American expat charged with defamation after leaving multiple negative reviews online

[vinny41]

Interesting comments from a Canadian press council on review sites

It took issue with referring to TripAdvisor as a “reputable” source, giving it credibility “even as the columnist was unable to confirm or deny any of the information reported from that source.

“Citing an unsubstantiated post from a crowdsourced platform as evidence is akin to citing a rumour.”

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/12/13/news/press-council-comes-down-toronto-sun-serious-breach-after-false-report-about-goats

[polpott]

Just now, Don Mega said:

Hopefully many will think twice before running their filthy mouth however if the person is that way inclined tourism is better off without them anyways.

I'm more concerned about the damage its done to Thai tourism than the fate of one drunken, ugly American.

[pixelaoffy]

2 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Hopefully many will think twice before running their filthy mouth however if the person is that way inclined tourism is better off without them anyways.

'running their filthy mouth'?  I think someone has just done exactly that 

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, polpott said:

I'm more concerned about the damage its done to Thai tourism than the fate of one drunken, ugly American.

Damage done to Thai tourism will be zero, just look at social media and other threads here on TVF all the people getting the sads because they cannot visit Thailand.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, pixelaoffy said:

'running their filthy mouth'?  I think someone has just done exactly that 

More than welcome to report my posts if you find them offensive.

[polpott]

Just now, Don Mega said:

Damage done to Thai tourism will be zero, just look at social media and other threads here on TVF all the people getting the sads because they cannot visit Thailand.

I hope you are right but I very much doubt it. Check out the coverage in the Western media.

[pixelaoffy]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

More than welcome to report my posts if you find them offensive.

Nah. I never resort to tell teacher . Just laugh at the hypocrisy

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, Tagged said:

there should not have been one single tourist left on Koh Tao, after all the bad press they had!

That got plastered all over the English tabloids 

[polpott]

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

That got plastered all over the English tabloids 

And a TV documentary.

[Eloquent pilgrim]

6 hours ago, oldhippy said:

Right.

Do you have an opinion on the use of libel laws in Thailand?

That is what this thread is mostly about.

 

Well they only affect anyone that has been libelous, which means they rarely affect any tourists, but they are excellent for dealing with rude, aggressive, obnoxious, libelous nut-jobs like this guy.

 

I can’t be sure, but I doubt they've been used before by a hotel for someone making what were not ‘negative’ reviews, as some are calling them, but a vendetta of malicious, fake and libelous reviews, in an attempt to severely damage a small business. His crusade also damages what little credibility Tripadvisor has left.

[camble]

I’m a frequent visitor to Koh Chang.  I stayed at the Sea View 12 years ago,  never stayed there again because it’s nothing special.  There are better places to stay for the money, e.g. The Emerald Cove, The Dewa, Tropicana, The Chill, etc.  (The Chill is little more expensive).

 

Given how sensitive they are over social media, I wonder how many fake positive reviews have been posted on the Sea View?
 

[HampiK]

13 minutes ago, polpott said:

I hope you are right but I very much doubt it. Check out the coverage in the Western media.

And? in 1-2 months nobody will talk about this incident anyway! There are more interesting bad news in the world and the people will forget about it!
As I told before, there were imprisonments in Thailand before for a some bad behavior and this was in the press as well.. but things like that will be forgoten. Now I already read on some site, that they blame the tourists.. and also a lot of the comments blame the tourist.

But even this doesn't count... as I wrote.. 1-2 months every future tourists already forget about it. 

[luckyluke]

47 minutes ago, polpott said:

Well he and many others will think twice before booking a hotel in Thailand.

I won't. 

If something wrong I will tell them, like I do when needed. 

Usually there is a kind of compensation. 

 

 

[Eloquent pilgrim]

5 minutes ago, camble said:

I’m a frequent visitor to Koh Chang.  I stayed at the Sea View 12 years ago,  never stayed there again because it’s nothing special.  There are better places to stay for the money, e.g. The Emerald Cove, The Dewa, Tropicana, The Chill, etc.  (The Chill is little more expensive).

 

Given how sensitive they are over social media, I wonder how many fake positive reviews have been posted on the Sea View?
 

