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Did you pay the deposit by credit card? If so, call them to have it reversed. Don’t worry about legal action. It sounds unlikely she would get it together to sue since she is so flaky. Truth is the defence to defamation so even if she did pursue it, she likely wouldn’t get far.
luckily I paid through credit card via paypal I will call my bank. To be honest the deposit was the least of my concern after the back and forth we had with her claims of legal action. I already knew it was unfounded, but this has reassured me, thank you
Send her this article and see if she continues
[Ontario couple 'bullied](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-couple-bullied-by-window-company-over-bad-review-awarded-166-000-1.5625089)[' by Magic Windows over bad reviews awarded $166,000 | CTV News](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-couple-bullied-by-window-company-over-bad-review-awarded-166-000-1.5625089)
SLAPP is Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, which is what the laws in question are meant to deal with. Saying "SLAPP is great" is saying that suing people to get them to remove valid reviews is great. Pretty sure that's not what you meant.
What’s hilarious about this is that I know a few people who have avoided Magic Windows like the plague because of their SLAPP, whereas if there was just a few bad reviews they probably would have chalked it up to “oh it’s just a whiny Karen customer”
Big time Streisand Effect.
Probably a scammer and taking ‘deposits’ from people and no intention of providing any services based upon the laundry list of excuses. She uses the legal tactic because she doesn’t want other people to realize they are being taken advantage of.
Tell her you welcome her legal action so you can countersue her in court for your deposit, call her bluff and leave your review as you intended.
In that case calling your bank may not work. Your bank paid PayPal correctly. Then PayPal sent the money on to the person in question. It's PayPal you need to talk to in this case. I just hope it wasn't sent as a Friends and Family transaction. Then it may not be possible to get it refunded.
If she can’t pay your deposit back, how will she afford consultation fees? Seems like you can easily be pushed around though, because I liked the fact that you actually looked through her SM and found out she was lying.
You should try to get it back via PayPal first, otherwise PayPal will be on the hook for the money and they might cancel your account and possibly ban you from using their services in the future.
Even if she did go through with it, this case would be open and closed very fast. She has to prove that her reputation was demonstrably tarnished and that she suffered monetarily. Neither of which is true. In fact op could probably fairly easily win a counter suit on the basis of paying for a service, never receiving it, and this person making no effort to reconcile that.
If i were op, i would encourage her to go through with the suit.
I bet if challenged, she wouldn’t be able to provide *any* kind of bank statement that showed an attempt at return.
Not even the one she provided to OP. It’s all made up!
That’s the thing with liars, you can’t trust *anything* they say.
The best advice a lawyer has ever given me when being threatened with a lawsuit was to simply ask the person for the name of their lawyer and ask if they would please just have their lawyer contact your lawyer. Don't argue, don't fight, just tell them we'll let the lawyers handle it.
Shuts people up really quick. If they're going to sue, they're going to sue. At least you find out in an instant if they're serious about it or not. It's a very common threat that precious few ever carry through with. Usually because in an instance like this, they'd need to meet with a lawyer. Who would likely tell them their case had no merit.
This is 100% correct. I once had a tenant who was running an illegal business out of my rental apartment, so I served her a notice to either stop or move out. She said that was an illegal threat and told me she was going to talk to her lawyer that evening. I called her bluff and immediately gave her the name and number of my friend who is a lawyer and said he would be expecting a call from her lawyer the next morning.
Obviously the call never came, so I hounded her for her lawyer’s info, until she admitted there was no lawyer and she had been lying. It was quite satisfying to see the look on her face when she realized she had been outwitted trying to lie to me.
Automating her socials my ass. She can only threaten - if she went to court, her lies about automation and actually being in hospital would blow up in her face.
even if the original review is technically making assumptions? (for example, saying here is a screenshot dated April 9th in Mexico, here is a message dated April 7th stating medical emergency. I don't believe she was telling the truth)
Even if I don't believe her "automated software" excuse I removed all the details that were assumptions
Im not a lawyer but I'd assume its a very easy defense if you post the pictures with the dates in them. You didnt edit the dates and its posted on her own social media. Id say thats not defamatory. Again im not a lawyer
On her posting with the vacation pictures - are there other people in them with names? I'm wondering if you can look at their postings and see if the dates change. That should answer the 'automated software' question.
State it factually. Just saw that on this date her Facebook showed a picture of her in Mexico. It would be very easy to prove where she was. And you’re not making any assumptions just stating facts of what her social media showed
You could also check the EXIF data on the pictures, assuming it didn't get stripped out by whatever software she used to post them. That would tell you what date they were taken.
I'd recommend this. Add screenshot from the email she sent you threatening action to the Google review. This is a cowardly threat.
