reviews on the internet.  If the compainant wins in court, then everybody will know that they were falsely accused, and the Streisand Effect isn't really a problem.

F1shyFingers

BunnyBurrow said:

Hi, does anyone know if its possible for a company to actually sue an individual for a review left on Trustpilot about a genuine experience?

I have not said anything that isn't true in the review.

The company in question, an estate agent, who in my view, use dishonest means to trap property buyers into handing over thousands of pounds as a "fee", has sent me emails threatening legal action on the grounds of defamation and slander.

(Personally I think they need to look up the definition of defamation and slander).

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

Is this a "modern auction" type of sale?

Thrugelmir

user1977 said:

BunnyBurrow said:

But surely consumers should be able to leave honest reviews of companies without this kind of threat?

There's no rule prohibiting people from throwing around fanciful claims of suing each other. I wouldn't worry about it.

MSE rapidly remove posts if they are approached and the posters are censured. 

Ergates

BunnyBurrow said:

I have not said anything that isn't true in the review.

The company in question, an estate agent, who in my view, use dishonest means to trap property buyers into handing over thousands of pounds as a "fee",

Do you not, perhaps, see what the issue might be here?   When accusing a company (or person) of using dishonest means to extract money from people, you might need to back it up with something a bit stronger than "in my view".

An *opinion* can be backed up by "in my view" - "I didn't like they way they did this", "They didn't explain this bit well enough", "Their logo sucks" etc.   Those are subjective statements, so you view is enough.

"They acted dishonestly" is a statement of fact, not opinion.  They either did act dishonestly, or they didn't - your opinion on the matter is irrelevant.  So, if you're going to make that kind of claim then you should be able to back it up with more than just your opinion, otherwise you could be sued for libel.


If you wanted to warn others of what you believe (but can't prove) is dishonesty, then describe the exact sequence of events that lead you to believe this and let the readers come to their own conclusions.