As I noted before, I was awarded a default judgment against Sprint for over $800 in small claims court. As of a month after the judgment, they still hadn’t paid or showed up in court, so at the payment hearing the court issued me a Capeas (i.e., a document allowing me to have the CEO of Sprint arrested and brought to court to explain his failure to appear at the prior hearings) and an Execution (i.e., a document allowing me to have a sheriff or constable seize property from Sprint and action it off to settle the judgment debt).
Fortunately, I didn’t end up having to figure out how to use either of these options, which would have been difficult since the CEO of Sprint and its corporate headquarters are in Virginia, because I received from Sprint yesterday via DHL a check for $823.62, the total amount of the judgment in my favor.
Now, since then, the judgment was increased to $834.72, because the court awarded me additional interest for the time between the judgment and the payment hearing. In fact, interest theoretically continues to accrue on a daily basis until the defendant pays. However, that’s all water under the bridge, since as noted previously, the day before the judgment was issued, Sprint sent me a check for $262.49, which means that they’ve now overpaid their debt to me by more than $200.
If you think I’m going to waste more of my time trying to get them to take back the overpayment, you’ve got another think coming. Have you ever tried to get a major corporation to take back money they shouldn’t have given you? Well, I have, and believe me, it’s a nightmare. I’ll gladly give back the extra money just as soon as they actually ask for it. I won’t make them ask me for it for nine months, like they made me do when I was trying to get back the money they owed me.
Pingback: On Ben Edelman and Sichuan Garden | Something better to do
Consumer Protection Law under Massachusetts General Law 93A does work. Small claims in Massachusetts has a $7,000 limit now. However, the statutory “triple damages”, sometimes discretionary by the judge and sometimes prescribed as mandatory by statute can up that figure to $14-$21,000.
My previous landlord in Boston, MA attempted to steal $180.00 from me. I walked him and his attorney step by step into a situation that by their own lack of good judgement and dishonesty created a $14,500 total potential exposure in small claims. The landlord settled just before the court date with cash money orders for $5,000. It cost him in payment to me and expenses about $8-$9,000 total within three months.
I was a gentleman. I explained the law and the reasoning for the law and the landlord continued to increase his threats. I warned him of the consequences but like most street thugs and white collar criminals they think they’re above the law. Well, thank goodness for the Consumer Protection Laws.
Most States have Consumer Protection Laws and the thirty day letter will work! However you generally actually have to do the simple small claims filing with the fee of $50-$100 before some individuals or companies will have their attorney send a settlement letter.
Their is plenty of good free legal service to get advice and online information to learn from. MY ADVICE TO ALL CONSUMERS WHOM ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF DON’T WORRY TOO MUCH JUST SUE! Believe me it’s not as scary as you might think. Relax and just do it. That’s why we have a justice system, to stop financial bullies.
Glad to hear of your win and mine! I’m about ready to sue Sprint (the cell phone company) for their unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Keep fightin!
I just won a judgement against Sprint in small claims court in the state of Kentucky. I was wondering what address do I send documentation to in order to collect the judgement? Congratulations on your win and thanks in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Robert B
The best way to find the legal address of Sprint or any other public corporation is through the SEC filings available on the investor relations page of its web site. In the case of Sprint, for example, you would go to http://sprint.com/, click on “About us”, click on “Browse Investor Relations”, click on “Documents and Filings”, click on “SEC Filings”, and click on the web icon next to “Latest 10-K”.
You should already have that done this, because you should have provided the small claims court with Sprint’s legal address to notify them about the lawsuit before its court date.
If you didn’t provide the court with Sprint’s legal address when filing the lawsuit, then Sprint may motion successfully for the judgment against them to be thrown out because they were not notified properly about the suit.
Congratulations, and thanks for posting your experiences online. I’ve been dealing with Sprint for hours on the phone and on email over the past few weeks and it’s getting to the point where I might follow your course of action. The most frustrating thing is the Sprint representatives will eventually say i’m right, and then my account never get’s credited.
Hey,
Congrats!!! This was great to read. I’m about to take a stucco contractor to court based on chapter 93A. I sent the mandatory 30 day letter via certified mail and so far, he hasn’t signed for it. He hangs up on me, etc., when I try to negotiate/talk in a gentlemanly manner, so I have a feeling he’s not gonna show up in court, either. Your tale was very encouraging to read. It gives me faith in the system and even more faith than I already had in my chances for victory and collection. Good stuff.
Adam
Congratulations!
Amazing, you got blood from a turnip!