Legal Question in Telecomm Law in New York

Re: Internet Fraud?

Hello,

From the facts, it isn't clear if this is a case of Internet fraud or plain old moving company arm-twisting (otherwise known as extortion in extreme cases or fraud in less-extreme situations, like yours). In either event, you have more than likely been burned to the tune of $50 or at the most $150. In all likelihood, of course, you paid the extra $50 in cash (right?) and there is no realistic chance that the $50 made its way up the food chain of two companies (the Internet company and the movers) -- you bought the beer and pretzels for these guys.

That's the problem: unless you can find enough other victims of this to raise the amount in controversy to the felony level the DA will not act. The truth is they are too busy with larger issues to give a $50 or $200 claim the attention it requires.

However, it is unclear who actually ripped you off and you�d have to analyze the contract with the Internet and, if available, that with the movers, to see which had the duty to provide what was promised by way of �in-home� delivery. If the NY company, you�d have to sue in NY small claims in the county where the NY company is domiciled or located; same for the movers�which could be (and likely is) from CA. In either event, you need to sue where the companies keep their bank accounts (typically same as domicile or location) so you can attach the assets in case of a court victory. While it is unclear who actually ripped you off you could, of course, sue both claiming they both ripped you off and that way force them to divulge the loser by default--the loser can't produce a valid contract between the parties alleviating it of the duty to deliver to your living room OR they could both loose.

You can try this (it has a history of success) -- write a letter to the CEO, very stern but polite, informing the company what happened and demanding restitution within x days or, on the advice of your attorney, Mr./Ms. Z, Esq., you will empower said attorney to begin proceedings against the company.

Now, if you have a real attorney/friend, ask them if you can simply use their name and cc them on the letter.

You may consider sending this to both companies, customizing the letter to the company. The likelihood is, however, that the NY company will stall and the moving company, which is probably a local short-haul mover that picked up your tv at a depot where it came off a semi, will recognize this as standard procedure for their crew and send you a check.

Send this on letterhead, registered, return receipt requested. As you've already learned, e-mail to a company is useless. Don't make the deadline too short. It should be commercially reasonable but not too long.