anyone a lawyer? need legal advice

GingerSnark

I have to file a small claims complaint. Do I file in my county or the county in which the business is that I'm going after?

Also, the form says the Plantiff(s) residence which I don't have. All I have is the business address. Can I use that? There isn't anyway these people are going to give me their home address. they wouldn't even tell me they were the owners, I had to dig up that info online.

I went through my states Attorney General's Office for Consumer Fraud. They seemed like they were helping but in the long run, they cant force the business to give me a refund. They don't ticket or fine the business either which makes me wonder what is the point of the office.

The short version of the story is we put down $290 on a wedding cake at a bakery that came very highly recommended. There were some warning signs that they might have poor customer service but I hoped for the best. This was in April of 2009. Well come January of this year I tried to order the sample cake to finalize flavors. It was like pulling teeth. I decided I don't want this bakery left to trust me big day with so I was canceling the order.

The don't cancel ever is what I was told. We were verbally informed when we ordered (we were not). I said we didn't sign anything which said that (there was no contract). I got into it with the lady & said if need be I would go to small claims court. She was going to hang up on me at the very mention. I asked for the owners names & she refused.

I had to find out through searching the internet she was the owner. So I filed a report w/ the Attorney General. The facilitated correspondence through the bakery who denied everything & turned it around to make us look like the bad guys. They should've known but they didn't want to see the red flags with us ordering our wedding cake a year in advance & so on.

They said they never told us they would not refund the deposit. They sent a form for us to fill out that said 2 - 4 weeks for the full refund to process. It's beyond 4 weeks & still nothing. I was advised by the Attorney General to get a lawyer & go through small claims.

The website for the bakery lists their cancellation policy as a full refund up to 30 days prior to the event minus $50. The bakery told the Attorney Generals office they would give a full refund. We responded back to their allegations & said we accept the full refund & that's when they stopped corresponding with the Attorney General.

It's such a pain to deal with but this bakery has some of the shadiest people i have ever dealt with. Any legal advise?

dwarfer22

I am not a lawyer but i do know one thing. the plaintiff is you. defendant is bakery. so plainiffs address should be your info not their's. Hope that helps. the rest i have no idea.

SageGoddess320

For $300, I would just let it go. It sounds like way more of a hassle than it's worth in the long run.

foxxybrown

One additional thing you can do is report your claim to the better business bureau. www.bbb.org

surlydave

I am a lawyer and was once licensed in IL but that's on inactive status now (I have lived in Indiana for the last 14 years). The previous post was correct, you are the plaintiff, they are the defendant, and you should be able to sue them in their business name using their business adress. You may want to check with the Secretary of State as corporations generally have to be registered and name "registered agent" that receives service of things like lawsuits.

You will probably have to file this in the county where the business is located. The general rule is that it should be filed either where the defendant is located or where the majority of the actions that form the basis of the complaint took place (probably their shop in your case).

I would think the letter they sent to the Attorney General could be helpful, but their website should be damning to them.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

surlydave

One other thing.... the small claims clerk in the county you file in should be there to help you with a lot of this.

red01angel

I agree with gutterball...unless you really need the $300 back...but I'd also make sure to post a scathing review of the bakery on websites like yelp, citysearch theknot, etc etc. I think that negative "press" has the most potential to hit them where it hurts the most, as well as save other customers the trouble you're going through.

byHisgrace

For $300, I would just let it go. It sounds like way more of a hassle than it's worth in the long run.

Have you ever heard someone say small claims is never about the money? It's worth it, trust me, I've been a situation like this, and won.

No advice as it sounds like you already have some sound legal advice on the matter.

Good for you for going after these people. Some businesses get away with doing things like this a few times and then they believe they can do it to anyone. It may be a lot of hassle for $300 but I'm sure they will think twice before pulling something like this again after having been sued. Also, make sure you file a BBB complaint.

GingerSnark

$300 is alot of money to let go when we are clearly in the right. I might let $20 go...but these people were so rude I would fight them for $20

I did write honest reviews on various sites. And they must have known to check b/c they printed them out & sent them to the Attorney General when they responded to our initial complaint. They said we were on a smear campaign from the start.

I am shocked that a business can get away with this after they have their cancellation policy posted on their web site. That even after they say they will grant a full refund, then don't...the office of consumer fraud protection pretty much didn't protect me from fraud at all.

That I have to put more time & effort into getting my hard earned money back to these lying cheats...its $106 to file these papers & even more to hire a lawyer. Plus after reading up even though we might have the favor granted to us in court saying yes they must pay...the court still cant force them to pay. I still would have to go through more trouble & time to file for garnishment or something to finally get the money.

