Ask HN: Taking a corporation to small claims court over a refund I the USA?

by whoodle on 5/24/2024, 6:10:07 PM with 2 comments
Has any non-lawyer here had success if either sending a large corporation a demand letter or actually taking them to small claims court? Do I need a lawyer for this? This is in the United States.

For background, I’ve been in refund and call center hell with West Elm for 5 months now. They’re holding on to almost $2,000 and I can’t seem to get the refund to which they’ve already agreed. They tried to refund me once and when that failed they automatically put the balance on a gift card. I did not ever consent to this and have already to spoken to them, making it clear I want an actual refund. However, it apparently takes a 2nd level manager (manager of a manager) to cancel a gift card. Despite hours on the phone and promises every time, nothing ever changes.

Is it possible using some combination of Google, GPT, and persistence to craft a compelling demand letter or even represent myself in small claims court? Could I demand damages for the time invested in this?

Curious if anyone else here has done this that isn’t a lawyer? I’m currently a SWE and am curious of others experience.

  • by valrix on 5/25/2024, 2:53:07 AM

    You should be able to get a basic consultation with a lawyer, often for free, or a small sum ($20-50). It sounds like you're being jerked around a lot and they're trying to steamroller you into compliance. Keep refusing their attempts until they send you a check or credit to your bank account and keep everything they send you and you send them. The more evidence you have that they were not engaging in good faith, the better your case will be if it has to go to court.

    If you're lucky though, a nasty letter from a lawyer will often make these business give in as they finally understand that you're serious about litigation. I've had to do such a thing when a commercial property company tried to charge me for damages that already existed, but I had pictures from when I moved in to show they were not caused by me, so it would have cost them more to take me to court than to ignore it and get a new lessee in.

    Best of luck!

  • by legitster on 5/24/2024, 6:36:14 PM

    A small claims court is relatively easy to do in the US, especially if you have all of the supporting documentation. You may just have to be patient.

    If you had the foresight to use a credit card for the purchase, a better alternative is a chargeback. It has been incredibly easy to get my money back from Visa directly.