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I have a problem. need advise

ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
edited August 2002 in General Discussion
I am in to audio and video. I was saposed to buy some audio gear from a guy that I have done business with before and he said he sent me the stuff and I have not recieved it as of yet. He does not return calls or emails. I will be out of $1500.00 if I do nonthing. What steps can I take to get my money back. There was no auction or anything like that. Can I sue? Can I have a warrent issued to send him to jail? We are in two different states, does that matter? He actually drove all the way to my state to go to my bank brantch to cash it. What do I do????????????

If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
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Comments

  • E.WilliamsE.Williams Member Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sue if you have too.You paid with check?Why didnt he just bring the stuff with him if he could drive there to cash the check?You should have post dated the check for after you were supposed to receive your items and if you didnt stop payment on the check.I hate to say it but you might be screwed.I dont know though you can try to sue him or contact the BBB or the police about fraud.

    Eric S. Williams
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  • ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The thing that confuse me is that I have done business with thi sguy before. He said that he sent and had trouble cashing the check so he drove 3 1/2 hours to cash it. The stuff he was to sell me I have seen before and turned down the chance to buy until now. It has been 4 weeks now and nonthing. The last I heard from him was when he emailed me saying he was going on vacation and would check with me when he gets back on the 5th. The 5th was a 1 1/2 weeks ago. I want to take actions. Is there anything I can do? He is also not a business. Just a guy trying to sell his personal stuff.

    If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.

    Edited by - ccasey612 on 08/14/2002 15:13:22
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    You might be in luck. The amount of money may be large enough to make this more than a misdemeanor. The fact that you sent him the check through the mail might make it U.S. mail fraud, but in any case the fact that you are in two different states makes it a federal matter, meaning the FBI would investigate. I'd call the FBI office nearest him, explain the fraud and the fact that he crossed state lines to cash your check, and ask for a copy of their fax number. Then send them a copy of the cancelled check as evidence and request them to contact the fellow who took your money. You might be surprised. They are sometimes less busy than the local cops and might actually have interest in following it up for you. A visit from them might at least get your stuff moving to you. Trust me, distance means nothing anymore. You can realistically do this sort of thing nowadays no matter where the perp is.

    - Life NRA Member
    "If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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  • ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    One of the things that worries me is that my check never made it to his house. Only to the post office. The check was sent overnight mail and the post office screwed up and told him to come and pick it up. If i do not hear from this guy by friday I want him arrested. Can this be done?

    If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
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  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Casey, I'm not sure I understand the time elements, but if it has been a while and this guy is not responding to you, then certainly you have grounds to make an inquiry. LEOs are not going to arrest the guy on the basis of the information you've provided here. There are Federal issues and there is also the possibility of small claims court on the civil side (depends on the laws of your state, but where he came into the state to cash the check, your state could assert jurisdiction). My suggestion would be to call him one last time & advise that you are about to contact the Feds. If you have reason to believe that would be a catalyst to make him take a powder, then maybe not. Certainly won't hurt you to call Postal Inspectors or Feebies. Bear in mind, though, that many Feebie assets have been shifted from their normal domestic matters and re-directed to homeland security. But anyone stupid enough to rip you off for $1500 through the mail & interstate probably isn't bright enough to read the papers and make that connection.
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  • duckhunterduckhunter Member Posts: 7,687 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    TAKE THE CANCELED CHECK AND A COPY OF THE CANCELED CHECK. GET INTO YOU CAR AND DRIVE OVER AND SEE THE "GUY" IF YOU CAN NOT FIND HIM, STOP AT THE LOCAL POLICE STATION AND FILE A COMPLAINT. THE POST OFFICE AND THE FEDS WILL NOT DO ANYTHING FOR YOU. I JUST WENT THROUGH THIS WITH THEM BOTH. DON'T WAIT FOR ANY HELP.

    I WOULD RATHER BE DUCK HUNTING.
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  • ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Time line:

    07/17 - Sent payment to address in over night express.
    07/18 - Told payment was lost in the mail and he was trying to track it down
    07/19 - Payment picked up at Philadelphia Post Office and cashed in Richmond VA.
    07/19 - Was told by seller that he had to drive to cash the check because he had sent the stuff before trying to cash the check to later find out he had trouble. His point was he drove up to make sure he got his cash for equipment he already shipped before he goes on his honey moon.
    07/27 - No equipment and attempted to contact seller by phone and got nonthing. Left voice mail.
    07/29 - Received email from the seller saying that he got my voice mail but he did not have his phone with him because he was on his honey moon. He said that I should have received the equipment and he would be back on 08/5 and he would like to do more business.
    08/06 thru now - I have called and called and called. Still no answer. I do not know if he is avoiding me or what but I have recieved no emails or calls from him

    If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    ccasey --
    Ask him how it was shipped. Ask him for a tracking number. A tracking number exists whether he kept his copy of the paperwork or not, if it went UPS. He probably didn't receive the check at his house because you required a signature. If he didn't send the equipment, that makes it mail fraud. This is why smarter conmen refuse to use the U.S. mail when they intend to bilk you.

    He personally made a trip across the state line to cash your check. Mistake number two.

    You don't know if he's lying about sending the equipment, but if he's on the level he should be willing and able to provide you with some kind of shipping receipt. If not, just knowing the date of shipment might help the shipper find a record of the shipment, and maybe even your tracking number. If there was no shipment, of course, they will find no record, and he will have no receipts. If the shipment was undeliverable due to a bad address, it should be returned to him eventually. You are learning a hard lesson right now. I hope you get some satisfaction. But in order to have somebody arrested, the cops first have to investigate and determine to their satisfaction that he never sent your stuff and defrauded you. You may have to go down there to fill out a formal complaint. He sounds so absent-minded to me that he certainly might have sent your stuff to the wrong address, but if it were me, there's no way I would ship musical equipment to a guy before I got paid.

    I hate sloppy people. Sloppy people make promises they don't keep, don't see the importance of keeping to schedules, never bother to keep receipts or even remember where they put them, and do stuff when they get around to it, if they ever get around to it. As online sellers, they are nightmares. Forget about e-mail with somebody like this; you need to be on the phone with him letting him know your advisors recommend a police report and charges of mail and bank fraud across state lines. Tell him who your next phone calls will be unless you get this worked out right now. Then see if he remembers a tracking number, or if your stuff is really still at his house. If he's a buddy, you should be able to go down there and see whether your stuff is still there. Don't bother doing any more business with this type of person. Even if it's all a misunderstanding, this is the kind of person you can't count on in business.

    - Life NRA Member
    "If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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  • dads-freeholddads-freehold Member Posts: 1,361 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    greetings, i agree with offeror on this, the guy is to unreliable to do further business with. but to the problem at hand, again good advice on the shipping check, if he sent it to the wrong address he should reimburse, if it was insured and lost notify the shipper and they should reimburse. if he didn't ship then it becomes a civil or criminal affair. respt submitted dads-freehold
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