Demand Letter Time Allowance?

[squideast]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

I am in Georgia, and close to filing a small claims lawsuit against a company in Tennessee (Sevier County).

I am sending a certified demand letter as a final request before filing the suit. I am finding mixed answers on my research regarding the time allowance to give the company before proceeding with filing suit. These range anywhere from 10 days to 30 days.

Is there a legal standard for the time allowance in a demand letter (and if so, does it vary among states; and if so, does anyone know what it is for Tennessee)?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[latigo]

MORE IMPORTANTLY, how do you see the court as authorized to exercise personal jurisdiction over the Tennessee based company UNLESS you file your lawsuit in Tennessee?

Now maybe the circumstances of your claim are such that Georgia’s long arm statute kicks in to give a Georgia court extraterritorial personal jurisdiction, but I seriously doubt that you could pursue such a case in small claims. You couldn’t in many states.

Plus it would take an attorney to understand the complications of filing the motion and affidavit for an order for the issuance of summons for out of state service, etc., etc. and more etceteras.

Of course, if the company is registered in Georgia as a foreign corporation, it is vulnerable to the George courts and you could serve the secretary of state, but you don't indicate that this is the case.
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As far as the period of the demand I suppose it could affect your rights to add attorney fees to the claim, but that would require someone familiar with the applicable Georgia statutes and court rules.

But so far as the demand being a condition precedent to ripening the claim in order file an action on the claim, that is totally foreign to me.

 

[squideast]

I apologize if I was unclear. I don't intend to file the suit in Georgia. I intend to file it in Tennessee.

I'm just trying to figure out the number of days to state in my final demand letter.

Here's my sentence from the draft letter I'm preparing to send:
"Unless payment of the above amount is received by me in full within [NUMBER (##)] days of the date of this letter, I will have no alternative but to exercise whatever rights and remedies I have under the law to enforce such payment..."

I would like to just give them 10 days, because it has already been 13 days since my last "informal" request (via email), and they have simply ignored me. I really don't want to give them 30 days to ignore me on this letter. I want my money back. So, knowing they're likely not going to respond to this letter, I'd like to just say 10 days in it, and get on with this thing.

So I'm wondering if, legally, in Tennessee, I have to give them a certain number of days to respond before I file the suit.

 

[latigo]

It would be helpful if you were to provide some factual detail supporting your claim. Like what evidence and argument do you intend to submit to the court. And any anticipate defenses to the claim.

If it grows out of the company transacting business in Georgia - such as accepting orders and delivering products to Georgia residents - and the amount of the claim warrants the expense - you may be able to bring you lawsuit in a higher court and on your turf and not theirs.

If the claim is not of a significant amount, it might be cheaper in the long haul to just turn it over to a licensed collector.

 

[squideast]

Sure thing - I'll give you all the details if it helps I just didn't want to bore anyone with my wordiness!

The company is a cabin rental company in Pigeon Forge, TN (they don't own the cabins - they are more like property mgmt. and rent them out for owners).

I put a deposit on a cabin back in January to reserve the cabin for Fri/Sat March 5/6 for a surprise BD for my best friend - amt $173. They didn't take American Express (my only credit card), so I had to put it on my debit card (big mistake, in hindsight).

I arrived on Friday, March 5th, checked in, and paid the remainder of the balance on the debit card - amt $517.

There were "minor" issues at first (fireplace not working, dirty pillowcase [semen stain], 3-4 lightbulbs out); suffice it to say it started off on a bad foot; but I didn't complain about these things at first.

The kicker was when we went to strip and wash the dirty sheets and found no running water when we turned the washer on. Checked all the faucets, and water just trickled out. This was around 5:00.

By 6:55, we were in a panic, because the office closes at 7:00, and the only after-hours # they provided was 911. We called them back, and they explained that they had paged their plumber upon our first call, but the plumber was not calling them back.