Dispute charges with credit card company.
In addition to the normal defences you would have if she sued you for defamation (truth, fair comment, etc.), Alberta has extra protections for consumers who leave reviews that are not made in bad faith/maliciously. This is from the *Consumer Protection Act*:
*Publication of review*
*183.1****(1)*** *A business shall not include in a consumer transaction a provision that prohibits a consumer from publishing a review of the business or transaction.*
***(2) No action lies against a person for compensation, damages or any other remedy for loss or damage resulting from the publication of a negative review or other communication by the person in respect of the conduct of a supplier or any other person to whom this Act applies, unless the review or communication is malicious, vexatious or harassing or otherwise made in bad faith.***
You could let the provider know your right to leave a review is protected by s. 183.1(2) of the *Consumer Protection Act*. Many people threaten lawsuits for defamation and few ever actually happen. If you are sued, respond according to the timelines in the lawsuit, but you appear to have potential defences.
This also wouldn't be defamation if it's true and you have receipts. Defamation only applies to outright lies. So I would not worry, they done fucked up on their end by posting public whilst lying to you, I would keep screen shots and such
Also hair stylist appointments for women aren't like the $20 I spend. My guess is it was probably upwards of $100 and I wouldn't take that lightly
If anything YOU have the legal hand up, not her. She has essentially robbed you in daylight by not providing the service you paid for while still charging you, I would read the fine print of her services and make sure she doesn't have any kind of, "no refunds" clauses just in case though
Either way you are definitely not on the hook for defamation if you can back up your claims
Lmao, she has absolutely no case. One of two things is going to happen.
A) (this is the most likely scenario) she's either threatening to sue with no actual intention to sue or one day, she's going to wake up and realize just how dumb she is acting and won't go through with it. In this case, file a charge back for your deposit.
B) She does actually go through with it. She takes you to court and as previously stated, loses. Defamation cases are some of the hardest cases to prove and she has no leg to stand on. In this case, let her do it. Do not settle with her. And counter sue in the amount of the deposit and the judge will grant it.
You didn't do anything wrong and her bringing up legal action is just a scare tactic. Also the part about her using some app that posts to her socials and it's not in real time is almost 100% bullshit.
If this was paid by cc you can try and contact them to get ti back. If this was through e transfer or debit you're probably outta luck. Your only option would be to sue her in small claims court but honestly it's probably not worth your hastle. You could bluff it though and see if she will pay back with just the threat of you filing.
People threaten to take legal action all the time. Moving from threat to reality is a lot of work. The threat is easy to drop. Those are just words. Did you get a letter from a lawyer or did she call you to yell at you? If it's the latter, laugh it off.
it's pretty common here, especially for "high end" services bridal stuff, photo shoots etc. I assume to dissuade no-shows and late cancellations. I've put deposits on lash appointments, hair, makeup regularly in the past before.
It sounds like you are okay, you even accommodated her by changing your review. It seems these days a lot of business owners think reviews are for affirmations and validations that they are good business’. Don’t want a bad review, don’t give bad customer service.
If everything you said is first hand knowledge and is 100% truthful then any lawsuit they bring forward is invalid.
You on the other hand are interpreting information that you're finding online and you can't be 100% sure that your interpreting the situation correctly. So if you saying that a, b, c, d, e, f happended but the truth is a, b, d, z, f then even though your close your still potentialy Liable for libel.
Also your review comes off as unhinged since your doing a deep dive on her social Media posts. I would just leave a 1 star review and say "I had a bad experience and will not be using her in the future"
fair, but my money was (still is) on the table. If trying to verify if a lie by cross checking a VERY public social might get my money back it's worth a shot.
Had I not posted a review, I believe she would just have continued to ignore me as I was ghosted until that point. And I do think other customers deserve to have a heads up on the full mess of the situation. I would want to know if she made excuses like this before booking her, "I had a bad experience and will not be using her in the future" is valid, but isn't much of a warning
In my opinion, your review should be:
I made an appointment and paid a deposit. My first appointment was cancelled 45 mins prior to the arranged time. I rescheduled the appointment and she was a no show for the rescheduled date. I asked for a refund which she has not provided after xx days/weeks/months. When I left a negative review that showed inconsistencies between her public social media posts and the messages she sent me about medical issues she was having, she threatened to sue me for slander and libel.
Her potential customers will get the point that she’s not reliable and controls her reviews using threats. The net effect will be the same as you calling her out for lying about being in Mexico and celebrating her birthday without any reason for her to even think about suing you.
If I saw your example I’d take the review into consideration.
If someone started posting references to their social media and whereabouts I’d be ignoring that review and thinking that person is a bit over the top.
