“I have researched his issues and based on our records the case is without merit,” wrote a Comcast spokesperson to local news investigator Amy Davis. She was looking into the case of Wayne, whose credit was damaged by Comcast just before he was going to refinance his house. This meant that on top of what he had already paid to lock in a lower interest rate, he had to pay several thousand dollars more. [More]
Family With Shattered TV Takes Best Buy To Court, Wins
By March 21, 2010
Remember the Florida family whose sad story of a smashed TV we shared on Super Bowl Sunday? When they unboxed their 50-inch plasma screen HDTV, they found a cracked screen and a world of sadness. They took a page from the Consumerist playbook and sued Best Buy in small claims court. When the mega-retailer failed to send a representative, they won a default judgment. [More]
Best Buy Sells Shattered TV In Time For Super Bowl Party
By February 7, 2010
On this, the holiest of all American TV-watching days, we’d like to share with you the horrific story of a Florida family whose Super Bowl viewing party will be a lot less intense than they had planned. The new, expensive HDTV they purchased from Best Buy was somehow shattered inside its box, and the retailer claims that it’s the family’s fault. [More]
Reader Receives $900 For Broken Laptop In Small Claims Court
By October 23, 2009
Ryan in North Dakota bought a very nice HP laptop in 2007. This particular model, he DV6000, has a certain flaw, and HP extended the warranty to cover inevitable repairs. But when the computer broke down for the second time at the tender age of two and a half years, and HP wouldn’t repair it for free, he was angry. He had expected to get at least four years’ use out of the laptop.
So You Want To Sue The Company That's Screwing You Over
By September 18, 2009
Jon wants us to recommend a good lawyer to sue HP for screwing him over on laptop repairs. We do not offer legal advice like that. We do, however, believe strongly in the power of small claims court.
Emailfinder.com Sells Wrong Info, Now Woman Has To Show Up In Small Claims Court
By July 14, 2009
Some guy in London fell for an online iPhone scam in January, so he paid $150 to emailfinder.com to track down the identity behind the Hotmail account of the person who scammed him. Now he’s suing Kim, who is completely unrelated to this story (or was, at least), for $4,368 to cover the $1200 he lost on the iPhone scam plus travel expenses for him to show up in small claims court here in the U.S.
Customer Sues Sears Over Bogus Black Friday Deal… And Wins
By April 2, 2009
Once upon a time, way back in November, a St. Louis MBA student named Cheri was the one of the first inside her local Sears store on Black Friday morning. She rushed to get the best deal they were offering — a washer and dryer for $599. To her dismay, she found out that the heavily advertised deal was not available — customers were being asked to pay now and get the washer and dryer in 30 days. Even with this disappointment, the deal was too good to pass up, so she agreed. Months later there was no sign of her washer and dryer, so she took Sears to court. And won.
How To File A Lawsuit
By December 1, 2008
Consumerist empowers consumers to take on bad companies, but sometimes even the negative PR that Consumerist can bring to bear is not enough to persuade companies to behave. When that happens, you might have to sue in order to get what you want. Here is a brief guide to your options when you decide you need to escalate your complaint to the courts.
Customer Sues Delta For Bogus Weather Cancellation, Wins
By September 5, 2008
Meet Mitchell Berns. Delta slapped him with a bogus weather cancellation and, rather than sit down and take it, he booked himself and his family on another flight — then sued Delta in small claims court and won a default judgment. Berns is a lawyer, but he didn’t do anything that you couldn’t do.
Tired Of Telemarketers? Try Suing Them
By August 29, 2008
In yesterday’s post on rude telemarketers and the people who hang up on them, reader/advice giver Amy Alkon said she just successfully sued a telemarketer in Santa Monica Small Claims Court—and won! If you’re one of those unlucky people who can’t get the calls to stop, here’s how she did it.
Hey, How Do I Sue Telemarketers Who Ignore The Do Not Call List?
By August 14, 2008
We’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from people who are fed up with telemarketers ignoring the Do Not Call list and want to take the bastards to court. Now, to be fair, sometimes the people who email don’t fully understand what is and what is not allowed under the law.
"An 'Illegal ETF' Destroyed My Credit. Can I Go To Small Claims Court?"
By August 4, 2008
“Jurgis” writes,
Travel Agency Charges For Airline Tickets, Cancel Tickets, Can't Be Reached For Refund
By July 14, 2008
Dhanushka is having some trouble getting money back from his travel agent. He writes,
Man Threatens To Sue Extortionist HVAC Company In Small Claims, Wins
By July 14, 2008
Last winter, David’s old furnace broke down. But things got really heated up when the incompetent HVAC repairmen he hired threatened to report him to collection agencies and put a lien on his condo when they wanted him to pay up for a repair they never finished. Just to give a little atmosphere, this takes place in Chicago, famed for its merciless winters. David’s story, and how fought back, inside…
Warranties: "It's Been 3 Weeks. I Don't Have Hot Water, And Sears Doesn't Care"
By April 16, 2008
Reader Christina has a (broken) water heater from Sears. It’s covered under a warranty, but Sears isn’t willing to replace it. She’s been without hot water for 3 weeks and Sears just doesn’t care.
Mugger Used Our Credit Card, Now CapitalOne Sued Us Without Us Knowing For $1200 And Won
By March 20, 2008
Andrew’s wife got mugged, the thief rand up purchases on her credit card, and now CapitalOne has sued them for $1200 and won. How can this be? Andrew writes:
In May of 2005 my wife was mugged at one of the elevated train stations in Chicago. After calling the police and filing a police report, she started calling each credit card company to cancel each account. Except she forgot about one card, her CapitalOne card. A card hardly ever used and only had a $500.00 limit…
Nissan Dealership Won't Refund Deposit
By March 3, 2008
Jay writes in with a question: how do you get back your deposit from a car dealership when a deal goes sour? The salesman jacked up the price after an initial negotiation, and now won’t refund the deposit: “He said we’d be surprised at what he can make up to keep the deposit.”
Librarian Takes Sprint Nextel & Wells-Fargo To Small Claims Court And Wins
By February 22, 2008
Last December, Theodore Karantsalis received a letter from Sprint, where he was a customer, telling him that someone who banks with Wells-Fargo—where he’s not a customer—was presented with his invoice and personal data when they logged into their Wells-Fargo Checkfree account. The customer contacted Sprint, and Sprint contacted Karantsalis. Karantsalis decided that he’d deal with the issue on his own instead of bringing a lawyer into it or throwing his hands up in frustration, so he took both companies to small claims court.
