We want our money back.
April 22, 2015 12:08 PM Subscribe
Husband purchased car parts from business in Arkansas over the internet. Some but not all of the pieces were delivered. Money for those not delivered has never been refunded. Help us get this money back - level of difficulty: this happened almost a year ago.
Husband purchased several thousand dollars worth of parts of which a big part that cost $1100 was never delivered. He sent numerous emails and left messages requesting that the order be cancelled and refunded and received no reply. I have left messages for the guy asking for our money back. I have tried contacting an attorney in Arkansas (who is also the DA for the county) to get the money back and he won't call me back. We also filed a complaint with the BBB but it got no where since he is not a member.
What are some other ways to go about getting our money back? We have the documentation of the charge on our credit card, but it is too late to dispute it through Mastercard (or is it?). The guy is in the boonies in a section no where near a major city so we can't exactly call the action defender hotline of the local news station. His Facebook page will not accept messages or comments. I don't think he's on Twitter.
How do we get the money, or even some of it back? I do not want to give up and write it off since a) this is a lot of money and b) this guy is posting pictures of expensive toys and refusing to give us our money back.
Husband purchased several thousand dollars worth of parts of which a big part that cost $1100 was never delivered. He sent numerous emails and left messages requesting that the order be cancelled and refunded and received no reply. I have left messages for the guy asking for our money back. I have tried contacting an attorney in Arkansas (who is also the DA for the county) to get the money back and he won't call me back. We also filed a complaint with the BBB but it got no where since he is not a member.
What are some other ways to go about getting our money back? We have the documentation of the charge on our credit card, but it is too late to dispute it through Mastercard (or is it?). The guy is in the boonies in a section no where near a major city so we can't exactly call the action defender hotline of the local news station. His Facebook page will not accept messages or comments. I don't think he's on Twitter.
How do we get the money, or even some of it back? I do not want to give up and write it off since a) this is a lot of money and b) this guy is posting pictures of expensive toys and refusing to give us our money back.
it is too late to dispute it through Mastercard (or is it?)
The limit for credit card disputes is 60 days after the statement that contains the charge (thus, it could be up to 90 days). You're a bit further than that. You can try talking with your credit card issurer, but if they refund the charge, it'll be as a gesture of good faith, not out of any mandate.
How do we get the money, or even some of it back?
You file in small claims court against the guy. However, that is by no means a guarantee of getting your money back. You will be liable for all costs until a judgement is made (so you will have to front the cost of travelling to Arkansas to go to court, the cost of taking time off work to go to Arkansas to go to court, etc). You will have to arrange collection yourself if he doesn't pay immediately (and most collections agencies will take a cut of the proceeds). You will have to take the risk that the court doesn't award you all or any of the payment you request (for instance, it is common for many of the expenses just mentioned to be only partially reimbursed). You will have to figure out how to convince a judge in "the boonies" that you were actually defrauded, despite the fact that you did nothing about it for about a year. At the end of this, you may end up getting your money back. You may also end up even worse off than you are right now.
posted by saeculorum at 12:21 PM on April 22, 2015
The limit for credit card disputes is 60 days after the statement that contains the charge (thus, it could be up to 90 days). You're a bit further than that. You can try talking with your credit card issurer, but if they refund the charge, it'll be as a gesture of good faith, not out of any mandate.
How do we get the money, or even some of it back?
You file in small claims court against the guy. However, that is by no means a guarantee of getting your money back. You will be liable for all costs until a judgement is made (so you will have to front the cost of travelling to Arkansas to go to court, the cost of taking time off work to go to Arkansas to go to court, etc). You will have to arrange collection yourself if he doesn't pay immediately (and most collections agencies will take a cut of the proceeds). You will have to take the risk that the court doesn't award you all or any of the payment you request (for instance, it is common for many of the expenses just mentioned to be only partially reimbursed). You will have to figure out how to convince a judge in "the boonies" that you were actually defrauded, despite the fact that you did nothing about it for about a year. At the end of this, you may end up getting your money back. You may also end up even worse off than you are right now.
posted by saeculorum at 12:21 PM on April 22, 2015
Information about how to find an attorney is available on the MeFi Wiki Get a lawyer page. No one answering your question here is able to give you legal advice on what to do for your specific situation. You may want to contact an attorney or public interest law organization that has a focus on consumer law, because you may have a variety of options available to help resolve this issue. For example, the Arkansas Attorney General offers information about consumer protection that may be helpful for identifying issues to raise with your own attorney during a consultation.
posted by Little Dawn at 12:32 PM on April 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Little Dawn at 12:32 PM on April 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not your attorney, don't wanna be, etc.
