Complaint about a zombie post of mine

[Chefwifelife]

I had an email from MN report team today to inform me that a post of mine from June 2019 has been reported as possible libel for defamation.

I’ve read the post several times and stand by the post as honest. I’ve informed MN that I don’t want the post deleted.

I can see today that several of the posts by other members on the thread have been deleted.

I was intrigued if there were similar posts on Mumsnet so Googled this company and found that a few days ago there quite an unpleasant exchange on Trust Pilot with a customer who had left a negative review about them.

AIBU to stand by my original (ancient) post or should I just be done with it and delete it? I don’t want to feel bullied into removing an honest post asking for others experiences.

Has anyone been in this situation?

FYI MN have been great throughout.

We are saying och, that isn't libellous (sp) but the truth is, we're not legal eagles. I would be inclined to agree to the removal. What a pita!

That’s not libellous in the slightest.

But if it makes it hard for mumsnet maybe you’d be best to take it down.

I’d be raging if I was you.

thespottedzebra the posts have a very similar run-on writing style to the company on TrustPilot.

Which, incidentally, seems to report all negative reviews on TrustPilot too

So saying you're unhappy with a purchase / item is libel now. Somebody better warn TripAdvisor. Good luck in court with this one, complaining company.

I suppose the company name could be said to have a double meaning

After thorough searching I can't find it. Someone do me a favour and link it?

Ticket it's the way they seem to go 'mmm, well maybe YOU shop in Poundland, but I couldn't possibly' that gave it away too. That, and the odd Princess Eugenie name drop.

If I've read the right thread I thought they came across very well in the way the issue was resolved. If it was a product I had any use for, I certainly wouldn't be put off.

I’ve just found the post, plus the trust pilot post too.

After reading the response to the trust pilot post, it actually puts me off ever ordering from that company tbh. The fact that they’ve tried to remove you balanced complaint post too is the final nail in the coffin.

There are so many "deleted by user requests" on that page, it's crazy! Agree, many positive reviews are overly defensive and sound exactly like sock puppets. What in the world is free speech coming to if a private person can't post their personal opinions on a discussion forum?

Hardly good karma or PR for a company that is most likely hit by corona travel bans...

I just don’t understand why when companies are a bit shit they spend so much time and energy (here, Trustpilot & other review sites) trying to silence disgruntled customers and posting fake positive reviews, rather than putting their energy into being a bit less shit!

Just as a caveat I’m saying that with literally no idea which company you are talking about, just having experienced similar myself. The only exception is trip advisor which seems to attract the loons who want to take down restaurants with whom they have often been the unreasonable customer in a sea of positive experiences.

I've read your old post - no idea why they consider it slander. You give an opinion on a 'Keep Em Quiet' bag for travel. You didn't think it was good value, an opinion but not slander.

Personally, I think asking a thread to be taken down and us all reading this does a lot more damage to the company!

an honest opinion based on personal knowledge cannot be either libel or slander. That is why I try to keep to very factual comments on review sites, or where that isnt possible say things like in my opinion it was filthy or I felt the manager was rude. I have never agreed to a review being taken down, although one got removed because months later I no longer had the evidence. Always good to post a picture to back up what you are saying so the evidence is as public as the comment.

When I look at reviews I bear in mind that it is one person's view and I am not seeing the other side. The odd bad review does not bother me, the managerial response can, however, mean that I would avoid them. All companies have unhappy customers from time to time but where it's obvious that the company were apologetic and tried to put things right I feel confident that they would do the same for me.

If I was the company I'd have charged you the return postage, I wouldnt have charged a restocking fee. A polite and prompt - I'm sorry you were disappointed, we will refund if it is returned in saleable condition and refusing to engage beyond that would have been appropriate.

The thing is, if a business responds to criticism in a positive way (no matter how unjustified or unfair they may personally feel the criticism was), the end result tends to be that people are left with a positive impression. Both the complainant and observers.

Being defensive and aggressive just inflames things and makes the business look unprofessional.

So I’ve had a nosey at the Trustpilot reviews and to be honest he’s not done himself any favours.
I’d never heard of them, but now I have I won’t be buying from that company

They may struggle suing for defamation since they only have a year from publication. There is a loophole they could use to say they've only just become aware of it but even then they'll need to convince a judge.

I have not seen your original post but unless it was something that could have caused significant damage to their business/ reputation or distress to them then I doubt they'll take it far.

Defamation cases are a real pain, cost a lot to initiate ( court filing fees are pretty high) and tend to be a complex area of law.

(I'm not a lawyer but have unfortunately had to become familiar with defamation law)

However to save stress you may want to delete it.

You didn’t make a false statement and you were very generous towards what now seems be a very unreasonable company with questionable reviews.

What is the world coming to when it’s more acceptable to lie about something and allow others to be equally disappointed than it is to tell the truth?

Well I will never use Keep Em Quiet after reading this. Thanks for the heads up.

@user1573957284738

The thing is, if a business responds to criticism in a positive way (no matter how unjustified or unfair they may personally feel the criticism was), the end result tends to be that people are left with a positive impression. Both the complainant and observers.

Being defensive and aggressive just inflames things and makes the business look unprofessional.

This x100

The company being discussed here has posted a really unprofessional response on Trustpilot. I won’t be buying from them due to that response alone. Regardless of what their product is like.

Keep Em Quiet seems to be an awful company

If the company owner emailed you to apologise for getting things wrong how exactly is it libel? They admitted things weren’t up to scratch in writing no less.

Has anyone pointed out the irony of a company called Keep Em Quiet threatening to bring libel proceedings?

Damn, can’t find the original post and I’m really nosey and want to know now!!!

If I believed I hadn't done anything wrong as claimed, I'd be tweeting the whole thing tbh. Let their potential customers decide

I take it was a review about a company/service? If they don't like others commenting about their experience it's something that is a part of the territory. As long as a far and accurate account of your experience, good or bad it has to done.

I really abhor silencing though and call it out publicly all the time.

@EnjoyingTheSilence

I’ve PM’d you the thread link!