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.
small claims court
Mugger Used Our Credit Card, Now CapitalOne Sued Us Without Us Knowing For $1200 And Won
By 3.20.08
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 3.3.08
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 2.22.08
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.
Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy
By 1.21.08
Taking a big company to small claims court sounds like a big hassle but reader Bill has done it successfully three times. He says the time and effort spent on taking a company to small claims court is far less then how it long it takes to get companies to fix above-average in complexity problems. [More]
Judge Judy's TV Court Isn't Real
By 12.17.07
We were operating under the misunderstanding that Judge Judy was a broadcast of an actual small claims court somewhere, but then our legal beagle intern Alex informed us that it’s really just arbitration dressed up to look like small claims court.
What People On Judge Judy Don't Know
By 12.11.07
Recently I’ve become intrigued by Judge Judy type small claims court TV shows. They offer a fascinating look at how little some people know about the legal system. Here’s what America learned in the past week or so:
Dell Arbitrarily Decides Your 2008 Warranty Ends In 2007
By 10.3.07
Dell has decided that Saundra’s warranty, which ends in 2008, ends in 2007, and won’t repair her motherboard for free. Saundra has informed them of the error and sent them the relevant documents, to which Dell has shrugged. Saundra has now decided to sue Dell in small claims court. Which mall kiosk which she deliver the court papers to? Who knows, there’s got to be thousands of them around the nation… Her story follows.
UPDATE: Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
By 6.21.07
We posted about how Ian started blogging his quest to get Sears to make up for delivering the wrong dryer, repeatedly. Now, the executive customer service types are ignoring his requests for a refund, despite their promises to do so in full. Ian has vowed to take Sears to small claims court-the last recourse for aggrieved customers.
Opt Out Of Comcast's Arbitration Agreement
By 5.21.07
If you’re a Comcast customer and in the event of a dispute, want to retain your right to sue Comcast in a court of law in a trial by judge or jury, a right afforded to you by the Constitution, rather than go by the decision of an arbitration company Comcast hires to mediate your dispute, fill out this opt-out form.
Man Gets Brand New Laptop After Suing HP In Small Claims Court For Losing His
By 4.18.07
HP seemed to have “lost” David Barzelay’s laptop when he sent it in for repairs. After a month of no laptop, HP wouldn’t replace it or return it.
How To Take Your Case To Small Claims Court
By 3.23.07
Small claims or conciliation court provides a way for individuals to settle their differences with the help of a neutral referee or judge. [More]
Man Sues Dell And Wins… By Serving Court Papers To The Mall Kiosk
By 12.13.06
A NJ man successfully sued Dell in small claims court using a unique approach. He had the court papers delivered to a Dell kiosk in the local mall. [More]
Neteller Takes a Gamble on Hidden Fees
By 3.21.06
Dustin signed up to do a lil online gambling and deposited some funds online. The transfer company snuck in an undisclosed 8% transfer fee.
