Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Re: Small Claims

The real question is why the credit card company reversed the charges. This is definitely not worth pursuing financially because you will probably not find a California attorney to handle a small claims matter for less than $250 per court appearance. It could wind up costing you more than $1000 in attorneys fees just to get a judgment and that doesn't include your travel costs to appear in court in California (which could require multiple appearances). Add in additional fees to collect the judgment and you could be looking at more than $3000 in total costs.

Because they live in California, you cannot sue them in Small Claims court in New York. Therefore, your most cost effective way to deal with this would be to have a local California attorney send them a certified letter demanding payment and stating what the consequences of non-payment would be.

Good luck!

Re: Small Claims

You will have to dispute the reversal w/ the credit card co. You have an agreement/contract with them.

Also, have you filed a police complaint against the customer for theft of services?