What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I own a computer repair shop. For the first time in my life, I’ve been sued! I would really appreciate it if anyone here would review this case. It’s all new to me:
My customer brought in a laptop for a hardware repair, we quoted him, he approved, replacement part ordered. We then discovered that we couldn't replace the part as the solder points are too small and non-repairable. We informed the customer who then picked up his hard drive and told us we could recycle the old laptop. Customer then sends a letter non-registered threatening to sue for $1,500 to replace the laptop, $250 he paid for another company to transfer the data to a new machine, $89 refund for the up-front diagnosis fee he paid, and $180 court and legal fees. Not aware of his letter but aware of his dissatisfaction, I send an email apologizing for any delay in his original service although we were within the estimate we told him for diagnosis.
The laptop in question is worth $180 at best.
Isn't his $1,500 estimate for a 10 year old laptop considered a form of extortion? He is trying to get us to pay for his new computer with this lawsuit. My first thought is to send him an email and a registered letter addressing the fraudulent aspects of his case and threatening to counter-sue, also citing appropriate California penal codes and the penalties for extortion (what are they?), not to mention clogging up the courts, etc. (I haven’t researched the talking points yet, need someone's help on this). It sounds like we're being scammed!
I own a computer repair shop. For the first time in my life, I’ve been sued! I would really appreciate it if anyone here would review this case. It’s all new to me:
My customer brought in a laptop for a hardware repair, we quoted him, he approved, replacement part ordered. We then discovered that we couldn't replace the part as the solder points are too small and non-repairable. We informed the customer who then picked up his hard drive and told us we could recycle the old laptop. Customer then sends a letter non-registered threatening to sue for $1,500 to replace the laptop, $250 he paid for another company to transfer the data to a new machine, $89 refund for the up-front diagnosis fee he paid, and $180 court and legal fees. Not aware of his letter but aware of his dissatisfaction, I send an email apologizing for any delay in his original service although we were within the estimate we told him for diagnosis.
The laptop in question is worth $180 at best.
Isn't his $1,500 estimate for a 10 year old laptop considered a form of extortion? He is trying to get us to pay for his new computer with this lawsuit. My first thought is to send him an email and a registered letter addressing the fraudulent aspects of his case and threatening to counter-sue, also citing appropriate California penal codes and the penalties for extortion (what are they?), not to mention clogging up the courts, etc. (I haven’t researched the talking points yet, need someone's help on this). It sounds like we're being scammed!