Armchair (or real) Attorneys - Breach of Contract question

[Reel]

I had Sunrocket prior to their sudden shutdown. I disputed the charge for the service and they responded with a copy of their terms of service. Can a company that has failed to provide the service referenced in the terms still try to enforce other conditions of the terms? It seems that when someone breaches the contract, they lose the right to attempt to enforce other sections of the contract. Is this accurate?

 

[Jack Ryan]

Wow, just move on, I mean what are you out, $200 at most?

 

[FoBoT]

if they are bankrupt, i think you'd have to petition the bankruptcy court, and you'd be behind so many corporations they owe money, you'll never get anywhere

 

[Greenman]

Seems to me that you paid for a service that you didn't receive, and that they can't supply. You don't owe them a cent.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: Reel
I had Sunrocket prior to their sudden shutdown. I disputed the charge for the service and they responded with a copy of their terms of service. Can a company that has failed to provide the service referenced in the terms still try to enforce other conditions of the terms? It seems that when someone breaches the contract, they lose the right to attempt to enforce other sections of the contract. Is this accurate?

They sure can try to enforce the terms. Without seeing the contract and knowing the applicable laws, it's impossible to say if they're in the right. They could try to pull that even if the contract says "Sunrocket will pay Reel back his money any time he wants, no questions asked, no ifs, ands, or buts." Anyone can try anything.

The more practical question is: how would you get your money back? You can't hire an attorney for the piddling amount of cash involved.

 

[mh47g]

I wish Reel was my father.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: Dirigible

Originally posted by: Reel
I had Sunrocket prior to their sudden shutdown. I disputed the charge for the service and they responded with a copy of their terms of service. Can a company that has failed to provide the service referenced in the terms still try to enforce other conditions of the terms? It seems that when someone breaches the contract, they lose the right to attempt to enforce other sections of the contract. Is this accurate?

They sure can try to enforce the terms. Without seeing the contract and knowing the applicable laws, it's impossible to say if they're in the right. They could try to pull that even if the contract says "Sunrocket will pay Reel back his money any time he wants, no questions asked, no ifs, ands, or buts." Anyone can try anything.

The more practical question is: how would you get your money back? You can't hire an attorney for the piddling amount of cash involved.

Right now it is in dispute with the credit card company. I disputed, they responded, and now I respond to that. If I present my case in a manner that satisfies the credit card company, then they will side with me and I will get the money and it won't go any further. If not, I am screwed as you say.

I was wondering if it would hold weight to point out to the credit card company that the terms of service are no longer valid because the company has failed to provide the service referenced in the terms.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
The more practical question is: how would you get your money back? You can't hire an attorney for the piddling amount of cash involved.

He's disputing it with his credit card company... that's how he intends to get his money back.

Of course the credit card company probably won't be able to get their money back, so if they refund his money they're taking the hit. Kind of sucks for them. It's not their fault people jumped on a deal that was too good to be true and the company went down the tubes.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Reel

Right now it is in dispute with the credit card company. I disputed, they responded, and now I respond to that. If I present my case in a manner that satisfies the credit card company, then they will side with me and I will get the money and it won't go any further. If not, I am screwed as you say.

I was wondering if it would hold weight to point out to the credit card company that the terms of service are no longer valid because the company has failed to provide the service referenced in the terms.

How about some more detail about what it is in the terms of service that they're trying to use in the dispute.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: mugs
How about some more detail about what it is in the terms of service that they're trying to use in the dispute.

It is a printout of what can be found at http://www.sunrocket.com/terms . There is no highlight or accompanying letter indicating what they are referring to specifically.

They also included a worksheet indicating their take on the prorating. Their response and my claim disagree on two points: one being the start date of the agreement and two being the length of the agreement.

Point 1 is not worthy of further discussion and is rather insignificant. Assume for the case of discussion that I am correct on this point and I had service for 6 months.

What I believe they included the terms for was it mentions at several points that the contract is for 12 months. However, when I renewed, I did so under a promotion for 2 years at the price of 1. I requested a refund of 18/24 months. They responded saying I am eligible for 6/12 months refund in a worksheet format (no accompanying text).

 

[cherrytwist]

IIRC the deal was buy one year for $199, get one year free.

I didn't bother filing a dispute. We had service for 18 months, so I got 6 months of "free" service.

Time + effort + likely outcome = not worth it