Estate Living Magazine Invest SA - Issue 45 September 2019 | Page 14

P R O P E R T Y
&
I N V E S T M E N T
CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS &
SOCIAL MEDIA
Not so long ago, if somebody wanted to have their complaint heard, the best options were to write a
letter to the newspaper (and hope that it would be published) or dial into the radio. now, in the digital age,
everyone has a voice. Never before has it been easier to have your concerns or thoughts heard –
no matter how insignificant or trivial they are – and that has implications for estate managers
Legal options
Anyone could publish something on social media that is hugely
defamatory about the estate and one of its principals, for example:
“Pinecones Estate is running a fraudulent operation and Joe
Blogs is a criminal - they overcharge me for levies every month
and he uses my money to fUnd his personal lifestyle”
Assuming that there is absolutely no truth to the statement, a number
of legal options may be applicable:
•
Defamation — it may be appropriate for Pinecones Estate
to sue the publisher of the post for defamation. However,
defamation cases are notoriously very costly and lengthy, and
the awards in South Africa are usually very low.
• Crimen injuria — Joe Bloggs may consider laying a criminal
charge of crimen injuria (infringement of dignity) against the
publisher of the content.
• Protection order — Joe Bloggs could consider obtaining a
protection order against the publisher of the content under the
Protection from Harassment Act.
With cases like these, depending on the nature of the content, the
quickest option and fastest way of achieving the desired result is
usually a letter of demand from your legal representatives requesting
that the content be deleted, and that the individual refrains from
publishing further.