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Thread: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

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    Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    Ok, just saw this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55981600
    ...and knowing nothing more than what's on the article, this raises some serious questions as to weather our judicial system knows what it's doing.

    Although this line makes me a bit suspicious of this person's motives "He previously said he had offered to remove the review in exchange for a refund of the £200 fee (plus VAT) he had paid but claimed the firm had not responded."


    I always thought Trustpilot reviews were a bit iffy, especially when I see 5star reviews that look very similar in wording. But if companies can sue and win based on negative reviews, this makes me think twice before posting a review again online.

    Also it's weird that they can claim 1 review is the cause of their failure, AND win! Again, maybe we need judges that know a bit more about how the internet works in cases like this.
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    Re: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    Lots of people are now leaving negative reviews for that company in support of the person in question
    Jon

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    Re: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    lol, I just saw that. Good I say!

    Edit: I hope the £25k was worth it, they're about to learn what the Streisand effect is...
    Last edited by Scryder; 09-02-2021 at 12:57 PM.
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    Re: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    Lots of people saying sue me on it, think it may backfire for that company, though I don't know the ins and outs of it
    Jon

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    Re: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    reading the article he did several things wrong
    1) slagged them off without clearly saying why he wasn't happy with their service. You can't be sued for saying something truthful. He should have said "this is the service I got, not happy. Buyer beware..." instead he went "Scam outfit" and they can make a case that is defamatory. SFAIK if he'd just stuck to the facts they couldn't have pursued it in the way they have.
    2) didn't take their threat seriously enough to rebut it properly nor seek a meaningful settlement out of court. His "refund my fee" was a start but he should have pursued that much more strongly. The court takes a dim view of claimants going to court when the defendent can show they offered, properly and repeatedly, a cheap resolution. It's about holding the moral high ground when you head to court.
    3) didn't respond to court invites/summons - the court always takes a dim view of this and if an argument has two sides but only one is there which one do you think gets listened to?

    If he'd taken it seriously he probably would have not ended up in court or won once he got there.

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    Re: Man to pay £25,000 damages over negative TrustPilot review

    Alternative title - Idiot commits libel against professional law firm.

    Man does not use official complaints procedure, but instead runs straight to biassed public platform to vent.
    Man sued by law firm.
    Man does not even attend court hearing or show any interest in the procedings.
    Man is found guilty of libel, it presumably being proven in court.

    People will happily scream about businesses leaving false reviews, either to boost themselves or to damage their competitors. Why now would they get their panties twisted over a person trying to cause similar damage to a perfectly good company?


    Quote Originally Posted by Scryder View Post
    But if companies can sue and win based on negative reviews, this makes me think twice before posting a review again online.
    A review is merely an opinion.
    This was not an opinion, but an outright false statement intended to damage someone else's reputation, and consequently their business. The firm was perfectly within their rights to challenge it and stand up for themselves.
    _______________________________________________________________________
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Tyson
    like a chihuahua urinating on a towering inferno...

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