If a Spartanburg Business Misled You
Gather the paper trail now, while it's all still around.
- Keep the documents. Contracts, estimates, invoices, receipts, warranties and order confirmations. Don't toss the item itself.
- Screenshot the promise. The listing, the website or the social media post that sold you. Sellers edit and delete.
- Pull the money trail. Canceled checks, Venmo history and card statements tie each payment to a date and a payee.
- Write notes about conversations. Phone calls and handshake promises fade fast. Dates, names and exact words if you have them.
- Photograph the work. For a remodel or roof job, take wide shots and close-ups of what got done and what didn't.
- Pause before signing anything new. Many people have a lawyer look first.
One folder, paper or digital, plus a running timeline of who said what, makes everything easier.
Bad Deal or Unfair Trade Practice?
The South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce.1 Still, a contractor who ran late or a mechanic who overcharged once hasn't necessarily broken it.
A private claim must show the practice affects the public interest, such as conduct that has harmed other consumers or could happen again. A purely private contract dispute between you and the business usually does not meet that.2
Sorting out which side of that line you're on is a job for a lawyer who has seen the paperwork.
The Filing Deadline
Claims under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act generally must be filed within three years after the unlawful conduct is discovered.3 Don't assume there's room to spare, and don't assume it's too late. Go over the dates with a lawyer, along with whether a contract claim or another law fits better. See the statewide page on consumer protection claims for more.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us
Getting taken by a business you trusted stings, and it's hard to tell a lousy deal from one the law covers. We listen to what you were promised, what you paid and where those two split apart. Some of these turn out to be contract fights, and you'll hear that from us plainly.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Spartanburg County. If a product itself hurt you, see defective product claims in Spartanburg. If a business is spreading falsehoods about you, see defamation in Spartanburg.
Call with the contract, receipts and messages close by.
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
I signed the contract. Is a claim off the table?
Not necessarily. A signature doesn't automatically rule out a claim under the Act, though not every broken contract is an unfair trade practice.2 The sales pitch, the fine print, other customers in the same spot and your losses all factor in. Lay it out for a lawyer, who can sort whether it's a breach of contract, an Unfair Trade Practices case or a different kind of claim.
Do I have to be out money?
To bring a private claim under the Act, you generally must have suffered an ascertainable loss of money or property caused by the unfair or deceptive conduct.4 That might be money you paid because of a false promise, or another measurable loss. Whether yours counts depends on the facts, and other kinds of claims have their own requirements.
What can be recovered under the Act?
A person who wins a private claim may recover actual damages, along with reasonable attorney's fees and costs. If the court finds the violation was willful or knowing, it must award three times the actual damages.5 All of that depends on proving the claim, and nothing is assured.
Can we talk without me driving to Charleston?
The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in Charleston. Have the contract and receipts in front of you when you call.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
