Small Claims Court

In the case of FiberTech, Inc. vs. Shylock (not my real name) I went to court today at 110 N Grand St in Los Angeles to deal with this issue.

Short synopsis: The people above me had a water leak, they called Fiber Tech to clean up the water mess in their unit and mine, then never paid Fiber Tech. Accordingly Fiber Tech sued me.

Fiber Tech claims that they did $3,771.78 worth of clean-up. Even though I never authorized any services, I did pay them $900.00. They then slapped on collection fees and interest charges at 18% per annum (none of which I agreed to and which are barred by California statute) and took me to court.

This was my first time in small claims court so I was (understandably) nervous. I was armed to the teeth with paper, figured, facts, calculations, etc.

They didn't show up. I thought I had won. Wrong. They sent their collection agency and he filed for a dismissal and they're refiling a suit against me the very same day. What a f@#$*@ crock. If I hadn't shown up, there'd have been a judgment. They, apparently, don't have to show up and they can just keep after me.

Their collection agency are real worms. I wrote them telling them:
A) Not to contact me;
B) To send me verification of the debt;
C) That I was represented by an attorney;
D) That I protested several of their untrue statements in their collection letters (like how they could 'fix' my credit if I paid when I know for a fact nothing derogatory is on there); and,
E) That I resented their constant harassment.

As a side note, it's illegal for a collection agency (under California law) to attempt to collect interest in excess of the amount authorized in the contract (there isn't one) or in excess of the statute (10 percent simple interest per annum) according to the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (your state laws may vary).

Anyway, needless to say they did still send me dunning letters, never verified the debt, continued to make false representations and when I called to find out the exact court date they verbally harassed me on the phone.

Unfortunately even though the interest rate is usurious, I can't sue on that because I haven't actually PAID that interest so the contract is technically not tainted until I pay.

I gotta tell you, I'm tempted to pay the $847.19 interest then sue for usury ... I could get treble damages, but I hate those 'circus court' small claims court actions. You never know what will happen and the law never really applies.

This is different.

I don't understand why you paid them anything at all.

That's really the first mistake people often make, and it's later used in court to establish that you DID owe them, because you wouldn't have paid them if you didn't.

Personally, I would file suit against the collector for FDCPA violation. It's too bad they're not reporting on your credit, because then you'd have FCRA violations too. But the misrepresentations about your credit is an FDCPA violation, good for at least the $1,000 statutory damages.

And I'd also sue Fibertech, holding them responsible for their collector's actions, as well as the people above. Don't they have INSURANCE?????

I already settled with the people upstairs. Their insurance adjuster said they'd pay only $900.00 towards the water damage mitigation/clean-up costs, and so that's what I paid FiberTech and recouped the $900 from the insurance out of settlement costs.

My stupid attorney didn't include an indemnification clause. That could end up as a lawsuit right there, couldn't it?

I may go after the collection agency but I don't see my basis against FiberTech so I'm unlikely to pursue anything against them.

You have one of the strangest cases. For one, I would have never accepted any money from the insurance to pay FiberTech - I would have let the insurance and FiberTech work it out.

And as Fibertech HIRED the collector, they are responsible for their actions. I guess it'll play out in court now.