Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

[lsgtails]

Hi all,

Hope I can find some advice about what is best to do following a bizarre work issue.
I have been with my primary employer for over 3 years and have enjoyed a successful career to date. In September 2014 the employer sent out an email from a employee to the whole company stating they will be running an auction to raise money for charity. I thought this was great at the time and the document they sent out had the companies branding and the charities branding at the top indicating to me that this is something arranged by the employer within working hours. The document they sent out had no T&Cs and simply stated that it would be a silent auction where a product or service is announced and you have a 15 minute window to make your highest bid by emailing the person within my company who set it up.

I went ahead and I won a "Hot Air Balloon Ride for Two" after a month of trying to get confirmation of this from the company who had offered it they turned around and said it was a balloon flight for one only, so I would need to pay an additional £150 to take two people. After lots of gritting my teeth I decided to bite the bullet and pay the extra £150, which they said they would take when a flight was possible. Please note that the email address sent to the company offering the prize was my company email address.

After not hearing anything from this company for a number of months I emailed them saying - "Dont worry about the balloon flight - please can we re donate it to another charity to help raise more money" which they obliged. I then booked another balloon flight with a different company so that my partner could have her birthday present.

Another two months passed from which I was trying to get in contact with the company to get the booklet they said they would send out so I can pass it on to a local charity who I had informed would be receiving it so they could raffle it away to raise more money.

But this time my patience was wearing thin after four months of being ignored and emailed the company saying I would write a formal letter of complaint, from which the response was. " Do it - we look forward to it" I then replied and said, "I hope you realise I run a reputation management company, and the fact you will not honour this gift to a charity is disgraceful,. I will post a negative review regarding my experience" from which the employee from this company went into a rant which led to harassment, he posted on my employers Facebook page, my own Facebook page, sent me numerous hate messages, saying "He responds to threats" being aggressive and using threatening words.

I decided to block his account from all platforms and leave it there, not leaving a negative review about the experience I had with his company. (Even though I really want too! Who would want to go up in a balloon with this person who is so threatening, aggressive and mean?)

After seeking help from my employer they said that it was a private matter between me and the company and nothing to do with them. Which I was shocked at, due to the amount of branding over the emails distributed and the time being 10:30am when the auction was held and having to give the cash over that day to the employer.

Now to put the icing on the cake my employer is taking me through a disciplinary process for putting the company into disrepute due to the message this guy left on my employers Facebook wall, also for emailing this gentlemen from a work associated email address which they had sent to him.

I am so confused, and not fussed about the balloon flight money. But I am so frustrated that now I am facing action against me?! When I am the one being harassed by a company they introduced me to with messages throughout the night saying things like:

"You will regret your threats"

"CALL ME" being sent to me at midnight.

I have also had a person matching his appearance outside my house.


So my questions are simple:

Are the company liable for the auction?

Can I really be blamed for threatening to leave a negative review about a company which has lost me £120? - arranged by my employer

What can I do? This is such a bizarre situation.



Another example of the communication sent is below:

Me:
Writing a letter to your company, or posting a factual review of a negative experience is not a threat.

Balloon company:
Why dont you take a look on facebook, stop squirming, write a letter to me please, post a negative review, do your absolute worst because that is all that a spineless little bully would do when he does not get his way, grow up and realise that threats of reputation slurs are yesterdays news. Try picking up the phone and being nice instead of behaving like a venemous little reptile.

[leclerc]

Re: Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

Are the messages on facebook, via email or via the phone?

Ok, I think there are two issues here that we need to separate. There is the issue of employment law and the issues around the setting up of a charity auction via a company through your employer.

The second issue is about the auction itself and whether or not what you have had happen to you is fraud. You have paid £150 but how was this paid? Was it via cash or a visa debit card?

Any transactions over £100 paid with a VISA card means that the card issuer has a legal duty to get involved if the goods do not turn up or are not as described. That part is completely separate to the employment law issues.

Have you kept the original emails? That bit IS important for the issue of description. Discontinue for the time being any correspondence with them so that we can look at the technical aspect of this which is about paying for goods and services that have not come about.

If you feel that an individual within that company has threatened you then contact the police and the bit that might sound threatening is the "you will regret the threats!". That to me is potentially intimidation.

[lsgtails]

Re: Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

I have all the emails saved and printed. Clearly showing branding and description of product etc.

The auction was cash only, so sadly no debit card. But I feel guilty doing anything about this as it was for charity.

One of my questions was whether or not I should be investigated for emailing him from my work account. Even though the person from my company who organised it sent him my email address as the prize winner. What are your thoughts on this and the above?

Many thanks

[krypton]

Re: Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

It's not clear how you are being taken for a disciplinary for bringing your company into disrepute. Did your company organise this event itself/in house? Maybe you need to ask them how they have come to that conclusion.

Using your work email for personal use can normally be considered as misuse. It's there purely for work purposes and communications. It maybe because you have used your work account to deal with a private matter that you now find yourself in hot water? If you've been communicating using your work email then the recipient would be right to feel that an employee acting for that company is behaving unreasonably.

Maybe you should have only divulged your personal email? Business is business and you must always keep personal communications and the company out of it.

It seems this maybe why you are in a disciplinary.

[lsgtails]

Re: Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

Hello,

Yes they arranged the event in house - we also had no choice on which email was handed over. They just CCd my email address to the company offering the prize.

I actually hadnt realised my work email account was the one it was being sent from, as it was from my mobile which automatically selected the email address the person you are emailing is linked too. Very frustrating.

I feel as though because the company I work for sent the hot air balloon company my work email address without asking me which one they should be protecting me from this oddball balloon man, not disciplining me.

[krypton]

Re: Charity Auction Gone Wrong - Leading to harassment and investigation

Sorry but you're not entirely making sense. There's a number of things here to consider.

You said a company employee organised the auction on behalf of the company? Did he/she send details to everyone and you from their work email account?

You need to establish if it was officially a work organised thing or not. That's the first thing. The time sent and branding maybe of little consequence if it was not officially work related.

Secondly, if the Hot Air Balloon company is alleging you have threatened them then your company has little option but to investigate what you have done.

You say you work for your company yet have then 'threatened' the Hot Air Balloon company saying you run a 'reputation management company'. In such a case it may not simply be viewed as threats of negative feedback and it can be construed as deliberate threats of defamation and slander. In other words you are in a professional capacity and knowingly able to cause their reputation damage by way of your implied threats

This would leave your company little choice but to investigate your actions and for bringing them into disrepute.

Sometimes it's perhaps better to simply get on the phone and try talk it through. Sending emails does provide evidence of your actions or intention of actions. These can unfortunately come back to bite you.