DH has been slandered on local FB page

[Westerntravel]

Posting for traffic. DH is a tradesman, has done the job for years with no issues and a great reputation with positive reviews etc.

He has been working in a local ladies house for the past week or so and the job finished on Wednesday afternoon.

Last night, without warning, she put a post up on our local FB community group and accused DH of going through her belongings. The reason she knows this, is that she always positions one of her drawers in a particular way and stuff had been moved.

DH is mortified and completely denies this. Thankfully, a lot of the replies are from people who have used him before without issue and they are singing his praises. There are some embarrassing comments from random people calling him a pervert etc which are really hurtful.

She is refusing to take it down despite polite requests from DH. Does anyone know where we stand on this?

Has he tried reporting the post to FB ? Sorry I've no other suggestions as I'm not expert in this field

Is there an admin of the FB group he can contact about removing it?

This is what solicitors are for.

There appears to be 3 and all have been messaged with only one replying. They said it’s only right the community is warned and they can make their own mind up.

I'm not surprised at all by this response - it's depressing but predictable from the "online community" moderators, who prefer traffic to no traffic. We see plenty of it on here.

In seriousness, what you must do is engage a solicitor. Whatever you think the few hundred pounds cost for the initial engagement is worth, will be far worse for the 3 or 4 jobs he loses because of the doubt in people's minds. @Westerntravel

Get a solicitor, it’s actually libellous as it’s in writing. You need to be able to prove it’s affecting his livelihood which you actually can.

I’ll get a solicitors letter out to her immediately

Cease and Desist letter from your solicitor. Demanding the post is removed and an apology or retraction is published.

This serves as a letter before action. Following which your husband will instigate legal proceedings for defamation.

Good grief! Would they feel that way if someone was being falsely accused of being a flasher or wife beater? Beggars belief.

i'd also be inclined to reply to her that it's untrue and she will be hearing from your solicitor because it is libel and could result in loss of business.

It's not nice but he needs get legal on it.

This sort of unfounded rumour can really affect a local business.

Solicitor today.

Query also whether any solicitor advice might be covered by business insurance (I don’t know, but might be worth checking)

This is what makes solicitors wealthy….very hard to get recompense for slander/libel without it costing the claimant she’d loads of cash.
Complain to the groups admin…and ask that the post is removed asap.

For speed, has he tried contacting the group admins saying it is untrue and he is taking legal action? That would mean prompt removal on my local page (make sure you screen grab first of course).

If you can find out the names of the admins, post something accusatory and defamatory about them on FB - obviously it doesn't need to be remotely true.

After all, it’s only right the community is warned and they can make their own mind up.........

You'd be surprised how effective such letters can be.

And how useful the mere threat of them can be. I'd be contacting both the admins of the group and the woman and saying they will be hearing from your solicitor shortly. That will both show that your DH is taking this threat to his livelihood seriously, reassure potential clients, and may frighten the admins into action.

Post in legal.

Not AIBU

Don't know if this will help but when there was an untrue post on a fb community group about my husbands business I messaged the admin advising of the effect on my husband and his business partners mental health. Although they didnt reply it was taken down swiftly. Also get as many people as possible to report.

His business insurance should
have at the very least a legal advice line and should provide further legal advice

Another one here for libel proceedings, even if it’s just a letter. The onus is on the person making the accusations to prove they’re true. I’d also be making them aware of this. Good luck OP

Is "contact the group's admins" becoming the new "cancel the cheque"?

You need to post a professional and factual response on her post. Include in this that you are taking legal advice on the matter and then don't engage further with her. Than speak to a solicitor.

DH is a tradesman and this is what we have done previously about accusations of theft due to work not being completed when it was work that hadn't been included in his quote.

Customers can be horrible. I hope you get this sorted.

Absolutely. You can do this letter yourself if you check the necessary wording. I would also do some research to see if the poster has form for this. Some people are nuts.

Cease and desist letters don’t exist in the UK. It’s a letter before action.

Do you actually know for sure that it’s not true? If she believes it’s true (and, for example, has evidence her drawer was moved), she has a defence to a claim being that it’s an honest opinion and further has a defence if she believes it’s in the public interest to publish it to warn them.