QLD Defamation for Bad Business Review?

[Person97]

Hi, i recently left a bad review for a business on a google business listing, i had a bad experience with the person and felt like i had been scammed out of my money, i quickly googled the guy and there are HUNDREDS of posts about how he is a "scam artist", so i said "*Redacted name* is a scam artist, avoid like the plague", this was a few weeks ago, and recently i have found that someone is offering to purchase my personal info on "buy and sell" pages in my area. I believe it is a legal firm or private investigator that may be seeking damages for my review, which is now totally removed.

Someone told me that what I had done is defamation, and they can sue me for it. I'm wondering if this is what they are doing? How likely is it that they will win the case if it proceeds, or what could be my defence? (Also, if I am under 18.)

 

[Amanda E]

They may not have a case for defamation if the company employs more than 10 people and what you published was the truth, see: Have You Been Defamed? What You Need to Know About Defamation Law in Australia - Legal Blog - LawAnswers.com.au

Nobody can tell you with any certainty how likely it is that someone will win a case, especially when its just hypothetical at this stage. The other issue that sticks out to me is whether you breached the terms of use/guidelines for posting a review? Maybe just double check them. Even so, if you totally removed the review, its not doing them any harm any more, so really, how much could they expect in damages? Not much from the sound of things.