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small-claims-court
small-claims-court
Honda Wins Reversal Of Small-Claims Judgment Over Hybrid Mileage
By Chris Morran on May 9, 2012 2:15 PM
52 Comments
Remember that story of the Honda owner who won nearly $10,000 in small claims court after she opted out of the $100-200 settlement from the class-action lawsuit alleging that the car maker made misleading claims about the gas mileage of its Civic hybrid vehicles? Well, her glory didn't last long. A judge in California has overturned that judgment. More »
Seattle Man Victorious Over Apple In Small Claims Court
By Chris Morran on April 17, 2012 2:16 PM
60 Comments
Chalk up another win for the little guy! A blogger in Seattle says he just wanted Apple to repair his MacBook as the company had promised. When Apple refused, he felt he had no other option but to take the computing colossus to court. More »
AT&T Writes Check To Victor In Small Claims Court Suit
By Chris Morran on March 19, 2012 11:34 AM
34 Comments
Even though AT&T had seemed quite intent on either appealing or coming to a different settlement with the California man who won a small claims court lawsuit against the company for throttling his so-called unlimited data plan, it now looks like the Death Star forces have retreated from this battle. More »
AT&T Offers To Discuss Settlement With Man Who Won Throttling Lawsuit
By Chris Morran on March 14, 2012 11:51 AM
97 Comments
UPDATE: While both the AP and CNET reported that the letter from AT&T's lawyer "threatened to shut off his service if he didn't sit down and talk with them," AT&T has reached out to Consumerist to clarify that the letter only threatens to terminate the customer's service only if he signed the nondisclosure agreement and then violated the terms of that agreement. We have subsequently confirmed this with a source who has seen a copy of the letter. More »
(andy_57)
Tips For Anyone Thinking Of Taking AT&T To Small Claims Court
By Chris Morran on February 28, 2012 11:15 AM
36 Comments
Last week, a man in California made headlines after his small claims court victory over AT&T for the wireless provider's throttling of his unlimited data plan. Since then, a number of AT&T customers have wondered if they also have grounds for a complaint. More »
(°Florian)
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 3:00 PM
111 Comments
Your cellphone rings from a number you don't recognize. You pick it up. At first there's silence. Then the sound of a call center kicks in and a person asks, "Hello, can I speak to Karen?" It's a telemarketer, or a debt collector, using an autodialer. And they just broke the law. And just for funsies, you can collect $500 or $1500 with just a few hours of work if you go after them. More »
Sears Repair Stands Customer Up 4 Times, Delays Repair 7 Weeks
By Laura Northrup on September 2, 2011 8:05 AM
63 Comments
It seemed to a California woman that spending a few hundred extra bucks on an extended warranty for her Sears washing machine was a good investment. And with a newborn in the house, the ability to summon a repairman with a phone call for no out-of-pocket cost. That's true: assuming they show up and actually repair the appliance. Local Sears employees instead dismantled the machine, ordered parts, and then proceeded to stand her up four times, leaving the family without a working washer for seven weeks. More »
Mother Wins $7,500 After Suing Debt Collector
By Ben Popken on May 19, 2011 3:00 PM
73 Comments
Mayling, mother of two, says she was inspired by Consumerist stories and when a harassing debt collector wouldn't stop calling her family, she took matters into her own hands. With a 6 month-old and a toddler in tow, she sued them in small claims court and won $7,500. This is her story. More »
(CJ Sorg)
College Kid Is Pro At Taking Companies To Small Claims Court
By Ben Popken on May 10, 2011 10:00 AM
58 Comments
Most of us have trouble scratching a simple customer service call off our to-do list, but The Red Tape Chronicles profiles a college kid who has turned taking companies to small claims court into a bit of a hobby. And he's won 10 out of 12 times. More »
Where Are They Now? Adam And The Nonexistent Home Warranty
By Laura Northrup on March 31, 2011 9:00 AM
44 Comments
Back in November 2009, we featured the story of Adam and his wife, who bought a house and were under the impression that this house included a one-year warranty. You can't blame them for having this impression, since it was included in the purchase and was supposed to be paid for by the listing agent. When the house's heat pump broke and they actually needed the warranty, they learned that the paperwork was never filed, and the promised warranty didn't exist. He asked the Consumerist Hive Mind for advice, and the Hive Mind delivered. But how did things turn out? More »
Man Wins $5,000 Suing Debt Collectors, Thanks To Google Voice
By Ben Popken on March 17, 2011 4:00 PM
86 Comments
Reader PJ sued a bunch of harassing debt collectors and won $5,000, and Google Voice made doing it really easy. Someone had put down his work cellphone number on their credit applications and ran up a bunch of debts and collectors started calling him multiple times per day. He told them he wasn't the guy and asked them nicely to stop, but that only made it worse. More »
(Ivy Darling)
This Is How I "Foreclosed" On Wells Fargo
March 3, 2011 11:00 AM
61 Comments
by Patrick Rodgers More »
(Kyle Cassidy)
Wells Fargo Negotiates With Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Their Branch
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2011 7:25 PM
77 Comments
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 »
(Kyle Cassidy)
Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It)
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2011 10:00 AM
184 Comments
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 »
(SL_SD)
HP Happy To Fix My Computer For Free After I Took Them To Small Claims Court
By Laura Northrup on August 6, 2010 8:00 AM
71 Comments
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 Ben Popken on August 3, 2010 11:00 AM
24 Comments
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 Ben Popken on April 9, 2010 1:00 PM
32 Comments
"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 Laura Northrup on March 21, 2010 3:00 PM
65 Comments
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 Laura Northrup on February 7, 2010 1:00 PM
132 Comments
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 Laura Northrup on October 23, 2009 6:45 PM
106 Comments
—>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. More »
