Content Complaints

Localz hosts conversations written by its users. We do not write, commission, approve, or check posts before they appear. When something posted about you is unlawful, this page explains how to tell us and what we will do about it.

Where to send a complaint

Email admin@localz.chat with “Content Complaint” in the subject line, or write to:

Bupbokmuk Lab Ltd
71-75 Shelton Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9JQ
United Kingdom

Email is monitored and is much faster than post. Timescales below run from when the complaint actually reaches us.

Defamation: notice of complaint

If you believe a post on Localz is defamatory of you, you can send us a notice of complaint under section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 and the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013.

What your notice must contain

The Regulations set out what makes a notice valid. If any of these are missing we will tell you what is needed, but the clock does not start until we have a valid notice. Your notice must:

• Specify that it is a notice of complaint under section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013
• Give your name
• Set out the statement complained of and explain where on Localz it was posted — a link, plus the hub name and the date and time of the message, is ideal
• Explain why the statement is defamatory of you
• Specify what in the statement is factually inaccurate, or what about it is an opinion that cannot honestly be held
• Confirm whether you have enough information to identify and bring proceedings against the person who posted it
• State whether you consent to your name and email address being passed to the person who posted it
• Give an email address at which we can contact you

You do not need a solicitor to send a valid notice, and we will not treat a complaint less seriously because it did not come from one.

What we will do, and when

Within 48 hours of receiving a valid notice, we will either remove the content, or pass your notice to the person who posted it and confirm to you that we have done so.

Where we pass the notice on, the process the Regulations set out is:

• The poster has 5 days to respond to us.
• If they do not respond, or they ask us to remove the post, we remove it within 48 hours of that point.
• If they want the post to stay and they consent to it, we pass their name and contact details to you, and the post stays up. Any dispute after that is between you and them.
• If they want the post to stay but do not consent to their details being shared, we remove the post.

We will tell you which of these happened. Removing a post at this stage is a step in a statutory procedure — it is not us deciding that the complaint is correct, and it is not an admission by the person who posted it.

What we cannot do

We cannot decide whether a statement is true, and we will not act as a judge between you and one of our users. We also cannot give you a poster’s personal details except where the process above allows it or a court orders it.

Honest, first-hand opinion about an event, a venue, or a business is not defamation, even when it is blunt or unfair. We will not remove negative reviews simply for being negative, and a complaint that amounts to “this is bad for our reputation” will not by itself lead to removal.

Other unlawful content

For anything else that is unlawful rather than defamatory — copyright or trade mark infringement, disclosure of private information, harassment, a court order — email the same address with:

• What the content is and where to find it on Localz
• Why it is unlawful, and what right you hold
• For intellectual property: confirmation that you are the rights holder or authorised to act for them
• Your name and contact details

We deal with these as quickly as we reasonably can once we have enough information to act, and we remove content where it is clear that it is unlawful.

Event hubs created from public listings

Some hubs on Localz are created automatically from publicly listed events. Those hubs are not run by, affiliated with, or endorsed by the event organiser or venue, and the conversation inside them is written by our users.

If you are an organiser or venue and you want the hub for your event removed, or its name or image changed, email us and we will action it. You do not need to give a legal reason for this one.

Misusing this process

Sending a complaint you know to be false wastes everyone’s time and can itself carry legal consequences. We keep a record of complaints received.

If you are unhappy with the outcome

Reply to our response and tell us why. Nothing on this page affects your right to take the matter to court, or to seek your own legal advice — and nothing here is legal advice from us to you.