Cellular phones topics - Re: Going to small claims court tomorrow against Sprint; any suggestions?

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Re: Going to small claims court tomorrow against Sprint; any suggestions?

Evan Platt

2007-08-23, 10:33 pm

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:39:44 +0000 (UTC), jik@kamens.brookline.ma.us
(Jonathan Kamens) wrote:

> 262.49 cost of phone
> 1.17 postage for letters and bills from plaintiff to defendant
> XXX.XX lost wages to appear in court (*)
> --------
> sub. XXX.XX
> XXX.XX trebled damages under MGL 93A
> --------
> sub. X,XXX.XX
> XX.XX 12% statutory interest (**)
> --------
> sub. X,XXX.XX
> 40.00 filing fee
> --------
> TOTAL X,XXX.XX

Why not just dispute the credit card charge?

And at least here in California, the last time I went to small claims,
you couldn't add on 'trbled damages' or anything - no pain and
suffering, etc.
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Jonathan Kamens

2007-08-23, 10:33 pm

Evan Platt <evan@theobvious.espphotography.com> writes:
>Why not just dispute the credit card charge?

Been there, done that, got the T shirt.

I disputed the charge. The credit card company contacted
Sprint, and Sprint sent them a copy of the invoice from when
I purchased the phone. I never disputed purchasing the
phone; what Sprint didn't bother to tell the credit card
company was that I returned it afterwards. This is all
mentioned in the document I posted. Perhaps you did not
read all of it.

The folks at Discover Card told me that if I could come up
with proof that I returned the phone (proof which I did
subsequently manage to come up with), they would reconsider
the dispute. By that point, however, I was sufficiently
pissed at Sprint that I decided to sue them instead, in
particular because I felt that I had an excellent case for
triple damages under MGL Chapter 93A.

>And at least here in California, the last time I went to small claims,
>you couldn't add on 'trbled damages' or anything - no pain and
>suffering, etc.

If that's true, then Massachusetts differs from California in
this regard. Note that the triple damages I asked for were
not for "pain and suffering." MGL Chapter 93A, the
Massachusets state law pertaining to unfair or deceptive trade
practices, permits the plaintiff to ask for double or triple
damages if he can demonstrate that the defendant's violation
of the law was "willful or knowing."

Google it if you're curious.

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Steve Sobol

2007-08-23, 10:33 pm

On 2007-08-23, Jonathan Kamens <jik@kamens.brookline.ma.us> wrote:

> The folks at Discover Card told me that if I could come up
> with proof that I returned the phone (proof which I did
> subsequently manage to come up with), they would reconsider
> the dispute. By that point, however, I was sufficiently
> pissed at Sprint that I decided to sue them instead, in
> particular because I felt that I had an excellent case for
> triple damages under MGL Chapter 93A.

I can appreciate your frustration, but if you had paperwork from the
return, wouldn't it have been a lot easier and cheaper to finish the
process with Discover?

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
"Drench yourself in words unspoken / Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten"
- Natasha Beddingfield

Jonathan Kamens

2007-08-23, 10:33 pm

Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> writes:
>I can appreciate your frustration, but if you had paperwork from the
>return, wouldn't it have been a lot easier and cheaper to finish the
>process with Discover?

The conversation I had with the Discover rep. did not leave me
particularly hopeful that they would stick up for me in the dispute
with the merchant even if I did produce evidence that the phone was
returned.

If I'd disputed the charge again with Discover, I would have gotten
back exactly what I paid for the phone, no more and no less. That was
after spending hours and hours trying to get a refund, wasting my own
money on postage, etc. Frankly, I was entitled to compensation for
the treatment I received, and that's what MGL Chapter 93A is for.

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