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Source: Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UtahDec.儲存倉 21--LAYTON -- John and Jennifer Palmer of Layton are humbled by the outpouring of support they have received from around the country since their plight hit national news."There's been a massive outcry from other consumers that a company could do this to one of their customers," John Palmer said.The Palmers have been featured in a few national stories about a $3,500 charge from an Internet company that billed them for a "disparaging review" Jennifer Palmer wrote in 2009 about the company's customer service.They refused to pay the $3,500 penalty KlearGear.com billed them in 2012 for violating its terms of service and now the case is headed to court.The Palmers filed a lawsuit this past week in federal court against KlearGear.com and Fidelity Information Corp. No court date has been set.Their attorney, Scott Michelman, said the case is a matter of protecting consumers' rights to free speech."This case is really important because businesses should not be able to silence their customers," said Michelman, who is with Public Citizen Litigation Group, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C.The trouble began for the Palmers in 2008 when they lived in Bountiful. John Palmer ordered online a desk toy and key chain from KlearGear.com. The amount was less than $20 and the items were supposed to be Christmas presents for his wife.KlearGear never delivered the items. John Palmer called KlearGear's customer service number several times to find out where the order was but was "unable to reach anyone at KlearGear," according to court documents.Emails were exchanged and finally the order was canceled. Jennifer Palmer also attempted through email to reach someone from KlearGear.On Feb. 9, 2009, Jennifer Palmer posted a review of the company on RipoffReport.com, criticizing the "inaccessibility of KlearGear's customer service representatives by telephone and the handling of John's order," according to the court document.But it was three years later, on May 29, 2012, when John Palmer received an email 迷你倉最平rom KlearGear's legal department demanding he remove his wife's review of the company from the website within 72 hours or face a $3,500 fine.At first he didn't remember the company, so he asked his wife why would they owe anyone $3,500. She remembered KlearGear. She said she contacted RipoffReport.com about removing the review but was told once a reivew is posted, it's posted."They have this policy in place to protect consumers from bullies," Jennifer Palmer said.RipoffReport.com does offer an arbitration service.The Palmers contacted KlearGear through email and told them RipoffReport.com had an arbitrator who would decide if any of the negative post should be removed.KlearGear declined and then billed them for $3,500."I was flabbergasted that they would even try to do this," Jennifer Palmer said.The Palmers didn't pay the fine and John Palmer began watching his credit reports.Sure enough, KlearGear reported to all three credit bureaus he had not paid $3,500. The Palmers contacted the credit bureaus and the credit bureaus told them there was nothing the could do because KlearGear claimed it was "a real debt," Jennifer said.It hurt them financially. They had trouble getting a loan for a second car. They also ran into problems getting a credit card.Then temperatures dropped in October and their furnace broke. They couldn't even get a small loan to buy a new furnace to keep their house warm for their 3-year-old son.News stories about the Palmers went national and that's how Michelman learned of them. He contacted them and said he would like to represent them.The Palmers are hoping their case will help consumers."There is not enough protection out there for consumers," John Palmer said."We really just don't this to happen to anyone else," Jennifer Palmer said.Contact reporter Loretta Park at 801-625-4252 or lpark@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @LorettaParkSE.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) Visit the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) at .standard.net Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