Sued over bad review??

Hey TW,
To make a very long story short. I had a shop unable to do a proper alignment after also purchasing from them UCA's. I went back to them for a CMC.
It was still rubbibg and it did not seem right.
Took it to another shop who aligned it with ease. No rub no problem.
I then notice when they did the CMC they accidentally cut through my body seams under the truck on both sides. After many emails they paid Toyota to fix it for me and reimbursed me for the alignment.
i then signed a release of liability form.
I recently went under my truck to have a look and noticed directly above the chop on the diver side there is a main electrical feed /harness. It has been cut and i see wires. I took it to Toyota and they told me 2 wires were cut and 1 was completely severed they repaired it all for $130.
I chose to not try and deal with this company further and post a negative review on their facebook site and google. They then.tried to contact me and threatened me with a lawyer.
They have since removed the review portion of their fb page.
Today i received an email from a lawyer threatening me to remove all reviews on fb and online or they will see me in court.
I toned my google review down. It now has zero opinion just facts.
I dont think it is fair for a company to do such a blunderf#@ck job then i am not allowed to leave a true review?

Edit.. The liability waiver only states they are not liable for future repairs.

This is an email I sent in reply to the lawyers threatening email.



To whom it may concern;


In response to the threatening email I have received. I have edited my review to be 100% strictly factual without opinion.

I would edit or remove my facebook review but it seems the review portion of the company's facebook page has been completely removed . So there is no access. Nor can i view/edit/remove it.



I have done this against my better judgement to "act accordingly"



I trust this meets your demands on this matter.

 

Social media is powerful. I'd not take down anything unless they offer to fix or refund you to have someone else fix things.

 

They paid toyota to dix the fuck up. I. Found and for alignment
I then signed a liability form.
Then found more damage

 

Seems like you did exactly what they wanted. I don't think they have a leg to stand on, unless you committed libel or slander.

 

I think they are bluffing. The reviews are for the community to help people AVOID shops like this. Of course the shop doesn’t like it but don’t think there’s any real legal action that can be taken?

I vote to leave the original review up UNLESS they cooperate with you to make it right.

 

Feels your pain on the "alleged" hatchet job OP. Secondary to that, I tend to consider emails from lawyers equivalent to those from the Nigerian Prince. YMMV

Just do you

 

I had an animal hospital try this crap with me last year. Long story short my dog was really sick and while I was there for over 4 hours they never took X-rays I gave them permission to take and paid for. I had a $478 bill and left still not knowing what was wrong with my dog. They even wanted to euthanize him there and I told them to go to hell. I left a similar review on their page and the manager or whoever he was called me threatening me with a lawsuit bs. That was until I told him I had proof of services paid for that I never got (the X-rays). He backed down quick when I said I'd be happy to have my lawyer contact him.

 

It sounds like the local business is being a bit defensive. As for the threats to sue, TRUTH is an absolute defense to a claim of libel. If everything you posted was true then you will be fine. If not, and it could be damaging, then I’d modify the post to reflect factual truths and your opinion. When you state your opinion, make sure you are being clear that “you do not feel this is a company worthy of your business” and that this is your opinion, or so on. So long as you speak truth, don’t be intimidated. But, know that businesses are fighting back nowadays over social media posts. Best of luck.

 

Get a lawyer. You have just as much right to defend yourself too.

 

You are legally allowed to leave facts as long as you have proof to back it up. It's when you start using words that are your opinion that could be used as deformation of character.
Leave the facts for people to read, leave the opinions to yourself and let the readers form their own opinion.

 

It is cheap to send a letter and threaten people. I received one once for something and took it to a lawyer friend. They laughed and said it had no legal merit and they could even tell from the way it was written that the lawyer that did write it, didn’t want to even write it.

Find a lawyer friend, see if your work has EAP to get a free consultation. But until they actually take you to court, they are just hot air. If your review is factuall, without omitting major details, then leave them.

 

Better Business Bureau?

 

Edit your review back to how it was that's what reviewing is for. Fuck them and heir BS threats.

FYI they can sue you because this is America but you'll win and sue them big time for malicious prosecution!

 

Wow, sounds like a horrible experience. I wonder if the person they had contact you was even a real lawyer.

 

Does your current review properly warn others of the issues you had, and that they need to inspect work for related damages? Or did you water it down so some other person will get the same issues and not knowing to look, get stranded or in an accident because of their work?

Anyone that touches my truck, is putting my life and my families in their hands. I read reviews for this very reason. I don’t trust 100% perfect reviews, not even Disney is that good.

 

curious - did the attorney leave a contact number? Was he even an attorney? Did you verify? It seems as thought they would have your address from the bill of sale and should have sent a letter - probably certified. Not an attorney - just seems weak.

 

Was thinking the same thing. I'm no attorney, but I've never heard of one operating this way. I'm sure someone on here is an attorney and can chime in.

 

I did earlier.

 

If you got an email from an attorney just take his contact info and check the state bar to see if he is in fact an actual attorney. If so, see my previous post. I had someone try that with me years ago and I told them to knock themself out. They didn’t know anything about my chosen profession. Again, post truth. You are also entitled to your opinion. If you state facts make sure they are truthful and accurate.

 

Lawyer emails/ letters .Haha. I just threw one out about a month ago. They mean nothing.