pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) (10/11/85)
- Summary to date, I believe I have been treated unfairly by Silver Lake Dodge of Wellesley Mass in the repair of my 1981 Dodge Omni. SLD, via the Better Buiness Bureau, is willing to refund about a third of my repair bill. I feel this is not enough and am going to take them to small claims court. The amount in question is under $200. If you want more detail I'd be happy to forward some to you, but most has already been posted to net.auto some time ago. Does anyone out there have any experience with small claims court? Is it easy, fun, rewarding? How informal is it? If the judgement is in my favor, how do I collect? Does it cost anything, do they have to pay if I win? How much should I ask for? (You would need to know more details in the case to answer this?) How long a wait before my case is heard? How should I prepare? Should I sit in on some cases before mine is heard? I'm cross posting this to net.auto and net.consumers because I feel that the subject do overlap. Please send all response to me and I will summarize in net.auto. pZ -- -- I don't need, I don't want it, and you cheated me out of it! Paul Czarnecki Uniworks decvax!wanginst!infinet!emacs!pz 20 William Street emacs!pz@cca-unix.ARPA Wellesley, MA 02181 (617) 235-2600
ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn) (10/17/85)
In article <104@emacs.UUCP> pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) writes: > >Summary to date, I believe I have been treated unfairly by [named auto >company] in the repair of my 1981 Dodge Omni. >.. >.. >...... I feel this is not enough and am going to take them to >small claims court..... >.. I have a major problem with the acceptability of postings giving a one sided viewpoint of a personal dispute prior to the outcome of litigation or what- ever. I did not see the associated postings giving details, and certainly I have had major problems with auto dealers and other suppliers myself, however publishing one side of the "facts" in a public forum seems to me to be akin to the evils of "black-lists" or publishing the names of payment defaulters etc. Does the other party have access to publish his refutations? Put yourself in the other's shoes for a moment. If, because of your dispute, you hadn't paid the bill, would you consider it acceptable if the dealer published your name with his side of the story in an ad in a newspaper? What are the opinions of the net readers? Ray Dunn. ..philabs!micomvax!othervax!ray
pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) (10/21/85)
In article <712@othervax.UUCP> ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn) writes: >In article <104@emacs.UUCP> pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) writes: >>Summary to date, I believe I have been treated unfairly by [named auto >>company] in the repair of my 1981 Dodge Omni. >>...... I feel this is not enough and am going to take them to >>small claims court..... >I have a major problem with the acceptability of postings giving a one sided >viewpoint of a personal dispute prior to the outcome of litigation or what- >ever. I did not see the associated postings giving details, and certainly I >have had major problems with auto dealers and other suppliers myself, I think that the key word here is SUMMARY. This whole mater started with a posting of mine on July 3. I have since collected over 27,000 characters of postings, plus half a dozen or so personal letters. I'm not about to repost all of that to the net. I will send it to interested individuals. The articles referenced are : <119@emacs.uucp> (3jul), <25300051@siemens.UUCP> (9jul), <734@abnji.UUCP> (10jul), <91@denelvx.UUCP> (9jul), <55200193@trsvax.UUCP> (18jul), <129@emacs.uucp> (29jul), <144@emacs.uucp> (30aug), <2324@emacs.uucp> (11oct). I can also send copies of the letters that I have sent to Chrysler, Silver Lake Dodge, and the BBB. >however publishing one side of the "facts" in a public forum seems to me to >be akin to the evils of "black-lists" or publishing the names of payment >defaulters etc. Does the other party have access to publish his >refutations? I do not consider USENET to be a public forum. It is a highly specialized (sometimes) friendly community with a high admissions price. You must have the the hardware, the software, the knowledge, and the desire. It is an exclusive private club where I can exchange both technical and mundane material and ask for advice on any topic. If SLD met the above criteria, they too could publish anything they wanted. (note that publishing something does not mean that the material is tolerated, witness the net.general MCI ad). I consider USENET to be a benefit of working for Uniworks. (I use it much more than the health plan :-) net.auto and net.conmsumers, (I wish I remembered to make the Followup-To line correct in the original posting) are NOT the proper place to discuss the purpose of USENET. If you wish to discuss it with me, send me personal mail. Let's not continue this here! (maybe net.news?) >Put yourself in the other's shoes for a moment. If, because of your >dispute, you hadn't paid the bill, would you consider it acceptable if the >dealer published your name with his side of the story in an ad in a >newspaper? I can see it now. A full page ad in the New York Times (or perhaps a small discreet notice in the New Yorker so only the "right" people would see it:-) "On July 2,3,9 and 10th, Paul Czarnecki of Natick Massachusetts had his car repaired at SLD. He was not satisfied with the repair work. We offered a refund of less than 1/3 the original price. He was still not satisfied. He is taking us to small claims court." I might even go in halfsies with them on the ad! Sarcasm aside, yes! Publish my name if I don't pay. I have a good credit record. Companies that I deal with know that they can count on me to pay on time if the contracted work is completed to my satisfaction. Other companies do NOT get repeat business, nor do they get reccomendations. I was kicked out of from first repair shop when I was in 10th grade after accusing them of shoddy workmanship. I'm starting to foam at the mouth, I must stop. >Ray Dunn. ..philabs!micomvax!othervax!ray pZ -- -- Flushed from the bathroom of your heart. Paul Czarnecki Uniworks, Inc. decvax!{cca,wanginst!infinet}!emacs!pz 20 William Street emacs!pz@cca-unix.ARPA Wellesley, MA 02181 (617) 235-2600