Get help
You don’t have to figure it out alone.
Free and low-cost legal aid, plain summaries of popular terms of service, where to report subscription trouble, and how small claims court works.
Legal aid and legal information
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LSC legal aid finder
Type an address or city to find an LSC-funded civil legal aid organization near you, with its phone number and website.
Cost: The search is public. The programs it lists provide civil legal aid to low-income people.
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LawHelp.org
Legal information, help guides, and a state-by-state finder for nonprofit legal aid, run by Pro Bono Net with legal aid partners.
Cost: LSC says you can find free legal forms there.
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Legal Services Corporation
The Legal Services Corporation is an independent nonprofit Congress created in 1974 to fund civil legal aid for low-income Americans. It funds 129 legal aid organizations across every state, D.C., and U.S. territories, and its site lets you search for one near you.
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LawHelp.org
LawHelp.org and the state LawHelp sites are maintained by Pro Bono Net with nonprofit legal aid, pro bono, and court-based programs and libraries. LSC points people there for legal information and free legal forms.
Source: LawHelp.org home page
Terms of service, summarized
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Terms of Service; Didn't Read (ToS;DR)
Plain summaries and A to E grades for the terms of service and privacy policies of websites and apps, written by volunteer reviewers.
Cost: Ratings are public on the site; the not-for-profit project runs on donations.
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What ToS;DR does
Terms of Service; Didn't Read (ToS;DR) gives easy-to-understand summaries of terms of service and privacy policies. Volunteer reviewers flag specific points as good, neutral, bad, or blocker, and services get grades from A (fair) to E.
Source: ToS;DR home page
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Who runs ToS;DR
ToS;DR started in June 2012, with Paris attorney Hugo Roy starting the legal analysis. It's a not-for-profit, open-source project funded by nonprofit organizations and individual donations, and it releases its work as free software and open data.
Source: ToS;DR: About
Report it, or take it to small claims
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ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Where the FTC says to report trouble canceling a subscription or charges for a subscription you didn't agree to. You can also report to your state attorney general.
Cost: No cost mentioned on the FTC page.
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California Courts Self-Help Guide: Small Claims
Step-by-step help to start a small claims case, respond if you're sued, and collect or pay afterward.
Cost: The guide is a public court website. Filing a case costs $30 to $100, and fee waivers are available.
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Small claims basics (California)
In California small claims court, you can generally sue for up to $12,500, or $6,250 if you're a business. Filing costs $30 to $100, you can ask for a fee waiver, and a court date usually comes in about 1 to 2 months.
Source: California Courts Self-Help Guide: Small claims in California
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No lawyers in small claims (California)
You can get a lawyer's advice before court, but you can't have one with you in California small claims court. If you're the one who started the case and you lose, you can't appeal, and if you win, collecting is up to you.
Source: California Courts Self-Help Guide: Small claims in California
The small claims details are California’s. Limits and fees differ in every state.