Sueage

Dylan at Brit Out of Water talks about Americans and their propensity to sue:

No word sums up America quite as well as ‘litigious’. So conscious am I of the propensity of my fellow citizens to engage the services of a lawyer that I can barely bring myself to go to the toilet at work, for fear that the sound of me relieving myself will cause untold emotional trauma to some unwitting bystander who subsequently sues for $25m.

I wonder if part of the reason people sue so much is that when you have a problem it's so hard to get a response from companies.

A couple of examples.

I ordered a taxi to take me to the airport and back again when I returned. For the homeward trip I was charged 50% more than for the outward. I've emailed and left answer phone messages several times to ask why, and received no response. The one time I got to speak to someone in the correct department, they transferred me to a phone that then hung up.

We had a delivery which meant a truck coming down our drive. The night before strong wind had brought down a phone line. The truck got the line tangled around it and then drove off, pulling a security light off the wall. Several times I've tried to get a response from the company, again, to no avail.

In neither of these situations do I think I necessarily deserve compensation, but I do think I deserve the opportunity to talk to someone in responsibility. No such luck, I'm afraid.

So next time, I'm suing!