BMW i Forums - View Single Post - Was I out of line for refusing the $8 key fob battery?

thebmw · 03-14-2020, 10:01 AM

Just FYI, this is extortion in the metaphorical definition. It is not something the OP would or could legally pursue unless the dealership refused to return the key or the vehicle until the $8 was paid. This would be a criminal offense if the use of force was involved (such as the dealership using force to remove OP from premises unless the $8 was paid).

The case can also be made that this is racketeering. If the battery was not dead, the dealership fraudulently offered a solution to a problem that did not exist (racketeering). Obviously, no one is going to report or pursue an $8 issue. Now if this was an $8 million extortion or racket, I don't think anyone would argue here. Again, I'm not suggesting legal action, but as I said before, wrong is wrong (dollar amount is not the issue). Fortunately, there are laws in place to prevent this behavior since business ethics are voluntary.

Here are some definitions:
Extortion (also called shakedown, and, in a legal sense incorrectly, exaction) is obtaining benefit through coercion.

The term extortion is often used metaphorically to refer to usury or to price-gouging, though neither is legally considered extortion. It is also often used loosely to refer to everyday situations where one person feels indebted against their will, to another, in order to receive an essential service or avoid legal consequences. Neither extortion nor blackmail requires a threat of a criminal act, such as violence, merely a threat used to elicit actions, money, or property from the object of the extortion

Racket: A service that is fraudulently offered to solve a problem, such as for a problem that does not actually exist, will not be affected, or would not otherwise exist.

Extortion is sometimes called the "protection racket" since the racketeers often phrase their demands as payment for "protection" from (real or hypothetical) threats from unspecified other parties; though often, and almost always, such "protection" is simply abstinence of harm from the same party, and such is implied in the "protection" offer.

03-14-2020, 10:01 AM	#36
thebmw Post Advisor 1631 Rep 1,693 Posts Drives: More Manuals than Automatics Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Illinois iTrader: (10)	Just FYI, this is extortion in the metaphorical definition. It is not something the OP would or could legally pursue unless the dealership refused to return the key or the vehicle until the $8 was paid. This would be a criminal offense if the use of force was involved (such as the dealership using force to remove OP from premises unless the $8 was paid). The case can also be made that this is racketeering. If the battery was not dead, the dealership fraudulently offered a solution to a problem that did not exist (racketeering). Obviously, no one is going to report or pursue an $8 issue. Now if this was an $8 million extortion or racket, I don't think anyone would argue here. Again, I'm not suggesting legal action, but as I said before, wrong is wrong (dollar amount is not the issue). Fortunately, there are laws in place to prevent this behavior since business ethics are voluntary. Here are some definitions: Extortion (also called shakedown, and, in a legal sense incorrectly, exaction) is obtaining benefit through coercion. The term extortion is often used metaphorically to refer to usury or to price-gouging, though neither is legally considered extortion. It is also often used loosely to refer to everyday situations where one person feels indebted against their will, to another, in order to receive an essential service or avoid legal consequences. Neither extortion nor blackmail requires a threat of a criminal act, such as violence, merely a threat used to elicit actions, money, or property from the object of the extortion Racket: A service that is fraudulently offered to solve a problem, such as for a problem that does not actually exist, will not be affected, or would not otherwise exist. Extortion is sometimes called the "protection racket" since the racketeers often phrase their demands as payment for "protection" from (real or hypothetical) threats from unspecified other parties; though often, and almost always, such "protection" is simply abstinence of harm from the same party, and such is implied in the "protection" offer.
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