Expert: Timmy Chou - 11/12/2010

Question
Dear Mr. Chou,
I have had some problems lately with a Tmobile cellphone account that I
closed several months ago.They have no way of giving me a written
confirmation of this other than verbal reassurance. Since then, I have had
money automatically debited for my account even though the account is
closed. When I called the company I was told that they would refund the
money to my account but again, would not give me anything in writing.
Specifically I would like something from them to give to my bank stating
that the money was withdrawn in error in order to avoid potential overdraft
fees. I had not anticipated this error on their part and I am worried now
that checks I have written may come in in the next week or two before the
money is refunded to me. I went into their store to obtain such
documentation only to be told to take them at their word regarding my
canceled service and the refund of the money that was debited in error.
What procedures should I follow in order to receive written
documentation? As there have been discrepancies in the past over what
was communicated verbally, versus what I was charged verbal reassurance
does not seem sufficient.
Thank you,
Jennifer Jones

Answer
Thank you for your question!  Sorry about the delay in responding -- the system just notified me of your question this morning.

As I always note to questioners, mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

I am not an attorney and cannot give you legal advice but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.

Note that this matter may have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult an attorney.

I often tell people that it may be useful to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems.  For most large organizations there is only expedient and inexpedient.  Also, there is a cost to exacting justice and the costs can be quite high.  Remember that your person-hood and your commercial transactions are not even remotely related and that these sorts of things are not personal.

The truth is that you have very little leverage in motivating them to act.  The people who take your phone calls are a million miles away from the people who issue payments.  The people on the phone can only take your case and create a pending payment in their computer system, but cannot make it fund I'm guessing.

They may be in the wrong and you may indeed be owed the money, but as you have seen, no one cares.

You can try to call and escalate the matter to more senior people who may have more authority to get action in your case.  You can also contact consumer protection offices in your state and perhaps they have some ideas or can help turn up the heat.

No doubt the company knows that it would cost you thousands to sue them and you wouldn't do this for a few hundred dollars.

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.

For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:
 Confidential, no public record
 Limited exchange of documentation, information
 Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
 Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
 Cheaper than litigation
 Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

 It's a compromise, no 100% winner
 Complex arbitration can be costly
 If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
 Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
 Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

 Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
 Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
 Can be quicker than litigation
 Less costly than litigation
 Preserves business relationships
 85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

 may not reach a binding decision
 unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

 a clear winner and loser
 uses a prescribed set of procedures
 more predictable outcomes
 is final

Negatives of Litigation:

 waiting for court dates can do more harm
 usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
 part of the public record