Online discussion forum forced to close by UK property company

An independent discussion forum for customers of UK-based property firms Equity Asset Management Limited, CPM Asset Management Limited, Pier Management Limited and Regis Group plc, has been shut down as a result of a threat of legal action by parent company Mount Street Holdings plc.

(PRWEB) July 18, 2004 -- An independent discussion forum for customers of UK-based property firms Equity Asset Management Limited, CPM Asset Management Limited, Pier Management Limited and Regis Group plc, has been shut down as a result of a threat of legal action by parent company Mount Street Holdings plc.

On the 9th of July 2004, Memery Crystal Solicitors, under instruction from Mount Street Holdings plc, formally served notice on simply.com, the Internet Service Provider that hosted the ConsumerDeals website that over 800 messages dating back one year, must be removed from their servers. Sixteen examples of messages that contain defamatory material relating to Mount Street Holdings plc, Equity Asset Management Limited, CPM Asset Management Limited, Pier Management Limited and Regis Group plc" were highlighted by the firm's solicitors. The removal of 61 messages posted by Mr Andrew J. Zahn, the CEO of Mount Street Holdings, was also mandated.

In response to a formal demand from Simply.com to remove all messages (including non-defamatory content), ConsumerDeals elected to comply with Simply's request, and the forum was removed on the afternoon of Thursday 15th July 2004. We asked simply.com for the reason why they ordered deletion of non-defamatory material, and material not related to MSH or its subsiduaries, but they declined to comment publicly, on the advice of their legal department

Until recently, Mount Street Holdings plc had been a welcome and active participant in the ConsumerDeals forum, responding to the concerns raised by their customers. ConsumerDeals has not been contacted by Mount Street Holdings regarding this action, and remains puzzled by their sudden desire to have the historical messages removed, including messages posted by their own Chief Executive to their customers.

About the forum:
The ConsumerDeals Equity forum was created following long running local disputes with Equity Asset Management over their poor customer services, as featured on BBCs Watchdog last year. Removal of the forum (that receives around 32,000 hits a month), means that customers of property management firms Equity Asset Management, Regis Group and Pier Management, no longer have an opportunity to voice their concerns in public.

References:
ConsumerDeals: www.consumerdeals.co.uk
Mount Street Holdings: www.mshplc.com
Simply.com: www.simply.com