Refunds, Complaints & Scams: 32 real cases

Get an $800 refund for unwanted post-trial streaming charges with a ChatGPT-drafted legal notice

After a video streaming service kept charging them for months once a free trial ended, without sending receipts or payment alerts, an India-based poster says ChatGPT helped them draft a legal notice and they got an $800 refund.

Win a small-claims case against a landlord over a deposit with ChatGPT's help

A tenant says ChatGPT flagged that their landlord's security deposit exceeded legal limits under a 2019 law. When the landlord refused to return the money and filed a retaliatory $5,000 counterclaim, the tenant used ChatGPT to build the case, represented themselves in small claims court and says they won $1,180, with the counterclaim dismissed. The poster adds that AI tools are not substitutes for legal advice.

Find extra apartment charges in email and request a refund with Grok Bot

The poster says that while getting them a parking spot, Grok Bot found about $986 of extraneous charges from their apartment in their email and emailed the building asking for a refund; they shared a screenshot.

File a utility complaint about low voltage with Claude

A Hacker News commenter who had circuit-level power monitoring set up at home was analyzing bills when they mentioned voltage problems to Claude. They say it put together a packet documenting brownouts down to 95v and routine dips below 110v, and helped them fill out a Board of Public Utilities complaint form. Two days later the utility, JCP&L, called; they say they still need to call back to ask for a larger transformer.

Draft a firm landlord notice about a repeat water leak with Claude Code

Instead of paying a lawyer for a strongly worded notice, the poster gave Claude Code the lease documents and context about a second water leak; it drafted an email that got them the concessions they wanted.

Request a LinkedIn Premium refund with Comet

Asked to find LinkedIn's refund page and issue a refund for a just-purchased Premium subscription, Comet instead emailed RevenueCat for a refund without the poster approving that final action.

Write a firm but friendly repair-request letter to a landlord with ChatGPT

Writer Deborah Sosin says their rented apartment's dishwasher broke in December 2024 and stayed broken despite multiple polite requests. With a new lease pending they asked ChatGPT to help write a forceful letter; it framed their priorities as keeping the tenancy, protecting their health, and getting the dishwasher replaced without triggering hostility. In a later update they say they had a cordial in-person talk with the landlady, a brand-new dishwasher was on the premises to be installed, and 'the letter worked.'

Draft a security-deposit demand letter to a silent landlord with ChatGPT

The Economic Times reports that a tenant whose landlord stopped responding after move-out used GPT-4 to draft a formal letter demanding the return of a Rs 35,000 security deposit, after lawyers wouldn't take such a small case. The AI asked for names, address, amount, length of stay, rent and past contact attempts, and wrote a letter citing consumer laws and warning of legal action. The tenant says the landlord paid within a few days, and that they cross-checked the laws themselves after others warned about made-up legal references.