£100,000 slander payout to Landlord by Doncaster Council

£100,000 slander payout to Landlord by Doncaster Council

10:23 AM, 28th February 2019, About 5 years ago 12

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Private landlord, Rob Bloor, has received a payout of £100,000 by Doncaster Council after he threatened to take the council to court over alleged slander. This was reported in the Doncaster Free Press yesterday.

Mr Bloor alleges the council had slandered him by making unfounded and disparaging remarks regarding his honesty to people who were looking to use his services to rent property. This he contests happened after winning an appeal over council tax payments post changes to housing benefit regulations. Previous to this he had worked successfully with the council providing homes to vulnerable people

However, even after the £100,000 settlement and agreed statement by Doncaster Council, Mr Bloor said he was still out of pocket by £200,000 and believes the council may well have spent as much as £500,000 in legal cost which they deny. Imagine how much money and time has been wasted and what the council could have done with this instead!

The case was dropped last minute after a statement was agreed with Doncaster Council (DMBC) which said: “DMBC is able to confirm that any allegation Mr Bloor was untrustworthy, dishonest or had fabricated documents, would be false. DMBC and Mr Bloor are pleased to confirm that this action has now been concluded to the satisfaction of both parties.”

Doncaster Council’s Director of Corporate Resources, Debbie Hogg, told the paper: “Mr Bloor issued High Court proceedings against the council which we have defended. As a result, unnecessary court costs have been incurred. At the eleventh hour Mr Bloor decided to withdraw his claim, as confirmed by the court, which underlines our view that this case was not substantiated and has now been concluded.”

Click here to read the full article.


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Comments

terry sullivan

12:08 PM, 28th February 2019, About 5 years ago

doncaster has a long history f corrupt practices?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

21:10 PM, 28th February 2019, About 5 years ago

I wish he’d have taken it to trial.

The atatement of the Council is ludicrous. Why would they settle at the 11th hour if they believed they would win?

I really don’t understand why they settled out of Court, but I’m sure there will be other cases which will open the floodgates to landlords to claim compensation. One obvious one is Cyril Thomas vs Colcheter Council. His reputation was seriously damaged when they prosecute him for nine criminal offences, all of which were overturned on appeal. I suggest his damages could be upwards of seven figures if he is minded to litigate. There are many others too and some day soon there will be a lawyer who test this in a Damages Based Agreement, ie “no win no fee”. Mark my words and watch this space!

terry sullivan

21:21 PM, 28th February 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander at 28/02/2019 - 21:10
reference re cyril thomas?

Mick Roberts

8:00 AM, 1st March 2019, About 5 years ago

This shows how Councils crap on u.
The problem with councils, is they are run by good & bad people.
One single person can mess the whole process up. This bad manager then forces the good people out, the good people who u built a rapport with & had stuck to their words & deals, now gone, the next bad person don't give a hoot. He She has the backing of 'The Council'.
He get his holiday & sick pay no matter what.
He gets to go home at 5pm while u & your tenants clients suffer all night & weekend from the decisions this imbecile council worker has made.
All 'cause he has the council in the background as his Boss as such, his backer, his money provider, he not spending his own personal money on the preposterous decisions he has made. He generally hasn't got a clue about common sense & normal people on the ground & how business & housing people works.
One day JUST ONE DAY the councils may have a procedure that they MUST work with us to find solutions.
I have some great high up people in Housing Benefit. There is also some terrible staff there in the background that I feel sorry that other Landlords has to use. These staff may then get transferred to Selective Licensing or Universal Credit where their lack of common sense can wreck more peoples lives.
Meanwhile it carries on with no accountability while we try to pick up the pieces of their dimwit decisions that impact on quite often the vulnerable & needy.

pbez64 pbez64

9:15 AM, 2nd March 2019, About 5 years ago

Err. If you read it to the end it does correctly report that he withdrew his claim at the last minute once the council made it clear it was determined to defend itself against his accusations. The free press report isnt exactly full of all the details but why spoil a bash the council story

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

9:18 AM, 2nd March 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by pbez64 pbez64 at 02/03/2019 - 09:15
If the Council were confident they would win, why would they settle?

Same could be said for the landlord of course, but I doubt he had the same resources as the Council.

Paul Baldry

9:47 AM, 2nd March 2019, About 5 years ago

The problem the landlord has is the offer of £100,000 means if he is awarded less in court he would have to pay ALL of the other side’s costs. At £500,000 it’s a big downside and very little up side.

He is not going to get much more than the £100k so would you risk everything you own on to have to pay the estimated half a million in costs for another £20-50k?

Never mind the stress and pressure it puts you under to continue the fight and have to go to court where there is no guarantee.

The landlord received £100k and a statement was released that ‘all allegations were false’ then for the Debbie Hogg to say the opposite maybe opens them up again?

pbez64 pbez64

9:57 AM, 2nd March 2019, About 5 years ago

The devil is in the detail as they say!

Simon Lever - Chartered Accountant helping clients get the best returns from their properties

15:37 PM, 2nd March 2019, About 5 years ago

If you are considering a similar prosecution why not take proceedings against the individual and the council at the same time.
If council officials find themselves the subject of court proceedings along with their employers they may take a more measured view in making comments.

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