I found a new lawyer. In retrospect, I'm not sure this step was particularly useful or effective, but I wanted to be ready to go to court if I had to. The new lawyer wanted $200 for the same warning letter that the other lawyer said was $500. And this lawyer was quick and responsive too. I went ahead and had him send Isadore a warning letter. The letter said that she had until January 20 to settle (by refunding the cost of the topper) or we would take her to court for the cost of the topper plus all court costs.
Isadore phoned the lawyer the next day and told him the hair was not synthetic. She said that she was considering suing me for defamation because of what I had written about her wigsupport.com. I asked the lawyer's advice. He said that while he thought the case could be won he was not confident the financial winnings would actually cover the court costs. Apparently (new information to me) when you win court costs, that doesn't necessarily mean the actual costs. It means whatever the judge decides it's worth, and that can be a lot less than actual costs. This concerned me somewhat. While I really wanted to beat Isadore in court, I also didn't want to lose any more money on this awful situation.
I pondered and decided to pursue it through my credit card company first.
I contacted the disputes centre at RBC and was pleasantly surprised by their proficiency in handling my case. I spoke with a very helpful woman named Michelle, who gave me her personal email (contrary, she said, to standard operating procedures) because she wanted to handle the case herself and make sure everything was processed in a timely manner. The time window was closing soon and I had to get my documents together quickly.
Having read other stories of Isadore online, I knew that the credit card company was going to ask me to try and return the topper. I also knew from reading these accounts that Isadore was likely to refuse to accept the return, and send it back, costing both time and money for the cost of shipping all the way to Israel. I was again pleasantly surprised when RBC proposed a different idea. Email her, they told me, with a request that she have a courier come and pick it up. I did this on January 4th. I expected Isadore to ignore me, but instead she wrote me a pleasant-toned email offering to have the topper coloured for me rather than refunding my money. In fact, she made laugh by signing off with "warm regards". I asked her to have the courier to get it again. No response. This was good enough for the bank.
Fifteen days later (January 18th) it was time to start the process. I sent Michelle at RBC a whole bunch of documents:
- screenshot of my emails to Isadore telling her I found out the piece was synthetic and wanted a refund
- screenshots of Isadore's website where she claimed all her hair was "virgin European"
- screenshots of comparable synthetic hair pieces and their prices
- photos of the receipt refunding my money when I tried to have the hair coloured and could not
- photos of the 3rd party letter stating that she believed the piece was not "virgin European hair"
- screenshots of my request to Isadore that she send a courier to pick up the topper
- screenshots of expert information (found online) in which a wig maker explained why synthetic hair cannot be coloured with dye meant for human hair
- screenshots of Isadore's online interview with Chavi (askChavi.com) in which she explained why virgin hair was so special, desirable, and expensive
(I sent this letter asking Isadore to pick up the topper. This was suggested by my bank as an alternative to trying to send it back to her myself. Bingo! No cost, no risk, and of course she refused to do it.)
This took a bit of emailing back and forth, but Michelle was a genius and within two days she had it all together to officially file the dispute. Funnily enough (and totally coincidentally) this timeline coincided with the date my lawyer had given Isadore as a deadline to settle. The same day the dispute was ready to go, I received an email from the lawyer, who I had almost forgotten about. The letter was a forward of a letter he had received from Isadore, and the letter was hilarious.
Isadore was threatening my lawyer! In it she said that he had until the 20th of January to withdraw his letter, or she, herself, would also talk to a lawyer. (I'm sure that had him trembling in fear.)
She also disclosed my darkest secret, that I am Canadian. "Are you aware that she lives in Canada? Is it her serious intent to come to Israel to appear in court?" wrote Isadore. And this question, in my opinion, demonstrates the reason for Isadore's behaviour. She doesn't understand that she can be sued with a representative appearing on my behalf. She thinks that living in Israel prevents her from being sued by people who live overseas. In this letter, Isadore also told my lawyer, "Are you aware that [she] returned to me a wig that I lent her in severely damaged condition?" (sic). I should have known that Isadore would claim I damaged her wig, and like a dolt I did not take pictures of it. I did send myself an email on the day I received it noting a small hole in the cap and a loose clip, but it definitely an oversight not to photograph them. Isadore told my lawyer I was attempting to "extort money from someone who did no harm". The fact that I had several successful past purchases with Isadore did not seem to prove that I made the purchase because I wanted the product - as advertised! - and not because I was plotting to extort (my own) money.
I told the lawyer I was pursuing the case through my credit card company and would be in touch if I required his services afterward, pending the outcome of the dispute.
This is where the situation now lies. I do not know how long it will take RBC to complete this process, or whether I will or will not win my dispute. I won't post this story until I have an outcome as I do not want to jeopardize my case by giving away too much information in case Isadore is reading. More to come.
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