I never recieved anything in the mail and it was from months ago. I just got served papers. What do I do? This is ridiculous!
2007-10-24 16:12:57 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You were sued. Of course you can be sued - you received goods and didn't pay for them.
You have three options:
1. Call the attorney who sued you and try to settle the matter immediately. THe attorney probably doesn't want to go to trial and cost Pizza Hut more money which means even more legal fees. The attorney may as for $8.00 plus attorneys fees to date.
2. File an "Answer" to the Complaint within the time limit you have. You can go to your local court's website and get info on doing this. You better know what you are doing or you could "default" and automatically LOSE. You then have to pay whatever the attorney for Pizza Hut asks for.
3. Go to trial and fight it.
Normally, in the United States, you cannot be assessed attorneys fees unless it was in a contract OR there is some law which allows for it. Based on my experience, Pizza Hut could not get attorneys fees because there was no written contract allowing them to collect attorneys fees AND there is no law allowing for you to be responsible for their attorneys fees.
With this lawsuit, Pizza Hut is trying to make a point - that they won't put up with stealing.
I suggest you call up the attorney and offer $50 to drop the lawsuit and settle with them. They should be happy with that. If the attorney demands attorneys fees, just tell him that by law you aren't responsible for any attorneys fees and see where it goes.
You should also get an attorney ASAP if the above doesn't work.
2007-10-24 16:36:00 · answer #1 · answered by Dina K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is very serious. Check fraud can be a felony where you live.
At this point, $8 is not going to cut it. Usually there is also a "Returned Check Service Fee" of about $30 on top of what is owed.
Contact Pizza Hut to find out how much they feel is owed. Ask them if they would rather have cash in hand or waste more time and money in court. Next, hand deliver the money to the manager and demand a receipt stating the amount paid, the reason why the amount was paid and the date. Keep this paper very safe.
Next, contact your bank to make sure you do not have any more checks bouncing out there. Get overdraft protection on your checking account immediately. That step alone saved me hundreds of dollars in fees.
2007-10-24 23:51:04 · answer #2 · answered by Kevin k 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The check may be for $8.00 but they are entitled to triple that amount, $24, plus the fees they had to pay the bank, $25 to $30 and then costs of collection including court costs, in other words
this $8 check can end up costing you a couple of hundred bucks, pretty expensive pizza.
If you need legal advice, contact a lawyer, the law forbids us from giving doing so.
Good luck.
2007-10-24 23:24:14 · answer #3 · answered by justgetitright 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they can. That $8 check can turn into $300 or $400 because you might also have to pay attorneys fees and court costs. Call them before the court date to see if you can work it out.
2007-10-24 23:20:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact Pizza Hut and pay them the $8.00, whats the big deal. Understand, it is illegal to write a bad check, but if you owe them , better pay them.
2007-10-24 23:23:08 · answer #5 · answered by Hirise bill 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"What do I do?" Well gee I don't know, make the check good comes to mind. If you go to court you will pay $8 plus thousands for legal costs.
Pay up pal. You can pay them now or you can pay them later.
2007-10-24 23:19:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes still be taken to court.even if you pay for the bad check it does not erase the crime of writing the bad ncheck.you argument is very poor. you know if you wrote a bad check becaus the bank and the person who received the check will also let you know that the check bounce.here in texas it is called "passing a worthless check".
----retired texas deputy sheck----
2007-10-25 02:08:34 · answer #7 · answered by charlsyeh 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry. I know the founders of Pizza Hut. The Carney's all live in my city. I will call them and ask them to drop it.
2007-10-25 00:14:14 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, it's ridiculous, but just pay the 8 bucks and make it go away.
2007-10-24 23:34:22 · answer #9 · answered by Dr. WD 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't normally get anything until charges are pressed. This takes time. A bad check, even a small one, is still a crime.
2007-10-24 23:24:10 · answer #10 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