Can I be sued for leaving a bad review?

It's now possible to leave a review online for almost any type of business that we interact with, whether it be restaurants, hotels and others in the hospitality business, or those in the service industry such as lawyers, accountants and any other type of professional we might do business with. 

Reviews can help a business build a strong online profile, driving traffic to their website and encouraging others to buy their goods or services. But what happens when bad reviews become an issue? Business can be seriously affected by negative reviews, particularly if they are untrue and designed by trolls or competitors to harm them. On the other hand, reviewers might hold back from being honest, if they fear being sued for what they say. 

Can a company sue you for a bad review?

Yes, a company can sue you for libel for leaving a bad review, if what you have published is untrue and defamatory. If a company wants to sue you for damages your bad review, they would need to prove the following:

• the review you left contained statements which were untrue;
• those untrue statements have caused, or are capable of causing, serious harm to the reputation of the business; and
• the review has caused financial loss to the business.

Is a bad review defamation?

Yes, a bad review can be classed as defamation, if it includes statements which are incorrect or untrue. Reviews which are widely read, and cause harm to the reputation of a business and financial loss to the business, can lead to a defamation claim being brought against the reviewer. 

Defamation claims are brought in the High Court in London. They are generally expensive to bring and to defend, and so you should think very carefully before leaving a review of a business which has anything untrue in it. 

How can I defend a libel claim for my bad review?

If you are sued for libel as a result of a bad review you have published online, you will have the opportunity to defend yourself, but there are only a few narrow grounds that you can use:

• If you can prove that the statements you made about the business were true, the claim for libel against you will fail;
• If you are able to demonstrate that what you published in your review was your honest opinion, the libel claim against you will not succeed. In order to rely on this defence, you would have to have included the reasons for your opinions in the review, and they would have to be reasonable;
• If the business cannot prove that anyone has read your review, they would find it very difficult to bring a successful claim for libel against you, as they would not be able to prove that serious harm had been caused to the business; and
• If the business cannot adequately demonstrate that it has suffered financial loss as a result of your review (and not for some other reason, such as other poor reviews, or because they are providing poor goods or services), they would not be able to bring a claim against you.

If you receive a letter of claim, or a claim form from a business you have left a review for, you should seek legal advice straight away. 

Can I claim freedom of speech if I leave a bad review?

Yes, you are able to say that you are exercising your right to freedom of speech, if you leave a bad review for a business. However, you cannot use freedom of speech as a defence, if what you have said about the business is untrue. 

Freedom of speech is a right which everyone has, but the law will intervene if the right is misused in a way in which other individuals or a business is unfairly harmed. 

Can I leave a bad review anonymously?

Many platforms will allow reviews to leave anonymous reviews, but this does not necessarily mean that you will not be sued for what you have published. 

Many businesses who are regularly targeted by anonymous reviews, have methods they can use to reveal the identity of anonymous reviewers. In some cases, this will involve obtaining a court order, and if their claim for libel against you is ultimately successful, the costs of obtaining that order will also be claimed against you. 

It is also important to bear in mind that the administrators of many sites will often give up the identity of an anonymous reviewer to a business who wants to sue for libel. This is because if they do not, they themselves can be sued. 

It should therefore not be assumed that leaving a bad and libellous review under the cloak of anonymity, will protect a review from being sued for defamation. 

Get legal help if you are sued for a bad review

If you have left a negative review of a business, and they are either threatening to bring a claim against you, or they have issued a claim form, you need to take action very quickly. 

If you stand by what you have said in your review, taking it down can make you look guilty, and embolden the business to pursue a claim against you. However, if there is a risk that the claim against you could be successful, higher damages could be claimed the longer the review is online. It is important that you speak to a defamation legal expert to advise you what to do, as soon as anyone threatens to sue you for libel. 

At Samuels Solicitors LLP, we can provide legal help for businesses who are affected by negative and defamatory online reviews, as well as for individuals who are threatened after they have left a review. We have a team of experts who can advise you what to do about negative reviews, quickly and cost effectively. 

Libel claims move very quickly, and so you should speak to a legal expert a soon as you can, whether you are a business or a reviewer. 

Contact us today to speak to one of our expert lawyers about dealing with defamatory reviews online.