Toby Zack Designs

I have no complaints about Toby’s work, which I’ve always admired but it became necessary to withdraw from my contract with Toby Zack. The complaint exists because of an aspect of the contract that effectively prohibited me from obtaining a refund on my deposit of $2500. I’d asked for the refund when Toby told me the work I’d contracted for would cost four times my stated budgeted amount. I had to sue Toby in Small Claims Court. The judge was obliged to side with the defendant’s attorney, when it was pointed out that the contract I’d signed included my agreement to submit any dispute to Arbitration Court.

Taking my case to Arbitration Court would have cost me more than the small settlement Toby had offered. Rather than throw good money after bad, I accepted Toby’s amount, which was lower than my compromise offer. For a sole proprietorship to ask clients to agree to submit disputes over multimillion-dollar jobs to Arbitration Court may be no more than good business practice. To hold a client whose dispute would normally be settled by Small Claims Court to the letter of the agreement is at best deceptive. In any event, it’s grounds for me to caution others who may be subjected to bait-and-switch pricing on jobs in the mid-four figures.