Can I sue for defamation/slander on FB?

[falselyaccused]

I was in a shopping centre on the weekend and had finished my shopping in a popular clothes shop. As I was exiting the store, the alarm sounded and I was asked by a security guard to stand aside and allow him to check my bags which I was happy to comply with. As expected, no stolen items were found in my bag and the security guard actually said the alarm might’ve gone off by mistake, or someone could’ve timed their exit with mine to increase their chances of getting away with theft. I though it was all okay until I got home and decided to check FB later in the day. Imagine my shock to find very clear photos of me having my bags searched by the security guard at the store which someone had taken. They accused me of theft and warned other people to stay away from me if they saw me in the street! The post had a gazillion replies of shock and people lamenting about how the area was going to the dogs, etc. I reported the post and it got taken down but I’ve had people who recognised me in the photos contacting me and asking wtf was going on?!

I’m livid and want to know if I can take legal action against this person for defamation of character/slander? I tried following their profile link but it doesn’t seem to exist anymore or I’ve been blocked from it.

Can anyone help?

Bump

Do you know the identity of the person who posted it?

Its worth speaking to a solicitor certainly. The case might be made either against the person who posted the photos of you, the person who runs the page it was reported on if you have proof, ie screenshot. You might be able to make a claim against the shop for having your bags searched in a public place, in such a way that members of the public thought you had actually been shoplifting.

No, not at all. They had a generic profile photo of a garden or something. I couldn't see the rest of the profile. Now, when I go to search for them, nothing shows up.

God poor you. What a shit thing to happen. No advice but sympathy. Those alarms go off for all kinds of reasons. Happened to me loads of times and I usually stand there waiting to show my receipt and nobody bothers coming lol

Wow, I'd be seething. What a shitty thing to do. I don't know how you'd go about rectifying it, FB is pretty crap with this sort of thing

@ANameChangeAgain

Its worth speaking to a solicitor certainly. The case might be made either against the person who posted the photos of you, the person who runs the page it was reported on if you have proof, ie screenshot. You might be able to make a claim against the shop for having your bags searched in a public place, in such a way that members of the public thought you had actually been shoplifting.

I've had a quick search online re: solicitors who handle defamation cases and sadly, it seems they have to be satisfied the case would be worth over £10000 for them to be involved. I have no idea who the person posting this rubbish is let alone what their financial position might be.

By popular shop is it a chain? Definitely worth a complaint to head office if that is the case?

Well if this actually did happen ...

No point complaining to the store as the photo was taken by someone else, I presume?

It would be a civil case so not cheap and very stressful. It’s a horrible thing to have done to you but it might be better to try and put it behind you.

You'd probably have to prove some kind of monetary loss, i.e. loss of earnings from losing your job as a direct result of the post to get anywhere.

This is totally outing but similar happened to me years ago, it might cheer you up...

I went to the pub with a friend, and after a couple of drinks he had to leave. We left our booth and I hung out at the bar for a few drinks with locals I knew.

I went to the loo before going home, and as I went to leave, I walked past the table my friend and I had been sitting at. He'd left his coat on the seat. It was late, I was rather drunk, so I thoughtfully picked it up and took it home to give back to him the next day.

I woke up to missed calls from the landlord (we were friendly). When I rang him back he was furious and said that I'd stolen 'people's' coats! Insisted I'd 'gone around picking up coats and went home with them all. I explained, but he said, 'It's all on CCTV, and I've put it on YouTube'...

I was young, and terrified. Took all day to plucjk up the courage to find the video, and there, my name emblazoned in the title (tiny village community so not great!), was me, clearly picking up ONE coat and taking it home.

I returned the coat, apologised, but never went back. A few years later I bumped into the landlord at a different pub and he apologised and said how drunk HE had been (regularly drank behind the bar) and he realised it was an innocent mistake. The video may still be up for all I know but whatever. It had like 7 views, I'll live.

I'm still affectionately known locally as the coat stealer...

It might be worth contacting the admin of the group and asking if they would put up an announcement, something along the lines of asking people to be careful about posting pictures when they don't know the full story as it's upsetting for the innocent parties involved?

Sounds mortifying @notsodarkhorse this is the trouble with entitled vigilante behaviour. They post first and think later.

Do you remember the account name, get a family member who is on Facebook to have a look and see if they can see the profile. If so then you have been blocked but then take it from there and let them know you are going to get a solicitor involved.

So ridiculous people post these things without knowing the full story. Hero syndrome, I know of so many incidences and stuff like this happening which can cause serious situations all for a case of mistaken identity on these Facebook posts of people not bothering to get the full facts.

It might be worth contacting the admin of the group and asking if they would put up an announcement, something along the lines of asking people to be careful about posting pictures when they don't know the full story as it's upsetting for the innocent parties involved?

^ I would do that

The person has probably blocked you, having realised what they’ve done!

In order to take legal action you will need to identify the individual involved (Facebook should be able to help) and show that this has caused you serious harm. Even if you can do this, you need to consider the financial aspects. Taking legal action for libel is expensive. Even if you won, there is a good chance this individual will not have the resources to pay your legal costs or any damages awarded. There is a very good chance that you will end up substantially out of pocket if you take legal action.

To sue you would have to prove you sustained a financial loss or had been severely affected in some way. For example if your employer saw the post and sacked you. Or if you were a celeb and your public image was affected. The best you can do is post a clarification and ask for the post to be removed, and possibly get the poster banned from the group.