DENVER — A Colorado device repair company is changing some of its policies after a recent court decision.
Acme Revival, which filed at least 85 cases in Colorado courts against both businesses and individuals, claimed that some of its customers abandoned their devices, resulting in thousands of dollars in storage fees and unpaid diagnostics charges. Last year, the company began filing lawsuits against those customers, most of whom do not live in Colorado.
Jefferson County Judge Keith Goman dismissed 47 cases against out-of-state defendants, saying the court did not have jurisdiction in these cases.
Following that decision, Acme Revival changed some of its policies.
"We immediately implemented some changes," said Logan Beck, Acme Revival's owner and CEO. "We have respect for the court system. While we disagree, the comments that were made have led us to make changes."
- Watch Denver7 Investigates' original reporting below
For customers like Gus Mancado, the judge's decision was a weight lifted. Acme's website shows that Mancado sent an X-Box for repairs last year and racked up more than $3,600 in storage and legal fees.
"I think you guys shining the light on that really helped," said Mancado. "So I appreciate it for you guys taking the time."
An Acme Revival email sent to customers states that because of the court decision, the company will deduct storage fees and once the diagnostic fee is paid, the device will be shipped back at Acme's expense.
"You've got to give these guys credit, they just don't see right from wrong, in my opinion," said Glenn Weber, who said he won't be sending Acme Revival any money since the case was dismissed.
Weber shipped the company binoculars for repair last year and accrued thousands of dollars in storage fees after the company could not repair the binoculars and would not dispose of them. While the storage fees are no longer listed on his Acme account, the legal costs still remain.
"I think this is the dark side of the internet. I think that you have to be careful about who you contract with," said Weber. "I want to compliment all of you. I think that this restores my confidence in journalism. I think it's an incredibly valuable institution, and this is a perfect illustration of why it's important to communities."
Meanwhile, Beck said he will likely waive legal costs but he is looking into liens if customers don't pay diagnostic fees. He told Denver7 Investigates he is also dropping defamation lawsuits related to negative online reviews for now and plans to appeal the judge's decision on jurisdiction.
"Obviously, we think it sets a dangerous precedent for the state of Colorado that if you're an internet company — or really any company — and you're doing business with customers out of state, you're gonna have a hard time enforcing your contract in state courts," said Beck.
Jefferson County isn't the only court that has ruled against part of Acme Revival's contracts. Last year, court records state that a Denver court found that the $25 per day storage fee was unreasonable and lowered it in multiple cases.
"I understand that the optics, perhaps, of charging these storage fees to the general public, the overall optics of that may not be great," said Beck. "But we were inundated with hundreds of positive messages at the help desk of people that have been in small business and had empathy for what we were going through and shared their own personal stories about how they felt frustrated when customers exploited their services."
