Want to get even with a
business that's done you wrong? Here's a list of things you
can do to cause a business owner to get in trouble and possibly get the
business closed.
- File a complaint to your State's Attorney General's
Office
- File a complaint to your Local
Better Business Bureau
- Write to the Troubleshooter divisions
of all your local TV stations. Businesses hate bad publicity
- Check and see if the business has all
of the proper local licenses their supposed to have by calling the City
License division in the City where the business is located. If not report
them.
- Call your State's Business tax
division and see if the business is registered to pay sales taxes
and if not report them.
- You could anonymously report them to
the IRS.
- You could anonymously report them in a letter to OSHA
for possible safety violations. (Prime targets for OSHA
safety violations are Factories, Construction Sites, Work Places, Auto Repair shops,
Car Dealers, Warehouses,
Coal Mines, large Warehouse type Shopping Outlets, Office
Buildings, Restaurants, Motels, etc.)
- If the business is a Auto Repair shop
or any place which handles hazardous waste, you could anonymously report them to
the Environmental Protection Agency for
possible EPA violations. (Auto shops are required by
law to properly dispose of used oil, gasoline, etc).
- You could anonymously report them in a letter to the
U.S. Department of Labor by stating that the business "does not
appear to be in compliance with various labor law
regulations".
- You could anonymously report them in a letter to the
EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) for EEOC
violations or non compliance. (Business who do not have any minority
workers can get in trouble)
- File a complaint to the Federal Trade
Commission.
- If it's a restaurant or motel,
report them to the Health Department.
- If an item was purchased with your
credit card, file a complaint with your Credit Card Company.
- You can also notify Dun and Bradstreet,
a business credit rating company if a company owes you money and are
past due. Their web address is; www.dnb.com
They also have a collection division so if you get a judgment
against a company and they haven't paid you, turn the account over
to Dun and Bradstreet for collection. The added benefit is
that late payments and judgments will get recorded into Dun and Bradstreet's
database and will NEGATIVELY impact the business so they may have
trouble getting credit or loans.
- If all else fails, take them
to Small Claims Court for claims under $2,500 or Civil Court for claims
over $2,500. (Amounts vary from State to State). Filing fees
and court costs in most States are less than $50 for Small Claims
Court. In your
complaint / small claims suit, always make sure and ask for court
costs, filing fees collection costs, attorneys fees and interest.
Companies which do business on the internet are especially easy to
beat if you used a credit card. For instance, if you bought something
from a company in California and you live in another state,
for Small Claims you will file suit in the County in your
State. They MUST come to YOUR state to defend themselves so if it's some distance away,
it could be costly and very inconvenient for them. If they don't show up, you can get a default judgment which
means YOU WIN! For must suits under $1,000. they won't
show up because it costs them more to defend the case than it's
worth. If you paid using a credit card, in your suit ask
for a court order to have the charge reversed so if you win, the
credit card company will have to reverse the charge and you get your
money back.
Several years ago, a TV station affiliate owed me about $3,000
and refused to pay. I filed suit, asked for court costs, collection costs,
attorneys fees, interest and late fees,. After winning the
suit (they didn't even show up for court) I got a court order to
have the stations assets liquidated and sold at a sheriffs sale to
satisfy my judgment unless they paid me my $3,000,
plus attorneys fees, court costs, collection costs, sheriff's fees
etc. They ended up paying over $7,000. Taught them
a lesson and it felt great!
Note: Addresses
for all of the above Government agencies can be found on the
internet.
Free Tip :-)
Just telling the owner or manager of a business you will report them to
the list above if he/she doesn't comply with your wishes may cause them to
become much more flexible. For
instance, if your dealing with an Auto Repair shop, you can tell them;
"if you don't give me my money back, I'll report you to OSHA,
the EPA, the
U.S. Department of Labor, the
EEOC, the IRS (etc) so they can check out your
business and see if your in compliance with their regulations". "
I'll also report you to all of the local TV Stations, the Attorney General's
Office, Federal Trade Commission,
Better Business Bureau" etc. After a threat like
that a business owner/manager will know you are not a pushover and you
might take action which could cause them a lot of grief. They
may decide to give in because of the possible consequences.
Businesses do not want the
Government or TV stations investigating them. I've heard many
a business owner complain how it's impossible to be in compliance with
every government regulation. They know that Government agencies will
investigate their business and try to find violations and the fines can be
HUGE! Few businesses can stand up to inspections without a
government bureaucrat being able to find something wrong. After all,
it's their job to find things that are not in compliance with
regulations. They love writing up those citations!
Using the above methods, I
have ALWAYS prevailed and won and you can too!
Don't forget to put
the word out on the internet about the problem you've had with a business and submit
your article ! |
