July 5, 2002

4:16 PM

"Sir, you're diners club card was declined, we can't accept it."

"For the love of GOD, what has the world come to?! You say the credit card slip had the word 'DECLINED' on it? This calls for immediate action, and fortunately since I'm also a leech, er I mean lawyer, I'm going to sue Diners Club ™ over this egregiously evident case of libel!" YES!!!
posted by ( .)(. ) (31 comments total)

Where do we draw the line? I mean the credit card company made a mistake, everone makes mistakes. Is this a global trend where every public action is viewed as "sueable" if there's a chance of financial gain?
posted by ( .)(. ) at 4:23 PM on July 5, 2002

One of the good things about the U.S. is our court system. Yes, you can sue anyone over anything, but that doesn't mean the suit will be successful. This guy is just looking for a little publicity, and people like (.)(.) play right into his hands. This should go into the "ignore it and it will go away" category.
posted by kcmoryan at 4:37 PM on July 5, 2002

Where do we draw the line?

I draw two lines where I find an open node.

Back on topic, I also hate it when my credit card cross dressing purchases are rejected. It is just so embarrassing!
posted by srboisvert at 4:48 PM on July 5, 2002

kcmoryan - I don't think this guy's just looking for publicity, why would he? Paul Gordon-Saker thinks that he was wronged in some way by Diners' negligent (or otherwise) actions and feels that they should pay for their mistake, since according to him his reputation suffered. What if this had happened in a luxurious restaurant with a business executive?

One of the good things about the U.S. is our court system.

If you're going to throw around an opinion could you at least make it relevant to the thread. This story is out of London, so I have no idea why you've brought the U.S. court system into the debate.
posted by ( .)(. ) at 4:51 PM on July 5, 2002

kcmoryan: this happened in the increasingly writ-prone UK ("he attempted to pay for a £380 dress in a shop on New Bond Street, central London.")

Also, does he really want to draw attention to his dubious credit standing? He's in danger of cutting off his nose to spite his face.

posted by dash_slot- at 4:56 PM on July 5, 2002

It is just such sniping and fark-like retorts and nastiness that has me posting less and less and commenting less and less.
posted by Postroad at 4:58 PM on July 5, 2002

Apologies for the sniping (no sarcasm).
posted by ( .)(. ) at 5:00 PM on July 5, 2002

What irks me is that the the Diner's Club is getting sued for making a simple mistake. I'm sure it will be tempting for them to settle out of court because it might cost less money, even if they don't agree with the lawsuit. In the end, nobody is perfect so I guess we all have the potential to get sued.

Now that I think about that, if practice makes perfect and no one is perfect, then what in tarnation are we all practicing for? (A little humor to liven up the discussion)
posted by jaden at 5:13 PM on July 5, 2002

if practice makes perfect and no one is perfect, then what in tarnation are we all practicing for?

Thats very funny. Did you make that up? It sounds like a Steven Wright joke.
posted by vacapinta at 5:19 PM on July 5, 2002

"...and people like (.)(.)"

Am I the only one who laughed upon reading that? How would that be said aloud?
posted by tirade at 5:45 PM on July 5, 2002

tirade - call me "open-parenthesis-space-dot-close parenthesis-open-parenthesis-dot-space-close parenthesis"

As in: Hey open-parenthesis-space-dot-close parenthesis-open-parenthesis-dot-space-close parenthesis, what's up with your name?

If you check my profile, I prefer to be called Bob.

/OT
posted by ( .)(. ) at 5:53 PM on July 5, 2002

If you check my profile, I prefer to be called Bob.

Lol, apologies if that sounded snotty, I didn't mean it that way!
posted by ( .)(. ) at 6:05 PM on July 5, 2002

If you check my profile, I prefer to be called Bob.

Did you mean to leave out the second o in there open-parenthesis-space-dot-close parenthesis-open-parenthesis-dot-space-close parenthesis or was that a typo?
posted by srboisvert at 6:10 PM on July 5, 2002

Freud is having a ball!
posted by ( .)(. ) at 6:13 PM on July 5, 2002

I thought we decided that (.)(.) (or however it's spelled) meant "ass pimples".
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:28 PM on July 5, 2002

What irks me is that the the Diner's Club is getting sued for making a simple mistake.

I disagree. A simple mistake would have been the store incident. But what DC also did was tarnish his credit rating, not once...but twice by writing letters saying that he'd never paid imaginary bills.

Absolutely it's actionable if a company puts falsehoods on your permanent credit record...and suing them is often the only way to get the false transactions removed. If a credit card company "mistakenly" put false information on my credit record, then refused to take it off immediately, you can bet your shiny marbles that I would litigate. I would litigate fast and hard. Credit ratings are far too important in the real world to have some idiot screw them up "accidently".
posted by dejah420 at 6:33 PM on July 5, 2002

for some reason i just get the navigation and a blank page for this article. anyone else having this prob or have a diff link?
posted by dobbs at 6:45 PM on July 5, 2002

dobbs - here's a Google News search, and also a shortened Excite article. Hope you have laugh reading the article, although what dejah said holds water, and in fact I think this lawyer has a shot at winning.
posted by ( .)(. ) at 6:56 PM on July 5, 2002

It's (darkly) amusing how many people seem to have commented without following the link.

