The buyer from another state has a delivery confirmation number showing an envelope was delivered to my zip code. No signature or address and the shipped date was after the auction payment 'due by' date had elapsed.
Our USPS delivery person so regularly puts our mail in someone else's box it's not even funny, but I live in an apartment setting, I don't know if that's your case or not. Without your signature how can he prove you actually received the envelope in the first place? Secondly, what amount is he claiming he sent, sorry if I'm being curious but it surprises me that police would tell you to "
pay him off so he'll go away?" If the amount is that small and you're truly worried about your safety maybe that advice was good!
What I meant by "not accepted" was payment was listed as due by credit card or money order, but he claims to have sent cash.
Ask him to provide you with proof that he actually sent cash and that you personally received it in your hands? Of course how could he do that? That's the same thing he'll have to prove to the judge also, how can he prove he sent it and you got it? You said the delivery receipt showed it was delivered to your zip code, well many thousands of people live in my zip code area, without a signature how can he prove which one of us received it because it's a well known fact that the US Postal Service often makes mistakes and puts the wrong letters in the wrong mailboxes? What if one day you walked out and there was a letter in your box full of cash, what would you do? Not everyone is honest you know!
The magistrate notice lists the amount claimed and venue, but not the item number. So technically, how am I supposed to prepare a defense?
This seems like the easy part to me, just take in printouts and actual links to your past auction showing the judge where even if this man did send in payment, which you never received, he didn't pay the correct amount, and he also sent in payment in a form you plainly stated was not acceptable. The burden of proof falls upon the plaintiff, how is he going to prove he sent cash? Like I said before, I could send you an envelope with nothing in it and a receipt requested or adult signature required, yet that in no way what-so-ever proves I've actually ever put cash in that envelope! Surely the judge will see though this guy!
Can I delay the court date because of insufficient details to prepare? Can I refuse to appear out of safety concerns because I think he's unstable? Can I sue for breach of contract, harassment, false police report, etc?
Personally I think it would behoove you to get this over and done with as soon as possible, that to purposely delay this is just putting more stress on yourself. Secondly, the Court will have Bailiff's, even if this guy gets crazy they're there to protect you, as well as the Judge also. As for suing him, personally I'd wait until you're done with court, but you can sue anyone for anything anytime you'd like. I think it'd be more advantageous to you to await the verdict of this court appearance first though, and then possibly you may be able to pursue false police report issues, but if the police are already acting like they are suggesting you just pay him to get rid of him, I'm not sure how that's going to go over with them, and it is them you'll have to deal with first about his crime.
I have no idea why is initial complaint wasn't laughed out of the precinct for stupidity and lack of evidence.
Maybe they feel the amount is trivial and not worth the expenditure of their efforts, but I don't know the amount so it's hard to say. Never the less a crime is a crime and you'd think they wouldn't have laughed it off like that without reason. Once again I still feel this all falls back on this buyers ability to prove he really did send cash, and to prove his envelope actually ended up in your hands and not someone else's. Even the US Postal Service recommends not sending cash through the mail, so it's this guy who made a stupid mistake, and I can't see how he can prove what he sent or even if he really did send anything at all!
SnowCajun
