Looking to sue Viasat? Small claims court is an option, and you may have others…
At FairShake we’ve helped thousands of people with claims against Viasat and other big companies that ripped them off get millions of dollars in settlement offers… [continued below]
Has Viasat not been playing by the rules? Have you tried getting a refund from Viasat and gotten nowhere?
You’re not alone. From what we hear, a lot of people out there have tried all the Viasat customer service options and not gotten satisfaction.
There are other ways to bring your Viasat complaint, but not many with real consequences, which is why some Viasat customers turn to the legal system.
So where should you start if you want to sue Viasat? You might think there would be tons of class action lawsuits against Viasat. But the truth is more complicated.
Companies like Viasat add clauses to their contract requiring consumer consumer arbitration. This gives them the right to force legal claims out of most US courts.
But your Viasat contract can’t take away your right to sue entirely.
Here’s what you can do…
The first option for suing Viasat is through consumer arbitration. Contracts with arbitration clauses give you the right take legal action through an officially-designated, independent dispute process that’s not a court and won’t require showing up in person. This can be a better option for a lot of regular people.
The second way to sue Viasat, if you want to avoid the arbitration system, is to use Small Claims Court. Because Small Claims Court processes differ from place to place, FairShake can’t help out here. It may require showing up in person and filling out some forms.
If you’re ready to take your Viasat claim to Small Claims Court , read on below:
Ready to sue Exede by Viasat in small claims court? Check first that your case qualifies for small claims courts. There are a few limitations to look into:
Every small claims court has a maximum dollar size for how much you can ask for. This might be as low as $2,500 or as high as $15,000 depending on where you live. You can find a list of all 50 states’ monetary limits here.If your claim doesn’t fall within the limits of your state’s small claims court, you’ll have to arbitrate your claim instead.
Most small claims
courts ask you to give the person you are suing a chance to fix things voluntarily before you file your claim. So if you want to sue Exede by Viasat in small claims court, the first thing you have to do is send a letter called the “demand letter”.
This can be a straightforward letter that just checks a box. You just need to tell Exede by Viasat who you are (your name, address, phone number and account number), what the problem is, and what you want from them. It doesn’t have to be more than a few sentences.
When you are done writing, send a hard copy to the company via their legal mailing address, preferably as certified mail or some other service that allows you to confirm delivery. According to our most recent research, Viasat is legally based in Delaware and receives mail at this address:
VIASAT, INC.
C/O THE CORPORATION TRUST COMPANY
CORPORATION TRUST CENTER 1209 ORANGE ST
WILMINGTON, DE 19801
If you would like examples of demand letters or more information about how to write them, you can find an excellent guide here.
Every state is different and sometimes counties will add additional forms to the requirements. You can find these forms freely available on your state court website. Look for your state court website here.
Once you have the right forms make sure you have the right quantity. Most courts require three or four copies when you move on to the next step and if you don’t have enough copies you won’t be able to sue Exede by Viasat in small claims court.
With the right forms (and the right number of copies) it’s officially time to leave your house and head to the courthouse.
At this point you have to file the documents with the court, a somewhat tricky process. Most courts require that you physically come to the courthouse during certain hours and certain days of the week to hand-deliver the forms to the clerk. In other cases you might be able to send your documents via mail or fax.
In order to sue Exede by Viasat in small claims court you will have to pay the filing fee. The amount of money required will be published on your court website. If you are a low income plaintiff you can apply to have this fee waived.
Once everything is paid the clerk will file the forms, and give you back some stamped copies along with your court date. You will want to keep all of that handy for the next steps.
When you’re done filling out the court forms, it’s time to give those forms to the court. This process, called “filing” can be a bit tricky.
At this point you have to take one of those stamp copies and give it to the company. In order to sue Exede by Viasat you have to notify them that they are being sued, you can’t just do it behind their back.
This process is called serving and you have to deliver a copy of the file papers in accordance with your court instructions. Again this is where things get a bit complicated because every court is different so you will need to check your court website for instructions on how to deliver your forms or search for “[your state] small claims service of process”.
No matter how obscure the instructions might seem it’s important that you follow each one or your claim could be dropped with no compensation.
When it’s time for your hearing, make sure you go to the right courthouse at the right time.
Bring your copy of the filed court forms and any evidence you have to support why you decided to sue Exede by Viasat and why you deserve compensation.
Sometimes the company will not show up to oppose you in which case you should take advantage of the opportunity to focus on your side of the story.
During the hearing the court will make a decision oh, and assuming you followed all of the steps properly and you have a good case, this is usually where the judge gives you fair compensation. Bear in mind that the judge could render a decision the same day or they might require multiple days of hearings in order to come to a decision.
Ready to sue Exede by Viasat in small claims court?
If this sounds too hard and expensive, try consumer arbitration instead…
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