We really need to money. I cant imagine anyone being well off enough to let $300 slip away to a fraudulent business especially in these tough financial times. Were planning a wedding. Every penny counts right now.

surlydave

You can recover the filing fee on top of whatever you get back from the deposit. If the small claims court rules in your favor and enters a judgment against them, it's true that doesn't mean they have to whip out the checkbook right there in court. If they don't pay, yes you have to back to the court to do things to collect the debt, it's not entirely hopeless, just time consuming.

GingerSnark

You may want to check with the Secretary of State as corporations generally have to be registered and name "registered agent" that receives service of things like lawsuits.

Thanks for the advice. I did check the website. I looked by name, under LLCs & Corps & couldn't find the business.

imagymrat

For $300, I would just let it go. It sounds like way more of a hassle than it's worth in the long run.

Have you ever heard someone say small claims is never about the money? It's worth it, trust me, I've been a situation like this, and won.

No advice as it sounds like you already have some sound legal advice on the matter.

Good for you for going after these people. Some businesses get away with doing things like this a few times and then they believe they can do it to anyone. It may be a lot of hassle for $300 but I'm sure they will think twice before pulling something like this again after having been sued. Also, make sure you file a BBB complaint.

I totally agree with you. It may be only a nominal amount of money, but what if this happens on a regular basis, these people are getting rich on being dishonest and conducting bad business. I've had to take people to court before as well, bad tenants, and everytime it was worth the effort, not to mention that if you win you can even go as ar as contacting your local newspaper and perhaps convincing them to do an article, you'll find out more often then not, that you're not the only one they've scammed.

surlydave

Just use the business address then. It should be fine.

GingerSnark

You can recover the filing fee on top of whatever you get back from the deposit. If the small claims court rules in your favor and enters a judgment against them, it's true that doesn't mean they have to whip out the checkbook right there in court. If they don't pay, yes you have to back to the court to do things to collect the debt, it's not entirely hopeless, just time consuming.

I know we can ask for court fees & attorney costs too but the problem is getting the money upfront. We live paycheck to paycheck with no savings. The wedding is going on a credit card that were tying to pay down as we go. We'd have to save up to file the complaint. I don't even know what it would cost to get a lawyer.

jennylynn84

We really need to money. I cant imagine anyone being well off enough to let $300 slip away to a fraudulent business especially in these tough financial times. Were planning a wedding. Every penny counts right now.

This is always true, I know I don't have it. But make sure you tally up all the costs of trying to drag $300 from them. If it's $106 just to file, plus attorney costs. True you can try and get that money from them as well, but as you're saying they might still not pay even after the court rules they should... you could be out well over $300 and while they might eventually pay you.... it could be a very long while.

I definitely understand though. I hate getting robbed of money like that. People/companies think that if it's for a small enough amount, you won't fight it so they just don't rip off more than a certain amount.

Feel bad for you though - wedding planning can be stressful enough without crappy people like them.

Marcy79

sounds like a case for Judge Judy :happy:

surlydave

The county may allow you to have the filing fee waived in certain circumstances. Honestly, $106 seems awfully high for small claims court. That is close to what it costs to file a "normal" lawsuit here. Tell me what county or counties we are talking about and I can try to look it up for you. (If you want just shoot me a message via my profile).

SPRINGTIME25

well i agree cant just "give 300 dollars away".....Congrats on getting married....just remember an eye for an eye....I know its alot of money but like you posted its going to coast you a lot more for paper work...Just remember what goes around comes around and they well have to answer to the big man in the end..... dont forget to do your part really forgive and just remember it well be a story to tell your Gkids when your 80 telling them about the baker who ripped you off at a very tough time in life......to the girl who said let the 300 dollars go.....if you got 300 dollars to 'just let go" you can give it to gingersnark to help with her wedding...

TJLakewood

You definately could apply for Judge Judy etc.

GingerSnark

to the girl who said let the 300 dollars go.....if you got 300 dollars to 'just let go" you can give it to gingersnark to help with her wedding...

Amen!

GingerSnark

You definately could apply for Judge Judy etc.

I am sending emails to various local newspapers seeing if they would be interested in the story. Maybe they need to be publicly embarrassed & see their business decline if a paper reports on their fraudulent activities.

I don't want to go all Judge Judy. I don't want to show my mug on tv. I'm not looking for that kind of attention, or any attention for that matter. I just want my refund.

TJLakewood

I definately understand that. However it's a guaranteed way to get your money. I didn't know this until I met a guy who was on Judge Judy... when he won the suit, the program pays for the defendant. I'm not sure if the defendant has to pay them back or not, but he was guaranteed his money just by winning.

The newspaper thing just might put a buzz in their ear though if that's the only choice you have... or if it's principle over the money. However if you want or need the money, then my opinion is try and get the money. Sorry to hear about this inconvenience in your life.

lisawest

My sister is almost done with a small claims suit she filed two years ago this September. She did not get a lawyer. The clerk has been VERY helpful to her. My sister has filed garnishment papers to get her money back, but it was from an individual not a business.

