Traveller baggage £17k after Zara employees ‘whipped again altering room curtain’ whereas dressing
Krystal Joyce, 20, was left humiliated when a female security guard pulled back the curtain of a changing room cubicle while she was partly clothed at a flagship store in Dublin
A TikTok traveller has bagged herself £16,650 after a Zara employee “pulled back the changing room curtain” while she was half-dressed.
The influencer who makes videos of herself showcasing new clothes claimed she was effectively branded a shoplifter by the employees in a flagship store. Krystal Joyce, 20, alleges she was humiliated when a female security guard yanked open the curtain of her changing booth as she was undressed. She recounted to the court how she was confined against her will in the fitting area and later “interrogated” publicly, despite her innocence.
Ms Joyce insisted she suffered defamation, with the assumption being made within hearing and view of others that she had been “engaged in criminal activity”.
The judge found that Ms Joyce had been mistreated and directed Zara management and their security firm to pay her a sum of £16,650 (€20,000) for damages.
With over 122,000 TikTok followers, Ms Joyce declared she was wrongly portrayed as a lawbreaker whilst trying on an outfit at the largest Zara outlet in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin.
After taking her case to Dublin Circuit Civil Court, Ms Joyce’s barrister Esther Earley revealed how her client frequently snapped photos of herself in changing rooms in various shops.
According to Ms Earley, Ms Joyce would showcase the outfits to her TikTok followers, specifying the stores where they could be bought.
However, while in the changing area of the store, which was open at the time, Ms Joyce claimed to be taken aback when a security worker loudly and repeatedly stated, within earshot of others, “I am calling the guards”.
She claimed she was upset and had asked if she could leave the changing area after a female guard opened the curtain to peer at her, added Ms Earley.
Ms Joyce, from Dublin, was then told by security that she was not being allowed to leave.
The court heard she was eventually permitted to go on the shop floor where security and shop staff continued “interrogating” her.
Judge Maguire ruled in favour of Ms Joyce, finding that the actions of the store’s staff, particularly the pulling back of her cubicle curtain, had caused her considerable distress.
Judge Maguire said: “I find Ms Joyce was a truthful witness and was particularly upset because she has a social media presence through which she does her best to raise awareness for the Travelling community of which she is a member.”
The court concluded the actions of Zara and the security personnel, working in tandem, constituted a defamation of Ms Joyce, damaging her reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public.
He said: “This was a public place she was used to frequenting and in the habit of trying on clothes… I accept there were other people there, and I fully accept her evidence.”
Ms Joyce was granted damages of £8,325 against ITX Retail Limited, which operates the Zara store, and an additional £8,325 against security firm Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Limited, the company responsible for supplying guards to the store.
