Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Need help / ideas from you guys...

Made mistake, me and Kimmy need ideas...found sectional sofa on Craig's list that we wanted, called the guy (Plush & Comfort furniture, Clarkston, Georgia), said I could see the sectional at the warehouse. Went to warehouse, did'nt have sectional on the display floor, like I was told, but was assured there were 4 sets upstairs, brand new. I asked about the furniture, and the guy selling it to me, they assured me it was top notch, and Mr. Carrol was a very trustworthy individual, and could be trusted, as they had dealt with him for a couple years, and it would be a smooth transaction. On Monday, I gave Mr. Carrol a check for $1415.00, and made him sign a contract (after reviewing his unsatisfactory BBB record), stating the furniture would be delivered no later than 9:00 pm, Saturday. I called him Saturday, he said the price had changed from his cost of $1050, to $1400, and that he would need more time to cover the difference, as he had already used my check to buy more furniture. I told him it was'nt my problem, and that I wanted my furniture, or my money. He wrote me a check for the amount I paid him, and I agreed to give him a couple more days to "make it happen". 2 days later, he would never answer his phone, after leaving messages, my boss suggested trying to call him from the office phone, and sure enough, he answered immediately...Needless to say, we fought, and he hung up on me. I took his check to the bank, and of course, they would'nt cash it due to "lack of funds". Now Im out $1400, and have no furniture..Police basically say "good luck" and offer no assistance..will have to go through the DeKalb county judicial system to get my money back...I feel like doing something crazy...any ideas...

This might be one of those rare instances that a lawyer might be required.
Good luck.

Lawyer not financially feasible....maybe "Judge Judy"....

Small claims court?
In MA, you walk in, file your claim, get a court date and speak to the judge/magistrate directly-no attorney needed. You've got your record of checks.Last I knew small claims was for disputes up to $1500 or something.

I've been trying to break in to the fast paced world of contract killing and I'm still looking for my first contract.

That really sux. Here in NY if you write a check for more then $300 and it is NSF'd, they will arrest the person and toss them in jail for felony fraud. Might want to check with your local DA office first.

I agree with Pat, cal the DA first and get some advice. Fraud is usually serious business no matter the amount.

You may also want to post an ad in your local paper or Craig's list to see who else has been ripped off and maybe file a class action suit against the guy.

Soren

That's a pretty healthy "stupid tax," but far from the worst I've ever heard of.

Go to see him in person, speak without raising your voice, do not use any swear words and explain that you want your money back. This approach always works but it is sometimes necessary to hit him between the eyes with a ball bat just to get his attention.

Maybe you could send a letter to the people who 'vouched' for him, it was their information you acted upon....

It's worth a try.

Hang on Tim, we might need you after the '08 election.

If you do file in small claims court, those tv shows go through the cases and offer the interesting ones the opportunity to be famous. Don't know if Mr Carroll would agree to go on tv, I think the tv show usually pays the judgement as well, so he may be persuaded. keep good records.
On the other hand, the story sounds too slick, I would bet that this is how he makes his money, and not just a mix up.
let us know how it works out.
jeff

Boys.....you just got marked on the NSA and CIA monitoring list......

Land of the free.....????

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Here in NY if you write a check for more then $300 and it is NSF'd, they will arrest the person and toss them in jail for felony fraud.

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I believe that law applies here in Tennessee as well.

Get a quote from a lawyer. If there one of those "you only pay the lawyer if hes wins the case for you" then maybe its worthwhile pursuing this guy though the courts. Otherwise it may be a very expensive lesson. Sorry.

Let us all know what happens..and good luck.

In Florida, the State's Attorney's office has an entire division called "worthless check bureau".
In addition to the bad check, you need the person's birthdate and driver's license number.
Check with your state's (or district, whatever they call it) attorney's office. This method is free.
Good Luck.

