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Small claims court....

adnedarn

I'm growing CPs in the Desert of Tucson, Az
Admin
Hello all :) I'm looking for a little bit of "legal" advice here. I'm kinda reaching but any help would be, uh.. helpful. haha

Back when I purchased these forums the software was quite a few versions out of date. And since it wasn't just one version the upgrade wasn't going to be so "easy" so I hired the tech support of that software to do the upgrade. First off it took forever for him to even start. Once he did start it took him no time at all to get it done (I know that cause I was talking to him on AIM while he did it). So then he was supposed to get back our visual preferences (colors, icons etc) and never did. Which ended up not mattering because the upgrade didn't work. While it looked good, and stuff worked for the users, mods and admins were not able to make any changes. (It would have been bad if some spammers got in or something at that time...) So I contacted him again to get it looked at, he spent about 10 mins and told me the software wouldn't work on my server. Now, I didn't change servers... He said it worked before, and not now because "Before, the software was very insecure and allowed it to work even though it shouldn't have." Well, I don't have cheep server access for this forum, dare I say possibly one of the best offered. So, I think he was just being lazy. (Note: official the fee charged was for a year of technical support, which included software upgrades that came out within that year. The upgrade is all I really cared about though...) So, he took about 10 mins to put the old version back on. Although all of our visual settings (colors, smilies, icons everthing) was gone. So really, what was the point in staying? That's when I went and started test driving other forum softwares and ended up with this one. Which is not free software like the old forum was... But it was nicer, and CURRENT! So, I did the upgrade to this software and migrated all the information...

Now back to the service I bought... in the FAQ it says:
#2 Do you offer a a money back guarantee? (yes with 2 "a"s)
Yes! *** offers a 30 day money back guarantee on all *** accounts....

So, within that time frame, I've basically had nothing done anyway.... I have been denied a refund on my account. Then they agreed to give me a part of it, and then again denied anything. (I was even told the check was in the mail a few times...) I brought in their local BBB but these guys were not members so they just tried to mediate the situation... But the company just shrugged it off and the BBB has no authority anyway.

So, I've come to the end, where I feel these guys are wrong. I could really not care less about the money at this point (heck that was 7 months ago!) but I don't Think they should go on thinking they can do business like this.

They are in another state, can I just file a small claims here in my city? Do I have to go to their city? Can I just go to one of those "TV" small claims court things? Do they pay my travel to get there and everything, or do I have to?

Any answers opinions would be MUCH appriciated!!!
Andrew :)
 
Erm, unless it costs more than a grand or so for their service I'd just let it go. Unless it's some honor thing you want to do, then I'd still let it go.

I don't know anything about small claims but I can say that in a real lawsuit (well I shouldn't say that) you can sue for your attorney's fees, including his travel expenses if you choose to, or if he/she goes on contingency he/she may choose to include it with the percent he takes from you as a fee, or rather charge a higher percentage.
 
Oh, and also, most of this was on their "ticket system" and they started deleting stuff. So I started screen shoting stuff. So, I do have most of it (including them saying the check is on the way) and it wasn't but a few days after I started asking why the check had not arrived yet, they deleted my account... So, I dont' even have an account with them, if it DID want to still use the service since they're keeping my money!

nan- I'll check that link out, thanks. :)
JLAP- in small claims there are no lawyers allowed etc. So there is just the cost of the paperwork ($14 here I think)
 
Well, not so promising... from notanumbers link:

If a defendant has no contact with your state, you'll generally have to sue in the state where the defendant lives or does business. Because of the distance involved, out-of-state small claims lawsuits tend to be expensive and unwieldy.


:(
 
No lawyers allowed? Hell if there are no lawyers I say go for it if you really feel like going through the trouble instead of taking a loss.

You could always use this as en excuse to see some new places. Maybe you could write off some of the traveling expense on your taxes? I don't know how deductions like that work as I've never paid taxes.
 
Well, not so promising... from notanumbers link:

If a defendant has no contact with your state, you'll generally have to sue in the state where the defendant lives or does business. Because of the distance involved, out-of-state small claims lawsuits tend to be expensive and unwieldy.


