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?

I think people are being a bit pearl-clutchy about the size 20 knickers comment - yes in an ideal world we'd all be considered equally beautiful be realistically that's not how it works.

Blimey, I was all with you until your "size 20" comment. Fortunately the world is a diverse place and not all people fancy stick thin models. That was a really catty comment to make.

For admitting that her husband doesn't find this lady attractive..? Which is relevant as this lady is accusing him of being a pervert towards her

As a random comment to make, its a bit mean/uncalled for but in this situation, I think it makes sense if it's true that OP knows her husband wouldn't fancy this woman

Yikes - you sound awful! Till that point, i was sympathetic but now....

It would depend on the wording she's used - The statement must clearly be one of opinion. If she's made a factual allegation, she can't rely on the defense of Honest Opinion.

We can't say with any certainty without the wording, but "He went through my draws" would be a factual allegation.

The woman has just accused OPs DH of being a pervert online, in a public forum where he is easily identified. I think making a jab at her size 20 knickers in the heat of the moment on an anonymous forum is pretty harmless.

Did he need to move furniture as part of the job? Eg to get to a wall or power socket. Most of us would remove drawers to make the furniture lighter.

I think the OP probably knows her husbands ‘type’ better than us . Honestly @Westerntravel , I’d have this thread removed on privacy grounds as it’s going to be totally derailed by the ‘size 20 ‘ comments .

This is SO important. No one should be able to accuse another of theft so easily and publicly - this is libel, which is very serious as it attacks someone else's reputation for integrity and will affect his business. The courts if it got to court would take this very seriously indeed. So through a solicitor (vital to get one), threaten her with a libel suit ( and go on doing so "right up to the court room door") but as advice here, defend yourself loudly. She cannot be allowed to get away with baseless accusations of theft. As a minimum she needs to publicly retract and make profuse public apology.

That's kinda like saying perverts would never target overweight women!...Just because she thinks the woman isn't his 'type' doesnt mean it didn't happen

A friend of mine, along with her husband, runs plumbing business. Not huge, but a decent sized regional business. They have around 20 plumbers on the books, branded vans, a proper website etc etc. She started to noticed an increased number of people making false accusations and FB posts in the expectation that they would be offered a refund to remove the post in the post Covid period, when the price of their services increased (driven by skills shortage, inflation and NI).

To tackle it they introduced a simple process, using a tablet, of getting the customer to sign off that they are happy with the work, and that nothing has been damaged / moved, before the plumber leaves. That, along with simple, factual rebuttals significantly improved things but they are always some that try anything to get something for free.

I don’t think that’s what OP meant. It was just an emotional response to what the woman has said, it’s not an expression of opinion around weight and being a target. It was a defensive jab.

These are two high legal tests, not at a level we might think. Honest opinion isn't just that you thought it or even that it actually happened. It's that on the balance of probability a reasonable person would form that opinion. You need to be able to demonstrate the reasons and rationale behind the opinion, so not just that the draws were open but also why it was reasonable to form an opinion it was him that opened them. And in the Public Interest is actually a really high legal test. It's not a test of being of interest to the public, it's that without you telling the public there could be real harm to the public as a whole. No way these actions constitute a threat to the public as a whole, so the only defence is that she is telling the truth, and she would need to demonstrate that on the balance of probabilities.

Poor form by the FB group allowing people to badmouth businesses with no evidence.

Im part of the admin team on a community page and we would only allow issues with evidence. Like cctv footage etc..
To post that is her word against his and it’s not fair, she could easily have made a mistake.

Definitely take further and speak to the admins about why they allow unproven accusations.

I wouldn't engage with her at all. The damage is done. Get a solicitor to send a letter as other have suggested.

Not quite.

You don't just 'have' a defence, it's a specific counter to an accusation of liable that you rely on to defend yourself in court.

When using the defence of Honest Opinion for example, first of all your statement must clearly be an opinion, and not a factual allegation.

"This man is not to be trusted around valuables!" - Opinion
'This man just stole my watch!" - Factual allegation

Then you have to satisfy the court that your defence is robust, and there are strict standards to meet. Again using Honest Opinion as an example, your opinion must be genuinely held and based on a fact, and it's up to you to evidence this to a standard that convinces the court.

There's a lot more to it, obviously. In short though, you cannot just 'believe' something and say it with no comeback. Defences are used in court, they don't stop you going to court. And the burden of proof is entirely on the person making the defamatory statement.

This was going to be my suggestion too 👆

Just a thought OP, but did your husband have to move any furniture in the room to get the job done? This could’ve caused things to be moved slightly in her knicker drawer and she might not have realised there was a genuine reason why it happened.

🧐 how do you know she wears a size 20?

Too late now, but I think it was a bit pointless to say he was seeking legal advice. It would be far too costly to pursue and, as someone else pointed out, the other person has to have knowingly said something untrue (so if she believes it to be true, he's failed at that hurdle) and it has to have caused actual damage, like a drop in quote requests/people have cancelled jobs because of this one comment.

People take reviews with a pinch of salt, particularly when so many are fake now. If a business has 95% positive reviews and 5% negative, with some odd remarks like a tradesman looking through drawers, most people will think the odd negative reviews are unlikely to be true or there has been a misunderstanding.

Maybe she does know his type, but the mistake she made was saying size 20 wouldn't be the top of ANY bloke's wish list, therefore denigrating larger women and insinuating no one would fancy them.

Goodness me how stressful and disgusting on her behalf please contact a solicitor

Let it go because things move on fast and if you dont keep giving it energy it will go away quick.

Agree that things like this shouldn't be posted on Facebook, but admits have alot of power and can just as easily ban you from the group too.

Move on.

Thing is though, it’s her word against his.

If it was me in her situation and I got a cease and desist, my reaction would be to double down and say prove you didn’t do it then.

If she genuinely believes he did it (not saying he did), then why the hell would she back down, roll over and appologise for something she believes happened?

I’d be inclined to just move on. For all the faux outrage - it’s just bored people on Facebook and this is something for them to do. It will be forgotten about just as fast.

🍿,
😁
Seriously though, that's libel. Tell them that as well and that you'll be getting a legal team involved.