Broken promises
Question: In June 2006, my family and I went on a cruise to Alaska. When we
were in Anchorage, we bought several pieces of artwork at a local gallery. One of the pieces needed some work, and it was supposed to be shipped to me in six months. After six months, I called the gallery and was told that it was not ready. It’s now been more than three years, and I’m still waiting for the artwork. I don’t want to sue. I just want my money back or some artwork worth $6,500, which is how much I paid for it.
Narcisa Kiner, Santa Clarita
Answer: This is one of those stories that makes your heart sink progressively deeper as you try to unravel it. The usual protections just aren’t there, even though you think they are. To wit:
* Kiner paid by credit card.
If you pay for goods you don’t receive, you have recourse through your credit card company, under the Fair Credit Billing Act. The Federal Trade Commission’s website says, “Write to the creditor at the address given for ‘billing inquiries,’ not the address for sending your payments, and include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error.” And, it adds, “Send your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you.”
Problem No. 1: It’s been more than 60 days. Many more.
* California’s Small Claims Court is another avenue for recovering money, sometimes as much as $7,500. Kiner said she did not want to sue, but it can be an effective way to recover money, says Alexander Anolik, a San Francisco travel attorney.
Sometimes, but not this time.
A check with Alaska’s Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development shows that the gallery’s license expired on Dec. 31, 2007. In order to file a Small Claims case, you “have to know whom to serve,” Anolik says. “If there’s not an office address to send it to, then it would not be a due process.”
Problem No. 2: The gallery’s phone is disconnected, and its website says “under construction.” A search for the gallery manager’s phone number turned up nothing. About the only recourse is to file a report with Anchorage police, which can be done online ( www.muni.org/apd1/ereportstart.cfm), says Marlene Lammers, a representative for the Anchorage Police Department. Police can determine if there is a pattern of failure to deliver goods, Lammers says.
I’m not hopeful that Kiner will ever see her money or her artwork. There are a couple of protections, however, if you’re ever faced with such a situation:
Anolik urges taking pictures of the product you’re buying and the seller. A photo record can drive home the issue of accountability. And my new mantra is never to pay for something on a promise of delivery. You can leave a deposit as a gesture of goodwill, but not the whole amount. If the merchant doesn’t want to do business with you, don’t do business with him. He needs to earn your trust, not the other way around.
That kind of negotiation is an art all its own.
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