People Clerk helps you with your small claims court lawsuit.
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Liberty Home Guard is a home warranty company that provides warranties for home appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances. If an appliance breaks down because of wear and tear; whether that’s air conditioning, plumbing, or an oven, then the cost of fixing or replacing those may be covered by your warranty contract with Liberty Home Guard. If Liberty Home Guard fails to honor the terms of the warranty, either by wrongfully denying a claim, not paying as much as they should, or refusing to respond, then you may want to consider escalating this issue. This article will show you how to do that, either by going through customer service, heading to Liberty Home Guard’s BBB complaint page, or suing in small claims court.
Common types of complaints filed against Liberty Home Guard
There are several ways that Liberty Home Guard can go against their warranty. Make sure to check the terms of the warranty to verify that Liberty Home Guard is breaking it. Remember, even if your claim is denied, it doesn’t mean Liberty Home Guard was right in denying your claim if your warranty with Liberty Home Guard stated it would cover that type of claim.
A few ways that Liberty Home Guard can breach the warranty include:
Liberty Home Guard refuses to pay you back the full price for repairs or replacement as per your warranty.
Liberty Home Guard has wrongfully denied your claim.
Liberty Home Guard has failed to provide you with a requested refund.
How to Reach Liberty Home Guard Customer Service
Before doing anything else, it’s worth trying to reach Liberty Home Guard’s customer service and see if the claim can be resolved.
Here are two ways to reach Liberty Home Guard’s customer support:
Liberty Home Guard Phone #: (866) 925-3299
Email: [email protected]
Consider Filing a complaint against Liberty Home Guard with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
The BBB is a non-profit company that rates and accepts reviews and complaints against home warranty companies like Liberty Home Guard. It acts as an intermediary between consumers and businesses, to help customers resolve problems with businesses. The BBB allows consumers to file complaints against businesses like Liberty Home Guard. Liberty Home Guard will want to respond, as complaints on the website are filed publicly and give a bad reputation.
To file a complaint with the BBB against Liberty Home Guard, follow these steps:
Head to the BBB Liberty Home Guard site
Use the file a complaint link to file on the BBB website.
Information that you’ll need to fill out includes your address, name, phone number, and a description of your complaint.
Afterward, the BBB will respond to you within 2 business days. They will forward your complaint to Liberty Home Guard, who will have 14 business days to respond. At the end of that time, another complaint will be forwarded and you will be notified if Liberty Home Guard didn’t respond to the complaint.
You will also be notified if Liberty Home Guard responds to the complaint. Luckily, most complaints are resolved within 30 business days.
Sending a Demand Letter to Liberty Home Guard
A demand letter is a letter that outlines a set of requests to Liberty Home Guard, with the intention that if the requests are not met, then you plan to seek legal action.
What to Include in the Demand Letter?
Unsure of what to include in your demand letter to Liberty Home Guard? Here are some examples of what to include:
How much money are you owed from Liberty Home Guard?
Why does Liberty Home Guard owe you the money you are claiming? Why do you believe that the claim is covered by your agreement with Liberty Home Guard?
Your contact information.
State that if they don't respond, you intend to seek further legal action.
Give them a few days to respond (usually about 7 to 14 days).
Where to send a demand letter to Liberty Home Guard?
Send your demand letter to Liberty Home Guard’s headquarters located at:
4101a Avenue U
Brooklyn, New York 11234
File a Small Claims Court Lawsuit against Liberty Home Guard
If Liberty Home Guard is not taking your complaint seriously, you may need to consider suing them in small claims court.
Remember, just because Liberty Home Guard has denied your claim, it doesn't mean they have acted legally. It is up to a judge to decide whether Liberty Home Guard should have reimbursed you for your claim.
Make sure to review your contract or policy with Liberty Home Guard to determine whether you can sue Liberty Home Guard in small claims or if there is an arbitration clause. Usually, even if there is an arbitration clause, there is an exception for small claims. Even if there is an arbitration clause, it is still your decision if you would like a judge to review whether the arbitration clause is enforceable.
