Scammed out of 600+ dollars, what to do.

[htyei]

Long story short, my mom trusted someone should should have asked for more credentials for to fix up our house in San Jose.
She gave the guy over 600 dollars initially in a personal check to buy parts(paints , tools etc) to paint parts of the interior and do bathroom grouting /stall installation work.

That guy then proceeded to never show up and promised the work would be done before thanks giving. After thanksgiving, he stop returning any calls, and we ahven't heard from him since.

I was working major overtime at the time, so I couldnt deal with it/didnt get the full details until now.
I later found out, his business card does not state his address, only his phone number.
We leave messages, but he doesn't answer them.( thi sis the same phone number we used to initally contact him through a local ad) All we get is his voicemail, which is never full, so he seems to be checking it.


What recourse do we have?
( no i cant beleive my mom just handed this guy a check without his address either)

 

[Kenny]

I have seen this happen on a DateLine special a couple months back. Most of the families that got scammed got ntohing in return, even after many complaints to the Better Business Bureau. Was there any sort of a written contract of any kind?

If not, it looks like your mom has a $600 lesson in life.

If you wanna get in contact with this guy however, you could always get a friend to call pretending to be interested in some construction work needed to be done.

 

[masterxfob]

hmm, so you gave money to a non licensed contractor? didn't recieve a reciept for the deposit? i feel bad for you, but you were asking for this to happen.

also, once you get a contractors license number, it's in your best inerest to always verify that it is in good standing.

 

[Savij]

Try to find the newspaper add or whatever you got his number from. Have a friend call and ask the guy to come over to give an estimate. When he leaves, follow him and find his address. After that, talk to a lawyer, take him to civil court...something along those lines. You might not have a contract, but you have a record of the check made out to him and it being cashed. You have his business card which (i'm guessing) states his profession or services he offers. If you found him through a newspaper add advertising his services, you can substantiate your reason for paying him...Hope is not lost yet.

Oh yeah, if you can prove that you've tried to call him (phone records, or even hand written records with time and date) it will help your case because it shows that you have tried to contact him in good faith before taking him to court)

 

[MAME]

someone else call and meet
then you go and beat him up

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: MAME
someone else call and meet
then you go and beat him up

mebbe....

sounds like your mom learned a $600 lesson :/
sorry to hear it

you could call the police and give the phone number and a description, i doubt theyhd hunt im down, but if someone else did get him it may help them at some point....i dunno, really sucks though

 

[iwearnosox]

Is your mom cute? I've got some spare time, son.

 

[Utterman]

Do a reverse telephone lookup so it could find the address unless it is unlisted.

 

[conjur]

Contact your local TV stations' Consumer Help dept or Troubleshooter or whatever.

 

[NetGuySC]

If you ever do find his address .. do not call the police for the most you will ever get is a judgement.

Instead, park a block or two from his residence, go to his vehicle or vehicles and just majorly loosen the oil drain plug but do not take it out, as he's driving the vibration will make the oil plug fall off, the oil exits and then the engine blows. If dong that is not possible just leave something under each tire so that when he leaves every tire will go flat.

turn in a change of address card in his mailbox ... send all his mail to Fairbanks, Alaska ( my friend is a carrier and she said that this would work and would not be verified, it would just happen)

put some super glue on some toothpicks and shove into his vehicle door locks, house door locks / business door locks, then break the toothpick off inside the lock.

tie a thin steel cable from his drive shaft universal joint to the front grill assemble on his truck

cigarette lighter in muffler

pay in cash then have load of rocks delivered to his front lawn.

get creative, there are a million ways to return the f**king.

I hate a dam* thief!!


Most all of these are very suspectious except for the address change and the tothpick in the locks trick, So maybe just stick to those but make a couple of return trips on the locks a couple of months apart. Before you did anything I would wait another three months and then let the good time roll.

My rule of thumb is if someone screws you over like this, you should make them pay 3 times your cost.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: NetGuySC
If you ever do find his address .. do not call the police for the most you will ever get is a judgement.

Instead, park a block or two from his residence, go to his vehicle or vehicles and just majorly loosen the oil drain plug but do not take it out, as he's driving the vibration will make the oil plug fall off, the oil exits and then the engine blows. If dong that is not possible just leave something under each tire so that when he leaves every tire will go flat.

turn in a change of address card in his mailbox ... send all his mail to Fairbanks, Alaska ( my friend is a carrier and she said that this would work and would not be verified, it would just happen)

put some super glue on some toothpicks and shove into his vehicle door locks, house door locks / business door locks, then break the toothpick off inside the lock.

tie a thin steel cable from his drive shaft universal joint to the front grill assemble on his truck

Most all of these are very suspectious except for the address change and the tothpick in the locks trick, So maybe just stick to those but make a couple of return trips on the locks. Before you did anything I would wait another three months and then let the good time roll.

