# My friend broke contract



## CarolinaGuy79 (Sep 9, 2009)

And left Directv only 6 months into her contract and still owns them cause the card she had on file had expire, so will I lose my refer a friend credit since she Broke contract and still owes them?


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Call DirecTV and ask them.


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## CarolinaGuy79 (Sep 9, 2009)

MysteryMan said:


> Call DirecTV and ask them.


Why would I do that just for a simple question when people on this forum can help?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

From everything I've heard, you don't lose the referral over the actions of the person you referred. Most likely, DirecTV will get their money somehow. Not that it really matters, but I'm curious as to why they left so quickly.


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## boogerbomb (Jul 9, 2012)

"CarolinaGuy79" said:


> And left Directv only 6 months into her contract and still owns them cause the card she had on file had expire, so will I lose my refer a friend credit since she Broke contract and still owes them?


They will still go after her for the equipment and the ETF.


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## CarolinaGuy79 (Sep 9, 2009)

My friend said she left early cause every time it rains the signal would go out (I know lame) I told her to call them and they may send someone out and she said she did but they never would, she told me she was gonna cancel and I told her about the ETF and they would charge it to her card on file and she said it had expired but I think she canceled it once I told her.


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## ndole (Aug 26, 2009)

Likely just a poor mounting job that caused an alignment issue. Some folks that have never had satellite don't understand _why_ it goes out in heavy rain (especially HD). But in some cases, new customers have more issues than they should due to a substandard install. A service call should have happened.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"CarolinaGuy79" said:


> My friend said she left early cause every time it rains the signal would go out (I know lame) I told her to call them and they may send someone out and she said she did but they never would, she told me she was gonna cancel and I told her about the ETF and they would charge it to her card on file and she said it had expired but I think she canceled it once I told her.


I have a friend that had that same problem. I thought he was full of it too, he'd lose signal in practically a sprinkle and he was just a few streets over. His dish was installed improperly (had nothing to do with aiming). Fortunately they fixed it, and he just reupped.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

You won't lose your credit as you did your end.


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## ndole (Aug 26, 2009)

Shades228 said:


> I am a DIRECTV employee however all views, expressions, opinions, facts, platitudes, conjecture, compliments, criticisms, are mine even if logic dictates otherwise and are not on behalf of DIRECTV, TiVo, Thompson/RCA, Technicolor, LG, Samsung, Zinwell, or any company that may or may not be affiliated, contracted with, in the same country, making money, not for profit, or a government entity.


That's quite a signature :lol:


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## kb24sd (Jun 22, 2012)

CarolinaGuy79 said:


> My friend said she left early cause every time it rains the signal would go out (I know lame) I told her to call them and they may send someone out and she said she did but they never would, she told me she was gonna cancel and I told her about the ETF and they would charge it to her card on file and she said it had expired but I think she canceled it once I told her.


Not a good move.

If your friend cares about her credit card rating she should do the right thing and pay the ETF and return the leased equipment.

DirecTV and it's lawyers will go after her starting with some nasty calls from a debt collections agency.From there if she still refuses to pay she can expect legal action and eventually a lawsuit.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

kb24sd said:


> Not a good move.
> 
> If your friend cares about her credit card rating she should do the right thing and pay the ETF and return the leased equipment.
> 
> DirecTV and it's lawyers will go after her starting with some nasty calls from a debt collections agency.From there if she still refuses to pay she can expect legal action and eventually a lawsuit.


Scary . oh !

But slow down - who would spend hours of chasing her for the miserable $200 ? Someone who getting $5/h ? Nah.


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## kb24sd (Jun 22, 2012)

P Smith said:


> Scary . oh !
> 
> But slow down - who would spend hours of chasing her for the miserable $200 ? Someone who getting $5/h ? Nah.


Do you understand what a contract is?

Seriously?

Directv has lawyers and will easily pursue her through a 3rd party debt collections agency.

Anything with a persons signature on it and they can be pursed in court.

