14 ms·

To anyone more familiar with the subject: if a company illegally denied your warranty, is there any reason why small claims court wouldn't resolve the issue?

by Can_Not 10y ago

inputjoker 10y ago
Not exactly same, there was a case in India where the user has complaint about company not repairing his purchased hardware saying they don't have the parts anymore and the user has to buy new product for full cost. This was within 3 years of selling the product. Consumer court asked the company to either repair the hardware or give the new product free of charge.
RileyKyeden 10y ago
Arbitration clauses. I don't know if those have been tested in court.
- pdkl95 10y ago
  Clauses? Buying a game console at retail doesn't involve a contract. No arbitration clause has been agreed to. (demanding agreement to new terms after consideration has changed hands (such as an EULA inside the shrinkwrap or on first-boot) is not how contracts work)
  - monocasa 10y ago
    A few years ago I would have said that requiring millions of people to give up the ability to collectively sue in a class action via an obviously asymmetric contract wasn't how contracts worked either. I would not be surprised to see EULAs get more legal teeth at some point here.
edoceo 10y ago
In USA small claims cannot be used for a person suing a company. Its why there are not 1000s of small claims against Comcast
- noxryan 10y ago
  I've never heard of any restrictions suing a company in small claims. It looks like it does happen from time to time: https://consumerist.com/2010/04/09/judge-forces-comcast-to-pay-customer-5087/ https://consumerist.com/2010/04/09/judge-forces-comcast-to-p...
  - gruez 10y ago
    Emphasis on the last paragraph Most people don’t realize how easy it is to file a small claims court, and how good your odds are. You don’t even need a lawyer and it could cost only $50 in filing fees. To learn more about how to file in small claims, check out our posts, “How To File A Lawsuit” and “Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy.”
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Huh? What? This isn't remotely true at all, not in the least. You can sue a company in small claims court all you want, a company can and does also sue you in small claims court as well. My sister in law was sued in small claims court by a large company. If that were true nobody would be allowed to sue their landlord since many (most?) landlords operate as LLCs. Small claims court is the primary way landlord-tenant laws are enforced. Even if it was, nobody brings a small claims case in federal court, even if that was allowed. You bring a case in your State court and every single State has different rules and procedures for small claims court. There are plenty of small claims against Comcast. https://consumerist.com/2008/01/21/suing-big-companies-in-small-claims-court-is-fun-and-easy/ https://consumerist.com/2008/01/21/suing-big-companies-in-sm...
  - edoceo 10y ago
    Thank you! I had bad data.
tombrossman 10y ago
TL;DR - The possibility of Small Claims + attention to detail is all it takes, you rarely have to actually file and appear. I've done this with Sprint in the USA, and later with LG and HTC in the UK (they call it 'Petty Debts' but it's basically like Small Claims in the USA). Bottom line is that these stickers are effective - much like the parking lot signs that say how the lot owners 'accept no liability' for damage to your car. Whether they accept liability is irrelevant, you can still sue and a court may assign liability whether they like it or accept it or not. This point is overlooked by many who don't want the hassle and that's why such signs (and stickers) are effective. They are just part of a layered defense, and anyone with the will to pursue a claim can still prevail. It's not as if you show up in court and they point to the damaged sticker on your laptop and the judge says 'case dismissed' or whatever. They have to actually defend their point that their warranty does not apply because of some silly sticker (it almost certainly does). LG, Sprint, and HTC all did the right thing ultimately when I sent a properly formatted business letter demanding that they uphold their end of the warranty terms, and giving them a deadline of ten days to comply or they were going to be sued in Small Claims. I kept it short and sweet, and attached a comprehensive time-line with exact times, dates, and names of everyone involved's correspondence and what they said. It was a bit of a hassle but still cheaper than repairing or replacing an expensive handset off-contract. They'll usually send an NDA that they want signed before they pay out, and you can ignore that and let them know the ten-day clock is still ticking. They may also ask you to log in to their support website which subjects you to additional T&C's more restrictive than your legal rights - avoid that, it's a minefield! Stick to registered postal mail sent to the companies registered business address. I think they assess what it will cost to repair versus what it will cost them to show up in some random county court, and cut their losses when it becomes clear a customer has no intention of giving up. Having complete documentation plus a time-line with everyone's names that you spoke to is the single most effective tool to win when you are up against a big company, so always plan offensively from the start of any trouble with a device and keep a simple text file that you maintain for reference. You shouldn't do any of the above if you really did break the device by doing something stupid, just take the loss and buy a cheap or refurb replacement. Don't try to lie and plan on them not showing up and you winning a default judgement. But if the company is doing you wrong, by all means go after those bastards.