They had two other cabins available, and offered to move us; I asked what the layout of those cabins were, and they were not comparable or sufficient for our party (we had 4 couples and 6 children; these cabins would have put one of the couples in a sleeper sofa or a bunk bed, and that's quite simply not what we reserved or paid for). I told them I would have to start trying to find another place to rent. I asked them if there was any after hours phone number I could call if I was unsuccessful in finding a place, and we still had no water. There was none. I added that I would just have to call them in the morning to discuss further and see where we were; if we were still there, I would fully expect a discount; if not, I would expect a refund.

I got on my laptop and started searching, and my husband suggested maybe we could call our own plumber and have them reimburse us. He called the office 8 times (it was now 7:15 pm), and finally someone picked up. He offered this solution, and they declined, saying they could only use their contracted plumbers. End of that phone call.

My husband and I then discussed maybe staying in the two cabins (with no further expense to us). Not ideal, but a solution. He called them back again - this time only 3 calls before they answered. He offered this solution, and they said if we stayed in both cabins we would have to pay for both. He told them, "Look, you're either going to make no money here because we'll be leaving, or you'll make your $690 and put us in two cabins that you aren't receiving $ for anyway this weekend - they're empty." They said they would have to try to get in touch with the owner to see if that was an option. We told them in the meantime we were still looking for another place to stay - we had dinner for 14 that still couldn't be cooked and toilets that couldn't be flushed.

I found another cabin that would fit us all comfortably, and booked it. We proceeded to pack up all our cars and close up the house. As we were leaving, at 8:00 pm, they called us, and said, "You can have the other two cabins for the one price, but there will be no further discounts." We told them that a) we already secured other accomodations, and b) wouldn't entertain such a statement - what if these cabins had no water either??? Thanks, but no thanks at this point.

And now they won't refund my money. When I emailed them the following Monday asking about it, they responded that the lack of water was "out of their control since the house shares a well and this can happen", and since they ultimately offered us the two cabins, they would not be refunding the money.

I disputed it with my bank, and the final disposition was that "services were rendered". No, they were not. The services were not as described, and we did not spend one night in that house.

Lesson #2 (or 10??) here was that NOW (after the fact) I've read reviews on this company, and this appears to be a recurring issue with them. Out of 20 reviews I've read, 17 are negative, and one is almost the exact same - no running water. And the company doesn't refund $, and doesn't return phone calls. Which I am experiencing. Crooks.

 

[latigo]

Then so much for Georgia’s long arm statute. You’ll have to file your lawsuit in Tennessee.

But your beef is not with the rental agency. It is with the record owner(s) of the cabins! And the fact that you were aware at the time that the people you dealt with were merely acting as agents of the owner(s) means you cannot hold them responsible.

Anyway, find out who owns the property and name both the owner(s) and the rental agency.

Also, there could be some further complications if the owner(s) are not residents of Tennessee, or the property is owned by an entity that cannot be served in Tennessee. In such cases you may not be able to use small claims.

I hope the trouble is worth the effort - (or is it the other way around?)

 

[squideast]

I actually didn't know at the time that this was (or may be?) a property management company/agent of an owner. To be honest, I might even be incorrect on that - I made an assumption when they said they would "have to check with the owner" that they meant the homeowner - that they did not own it. But thinking back to the return phone call at 8:00 (where they said, "the owner says blah blah"), and the one email they sent me (where they said, "the owner says blah blah"), they very likely could mean the owner of the cabin rental company; they could own these cabins as well. So I'm not even sure at this point! Either way, I wasn't and still technically am not aware of their being agents.

So I guess the next step will be to find that out. Which should be a blast, since they don't feel the need to answer phones or reply to correspondence. Guess I'll have to go about it by inquiring as "a property owner interested in using them as an agent", and fish around with questions that way, to at least get a general idea of whether they are an agent for any owner period to begin with.

I definitely think the trouble is worth the effort...when I consider that I ultimately paid $690 + $158 (my 1/4 share of the cabin we DID stay in)...so $848 for two nights in worn out old Pigeon Forge (sorry, but it's the truth - the town was BD girl's husband's pick - not mine).