Posting Bad Reviews & Experiences.... Legality

I've had some bad experiences with car dealerships and parts manufactures in the past but I am always reluctant to post about it due to the fact that I am unaware of what a person could in trouble (sued) for posting. Anyone have any input?

 

its your opinion/experience and you cant be sued for it..

 

What if the dealership is your friend on Facebook, and you tag them in your post "I went to ******* and here is what happened"

 

AFAIK, as long as what you say is true there is nothing they can do about it.

 

If it is a truly terrible experience with no attempt to reimburse or make it right, contact the BBB.

 

There's nothing illegal about honest reviews. I suppose you're thinking of false accusations. Even those are hard for someone to pin you down for.

 

Im no lawyer but I dont see why shouldnt be able to do that as long as all that you are saying is true. But people do get sued for the most ridiculous things now' days, its sad.

 

free speech ftw!!

 

x2, I've had to threaten a company with a BBB complaint, got them in line real quick.

 

He's got a good point there. Don't be one of those people that "Likes" Toyota on Facebook and then all you do is cover their page in slander. It's a fan page, not a review page.

 

What he said.

Save the reviews for Yelp and whatnot. Facebook/Twitter accounts are for fans and/or quick contact and resolution.

 

You could be sued for libel IF what you write is untrue AND causes harm to the reputation of the company. Yeah, a business might start blowing smoke at you (or their attornies might), but you are protected under the 1st Amendment.

 

That being said, I doubt you can be sued for a Facebook/Yelp/Twitter post. The worst that can happen would be a Cease and Desist if you make outrageous claims that they raped your mother and poured sugar in your gas tank. Also, if it's a profile where the content can be controlled by the user (Facebook, Twitter) then they can just delete your comments.

Yelp, Angie's List, Dex, etc., are all review pages run by an independent third party. The best defense against libel is truth, so make sure your accusations are factual, supported and not just butthurt.

 

I would never lie and make false accusations.

 

They were my Facebook friend when I was interested in them. I suppose I should delete them now since I see what they are really like .

BTW, whats with all the bad reps? Why everyone hate you?

 

You won't be sued if it's true. In court, the burden of proof is on the one making the statement. So if you said something bad about a dealership and they sued you over it, it would be up to you to prove what you said was true.

 

If you were not videotaping it then it's probably not a good idea to make a claim then

 

^^^ additionally, it's probably a good thing I always worry about the legality of stuff and never post bad reviews

Although I've had my share of bad experiences with people

 

Not necessarily.

If you're just restating events, I doubt they'd even bother to pursue a libel case (Libel is written, slander is verbal). If you were to call them theives or something along those lines, you might have a case against you unless it could be proven.

The chances of them actually coming against you are slim.

Stick to the facts as they would probably hold more weight than a simple defamatory statement. My ex's father said something that's always stuck with me, "There's always a nice way to tell someone to go to hell."

 

A slim chance is enough for me to leave it alone. I don't need to tell the world my story.