It's the law!! I know my rights!!

[PuckishOne]

A couple of other threads reminded me of this... How often, and in what, *ahem* interesting circumstances, do you have SCs invoking "the law" in order to get what they want? I hear this an awful lot, mainly due to my line of work (insurance) but wanted to hear from others as well...

LEMME HAVE IT!!! :lol: :roll: :D

[bars.of.a.rhyme]

I get a LOT of complaints about "false advertising," including (but not limited to) the following:

-Not giving someone the sale price two months after the sale ends is false advertising. (Hollywood Video has a grand opening sale at every one of its stores. During this sale, every rental is 99 cents. We've been open for almost a year and a half and I still have people ask me about the 99 cent sale.)
-A sign stating that DVDs are "3 for $25" is false advertising if I won't give her the sale price on only one DVD.
-As if the above wasn't enough, the "3 for $25" sale is also false advertising because it rings up as $26.25 after tax.
-Not having a movie that's "guaranteed in stock" is false advertising, even though we give them the voucher to get the movie for free next time that it's in, thus fulfilling our part of the guarantee.
-Renting scratched DVDs is false advertising, somehow. If a new hire forgets to unlock the DVD cases and the customer has to come back to get them unlocked, that is also false advertising. Apparantly the fact that we rent movies implicitly advertises that the customer will be able to open them. Stupid.

Insurance, eh? I'd love to hear some of yours.

[Tuxian]

Ah, I was at the local Walmart one time, and the line was (as it always seems to be) very long. Some guy behind me started kvetching about how Walmart was breaking the law because they weren't hiring enough full-time employees. o.O

Yeah, I tuned him out, after telling him that he should do what I was going to do (and did do), call the store manager and complain about the wait time to check out. Being upset at the cashier does nothing.

[HawaiianShirts]

It's also "the law" to give the customer something they think they deserve because they misunderstood it. I had one just the other day.

I explained to the customer that our laptop service contract will get him one free replacement battery. "So, when your current battery no longer holds its charge like it used to (which is guaranteed to happen about two years down the road), you bring it in and we'll replace it with a new one."

The very next day, this guy came back asking why his extra battery was not in the box with his laptop. When I explained his misunderstanding, he claimed he thought I'd said he'd get a free battery as an extra. Then he wanted to talk to a manager because he'd understood differently and it was his legal right to get what he understood.

Does this mean I can call Publisher's Clearing House and demand my $1 Million because I misunderstood their "You May Have Already Won" mailer to mean that I actually did win?

I've also heard of people claiming it is against the law to ask for ID if they look over 40. It was also some guy's "Constitutional right" to haggle over the price of a laptop.

[PuckishOne]

Insurance, eh? I'd love to hear some of yours.
Oy...I could make your head spin. :rolleyes: Just the COBRA laws alone bring all of the quasi-wannabe-pseudo lawyers out from under their various rocks. I'll scrape some together and share as soon as I can.

[Ryu]

we have YEARS old candy in our display case and when we run out of that candy people want the one in the display and threaten to sue for false advertising if we dont give it to them...

[ladodger34]

A little off-topic, but back in my city days, the common refrain was "but I'm a taxpayer"

I know it's not the law, but it is government related. Some people used the taxpayer line for really silly things.

[Kyosanshugi]

I once had a guy cite "the customer is always right law" in the most inappropriate situation. He had ordered a coffee or something for his friend, and my next customer wanted a cappuccino. The cappuccino machines get a bit loud, and as I was making it, I see this guy waving at me to stop all the noise. His friend was on her cell phone, and apparently I was disturbing her call. I informed him that I was making a drink for another customer, and he came at me with that infamous line. I shot right back, "yeah, that's why I'm making a cappuccino for this OTHER customer." I never saw him again after that. His friend, however, has become a very nice regular. :roll:

[Imogene]

It's the law to sell a movie before release date if you happen to find it out on the shelf (by accident, I assure you, as the AM who sorted clearly never pays attention to the release dates, and it just happened that whoever put out that section just missed it after finding thirty of his mistakes...)

It's the law that you have to buy back open packets of Magic the Gathering cards that turned out to be 'all land'.... an impossible occurence, or so I heard on a much earlier incarnation of our wonderful board.

It's the law that you have to take payment in pennies if that's all the customer has on them. Sure, for small purchases, but we can refuse that 'law' if the purchase runs into the tens or twenties, or, gods forbid, hundreds of dollars (for which I got a wad of singles once as payment...)

