lawyers/law students....I need your help.
 

So....last night, I started this thread, which referred to this blog. I didnt refer to the blog in the thread originally, but since I now know you can google it and find it, I guess it doesnt matter....

At any rate - it's funny how quickly the internet works. I got a phone call from the company today, "politely asking" me to remove the blog because I didnt have the right to use their emails in my blog. I told her "I'm sorry, but that information was in MY inbox, and therefore it became MY property, which means I have every right to use it how I see fit."

I told them I was not removing it. Or rather, I said "when I receive the check for refund, I might remove it." She tried to argue with me - said something about "I shipped it to every address you gave me....." to which I replied, "I asked multiple times for tracking and shipping confirmation which you never provided."

Long story short - she threatened to get her lawyer on me. I told her to do what she felt she needed to do. She said "this only happens with about 1 out of every 10,000 customers. I I said "Well, too bad, i was the 1, because I'm going to tell everyone I know."

My question is, do I really have any reason to be concerned? I had a bad experience as a customer. Their website says customer service satisfaction guaranteed. Well, I never got the product, the check has not yet arrived, and somehow I doubt that it's going to because it's one of the addresses she messed up on the first time around.....AND, she once again, did not provide me with a tracking number. I didnt use her last name, because I dont know it. The email address in the blog is publicly available on their website. Did I do anything that could be worth being concerned about?

Thanks.

Whatever. You don't need a lawyer. They have no right to sic their little lawyer n you. They need to send you your merchandise. You have a right to blog about whatever you want to... especially bad service. Good going to report them to the BBB. I have ordered a product from a well known distributor before, and they never sent me my product. After 3 months of attempting to contact the company, the BBB, and my CC company, I finally got my money refunded through my CC. You really have to watch these places online. Agh. I will know not to EVER order anything from greekforme. Shiesty.

I mean this in the nicest possible way - but, no lawyer or law student with any sense will give you legal advice over the internet. There's a host of ethical and legal reasons why not. Long story short, if you're looking for legal advice, you should consult a lawyer personally. If you're worried about cost, try calling your local bar association, as they may be able to hook you up with a lawyer referral service (local law schools may have something similar).

Hey - I'm clueless. I've never had a reason to need a lawyer. I think(hope) she was just trying to scare me anyway because she's ticked off that i didn't just let the situation go.

It sucks because it's only $85 lousy dollars. A lawyer is going to cost me much more than that. *sigh* I love how the little people with small claims such as this can't really get any results....Blerrrgh.

I understand it's frustrating - but, no lawyer who has any interest in keeping their bar license (or any law student with interest of being admitted to the bar) is going to give legal advice over the internet. Think about a doctor giving medical advice over the internet - it's a similar idea.

If you really think you need a lawyer, you should definitely inquire of your local bar association or a local law school. There may be local low-cost or no-cost options for legal representation.

I just did - it said the initial cost for consultation wouldnt be more that $35....but that if more cost is needed it would be discussed. I normally would have ignored it until they contacted me, just in case she was trying to scare me, but somehow, I think she might be serious, so I better cover my @$$.

Here's some advice that's not legal: Pay with a credit card when you buy something online so you can do a chargeback if you don't get what you ordered.

Here's some more advice that's not legal: Instead of complaining to the BBB, who doesn't usually do crap, complain to the Greek licensing people (Affinity Marketing Group) and Alpha Xi Delta about what happened.

Also, many lawyers do free consultations. Is there an AXiD alumna in the area who is an attorney that could give you advice? Or even another Greek alum?

Yeah - we used a chapter check because it was for bid day stuff, and figured it was just as easy to send the company a check. Believe me, I've learned my lesson - I'll pay for it with my credit card from now on and have the chapter reimburse me.

I've contacted the BBB (which, if they do something, great, if not, oh well, at least I tried) and I was planning on calling my FHQ this morning about it.

great idea about the AXiD alumna in the area - I'll def have to see what I can do....

What is the company going to sue you for??? Posting their public information? Slander? You are not really saying anything untrue (to the best of your knowledge) and you are not saying that they suck and never buy anything from them. You are just telling about your experience. I think they're just huffing and puffing.

well, my local Bar Association contacted me yesterday (after I submitted a form online a few nights ago), and the guy "gave me kudos" for taking a stand against the company. He gave me a referral to an intellectual property attorney. We discussed whether it should be a libel/slander situation, or intellectual property, and I guess because of the blog, he suggested intellectual property.

I've been in contact with my FHQ about this. I guess we'll see what happens from here....

Honestly, Amanda, I don't think you have anything to worry about. There's a reason there's the old business warning that a happy customer will tell 5 people but an unhappy one will tell dozens... for decades. There are actually cost/benefit charts for businesses to estimate dollars lost from unhappy customers, the goal being that they make sure to turn any customer who first contacts them with a complaint into a satisfied customer.

It tells you something about a company that doesn't take the opportunity to review and improve its practices when it runs into an honest snag or problem in its service or delivery. When a company doesn't respond (or immediately make a refund at the very least), it shows their lack of concern for the consumer and awareness of what bad word of mouth can do. And in these days of the internet, companies should be bending over backwards because just as in your case, email, blogs, forums, etc., make that original telling of dozens of people into thousands and thousands. Nightmare. But, it's their fault for not taking care of the situation. Like you said, they have in writing that they guarantee customer satisfaction. You're not satisfied. You have documented attempts to get satisfaction. And it sounds like they STILL haven't lived up to either delivery or refund, correct? Well, too bad for them. Now an entire greek forum, their target audience, has been warned against spending their money there. They need to get better at what they do, not waste their time with empty threats of legal action against customers they failed. Sheesh.

legally i dont know what should be done, but with all the websites around that people write complaints on, i wouldnt think its a problem...you did the right thing!