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somebody's trying to screw me

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K

kellyvegan

Guest
Back in November, I won a bid on Ebay for a van in North Carolina. I e-mailed back and forth with the guy, and he even said that he felt bad making me pay the $1500 bid that I won, so that he would give it to me for $1,100. We finally agreed on a weekend that I would drive down with a friend and pick it up. This was December 23. I waited all morning for him, and finally he showed up. I was VERY nervous, I had been calling both his home and his office number for hours with no response.
So, we checked out the van. He had told me before I came down that the van would be in driving condition. I needed to get money from the ATM to pay the rest of the cash that I did not have on me (yes, cash, I know it's stupid, but that's what he wanted). So, while I was at the bank, he fixed up the seats and such, and found the paperwork from the van.
I came back, gave him the $1,100 and the van wouldn't start because it was COMPLETELY empty of gas. He had a gas can with a few drops of gas in it, and put in enough to get it down the street to a fill-up station. He had told me that I needed anti-freeze, because there was just water in it from the summertime.
So, down the highway we went, and I could not get the van to move more than 15 miles an hour (the speedometer wasn't working, but my friend following in his car can attest to this). I stopped at the first stop with a gas station where I could buy antifreeze. At this point, even the inside of the van was getting hot, and there was steam everywhere. We put in the antifreeze but the engine was knocking. He had told me the engine had been replaced, but that I might want to have some adjustments made, but they didn't have to be right away.
Anyhow, I called him from the gas station from my cell phone, and he did not answer the phone. I kept calling, and calling. So, I used my friend's cell phone, and he picked up the phone. I told him what had happened, and he reminded me about the antifreeze.
I told him I was going to bring the van back. On my way back, it broke down on the highway entrance, and I had to have it towed to his office.
There, we decided that he would have his garage check it out, and see what it needed done. If the repair costs were reasonable, I would pay them, and come down again for the van. At this time, I told him I did not want to go home without my money or the van. But during the hour or so after I left him, he spent the money! So, he wrote me a check from his place of business and gave me the title to hold onto. He said if I changed my mind at all, I could cash the check and give him back his title.
He contacted me a few weeks later, and said the repairs would cost about $700. I didn't want to pay that much extra for a van I knew was falling apart. So, I told him it wouldn't be good, and I would have to decline. I said I was going to send back the title and his papers, and cash the check. I expressmailed him his papers, and I cashed my check on February 2, 2001.
On March 23, 2001, my bank withdrew $1,105 from my checking account due to the bounced check. I immediately e-mailed him, and let him know. No response. I sent a request through PayPal for the money, and let him know how upset I was. This left me with a negative balance in my account. I would be incurring all sorts of charges then for overdrawn checks and such.
So, this morning, he writes me back to say that he doesn't think he should refund me the whole amount. He closed his business, that's why the check bounced. And he said that I was supposed to tell him that I was going to cash the check. I did!
So, what can I do to get this money back? As of now, I have $11 in the bank, and that is all the money I have. I borrowed some money from my sister to cover the checks I just sent out for college loans and that sort of thing.
I really need this $1,100 back. Not to mention the fact that I put $25 gas in the van, and the toll money driving down and back (he even said at one point he felt so bad for my wasted trip that he'd pay for my travelling costs, even if we needed to stay overnight in a hotel).

Please help me!

Kelly Gallagher
 


L

lawrat

Guest
Well, this is a lesson learned. NEVER PAY CASH AND NEVER PURCHASE OVER SUCH AUCTIONS. Now, lecture is done.

What do you do? Easy. You incur more costs and sue him for ALL of your expenses and then some.

____________________________________________________________
I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.
 

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