It's the law that you have to have this incredibly hot, Oh Em Gee greatest movie ever in stock on what was most likely the most anticipated release date EVAR! (Star Wars collection/Lord of the Rings...)

(slightly related to the topic) Putting up your hand to give you a moment to finish chewing the bite of cookie you just got in your mouth as the customer walked up is 'disgusdting'. "Don't you get breaks here?"
"Yup, thirty minutes, just got back from it, and it wasn't long enough to eat my cookie in, plus, it's not like we work with food here. We deal in shrink wrapped plastic discs. No, I'm not going to pass you my germs by spitting on your movie. And, if you'd prefer, I could be spitting little chunks of Snickerdoodle at you as I tell you your total, and your change, and to have a good day, and whatever. It's payday, lady, I haven't had any money to get a cookie in weeks now, I deserve a splurge.

Not selling those posters that have been up in the store forever is against the law. Even though they're store fixtures, they don't exactly come down easily, and they get recycled through the company.

Taking $5 to reserve a title for them is against the law. Yeah, a movie everyone and their mother loved in theaters, and more than likely will sell out the day we get them for sale... you want your copy held? Pony up the $5 out of the $21 it's going to be selling for, otherwise, I get to play Movie Nazi. "No DVD for you! Next!"

[Dawnchaser]

Does this mean I can call Publisher's Clearing House and demand my $1 Million because I misunderstood their "You May Have Already Won" mailer to mean that I actually did win?

Actually I'm pretty sure this particular lawsuit has been done with Publisher's Clearing House or maybe some similar company...figures, right?

[bars.of.a.rhyme]

(slightly related to the topic) Putting up your hand to give you a moment to finish chewing the bite of cookie you just got in your mouth as the customer walked up is 'disgusdting'. "Don't you get breaks here?"

I don't get breaks when I work the morning shift at Hollywood...corporate is too stingy on labor to give me a GSR, even on Sundays (the busiest morning shift) when I have to pull, transfer, unsticker and resticker upwards of 100-150 DVDs. Closing the store is of course out of the question, so I can't leave, I can't sit in the office and eat my sandwich, and unless we're very dead I can't even go to the bathroom.

The one upside of this is that when customers tell me it's unprofessional for me to be eating at the till and ask why I can't eat lunch on my break, I can say "I don't get one." That about shuts them up.

</hijack>

[Kiwi]

I had to deal with a guy who wanted a manager (he had spoken to 2 already and was trying them all to get the answer he wanted)

he had a cliped portion of our DATED catalogue sales, date neatly clipped off I might add, he said that as we had the item still in stock we HAD TO BY LAW sell it to him for the sale price.

Little did he know our anal (but wonderful) DM kept a copy of each catalogue in order of date and I was able to find it, point out the date which was out by six months. That was the end of it right....

nope. He said that because we still had it in stock we HAD TO BY LAW sell it to him, this was after me explaining that it was a permanent item, like say bread in a supermarket, and "you know when bread has a sale for this brand from sunday the 7th to sunday the 14th" then it goes back to its REGULAR price, the blinds he wanted were like the bread, back to their regular price.

4 times I explained it before he finally left saying he was calling Fair go (a New Zealand scam busters show) and have me arrested for false advertising.... sureeeeee you do that buddy.

[Rapscallion]

Each catalogue is a contract between the vendor and the customer. Ours is, which is why some members of the public desperately try to get hold of ours to force us to sell to them even though we supply to a shop next door to them.

However, any catalogue worth its salt will say that it is only valid from one date to another, and it isn't valid outside of that time. If you ever have the misfortune to meet this guy again (unlikely, I know), sneer at him for me?

Rapscallion

[Darkmage]

Actually I'm pretty sure this particular lawsuit has been done with Publisher's Clearing House or maybe some similar company...figures, right?

That was a valid false advertising claim. It used to say in big font "YOU HAVE WON $1,000,000!!!!!" and then underneath in very small print it would say "This could be what you see if you buy lots of overpriced magazines from us", or something like that. :D

[dragonflygrrl]

Two "illegal" activities:

1. The cellular carrier I sell phones for is currently running a promotional rate plan. It will expire at the end of the month, and increases the number of anytime minutes on one of our popular plans. Again, it goes bye-bye at the end of the month, so corporate didn't bother to send out new collateral. Therefore, our store collateral still reflects the normal number of minutes. This woman came in, looked at a poster advertising said non-promotional plan, and said, "but I thought I could get [larger bucket of minutes]." I said, "You totally can, if you sign up by the end of the month. After that, the promotion is over and anyone who signs up will get [original bucket of minutes]." She looked me right in the eye and said, "That is false advertising." Hello? The sign advertises a worse plan than what you can actually get and that's a bad thing?! Talk about looking for something to complain about!

