Don't mess with a professor when it comes to a takeaway bill error

Ran Duan manages the bar at the Sichuan Garden restaurant in Boston which was founded in the 1990s by his parents.

One of his recent customers was Ben Edelman, an associate professor at the nearby Harvard Business School, who is also a trained attorney whose practice represents clients like AOL, Microsoft, the NFL, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Upon ordering what sounded like a sumptuous takeaway of shredded chicken with spicy garlic sauce, sauteed prawns with roasted chilli and peanut, stir fried chicken with spicy capsicum and braised fish filets, Edelman was affronted to discover he had been over charged on his $53.35 bill by an astonishing, staggering, eye-watering $4 (£2.54).

Edelman emailed the restaurant to enquire what had happened and to ask for a refund - their whole subsequent exchange has since been published by Boston.com.

Duan explained that the prices had risen quite some time ago but the menu on the website had not been updated. In fact Edelman had been charged the same price as everyone else, and he promised to update the website and send Edelman the new menu.

Edelman was displeased with this response however and, citing Massachusetts law and calling it a "serious violation", demanded that Duan offer him a refund of three times the value that he was over charged - i.e. $12.

I urge you to cease this practice immediately. If you don't know how to update your web site, you could remove the web site altogether.

• Ben Edelman

Duan then explained that it was a small "mom and pop restaurant" that prides itself on "hard work" and "authentic Sichuan cuisine". He offered to honour the website price which he calculated as a $3 refund.

Edelman hit back: "It strikes me that merely providing a refund to a single customer would be an exceptionally light sanction for the violation that has occurred."

I have already referred this matter to applicable authorities in order to attempt to compel your restaurant to identify all consumers affected... or in any event to assure that an appropriate sanction is applied as provided by law.

I'm most familiar with the Boston authorities... I will accept whatever refund you elect to provide, be it $4 or $12, but I accept that refund without prejudice to my rights as provided by law.

• Ben Edelman

Sticking to his guns, Duan countered by saying that they did not over charge Edelman but charged him the standard price that all customers were charged. He apologised again and said he had contacted the company that manages its website to make sure the menu was updated.

Duan said he would honour the $4 refund but explained he would wait until hearing from the relevant authorities as to whether he should pay any more than that.

Without hearing back from Edelman, Duan then explained that the website had been updated and he had been in contact with an attorney to seek advice. They told him that a disclaimer on the restaurant's website warned that prices may vary and that he should therefore not give in to Edelman's request of a larger refund.

Edelman replied by asking Duan for the contact details of his legal team and claimed he was unaware of any disclaimer which would allow a company to knowingly mislead its customers.

Are you represented by an attorney in connection with this case W [sic]? If so, as an attorney, I am bound by Massachusetts attorney ethics rules to communicate only with that attorney and not with you.

• Ben Edelman

I have told you exactly how I am going to resolve this situation and have already acted by fixing our website and by honoring the website prices, unfortunately that wasn't good enough and you notified the authorities so this is out of my hands now...

Like I said, I apologise for the confusion, you seem like a smart man, But is this really worth your time?

• Ran Duan

After explaining his displeasure at Duan's explanation and perceived excuses and again stating that his disclaimer "just won't fly", Edelman said:

I deem myself fortunate to live in a state that deems this practice unlawful...

The more you try to claim your restaurant was not at fault, the more determined I am to seek a greater sanction against you.

• Ben Edelman

After a long-winded email explaining his frustration, Edelman then suggested that a refund of half his total bill would indeed be satisfactory, after all that would be "appropriate thanks for my bringing this matter to your attention".

The Boston Magazine then got in touch with both men. Duan told them that his family had moved to the US from China when he was three and had been running the restaurant chain since the 1990s.

Despite the restaurant's expansion, Duan explained that the company didn't have the sort of budget to devote large sums of money on PR or website development.

I personally respond to every complaint and try to handle every situation personally.

I have worked so hard to make my family proud and to elevate our business. [The exchange with Edelman] just broke my heart.

• Ran Duan

The magazine also got in touch with Edelman, who graduated from Harvard with first class honours, and he explained that he had alerted the authorities in the neighbourhood.

I mostly look for malfeasance by larger companies. It certainly seems like a situation that could call for legal redress. But this is a small business in the town where I reside.

• Ben Edelman

Edelman told the magazine he now plans to "take a few days" before deciding whether to take any further legal action...

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