To anyone more familiar with the subject: if a company illegally denied your warranty, is there any reason why small claims court wouldn't resolve the issue?

by Can_Not 10y ago

To anyone more familiar with the subject: if a company illegally denied your warranty, is there any reason why small claims court wouldn't resolve the issue?

inputjoker 10y ago

Not exactly same, there was a case in India where the user has complaint about company not repairing his purchased hardware saying they don't have the parts anymore and the user has to buy new product for full cost. This was within 3 years of selling the product. Consumer court asked the company to either repair the hardware or give the new product free of charge.

RileyKyeden 10y ago

Arbitration clauses. I don't know if those have been tested in court.

pdkl95 10y ago
Clauses? Buying a game console at retail doesn't involve a contract. No arbitration clause has been agreed to. (demanding agreement to new terms after consideration has changed hands (such as an EULA inside the shrinkwrap or on first-boot) is not how contracts work)
- monocasa 10y ago
  A few years ago I would have said that requiring millions of people to give up the ability to collectively sue in a class action via an obviously asymmetric contract wasn't how contracts worked either. I would not be surprised to see EULAs get more legal teeth at some point here.

edoceo 10y ago

In USA small claims cannot be used for a person suing a company. Its why there are not 1000s of small claims against Comcast

noxryan 10y ago
I've never heard of any restrictions suing a company in small claims. It looks like it does happen from time to time: https://consumerist.com/2010/04/09/judge-forces-comcast-to-pay-customer-5087/ https://consumerist.com/2010/04/09/judge-forces-comcast-to-p...
- gruez 10y ago
  Emphasis on the last paragraph Most people don’t realize how easy it is to file a small claims court, and how good your odds are. You don’t even need a lawyer and it could cost only $50 in filing fees. To learn more about how to file in small claims, check out our posts, “How To File A Lawsuit” and “Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy.”
nommm-nommm 10y ago
Huh? What? This isn't remotely true at all, not in the least. You can sue a company in small claims court all you want, a company can and does also sue you in small claims court as well. My sister in law was sued in small claims court by a large company. If that were true nobody would be allowed to sue their landlord since many (most?) landlords operate as LLCs. Small claims court is the primary way landlord-tenant laws are enforced. Even if it was, nobody brings a small claims case in federal court, even if that was allowed. You bring a case in your State court and every single State has different rules and procedures for small claims court. There are plenty of small claims against Comcast. https://consumerist.com/2008/01/21/suing-big-companies-in-small-claims-court-is-fun-and-easy/ https://consumerist.com/2008/01/21/suing-big-companies-in-sm...
- edoceo 10y ago
  Thank you! I had bad data.

tombrossman 10y ago

TL;DR - The possibility of Small Claims + attention to detail is all it takes, you rarely have to actually file and appear. I've done this with Sprint in the USA, and later with LG and HTC in the UK (they call it 'Petty Debts' but it's basically like Small Claims in the USA). Bottom line is that these stickers are effective - much like the parking lot signs that say how the lot owners 'accept no liability' for damage to your car. Whether they accept liability is irrelevant, you can still sue and a court may assign liability whether they like it or accept it or not. This point is overlooked by many who don't want the hassle and that's why such signs (and stickers) are effective. They are just part of a layered defense, and anyone with the will to pursue a claim can still prevail. It's not as if you show up in court and they point to the damaged sticker on your laptop and the judge says 'case dismissed' or whatever. They have to actually defend their point that their warranty does not apply because of some silly sticker (it almost certainly does). LG, Sprint, and HTC all did the right thing ultimately when I sent a properly formatted business letter demanding that they uphold their end of the warranty terms, and giving them a deadline of ten days to comply or they were going to be sued in Small Claims. I kept it short and sweet, and attached a comprehensive time-line with exact times, dates, and names of everyone involved's correspondence and what they said. It was a bit of a hassle but still cheaper than repairing or replacing an expensive handset off-contract. They'll usually send an NDA that they want signed before they pay out, and you can ignore that and let them know the ten-day clock is still ticking. They may also ask you to log in to their support website which subjects you to additional T&C's more restrictive than your legal rights - avoid that, it's a minefield! Stick to registered postal mail sent to the companies registered business address. I think they assess what it will cost to repair versus what it will cost them to show up in some random county court, and cut their losses when it becomes clear a customer has no intention of giving up. Having complete documentation plus a time-line with everyone's names that you spoke to is the single most effective tool to win when you are up against a big company, so always plan offensively from the start of any trouble with a device and keep a simple text file that you maintain for reference. You shouldn't do any of the above if you really did break the device by doing something stupid, just take the loss and buy a cheap or refurb replacement. Don't try to lie and plan on them not showing up and you winning a default judgement. But if the company is doing you wrong, by all means go after those bastards.