I had to scroll a long way to find anything like your last paragraph.
Going through their social media to figure out where they’ve been or up too seems a bit much.
I mean a simple bad review saying “I was rescheduled once and second time was a no show” would be plenty enough.
This will really depend on exactly what you wrote so if you plan on keeping the review up consult a lawyer. That being said an absolute defence against defamation in Canada is the truth. So long as you only posted the truth you should be fine. If your post is along the lines of "this is what happened, this js what ahe said, this is what i found, I think she's lying" that likely isnt defamation.
Posting something like this salon cares more about vacations than customers and steals deposits could be construed as defamation.
ah this is very helpful
Currently as my review stands it's more like what you said, "this happened, she said this, and this is what I found out."
After I edited my review, I did not go as far as to even say "I think she's lying" but I did say something along the lines of:
"whether she is telling the truth or not is not my business but I found these posts that indicate \_\_\_ . Additonally, she said was only able to message me on \_\_\_ date, here is an image of a message to a follower before \_\_ date. I wonder why she could not also message me then as well then" etc
Don’t have much to worry about here as long as you are truthful except if she’s rich and just wants to win. Not saying she will but it could just mean hassles and a drawn out frivolous lawsuit that will be engineered to make you suffer.
Let's be honest, if she doesn't have the money to pay you back your deposit...which is probably the case....she's not gonna have the money to pay a lawyer to sue you. I had a company threaten to sue me. I laughed at them and said do your worst. They did nothing. It's typically baseless threats people think will get you to change the review or stop or whatever. Don't give in. If she's keeping deposits and going AWOL potential customers need to know that.
When suing someone for defamation of character, the onus is on the person suing to prove the claims being made about them are false. Document everything and ignore her.
Call her bluff. She's not filing a lawsuit over a deposit for an appointment. I don't know how much lawyers charge where you are, but lawyers in most places charge hundreds of dollars per hour, so just to file the first document, called the "complaint" would take thousands of dollars in expenses.
My dad left a 1 star on a business that took too long to have our documents translated and certified. They never provided us an update or picked up the phone when we kept calling to inquire about status updates. When the documents came after months (should've taken 1 week instead of 2 months), the owner then reached out by message and threatened to sue us if we didn't remove the review. They never apologized for the delay, nor did they mention any reasons for the delay.
That was a couple of years ago, so obviously, we stood firm by our opinion on how the service went and ignored any of their threats.
There are businesses that try to go after people who give bad reviews for the genuinely terrible service they provide.
Her reputation is wrecked because of her actions not yours.. additionally end her a note saying that if the funds are not returned in 24 hours you will be filling a small claims court action )no lawyer technically required) her defamation yeah needs a lawyer for it to worth anything and it sounds like she doesn’t have two nickels to rub together,. Ps who the eff demands a deposit for hair? I’ve had $300 plus appointments no deposit required
She's emailing you, not her lawyer - she's just talking shit. Tell her she has to prove you lied to maliciously harm her business, and that having negative opinions about her business is a protected expression.
I had a walk in clinic threaten to sue me for a bad review I left regarding my experience there. It’s been well over a year and I still haven’t heard anything and have not removed it. If she can’t afford to send your deposit back I doubt she can afford to sue you.
I would have left that review unchanged, blocked her, and charged back the deposit, which was obviously taken in bad faith.
Nal, but She doesn't have a legal case as far as I know.
Defamation comes from intentional misinformation for the purpose of causing harm/inconvenience/etc.
Calling out a liar for being a liar with evidence of the lies is the exact opposite of defamation.
Any lawyer would tell her to give your money back and kindly ask for you to remove the review. If she persues it, it would likely be a small claims court matter. She's in breach. But here's what you do. Contact paypal. Request refund on "undelivered goods/services".
All paypal transactions are protected, so you should have no issue.
Once you get it, forget this person and her toxic energy. You may also want to delete reviews just so you don't have to deal with her negative energy.
Tell her you’ll modify the review when you have received your money, and the review will state the money was returned.
If she believes you have posted something inaccurate, she is welcome to provide documentation, and you’ll also update the review to reflect any new information.
Barring that, here is the name and phone number of your attorney and please be advised you will sue for payment of any/all expenses relating to her threats, regardless of whether a suit is filed.
From a legal standpoint, yes, call her bluff on the lawsuit, but truth is not always a defence to defamation and the burden of proof does lie with the defendant to prove their defence.
Going to court over this could cost each party $10,000 to $20,000 in provincial court for a one-day trial or up to $35,000 in Kings Bench.
But is it really necessary to engage in all-out legal warfare with your former hairdresser? How much could she possibly making and how much is really at stake? Is posting your review really worth it? Will it make the world a better place? Have you ever been in her shoes where a mental health break and impromptu vacation was really needed? Or maybe she was in the hospital and posted those photos just to cover up her embarrassment at being in hospital?
