KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Comments on Can collection cases ruin your reputation
September 24, 2021
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Comments on Can collection cases ruin your reputation from article on September 17, 2021
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Ken
          Assuming the problem is significant enough, I have found that in a small community, it has been my experience that if you identify a couple of truly problematic individuals and move forward in litigation, that in most cases the word, very subtlety, gets around and a significant number of others suddenly find themselves making more effort to be compliant with you.  You do not have to sue everyone, just a couple of them to show you are serious.  If you choose the right ones, their reputation may very well lack significant credibility anyway, even in the social media environment.
 Sincerely, 
Rene M. Gagnon
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Ken
          So can an alarm company sue the poster of the false comments and how hard would it be to collect damages?
A non a moose
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Response
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          Customers have a right to publish their opinions about you and your business.  They are not, however, at liberty to defame you or your business.  When legitimate opinion crosses the line to defamation can be elusive.  First of all, for opinion to constitute defamation the statement of fact must be false; it particularly cannot accuse you falsely of illegal or immoral conduct in your personal or business affairs.
          Secondly, suing for defamation can be tricky because while you can recover damages without showing actual damages, the award may end up not being what you hoped for; it’s not an arithmetic computation unless you can establish loss of business, which is pretty hard to do.   To make matters worse, those customers who defame you are more than likely broke with nothing to lose [and not much else to do than breach your contract and harass you for being the bad guy].  Currently you will not be successful suing social media for defamatory posts, though some will remove the posts more easily than others [I don’t know which ones].
          Rene’s comment is interesting and essentially correct.  You don’t need to be in a small town.  An aggressive collection department and pursuing customers who have breached their contract with you will increase your receivables in two ways.  Customers will be a bit more attentive to pay on time, and second, defaulting customers will expect action by you to enforce your contract.  More importantly, your defaulting customers’ attorneys will take notice that you take meaningful and decisive action to enforce your contracts and this will lead to faster resolution of disputes, especially when the defaulting customer is actually financially viable. 
          Your competitors will also develop a healthy respect for your aggressive contract enforcement policy.  Want some proof and great example?  Look no further than AFA Protective, the venerable NY based fire alarm company and its [soon to be retiring] chief counsel Robert Kleinman,Esq. When your customer breaches the contract without justification it’s important that you take action; you don’t want your competitors to suggest to your customers that they can terminate  with impunity and be right.  You may as well have month to month contracts, which most of you recognize as less desirable than longer term agreements.  K&K's collection department, better described as litigation department, is adept with dealing with all kinds of customers, including the nuts, and work efficiently to try and save the account and when that's just not in the cards, enforce the contract and collect what's owed.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com