Vivian Ware, a recent SCU Law School graduate and KGACLC alum, successfully fended off efforts of an unscrupulous company to defraud an unsuspecting consumer and paved the way for fairness towards future consumers.
Mr. J. is a first generation immigrant who lives and works in East Palo Alto. Last year, a telemarketing company which apparently targets Spanish speakers called Mr. J. and told him he had won a ‘lottery’. The company told him the prize was a discounted series of educational videos that would allow him to obtain an auto mechanic certification. Mr. J. agreed to pay $850 for the videotape set. Upon its arrival, he inspected the videotape set and found it to be incomplete and of extremely poor quality. He promptly called the telemarketing company to cancel (California law provides for a three day right to cancel), but the company informed him the sale was final. When he refused to pay the balance, the company sent Mr. J. a series of threatening collection letters. The letters – all in Spanish – threatened him with litigation, and one such letter referred to a fictitious legal ‘Case Number’. Another one of the letters went so far as to state Mr. J.’s ‘delinquent’ account could ruin his immigration status.
When Mr. J. came to the Katharine and George Community Law Center, Vivian filed suit against the company and negotiated a settlement requiring the company to pay Mr. J. $5,000 plus attorneys fees and costs. Vivian also secured a seven page injunction which should ensure that the company does not violate the rights of other California consumers in the future.
