Public Citizen is helping Cindy Cox sue Accessory Outlet for charging her $250 when she complained that an Iphone case hadn't shipped when promised; the company's rep told her that he'd fine her even more for emailing him to protest, adding an ominous "You are playing games with the wrong people and have made a very bad mistake."
Accessory Outlet claimed that a buried clause in its terms of service (which prohibited "any complaint, chargeback, claim, dispute, or mak[ing] any public forum post, review, Better Business Bureau complaint, social media post, or any public statement regarding the order, our website, or any issue regarding your order, for any reason") gave them the right to levy the charge, and told Fox that they would report her to credit bureaus if she didn't pay up, which would "put a negative mark on your credit for 7 years and will also result in calls to your home and/or work."
Every one of Accessory Outlet's badges of merit (from the BBB, Angie's List, etc) is fraudulent, and their picture of their well-lit, well-stocked store is actually a picture of a Korean Samsung store.
Cox, undeterred, told the company not to threaten her and said that she would be contacting a lawyer and the Better Business Bureau.
Accessory Outlet responded the next day, July 17: "Contact your lawyer, spend more time and money if you wish. You will be billed and the amount we will bill you for will continue to rise with every email and every second we dedicate to correspondence of any kind pertaining to your breach of the terms of sale. Thank you."
Order on sketchy site goes awry, firm wants $250 in fees, customer sues [Cyrus Farivar/Ars Technica]
