Aldwych Legal advised a national services company after a sudden series of anonymous social media reviews alleged fabricated invoices, unsafe working methods and widespread customer dissatisfaction. The issues engaged defamation law, commercial contract disputes and the potential for arbitration as part of a broader business dispute.
What Happened
The client, a specialist services provider headquartered in Manchester who required advice from defamation solicitors in Manchester, saw a rapid increase in negative posts across multiple platforms. The anonymous reviews repeated similar themes — claims of falsified billing and unsafe site practices — without dates, named customers or documentary evidence.
The timing coincided with a heated contract disagreement with a large commercial counterparty based near Leeds. Procurement teams at several customers flagged the online material during tender reviews, and two live tenders were paused pending clarification, creating immediate commercial exposure for the client.
Legal Issues
- Whether the anonymous posts amounted to actionable defamation under the Defamation Act 2013 and caused serious financial and reputational harm.
- Interaction between reputational risk and existing contractual obligations, including potential breaches of non-disparagement or confidentiality clauses.
- Whether the Arbitration Act 1996 and an existing arbitration clause allowed the defamatory publications to be addressed within ongoing commercial arbitration proceedings.
- Practical challenges in identifying anonymous publishers, preserving electronic evidence and demonstrating serious harm to support injunctive or damages remedies.
Our Approach
We carried out a focused review of the posts’ timing, wording and available metadata, instructing digital forensics experts to preserve and analyse technical evidence. We captured screenshots, secured IP and account preservation via platform preservation notices, and issued formal letters requesting takedowns and disclosure where available.
Concurrently, we audited the client’s key commercial contracts and prepared a concise position statement for the counterparty (named contact: James Carter, Operations Director). We advised on pre-action engagement in line with CPR pre-action conduct, and on the option to raise the publications within arbitration where an arbitration clause applied.
Outcome
Following targeted representations, several of the most damaging posts were removed by platform operators. Technical and contextual evidence pointed to a likely link between the publications and an individual associated with the commercial counterparty.
Rather than pursuing a separate public defamation trial, the matter was resolved as part of the wider commercial settlement: the counterparty agreed to withdraw the allegations, provide written retractions to key customers and contribute to the client’s legal costs. The client’s tenders were reinstated and reputational harm was mitigated without court proceedings.
Result / Why It Matters
This case demonstrates Aldwych Legal’s integrated approach to reputational protection and commercial dispute resolution. By combining defamation advice, forensic evidence preservation and contract/arbitration strategy, we secured a pragmatic outcome that protected commercial relationships and restored client confidence.
