Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

Re: unnecessary repairs

If you agree to arbitration in any written agreement (whether or not that agreement turns out to be binding), you have forever signed away your right to sue. What that means is that there may be legal remedies you may have, i.e., a right to statutory damages and awards of attorney's fees, which you are giving up. You are also giving up your right to pursue legal causes of action, such as breach of contract, breach of warranty, violation of consumer protection statutes, etc. Arbitration is usually a quick and dirty process in which the rules of evidence and the law are ignored. Unless you're talking about large commercial contract cases between banks or large corporations (in which arbitration makes a lot of sense and is conducted rationally), arbitration favors those who are legally in the wrong and usually results in a "split the baby" ruling.

Also keep in mind that organizations like the Better Business Bureau are funded by businesses who, while they may have the noblest of goals in the improvement of business, also want to have problems with consumers defused rather than solved. The more time and energy you waste on making fruitless complaints, the more likely you are to simply give up and go away. Further, everything you say in your complaints can and will be used against you. It's an opportunity for businesses to have a peek at your case before you ever go to trial, in the event you do file suit.

If the plumber lied to you or was deceptive or fraudulent in any way, you have a cause of action under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Va. Code section 59.1-200(14). section 59.1-204 gives you a right to statutory damages of at least $500 plus attorneys' fees.

My suggestion: either give up and chalk it up to experience, or get a lawyer who does consumer protection to file suit for you.

Re: unnecessary repairs

I think you'll find that your costs will be a lot lower if you file in small claims court, rather than go through arbitration. If you paid by credit card you may be able to put the charge in dispute arguing that the promised service was not delivered. Good luck.

Re: unnecessary repairs

Forget about the arbitration, and also the lawyer.

File your own case in Virginia small claims court for about $25.00 (where lawyers are not permitted

to represent clients), and limit your damage claims to a reasonable approximation of what you

actually lossed.

Prepare your case file with your evidence logically organized and easily accessible.

Proceed with confidence. Chances are, that once the alleged miscreant is served with formal

notice of your lawsuit, if the facts are as you state, he'll be willing to settle for the amount

that you are seeking in your suit rather than go

to court to defend the indefensible.

Even if he dosen't pay up first and the court

awards you a judgment, it'll be considerably easier to collect the small claims court judgment for your actual losses than a larger one from

a higher court involving attorney fees, and,

perhaps, other damages.