Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Has it been more than 15 days since you received the bad check?
You would need to go to the District Attorney's office, it appears, for MECK.
I am assuming you are in MECK. Also, if the check is over $2000, you cannot participate in this program, b/c ripping someone off for more than $2000 is a felony.
I would contact the DA's office (go over there) immediately.
The other route to go might be small claims court.
I am sorry you are dealing with someone who is obviously unreliable. You say you should have known better, but no . . . the perpetrator engaged in fraud. You were trying to run a business and make a sale. Shame on folks who will fraudulently take possession of property knowing it will cause a hardship for the business owner. These are tough times and losing a chunk of cash over a bad check is a terrible thing.
I hope you find a resolution and collect every penny owed you.
Yes you can file a civil small claim for a worthless check and have a sheriff hand deliver the summons, but the defendant does not have to show up in court. Chances are they won't and the judge will grant a judgement against this party, but they know they do not have to pay and the judgement will stay for a long period of time (10 years).
People doing stuff like this understand the system and prey on people like you. They should be hung
in public for stealing.
Sorry for living through this as I have many times in the past, but you will need to try and get your money although it will cost you more money and time to get what is yours. Your chances in my opinion are very slim.
Lesson learned...do not accept personal checks from anyone
unless you have a good verification system in place!!!
I know back in the day you could call the bank the check was drawn on, enter the account # and amount, and it would tell you if there was enough money in the account to cover it.
It might just be the bank....but they really couldn't tell us much of anything...I guess because of some new rule. If you get someone who knows your plight you can tell by the way that they answer a question, if there is enough in there...to waste your time going down and getting a cashiers/counter check. It just seems to be that the victim is always the one that has to prove that they have been wronged.....and the perpetrator is protected by all kinds of rules/laws. This whole thing is very time consuming, but I would rather to at least try to get our money back then to roll over, which I feel this person(?) would wish that we would do.
Ani.......The check was written out on the 6th of November, and unfortunately...because of numerous "stalls" by the "thief"...we did not go ahead and redeposit it....we just made numerous calls to the bank. So of course you know what we will do the first thing Monday morning. It is now just a few days over fifteen days that he wrote the check
The amount to us is big...a little over six hundred dollars....and to some it might just be chunk change...but when you are a small business in this economy....that could be the difference between an employee keeping his job or losing it. Yes, a bit dramatic..but with every small business...every penny has to count.
I followed up on "pink caddys" findings concerning the Worthless Check Program...and from what I see PC is right. Yes, we are in Mech. territory.
You are right about..."just trying to run a business"...but we should have been more aware because of the economy. It drives people to do really stupid things.....but with this guy I don't think the economy had anything to do with it. I think he is just someone who has no conscience....no shame....and absolutely no class. He's probably been doing things like this all his life. A better person would have come and told us their problem, and we would have tried to work with them. We are just hanging on like everyone else and really can't afford anymore problems like the above.
Thank you for your concern..........
If you dont get paid why cant you find out where your stuff is and go get it. If it is already installed in someones home figure out a way to put a lien on their house. I bet that would get someones attention. Maybe a lien on his friggin car and then have it towed away.
Nativechief......Don't think we haven't already thought about that ....it would have been great...and I know we would have already gotten instant results. Problem is....we don't know where he may have installed the glass...but he had to have it fast! If I were his customer, and found out he had installed stolen materials in my home....I would call the Police!! I don't know what they would do with him....but at that point I wouldn't even care.
I know back in the day you could call the bank the check was drawn on, enter the account # and amount, and it would tell you if there was enough money in the account to cover it.
My experience with this has been: If the check was drawn from a bank that is the same as the bank it is going to be deposited, they can check for sufficient funds. If drawn fron a different bank than yours, then they can't check it.
So, what I wrote is clear as mud as I now read it.
Example: Customer gives you BOA check. You bank at BOA. No problem to check his funds.
Cust. gives you check from Bank of Nigeria. You bank at BOA. No can do.
Ani.......The check was written out on the 6th of November, and unfortunately...because of numerous "stalls" by the "thief"...we did not go ahead and redeposit it....we just made numerous calls to the bank. So of course you know what we will do the first thing Monday morning. It is now just a few days over fifteen days that he wrote the check
The amount to us is big...a little over six hundred dollars....and to some it might just be chunk change...but when you are a small business in this economy....that could be the difference between an employee keeping his job or losing it. Yes, a bit dramatic..but with every small business...every penny has to count.
I followed up on "pink caddys" findings concerning the Worthless Check Program...and from what I see PC is right. Yes, we are in Mech. territory.
You are right about..."just trying to run a business"...but we should have been more aware because of the economy. It drives people to do really stupid things.....but with this guy I don't think the economy had anything to do with it. I think he is just someone who has no conscience....no shame....and absolutely no class. He's probably been doing things like this all his life. A better person would have come and told us their problem, and we would have tried to work with them. We are just hanging on like everyone else and really can't afford anymore problems like the above.
Thank you for your concern..........
I hope the proper authorities will step in and help you. Actually, if I understand the law (and I sure as heck am not an attorney or paralegal!!) you could place a mechanic's lien on the property where the work was performed, but finding out where that is would be a Detective story episode in itself! The homeowner benefited by receiving the goods, even tho they doubtless are unaware of the fraud involved. Still, that is where the goods are . . .
$600 is a lot of money for a small business (would be to my business!) But you know - I don't care if it is $50. It is wrong. Stories like yours make me furious! In society, there is a certain level of trust we all must maintain to conduct business. We trust that folks we are doing business with will pay us, whether we are the vendor or the client. And handing someone a check is a promise that it represents the payment owed.
Trust is the foundation of exchanging goods. Heck - "deed of trust" "Bank & Trust" "Trust account" etc. Fools who break that trust throw a kink into the whole system of "trust." And that is happening all too often these days. What worries me is the casual attitude some folks have about walking away from what they legally OWE. How can a person justify that this is "okay?" Oh - as long as they get THEIR payment for services rendered, I guess it doesn't matter about all the other folks along the way who get stiffed. What an attitude!
Again, be persistent. Make phone calls, write letters, go to the DA's office. Can you file a report w/ police or Sheriff for stolen goods? I don't know the law on that, but those items were STOLEN just as if the man had driven on your property, loaded up the items and driven off w/o paying. Check every possible way to recover your $$$$, including small claims court, BBB . . . and why not call a TV "Action Line" and tell them about this guy and what he did? Maybe they will do a story on it. At least he would be exposed to the community as a ripoff artist!!!
Hmmmmmm, I had a similar experience with a "contractor" in Kannapolis. Didn't turn out so well. You can take him to small claims court, you can hire an attorney and have leins filed against him.There are a number of things you can try. The bottom line is, if he didn't have the money to pay you at the time, he probably won't ever have it. It's a way of life for these scums. They," borrow from Peter to pay Paul" so to speak. Do what you can that doesn't cost you any more money and I wish you the best of luck. Unfortunately you may have to just write it off as a loss.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
....it would have been great...and I know we would have already gotten instant results. Problem is....we don't know where he may have installed the glass...but he had to have it fast! If I were his customer, and found out he had installed stolen materials in my home....I would call the Police!! I don't know what they would do with him....but at that point I wouldn't even care. 
