Legal Question in Consumer Law in American Samoa
Misadvertising
We enrolled in a three-week German language course at a public university in Austria. As requested, we paid the fee up-front. The room was described both in the printed brochure and on the website as a double room with kitchen (for which we had traveled from Italy, my husband�s home country, with perishable food). The photo of the room showed a double bed.We found a dorm room with two single beds and a common kitchen.The organizers said that the brochure was badly-written.They offered to help us find other accommodations at our own expense.We asked for a refund due to the misleading advertising.The organizers said that they do not provide refunds under any circumstance and the accommodations were not connected with the course (though one must pay the school for both the course and accommodations).Eventually, they agreed to give us a partial refund of 660 euros.A full refund was refused. They changed their website immediately, though we still have copies of the old brochures and website printouts.I contacted the organizers once again and requested the remaining amount and was refused.We spent a lot of time, money (1291 euros for the course+200 euros for the travel to Austria+150 euros for the food items),travel and energy for this.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Misadvertising
You give no indication as to whether the organizer is based in Austria or the United States. Either way, however, consider yourself
lucky to have received the partial refund, due to the fact that as a practical matter in your particular case, it would, in all probability, not be worth pursuing in terms of a lawsuit.