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We recently stayed in a vacation home and there were several issues while there. I contacted the owner about them and she was rude and condescending. After the trip I emailed her asking for a partial refund because of some things that were either missing, or unusable. She said no. I was fine with that, I wanted to try that route first before I wrote a review. I let her know that I would let people know in a review what had happened. She then emails me and threatens to take legal action against me if I do. Her exact words were this:
Should I find any negative comments anywhere re our house from you or anyone associated with you I will put it straight into the hands of our US business attorney as this is called liable in the UK and is completely unfounded.
Can she do this? I did write a review that was 100% factual because I am not going to be bullied, but I was just wondering if this is legal for her to do? Can you threaten people if they write a negative review?
All I know is that the libel laws in the UK are extremely strict and few cases ever come to court for that reason.
Do you have documentation to support any comments you want to make in your review, such as photos of broken equipment or copies of emails you sent the owner to complain about defective items before you left the property?
All I know is that the libel laws in the UK are extremely strict and few cases ever come to court for that reason.
Do you have documentation to support any comments you want to make in your review, such as photos of broken equipment or copies of emails you sent the owner to complain about defective items before you left the property?
Yes I have all emails back and forth both when I was in the home and when I returned from the vacation. She admits to taking out the grill and not replacing it and tells me that I should not have expected it since it was a free amenity. However, in my quote for the price of the house it says $1695.00 which includes taxes/phone/internet and use of a BBQ. That tells me that there SHOULD have been a grill there no matter if I paid extra for it or not. It was included in my quote, which I still have as well.
IF your quote specifically mentions certain things that then were missing or broken I don't see why you couldn't say so in your review. If you're still unsure maybe check with an attorney?
IMO I think you should have done a walk through at the beginning of the stay, and if there were any descrepencies found, let them know your concerns and give them a chance to rectify them. Don't these places have some kind of management company in the ststes? Also, if the issues were really bad, take pictures to give yourself more of a leg to stand on.
IMO I think you should have done a walk through at the beginning of the stay, and if there were any descrepencies found, let them know your concerns and give them a chance to rectify them. Don't these places have some kind of management company in the ststes? Also, if the issues were really bad, take pictures to give yourself more of a leg to stand on.
Most management companies are pretty laughable and unless the place was on fire, unresponsive. They usually take the "we're just the middleman" stance where anything the owner states is in the house but isn't is between the renter and owner.
Hammy, sounds to me like she is just trying to scare you and take advantage of you because you are unfamiliar with local laws. If it was me, I would again tell her I plan to write the review because it's the truth and that I have pictures and emails to prove all of my claims. I would again offer not to write it if she rectified the situation by giving me a partial refund.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 10-29-2012 at 09:50 AM..
Reason: Orphaned - post referred to has been removed
As long as you are not slandering or using defamation of character you can say/review anything you please. It's a freedom of speech issue. She has the option of rebuting it. If you have proof of wrong doing (torts) and the evidence to go with it the law is on your side.
You must also weight the cost of this problem versus the hassle of trying to resolve it. If you get a lawyer involved then the costs increase substantially and if you should go to court then even more costs etc etc. If you're talking only a few hundred dollars then mark it up to experience.
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