State - California
In October of last year I bought a Nexus 4 off of someone from Craigslist. There are a series of emails exchanged in which the seller claims the phone was not stolen and indeed hers. We meet up in front of a security camera at a Bank of America. I inspect the phone and it worked fine. Paid her $220 for the phone and was set from there. The seller seemed legit considering how she was willing to meet at such a place and was overall a nice person.
2 days ago on January 14, 2014, I noticed my phone had no signal. I called T-mobile and they said the previous owner stopped making payments on the phone and that I should try and get a refund from the seller. I called the seller, told her the problem, and she said her dad owned the phone before her. I was not aware of this and she never mentioned this before. I asked her to call her dad to ask him what's going on. She called but said she could not reach him because he's working on the East Coast as a truck driver. I have no clue how she can't considering how she can just flat out call him or even leave a text for him. She suggested I visit a T-mobile store and ask someone there why my phone is inactive since I am the new owner of the phone. Went to a T-mobile store - they told me they can't do anything about it and that I need to contact the seller to get a refund or have the seller/seller's dad pay off the balance. Tried calling the seller, but she has not responded. I left two voicemails - 1 yesterday, and another one earlier today. I called her several times during the day yesterday and today, but no response. So now I'm sitting here out $220 with a phone that might as well be the Android version of an iPod Touch and no convenient way to contact anyone.
I recorded the entire transaction secretly in both video and audio. I also have the exchanged emails showing the claims made by the seller. Do I have a strong enough case and enough evidence to bring this matter to court? What are my odds of winning if it does?
In October of last year I bought a Nexus 4 off of someone from Craigslist. There are a series of emails exchanged in which the seller claims the phone was not stolen and indeed hers. We meet up in front of a security camera at a Bank of America. I inspect the phone and it worked fine. Paid her $220 for the phone and was set from there. The seller seemed legit considering how she was willing to meet at such a place and was overall a nice person.
2 days ago on January 14, 2014, I noticed my phone had no signal. I called T-mobile and they said the previous owner stopped making payments on the phone and that I should try and get a refund from the seller. I called the seller, told her the problem, and she said her dad owned the phone before her. I was not aware of this and she never mentioned this before. I asked her to call her dad to ask him what's going on. She called but said she could not reach him because he's working on the East Coast as a truck driver. I have no clue how she can't considering how she can just flat out call him or even leave a text for him. She suggested I visit a T-mobile store and ask someone there why my phone is inactive since I am the new owner of the phone. Went to a T-mobile store - they told me they can't do anything about it and that I need to contact the seller to get a refund or have the seller/seller's dad pay off the balance. Tried calling the seller, but she has not responded. I left two voicemails - 1 yesterday, and another one earlier today. I called her several times during the day yesterday and today, but no response. So now I'm sitting here out $220 with a phone that might as well be the Android version of an iPod Touch and no convenient way to contact anyone.
I recorded the entire transaction secretly in both video and audio. I also have the exchanged emails showing the claims made by the seller. Do I have a strong enough case and enough evidence to bring this matter to court? What are my odds of winning if it does?