Well, it was only a matter of time before this happened to me (long) - Page 3

AX-O · #21 02-23-2011, 07:53 AM

Unfortunately all COM has been via email and phone calls.

Danny7,
Thanks for the info. I have seen the majority of those links but not the last one.

Ron Lee · #22 02-23-2011, 08:02 AM

I have only bought items from two people noted on this forum recently. Max $50 USD. On one, I was sent the item before I paid by check so the seller relied upon my honesty. The bad thing is that the mail was way slow in getting the item to me. Perhaps a week or ten days for something that should have taken 2-3 days. It was not my fault but I was concerned that my integrity would be questioned.

The other I sent a check. I did not care if the guy waited for my check to clear.

Bottom line is that I never heard of MoneyPak until this thread. I do not use PayPal, which may not provide any protection for something...maybe services.

It appears that good ole checks and credit cards may offer the most protection in the event of the rare bad merchant.

Sig600 · #23 02-23-2011, 10:50 AM

Did you save the emails and/or voicemails?

I would try enlisting a lawyer local to her. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row ready to pounce before you tell her it's coming though.

wrongway john · #24 02-23-2011, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AX-O

Unfortunately all COM has been via email and phone calls.

Axel, that is still okay. The main point is that it appears you?ve been able to document the money sent to her for product and services not rendered, and the e-mails especially will bare this out, instead of it all just having to rely totally on oral.

Your best bet does sound like the Small Claims Court. It looks like a slam-dunk for you. But just because you win, doesn?t mean they will pay. When they don?t, which happens often, this is when you may have to get an attorney. One option is garnishing her wages, but perhaps she doesn?t have active employment. You can get a writ of execution against the defendant?s personal property or some kind of a lien on it. Hopefully, this woman has some real property like a house, car, etc, and that property means something to her. Unless she plans on being a pauper (or already is one) for the rest of her life, seems like she would want to pay up.

If you haven't seen this link yet, it goes into more detail of what you and your attorney will need to do to collect it if she still chooses not to pay.

http://research.lawyers.com/Oklahoma...-Judgment.html

I can understand you not wanting to get your dad involved. I?m sure he already feels bad about this since he recommended her. At some point though, I hope you expose this woman on who she is, so that it might prevent her from doing this to others.

AX-O · #25 02-23-2011, 12:25 PM

Update for those that care about this.

My local Police department just called me. Apparently this lady is on parole. Her Parole officer has been contacted and he knows what is going on. The local Police department made an agreement (without me) with the parole officer. She has until Monday to provide the money to her parole officer. The parole officer will mail the money and send me a tracking number. If that does not happen, things will get really bad for her. Charges were filed.

I Don?t want to talk about my evidence yet. And I promise that as soon as this is resolved, I will post her info.

Sig600 · #26 02-23-2011, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AX-O

Update for those that care about this.

My local Police department just called me. Apparently this lady is on parole. Her Parole officer has been contacted and he knows what is going on. The local Police department made an agreement (without me) with the parole officer. She has until Monday to provide the money to her parole officer. The parole officer will mail the money and send me a tracking number. If that does not happen, things will get really bad for her. Charges were filed.

I Don?t want to talk about my evidence yet. And I promise that as soon as this is resolved, I will post her info.

Glad to hear it's going in the right direction for you. I'm sure your dad feels terrible over the whole ordeal. Live and learn!

Danny7 · #27 02-23-2011, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AX-O

Update for those that care about this.

My local Police department just called me. Apparently this lady is on parole. Her Parole officer has been contacted and he knows what is going on. The local Police department made an agreement (without me) with the parole officer. She has until Monday to provide the money to her parole officer. The parole officer will mail the money and send me a tracking number. If that does not happen, things will get really bad for her. Charges were filed.

I Don?t want to talk about my evidence yet. And I promise that as soon as this is resolved, I will post her info.

while this is starting to get bad for her, i feel you are in a much better situation. when criminal charges get filed, you can show how much you lost and she will have to pay that back or face longer penalties. it is usually slow slow slow, but it usually spits out the money in the end

eric_marsh · #28 02-23-2011, 12:32 PM

i got ripped off by a con man a while back. After doing some research I discovered that he's already got one felony conviction and is back to his same old tricks. It's very difficult to get the cops to do anything in these kinds of cases because prosecutors don't want to go to trial unless it's almost a slam dunk.

My solution was to set up a web site that I hope will put pressure on the guy and even more important hopefully prevent others from being ripped off. I have had several people thank me for saving them thousands. In one case the guys got taken for $40k but were looking at another $200k when they found my site.

I don't put any interpretation on the guy's actions, which could subject me to his making legal claims against me. All I do is document the facts which I could demonstrate to be true in court if it ever came to that.

Here's the site in case you're curious: http://www.texliner.info

Here's another one, where I won in small claims and they still refused to pay: http://texascustomdecks.info

In both cases I bought domains that are the same as their .coms but using .info.

flion · #29 02-25-2011, 04:15 PM

I've stayed out of this discussion pending a situation I had being resolved. I won't mention names because I don't care to get into a public argument with the other party about it. Doug has been emailed about the situation and can do any policing he deems necessary to prevent future occurrences. Anyway, all I had was my canceled check and emails inquiring about the shipping. On the advice of a lawyer friend, I finally gave an ultimatum and then contacted the other party's local police department. They contacted the seller and just today I have my money refunded.

Small claims is almost out of the question as you have to file at the location of the defendant and usually have to appear yourself. A lawyer appearing for you would be expensive anyway. Then, even if you win the judgment, there is no guarantee you would get paid. Here is a good small claims FAQ.

Pursuing the criminal angle can be a better way to go. While you would not get any compensation if a case goes to trial, often the other party will complete the deal to avoid prosecution. YMMV.

ScottSchmidt · #30 02-25-2011, 04:49 PM

Sorry that happened. I am very trusting as well but building a plane is hard enough. I used a local hot rod shop for my seats and I regret that more than anything. I should have used Flightline or another respected or known company for my interior. It turned out but took all the energy I had to get the seats complete. I used Flightline for my carpet and side panels and was so thankful how easy and great it fit. Now there are even more options out there.

I learned the hard way as well about paying for anything up front with the Direct 2 Avionics fiasco. To order Cheltons from them they required payment up front. I was lucky and kept calling day after day and finally received everything before they went completely under. I had a friend that received only one screen. It was a stressful and frustrating time.
In building your RV don't pay for anything until the product is in the vendors hand ready to ship. Stein is great this way for avionics, he has everything ready to ship before sending any cash.

Good luck on getting the cash back.