I sent a breach of contract notice to a unemployment benefits representative business that I found on the internet. I paid $400.00 for a unemployment representative to help my wife with her unemployment appeal. We live in Virginia and the business is based in Pennsylvania. The representative did not do her job correctly when helping my wife with her appeal. She committed procedure errors that ended up with her not getting the transcripts of the appeal examiner's hearing. Without them the representative could not write a written argument. Ask a result my wife stood no chance of winning her appeal. So I sent a breach of contract notice to the business without asking for any compensatory damages yet. I gave them 30 days. They sent me a check for $400.00 which covers the cost of their service. I have not wrote back and accepted this amount as a settlement. I just got the check a few days ago. I want to ask for a lot more than $400.00. I want to ask for the full amount of my wife's unemployment benefits which she stood a better chance of getting with a competent representative. The amount I am talking about is $4,070.00. We did not just suffer a loss of $400.00 but also a loss of her not getting her unemployment benefits. How should I respond? Is their a legal document that I should send the business asking for the $4,070.00? What should I say in response to the their letter and a check for $400.00? Should I send the $400.00 check back with my response?

To get anything beyond a refund then you are most likely going to need a lawyer. Your question is impossible to answer without seeing all the documentation involved. You may have signed or agreed to something that your not aware of. You may at this time only have been entitled to a refund and not damages. There is no way of knowing.

I don't think you have ANY chance of collecting that full amount because there was no guarantee she would have even gotten it had errors not been made and even then maybe at a reduced amount.

Also... errors do not qualify as breach of contract, even the best places (in any field) make errors from time to time.. They did refund what you paid, and quickly... and to get more you are going to likely spend a LOT more in legal fees than its worth. And might cost you money you will never get back.

I do know first hand West Virginia does have some rather different ways of doing things than neighboring states do. (Both of them were old stomping grounds of mine)

Over and above the issue of liability for the $4,070.00, OP's wife would also have to prove that she would have received the full $4,070.00 If she becomes employed again in the near future, she wouldn't have received that anyway.

Breach of contract means that one party to the contract did not perform as per the terms of the contract. Have you read the contract carefully? It doesn't sound like a breach but more like malpractice. And that would only exist if you can prove that the firm acted with incompetence.

Frankly, I think you got lucky to get a refund. Without seeing the contract and understanding the terms we can't even guess whether you have any sort of a case or not.

They are only liable for the amount of the Contract, now your wife's unemployment. Which may or may not have been won.