Also the person who broke contract was 6 months into her contract which means she still had 18 months left and ETF is $20 per remaining month on the contract which comes out to $360.


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## MrShowtime (Apr 8, 2009)

kb24sd said:


> Do you understand what a contract is?
> 
> Seriously?
> 
> ...


not to mention like $100-$300 per box if she didn't return them (I forget the going rate for an unreturned box now)


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

CarolinaGuy79 said:


> Why would I do that just for a simple question when people on this forum can help?


Because no one here has the definitive answer, only DirecTV does.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

CarolinaGuy79 said:


> Why would I do that just for a simple question when people on this forum can help?





MysteryMan said:


> *Call DirecTV and ask them*.





RunnerFL said:


> Because *no one here has the definitive answer*, *only DirecTV does*.


There's the answer.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

P Smith said:


> Scary . oh !
> 
> But slow down - who would spend hours of chasing her for the miserable $200 ? Someone who getting $5/h ? Nah.


You'd be amazed. I'm one of three men in our town that have the same name (different middle names, but that doesn't stop collection agencies) and I was the only one with a listed phone number. The two other guys are deadbeats and the calls never stopped until I deactivated my land line phone service. They'll call you for far less than $200, Pete.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> There's the answer.


Yup and if you call six times, you'll probably get six different answers.... :lol:

Rich


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Rich said:


> Yup and if you call six times, you'll probably get six different answers.... :lol:
> 
> Rich


Then again....if someone calls 6 times...they'll have it in their records that you did, and who knows what kind of answer you'll get after all that.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

I'm a fan of not calling unless necessary. 

In this case, multiple answers are likely, and at least one different department will be involved in the final decision. Calling might in fact make them say, hey! Let's stop the bonus to this guy. So I'd leave it alone. 

But advise the friend to clean up the mess as it'll negatively affect future credit if she doesn't.


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## boogerbomb (Jul 9, 2012)

Who knows, if she had called they might have sent out a tech to check out the install to make sure it was good or not. And if not could pick up the equipment while there. Make sure she doesnt sell it.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

boogerbomb said:


> Who knows, if she had called they might have sent out a tech to check out the install to make sure it was good or not. And if not could pick up the equipment while there. Make sure she doesnt sell it.


We don't know if she did call or not. Not even the OP is sure about that.

You raise an interesting question: If one buys that equipment, is not one in possession of stolen goods?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"Laxguy" said:


> We don't know if she did call or not. Not even the OP is sure about that.
> 
> You raise an interesting question: If one buys that equipment, is not one in possession of stolen goods?


Technically speaking yes, and if you buy it from another state, that's federal. However, at least the federal code requires the buyer to know it was stolen. I think in general, if someone unknowingly buys stolen property, and returns it, they are rarely prosecuted. In Ohio, you can actually be prosecuted for receiving stolen property if you were told it was stolen and in reality wasn't (like in a police sting.)


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

It's been about five years but when my father died and his service was cancelled, they cancelled my credit as well.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"paulman182" said:


> It's been about five years but when my father died and his service was cancelled, they cancelled my credit as well.


If that's the policy, that's just wrong.


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## maartena (Nov 1, 2010)

CarolinaGuy79 said:


> My friend said she left early cause every time it rains the signal would go out (I know lame) I told her to call them and they may send someone out and she said she did but they never would, she told me she was gonna cancel and I told her about the ETF and they would charge it to her card on file and she said it had expired but I think she canceled it once I told her.


Regardless of what her problems might be, this should not affect your referral discount, nor your credit in any way.

DirecTV will deal with her in getting the ETF and equipment back from her, and if she totally screws it up, that is her problem (and DirecTV's, although I would imagine the bad spot on her credit affects her a lot more than it will DirecTV).

So..... don't worry about it. Although might want to give her a lesson in how things affect your credit score. When buying a house in 2010, they discovered 1 late payment in 2005, and questioned it. I had simply forgotten, so no big deal in the end, but this kind of stuff (refusing to pay ETF, refusing to return equipment, etc, etc) can REALLY hurt you down the line.