Having the card declined by accident can and does happen--I had one turned down because the post office was slow delivering my payment, and there wasn't enough space in my credit limit. So--I used a different card, went home, and called the credit card company, which raised my limit.

That's cool. Not raising the limit would also have been cool.

Filing false credit reports for nonpayment of imaginary bills is not cool.
posted by rosvicl at 7:54 PM on July 5, 2002

Rich people are retarded.
posted by dopamine at 9:04 PM on July 5, 2002

I'm surprised people still use Diner's Club cards. Use of my check card, with a MasterCard logo, is all I ever need. I have a Visa for occassional usage.

Up to until about a year ago, my bank had a slight glitch in their system. When you went to use your check card, if it was between 7:00 and 7:15 PM, your card would be declined, no matter what. It was when they were updating their computer system and processing the transactions for that day. The first time it happened, I just used another card. I learned the glitch, and then knew in the future not to use my card for 15 minutes. So if I had finished a meal at 7:05 PM, I just sat back for 10 minutes, or I just used my credit card and transferred the money over.

Did I sue anyone about it? No. The fact that the slip said declined was simply a matter of the way their computer system works, printing a transaction slip for every transaction, whether it is approved or declined.

Years ago, when I worked in retail, if a card was declined, the screen would say "Card is Declined. Please use an alternative payement method." on the cash register, but on the register tape log, it would print "DECLINED" in 2 inch high letters. People saw it, and mostly just laughed by how big it printed the word.

Is the credit card company responsible for maintaining your appearance of wealth, or to provide you with service. Yes, sometimes there are hiccups, but thats life.
posted by benjh at 9:10 PM on July 5, 2002

your permanent credit record

What exactly makes your credit record permanent? These mistakes, which is all they are, can be corrected without the (ab)use of legal system.

Additionally, the lawyer's reputation was hardly tarnished. He attempted to purchase a dress in front of his wife and the shop people. That's what? 2 or 3 people maybe. His wife shouldn't be judging him based on a single rejected transaction. The others likely have seen countless rejected cards and could care less. A 'declined' statement on a transaction is not libel.

I would suggest that his reputation is probably taking more of a beating with his frivolous suit and apparent inability to work out a solution to a simple customer relation snafu. All in all pretty amusing for an insolvency lawyer who specializes in non-contentious banking, fraud and corporate insolvency with 30 years of experience. I would expect any reasonably competent adult could sort this out in one or two phone calls.
posted by srboisvert at 10:36 PM on July 5, 2002

Good Lord. What happens when this guy fails to get an erection? I can just imagine that lawsuit.

"Your Honor, I have brought this suit against my penis for tarnishing my reputation...not only in front of my wife, but also the Dale Earnhardt goat."
posted by bradth27 at 1:01 AM on July 6, 2002

What's the big deal? Wake me when this is an epidemic. I don't like how every arguably meritless civil suit is an indictment of the legal system and an excuse to bash lawyers in general. I would hate to see some 'common-sense' filter on the legal level. Asking about global trends with one example is pretty silly. Then agian I'm addressing someone named ( .)(. )
posted by skallas at 1:37 AM on July 6, 2002

leech, er I mean lawyer
Ah, more lawyer bashing. If a credit card company told a credit agency that you were in debt when in fact you weren't and ruined your credit, I'm sure you'd be more than a little upset. This guy is lucky that he knows enough law that he knows how to get back at Diner's Club for screwing with him. That doesn't make him a leech.
posted by Outlawyr at 5:32 AM on July 6, 2002

Trivia: The Diners' Card Service, the first of it's kind was started by it's founder after an embarrasing incident where he was having dinner with a friend, and realized he didn't have enough money to pay the bill.
posted by arnab at 6:00 AM on July 6, 2002

Bond Street? Says it all. I was walking through central London one night last month, and happened upon 'Bond Night', when all the Bond Street shops had a kind of gala evening for the sort of people who shop on Bond Street. I was so tempted to shout 'Tarquin!' or 'Jessica!' in the middle of the Sloaney ranks just to see how many people turned their heads. These are shops that people shop in because they want people to know that they shop in these shops. I suspect this bloke leaves his shopping bags and till receipts hidden in plain view just to 'impress' his friends.
posted by riviera at 6:53 AM on July 6, 2002

Ouch. My sincere apology.
posted by kcmoryan at 8:37 AM on July 6, 2002

vacapinta: Thats very funny. Did you make that up? It sounds like a Steven Wright joke.

I didn't make it up, but I'm not sure where it came from. It's just one of many quotes that I've heard and liked over the years.
posted by jaden at 11:27 AM on July 6, 2002

Rich people are retarded.

Oh, to be that retarded!
posted by kindall at 11:51 AM on July 6, 2002

The best part of the article: "Previous story: Staff cash in on Enron collapse by baring their all for Playboy"
posted by hockeyman at 8:57 PM on July 8, 2002