You think a business trying to defend its reputation against a vendetta of multiple, malicious, fake reviews, including accusations of slavery is being sensitive over social media …….. jeez

[camble]

4 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

You think a business trying to defend its reputation against a vendetta of multiple, malicious, fake reviews, including accusations of slavery is being sensitive over social media …….. jeez

What”s fake?  The guest stayed there and merely expressed displeasure over his experience, posted on another forum because trip divisor deleted him.  Jeez.

[law ling]

1. Probably fault on both sides - if the corkage charge was not advised clearly on the hotel's web site, throughout the restaurants and clearly on all menus (but yes, the guy should have checked first). It's just like being stuck with "joiner fees" after you've paid in advance and checked in - it's little more than just a vulgar grab for money.

 

2. With the real risk of jail, etc, Trip Advisor, Agoda, etc, should just disable all comment functions for Thai establishments. Even leaving a one star, without further comment, could land you in jail?  

[Eloquent pilgrim]

31 minutes ago, camble said:

What”s fake?  The guest stayed there and merely expressed displeasure over his experience, posted on another forum because trip divisor deleted him.  Jeez.

The accusations of slavery are fake, which the hotel can prove with their employment records. Or do you think it is okay to make such a malicious and damaging false accusation ?

[camble]

Oh, I have a stalker now.  You’re a riot!

[Eloquent pilgrim]

13 minutes ago, camble said:

Oh, I have a stalker now.  You’re a riot!

If you think someone is stalking you, or trolling you, I recommend that you report them to the moderators. However, if they are merely replying politely to a question that you, in fact, asked them, the moderators might think that you are wasting their time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ChipButty]

18 minutes ago, law ling said:

Trip Advisor, Agoda, etc, should just disable all comment functions for Thai establishments. Even leaving a one star, without further comment, could land you in jail?  

Not sure that would work I just think TA need to rethink their review system 1 star means terrible, the last time I looked, as for Agoda theirs seems pretty fair upto now we have not had a bad review on Agoda, 

Airbnb is good it is well moderated and I have spoke to case managers and the last one I spoke to was well aware of the laws in Thailand regarding liable and slander I think airbnb have office in Thailand so they can deal with things on a local level

[Don Mega]

2 hours ago, pixelaoffy said:

Nah. I never resort to tell teacher . Just laugh at the hypocrisy

Which part of my posts do you feel Iam "running my filthy mouth " ?

[mark131v]

6 hours ago, vinny41 said:

People in many different countries are being sued for negative hotels reviews that they have left in many different countries

if you are sued its an expensive and costly business

The problem for both hotels and review sites is without reviews their business model is screwed and in the case of review websites they may as well closed if no reviews are being published

 

Do you care to point out a few of these many active cases because you know what I haven't managed to find any, tbh I have not looked very hard but I reckon the reason this is news is because it's rare as hens teeth, happy to be proved wrong....

[Eindhoven]

In case it hasn't been posted over the past 60 pages: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VZCwyULmkLpZ7y5nT5wsaX0mn8waPd4H/view

[mark131v]

1 hour ago, Eindhoven said:

In case it hasn't been posted over the past 60 pages: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VZCwyULmkLpZ7y5nT5wsaX0mn8waPd4H/view

So that's four reviews, four!!! the first of which (modern slavery) was never published according to other post's on here until the hotel released it in their press release! that in of itself tells a story of how bothered they really are

 

Talk about thin skinned! that there are western educated people supporting this emotionally stunted reaction is scary but not that surprising as there are lots of petty curtain twitchers on here!!

 

Their point 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.

 

No he expressed an opinion, whether that is right or wrong is impossible to prove plus this was as far as I can tell never published until aforementioned thin skinned person released it as part of their damage limitation exercise. Right or wrong, no idea ill thought out on both sides certainly, reason to jail a guest absolutely not, ability to cause massive problems in the long term absolutely!!

 

Point 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.

 

Nope he wrote four review's, vindictive and stupid definitely, reason to go to jail absolutely not, scope to cause massive problems to the hotel in the future abso<deleted>inlutley!!!

 

Point 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.

 

What they have done is also known as intimidation, do as I say or I will hurt you!!! they know what they are doing and right or wrong it is a poor business decision, reason to jail a person absolutely not, possibility to cause the entire tourism industry damage high, possibility to cause massive negative PR to Thailand ginockapod!

 

In conclusion was the American a massive knob for not paying the corkage fee and his subsequent action's, yep he was in my opinion was the hotel thin skinned and stupid definitely

 

Will it cause future problems for the hotel and Thailand in general? I reckon it will, I am an ex guest there and will never return so that's one, will they care probably not...