Hope she doesn't plan on buying a car any time soon, because houses and cars..... are where they nail you for past credit problems more than anything.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

There's a lot of woulda, coulda, and shouda's going around in this thread.

I wouldn't necessarily call the friend a deadbeat. She couldn't get a decent signal a lot of the time and decided to cancel. Did she give DirecTV a chance to fix the problem? It's not clear from what's been posted so far.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

kb24sd said:


> Do you understand what a contract is?


Are you absolutely certain that you understand the difference between a contract and a commitment (the term DIRECTV uses to represent the arrangement)?


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

billsharpe said:


> There's a lot of woulda, coulda, and shouda's going around in this thread.
> 
> I wouldn't necessarily call the friend a deadbeat. She couldn't get a decent signal a lot of the time and decided to cancel. Did she give DirecTV a chance to fix the problem? It's not clear from what's been posted so far.


I haven't called her a deadbeat, but the decent signal was merely said (second hand) to have a problem with rain fade. 
If she cancelled her credit card (as the OP surmises) in order to beat DIRECTV® in charging it for ETF or equipment, that does sound a bit like that term..... though not necessarily.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

harsh said:


> Are you absolutely certain that you understand the difference between a contract and a commitment (the term DIRECTV uses to represent the arrangement)?


I'm not clear on what differences there might be between those two terms in context of this discussion.

What are they?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ndole said:


> Likely just a poor mounting job that caused an alignment issue.


There are areas of the country that suffer HD signal issues that cannot be completely cured with a proper installation. The South Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Great Lakes region suffer these conditions quite frequently in the Summer.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Laxguy said:


> I'm not clear on what differences there might be between those two terms in context of this discussion.


See the following link substituting the term "commitment" for "agreement".

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_a_contract_and_agreement

In the context of this discussion, it may be difficult to legally enforce a commitment where the the enforceability (and methods available) of a contract is clearly defined.

In the realm of modern litigation, parsing every word is how it is done.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

harsh said:


> See the following link substituting the term "commitment" for "agreement".
> 
> http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_a_contract_and_agreement
> 
> ...


Sorry, no. Without specific analysis of an agreement, you cannot tell if it's enforceable or not; it may well be. And not all contracts are enforceable, as they may be defective in any number of ways.


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## csgo (Oct 15, 2006)

I decided to check my state court files (Missouri) to see if DirecTV actually took anyone to court. I went back to 1998. There are a few cases where DirecTV (or a collection agency on their behalf) were the plaintiff, but I was surprised to see how many people have sued DirecTV. Quite a few were for property damage, employment discrimination, and even some by our Attorney General, but most were small claims.

I checked about a dozen small claims and DirecTV either didn't show up (default judgment) or lost. I didn't find a single one that DirecTV won. An eye opener.


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## Christopher Gould (Jan 14, 2007)

"harsh" said:


> There are areas of the country that suffer HD signal issues that cannot be completely cured with a proper installation. The South Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Great Lakes region suffer these conditions quite frequently in the Summer.


You got to be kidding.


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

"Christopher Gould" said:


> You got to be kidding.


What he said is true. There are locations seasonally more prone to fade, regardless of dish peaking.


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## Pepe Sylvia (May 10, 2010)

From the Directv site.

