Chapter 17 Tengda Law Firm

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Tang Fangjing's first stop was not the Consumer Association but the Market Supervision Bureau of Bright District.

Such matters had to be reported to the market supervision department first, as if the department imposed a penalty, it would be of great help in the lawsuit, the reasons were all clear.

At the complaint reception window, Staff Member Zhou was busy organizing materials. It was graduation season and the number of complaints was truly high.

It was really thought-provoking. The schemes for swindling people were basically the same every year, yet every year many people still fell for them.

Just then, someone stood in front of the window. Zhou looked up to see a young man carrying a briefcase, nothing remarkable about him except for the fact that the bag was ridiculously large…

"This… comrade, what can I do for you?" Zhou hurriedly asked.

Tang Fangjing stepped forward with a smile, "Hello, my name is Tang Fangjing. I was swindled by a real estate agency when renting a house, so I've come to file a complaint."

Zhou glanced at the other's bag then nodded, "Okay, sit down please. What happened? Which agency?"

Tang Fangjing set down his briefcase and smiled sheepishly, "Not just any agency, but twenty-eight different agencies."

"How many? Twenty-eight? Comrade, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

He had been working at the market supervision department for several years and had never seen a complaint like this!

"Comrade, I have to tell you upfront, we need some evidence for this complaint. It can't just be whatever you say, right? You say all these companies swindled you? That's impossible."

He hadn't finished speaking when the young man across from him placed the huge briefcase on the counter, his smile growing even wider, "That what comrade, here is the evidence!"

"Of course, they all couldn't have swindled me. Only one did, but here's the thing…"

"So I went through all the listed properties in Jingzhou City, over forty thousand listings, about more than half used fake prices and images…"

"There's another thing, many people reported it on the platform, very substantial reports with ample evidence. Then, some platforms managed it quite promptly, while others barely did anything…"

This was not just a problem with the real estate agency industry; various second-hand property platforms also had significant issues!

Okay, you say there's too much information for you to handle. Well, now I've sent you all the evidence, and you still don't deal with it, even reaching a conclusion of 'no violation', then tell me if you have a problem.

Tang Fangjing briefly outlined the situation and Staff Member Zhou was already stunned.

To be honest, the practice of attracting traffic with fake listings and prices was extremely common, but just how common it was, no one had ever conducted such an investigation before!

We're talking about over forty thousand listings. Who would have the time to check all that? But this guy did.

And also... Zhou felt a bit sour about it. It was already baffling when someone filed a lawsuit over a taxi fare. And because the other party threw down a gauntlet, this young man actually took it seriously...

"Alright, Tang Fangjing, right? We need to first verify your evidence. Whether or not to file the case, we will notify you in the next few days," Zhou thought for a moment and said.

He was very clear in his mind that they would definitely file the case. Joking aside, with such rich evidence, as long as they verified its authenticity, they could start the proceedings directly.

Moreover, in recent times, the volume of complaints against the real estate industry had surged, and the supervision department had been considering a thorough overhaul. Just as they were looking for an opportunity, a pillow appeared as they dozed off…

"Alright, but I still hope you can expedite the process."

With that said, Tang Fangjing picked up another briefcase and turned to leave.

About half an hour later, an exclamation rang out in the office of the Handong Province Consumer Association.

"Xiao Tang, you're... pushing yourself so hard just to get us to accept your case? But I have to tell you in advance, the attorney's fees are set, and that's not a lot of money!"

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The staff member at the Consumer Association, Lao Fang, was quite surprised.

Previously, when this young man applied to be a volunteer, he had some fame, so they granted him the volunteer status. And now, just over a month later, he had brought such a significant project to the Consumer Association!

And all he asked for was to be given the case to work on...

Moreover, Lao Fang knew that this young man was already in the late stages of cancer; with this illness, no one knew when his time would come—maybe half a year, maybe a year.

Looking at the young man's pale face across from him, Lao Fang simply couldn't believe that he was risking his life for just a few attorney fees; that was utterly impossible.

If he put this time and energy into something else, the money he could make would far exceed that little amount of attorney fees!

Upon hearing this, Tang Fangjing smiled and said, "Lao Fang, what you're saying—I'm definitely in it for the money. Who these days isn't working hard to make money? Could it be for ideals? How much are ideals worth, anyway?"

"Alright then, how long will it take for the Consumer Association to have a result?"

Hearing this, Lao Fang looked at Tang Fangjing and indeed felt that he had encountered an idealist, otherwise there was no way to explain the other's behavior.

But regarding public interest litigation...

"The hardest part of evidence collection has already been completed by you, so this lawsuit should progress quickly. Didn't you also file a complaint with the market supervision department? We will try our best to coordinate with them."

In Lao Fang's experience, with such solid evidence at hand, even a dog could win the lawsuit if it sued...

"That's good then, Lao Fang. I need to go find a law firm now; I don't even have a license yet."

Lao Fang nodded his head, then looked up in confusion, "What? You don't have a license yet? Then why are you going to such lengths..."

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After bidding farewell to the perplexed Lao Fang, Tang Fangjing was ready to look for a law firm. Indeed, as he said, he now needed to find a good "master."

His community couldn't recommend this case, and neither could the Consumer Association, since he wasn't an employee there.

So he had to search, and in Tang Fangjing's heart, he still thought of finding a large law firm that was more regulated in every aspect.

Some smaller firms were ruled by the director's whim, small and smoky places; in comparison, a more regulated large firm was better.

It also had to be in Bright District, closer to the house he was planning to buy.

After filtering through the options, a name stood out - "Tengda Law Firm" caught Tang Fangjing's attention.

The law firm was large, and what was most important was that it was very close to the Yuefu Residential Complex, so close he wouldn't need to take a car – a ten-minute walk was all it would take.

With that settled, he sent over his resume. Although his major in computer science might be a bit jarring, it didn't matter.

After applying, he went home to wait; and by six in the evening, his phone rang.

"Hello, yes, I'm Tang Fangjing, yes, I majored in computer science. Okay, good... good," he spoke over the phone.

After hanging up, Tang Fangjing looked resigned. What's with this disdainful hierarchy? What, someone who studied computer science can't become a lawyer?

The law firm didn't outright reject him on the phone but instead hinted politely that they already had several interns and there might not be anyone willing to mentor him; also, the firm didn't support hanging a license.

However, it didn't matter to Tang Fangjing; he was certain someone would be willing to mentor him.