2. Our phone prices change at the beginning of every month. Sometimes a prosepective customer will come in, ask questions, get price quotes on a couple phones, and then come back a month later clutching a pamphlet with prices written on it from the previous month. Apparently, we are required by law to sell them a phone for the month-old quoted price, even though our brochures clearly say, "prices subject to change." So far, we haven't heard from all these lawyers customers seem to have. *shrug* Wonder why.

[Phone Jockey]

I had one guy tell me that we couldn't send out the under $5,000 in his 401k (back in the day) because the law clearly stated that we "could not put him in harm's way." Well, the law also states that if you leave under $5k in a 401k, they can release those funds & tax them. Therefore, it's a good idea to roll them into an IRA or something. Jeez, call a tax advisor, you dip.

[Lvl_9_Gazebo]

Every time a guest signs their registration at this hotel, they're signing a contract. That contract basically states that we are not liable for harm or injury done to your person or your belongings, and we can throw you out for any old reason we pull out of our butts.

We're allowed to do this. All the hotels are, and all the hotels do. One guest though, disagreed.

He read the terms above the line you sign, and, chuckling to himself, said, "Poor, poor, deluded Blah Inn." Thankfully though, he didn't make a fuss or inform us that he knew his rights. It would have almost been worth an incident though, if he'd been forced to realize how the law really works for hotels.

[Yossarian]

Oh boy, in banking we get all sorts of people who know the "law".

1. No, we are not required to cash the $500 check that your friend Jimbo wrote you when you've got $1.25 in your account.

2. No, we are not required to give you immediate access to the money you just deposited. Look up Reg CC...or, you can read it on every single sign we post saying "Funds deposited may be subject to hold".

3. Yes, we are allowed to charge you a fee to cash your welfare check, if you don't have an account with us.

4. If the coin machine is broken, we are not required to accept the thirty bags of mixed, unrolled coin you found in your closet.

Etc, etc.

[Crosshair]

4. If the coin machine is broken, we are not required to accept the thirty bags of mixed, unrolled coin you found in your closet.
Arrrrrrr, so me bounty not be good enough for ye scurvy dogs.:p

/Sorry, I had to.

[Jester]

Every time a guest signs their registration at this hotel, they're signing a contract. That contract basically states that we are not liable for harm or injury done to your person or your belongings, and we can throw you out for any old reason we pull out of our butts.

We're allowed to do this. All the hotels are, and all the hotels do. One guest though, disagreed.

He read the terms above the line you sign, and, chuckling to himself, said, "Poor, poor, deluded Blah Inn." Thankfully though, he didn't make a fuss or inform us that he knew his rights. It would have almost been worth an incident though, if he'd been forced to realize how the law really works for hotels.


I am a bartender at a hotel, so don't have to deal with this, but one day, was witness to a rather interesting incident.

Two very intoxicated guests were at the front desk as I was walking by at the end of my bar shift. I had served them earlier in the day, but obviously they had had far more elewhere since then. Apparently, they were being loud, obnoxious, and abusive to the front desk manager, not to mention clumsily violent (i.e. knocking stuff over somewhat intentionally). The manager asked them repeatedly to lower their voices and watch their language, but they continued to curse, yell, knock stuff over, and act like all-around idiots. Having had enough of them, the manager told them they would have to leave the property. The following is my best paraphrasing of the converstations that ensued.

FIRST IDIOT: We are guests here!
SECOND IDIOT: We don't have to leave! We paid blankety blank to stay here, and damn it, you have to let us stay!
MANAGER: No, actually, I don't. I have asked you repeatedly to watch your language and to behave appropriately, you have not done so, and now I am telling you to leave.
FIRST IDIOT: We don't have to go anywhere! We haven't done anything illegal!
SECOND IDIOT: You can't make us leave! We have the legal right to stay here!
MANAGER: Actually, I can make you leave, and if you do not go, I will call the police.
FIRST IDIOT: We haven't done anything wrong! We TIPPED this guy! [Indicating me, who was just there watching the spectacle.] I guess we shouldn't have! [Thanks, pal. Like I am to blame for you being a moron and getting thrown out of the hotel.]
SECOND IDIOT: Don't worry, man. They can't throw us out. Let them call the police. They will come and ESCORT us to our room, and then we will SUE the hell out of these guys!

