I'm not sure if this qualifies as Small Claims or not...several of us have the same claim against a company, and each of our claims is just under $10,000. Between the 3 complainants, the value is closer to $28,000.

We paid a Canadian company to outfit us for a trek in Bhutan. They use a subcontractor in Bhutan to provide most of the services. Upon our arrival there, we found several of the crucial pieces were missing (e.g. guides, porters etc.) so that we were unable to complete our trek. We are looking to get our money back from the Canadian company. Based on informal discussions that have already been held with the company, we have every reason to believe that they'll pay us back before we actually have to engage legal counsel and take them to court, however we still want to play by the rules so we don't get shafted in the end. They have basically admitted that they didn't provide the services as contracted, but won't do anything until we've filed an official complaint. We're not sure exactly what this means to them, but are convinced that none of us wants to go to court.

How long do we have to inform them of our complaint? Can we potentially lose the ability to sue them if we wait too long trying to sort this out amicably?

The trek started on October 8 and we finally left Bhutan on November 6 at which point we started our discussions with each other and with the company. Many of us are still travelling so communication between us is by e-mail.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

excon

Hello Feel:

I'm not sure what it is either, but send them one. Maybe they just want something in writing. I highly doubt they mean a civil complaint.

And, you're right, it's not really a small claim, but if they pay, it doesn't matter.

excon

ScottGem

Get an attorney to send them a letter on their stationary requesting reimbursement. The atty should charge you a minimal fee for this, especially if you draft the letter and give them an electronic copy.

See what the response is and go on from there.