Wells Fargo had a nice phone call this afternoon with the Goth homeowner who “foreclosed” on one of their local branches. “The sheriff’s sale will not be happening,” the Wells Fargo spokesperson told me with a laugh. “We are working with him towards a resolution that works for everyone.” She acknowledged that it should have never gotten to this point. “We should have called him before this.” UPDATE: Here’s what homeowner Patrick said of the conversation: [More]
small claims court
Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It)
By 2.18.11
Wells Fargo is meeting today at noon with the Philadelphia homeowner who “foreclosed” on them, The Consumerist has exclusively learned. Patrick says he “received a call from upon high” late yesterday and that he now has an appointment, “with a very senior Wells Fargo person.” It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But how did Patrick go from embattled and ignored homeowner to seated across the negotiating table with leverage? I spoke with him to find out more about both how and why he did what he did. His story is an inspiration to anyone who’s dreamed of going toe-to-toe with the big banks and winning. Turns out that armed with persistence, and a little legal know-how, Davids can take down Goliaths. [More]
HP Happy To Fix My Computer For Free After I Took Them To Small Claims Court
By 8.6.10
Do you have a defective computer that the manufacturer refuses to repair? Emmanuel has some advice for you: take ’em to court. Facing a constantly rebooting laptop, he tells Consumerist that HP was only willing to fix it if he paid a $225 fee. Unsatisfied with this solution, he filed in small claims court, and the company offered to fix it for free. As long as he drops the case. [More]
Before Suing A Company In Small Claims, Look Up The "Registered Agent"
By 8.3.10
Suing a company in small claims court is fun and easy and oftentimes the company won’t even try to fight back. One thing you want to make sure to remember though is to look up the company’s “registered agent” in the state where you are filing. If you don’t serve this person with notice of the case, it could result in a dismissal. [More]
Judge Forces Comcast To Pay Customer $5,087
By 4.9.10
“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 3.21.10
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 2.7.10
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 10.23.09
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 9.18.09
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 7.14.09
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 4.2.09
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 12.1.08
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 9.5.08
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 8.29.08
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 8.14.08
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.
Travel Agency Charges For Airline Tickets, Cancel Tickets, Can't Be Reached For Refund
By 7.14.08
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 7.14.08
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…
