American expat charged with defamation after leaving multiple negative reviews online

[sotonowl]

17 minutes ago, You Cannot Be Serious said:

 

Well it seems you didn't quite make the quote exactly right, LOL. Never mind. Yes, I am on here reading it, but my point was, I shouldn't have been, it wasn't worthy of making it. Comprende?

[4reaL]

Story is now getting international press, which is great as it puts more of a spotlight of the draconian tactics employed by those in power.

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by 4reaL
SWOL

[KhunFred]

Anytime there is an issue between a farang and a Thai, the Thai is ALWAYS right.. Once you accept the fact that you have no rights, you avoid creating problems. You will ALWAYS lose.

[balo]

He should have paid the corkage fee and never tried to punish the resort by posting fake reviews. The American deserves whats coming for him.  Stupid is as stupid does. 

 

[Destiny1990]

Corkage fee? So they will check what bottles u bring in ur room?

 

[StefanBBK]

On 9/26/2020 at 9:33 PM, rkidlad said:

Little bit advice to any business in any sector: don’t have your customers imprisoned. It isn’t a good look. 
 

People leave bad reviews. This is life. Explain why the review is wrong or at least try to settle it with the guest. This has now just made it much worse for the hotel. 
 

And before people say it’s the law or the police did it, etc, once you go to the police to file charges for someone writing bad reviews, you can safely assume they’ll be arrested if the case is accepted. That’s how filing complaints with the police works. 

You are 100% right. 

But I do understand the Hotel. I use review sites when I am super happy or very disappointed. However, posts should always be factual.  In a way, I do like having a legal recourse against defamation.

 

[Don Mega]

11 minutes ago, balo said:

He should have paid the corkage fee and never tried to punish the resort by posting fake reviews. The American deserves whats coming for him.  Stupid is as stupid does. 

 

They waived the corkage fee.

[polpott]

1 minute ago, StefanBBK said:

In a way, I do like having a legal recourse against defamation.

Really doesn't bother me. I get defamed all the time on this forum and I've yet to sue anyone.

[rkidlad]

20 minutes ago, StefanBBK said:

You are 100% right. 

But I do understand the Hotel. I use review sites when I am super happy or very disappointed. However, posts should always be factual.  In a way, I do like having a legal recourse against defamation.

 

Well, your experience of a hotel can be subjective. 
 

You think the receptionist was rude, or the service wasn’t up to your standard, etc. That’s why when I read reviews I can spot the unreasonable looking ones and the ones that seem to make sense. Good or bad. 

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

 

Inflammatory posts, baiting posts and the replies have been removed. 

[Tim207]

This guy is a teacher? Hard to believe English is even his first language.

 

[teacherclaire]

10 minutes ago, Tim207 said:

This guy is a teacher? Hard to believe English is even his first language.

 

Imagine that one of his enemies would post some lies that he's a child molester.

 

   Even when it turns out that he isn't, there'll always be a big question mark.

 

  Personal revenge should never be part of a Trip Advisor review. Many travelers do read the reviews and then decide where they stay at.

 

    I think that he's on bail now after two days in the box. That could backfire badly and he could lose his job in a second.

 

    The truth should always be the truth.  

 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

Corkage fee? So they will check what bottles u bring in ur room?

 

Try reading the story.  

[rott]

4 hours ago, You Cannot Be Serious said:

I have read both sides of the argument and I am of the opinion, like so many others, that this should be a civil matter and not criminal as it has now developed into by way of a police report, arrest, charge and incarceration. The customer/offender did not commit a crime and is entitled to post a review or reviews of his opinions and experiences should he so wish. Moreover, Trip Advisor obviously moderated the posters composition before publishing it so therefore they have a part to play in this debacle also.

On the other hand, my thinking is that much of this unsavoury carry on could very well have been avoided had the offender/customer behaved in a more dignified and gentlemanly manner. I have never in my life attempted to bring liquor acquired elsewhere into a restaurant/hotel establishment and if I were to do so then I would at least have the etiquette and good manners to request permission to do so and pay the appropriate charges applicable with good will and without any fuss.

Unfortunately, there are no winners here and this applies most especially to the hotel resort's management team as this storm in a tea cup story has now gone into virol overload around the planet. I fear the resulting fallout from this negatively distasteful publicity may potentially and ultimately be a great deal more damaging than a just a handful of bad reviews on TA.

You say you have read both sides of the argument, but where? On here? 

Myself and others have stated clearly that his actions contravene Thai Criminal Code, Sections 326 and 330.

 

As regards taking alcohol into a restaurant, plenty of places accept it as the norm some charge corkage, so it is not cut and dried. 

 

Anyway why were you up at 04.00 posting the above? 

Edited September 28, 2020 by rott

[Boomer6969]

13 hours ago, JensenZ said:

All it is, on the face of it, is one customer making his own personal feelings known in some online reviews. Do you believe all you read online? It is one person's opinion and he could have said anything at all.

This isn't "All it is".

