Second-year law student Payal Patel had a soft spot for Mr. N, her new client, as soon as she met him. As a pharmacist before enrolling at Santa Clara Law, Payal had established good relationships with several of her senior citizen customers. She therefore welcomed the opportunity to work with Mr. N, a 79 year-old Sunnyvale resident. Mr. N had come to The Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center because he could not resolve a dispute over hearing aids he had purchased and returned.
His ordeal began in the summer of 2014, when he saw a hearing aid ad in the paper. The ad indicated that the company would sell a limited number of hearing aids at a reduced price as part of a ‘risk-free’ trial. When Mr. N visited the company, its staff told him that he risked losing his hearing within three months. There was no licensed clinician at the location. The company induced Mr. N to sign a contract to pay $5,000 for the hearing aids by promising him he could return the hearing aids ‘hassle-free’ within thirty days. Mr. N, whose only income is from Social Security, did not have the money to pay, so the hearing aid company signed him up for a credit card.
Mr. N’s hearing aids were a disaster from the outset. They fit poorly, buzzed, and actually caused Mr. N a great deal of pain. To reduce this pain, Mr. N repeatedly requested an adjustment of the hearing aids, which the contract allowed under the 30-day trial period. But the company insisted that no adjustments were necessary, and that Mr. N should leave the devices in “no matter how much pain they caused him.” With eight days remaining in his free trial, Mr N finally returned the hearing aids. But the company refused to acknowledge the return, so Mr. N’s credit card debt remained and interest began to accrue. When Mr. N refused to make payments on the credit card, the finance company began a telephone harassment campaign against him. The credit card company also reported negative information about Mr. N’s payment history to the credit bureaus. “My client did everything right,” Payal reported. “He returned the hearing aids within the trial period. The hearing aid company refused to honor its end of the contract, and the contract did not comply with California law in the first place. The company had no basis for failing to reverse the credit card charge. And the credit card company added insult to injury by harassing my client for payment during all hours of the day.” Payal immediately sent out a ‘cease and desist letter’ requiring the credit card company to stop the harassment. “The calls stopped. The bills stopped. Everything stopped. It was a great relief,” Mr. N explained.
Payal then focused her attention on defenses to the alleged debt. Within a few weeks, she had convinced the credit card company to reverse all charges and to remove all negative credit information. “This is the best peace of mind I’ve had in a long time, and I have Payal and the Law Center to thank for it,” Mr. N reported.
“This case meant a lot to me. The result renews my faith in the legal system. It also reminds me that I can use my law school tools to positively affect people’s lives. After I graduate, pro bono work will have to be part of my professional life; it’s important to me” concludes Payal.
