Do verbal agreements hold up in court?

[al3x89]

i know they can be used in court, but what are the chances of them being honoured?

basically, i signed up for a course through a company who guaranteed placement. this individual that said he was gonna give me placement had i signed up was fired for unknown reasons. now i'm stuck here, out of $500 and the company doesn't want to refund me. i'm willing to even accept a partial refund.

this all happened in december. i was out of a job jan-march. that hurt me financially but whatever. i guess i could go after them for that, but all i really want is the $500.

i ended up finding a job on my own in something unrelated, and now this company is telling me they'll find me placement... 4 months later. i already have a job and this solution is nothing to me.

[Swswswish]

Nope

[Nikita]

Ummm nope is wrong.

Yes, most certainly verbal agreements are just as binding as written agreements. The only problem with suing on them is they are harder to prove in court. But if you have other evidence of an agreement, or even if you don't and want to go word-against-word, they are just as valid an agreement as a written one.

[MrKap]

i know they can be used in court, but what are the chances of them being honoured?

basically, i signed up for a course through a company who guaranteed placement. this individual that said he was gonna give me placement had i signed up was fired for unknown reasons. now i'm stuck here, out of $500 and the company doesn't want to refund me. i'm willing to even accept a partial refund.

Maybe he was fired for promising all the students life fulfilling employment opportunities for a mere $500.00?

[sandikosh]

You will need to find all those people who he promised employment to back you. If ever.

[al3x89]

Ummm nope is wrong.

Yes, most certainly verbal agreements are just as binding as written agreements. The only problem with suing on them is they are harder to prove in court. But if you have other evidence of an agreement, or even if you don't and want to go word-against-word, they are just as valid an agreement as a written one.

that's what i figured.

since this guy is no longer employed with them, he probably won't show up to court, would this not favour me because there's no one there to say "no i didn't say that to you"?

regardless, on their website it shows "guaranteed employment". i have taken a screen shot of this with todays date just incase it changes (which it probably won't). however, the guy that owns the company is trying to say that "guaranteed employment" doesn't include the course i took. ok, well, how was i supposed to know that? i was clearly misinformed. i told him i would settle for 1/2 of that considering i completed the course. in my opinion that's fair, however, if i take this to court (which i probably will), i'm going for all my money back.

i wish i recorded the entire telephone conversation. i recorded the ended but in the beginning this guy said "i don't even want to help you with your attitude"

well.. how am i supposed to have a positive attitude right now after they screwed me around? also, when i was trying to talk, he kept interrupting me so i started to get a little pissed off. i was trying to make my argument but he wouldn't let me.

this guy is clearly a ****in dumbass too.


Maybe he was fired for promising all the students life fulfilling employment opportunities for a mere $500.00?

who knows..



You will need to find all those people who he promised employment to back you. If ever.

he said employment is promised, however, not for the course i took.. for a different one.

[Nikita]

that's what i figured.

since this guy is no longer employed with them, he probably won't show up to court, would this not favour me because there's no one there to say "no i didn't say that to you"?

regardless, on their website it shows "guaranteed employment". i have taken a screen shot of this with todays date just incase it changes (which it probably won't). however, the guy that owns the company is trying to say that "guaranteed employment" doesn't include the course i took. ok, well, how was i supposed to know that? i was clearly misinformed. i told him i would settle for 1/2 of that considering i completed the course. in my opinion that's fair, however, if i take this to court (which i probably will), i'm going for all my money back.

i wish i recorded the entire telephone conversation. i recorded the ended but in the beginning this guy said "i don't even want to help you with your attitude"

well.. how am i supposed to have a positive attitude right now after they screwed me around? also, when i was trying to talk, he kept interrupting me so i started to get a little pissed off. i was trying to make my argument but he wouldn't let me.

this guy is clearly a ****in dumbass too.



who knows..




he said employment is promised, however, not for the course i took.. for a different one.

If he doesn't show up for trial, yes you will get a default judgment. The screenshot you took is evidence of a contract, but (and this is not legal advice, which I am not allowed to give on public forums) depending on the circumstances of which course in fact that promise was made for is crucial. Others who were given this promise would be helpful to prove the contract (no you don't need everyone). You may though have an issue with quantum of damages as it sounds like, by getting another job, you mitigated your damages (and by law you're required to mitigate damages so you did that right). In other words, by him not honoring the contract, did you actually lose any money...that may be hard to prove, a lot will depend on how quickly you started earning. Figuring out how much you can reasonably ask the court to award you should be your first step in determining whether or not to sue, even if you're 100% in the right. Keep 2 things in mind....1) if you lose, you'll be ordered to pay his court costs, though in Small Claims Court that's not much at all and 2) even if you get a judgment (either winning after trial, or default if he doesn't show) collecting can be difficult, timely and costly in itself (tho with regard to the latter, most costs incurred in collecting on a judgment are recoverable (added to the amount of judgment).

Do some research on Small Claims Court...read some cases on similar contracts cases....start here www.canlii.ca . Good luck!

[jungeon]

i know they can be used in court, but what are the chances of them being honoured?

basically, i signed up for a course through a company who guaranteed placement. this individual that said he was gonna give me placement had i signed up was fired for unknown reasons. now i'm stuck here, out of $500 and the company doesn't want to refund me. i'm willing to even accept a partial refund.

this all happened in december. i was out of a job jan-march. that hurt me financially but whatever. i guess i could go after them for that, but all i really want is the $500.

i ended up finding a job on my own in something unrelated, and now this company is telling me they'll find me placement... 4 months later. i already have a job and this solution is nothing to me.

1. I'd make a phone recording of them telling you that, to at least show it was said at some point
2. Yes it can be upheld in court but it is really a dicey ball. It depends on the judge, some judges might find what you say credible and rule in your favour, some might think your full of it, and some might shrug and say I don't know. This is why 1 is so important, it establishes at least that it was said at some point and makes it more probably that a judge would rule in your favour.
3. If the guy who promised it to you was fired, then you are in LUCK. There is a good chance that the guy might not show up, there is a good chance he might testify against them and in your favour (out of spite for being fired). If the guy doesn't show up, it will be your word only, vs nothing. They cannot say he didn't say that because they were not there. So you have an excellent case imo.