_REFERRAL OFFER

Limit 10 referrals per 12 consecutive month period. Offer ends 12/31/12. Referring customers must currently subscribe to the ENTERTAINMENT Package or above; OPTIMO MÁS or above; Jadeworld or any qualifying international service bundle, which shall include the PREFERRED CHOICE programming package. You must provide new DIRECTV customers with your DIRECTV account number. Referred customers must sign up for service & hardware using the phone number provided (1-866-443-8869) and mention your DIRECTV account number at the time of order. They must order their leased system by 12/31/12 & activate the ENTERTAINMENT package ($54.99/mo.) or above; OPTIMO MÁS ($46.99/mo.) or above; Jadeworld® or any qualifying international service bundle, which shall include the PREFERRED CHOICE programming package ($41.99/mo.), within 30 days with required programming commitment at time of activation. You & your referred customer will each receive 10 nonrefundable/non-transferable credits of $10 each over 10 DIRECTV billing cycles, totaling $100. Allow 6 to 8 weeks after activation for credits to post to accounts. Determination of program eligibility and qualifying referrals, as well as any exceptions, are at the sole discretion of DIRECTV. DIRECTV reserves the right to verify and adjust credits at any time prior to or following posting and redemption. May not be combined with any other DIRECTV offers. Any balance will carry forward on your DIRECTV bill until credit is exhausted. Offer not transferable or redeemable for cash. Accounts for both the referring customer and the referred friend must remain active and in good standing, as determined by DIRECTV in its sole discretion, to receive credits. Commercial accounts/customers not eligible. DIRECTV reserves the sole right to modify, suspend, or cancel this referral program at any time without notice. Visit directv.com/refer for more information. Programming, pricing, terms and conditions subject to change at any time. Pricing residential. Taxes not included. Receipt of DIRECTV programming subject to DIRECTV Customer Agreement; copy provided at directv.com/legal and in first bill. ©2012 DIRECTV, LLC. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, LLC. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners._


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Christopher Gould said:


> You got to be kidding.


_You've_ got to be kidding. Ask anyone who was trying to watch DIRECTV HD from Iowa eastward through Pennsylvania during the storms last week.

Other recent instances (with recent installs/repoints)

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=207044&highlight=fade

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=207386&highlight=fade


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

harsh said:


> Are you absolutely certain that you understand the difference between a contract and a commitment (the term DIRECTV uses to represent the arrangement)?





harsh said:


> See the following link substituting the term "commitment" for "agreement".
> 
> http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Difference_between_a_contract_and_agreement
> 
> ...


Are you seriously trying to say that the User/Lease Agreement isn't a contract?

The word "contract" is actually used in the User Agreement so I would suggest you read it. It is not a commitment but rather the programming commitment is one of the terms of the contract.

Heck, section four is titled "Changes in Contract Terms". No ambiguity as to what the intent is there.

How enforceable is it? I'm not a lawyer so I don't have a clue but I suspect that, as with any contract, there are legal means to fight any or all the terms.

It's very misleading on your part to imply it's not a contract and may actually be akin to giving legal advice. Unless you're a lawyer and licensed in every state I suggest you be very careful with the "legal" interpretations you post.

Let me be clear so everyone here understands. Unless you contact a lawyer in your state and (s)he tells you otherwise, the User and Lease Agreements should be considered binding contracts. If you read the paperwork you signed for the installer you will see you agreed to the terms of the User/Lease Agreements.

Mike


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Mike Bertelson said:


> Are you seriously trying to say that the User/Lease Agreement isn't a contract?


I am calling it into question and providing a link to a website that provides supporting information for my suspicion. The only implication is that it may be worth looking into.


> The word "contract" is actually used in the User Agreement so I would suggest you read it. It is not a commitment but rather the programming commitment is one of the terms of the contract.


While the word is used only once, it isn't used to directly describe the relationship between DIRECTV and the subscriber. A change in wording of the type of document probably doesn't make it stronger; rather it suggests some sloppy updating from when the relationship was actually called a contract.


> It's very misleading on your part to imply it's not a contract and may actually be akin to giving legal advice. Unless you're a lawyer and licensed in every state I suggest you be very careful with the "legal" interpretations you post.


As dearly as you would love to tag me with something like that, I offered no definitive statement one way or the other and left it to the individual to decide, based on the criteria on the website, whether they think it qualifies as a contract. I simply pointed out that it "may be" difficult to enforce; largely because it doesn't call itself a contract but also because it doesn't seem to me that all of the criteria for a contract are met.

I would point out that the ELA does NOT contain the word "contract". It also states that the ELA is separate and apart from any other agreements you may have made. Your association of the two seems unwarranted. Yhe Customer Agreement says you can disagree with the terms and DIRECTV will break it at that point while the ELA has no such escape clause. The Customer Agreement also references "other service agreement" which _doesn't_ appear in the ELA and is decidedly different language from "programming commitment".


