Online purchase problem - question

[JM11968]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Long story short, a pair of custom headlights were purchased from a company in MI my buddy found off instagram and they were crap. From day one there were problems(condensation) and they messed up the order and didn't include everything. After going back and forth for 2 weeks they finally got the right products shipped out and everything was received. About a month later(3rd week in october) the headlights were removed from the truck due both HALO rings dieing and the headlights having a problem where they turn on/off whenever they feel like when driving(or not on at all) which caused a huge safety problem making the headlights useless.

After all the problems already encountered my buddy called up his credit card company and filed a claim, after a couple of days he was refunded the money (~1800).

Today (a month later)he received threatening instagram messages claiming they are going to file legal action due to him "stealing" the headlights.

My question would be: is there anything he has to worry about? Can they sue him in MI? I know he could sue them in NY because they choose to do business here, but does that work the other way around)

Is there anything else that could possibly happen? The headlights are still sitting in his garage, they never requested that they be returned or anything, just blatant legal threats.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Long story short, a pair of custom headlights were purchased from a company in MI my buddy found off instagram and they were crap. From day one there were problems(condensation) and they messed up the order and didn't include everything. After going back and forth for 2 weeks they finally got the right products shipped out and everything was received. About a month later(3rd week in october) the headlights were removed from the truck due both HALO rings dieing and the headlights having a problem where they turn on/off whenever they feel like when driving(or not on at all) which caused a huge safety problem making the headlights useless.

After all the problems already encountered my buddy called up his credit card company and filed a claim, after a couple of days he was refunded the money (~1800).

Today (a month later)he received threatening instagram messages claiming they are going to file legal action due to him "stealing" the headlights.

My question would be: is there anything he has to worry about? Can they sue him in MI? I know he could sue them in NY because they choose to do business here, but does that work the other way around)

Is there anything else that could possibly happen? The headlights are still sitting in his garage, they never requested that they be returned or anything, just blatant legal threats.

Whenever legal action is threatened, there is cause for worry.

Why hasn't your buddy returned the headlights? He cannot keep the headlights and his money.

A suit can be filed in New York or in Michigan.

 

[justalayman]

Of course there is something to worry about. He has the headlights and he has not paid for them.

Is there some reason he didn't seek to return them for a refund rather than simply taking back the money they were paid?

The headlights are still sitting in his garage, they never requested that they be returned or anything, just blatant legal threats.

why would they request he return used merchandise? They want their money. They don't want used headlights back.

 

[JM11968]

Whenever legal action is threatened, there is cause for worry.

Why hasn't your buddy returned the headlights? He cannot keep the headlights and his money.

A suit can be filed in New York or in Michigan.

Of course there is something to worry about. He has the headlights and he has not paid for them.

Is there some reason he didn't seek to return them for a refund rather than simply taking back the money they were paid?


why would they request he return used merchandise? They want their money. They don't want used headlights back.

The product sold was defective, the company has not been around a long time, and his order number from the website was literally order number 1. I'm assuming this is not the first problem this company has had.

So, with the points you guys mentioned, what is the best course of action at this point? Should he contact this company back and ask for a return shipping address or what?

 

[justalayman]

The product sold was defective,

so he thought it a good idea to not contact the company, reverse the charges on his credit card and simply keep the merchandise? Not wise.

the company has not been around a long time,

irrlevent

and his order number from the website was literally order number 1. I'm assuming this is not the first problem this company has had.

if he was the first person to order from this company, just how many problems could they have had since they had not sold anything before this?

yes he needs to contact the company. I have no idea what sort of warranty the product has or anything else about it. The company that sold them to your friend does so that is who he should be contacting.

 

[quincy]

I agree with justalayman that the first action your friend should take is to contact the company.

The company may not be willing to take back the headlights after this amount of time and the company could pursue legal action against your friend to recover the cost of the headlights. Or the company could file a criminal complaint for theft of the headlights. Or both.



(this post is primarily to bump spam off the main board)