 

It is about the frightening fact that in Thailand, a tourist, or any westerner, can end up in the slammer for 2 nights and has to pay 200000 Bahts bond, with a pending court case that will cost him a fortune and may lead him to a Thai prison for 2 years, which would equate to a death sentence for many of us. All that for something that under normal circumstances deserves a slap on the wrist.

 

The message must go out that this is now a very dangerous place and the risks outweigh any "entertainment" potential this country has left. 

[terminatorchiangmai]

Have a bad experience and nothing good to say then just shut up and move along.
Making negative reviews to make yourself feel better is so freaking sad.

In my opinion he got what he deserves now and i hope a hefty fine will follow.

[connda]

Having worked in the service industry at times in my life, reviews should be looked at and taken to heart.  Generally I've seen on other review sites where the establishment will write a response to negative reviews.  Most often smart business will acknowledge the customer's perceptions, offer an apology if they fell short of exceptions, acknowledge that they will look into the problem and remedy it if a problem is found, and thank the customer.  You can't please everyone all the time - that just the nature of business.  Looking at the Sea View Koh Chang on Tripadvisor there are
1671 good or excellent review
78 terrible or poor review
Looking at the site's review, mostly very positive, the negative views would not keep me from booking a vacation there.  It looks like a nice place.  Even the best of places will get "outlier" negative reviews.  If there are a lot of good and excellent reviews, then the small number of negative reviews are "noise."

However!  Going full court press with a criminal law-suit?  Right there, I take this establishment off my list of places I'd consider staying and I warn others away from it.  Not because of thirty 1 star reviews on the site which to me are inconsequential base on the huge number of positive reviews, but because the owner chooses to file criminal charges against someone who criticizes their establish.  Which means that any of the other customers posting negative reviews are now potential defendants in criminal lawsuits.  Not good.
A better approach may have been to attempt to contact Mr. Barnes and address his concerns.  Where there is smoke, there's fire.  Fine out why there is smoke!  That's what you do if you are customer service oriented.

But filing criminal charges against an unhappy customer?  Not good.

The owner just did more damage to themselves than this one reviewer ever did if they go forward with the criminal complaint especially considering this is getting international coverage. 

Edited September 28, 2020 by connda

[brianthainess]

He says after arriving in Koh Chang he was booked and taken to court, since when did Koh Chang have a court, I thought the courts were in Trat. He spent the 2 nights  in a local prison with 1,150 inmates, since When did Koh Chang have a prison, I thought the prison was in TRAT. Does he mean ; I was arrested by TRAT police charged taken to TRAT court and taken to TRAT prison; Do koh chang police now also have a case against him?. Of course I could be wrong I've only lived on the island for 15 yrs. Sound like he was drunk and mouthed off in the restaurant, If you pay a high room rate expect all other charges to be high. Don't mess with big resort owners they are well connected. Wifey say '' Him BA''  

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

Corkage fee? So they will check what bottles u bring in ur room?

 

IT only applies in the restaurant, quite normal anywhere.

[Cadan]

He must have down some stupid in anger posts over a longer period before the owner would take action. Nothing better to do ????????????. Live and love in the present. 

[Tagged]

28 minutes ago, Boomer6969 said:

 

The message must go out that this is now a very dangerous place and the risks outweigh any "entertainment" potential this country has left. 

It is the same wherever you go! Emirates, Saudi, Usa, Brazil, Mexico, that is typical places you can end up in trouble if you do not know local custom! 

 

Thailand have very clear rules, but this is the first time I have heard this have been used against a review for a hotel or restaurant. I have done many bad reviews, and will continue to give them if deserved. Well written and true reviews will never face any problems. This guy seems to have been over the top obviously, and met the wrong management. 

[michaellee]

On 9/26/2020 at 10:11 AM, Pilotman said:

sounds a bit like a vindictive vendetta by him, rather than just posting a negative review on Trip Advisor. Sounds like he may have brought it on himself.  

Serves him right. 

[Dustdevil]

20 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

1 He left fabricated stories on his reviews on TripAdvisor and Google that included
xenophobic connotations, accusations of slavery and even comments that could mislead
readers to associate our property with the Coronavirus.
2. He had been posting reviews roughly 1-2 weeks apart with obvious defamatory
intentions. We chose to file a complaint to serve as a deterrent, as we understood he
may continue to write negative reviews week after week for the foreseeable future.
3. Despite our multiple efforts to contact him to resolve this in an amicable way for well
over a month, he chose to ignore us completely. He only replied to our emails, messages
on review sites, etc. once he had been notified of our complaint by the authorities.


And there are still people defending this guy?  ???? 

Did he cause damaging reputation loss?

[BBJ]

Agree about not bringing booze in from a shop.  Personally I just find it rude.  But, to take legal action against the guy is just crazy and if anything, their action may put future visitors off.  Koh Chang?  I lived their for a while and what a.....! 

