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Hi there, I wonder if anyone can offer some advice as I'm hoping to take action against a forum for discrimination based on a mental health disability. I spoke with a solicitor who doesn't think I have a very strong claim and said they think it would be very difficult to prove that I was treated unfavourably or that it was based on my disability. She wasn't really that interested in listening to what I had to say and said there was no merit in it and it would unlikely get very far. I don't know how you prove that anyone is treated worse based on a disability without the person doing it admitting it but what I do know is:
1. I was harassed and bullied on a website and then banned for some unknown reason as the forum team didn't give me an explanation and said that I was on a "final warning" - for what I don't know, I was just responding to people bullying me.
2. I advised the forum team on a number of occasions that I had MH problems and that the bullying was really affecting me and they advised me to report the users/posts and they would be dealt with.
3. I made multiple reports about users and posts and all that happened was the posts were removed and no action taken against the members.
4. I continued to notify the forum team of the harassment and asked them to please do something and how negatively it was impacting my MH.
5. I sent a firm message to one of the people adding to the attacking and after doing so I was banned again. I asked for an explanation and sent multiple emails and tweets and it took them 2 days to get back to me and tell me I was being banned permanently based on reports made against me but no real explanation. I kept asking for a detailed explanation on what I'd done wrong but they refused to give me one.
6. I asked them why they had banned me and taken no action against the members harassing me and they told me they were not going to comment on action against other members. They also implied that I was aggressive and nasty and said they weren't legally required to provide and explanation and wouldn't be doing so. I asked them why they were treating me so unfairly when I told them on multiple occasions that I had mental health problems but they didn't respond.
So based on the above, personally I think it proves I have been treated unfairly and I think it is very likely to be because of my mental health problems as they did not take any action against other members. I feel like they've just thought I'm crazy and a nuisance (because I made so many reports) and they don't want me on the site anymore. I feel like that's why they won't provide me with a reason - because they know it's not a good one. The solicitor thinks they will just say they were following procedure and acting on reports against me after having given me a "final warning" - but the fact remains I was never given an initial warning, I was not told WHY I was being given a final warning and they refused to respond to my questions. The first ban came after a member was telling others to mark my posts as spam to have me banned, and so the ban was not because I was breaking any rules but because the members were abusing their account privileges. Also, the fact is that I reported other members numerous times who were bullying me and no action was taken against them so how can they really claim they were just following procedure when they didn't do this with the reports made by me against other members? They told me that the forum rules apply to all members and yet they have not taken action against anyone but me.
Please someone tell me that there's something I can do...I feel the website have treated me horribly and unfairly and it does seem to be due to my mental health.
1. I was harassed and bullied on a website and then banned for some unknown reason as the forum team didn't give me an explanation and said that I was on a "final warning" - for what I don't know, I was just responding to people bullying me.
2. I advised the forum team on a number of occasions that I had MH problems and that the bullying was really affecting me and they advised me to report the users/posts and they would be dealt with.
3. I made multiple reports about users and posts and all that happened was the posts were removed and no action taken against the members.
4. I continued to notify the forum team of the harassment and asked them to please do something and how negatively it was impacting my MH.
5. I sent a firm message to one of the people adding to the attacking and after doing so I was banned again. I asked for an explanation and sent multiple emails and tweets and it took them 2 days to get back to me and tell me I was being banned permanently based on reports made against me but no real explanation. I kept asking for a detailed explanation on what I'd done wrong but they refused to give me one.
6. I asked them why they had banned me and taken no action against the members harassing me and they told me they were not going to comment on action against other members. They also implied that I was aggressive and nasty and said they weren't legally required to provide and explanation and wouldn't be doing so. I asked them why they were treating me so unfairly when I told them on multiple occasions that I had mental health problems but they didn't respond.
So based on the above, personally I think it proves I have been treated unfairly and I think it is very likely to be because of my mental health problems as they did not take any action against other members. I feel like they've just thought I'm crazy and a nuisance (because I made so many reports) and they don't want me on the site anymore. I feel like that's why they won't provide me with a reason - because they know it's not a good one. The solicitor thinks they will just say they were following procedure and acting on reports against me after having given me a "final warning" - but the fact remains I was never given an initial warning, I was not told WHY I was being given a final warning and they refused to respond to my questions. The first ban came after a member was telling others to mark my posts as spam to have me banned, and so the ban was not because I was breaking any rules but because the members were abusing their account privileges. Also, the fact is that I reported other members numerous times who were bullying me and no action was taken against them so how can they really claim they were just following procedure when they didn't do this with the reports made by me against other members? They told me that the forum rules apply to all members and yet they have not taken action against anyone but me.
Please someone tell me that there's something I can do...I feel the website have treated me horribly and unfairly and it does seem to be due to my mental health.
