P
ppony
Guest
What is the name of your state? Minnesota
To make this as brief as possible, I'll try to stick to relevent facts of the case (though there are so many twists and turns as to why I'm considering small claims).
In July of last year, I paid my then horse trainer $400 to give me 10 private lessons. I was very diligent in presuing getting the lessons but I only got 3 that first month and then she CLAIMED the barns owner wouldn't let her teach any more there because she wated a "cut" in her profits. When I spoke to the barn owner, she just told me that Susan needed to povide proof of insurance to be able to train and teach and she hadn't done so. I also had given her $500 to train my horse for a month. I know he didn't get even 3 weeks because I just happened to be at the barn when her son, who had been the one riding him, said they weren't being allowed to train anymore. They had never called me to tell me either that nor the training part. I had to find out. So there's the matter of that approx $200.
About a month and a half later. I moved my horse to a new barn. The owners of that barn said that if the trainer showed proof of a generic insurance policy that allowed her to teach anywhere, they'd be fine with that. Susan never showed any. The last few months I was in the process of selling my horse and a month after I moved him, I did. So just prior to sending him away, Susan came to the new place to give him a message to lossen him up for the long haul. Though NO mention at all was there ever of money or compensation, I thought her coming to do that was fair enough to me to write off the remainder of the training.
In the mean time of all of this, she had asked me if I would do a logo, and stationery for her. At our very first meeting, she asked how I wanted to be paid and I told her we could do it in trade. Because I had no idea how long I'd have my horse I thought we could trade for lessons or training and if I did sell him, she could just give me lessons on her horses or we could find someother way for her to help me. Condensing now: the end result is, I have had a major falling out with her about an item I agreed to sell for her on eBay and she ended up showing her true colors that the only thing that ever mattered to her was money, she didn't care or even apologize the item she had sent to the buyer wasn't workinmg and she accused him of just using it and returning it, he acused her or interstate fraud and I was in the middle with my eBay GOOD reputation on the line. She also, indirectly accused me of not giving her $3 or $4 of the total sale price. With all the fees, it turned out what I had deducted from the total ...she ended up oweing me a little bit. But none-the-less, she showed me she was willing to ruin a friendship over a few $. Thusly, after being hung up on twice trying to call and figure something out and no answers to any e-mails, I decided she has nothing of any value to me anymore. I have no horse she can train and even if I did, I don't want her around me anymore. I have nicely asked if we could work something out and she refuses to talk. I even said that if she doesn't want to resolve the issue civily, we'll ahevto go to sm. claims. I have always written checks, never used cash so there's that trail and every e-mail we've sent back and foirth I have copies of. I even have on in the last month where she wrote that "I have even said I wanted to pay you for your work" so she DOES admit she owes me.
What do I do? I've got a demand letter written up. Is that what I do? Send it certified mail? IN MN I'm reading that I have to file in HER county? Seems to me, that's very inconvenient to ME, the person wronged in this matter and it'll be a big deal to get all the way across town during business hours to get paperwork going.
There it is. I tried to be brief.
I'm such a trusting person and wanting to do so much for people...I hate this stuff. I just can't let this go. It's not a huge sum of money but it is about $1500 all told. Worth persuing.
Advice from you all-knowing legal Gods out there?
Graciously grateful!
Stephanie in MN
Yes, I've learned MANY lessons from all of this! Just not the ones I paid for...ha ha
To make this as brief as possible, I'll try to stick to relevent facts of the case (though there are so many twists and turns as to why I'm considering small claims).
In July of last year, I paid my then horse trainer $400 to give me 10 private lessons. I was very diligent in presuing getting the lessons but I only got 3 that first month and then she CLAIMED the barns owner wouldn't let her teach any more there because she wated a "cut" in her profits. When I spoke to the barn owner, she just told me that Susan needed to povide proof of insurance to be able to train and teach and she hadn't done so. I also had given her $500 to train my horse for a month. I know he didn't get even 3 weeks because I just happened to be at the barn when her son, who had been the one riding him, said they weren't being allowed to train anymore. They had never called me to tell me either that nor the training part. I had to find out. So there's the matter of that approx $200.
About a month and a half later. I moved my horse to a new barn. The owners of that barn said that if the trainer showed proof of a generic insurance policy that allowed her to teach anywhere, they'd be fine with that. Susan never showed any. The last few months I was in the process of selling my horse and a month after I moved him, I did. So just prior to sending him away, Susan came to the new place to give him a message to lossen him up for the long haul. Though NO mention at all was there ever of money or compensation, I thought her coming to do that was fair enough to me to write off the remainder of the training.
In the mean time of all of this, she had asked me if I would do a logo, and stationery for her. At our very first meeting, she asked how I wanted to be paid and I told her we could do it in trade. Because I had no idea how long I'd have my horse I thought we could trade for lessons or training and if I did sell him, she could just give me lessons on her horses or we could find someother way for her to help me. Condensing now: the end result is, I have had a major falling out with her about an item I agreed to sell for her on eBay and she ended up showing her true colors that the only thing that ever mattered to her was money, she didn't care or even apologize the item she had sent to the buyer wasn't workinmg and she accused him of just using it and returning it, he acused her or interstate fraud and I was in the middle with my eBay GOOD reputation on the line. She also, indirectly accused me of not giving her $3 or $4 of the total sale price. With all the fees, it turned out what I had deducted from the total ...she ended up oweing me a little bit. But none-the-less, she showed me she was willing to ruin a friendship over a few $. Thusly, after being hung up on twice trying to call and figure something out and no answers to any e-mails, I decided she has nothing of any value to me anymore. I have no horse she can train and even if I did, I don't want her around me anymore. I have nicely asked if we could work something out and she refuses to talk. I even said that if she doesn't want to resolve the issue civily, we'll ahevto go to sm. claims. I have always written checks, never used cash so there's that trail and every e-mail we've sent back and foirth I have copies of. I even have on in the last month where she wrote that "I have even said I wanted to pay you for your work" so she DOES admit she owes me.
What do I do? I've got a demand letter written up. Is that what I do? Send it certified mail? IN MN I'm reading that I have to file in HER county? Seems to me, that's very inconvenient to ME, the person wronged in this matter and it'll be a big deal to get all the way across town during business hours to get paperwork going.
There it is. I tried to be brief.
I'm such a trusting person and wanting to do so much for people...I hate this stuff. I just can't let this go. It's not a huge sum of money but it is about $1500 all told. Worth persuing.Advice from you all-knowing legal Gods out there?
Graciously grateful!
Stephanie in MN
Yes, I've learned MANY lessons from all of this! Just not the ones I paid for...ha ha