Monday 31 January 2011

18k payout for cafe owner slandered by British Gas

A Former cafe owner has been awarded more than £18,000 damages after he was slandered by a British Gas worker.


Can Say, who ran the Corby Cafe, in George Street, in the town, took British Gas Services to the High Court in London after his electricity was mistakenly cut off in 2008. Mr Say claimed the bailiff who went to cut the power slandered him in front of his customers by falsely saying he had not paid his bill.

The company admitted the disconnection was a blunder on their part, but denied their employee had said anything defamatory.


But now a top judge has awarded Mr Say £18,747 total damages for the slander and the losses incurred during the 10-day power cut.


Speaking outside court, Mr Say, the son of a former Cypriot MP, said he was pleased that the judge had found in his favour, but the money would not compensate him for the three years of stress he had lived through while fighting the case.


Judge Bernard Livesey QC told the court Mr Say’s son, Hildi, ran the cafe using a business name of Kingdom Catering Ltd, from 2005 to 2008. However, “for whatever reason”, a £2,000 debt was run up to British Gas before, after a brief closure, his father took over. Despite Mr Say writing to British Gas and telling them the business had changed hands, it sent round a bailiff and an engineer on August 28, 2008, to disconnect the supply.


http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/local/18_000_payout_for_cafe_owner_slandered_by_british_gas_1_2354291

No comments:

Post a Comment