Edited October 1, 2020 by mark131v

[Purdey]

On 9/30/2020 at 12:50 AM, A512 said:

can't remember my last breakfast, time to start a journal about my whereabouts. I always feel like surprise me about the places I am going to stay like in the old times before internet. also I failed to see the point of promoting someone's business, I would not get paid for that.

Must admit I started it when a friend passed his Excel record to me before I visited Peru. Better than a guidebook because my friend has similar tastes. Great looking back on the trip and saying, yes, I remember that hotel. It was as cosy as I expected it to be. I would argue about corkage and write that in a review though. 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Purdey
typo

[Don Mega]

9 hours ago, law ling said:

 

 

2. With the real risk of jail, etc, Trip Advisor, Agoda, etc, should just disable all comment functions for Thai establishments. Even leaving a one star, without further comment, could land you in jail?  

What an utter load of pish.

 

[pixelaoffy]

11 hours ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

Well they only affect anyone that has been libelous, which means they rarely affect any tourists, but they are excellent for dealing with rude, aggressive, obnoxious, libelous nut-jobs like this guy.

 

I can’t be sure, but I doubt they've been used before by a hotel for someone making what were not ‘negative’ reviews, as some are calling them, but a vendetta of malicious, fake and libelous reviews, in an attempt to severely damage a small business. His crusade also damages what little credibility Tripadvisor has left.

Yeah website matches that of Thai tourism 

[pixelaoffy]

4 hours ago, mark131v said:

So that's four reviews, four!!! the first of which (modern slavery) was never published according to other post's on here until the hotel released it in their press release! that in of itself tells a story of how bothered they really are

 

Talk about thin skinned! that there are western educated people supporting this emotionally stunted reaction is scary but not that surprising as there are lots of petty curtain twitchers on here!!

 

Their point 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.

 

No he expressed an opinion, whether that is right or wrong is impossible to prove plus this was as far as I can tell never published until aforementioned thin skinned person released it as part of their damage limitation exercise. Right or wrong, no idea ill thought out on both sides certainly, reason to jail a guest absolutely not, ability to cause massive problems in the long term absolutely!!

 

Point 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.

 

Nope he wrote four review's, vindictive and stupid definitely, reason to go to jail absolutely not, scope to cause massive problems to the hotel in the future abso<deleted>inlutley!!!

 

Point 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.

 

What they have done is also known as intimidation, do as I say or I will hurt you!!! they know what they are doing and right or wrong it is a poor business decision, reason to jail a person absolutely not, possibility to cause the entire tourism industry damage high, possibility to cause massive negative PR to Thailand ginockapod!

 

In conclusion was the American a massive knob for not paying the corkage fee and his subsequent action's, yep he was in my opinion was the hotel thin skinned and stupid definitely

 

Will it cause future problems for the hotel and Thailand in general? I reckon it will, I am an ex guest there and will never return so that's one, will they care probably not...

Great summation ! Of course those who hate anything negative about the country, its  tourist business or the archiac laws getting publicity are likely to be on Thai Visa ! 

Edited October 1, 2020 by pixelaoffy

[Ventenio]

I was leaving a review on a very special website.....

 

I wrote....  I don't.... the website realized I wrote "don't" and a message popped up:
 

If you are going to write something negative, prepare to go to jail for 100 years.  Proceed?

 

I said OK.

 

I wrote.... I don't like...  message popped up

 

Police called.   Is your ID number 2937438 and bank account number 02374934973 and passport number 0134723983742384 ?    

 

I stared to delete.... message

 

too late sucker.  you wanna play games, time to pay!!!!!  

 

then my computer locked up after it hacked my camera and now i'm in Siberia.  

[polpott]

1 minute ago, Ventenio said:

I was leaving a review on a very special website.....

 

I wrote....  I don't.... the website realized I wrote "don't" and a message popped up:
 

If you are going to write something negative, prepare to go to jail for 100 years.  Proceed?

 

I said OK.

 

I wrote.... I don't like...  message popped up

 

Police called.   Is your ID number 2937438 and bank account number 02374934973 and passport number 0134723983742384 ?    

 

I stared to delete.... message

 

too late sucker.  you wanna play games, time to pay!!!!!  

 

then my computer locked up after it hacked my camera and now i'm in Siberia.  

Was it Thai Visa?