Trying to help my neighbor with a money/job problem

[overst33r]

So my neighbor drives a dump truck. He picks up sand/etc and delivers it to construction sites. Each time he picks up/delivers a load he gets a ticket with his signature and truck number on it. At the end of the week he staples them to a cover sheet turns them in to get paid.

His truck number is 770, but instead he put 707 on the cover sheet. This was his mistake.

The company knows that truck 707 does not belong to him and yet they still paid towards that truck. There seems to be no checking of name/truck relation. There might be, but either way they made a mistake and paid the wrong person. The amount of money in question is $1100. Almost 2 weeks of pay for him.

He called his company and they told him that this does not concern them and to take it up with the driver of truck 707 and get the money back that way.

This to me sounds like they are taking advantage of his ignorance/english.

I am going to try to call tomorrow on his behalf to see what they say...

What is the next step here? Advice on how to proceed? :\

EDIT: He is not illegal. He's a permanent resident paying taxes just like you and me. Working to make ends meet and feed his family. He just doesn't speak the language well enough and therefore can easily be taken advantage of.

 

[LTC8K6]

Get a 770 stamp...

 

[Newbian]

Do you honestly think they will care about your call considering you have nothing to do with this?

 

[overst33r]

Do you honestly think they will care about your call considering you have nothing to do with this?

Maybe. I don't know. That's why I'm asking what the next step is if they blow me off.

 

[Ronstang]

If the guy is illegal then this is kind of a karma thing, huh?

This is not any of your business and the company is going to laugh at you for calling. I know I would. The mistake is not the companies from what you describe.

 

[RedCOMET]

perhaps report it to the state or the appropriate labor agency. They might have more tools than you to resolve the issue.

 

[Bignate603]

Would the check be made out in his name even if it wasn't his truck? If the other driver cashed a check that wasn't made out to him you may have some leverage there.

 

[RedCOMET]

If the guy is illegal then this is kind of a karma thing, huh?

This is not any of your business and the company is going to laugh at you for calling. I know I would. The mistake is not the companies from what you describe.

Well, if there is a name and a truck number, and they don't match up for the pay period, and the company still processed the timesheet, then it might be the companies fault. The employee recognized the error, and by contacting the company, took the first appropriate steps to resolve the issue. Sounds like the company might be playing it fast and loose when it comes to paying people.

 

[overst33r]

If the guy is illegal then this is kind of a karma thing, huh?

This is not any of your business and the company is going to laugh at you for calling. I know I would. The mistake is not the companies from what you describe.

He's not illegal... Why would you assume he is? He moved here 5 years ago as a permanent resident.

You're right it was a simple numeric error on his part. It is their job to catch such a mistake. Or at least have a way of recourse the driver can pursue if it occurs, other than "go get it from the guy we paid in error".

 

[summit]

why would you mess up you id number?

 

[overst33r]

Would the check be made out in his name even if it wasn't his truck? If the other driver cashed a check that wasn't made out to him you may have some leverage there.

I'm not exactly sure of the specifics of how they get paid, but he did tell me that the guy knowingly took the money, even though it wasn't his. So I'm assuming there's only a truck number on the paycheck otherwise he wouldn't be so sure.. I will have to get specifics from him.

 

[Born2bwire]

If he did get it from the guy they paid it too, wouldn't that show up on the other trucker's reported wages? The other trucker would end up having to pay taxes on it. Guess it depends on how the wages are reported to the government. And what about the company's records? Are they going to just assume then that trucker 770 failed to do any work that week? It just seems like it could be the beginning of a large headache.

 

[overst33r]

why would you mess up you id number?

I'm not sure why... He works so much that I'm not surprised he made an error like this out of sheer exhaustion.

 

[Bignate603]

If he did get it from the guy they paid it too, wouldn't that show up on the other trucker's reported wages? The other trucker would end up having to pay taxes on it. Guess it depends on how the wages are reported to the government. And what about the company's records? Are they going to just assume then that trucker 770 failed to do any work that week? It just seems like it could be the beginning of a large headache.

It sounds like the truck drivers are working as contractors so they may not be withholding taxes.

 

[Born2bwire]

It sounds like the truck drivers are working as contractors so they may not be withholding taxes.

Now that I reread the OP that does sound like the situation.

 

[overst33r]

Getting a lawyer for this amount of money isn't an option is it?

 

[Ronstang]

He's not illegal... Why would you assume he is? He moved here 5 years ago as a permanent resident.

You're right it was a simple numeric error on his part. It is their job to catch such a mistake. Or at least have a way of recourse the driver can pursue if it occurs, other than "go get it from the guy we paid in error".

I was just messing with you. I said "if" because I did not know. Neither you nor I have any idea how they do their paperwork so we cannot assume what is correct and how they should handle it. What if the number was right and the name was incorrect? How do they know which one is which? It sounds like it may not be too organized an outfit and it is sad that this mistake was made but that does not change the fact that it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

 

[pontifex]

I'm not sure why... He works so much that I'm not surprised he made an error like this out of sheer exhaustion.

but it's only 3 numbers...and 2 of them are the same...

 

[HappyPuppy]

The aggrieved party can take the company to small claims court and the OP should but the fuck out of other peoples' business.

 

[drebo]

Contact the labor board. "Bank error in your favor" type scenarios are not legal.

This is mostly no different than losing a paycheck. The company still owes the guy the money.

Two options are to contact the labor board or get a private attorney. Usually just a letter from an attorney will suffice in getting the company to rectify the mistake, particularly for this small amount of money. A letter shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred dollars, and there are a lot of lawyers who work under a "I don't get paid unless you win" type of deal. Maybe look at something like that.

 

[Juked07]

I think OP is doing a good thing by helping out his neighbor who has difficulty handling this situation himself due to language. How are you guys thinking that OP is out of line here? He has no duty/obligation to butt in or anything, but he's totally not overstepping any bounds.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Contact the labor board. "Bank error in your favor" type scenarios are not legal.

This is mostly no different than losing a paycheck. The company still owes the guy the money.

Two options are to contact the labor board or get a private attorney. Usually just a letter from an attorney will suffice in getting the company to rectify the mistake, particularly for this small amount of money. A letter shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred dollars, and there are a lot of lawyers who work under a "I don't get paid unless you win" type of deal. Maybe look at something like that.

WTF are you talking about? Did you even read the OP? He is talking about $1100 owed to a CONTRACTOR! The labor board has no say in this and no attorney would touch it. If he has any proof he can go to small claims court and that is all.

 

[Zebo]

Story sounds like BS because any employer knows there are punitive fines for shit like this but call labor board in his state.

 

[Zebo]

WTF are you talking about? Did you even read the OP? He is talking about $1100 owed to a CONTRACTOR! The labor board has no say in this and no attorney would touch it. If he has any proof he can go to small claims court and that is all.

Suuuure he is. Probably violating 1099 rules as well. Who owns the truck?

Call IRS while he's at it.

 

[Zebo]

IRS and Labor board speak Spanish.

Who owns this dump truck is all I need to know.

I was a general building contractor and can't count the number of subs hauled away in handcuffs for stuff like this. Always starts with a simple 1099 violation or guy falls off a roof w/o workmans comp but where there is smoke there is fire and evasion usually follows scumbags like this.