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My son works at Sal's in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 3 weeks ago he was contacted by Birch Communications to switch Sals account to theirs. He was not the manager but thought he had authority to make the change if it was going to save the company money. He was misled by the person from Birch and thought he was staying with AT&T. When the manager found out what my son did, he demanded that he pay the total fee to switch back to AT&T which was $2500, but later reduced to $1700. This wiped out his account and he lost his job. He is a single father supporting a 3 year old daughter. What can he do at this point?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Wisconsin Already Tried: Nothing so fat
Hello,Thank you for the information and your question, however, I will need a bit more information in order to assist you. What does AT&T have to do with your son or Sal's? What do you mean "misled?" Who's account was wiped out and what kind of account was it? What was the specific reason your son was terminated and did he have a written contract?Thank you
It is my understanding that AT&T was Sal's telephone service provider. My son was an employee at Sals but not the manager...although the manager did give him certain authority do handle some managerial decisions. My son does not have a formal work contract with Sal's--he is a minimum-wage employee. He made the mistake of saying yes to a telemarketer who convinced him to switch Sal's phone service to another provider. He regrets this action but he claims that he was misled by the telemarketer. I suspect the reason for the large fine was the quick Termination of the contract by Sal's manager when he found out someone (my son) has switch providers. I don't think there was any written contract signed by my son to make this change but I will find out.
Does this help?
Hello again,The information does help but I don't see where you explained what you meant by "wiped out his account" or exactly what the employer stated to him the reason was for his termination. Can you provide that information and then I can more thoroughly and correctly assist you.Thank you
His employer demanded he pay the $1700 immediately. My son gave him $1100 from his bank acount which wiped it out. There were some very harsh words spoken and my son basically told his employer to keep the money owed him for his previous two weeks of work and then angrily left. So I guess there was no formal termination. I am very angry that this telemarketer was able to deceive my son into making a very bad choice which resulted in his loss of employment.
Hello again,Thank you for that information, it was helpful. First, just to get the issue of the telemarketer off of the plate, there is no cause of action against them by your son for their part in this transaction. If anything, the employer might have a cause of action against them if there was Fraud involved. However, your son may have a few options against the employer. He should, if he hasn't already, try to file for Unemployment Benefits. Although typically an employee that quits their job is not eligible for unemployment benefits, if they can show that they quit for "good cause" then the State will award them UI benefits. In this case, the employer did not have a right to either deduct the loss of money because of your son's mistake or to demand the repayment of the cancellation charges. So, the fact that the employer demanded that he pay this money might be enough to convince the State that he had good cause to quit. Additionally, your son, might try filing a small claims court action for the money that he paid to the employer since the employer did not have a right to payment of that money. Please let me know if you need clarification of my answer. I would be glad to answer your follow up questions. You may reply back to me using the Continue the Conversation or Reply to Expert link if you have additional questions; and if you do, I ask that you please keep in mind that I do not know what you may already know or with what you need help, unless you tell me. Kindly rate me based solely on my assistance to you in understanding the law, and not based on whether my answer is what you were hoping to hear. I, unfortunately, have no control over the how the law impacts your particular situation, and I trust that you can understand how it would be unfair for me to be punished by a (negative rating) ----the first 2 stars/faces----for having been honest with you about the law. Please reply to me and let me know if you are having difficulty with the rating system or even seeing it. Thank you.Marsha411JD41103.4645896643
Experience: Licensed Attorney with 27 yrs. exp in Employment Law