How Small Claims Court Works - The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 03/26/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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Last week I wrote a piece on small claims court, where you can have the People's Court experience but without the cameras. Apparently, quite a few daring readers have gone through the process and many more have had the occasion where they thought about it seriously.

It really is a pretty simple process but - as with anything else - having someone explain it to you before you try to figure it out on your own can help. And, some people don't like the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and would rather just listen to someone explain it to them. So, here you go. Same topic but the podcast.

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And No, I don't just read the piece because that would be boring - even for me. So there is some different stuff in here. And as always, I tell you the foreign city with the most listeners to last week's episode. Who might it be - Australians? Malaysians? And why are these people listening?

Ah, another one of life's little mysteries. But, as always, thanks for listening. Wherever you are. And the pic at the top is an Isetta. A small car for the small claims podcast. That example is in the Petersen Museum in L.A.

Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we're not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn't act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

thebigbossyboss > SteveLehto 03/26/2015 at 09:56

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Interesting. I am enjoying your podcasts. Ontario may move this way for traffic offences, although I am strongly opposed to this proposal because traffic offences are offenses that can affect your insurance.

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/column…

And the propsal in all it's legalese.

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/POA%20…

SteveLehto > thebigbossyboss 03/26/2015 at 10:26

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What a bizarre idea. Let us know how (or if) it goes.

And thanks for the note.

thebigbossyboss > SteveLehto 03/26/2015 at 10:33

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I will I am planning a bigger post on this issue for the weekend. We still have time to submit comments, so I am hoping my jaloppos will submit many.

WiscoProud > SteveLehto 03/26/2015 at 10:41

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I had a issue back in 2007 where I purchased a Land Rover LR3 V8, only to discover on my way home that it was actually the V6. I called and the salesman I worked with didn't even know they made a LR3 V6. That being said, they just keep telling me they couldn't do anything. I wanted them to switch my purchase for an almost identical V8 model they had on the lot for the same price, to which they categorically refused. So I looked up the CEO of the automotive group, and left him voicemails for two weeks. The dealership manager called me back and offered me a $500 settlement, which I accepted. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was better than nothing.

Not sure if small claims would have helped me. They probably would have pushed it to regular court, and I didn't have the money for an attorney.

Bearded Bastard > thebigbossyboss 03/27/2015 at 00:27

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for tickets that have demerits attached it actually sounds like an excellent idea, and one to more likely result in "pay this fine instead and I throw the ticket away" or pay this amount, with 0 demerits.

All things which can be achieved in court, and more successfuly if you go before the court date and see a JP.

The biggest issue with the system as it is now, is no one I ever speak to, knows you can go in before the court date, and privately speak with a JP and have the ticket removed.

Also, the statement of fighting a ticket possibly being worse than paying it, is a statement I absolutely hate. Because if a ticket carries demerits, it's never worse to fight it. You said it yourself, it can raise insurance, enough can DENY you insurance all together. In many cases, tickets can shut you out of entire career paths. Anything that involves a company vehicle? No chance with a couple tickets on your record.

Always fight tickets, and always try to negotiate them.

You say you are writing a bit of a piece for later, please include that bit of info. Not near enough people know they can reduce or eliminate the demerits or abstract listings on their of fences.

thebigbossyboss > Bearded Bastard 03/27/2015 at 07:01

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"no one I ever speak to, knows you can go in before the court date, and privately speak with a JP and have the ticket removed."

How could you go see a justice of the peace before court? I do not understand enlighten me.

Bearded Bastard > thebigbossyboss 03/27/2015 at 10:40

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if you go to your local court, to the offices where you pay your tickets, there's the cashiers booths, as well as another set of booths, I can't remember the name of it at the moment, but it's the people you speak to if you need to extend the date to pay your fines by, and they can reduce the tickets fine as well.

You go to these people and tell then you wish to speak to someone about the ticket, possibly being removed, and they sit you down and you wait, and eventually someone will come out from a couple office rooms and call you in, that person is a JP who sits around all day listening to people about their fines. And they have the power to alter your ticket in pretty much any way. Such as throwing it away and issuing you a monetary fine instead of a traffic violation.

Bearded Bastard > WiscoProud 03/27/2015 at 10:47

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that's probably something you could have taken care of yourself even if it went to regular court.

They sold you the incorrect vehicle they claimed they sold you. If the bill of sale states on it anywhere that it is a v8, they have to deliver that vehicle to you. They are bound by that bill of sale and sale contract.

Lastly, you don't need a lawyer to tell a judge that 500 bucks won't buy you a v8 over the v6.

Now days it's less and less that people even look under the hood of their cars anymore, not only because of the cluster it's become, but people in general just don't even bother, or care, last car I sold I opened the hood and the guy is like, is there something you need to show me? Completely blew my mind

thebigbossyboss > Bearded Bastard 03/27/2015 at 10:48

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Thank you. I did this with my parking tickets actually a few years ago but Ottawa removed this service after a while.

WiscoProud > Bearded Bastard 03/27/2015 at 11:03

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My main problem was that the purchase agreement did not say "V8" anywhere, oddly enough. For the used vehicles, at that mileage and time (when gas prices were at their highest in 2007 before the crashed) the difference in price was definitely minimized, but no, it would not account for the full difference.

The issue on the LR3 was that both the V8 and V6 were "SE" models, and the V6 simply omitted the V8 decal, rather than replacing it with a V6. Not to mention when you pop the hood they use the same engine cover that only has the LR logo. Visually (which I did not know at the time) you can tell the difference from the rims. The V6 got 6 spoke and the V8 got the 10 spoke.

Bearded Bastard > WiscoProud 03/27/2015 at 11:09

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that info would be enough to justify the replacement then, in that case, the closest thing I can relate it to is the story of the guy with his spare tire.

Bought a new car, went looking for the spare and because there wasn't one, and the dealer wouldn't give him one immediately, he canceled his payments and denounced ownership.

Because of the nature of modern engine bays, you couldn't find out the engine type until later.

I'm wondering, do you still have this vehicle? Nothing can be done about it now that they offered you something and you took it, but definitely keep these things in mind in the future. People get screwed over far worse things at times, but it strikes me as odd that even though the salesman didn't even realize, that the dealer wouldn't just swap the keys and be done with it

WiscoProud > Bearded Bastard 03/27/2015 at 11:16

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The manager of the dealership was simply put, a complete asshole. One of the side mirrors was cracked, and I was trying to get it worked into the agreement that they would fix it. He kept telling me over and over that it was only a $10 part, while simultaneously refusing to fix it. Its a heated mirror, $50 not $10. I ended up caving on that once I looked up a saw it wasn't tough to fix.

They had several LR3s with similar mileage and age on the lot, with V8s. I tried to get them to just swap it out, but the manager refused. I was unaware that I could denounce ownership. So I decided to bug the CEO instead.

I sold the vehicle in early 2013. Aside from the normal horrific repair expenses common to Land Rover, it was a great vehicle.

Bearded Bastard > WiscoProud 03/27/2015 at 12:07

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sounds like he was an ass. I had a few experiences like it before too. except in Canada its even harder to really fight dealers, we have to use an arbitrator from a vehicle dispute regulator, and problems need to be pretty serious.

bugging the CEO is a good idea on its own, they definitely don't want sour customers. that said, definitely at least seek legal help any time you have a dispute, any law firm worth its salt will offer free consultations for the first visit. sometimes with the lawyer, sometimes with a paralegal to screen your case, but either way they can offer sound advice on where you stand.