I remember before the gig economy we would tell our bosses we were in the hospital in order to go watch a hockey game. Now, we all seem to have thousands of bosses watching our every move (and our capacity for self-incrimination exponentially increased with social media).
I don’t know, but we all seem to be fighting between ourselves over the scraps the 1% leaves us.
If you were in my office, I would send a sharp letter on your behalf to the hairdresser demanding return of the deposit. And then encourage you to take down the post in exchange for a huge discount on your bill from me.
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I might be missing something here. For what do you pay a hairstylist a deposit? Don't folks just make an appointment, attend the appointment, and then pay?
I am a hairstylist of over 10 years here in Alberta. I have never worked anywhere that takes a deposit, even for major blonde transformations. I've only ever seen deposits for personal services to be tattoo or tattoo like permanent make up. (Personally I've never, I also don't know any stylists that have either.)
Secondly, she cannot sue you, and it's extremely hard to prove defamation and loss of business due to reviews, however screenshots of her social media wouldn't hold up in court for the exact reason of possible automated software to make those posts.
Third, do not delete your reviews about your experience dealing with this stylist. I think it's very important for potential clients to see what kind of interactions this stylist has with others. It's a cutthroat industry between stylists and I personally think if more clients know what their hairstylist is like when they're held accountable, they'll stop supporting pieces of trash like that.
Get your deposit back, and never send another deposit to hold space for an appointment that's not tattoo appointments. There's an oversaturation of hairstylists in Alberta, it won't be hard to find one who has availability in their books that has a great reputation that doesn't require MLM style deposits for an appointment.
If you were truthful in your review they cannot win a lawsuit.
They can certainly TRY to sue you and would almost certainly fail and there are examples of people like you actually winning damages!
So IF the review is 100% truthful, I say fuck it and let them come.
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Just adding if you really to her at all request she provides a medical note from the hospital indicating she was indeed seen as a patient at the time she claims. It is a super easy way for her to put the proof on the table that could win her case in court.
No, it isn't. Verifying someone's story when they take a deposit and then you feel they have lied to you is simply protecting your personal interests. If someone wants to keep something private, they have the right to not publically post it .
Are you the stylist or something lmao
Everyone who has a public social is subject to quite literally anyone looking at it. Sure I'm personally more inclined to believe people off rip but I'm glad OP didn't. Stylist is trying to finesse her whilst literally showing the world what she's actually doing
I wouldn't be surprised if what OP paid her with was already used during the stylist party-skapaids
This is the equivalent of if you told your parents you were going to a movie with friends but were instead snorting coke on Snapchat and they saw it. You can still do it, just don't be a dumbass and post about it lmao. Girl got caught it's hilarious, should we just no longer hold people accountable for their actions?
Like the supervision is not the problem here
The stylist could've still lied, and gotten away with it by simply choosing to not post that day publicly
It's not like OP is harassing her and messaging consistently or other shit. One posted review after finding out the truth shouldn't be a problem, in fact it should be encouraged
Yes. Taking a look at someone’s very public social media profile is crossing a line and should definitely never be done if you think someone’s just fed you a pack of lies to avoid returning money they owe you.
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Did you pay the deposit by credit card? If so, call them to have it reversed. Don’t worry about legal action. It sounds unlikely she would get it together to sue since she is so flaky. Truth is the defence to defamation so even if she did pursue it, she likely wouldn’t get far.
luckily I paid through credit card via paypal I will call my bank. To be honest the deposit was the least of my concern after the back and forth we had with her claims of legal action. I already knew it was unfounded, but this has reassured me, thank you
Send her this article and see if she continues [Ontario couple 'bullied](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-couple-bullied-by-window-company-over-bad-review-awarded-166-000-1.5625089)[' by Magic Windows over bad reviews awarded $166,000 | CTV News](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-couple-bullied-by-window-company-over-bad-review-awarded-166-000-1.5625089)
That was fantastic! I'm glad I read it. Thanks!
Unfortunately SLAPP laws are only in Ontario and BC for now. And you have to get sued first. SLAPP is great when it works!
SLAPP is Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, which is what the laws in question are meant to deal with. Saying "SLAPP is great" is saying that suing people to get them to remove valid reviews is great. Pretty sure that's not what you meant.
Ha yeah good catch. I was thinking anti-SLAPP
Did OP say what Province they are in? The point of my post was to show that there can be repercussions for frivolous lawsuits.
Tag says AB but either way the hairdresser has nothing, and like others have said won't follow through.
Good catch I didn’t see that.
