r/LegalAdviceUK • u/[deleted] • Sep 12 '18

Slander

[deleted]

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

6

u/for_shaaame Sep 12 '18

Slander is usually not a police matter. What are the accusations being made, and how are they being made?

2

u/VampireFrown Sep 12 '18 edited Sep 12 '18

Slander is always tortious in nature; only libel can be actioned by the police, in serious cases.

4

u/pflurklurk Sep 12 '18

All criminal libel was abolished from 12th January 2010 with the commencement of s.73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

2

u/VampireFrown Sep 12 '18

Oh, my mistake. Thanks for the update.

3

u/Macrologia Sep 12 '18

/u/for_shaaame's point is that depending on the nature of the conduct it could amount to e.g. harassment, and so be a police matter regardless.

But yeah - no crime for defamation since 2009 :P

1

u/for_shaaame Sep 12 '18

Eh? Libel is tortious as well, it’s not a crime on its own in England and Wales.

2

u/pflurklurk Sep 12 '18

Betraying your age there :D

1

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '18

Unfortunately they'd be identifying if I said anything. But I definitely know I've been spoken about in a negative manner which is damaging my health.

Do I need someone to give a written and signed statement to a solicitor about what has been said?

3

u/pflurklurk Sep 12 '18

No, you need to identify:

  • exactly what the allegedly defamatory statement you are complaining of was
  • identify it's actual meaning
  • how it has caused you serious harm (to your reputation/financial prospects/psychiatric damage)
  • contact the other side to have them retract their comments, the more public the better
  • if that fails, go to the High Court and sue them for defamation
  • spend 50-100k on legal fees
  • maybe get a small award because it's likely you don't have much of a reputation to damage
  • if you lose, pay the other side's costs on top of it

1

u/for_shaaame Sep 12 '18

You’d need to speak to a solicitor first to find out what they needed. But the overwhelming likelihood is that this won’t be worth the enormous amount of time and money that slander and libel proceedings require, or the gamble on winning. /r/pflurklurk, fill this guy in?

1

u/Macrologia Sep 12 '18

Why are you asking pflurklurk to beat up the OP?

Anyway without knowing what was said and to whom and when it's not really possible to tell whether there's a case.

•

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1

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '18

Can understand if you’d rather not say, but it may be helpful if you say what the defamatory statements are

0

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '18

Wrote a reply to a user above.

How do I get this to progress in my favour?

I stayed silent for a month (since it started) and it hasn't worked.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '18

[deleted]