State attorneys general usually handle consumer protection-type matters such as this if you can convince them to prosecute this matter for you. However, states have limited resources and usually go after big fish with a pattern of being shady, or a particular industry that's in the administration's crosshairs. And if you're not a citizen of the state, this likely one-off rip-off is much less likely to get their attention.
Your best bet now is to contact an attorney on your own, one that handles civil matters--usually, though not always, someone who serves as DA will be a criminal guy. This isn't necessarily a criminal fraud issue, so while I suppose you could contact the DA, they're not going to be inclined to weigh in on this sales contract dispute.
You need to consult with a civil attorney--for example, one who handles breach of contract or consumer protection issues--who can sue the guy or his business for you. You will have to pay this person, probably by the hour. If you're suing over a little over $1k, however, be prepared not to get a lot of response from attorneys unless you're okay with paying by the hour.
Check your receipt to see if it references any terms and conditions of sale. Also, go to the website of the seller and see if there are any terms and conditions links which might spell out what contractual remedies you have as purchaser. Do the receipt or website's terms limit your rights in any way?
Best of luck.
posted by resurrexit at 1:42 PM on April 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
State attorneys general usually handle consumer protection-type matters such as this if you can convince them to prosecute this matter for you. However, states have limited resources and usually go after big fish with a pattern of being shady, or a particular industry that's in the administration's crosshairs. And if you're not a citizen of the state, this likely one-off rip-off is much less likely to get their attention.
Your best bet now is to contact an attorney on your own, one that handles civil matters--usually, though not always, someone who serves as DA will be a criminal guy. This isn't necessarily a criminal fraud issue, so while I suppose you could contact the DA, they're not going to be inclined to weigh in on this sales contract dispute.
You need to consult with a civil attorney--for example, one who handles breach of contract or consumer protection issues--who can sue the guy or his business for you. You will have to pay this person, probably by the hour. If you're suing over a little over $1k, however, be prepared not to get a lot of response from attorneys unless you're okay with paying by the hour.
Check your receipt to see if it references any terms and conditions of sale. Also, go to the website of the seller and see if there are any terms and conditions links which might spell out what contractual remedies you have as purchaser. Do the receipt or website's terms limit your rights in any way?
Best of luck.
posted by resurrexit at 1:42 PM on April 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
(IAAL, IANYL, TINLA)
Small Claims Court may be your best bet, but you may be required to be an Arkansas citizen to file in Arkansas. Ask a local lawyer (if you are not in Arkansas) if you can file in small claims court in your state, and if not, whether they know someone who can help you file in Arkansas. You will almost certainly need to appear at any trial, so at trial I would ask for your travel expenses to be part of your damages.
If you do have to pay a lawyer to help you with this, ask whether attorney's fees can be awarded as well, although make sure you do a risk/reward analysis on lawyer's fees. It doesn't make any sense to pay $1500 to someone to collect $1100, with a hope that you'll get your legal fees back.
posted by China Grover at 1:50 PM on April 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Small Claims Court may be your best bet, but you may be required to be an Arkansas citizen to file in Arkansas. Ask a local lawyer (if you are not in Arkansas) if you can file in small claims court in your state, and if not, whether they know someone who can help you file in Arkansas. You will almost certainly need to appear at any trial, so at trial I would ask for your travel expenses to be part of your damages.
If you do have to pay a lawyer to help you with this, ask whether attorney's fees can be awarded as well, although make sure you do a risk/reward analysis on lawyer's fees. It doesn't make any sense to pay $1500 to someone to collect $1100, with a hope that you'll get your legal fees back.
posted by China Grover at 1:50 PM on April 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Contacting a DA is probably overkill, hence the lack of response, but small claims court might be your only or best option. Small claims is designed for such conflicts, but even then enforcement is tough with someone who's determined not to pay. You really, truly might be SOL.
Expect to do some legwork with small claims, but don't absolutely bank on getting your money back…and next time, your best track is to take the dispute to your CC company within your window of recourse.
posted by furnace.heart at 12:16 PM on April 22, 2015 [1 favorite]