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

You really *sound* like you're in a position of authority regarding legal interpretations of documents pertaining to DIRECTV® accounts.

Re-read my post and come up with a smart deflection of that one.....


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

harsh said:


> <snip>*It also states that the ELA is separate and apart from any other agreements you may have made. Your association of the two seems unwarranted.* <snip>


You are incorrect. The very first paragraph of the Equipment Lease Agreement states...
_ The Customer Agreement, together with this ELA, comprise the terms of your service agreement with DIRECTV. Please be sure to read and keep copies of both. _​
As you can see it specifically states that the ELA and Customer Agreement comprise the *complete* TOS for DIRECTV service. There is no ambiguity what so ever. There is no assumptions to be made. I suggest you read both agreements before making such _unwarranted_ comments.

Additionally, the courts have consistently upheld such agreements as binding.

There doesn't seem to be anything to in either the User or Lease Agreements that applies to the topic. However, Pepe Sylvia's posts (Link) implies that there's a potential that the OP could lose the discount. I wonder what length of time constitutes an account that is "active and in good standing".

Mike


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## maartena (Nov 1, 2010)

Christopher Gould said:


> You got to be kidding.


No... signal reception of any kind can be influenced by weather, sun spots, the angle of the signal coming in vs the amount of sunlight coming in from a different angle, how much rain falls 50 miles south of you while you are sitting in the yard with sunshine looking at the clouds in the distance wondering why *you* aren't getting a signal....

It isn't "cut and dry" really. I know we have come to expect that technology serves us human masters for the full 100% all of the time, but reality is that weather has it influences on many many things.

I don't know how old you are, but if you ever listen to AM radio.... ever noticed that when you had the radio sitting on the kitchen counter the signal would come in fine, and then one day it would not.... but you would move it to the living room window and it would be clear again? Ground signals bounce around a lot, clouds/weather have different effects, satellite is a lot better than terrestrial type signals but it still has weather related, and/or seasonal related issues.


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## csgo (Oct 15, 2006)

DirecTV has their fanboy internet lawyers out in force on this site as usual. I doubt if any have the first clue of what a contract is... or in this case an untenable agreement that would have us believe that anyone can agree to a contract that gives one party authority for unilateral changes. It's a worthless bunch of garbage that is used to take advantage of people that won't exercise their rights. But it is interesting to note how DirecTV makes sure the internet lawyers keep drinking their kool-aid.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

OK, let's please back off the rhetoric. There's no reason to be rude. 

If you don't like your customer agreement, your options are limited. You can enter into arbritration, you can simply pay the early termination fee and be done. Or you can come to a fan forum and vent, that's fine too. 

However, you may not accuse others or be uncivil. Thanks.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

I guess I'll be clearer than I was before.

Once the discounts start applying to the account there is no longer any validation that is required to keep the credit going. The only way the credit would be removed is if the account receiving the discount were to have service interuption, a request to disconnect service, or a complete disconnect. In some cases the credit may re-apply after said interuption but you would want to ask about it specifically.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I sold an iPad2 on eBay a few months ago. You know the line that says by bidding and winning this item you enter into a binding CONTRACT with the seller and eBay?

The guy who bought the iPad immediately sent me a message after the auction ended stating firmly that he had no intention of paying for it. Went back and forth with him and finally let eBay take care of the matter. After all, they are the ones who say you are entering into a binding CONTRACT when you bid and win. 

What happens? Nothing. Turns out eBay has no recourse but to block the buyer from the site. That was all they could do. 

Called my lawyer and he asked me if $400 was really that important to me that I'd take the buyer (he lives in NJ, too) to court for it. 

Nixed that idea and gave the iPad to my son who uses it constantly, but the whole thing raises questions in my mind about "contracts".

Rich


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## rgs825 (Jul 25, 2012)

If it matters any, my friend broke wind the other day at choir practice. Was a right stinker it was. :barf:


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