So the Manager called the police, much of the above continued to be repeated ad drunken nauseum, until the police got there. Luckily, the police arrived in short order, asked the manager the problem, and was told the situation. While the manager was telling his story, the drunken idiots attempted to interrupt, only to have one cop tell them "Be quiet! He is talking now!" When the manager was finished, the drunken idiots look satisfied, KNOWING that they were in the right. Until, of course.....

OFFICER #1: This man wants you off this property. So you need to go to your room, get your stuff, and vacate these premises. What room are you in?
FIRST IDIOT: Ummm....I just want to go to my room!
OFFICER #2: That is no longer an option. You need to vacate these premises, and you need to do so now.
FIRST IDIOT: I didn't do anything wrong!
OFFICER #1: Are you going to get your stuff and vacate the premises or not?
FIRST IDIOT: I didn't do anything! He is saying all this shit, and none of it happened that way!
OFFICER #2: Turn around. [cuffs first idiot] What is your name?
SECOND IDIOT: You don't have to tell him anything, man.
OFFICER #2: He's right, you don't. [to Officer #1] Cuff the jailhouse lawyer.
OFFICER #1: Now you are both going to jail.

And off they went. Good thing they knew the law, huh?

[Lvl_9_Gazebo]

^^^ Oh yes indeed it was. That was wonderful!

[Hotelboy]

If you only knew how many times I've been that manager. I also enjoy people who refused to pay their bill (because we've kicked them out or whatever reason), I tell them we're keeping their stuff, locking the door, and selling it to cover the costs. They cry lawyer, and then find out they're screwed.

Knowing the Innkeeper's Act inside and out is fun!

[Chugach_PropHead]

Ahh yes, I was threatened numerous times from some "all-star" employees of FedEx. Over the course of a year, I would fire several people. I considered myself one of the most laid-back managers there, but things like chronic abesenteeism, coming in drunk, sneaking off repeatedly to smoke cigarettes, and outright insubordination were things I would not put up with. Even though it clearly stated on the application that you could be "terminated for any or no reason", I knew to cover my keester and document EVERYTHING.

Needless to say, when I had enough ammunition to get rid of somebody, they would become extremely beligerent. It was never their fault either- it was mine. I was a "racist mo-fo *insert string of unintelligible babbling* and I was going to hear from their lawyers. That part always made me smile... OK, so you live in a craphole apartment in Cabrini Green, you openly admit to spending all your money on Olde English Malt Liquor and pot, and yet you can still afford to retain a crack team of high-level attorneys? Interesting...

In the end, I do remember one guy that actually had the gall to go to court. He was terminated for chronic absenteeism and poor performance. This means that he called off 2 to 3 days a week for a few weeks, and would NOT work unsupervised. If I left him alone for more than a minute, he would stop working and just sit down in his trailer. He demanded from the court that he receive unemployment compensation- but after the human resources person showed the judge his attendance record, the judge just said "forget it" and threw it out. Sweet...

[Acolyte]

I had a guy try and pull law on me to fix his computer. He came in with a pirated copy of XP which, naturally, we can't let leave until it has a legal copy. I informed the guy of that, and said he had to buy a copy of XP. Otherwise, it wasn't leaving the shop.
He got rather pissed off, yelling that we were stealing his computer, and, at one point, tried to barge into the back and get it. However, our staff is pretty...well, built for a bunch of IT guys, so he failed.
He left, saying he was going to call the RCMP.

Sure enough, a cruiser is out front in 10 minutes, and a Mountie is talking to one of the other techs. However, we told him, and proved, that he had an illegal copy of XP. So, the cops told him to pay up, or HE was the one getting busted.

Moron paid up rather promptly.

[Dreamstalker]

we have YEARS old candy in our display case and when we run out of that candy people want the one in the display and threaten to sue for false advertising if we dont give it to them...
...and then they'd sue if they ate it and got sick.

I had a student try to say that it was "the law" that she didn't need to tell me exactly what was wrong with her internet (I think she said something along the lines of she didn't "have to" talk to anyone except the IT director about hardware problems...well why did you call the library lab then?) :confused: