Should I sue Apple over unpaid interview expenses?

March 7, 2007 5:36 AM

Apple won't pay my travel expenses for an interview in London I attended a year ago despite saying they would (£50). Should I try to take them to the small claims court? What can I do?

I attended two interviews at Apple last year. I didn't ask about travel expenses for the first one. However when they asked me back to talk about a different role I asked about travel costs and they said they would pay for it.

I was unsuccessful for both roles. However my interviewer took copies of my tickets and said he would 'sort it with HR'.

This hasn't happened. It's very irritating more than anything. Should I take them to the small claims court? I have the following emails below. Last contact was in September. But it still annoys me.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -




Hi ******,

Sorry for not getting back to you !

The position is still open actually so I have not sent out a final answer to anyone.
Your interview with ***** did not work that well (according to *****) and I thought
he made that clear with you. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I am trying to get HR to do the refund.

Best regards,
****


From: ******
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:21:42 +0100 (BST)
To: ******
Subject: Re: ****

****,

I wanted to write and thank you for the opportunity to come and interview at Apple. I was disappointed not to hear anything back from you, not even a polite decline.

I wonder if I could enquire as to why I was unsuccessful. I would also be interested if you will be forwarding me the £51 travel expenses I incurred and which you said you would refund me?

Thanks

*******

posted by tomw to Work & Money (17 answers total)

Just email the same person and ask them about the money. Be polite but firm.

Did they send you another email after the one you posted?
posted by bshort at 5:44 AM on March 7, 2007

Yeah, I agree with bshort. Just email again. Is is possible that they thought they were only going to reimburse you if you were hired? Seems strange, but who knows.
posted by sneakin at 5:52 AM on March 7, 2007

Nah, just take them to court. That will unwedge the money on the quick.
posted by crhanson at 6:39 AM on March 7, 2007

Best answer: I'd let it go. Though it's unfair that a rich company like Apple can stiff you out of travel expenses (especially when they promised to pay), it's not really worth the risk of being branded as difficult or a complainer in Apple's eyes. You may want to interview for them again in the future...

I'm guessing that if you interviewed at such a well-heeled company, you can probably afford the loss of £51. If you can't, look at it this way: the time (and thus money) you spend getting it back will probably be higher that the amount you are trying to reclaim.
posted by pollystark at 6:45 AM on March 7, 2007 [2 favorites]

Should I try to take them to the small claims court?

Probably not.

I doubt it was malice that stopped the payment. It's likely that there is no procedure in place for such reimbursements, so good intentions got stymied by accounting systems.

Something to consider: court documents are (at least in the United States) public. If these documents were made easily searchable and put into a database, such a lawsuit would make you an extraordinarily undesirable candidate for any position, in any company.

After all, who would want to hire somebody with a history of litigating over petty matters?

Besides, 51GBP isn't very much. If memory serves, I routinely paid 35-40GBP just to park my rental car for a day.
posted by PEAK OIL at 7:05 AM on March 7, 2007

Seriously, ask them again. If you haven't heard anything back but you haven't asked since receiving that email in SEPTEMBER, they've probably just forgotten.

I have sometimes had to ask five times (it's bad, but it does happen) for payment on invoices for work I've done, so it's not at all surprising that this has fallen through the cracks. Just ask about it again - really.
posted by different at 7:23 AM on March 7, 2007

Give them a call and a gentle reminder. You'll have a hard time getting them to remember but it's a darn site easier than going thru the Small Claims Court. Plus going down that road will burn your bridges with them.

But then many an employer will claim to reimburse interview expenses and then never get around to it due to lack of procedure or whatever.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 7:31 AM on March 7, 2007

they've probably just forgotten.

I agree. Send an email or regular letter. I would include another copy of the tickets; they probably lost the first one by now.
posted by caddis at 7:38 AM on March 7, 2007

Plus going down that road will burn your bridges with them.


Agreed, badlydubbedboy. Taking them to small claims would make your name mud if you try to get a job in that circle.
posted by dr_dank at 7:50 AM on March 7, 2007

As a side point of information, it took me 4 or 5 months to get interview expenses paid back for a job interview I had last year (and they were considerably higher than yours, in the thousands of dollars)--and that was given that I actually *got* the job. The processes for this stuff go through a lot of people, and quite a few of them likely only have a limited understanding of how it works, since the hiring manager probably doesn't handle expenses for non-employees very often. If you really want the money, press it by email one more time, as the manager may need reminding to deal with a task s/he finds frustrating and bureaucratic.

But don't take it to small claims. It'll make you look petty, and it'll leave people wondering if you're suing because you really need the money (when suing will likely cost you more time and aggravation than the trip), or because you're angry you didn't get the job.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:50 AM on March 7, 2007

You lucked out only being down 51 pounds. I have in my house a check for over $300 that I have yet to deposit, because a company I interviewed with didn't pay for my room and I had to stay overnight. I've been on many nonlocal interviews and this is the first one where I've ever been billed for the hotel room. It struck me as very odd. I was realllly scared they weren't going to give me back the money because it did take quite a while...but not on the order of what you're looking at.

I don't think it's worth the trouble of small claims court. Count your blessings.

And, woo, welcome to the fraternal order of people who tried and failed to get a job at Apple.
posted by crinklebat at 9:10 AM on March 7, 2007

Submit an invoice directly to the AP department. Reference the date of travel, the person you interviewed, the position for which you applied, and include any documentation you have, such as the person who took the ticket stubs from you and copies of the emails about the reimbursement.

Keep in mind that the person who promised reimbursement has no actual power to get a check cut. You'll have to go around them.

I can't speak to a British small claims system but in an American system, you probably wouldn't prevail, as there was no actual contract, not even an implied one. If the person said he would "try" to get you reimbursed, then the odds of you actually collecting via the legal system is slim.
posted by dejah420 at 9:19 AM on March 7, 2007

If these documents were made easily searchable and put into a database, such a lawsuit would make you an extraordinarily undesirable candidate for any position, in any company.

Not really. Just companies that are running a check to make sure that you won't resist when they fuck you in the ass.
posted by bingo at 10:55 AM on March 7, 2007

I think people are overstating the difficulty of small claims in England. It's easy to start a court claim that only involves money. You can even do it online. There is no "small claims court," only a small claims track of the ordinary county court. The court will decide which track to allocate your case to, but for a small amount it would usually be the small claims track.

Now the question of whether you would prevail. First, keep in mind that I am not a lawyer, and this is not a substitute for professional legal advice (which of course costs way more than £51).

First, was there a contract or not? The question is vague. If the person said they would reimburse for travel expenses before you went the second time, then there would be a contract. If they said they would try to do so after you already were there interviewing, then there's no contract.

Even if there was a contract, I assume you don't have anything in writing, so you'd have to prove it. If Apple disputes the promise, then you are in trouble.

What happens if you lose? Well, you'd be out your court fee (£30), and perhaps their travel expenses (how ironic) but you wouldn't have to pay their legal fees. Basically you are gambling £30 to possibly win £51 if you can convince the judge there was a contract, which Apple may disagree with.

What all this boils down to is just send them a polite e-mail again instead of suing them. Then you can think about suing.
posted by grouse at 1:40 PM on March 7, 2007

Did you actually get a promise of reimbursement?

From the e-mails that you have provided, it appears that the interviewer only stated that he would ask Human Resources about reimbursing you for your travel costs:

"I am trying to get HR to do the refund."

I have learned the hard way that if I do not have a promise in writing, then I should never believe the verbal promise of an employer / potential employer.
posted by cinemafiend at 3:36 PM on March 7, 2007

IANAL
However, "I am trying to get HR to do the refund" is an admission that they recognize the debt.

Like everyone said, this amount is too petty to bother a court. You may bother Apple all you wish about it. Posting here was a good start, IMO.
posted by Goofyy at 8:25 AM on March 8, 2007

Response by poster: I emailed one last time. No answer. I'm leaving it. I think it's disappointing... but that's life.
posted by tomw at 2:12 AM on March 27, 2007