My rule of thumb is if someone screws you over like this, you should make them pay 3 times your cost.

hehe good stuff!

 

[djheater]

I suggest you:

1) tip your hat to the new constitution
2) Take a bow for the new revolution
3) Smile and grin at the change all around
4) Pick up your guitar and play, Just like yesterday
Then and MOST IMPORTANTLY
5)Get on your knees and pray
you don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Let me know how it works out.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: NetGuySC
If you ever do find his address .. do not call the police for the most you will ever get is a judgement.

Instead, park a block or two from his residence, go to his vehicle or vehicles and just majorly loosen the oil drain plug but do not take it out, as he's driving the vibration will make the oil plug fall off, the oil exits and then the engine blows. If dong that is not possible just leave something under each tire so that when he leaves every tire will go flat.

turn in a change of address card in his mailbox ... send all his mail to Fairbanks, Alaska ( my friend is a carrier and she said that this would work and would not be verified, it would just happen)

put some super glue on some toothpicks and shove into his vehicle door locks, house door locks / business door locks, then break the toothpick off inside the lock.

tie a thin steel cable from his drive shaft universal joint to the front grill assemble on his truck

Most all of these are very suspectious except for the address change and the tothpick in the locks trick, So maybe just stick to those but make a couple of return trips on the locks. Before you did anything I would wait another three months and then let the good time roll.

My rule of thumb is if someone screws you over like this, you should make them pay 3 times your cost.

And then you're no better than him.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Millennium

Originally posted by: NetGuySC
If you ever do find his address .. do not call the police for the most you will ever get is a judgement.

Instead, park a block or two from his residence, go to his vehicle or vehicles and just majorly loosen the oil drain plug but do not take it out, as he's driving the vibration will make the oil plug fall off, the oil exits and then the engine blows. If dong that is not possible just leave something under each tire so that when he leaves every tire will go flat.

turn in a change of address card in his mailbox ... send all his mail to Fairbanks, Alaska ( my friend is a carrier and she said that this would work and would not be verified, it would just happen)

put some super glue on some toothpicks and shove into his vehicle door locks, house door locks / business door locks, then break the toothpick off inside the lock.

tie a thin steel cable from his drive shaft universal joint to the front grill assemble on his truck

Most all of these are very suspectious except for the address change and the tothpick in the locks trick, So maybe just stick to those but make a couple of return trips on the locks. Before you did anything I would wait another three months and then let the good time roll.

My rule of thumb is if someone screws you over like this, you should make them pay 3 times your cost.

And then you're no better than him.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

And, btw, what's w/the avatar? You Dr. Sbaisto now?

 

[NetGuySC]

no better than him???

He preyed on the innocent woman

I would prey on a thief

Big difference...

He might not ever give the woman her $600 back .... but he would be forced to pay someone $1800

 

[smashp]

do a reverse lookup on his address and go pay him a visit with some of your friends.


or put an ad in the Local Paper in the Singles section


HOT Bodied Male Seeking a Good Time
call me and you will not be disappoited.
men only please (xxx)xxx-xxxx

 

[CChaos]

If this was a game of king of the hill for moral high ground, Mom's already won by not stealing $600 from him.

 

[alkemyst]

You think that is bad, a family friend had a similiar incident and the guy somehow got a lien on their property too.

Now I don't know how it was possible, but the people insisted they paid him in advance for supplies, then he demanded the full payment in advance before starting (there was a long delay between these to events)...they said no and chalked it up as a mistake, when they went to sell their home they found the lien for the amount of the job which was never completed.

Å

 

[StageLeft]

What recourse do we have?

Calling the police. Wtf do you think

BTW this happened locally here. I saw it on the news yesterday. $650 deposit that was never honored. They called the news company and after 3 months in less than an hour the guy drove to the people who had paid the money and in front of the camera gave them $650 check. I guess bad publicity he didn't want. Piece of crap.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Utterman
Do a reverse telephone lookup so it could find the address unless it is unlisted.

Correct. Try this and see what comes up.

But file a small claims action against him. Get your money back, then file complaint with state.

 

[htyei]

Well, for the reverse look up idea, I'm pretty sure its a cell phone, and it doesnt look likte that route is working( tried and couldn't find anything). Yes, my mom is dumb for not getting a written contract, for not checking if he was licensed, and most importantly handing money to a person that you don't even have an address to. Shes already given up on every seeing the person or the money ever again. I am alot more stubborn......, and I refuse to let this guy get away.

The worse part is, he has the key to the house, so we have to change the locks (don't ask me why)

 

[WobbleWobble]

If it was a cheque, can't you see if he deposited it into his personal account? And get information from there?

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
If it was a cheque, can't you see if he deposited it into his personal account? And get information from there?

that's wat i was thinking. this is a no brainer. the cops can. That's the whole point of paying with a check (and that people dont hold cash at home)