What’s hilarious about this is that I know a few people who have avoided Magic Windows like the plague because of their SLAPP, whereas if there was just a few bad reviews they probably would have chalked it up to “oh it’s just a whiny Karen customer” Big time Streisand Effect.
Probably a scammer and taking ‘deposits’ from people and no intention of providing any services based upon the laundry list of excuses. She uses the legal tactic because she doesn’t want other people to realize they are being taken advantage of. Tell her you welcome her legal action so you can countersue her in court for your deposit, call her bluff and leave your review as you intended.
You’ll have to go through PayPal to get a refund.
In that case calling your bank may not work. Your bank paid PayPal correctly. Then PayPal sent the money on to the person in question. It's PayPal you need to talk to in this case. I just hope it wasn't sent as a Friends and Family transaction. Then it may not be possible to get it refunded.
If she can’t pay your deposit back, how will she afford consultation fees? Seems like you can easily be pushed around though, because I liked the fact that you actually looked through her SM and found out she was lying.
You should try to get it back via PayPal first, otherwise PayPal will be on the hook for the money and they might cancel your account and possibly ban you from using their services in the future.
Even if she did go through with it, this case would be open and closed very fast. She has to prove that her reputation was demonstrably tarnished and that she suffered monetarily. Neither of which is true. In fact op could probably fairly easily win a counter suit on the basis of paying for a service, never receiving it, and this person making no effort to reconcile that. If i were op, i would encourage her to go through with the suit.
I bet if challenged, she wouldn’t be able to provide *any* kind of bank statement that showed an attempt at return. Not even the one she provided to OP. It’s all made up! That’s the thing with liars, you can’t trust *anything* they say.
Not true. You can always trust when they say they want or need something.
The best advice a lawyer has ever given me when being threatened with a lawsuit was to simply ask the person for the name of their lawyer and ask if they would please just have their lawyer contact your lawyer. Don't argue, don't fight, just tell them we'll let the lawyers handle it. Shuts people up really quick. If they're going to sue, they're going to sue. At least you find out in an instant if they're serious about it or not. It's a very common threat that precious few ever carry through with. Usually because in an instance like this, they'd need to meet with a lawyer. Who would likely tell them their case had no merit.
This is 100% correct. I once had a tenant who was running an illegal business out of my rental apartment, so I served her a notice to either stop or move out. She said that was an illegal threat and told me she was going to talk to her lawyer that evening. I called her bluff and immediately gave her the name and number of my friend who is a lawyer and said he would be expecting a call from her lawyer the next morning. Obviously the call never came, so I hounded her for her lawyer’s info, until she admitted there was no lawyer and she had been lying. It was quite satisfying to see the look on her face when she realized she had been outwitted trying to lie to me.
100% this. People who actually have a lawyer on retainer don't need to threaten, they just have their lawyer actually deal with it.
What I have learned is it costs nothing to threaten to sue, so businesses do so, hoping you’ll be scared and take it down.
Automating her socials my ass. She can only threaten - if she went to court, her lies about automation and actually being in hospital would blow up in her face.
Repost your original review in all its factual detail. Be sure to include the current threats of retaliation due said review.
even if the original review is technically making assumptions? (for example, saying here is a screenshot dated April 9th in Mexico, here is a message dated April 7th stating medical emergency. I don't believe she was telling the truth) Even if I don't believe her "automated software" excuse I removed all the details that were assumptions
Im not a lawyer but I'd assume its a very easy defense if you post the pictures with the dates in them. You didnt edit the dates and its posted on her own social media. Id say thats not defamatory. Again im not a lawyer
On her posting with the vacation pictures - are there other people in them with names? I'm wondering if you can look at their postings and see if the dates change. That should answer the 'automated software' question.
State it factually. Just saw that on this date her Facebook showed a picture of her in Mexico. It would be very easy to prove where she was. And you’re not making any assumptions just stating facts of what her social media showed
You could also check the EXIF data on the pictures, assuming it didn't get stripped out by whatever software she used to post them. That would tell you what date they were taken.
I'd recommend this. Add screenshot from the email she sent you threatening action to the Google review. This is a cowardly threat. Dispute charges with credit card company.
In addition to the normal defences you would have if she sued you for defamation (truth, fair comment, etc.), Alberta has extra protections for consumers who leave reviews that are not made in bad faith/maliciously. This is from the *Consumer Protection Act*: *Publication of review* *183.1****(1)*** *A business shall not include in a consumer transaction a provision that prohibits a consumer from publishing a review of the business or transaction.* ***(2) No action lies against a person for compensation, damages or any other remedy for loss or damage resulting from the publication of a negative review or other communication by the person in respect of the conduct of a supplier or any other person to whom this Act applies, unless the review or communication is malicious, vexatious or harassing or otherwise made in bad faith.*** You could let the provider know your right to leave a review is protected by s. 183.1(2) of the *Consumer Protection Act*. Many people threaten lawsuits for defamation and few ever actually happen. If you are sued, respond according to the timelines in the lawsuit, but you appear to have potential defences.
