How furious Airbnb owner harassed guest with abusive texts and told her she would ‘burn in hell’ after calling his award-winning guesthouse ‘just OK’ in an online review
- Airbnb owner harassed one of his guests after she said guesthouse was ‘just OK’
- David Penman sent emails and left a voice message for woman in May 2021
- Penman appeared in Moorabin Magistrates Court and was fined $2,500
An Airbnb owner harassed one of his guests and told her to ‘burn in hell’ after she left a review saying his guesthouse was ‘just OK’.
David Penman, 54, sent a series of emails to the woman and left a vile message on her answering machine in May 2021.
The woman stayed at his award-winning guesthouse The Clifftop in Hepburn, central Victoria, which was ‘crowned No.1 from 55,000 rental homes’.
The woman had stayed at his award-winning guesthouse known as the Clifftop in Hepburn, central Victoria, which was ‘crowned No.1 from 55,000 rental homes’
Penman pleaded guilty at Moorabin Magistrates Court to using a carriage device to harass the guest and admitted to leaving the voice message.
‘You have greatly misjudged me,’ Penman said in the message.
‘You obviously didn’t do your research about the defamation case on Google… don’t bother removing your review, don’t bother offering to settle.
‘I’ll see you in f**king court, you better have a lot of money. This is not over, we’re not accepting a payout. We’re going to f**king court, and you will burn in hell.’
His barrister Mihal Greener described the outburst as ‘out of character’ and said her client was under lots of pressure and his business was suffering because of the Covid pandemic due to lockdowns and travel restrictions to regional Victoria.
He was fined $2,500 and no conviction was recorded by the court.
Penman also sent a series of texts and messages to other guests who left unflattering reviews, The Age reported.
He sent a text in May 2019 to a bank employee who booked The Clifftop to propose to his partner before leaving a two star review of the property.
His barrister Mihal Greener described the outburst as ‘out of character’ and said her client was under lots of pressure and that his business was suffering because of the Covid pandemic, lockdown and travel restrictions to regional Victoria
Penman had also sent a series of texts and messages to other guests who had left unflattering reviews
‘We have today received a complaint of possible domestic violence in your villa from another guest next door… We will consider this matter before deciding if it should be reported to the police,’ Penman wrote.
Penman also threatened court action against a guest who worked for the Department of Education Training after they cancelled a booking because they had been called to Gippsland after the bushfires in January 2020.
He warned he had launched a defamation case against another guest who left a bad review and they were forced to pay more than $300,000 in legal costs.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk