Consumer Fraud Making sure I'm not going to end up causing myself more trouble

[eerongal]

Background info:
Very recently, me and fiancee moved up from illinois to iowa. My fiancee applied for and got accepted for a job for an employer, and the employer told her that she needed a copy of her driving record. We went to the local DMV and they couldn't pull her record because we moved up here too recently, and they had nothing on file. She went online to try to purchase her illinois record online, and found a site DMV.org that apparently works with backgroundchecks.com to sell driving record (both sites are in no way related to the government, and are privately run businesses, the first being an informational site, the second actually selling background reports. Unfortunately, she didn't realize they weren't in any way related to the actual DMV until i pointed it out to her after the fact.)

The situation:
When she applied to get her driving record from backgroundchecks.com, she accidentally selected the wrong state on her drivers license. As such, no report was given, in fact, it actually said that there was an error when it attempted to pull the report, probably because of invalid data (which was of course true). At this point and time, the payment has all ready been processed, and I was charged 40 bucks for it. We contacted the business, and they said that they cannot modify any of the data used to pull the report, and they have a policy to not allow refunds under any circumstances. They said the only option i have would be to order a new report with the correct information. So basically, I'm sitting here out some money (a fairly small amount true, but still, it's principle more than anything) and they didn't render any services. I was going to dispute the charges with my credit card company for failure to render services as agreed, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get myself into a worse legally situation by doing that, assuming their business policies of "no refunds in any circumstances" are able to be legally upheld in a case like this.

 

[army judge]

Some battles aren't worth fighting.

This is one I wouldn't bother fighting.

I'd get the required information from the state of Illinois.

I'd help my loved one get the job.

Don't let small obstacles distract you from the goal, getting her a job!

Good luck.

 

[eerongal]

Some battles aren't worth fighting.

This is one I wouldn't bother fighting.

I'd get the required information from the state of Illinois.

I'd help my loved one get the job.

Don't let small obstacles distract you from the goal, getting her a job!

Good luck.

Well, fortunately, the employer was understanding about the local DMV not having her driving record on file, and they gave her a bit of an extension to get it. She actually all ready has the job now, officially, so not getting the job isn't an issue here.

I just was wondering where i stand as far as getting my money back for this goes legally. Like i said, it's not a whole lot, and as you said, it may not be worth fighting. I just don't want to end up causing myself more problems over a fairly small sum of money, but at the same time, if i can get it back easily, then i certainly will.

 

[army judge]

Well, fortunately, the employer was understanding about the local DMV not having her driving record on file, and they gave her a bit of an extension to get it. She actually all ready has the job now, officially, so not getting the job isn't an issue here.

I just was wondering where i stand as far as getting my money back for this goes legally. Like i said, it's not a whole lot, and as you said, it may not be worth fighting. I just don't want to end up causing myself more problems over a fairly small sum of money, but at the same time, if i can
get it back easily, then i certainly will.

You asked.

They said no.



That's as easy as it gets.

You can file a dispute with the credit card company.



That would be the second easiest way to get the $40 charge removed.

But, your loved one did get the service she mistakenly chose.


It wasn't the provider's fault that she chose incorrectly.

As I said, I'd let it go.

But, we all make our own choices.

Congratulations to your loved on on getting that bright, shiny, new job!

 

[Disabled Vet]

I would also point out.... I bet the site you pulled this information from used several verifty information checks. Make sure all your information is correct before you select pay. Check the above information and if it's correct select pay.

 

[cbg]

Agreed: They did the work - it's not THEIR fault that your fiancee hit the wrong state. They took the information SHE gave them and did what they do - that there was no information there because of her error is not their fault.

I'm not sure I see a valid reason for them to refund anything.

 

[eerongal]

Agreed: They did the work - it's not THEIR fault that your fiancee hit the wrong state. They took the information SHE gave them and did what they do - that there was no information there because of her error is not their fault.

I'm not sure I see a valid reason for them to refund anything.

Right, but doesn't the fair credit billing act (or something along those lines) require refunds for goods and services that were not received? In fact, a few hours after the report went through, they had a customer service rep email us stating that they were unable to complete a report because of incorrect information, doesn't this constitute failure to render the agreed upon service (a background report), so doesn't this mean that they did nothing but still expect payment (it's an automated service that failed, afterall, which means from a technological perspective, the only "service" they rendered would have been an attempted and failed query at a database)?

The main reason i'm asking is because legally i don't know how their policy of "no refund no matter what" stands, even if they're unable (and unwilling, since they explicitly said that they will not modify any information to make the report run correctly) to uphold their end of the transaction (a background report of any kind, since they do more than driving records), but still more than willing to take your money.

 

[army judge]

eerongal, I suggest you make your argument with the people you believe failed to serve you.

No one on here was involved with that transaction.

We have no authority to change their minds or refund your money.

 

[cbg]

You did receive the services. It's not their fault that you gave them the wrong information. They gave you what you asked for; it's your fault that you didn't get what you wanted.