> In the US, it’s not easy to sue a company as a customer.
My experience in Canada:
- I successfully sued a large retailer (something mart) over a $60 mistake, that ended up costing them a lot more in small claims court.
Just dealing with the company was insane. Literally yelling at me on the phone that they were never going to pay for a simple mistake. I literally said "well, if you're going to yell at me, let's at least do it in front of a judge."
It was really easy to file the papers, and even serve them myself. The court people helped. The company denied, denied, denied. Day of the case, literally 5 minutes before it was set to start, they agreed to pay everything I asked for (including 2 days of my time), but wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Which I did.
- Second case, it was one of Canada's largest banks. Error on their part, cost me $1000+ in extra expenses. Fought me the whole way, didn't want to pay anything at all. Went through their internal ombudsman process, but never got anywhere. A few days after filing a claim in small claims court, they gave me everything I asked for. Again, wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
So I tell everyone I know, that in Canada, the big corporations are more afraid of courts than anything else. Last thing they want is a public record of wrongdoing.
These kind of NDAs are frustrating because it prevents systemic problems from being aired and addressed. I don't blame you for accepting it – I would have done the same – because it's not your problem to fix; you just want your $1000 back, but I wish they would be restricted by law.
My experience in Canada:
- I successfully sued a large retailer (something mart) over a $60 mistake, that ended up costing them a lot more in small claims court.
Just dealing with the company was insane. Literally yelling at me on the phone that they were never going to pay for a simple mistake. I literally said "well, if you're going to yell at me, let's at least do it in front of a judge."
It was really easy to file the papers, and even serve them myself. The court people helped. The company denied, denied, denied. Day of the case, literally 5 minutes before it was set to start, they agreed to pay everything I asked for (including 2 days of my time), but wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Which I did.
- Second case, it was one of Canada's largest banks. Error on their part, cost me $1000+ in extra expenses. Fought me the whole way, didn't want to pay anything at all. Went through their internal ombudsman process, but never got anywhere. A few days after filing a claim in small claims court, they gave me everything I asked for. Again, wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
So I tell everyone I know, that in Canada, the big corporations are more afraid of courts than anything else. Last thing they want is a public record of wrongdoing.