Online Retailer Tags Customer With $250 For Complaining, Customer Sues

When the iPhone case she ordered hadn’t arrived and the tracking number didn’t appear work, Cindy Cox emailed online retailer Accessory Outlet the iPhone and said that she wanted to cancel the order. The company responded by pointing to its terms of service – which includea provision saying the company may charge customers $250 for any complaint – and said it would be contacting a collections agency to get money. Cox filed a lawsuit in New York against the firm, and in the complaint said the company told her their actions would “put a negative mark on your credit for 7 years and will also result in calls to your home and work,” and in further communication told her “the amount we will bill you for will continue to rise with every email and every second we dedicate to correspondence of any kind pertaining to your breach of the terms of sale.” Cox is being represented by Public Citizen, which Ars Technica says won a $300,000 summary judgment in a similar case in Utah earlier this year.