What to Do If a Midlands Business Misled You
Start a file today, before memories fade and web pages change.
- The deal papers. Estimates, the signed contract, invoices, any warranty and the order confirmation email.
- The pitch. Screenshot the listing, website or Facebook ad that made the promise. Sellers edit posts.
- The money trail. Download bank and card statements showing each payment and who received it.
- The conversations. Jot down what the salesperson or contractor told you, the date and, if you can, the exact words.
- The work itself. For a roof, a bathroom or a deck, take wide shots and close-ups of what was done and what was left.
- The product. Keep it, and the box.
Hold off on signing any "settlement" or new agreement they send until you've had questions answered.
Where These Disputes Come Up Around Columbia
Repair work after summer storms and flooding often gets hired in a hurry. Used car purchases, moving companies and student rentals around USC are other places where promises and results can split apart. A bad experience with any of them isn't automatically a legal claim, but the details deserve a look.
Bad Deal or Unfair Trade Practice?
Not every broken promise, surprise fee or sloppy job breaks the Act.1 The public-interest piece is often where cases turn: conduct that harmed other customers, or that could happen again to someone else, is a different thing from a one-off disagreement.2
A lawyer can look at what the business did, what proof you have, and whether this law, a contract claim or something else fits better.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
The Clock
Claims under the Act generally must be filed within three years after the unlawful conduct is discovered.3 Pinning down when you discovered it can take some care, so bring your timeline when you call. Our statewide consumer protection page has more background.
Talk With Us
It stings to pay a business you trusted and get less than you were promised. Walk us through the promise, the payment and the result. If what you have looks more like an ordinary contract fight, you'll hear that from us.
Our office is on King Street in Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Columbia, Lexington and the rest of the Midlands. The first conversation can happen by phone. If the business is now badmouthing you, read about defamation claims in Columbia.
South Carolina Law on This
- The South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce.1
- To bring a private claim under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, a person must show the practice affects the public interest, which a purely private contract dispute usually does not.2
- Claims under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act generally must be filed within three years after the unlawful conduct is discovered.3
- To bring a private claim under South Carolina's Unfair Trade Practices Act, a person generally must have suffered an ascertainable loss of money or property caused by the unfair or deceptive conduct. The loss does not necessarily have to be an out-of-pocket payment; other measurable property or economic losses may qualify.4
- Under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, a person who suffers a financial or property loss because of an unlawful unfair or deceptive business practice may sue to recover actual damages. If the court finds that the violation was willful or knowing, it must award three times the actual damages. A court that finds a violation in a qualifying private lawsuit must also award reasonable attorney's fees and costs.5
Frequently Asked Questions
There's a signed contract. Does that shut the door?
Not by itself. Signing an estimate is normal before a repair job starts. Still, a breach on its own may not meet the Act's public-interest requirement.2 The sales pitch, the fine print, whether other customers were treated the same way, and your losses all go into the answer.
Does it count if I didn't hand over cash?
A private claim generally requires an ascertainable loss of money or property caused by the unfair or deceptive conduct, but the loss does not necessarily have to be an out-of-pocket payment.4 A financed purchase or a lost trade-in might be examples, depending on the facts.
If I win, what does the Act allow?
A person who suffers a loss because of an unlawful practice may sue to recover actual damages, and a court that finds a violation in a qualifying private lawsuit must also award reasonable attorney's fees and costs. If the violation was willful or knowing, the court must award three times the actual damages.5 None of that is automatic; the claim still has to be proven.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