:(

"In some instances, you also may be able to sue in the location (court district) where a contract was signed or a personal injury occurred (such as an auto accident). Check with your small claims clerk for detailed rules."
 
Might I suggest calling/visiting your municipal courthouse and inquiring there? They would at least be able to tell you what you need to do.
~Joe
 
"In some instances, you also may be able to sue in the location (court district) where a contract was signed or a personal injury occurred (such as an auto accident). Check with your small claims clerk for detailed rules."


Hmmm, so the agreement was in a way signed here since it was on the computer? lol


And I guess a follow up to my prior quote... what is a "no contact" and what is the possibility he has one with my state? :p


justlikeapill- exactly :) And I think the TV courts... take people from 2 different states... And maybe pay for travel/stay... I may have to go visit..... Judge Judy (I think she's in florida :))
 
  • #10
I hear TV courts pay both parties for their appearances, so if you're not defending, you still get paid even if you lose.
~Joe
 
  • #11
My 2 cents since I used to work for a credit card company...

If you paid for this service using a credit card you can dispute the charge if the service was not performed. It's often an easier method for resolving these types of issues. The cc company will just move money around, sometimes regardless if right or wrong. 8)

-Nate.
 
  • #12
MrFlyTrap2- I paid using paypal, and they were able to "It's int he mail" me long enough that it was outside the disputable time frame.:censor: :headwall:
 
  • #13
I'm trying to remember what a lawyer told me 20 years ago. Something like you can file a complaint at the Sheriffs local to the jerk and they can file with small claims court - something like that. Isn't your brother a cop? Ask him - he should know some judges or the court clerk or whatever.
 
  • #14
yah, he's a cop for Oro Valley (a smaller town/city thing up north outside of Tucson) but as far as judges.. nah- he's not all in that yet... He's still fairly new, only a year or 2 on duty..
 
  • #15
Take them to Judge Judy! I would love to see Andrew on TV! What great publicity for your store.

Or, I think it's Eye for an Eye where the judge has a big baseball bat with the word "justice" carved into it. Depending on his verdict he lets you do unto them what they did onto you.

Good luck with this. I like the fact that you aren't in it for the money, but rather for what is "right." It's like Dana Carvey and he heart surgeries.

xvart.
 
  • #16
xvart- baseball bat would be a GREAT idea!! I talked to this guy on the phone (and actually it's "this kid" i think he said he was 19 or 20 or something...) he just sounds like some stoned out kid. He was telling me to make some changes to the server VIA SSH telnet, then he decided he wanted to do it himself, but I wasn't comfortable letting him have the controls like that... So I told him to just keep telling me what he wanted done and I'll make the changes. .. The phone went silent and he told me "Ah screw it, i'm in." I asked him what he ment, and he told me he has an online "tool for customers like you" that gets SSH passwords. This was still Phils password at the time and wasn't too strong. And THAT made me VERY uncomfortable!

The thing I like about Judy, is how she rips into the "stupid" people. And I really do think that this kid would show his dumb side pretty dang quick. I mean, I have a screen shot of him saying "the check is in the mail.. expect it within this week" and then follow up support tickets asking where the check was with no reply (they were just deleted....). I would think with that, it's no contest. ???
 
  • #17
And if they deleted your account, good ole' Judy would have a fit since it's impossible for them to claim you were not a customer with your evidence and screen shots.

"Was he or was he not a client?"

"Um... yes..."

"Then where are your records?"

xvart.
 
  • #18
This sounds like one of those "principle" things - aka: not following up would eat at your principles for letting some scum get away with something.

I'd gather all the info I could, keep getting advice - evaluate the options & costs, & if they weren't too egregious - plan on 1-3 quick trips up to small claims court in his state to get justice.

... just my 2 cents
 
  • #19
Here is another "forum" for you to voice your opinion. planetfeedback.com It worked for me with my tracphone issues, got a new phone and still haven't run out of free minutes. Just remember to write the complaint letter in a very factual and polite tone and see what happens !
 
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