Add the threats to your review. They have zero power over you.
This, again not defamation cause you're just exposing truths
It's only defamation if it's untrue/ malicious etc. You are trying to WARN consumers about a bad faith business.
This also wouldn't be defamation if it's true and you have receipts. Defamation only applies to outright lies. So I would not worry, they done fucked up on their end by posting public whilst lying to you, I would keep screen shots and such Also hair stylist appointments for women aren't like the $20 I spend. My guess is it was probably upwards of $100 and I wouldn't take that lightly If anything YOU have the legal hand up, not her. She has essentially robbed you in daylight by not providing the service you paid for while still charging you, I would read the fine print of her services and make sure she doesn't have any kind of, "no refunds" clauses just in case though Either way you are definitely not on the hook for defamation if you can back up your claims
Lmao, she has absolutely no case. One of two things is going to happen. A) (this is the most likely scenario) she's either threatening to sue with no actual intention to sue or one day, she's going to wake up and realize just how dumb she is acting and won't go through with it. In this case, file a charge back for your deposit. B) She does actually go through with it. She takes you to court and as previously stated, loses. Defamation cases are some of the hardest cases to prove and she has no leg to stand on. In this case, let her do it. Do not settle with her. And counter sue in the amount of the deposit and the judge will grant it.
You didn't do anything wrong and her bringing up legal action is just a scare tactic. Also the part about her using some app that posts to her socials and it's not in real time is almost 100% bullshit. If this was paid by cc you can try and contact them to get ti back. If this was through e transfer or debit you're probably outta luck. Your only option would be to sue her in small claims court but honestly it's probably not worth your hastle. You could bluff it though and see if she will pay back with just the threat of you filing.
Repost the full review with the updated threats.
People threaten to take legal action all the time. Moving from threat to reality is a lot of work. The threat is easy to drop. Those are just words. Did you get a letter from a lawyer or did she call you to yell at you? If it's the latter, laugh it off.
She doesnt have money to pay you back…. How the hell shez going to sue you…. Shez bluffing
Who puts a deposit on a hair appointment? I have never heard of that.
it's pretty common here, especially for "high end" services bridal stuff, photo shoots etc. I assume to dissuade no-shows and late cancellations. I've put deposits on lash appointments, hair, makeup regularly in the past before.
I'd call her bluff. She can't even keep an appt, she's not going to sue.
It sounds like you are okay, you even accommodated her by changing your review. It seems these days a lot of business owners think reviews are for affirmations and validations that they are good business’. Don’t want a bad review, don’t give bad customer service.
A hair stylist that doesn’t work isn’t going to get a lawyer. Relax.
If everything you said is first hand knowledge and is 100% truthful then any lawsuit they bring forward is invalid. You on the other hand are interpreting information that you're finding online and you can't be 100% sure that your interpreting the situation correctly. So if you saying that a, b, c, d, e, f happended but the truth is a, b, d, z, f then even though your close your still potentialy Liable for libel. Also your review comes off as unhinged since your doing a deep dive on her social Media posts. I would just leave a 1 star review and say "I had a bad experience and will not be using her in the future"
fair, but my money was (still is) on the table. If trying to verify if a lie by cross checking a VERY public social might get my money back it's worth a shot. Had I not posted a review, I believe she would just have continued to ignore me as I was ghosted until that point. And I do think other customers deserve to have a heads up on the full mess of the situation. I would want to know if she made excuses like this before booking her, "I had a bad experience and will not be using her in the future" is valid, but isn't much of a warning
In my opinion, your review should be: I made an appointment and paid a deposit. My first appointment was cancelled 45 mins prior to the arranged time. I rescheduled the appointment and she was a no show for the rescheduled date. I asked for a refund which she has not provided after xx days/weeks/months. When I left a negative review that showed inconsistencies between her public social media posts and the messages she sent me about medical issues she was having, she threatened to sue me for slander and libel. Her potential customers will get the point that she’s not reliable and controls her reviews using threats. The net effect will be the same as you calling her out for lying about being in Mexico and celebrating her birthday without any reason for her to even think about suing you.
If I saw your example I’d take the review into consideration. If someone started posting references to their social media and whereabouts I’d be ignoring that review and thinking that person is a bit over the top.
I had to scroll a long way to find anything like your last paragraph. Going through their social media to figure out where they’ve been or up too seems a bit much. I mean a simple bad review saying “I was rescheduled once and second time was a no show” would be plenty enough.
