Expert: Charles W. Field - 1/10/2006

Question
Hi,

I've ordered by mail a video pen, the $161.95 personal check was cashed and cleared my account (on dec 9 2005) BUT the pen was never sent; as of today, I haven't received the refund!.  I'm  residing in Indiana and the firm is in California - how do I find their representative to appear in court to respond and, how do I recover my loss: court costs as well as interest on my money (check was drawn from a money market account earning interest).  I've recorded the phone conversations each time I spoke on the phone with their employees and it does beep every 15 seconds and, they've lied each time: the item was on sale on their website (I've saved the file on my computer) and they've claimed the item was discontinued (how could it be on sale if it has been discontinued) and why cashed my check if discontinued in the first place?

What suggestions do you have to recover my loss plus court costs, plus interest on my money from these charlatans in a small claims court?

How do I find their representative in Indiana to make them appear in small claims court?

Thank you!

Answer
I don't know how you could find their representative in Indiana and I doubt they even have one there. If they don't have an office there and unless your state has a "long arm" statute allowing you to sue them there, you will need to sue them in CA. You might consider talking to a collection agency to cut your losses.