It appears I am going to be sued (?)

[cypress]

If @sapphirescales will really sell you the same model laptop I would take him up on the offer without hesitation. Like he says rather to address the issue if you can and avoid a bad review. Once all is said and done you won't have to deal with her ever again.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I'd call the bluff on the lawsuit. It would cost more to file, even a small claims case, then the laptop was worth. You can sue for the court costs as well but unless the case is 100% provable the judge may not award it. The risk of a bad review is very real. There is not much you can do to avoid it other than cave in. And people know this and are willing to take advantage of you to get it.

Go with @sapphirescales offer and do as @Big Jim suggests and then tell her to find someone else to fix the computer in the future.

After that reconsider your rates so that you are not attracting the scumball client base.

 

[coffee]

Im sure it worked when it left the bench. The only thing is that where the hinges connect to the screen shell broke off. There was prior damage on both sides on the top screen shell. If not breaking totally off in my hands it would have done it with her probably the next day. What really killed the laptop is her holding the base and letting the screen dangle while in a yelling fit - and waving it around. That was the undoing.

@sapphirescales - I will pm you on that laptop as a safety measure in case she does start something up.

 

[sapphirescales]

ah nice idea in principle, but it would mean sapphire giving up his anonymity. i cant see that happening for $2000 yet alone $20. lol

ps @sapphirescales i will remove this post if you would like me to. i say all the above in complete jest.

Yup, you're right about that. Thankfully I do have a way of protecting my anonymity while still helping out @coffee. I'll leave it at that as it's up to him if he wants to proceed. And don't worry about hurting my feelings. It takes quite a bit of razzing to get under my skin.

 

[GTP]

I think @sapphirescales skin is thick enough to handle that.

...and I think @sapphirescales would be smart enough to use proxies...

 

[Your PCMD]

I'll sell it to you for $20.

Thats a good deal @coffee, take it while you can.

Maybe you should give her my number - LOL.

We all know you'd try to sell it to her for $2000.

Needless to say, the only thing she can do is file a small claims civil suit and she would only be entitled - if she won - up to the value of the unit which is about $15 I'd guess. But IF she did win, you could have it set with the court that she signs an NDA, that way if she gives a bad review or says anything, you can sue her.

Also, what @dgoglio said about the check-in form is correct and I agree. No customer leaves anything with me without a check-in form filled out and signed. Although I will not have to worry about that (pertaining to residential) at the end of this month as my residential business side will be shut down.

 

[callthatgirl]

No on the lawsuit, just whiny threats. I got screwed out of my deposit for my last apt and I could have went to small claims court, but I make more money during that time wasted chasing it. I put it this way "The universe takes care of these people" Give her the money back and move on. Drama over.

 

[coffee]

No on the lawsuit, just whiny threats. I got screwed out of my deposit for my last apt and I could have went to small claims court, but I make more money during that time wasted chasing it. I put it this way "The universe takes care of these people" Give her the money back and move on. Drama over.

Totally agree and thanks for your comments.

No money has switched hands on this. I took the laptop thinking of what I had to replace but when I found out the screen was indeed damaged I declined the repair. Took it back to her.

Thanx!

coffee

 

[G8racingfool]

Couple of quick thoughts on this:

The chances of you actually getting sued over this are 0. Sure she might threaten it, she might even talk to a lawyer for about 30 seconds before getting laughed off the phone. But she would have to be completely deranged to actually follow through. She would end up paying more in lawyers and court filing fees than the laptop is worth. I know in our business lawsuits tend to be a big scary thing but the reality is the chances of getting sued are extremely minimal. Even on jobs that are a couple thousand bucks in value you wouldn't likely get sued over something like putting a hole in a wall or a screw through a desk. You would have to do something substantially bad (like cause an entire office to be unusable for days thereby preventing revenue, or sell an expensive disaster recovery product that falls flat on it's face when a disaster occurs) to even sniff a lawsuit.

That said, this is also why we have and pay for insurance! If, for whatever reason, this person did push a lawsuit, just turn it over to your general liability insurance company. Why? Because they have an army of lawyers and personnel to figure this out for you. That's why you're paying for it! Let them take care of the crap. It'll likely be cheaper than paying your own lawyer to try and defend you. Granted, in some cases, that won't be an option but in most cases you'll run up against contacting your insurance company should be your first step. And no, they're not going to raise your insurance premium just because you called them so don't hesitate.

Finally, as others have said, if you don't have one already get yourself a sign-off sheet. It doesn't have to be lengthy or complex or full of legalese but it should state that "**** happens" occasionally during the course of diagnosis/repair and that they agree not to hold you responsible for it. Get it lawyer-reviewed if you'd like to ensure it's bullet-proof but just have something.


And just because we're talking about legal stuff, note that I'm not a lawyer and none of this should be taken as legal counsel in any way. If you need legal advise please consult your own attorney. If you don't have an attorney, contact your local BAR association which can assist in helping you find one.