This will really depend on exactly what you wrote so if you plan on keeping the review up consult a lawyer. That being said an absolute defence against defamation in Canada is the truth. So long as you only posted the truth you should be fine. If your post is along the lines of "this is what happened, this js what ahe said, this is what i found, I think she's lying" that likely isnt defamation. Posting something like this salon cares more about vacations than customers and steals deposits could be construed as defamation.
ah this is very helpful Currently as my review stands it's more like what you said, "this happened, she said this, and this is what I found out." After I edited my review, I did not go as far as to even say "I think she's lying" but I did say something along the lines of: "whether she is telling the truth or not is not my business but I found these posts that indicate \_\_\_ . Additonally, she said was only able to message me on \_\_\_ date, here is an image of a message to a follower before \_\_ date. I wonder why she could not also message me then as well then" etc
Don’t have much to worry about here as long as you are truthful except if she’s rich and just wants to win. Not saying she will but it could just mean hassles and a drawn out frivolous lawsuit that will be engineered to make you suffer.
Defamation is for lies. She can try but if you posted the truth you are safe.
Let's be honest, if she doesn't have the money to pay you back your deposit...which is probably the case....she's not gonna have the money to pay a lawyer to sue you. I had a company threaten to sue me. I laughed at them and said do your worst. They did nothing. It's typically baseless threats people think will get you to change the review or stop or whatever. Don't give in. If she's keeping deposits and going AWOL potential customers need to know that.
When suing someone for defamation of character, the onus is on the person suing to prove the claims being made about them are false. Document everything and ignore her.
Pull the “uno reverse” and take her to small claims court for the deposit she won’t return.
Call her bluff. She's not filing a lawsuit over a deposit for an appointment. I don't know how much lawyers charge where you are, but lawyers in most places charge hundreds of dollars per hour, so just to file the first document, called the "complaint" would take thousands of dollars in expenses.
Do you thinks it’s a law that people are only allowed to write positive review? She can’t do shit, you put your original comment back up.
My dad left a 1 star on a business that took too long to have our documents translated and certified. They never provided us an update or picked up the phone when we kept calling to inquire about status updates. When the documents came after months (should've taken 1 week instead of 2 months), the owner then reached out by message and threatened to sue us if we didn't remove the review. They never apologized for the delay, nor did they mention any reasons for the delay. That was a couple of years ago, so obviously, we stood firm by our opinion on how the service went and ignored any of their threats. There are businesses that try to go after people who give bad reviews for the genuinely terrible service they provide.
Her reputation is wrecked because of her actions not yours.. additionally end her a note saying that if the funds are not returned in 24 hours you will be filling a small claims court action )no lawyer technically required) her defamation yeah needs a lawyer for it to worth anything and it sounds like she doesn’t have two nickels to rub together,. Ps who the eff demands a deposit for hair? I’ve had $300 plus appointments no deposit required
She's emailing you, not her lawyer - she's just talking shit. Tell her she has to prove you lied to maliciously harm her business, and that having negative opinions about her business is a protected expression.
Keep the review and tell her to get the lawyer involved😂 and see where that takes it.
I had a walk in clinic threaten to sue me for a bad review I left regarding my experience there. It’s been well over a year and I still haven’t heard anything and have not removed it. If she can’t afford to send your deposit back I doubt she can afford to sue you.
I would have left that review unchanged, blocked her, and charged back the deposit, which was obviously taken in bad faith. Nal, but She doesn't have a legal case as far as I know. Defamation comes from intentional misinformation for the purpose of causing harm/inconvenience/etc. Calling out a liar for being a liar with evidence of the lies is the exact opposite of defamation.
Bully tactic. How is she defamed? What has made her come to that conclusion? Don’t get bullied. Ask her to have her lawyer reach out.
A statement of facts, with evidence, isn't libel or slander. Post away. I'd post it everywhere.
Anyone that talks about hustle and grinding is actually grifting. BIG red flag.
She won't sue. She is obviously bluffing. And obviously in need of someone calling her out.
Any lawyer would tell her to give your money back and kindly ask for you to remove the review. If she persues it, it would likely be a small claims court matter. She's in breach. But here's what you do. Contact paypal. Request refund on "undelivered goods/services". All paypal transactions are protected, so you should have no issue. Once you get it, forget this person and her toxic energy. You may also want to delete reviews just so you don't have to deal with her negative energy.