I'm no GA lawyer, so I'm partially guessing from experience here, but, short of going over there with a ball bat, your best bet may be to file for small claims pro se - the sooner the better while his company is still on the Secretary of State's active list. Once a corporate presence is gone, he no longer has to pay anyone anything. I can't count how many times I've been burned this way. The worst was for $12,000 by a guy who still has a luxury 2nd house on the Hudson river. (Would have liked to 'modify' said house with a 5' chain saw, but thought better of it) The system is designed to often allow deadbeats a free ride.

On a more positive note, (and I know you already tried this) a guy tried to burn me for a $600 dollar bad check, and upon contacting the local police in his town, an officer hunted him down and made him pay. First time that's ever happened. Every other time the police couldn't or wouldn't participate.

You may need to move into his warehouse. I got an NSF check from a company one time. Went down to their store, pulled up a chair and sat down right by the front door. Didn't say anything. When they asked if they could help me, I told them that we had unfinished business and held up the check. The manager called the boss and the waiting game began. I struck up a friendly conversation with every customer who came in. I never said anything about my problem, but the store's management didn't know that. After about 3 hours they asked me to leave. I pleasantly refused. When the sheriff's office showed up, they complained that I was loitering. I explained the situation and pointed out that my earlier purchase made me a "customer". Sheriff told the proprietor that as long as his business was open to the public and I wasn't causing any disturbance, he wasn't going to interfere. A few more phone calls and in less than an hour I had cash in hand and was on my way.

Sounds like your furniture guy has made a habit of doing this. You're just a voice on the phone now and he doesn't really care what you think. Time to turn the tables on him. I'm sure you and a couple of friends can find something comfortable @ Plush & Comfort warehouse while you wait for Mr. Carrol to come to his senses.

I live in Georgia also and I beleive you can have him arrested for passing a bad check. You can go to the court house and swear out a warrent, it costs you about 50 bucks, but it gets the morrons attention. Our local papers (The Dahlonega Nugget & The White County News) print the arrest records and folks are always getting locked up for this.

Sorry you got burned, but don't give up.

Paw

Sounds to me like it's time to call the police and ask for the fraud investigation department.

Mark -
Make the police take a report for Theft! You paid him money and he has not delivered the product - thats theft!!! Also call the local DA's office, they probably have a bad check program, they will tell you how to report it and they will do the collections for you, and usually the bad guy then has to pay them some fees on top of your restitution. If he doesn't pay w/in a fairly short time, they file a criminal complaint for the bad check. Usually these programs also do some investigation and if there are many other such problems with the same vendor they can file felony fraud charges, and they will have a little more pull with the local police. The DA won't take the theft report directly from you however, just the bad check report.
Call your local news station or paper, many now have a reporter that does 'investigations' on bad business in your area. The other legal avenue is the State Attorney General, they usually have a division that deals with consumer fraud. Oh, and if he's using the internet, and has a number of dissatisfied customers, make sure his internet provider - you said Craig's List - is aware of the problem. Most of these kinds of services ask for customer feedback - give it and the whole story!!! They may very well cut him off too! They don't want to have his bad reputation rub off on them.
And if he offers to make it good, take only cash or cashiers check, no more personal/business checks!!! Make sure he knows that you have reported him - by letter, certifed return receipt.
Good luck!!!!
Becky

Do absolutely everything Becky said, after all she, being a DA, knows exactly what she is talking about.

Soren

He's got till Friday to get the money in the bank, then we will deposit the check, and of course it will come back NSF, and we will have him....will keep updated..

Yeah.. listen to Becky, Mark. Small claims court is good also. You can file yourself w/o an attorney and if you win the judgement(or if he doesn't show up for court) then the judge can order the sheriff or PD to serve him and also order restitution. At least that's how it works in OK. Good luck.

Update, 16 August....attempted to cash refund check, this time it went through...we got our money back !!! Thank god, man I was dreading all that red tape...all is good in the ATL

Glad to hear you got your money back... Guess you don't need me to "take care of him" for you huh?

Talk to DA and file a complaint with local better business bureau. It's great that you got your money back, but I would still file a complaint.

Tom

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Update, 16 August...we got our money back !!!

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Excellent news.

Furniture installed, just in time for family get together..Kimmy is VERY happy....