How much can you sue Liberty Home Guard for in small claims court?
The maximum amount you can sue Liberty Home Guard in small claims court varies by state but is usually somewhere between $2,500 and $25,000. To know the exact limit for your court, search for your local small claims court limit. This limit varies by state and sometimes can change from one county to another.
By suing in small claims you are usually agreeing to waive any amount over the maximum amount you can sue for, even if you are owed more. For example, if Liberty Home Guard owes you $12,000, and you decide to sue in a small claims court where the limit is $10,000, you are waiving suing for an additional $2,000. Meaning that you will win a maximum of $10,000.
While you may be missing out on the full amount you are owed, there are practical benefits to suing in small claims instead of suing in "regular court."
Here are some of the benefits:
Court filing fees are generally cheaper in small claims than in other courts.
The process is usually faster in small claims than in other courts as your hearing will usually be scheduled 30-70 days after you file the lawsuit. Contact the court you would be filing in for more exact information, as this information varies greatly by the court.
Lawyers are generally not allowed or needed in small claims which helps keep the costs of suing low.
How to File a Small Claims Lawsuit against Liberty Home Guard
There are mainly 4 steps to taking Liberty Home Guard to small claims court.
Prepare the lawsuit.
File the lawsuit.
Serve the lawsuit.
Prepare for the small claims hearing.
Preparing the Small Claims Lawsuit
Go to your local small claims court website to download the small claims court forms.
In most states, you will also need to look through your contract to confirm the correct legal name for Liberty Home Guard. Once you have the correct legal name, you will be able to search using your state’s secretary of state website to look up the “agent for service of process” for Liberty Home Guard, as you may be required to list this information on the court forms. You will later serve the lawsuit on the agent for service of process they have listed.
File the Small Claims Lawsuit against Liberty Home Guard
Call the court clerk to verify how many copies of the lawsuit you need to bring with you and how they accept payment for the filing fees. Some small claims courts accept filing by mail, fax, or electronically. Be sure to confirm with the court what methods are available so you can select what works best for you.
Serve the lawsuit
After the lawsuit is filed, the next step is to serve the small claims lawsuit on Liberty Home Guard. There are different rules on how to serve a company in each state so make sure you review the rules for serving to find what works best for you.
In many states, you will need to serve the “agent for service of process” for Liberty Home Guard. This is a person or business that is in charge of receiving legal documents on behalf of Liberty Home Guard.
Confirm with the court to determine if there are any additional filings you need to complete and file after you have served Liberty Home Guard.
Prepare for the Hearing
The most important step is preparing your evidence for the small claims hearing against Liberty Home Guard. Make sure you have your contract or policy available, any communications with Liberty Home Guard, estimates from relevant parties, invoices, and pictures. You want to make sure you bring all relevant evidence with you to the hearing to allow the judge to get a good understanding of why Liberty Home Guard owes you the money you are requesting.
What is a Small Claims Court Hearing Like?
Small claims hearings in small claims court are informal and most hearings last around 15 minutes. While many disputes settle before the hearing, here is what to expect if your lawsuit does not settle.
Usual procedure for the hearing:
Right before the hearing, the judge will ask you and Liberty Home Guard’s representative to show each other the evidence that you will later show the judge.
The judge will ask you why you are suing.
The judge will ask Liberty Home Guard’s representative to tell them their side of the story.
The hearing will last around 15 minutes.
The judge will ask you to show them the evidence you brought. Sometimes the judge will keep the evidence. Other times, you will get the evidence right back.
Very rarely a judge will tell you whether you won or lost at the hearing. Instead, the judge will tell you that their decision will be mailed to you (which usually takes a few weeks to two months or so).
While every court’s procedure will vary, this is a general framework for what you can expect when you file a small claims lawsuit.
Camila Lopez
Legal Educator @ People Clerk. Camila holds a law degree and is a certified mediator. Her passion is breaking down complicated legal processes so that people without an attorney can get justice.