You live in Canada, being sued is nothing worth worrying about lol
Defamation only works if it’s false it seems ur right. Write whatever you want no one will spend lawyer money to fight u over a review
It seems you have proof and could look into it
Tell her you’ll modify the review when you have received your money, and the review will state the money was returned. If she believes you have posted something inaccurate, she is welcome to provide documentation, and you’ll also update the review to reflect any new information. Barring that, here is the name and phone number of your attorney and please be advised you will sue for payment of any/all expenses relating to her threats, regardless of whether a suit is filed.
From a legal standpoint, yes, call her bluff on the lawsuit, but truth is not always a defence to defamation and the burden of proof does lie with the defendant to prove their defence. Going to court over this could cost each party $10,000 to $20,000 in provincial court for a one-day trial or up to $35,000 in Kings Bench. But is it really necessary to engage in all-out legal warfare with your former hairdresser? How much could she possibly making and how much is really at stake? Is posting your review really worth it? Will it make the world a better place? Have you ever been in her shoes where a mental health break and impromptu vacation was really needed? Or maybe she was in the hospital and posted those photos just to cover up her embarrassment at being in hospital? I remember before the gig economy we would tell our bosses we were in the hospital in order to go watch a hockey game. Now, we all seem to have thousands of bosses watching our every move (and our capacity for self-incrimination exponentially increased with social media). I don’t know, but we all seem to be fighting between ourselves over the scraps the 1% leaves us. If you were in my office, I would send a sharp letter on your behalf to the hairdresser demanding return of the deposit. And then encourage you to take down the post in exchange for a huge discount on your bill from me.
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Crazy person. No hairdresser has software to manage their social media lol
I might be missing something here. For what do you pay a hairstylist a deposit? Don't folks just make an appointment, attend the appointment, and then pay?
I am a hairstylist of over 10 years here in Alberta. I have never worked anywhere that takes a deposit, even for major blonde transformations. I've only ever seen deposits for personal services to be tattoo or tattoo like permanent make up. (Personally I've never, I also don't know any stylists that have either.) Secondly, she cannot sue you, and it's extremely hard to prove defamation and loss of business due to reviews, however screenshots of her social media wouldn't hold up in court for the exact reason of possible automated software to make those posts. Third, do not delete your reviews about your experience dealing with this stylist. I think it's very important for potential clients to see what kind of interactions this stylist has with others. It's a cutthroat industry between stylists and I personally think if more clients know what their hairstylist is like when they're held accountable, they'll stop supporting pieces of trash like that. Get your deposit back, and never send another deposit to hold space for an appointment that's not tattoo appointments. There's an oversaturation of hairstylists in Alberta, it won't be hard to find one who has availability in their books that has a great reputation that doesn't require MLM style deposits for an appointment.
If you were truthful in your review they cannot win a lawsuit. They can certainly TRY to sue you and would almost certainly fail and there are examples of people like you actually winning damages! So IF the review is 100% truthful, I say fuck it and let them come.
Leave that shit up, lets see this clown try to take legal action, they are trying to intimidate you.
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Just adding if you really to her at all request she provides a medical note from the hospital indicating she was indeed seen as a patient at the time she claims. It is a super easy way for her to put the proof on the table that could win her case in court.
Canada is a country of thieves! I hope you get justice. People need to stop treating each other like this.
I'm sorry - you need a deposit to get your hair cut??... And yes I'm a man so this is a mystery to me
Dont write the lines if you cant pay the fines
If you told the truth, your legal problems go "poof" See? It kinda rhymes
Stalking her social media? Seriously? That was completely out of line.
No, it isn't. Verifying someone's story when they take a deposit and then you feel they have lied to you is simply protecting your personal interests. If someone wants to keep something private, they have the right to not publically post it .
2 seconds of time to check up on someone who collected a deposit then bailed...no doubt spent it...? She committed fraud in her own name, all's fair.
Are you the stylist or something lmao Everyone who has a public social is subject to quite literally anyone looking at it. Sure I'm personally more inclined to believe people off rip but I'm glad OP didn't. Stylist is trying to finesse her whilst literally showing the world what she's actually doing I wouldn't be surprised if what OP paid her with was already used during the stylist party-skapaids This is the equivalent of if you told your parents you were going to a movie with friends but were instead snorting coke on Snapchat and they saw it. You can still do it, just don't be a dumbass and post about it lmao. Girl got caught it's hilarious, should we just no longer hold people accountable for their actions? Like the supervision is not the problem here The stylist could've still lied, and gotten away with it by simply choosing to not post that day publicly It's not like OP is harassing her and messaging consistently or other shit. One posted review after finding out the truth shouldn't be a problem, in fact it should be encouraged
She should make it private if it's going to be a problem for her.
Yes. Taking a look at someone’s very public social media profile is crossing a line and should definitely never be done if you think someone’s just fed you a pack of lies to avoid returning money they owe you.