What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia. I went with my 30 year old son on a Friday afternoon for a consultation with an attorney about child custody. The consult was supposed to be $100. The attorney told us he could probably get us in front of a judge for an emergency hearing right then, and that "it would only take a few minutes." The courthouse is across the street to the attorney office.
The attorney called the judge (supposedly), but he was unavailable. The judge never called him back. My son filled out some papers about himself and his children (w/o the attorneys help). The attorney said he needed at least half of the $5000 retainer right then. My son didn't have a check on him, so I wrote a check for $1500. (The check was blank in the 'Pay to the order of' and 'memo' sections) He said he could take the other $1000 on Monday morning, and we would see the judge at 9:30am again stating "it would only take a few minutes."
My son and I both called the attorney office first thing Monday morning to tell them he had changed his mind, and they were trying to work things out between them for the kids' sake. The attorney office said "No problem. We won't cash the check. We probably won't charge you anything because we haven't filed any paperwork."
Wednesday morning, the check was cashed. No one would return my phone calls. I went to their office Friday morning. First, the attorney tells me that everything he did Friday ate up the $1500. I argued that he didn't 'do' anything beyond the consult and making a phone call, and asked for a statement showing the charges. Then, he changed his story and said, "Well, we have a non-refundable retainer policy."
My argument is 1) No one said anything about a non-refundable anything, and 2) I didn't sign any agreement with them, but they have my money. We don't even know if my son signed anything because they didn't give him any paperwork. They just filled in the 'Pay to the order of' and the 'memo' section of my check, and cashed it.
Do I have any recourse?
The attorney called the judge (supposedly), but he was unavailable. The judge never called him back. My son filled out some papers about himself and his children (w/o the attorneys help). The attorney said he needed at least half of the $5000 retainer right then. My son didn't have a check on him, so I wrote a check for $1500. (The check was blank in the 'Pay to the order of' and 'memo' sections) He said he could take the other $1000 on Monday morning, and we would see the judge at 9:30am again stating "it would only take a few minutes."
My son and I both called the attorney office first thing Monday morning to tell them he had changed his mind, and they were trying to work things out between them for the kids' sake. The attorney office said "No problem. We won't cash the check. We probably won't charge you anything because we haven't filed any paperwork."
Wednesday morning, the check was cashed. No one would return my phone calls. I went to their office Friday morning. First, the attorney tells me that everything he did Friday ate up the $1500. I argued that he didn't 'do' anything beyond the consult and making a phone call, and asked for a statement showing the charges. Then, he changed his story and said, "Well, we have a non-refundable retainer policy."
My argument is 1) No one said anything about a non-refundable anything, and 2) I didn't sign any agreement with them, but they have my money. We don't even know if my son signed anything because they didn't give him any paperwork. They just filled in the 'Pay to the order of' and the 'memo' section of my check, and cashed it.
Do I have any recourse?
