More details to this question:
So, my s-corp sold a pizza to a customer. A month later, she comes in and says, "I ordered a pizza a month ago from you. I didn't like it. What are you going to do about it?" We said, "nothing". About a week later, we received a chargeback notice for the pizza. She said it was an 83- fraud- card not present. She had given the order over the phone, and she signed the receipt upon receiving the pizza. I sent the chargeback complaint back to the credit card company alongside the signed receipt proving my case. The thing is, we're going to be assessed a $25 fee from the credit card company even if we are proven victorious in the case. We'd like to take the woman to court to regain that $25 and to show her, we're not going to let her bully us. We'd also like to gain a fair dollars extra for the additional court fees, time spent, and anything else. We're in NYC. Any advice out there on how we should proceed? Would love to talk to someone. -M
1 ANSWER
Civil Rights Law Attorney serving Rockville Centre, NY
Partner at
Lori Nevias, Attorney at Law
1 Award
You've been scammed by a scam artist! Congratulations, you're a real New Yorker now.
Here's what you do. After you win your chargeback complaint with your credit card company, ask them nicely to remove the charge. They will do it- like all of my credit card companies have removed a late charge here and there for me, many times, for no good reason, except that I asked nicely. You, however, will approach them with a good reason. They will do it.
As far as going to court.... don't do it. While the credit card company will be happy to oblige a good customer and refund your $25 once you explain the situation, you will irritate the court to no end if you file a complaint for $25. There are certain types of cases where the courts routinely entertain small disputed sums, such as medical providers who sue insurance companies for shorting them on no-fault claims, but that's done as volume work. Do not take up the scant resources of the taxpayer-funded judicial system (and your time, which can certainly be put to other good uses) with your $25 claim.
What you CAN do is the following. Write a nice letter to your local competitors and any restaurants that deliver, and maybe even the local services that let you order takeout from various places, and give them a heads-up about this scam-artist and her modus operandi. Tell them exactly what happened, and her name. You will have done a good deed for your local businesses, and they will be grateful to you. And send the scam-artist copies of your letters- make sure she knows exactly which restaurants got a heads-up about her. Then ask yourself, how long do you think it will take for anyone to deliver takeout food to her again, ever? [Note: if you do the above, the scam artist will certainly call a lawyer screaming slander, but it is NOT slander, assuming everything you say in the letters is true, and you can prove it.]
Answered on Jun 29th, 2017 at 7:24 PM