Unless your state or county mandates a lawyer, I would forgo one. You've got a lot of good info from here, and if you have more questions, you can always post again!

Good luck getting your money!

byHisgrace

I definately understand that. However it's a guaranteed way to get your money. I didn't know this until I met a guy who was on Judge Judy... when he won the suit, the program pays for the defendant. I'm not sure if the defendant has to pay them back or not, but he was guaranteed his money just by winning.

The newspaper thing just might put a buzz in their ear though if that's the only choice you have... or if it's principle over the money. However if you want or need the money, then my opinion is try and get the money. Sorry to hear about this inconvenience in your life.

The producers also scan for things that might be interesting. I don't know how they did it but they found out about our local 4-H suing an auction winner and contacted the plantiff (leader of that 4-H club I think?). We live in a, until recently unkown, rural county in Michigan. 4-H declined to do the show, not all publicity is good publicity when you work with kids. However, you could be contacted by them? Might be worth it to get the word out about them too.

As for $300 not being a lot of money, are you kidding me??? That kind of attitude is exactly why this bakery thinks they can treat people like this in the first place.

Breckgirl

well i agree cant just "give 300 dollars away".....Congrats on getting married....just remember an eye for an eye....I know its alot of money but like you posted its going to coast you a lot more for paper work...Just remember what goes around comes around and they well have to answer to the big man in the end..... dont forget to do your part really forgive and just remember it well be a story to tell your Gkids when your 80 telling them about the baker who ripped you off at a very tough time in life......to the girl who said let the 300 dollars go.....if you got 300 dollars to 'just let go" you can give it to gingersnark to help with her wedding...

$300 is a a lot of money to "walk away from." $300 is ...

9 months of my water/waste bills
7 months of electric bills
5 months of cell phone bills
1 month of groceries
31 tickets to the movies
20 two topping pizzas
10 spa peticures
a day of spa treatments and a great lunch


Any of the above I would prefer to spend my $300 on rather than "gifting" it to someone who gave my bad service! You go for it honey. I've been in small claims court three times and won everytime without the help of an attorney. You just need to have your facts straight and as much documentation as possible to back up your claim. Keep emotions out of it and stick to the facts and the courts will do the rest.

And if it makes you feel any better, I had a five tier wedding cake that was beautiful...and would have fallen over on it's face if my groom and I didn't stand there and hold it up! We left the top three tiers sitting on the table until it was time to cut the cake, then we put the m on the rest of the cake and discreetly held them up until the cake pictures were taken, then we removed them and put them back on the table. When mom took the cake plates and hardware back to the bakery she told them what happened. She was told that the samething happened just two weeks before at another wedding. Mom told them that they should have figured out what cause it and demand her money back. They gave it to her with no arguement, as it should have been for you. I had forgotten that about my wedding...thanks for reminding me and putting a smile on my face! Good luck to you and your groom!

SageGoddess320

I never said that $300 was not a lot of money or that it was no big deal that she was getting screwed. I simply stated that it might not be worth the pain in the butt it takes to get it back in the long run. Things like this can drag on and on for a considerable amount of time. Spending more money on lawyers & paperwork, missing work to go to court (not to mention all the added stress from dealing with the jerks, on top of all the wedding crap) might not pay off in the end. I understand that it is the principle of the matter and not just all about the money. I'd like to see the thieves choke on it too.....but things don't always turn out the way they should. I sincerely hope you win. Good luck!

GingerSnark

We filled our complaint in small claims court pro se (without a lawyer). It was $140 to file plus the $5 fee. We also had to pay for the Sheriff to serve the papers. $54 ($38 base then $.50 per mile to the location in the county). Papers were served successfully & our court date is May 24th. We asked for the the full refund of $290 plus costs.

Costs include the $145 to file & the $54 to serve. We are also going to ask for wages lost. So the $290 they couldve refunded in January might end up costing them $600 in the long run plus all the poor reviews on the online websites I have given.

I will update again the day of court.

mommared53

I hope things work out for you. What a lot of crap to have to deal with on what's supposed to be one of the happiest occasions of your life. Good luck. :flowerforyou:

Breckgirl

Get your facts straight and be cool...Good luck and let us know the out come.

KarenECunningham

I don't know if you already tried this but report them to the Better Business Bureau. I have found that very helpful when I want to get the attention of a business. I had an ambulance company send me to collections for a charge that was not for me or my husband. In fact when the trip happened I was living over 600 miles away. They were incredibly rude until I reported them to the BBB. I suggest using written correspondence rather than over the phone and cc: on the bottom to whoever you are sending a copy to. Send all correspondence certified mail with a receipt. For some reason certified mail is also helpful. Good Luck.

watsonmonica1

I am not a lawyer but i do know one thing. the plaintiff is you. defendant is bakery. so plainiffs address should be your info not their's. Hope that helps. the rest i have no idea. tongue


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