FloorsMat said:Great post..of course you shouldn't have disputed the entire $2,000 and you know it, but I would have done the same

I don't think there is a way to dispute part of a charge. I believe it's all or nothing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

delzy said:FloorsMat said:Great post..of course you shouldn't have disputed the entire $2,000 and you know it, but I would have done the same

I don't think there is a way to dispute part of a charge. I believe it's all or nothing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You may be able to dispute a portion. And remember I didn't get EVERYTHING for free. I paid $750 bucks for underlayment cork and the tarp to prevent moisture. There were two charges and I disputed one of them (the larger charge or course).

I simply wanted to put them "on notice" that I was pissed. What's the point of disputing such a small amount? I wasn't getting anywhere with them when I was threatening them with BBB complaints. Do you really think they would do anything over a measley $100 dispute? I say go for the jugular!

I was banking that the merchant would see the dispute and then get their head out of their a** by sending me the three cartons of flooring that I asked for in exchange for me dropping the dispute (which I would have agreed to).

I didn't think this would work out this good (with Chase getting everything back related to that larger charge).

Amazing you had the cool to send letters to 10 Lawyers and wait for something. My weekness is I start worrying about all the things that can happen if I wait for them to sue me out of state. And of course the marks on my credit.

fatcool said:Amazing you had the cool to send letters to 10 Lawyers and wait for something. My weekness is I start worrying about all the things that can happen if I wait for them to sue me out of state. And of course the marks on my credit.

The lawyers got back to me quickly. The first email was received an hour after I sent out the letters. The lawyer I retained emailed me a day later.

You don't have to email if you are nervous. The naca has all the info including phone numbers for all the lawyers.

I emailed for two reasons:

1. So i could include SCANNED copies of all my DC letters as attachments. This way they can right away examine the case (WITH the proof) and make a decision if it's worth it to pursue. So I don't sound like some nutjob calling that has no clue.

2. So i don't waste their time and they can review this on their own time. Usually when you call a lawyer you end up getting a voicemail or an assistant that has no clue about the law. I made it simple and I even worded it this way. I said in my email "I am planning on sueing this debt collector. I figured if you were interested and wanted *a piece of the pie*, feel free to contact me". I literally said that (with the pie wording).

Oh and one other thing. Not all lawyers are created equal.

The first guy I spoke to, while being very nice and giving me an hour of his time over the phone, didn't think it was illegal for them to threaten to sue me out of state. He did admit when we first started talking that FDCPA wasn't his specialty but would talk to me anyways. He actually offered for me to call the DC on my behalf to try to "settle on the amount"... of course for a modest Attorney fee that I would pay. LOL no thanks, but thanks for your time.

Then I eventually found the guy that specializes in FDCPA and he knew his stuff. So definitely talk to a few different lawyers. They may give you different stories/opinions.

DjPiLL said: I figured if you were interested and wanted *a piece of the pie*, feel free to contact me". I literally said that (with the pie wording).

LOL...classic

I don't agree.
We've got a consumer that got the shaft from a merchant due to the negligence of a shipping company.
It's very likely that the condition of those items was the issue of the shipping company, not the merchant.

Should the merchant eat the cost of the damaged 10%? Perhaps... Well, perhaps after a battle with the shipping company. As it's not reasonable for you to open every box, I would have talked to the merchant directly to see "what we can do together" to address that damaged 10%.

Instead, you got pissed because the merchant behaved badly and stuck them for $2000 instead of $200. Sorry, but BAD CONSUMER.

Can you be sued out of venue... Very likely. Ignoring all the FDCPA, you bought something over the web and unless they target your specific geography with advertisement, it is likely that the correct civil venue is in their city.

Assuming they followed FDCPA, they could sue... Ding your credit? Perhaps...

Personally, I'd call them up and make a settlement offer. Something that's fair which is what both the merchant and the consumer should have been working towards in the beginning.

dcg9381 said:I don't agree.
We've got a consumer that got the shaft from a merchant due to the negligence of a shipping company.
It's very likely that the condition of those items was the issue of the shipping company, not the merchant.

I agree. The merchant chose the shipper. They packaged the material, and then failed to do ANYTHING for the consumer.

He paid $2k for whole flooring, he didn't receive it. The company failed to compensate him fairly, so the buyer refused to pay.

The seller then sold the debt to a collection agency to get some money back. The agent broke the law, was sued, and lost.

I think OP acted appropriately here. I'm not sure why you're sticking up for a bad merchant, especially when your logic makes no sense at all. Troll, probably

I had a debt collector called me asking for a person that does not exist. The person probably did but since i had the number (darn cell phones company keep recycling phone number), they keep calling (dead beat debtor must have ran away). I got tired and normally just hangup. They even spoof their caller id and tried to reach a settlement of the debt for 2k.

Then one day she got nasty and started shouting. I guess i must have irritate her which is easy to do. Normally DC will call and ask something like, 'I like to speak with xxxx" or "Who am i speaking with?" or "Are you xxx". I will just answer something like 'Does it matter who am i?", "Why don't you tell me who you are?". Basically answer their question with an answer that does not divulge too much information. This pisses some DC.

I said that is enough, i have been patient and nice enough to tell them no such person here (and they still do not believe, they even ask me if i am his dad or brother or friend) and started recording phone calls. In my state, recording calls without consent is ok (i check this). When they call, i keep telling them there is no such person, please do not call again, please do this all in writing, i am at work, why do you keep calling me everyday when i told you not to etc. I just repeated as many statements as i can and be calm, sweet angel voice so that when they call again i knew they will be violating FDCPA (i did not lie, i was at work and busy and this people will call like twice a day, sometimes in the night or weekend). I got the service of a lawyer, handed phone statement, recorded calls and sued. We settled for 10k. That must be some violation to settle for that amount. I wonder if i could get more.

Oh and just 1 month ago the phone rang asking for this person again. I think they may have sold the debt to someone else. They rang like 3 times in a week, then stop. It has not continued since. This new debt agency must not be that aggressive like the one i sued

Venturion said:Out of curiosity, what type of flooring was it and what did you do to get the replacement cartons? Also, can an interested party PM you with a guess on the company's name? I have two similar stories on bad behavior from flooring companies, though no follow-through on the chargeback, etc.

I never got replacement cartons. They refused to ship me a lousy three boxes!

Lucky for me I ordered about 15% extra than I thought I would need for the job since I figured I may screw up on the installation with cutting and I was at least able to finish the job.