 

While not the same issue I had a problem with a expensive motorcycle boots which fell apart after 4 days riding.  I knew about the defamation laws and when the shop refused an exchange or refund I spoke to consumer rights here.  They told me I am within my rights to mention it online which I did.  I got an immediate response from the dealer with threats against defamation and damage to their business to which I informed them I'd spoken to consumer rights (my wife did) with a reference number if they had a problem.  My boots were replaced 2 days later and I agreed to remove the post once the boots had arrived.  The new boots fell apart after 3 weeks!

Edited September 28, 2020 by BBJ

[Huckenfell]

On 9/27/2020 at 12:12 AM, Jack Hna said:

That's one hell of a corkage charge now. That leo from 711 just became one of the most expensive beers ever. 

Read again funny man, it was GIN.

[Huckenfell]

On 9/27/2020 at 12:29 AM, RichardColeman said:

I disagree. If the guy has a genuine issue then he has the right to publish it on all media outlets and sites to tell others of his issue. After all not everybody will go to all the sites of every hotel to find his review and therefore get a false impression.

 

The only issue the hotel can possibly take up is having him post multiple reviews about the same hotel under different names on the same sites. That I would agree with as being defamtion. Otherwise they are fair game in my opinion to a review of the person feeling aggrieved on all review sites.

 

Your viewpoint is he could only complain on the BBC rather than ITV, Channel 4, 5 ABC, FOX - which is inappropriate in my opinion

May i suggest that you read both sides of the problem and then post again.

[FarFlungFalang]

13 hours ago, Ebumbu said:

Whether this business is right or wrong, if their goal was profits, they've sabotaged themselves in the most profound way. What tourist is going to stay at a hotel with a reputation of imprisoning its guests? What did they think would happen? As I write this, dozens of negative reviews are amassing on both Trip Advisor and Google. Their online reputation is now, or will soon be obliterated. High emotion and business don't mix well. 

The owner did it as a deterrent which looks like he was successful but not in a way he thought.

[hellohello123]

13 hours ago, Mick501 said:

They can see the review before it is published and ask the author to remove or amend it.  The author can then decide.

 

as a frequent user and reviewer on TripAdvisor, you always have to take 1 and 5 star reviews with a grain of salt.  Most 1 star reviews are down to a single bad experience and in many cases offer little or no useful information (as in this case).  Also need to look at the amount of reviews by the author.  In this case, it is his first review, which also raises alarm bells.

 

there is something extremely unusual about his review.  "Likes" are a much more rare commodity on TripAdvior than on this site.   Many very good reviewer have done hundreds of reviews and have maybe 50 likes.  His singular obvious rant received 141.  Maybe that is support for him for people who think the hotel has done the wrong thing.

 

in the case of this hotel, if I was interested I would have ignored his review and may well have stayed there in the future.  In my view, putting someone in prison, or threatening to do so, should not be supported.  The guy might well be a pain in the ass, but doesn't deserve what he is going through now.

 

 

as someone who has too much time on his hands and loves reading reviews of restaurants/movies/venues etc, and hospitality career/business

you can usually tell when a review is fake or too biased

 

that one person who goes to a restaurant, finds a hair, then finds a fly, then gets a grumpy waitress, then a bad attitude manager, then his dessert doesnt turn up, then has to wait 20 mins for the bill, you know that most of it is going to be fake,

 

I usually look at the number of positives vs negatives, and the content of the negatvies, if their one and only review was this one etc.

hospitality is very subjective so one person definition of too slow, too salty, bad attitude, too expensive

 

I especially get chuckles out of those that scream bloody murder with reviews like "I got food poisoned by this venue, I was sick within 15 mins of my first bite of the steak, it was definitely the steak, this place should be shut down"

for the record food poisoning takes anything between 8-48 hours for symptons to show, unless the food is laced with cyanide

 

If I read this Americans review, I personally wouldnt put too much weight on it, as the other reviews are overwhelmingly positive,  BYO alcohol and getting charged would be expected or wouldnt be allowed in the first place.  The only thing that I would be wary of is the attitude of the managers

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by hellohello123

[Huckenfell]

On 9/27/2020 at 12:55 AM, EricTh said:

It seems that this event happened in July 2020 which means he's on amnesty if he's not on other visas.

 

I just went to Tripadvisor and looked at recent comments, it's all negative, did he have a few friends who created multiple accounts just to bad-mouthed that resort?

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g580110-d594766-Reviews-Sea_View_Resort_Spa_Koh_Chang-Ko_Chang_Trat_Province.html#REVIEWS

Having read  these reviews, i will definitely be looking to stay at the Seaview Resort Koh Chang when i get the chance to return to Thailand.

[FarFlungFalang]

9 hours ago, RefinedGentleman said:

A tourist thrown in jail for posting a bad review? Imagine the losses this resort will see as a result of this story making international news. Now compare that to the corkage fee they wanted. Dumb! Add in the already difficult climate with Covid and tourism and it's even dumber. Whatever you might think of this American guy, the resort has completely screwed themselves with their actions.

 

This episode makes Dumb and Dumber look genius in comparison.