Shipped merchandise out of state, never received money

[evlietstra]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

I own a small internet business that I operate in my spare time. Sometimes I ship the merchandise before receiving payment because the customer needs the order right away and cannot wait for me to receive the check in the mail. I have been handling it this way for 10 years and have never been burned. I realize that I have been taking a bit of a chance, but I feel that it is worth taking the risk to secure the order and make the customer happy. It is good for repeat business, too.

Well it looks like I finally got burned. I sent a woman in MS $300 worth of merchandise, and after leading me on with a few emails promising that she would mail the check right away, she has now stopped responding to my emails and her telephone is disconnected.

Is it reasonable to file charges with the police for this? If so, which police? The ones in my jurisdiction, or her jurisdiction. I think all she needs is a little scare and that might be enough, but I have a feeling the police will just laugh at me over something that probably ranks very low on their priority list.

I could file a small claims suit, but according to a previous thread on this site, I would have to file it in MS and then travel all the way down there for court. I don't think that would be worth it.

I'm sure there are a few people reading this itching to tell me how stupid I am for sending the order before receiving payment, but I would appreciate it if you spared me the humiliation. I'm just asking for some advice. Thank you.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by evlietstra

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

I own a small internet business that I operate in my spare time. Sometimes I ship the merchandise before receiving payment because the customer needs the order right away and cannot wait for me to receive the check in the mail. I have been handling it this way for 10 years and have never been burned. I realize that I have been taking a bit of a chance, but I feel that it is worth taking the risk to secure the order and make the customer happy. It is good for repeat business, too.

Well it looks like I finally got burned. I sent a woman in MS $300 worth of merchandise, and after leading me on with a few emails promising that she would mail the check right away, she has now stopped responding to my emails and her telephone is disconnected.

Is it reasonable to file charges with the police for this? If so, which police? The ones in my jurisdiction, or her jurisdiction. I think all she needs is a little scare and that might be enough, but I have a feeling the police will just laugh at me over something that probably ranks very low on their priority list.

I could file a small claims suit, but according to a previous thread on this site, I would have to file it in MS and then travel all the way down there for court. I don't think that would be worth it.

I'm sure there are a few people reading this itching to tell me how stupid I am for sending the order before receiving payment, but I would appreciate it if you spared me the humiliation. I'm just asking for some advice. Thank you.

I'm not going to tell you that you were stupid. I WILL congratulate you on your luck in going so long before this happened. You really should buy lottery tickets too!

This is a civil matter. You will have to sue. The police won't get involved.