Long story short, I sold my old ATS trans to a guy in MN. Part of the deal was that he would return his old one to me. He had the trans installed around 5/8, and was to return his old one back to me immediately following the installation.

After numerous e-mails back and forth (which I have all of, back to the original inquiry to my ad), I sent him a deadline of last night by 8pm to produce either evidence that the trans is back to me, or money to buy a rebuildable core. No response.

What are the proper steps for me to take to file against the guy so I can get my money? (~$550 or so)

 

What was the venue the add was placed, ebay etc? If it was just a misc ad go to the county courthouse he resides and file suit.

 

The ad was here and on TDR.

I can't exactly pop over to the county courthouse, I'm in North Carolina, he's in Minnesota.

 

You would need to prove that he was the person sitting at the keyboard typing. Been there done that on a laptop. Living in the same city the police would not lay charges because of this. So I took some of his "stuff" that I thought I could sell for the same amount as the laptop. Best of luck.

 

That is one of the problems of dealing on the internet. The answer would have been to increase the price of your tranny to him by $550, then send him a refund when you received his tranny. You can have a real problem trying to complete that deal now.

 

I don't know how to put this without sounding like a donkey...

I know things are screwed up, I shoulda, coulda, woulda, etc.

What I need to know now, is what to do. Let's let an official decide who is right and who is wrong.

 

Get a really angry looking picture of Scotty, remind him you know where he lives (you have his shipping address) and email it to him.....


Good Luck. Not sure I know what to tell you to do... I had to remind a person that I knew where he lived that was supposed to send something to me that I won in an ebay auction... I did get it a few days after the "reminder"...


-Trey

 

Ouch. Been in your exact position before, so I can appreciate your situation. This may not go down well, so please don't shoot the messenger.

First the fine print...unless someone on this forum is indeed legaly licensed by a state to practice law, they are not allowed to give legal advice. Shoulda, woulda, coulda is about all that anyone can give at this point.

As such, the only real legal advice anyone can give you is contact an attorney in your local area and have him/her go over your options with you.

Having had my own business for several years and having been in your situation before, I will tell you that you probably won't like the options available. Don't let the anger and emotion you have right now cloud your judgement.

In my particular instance, the cost of recovering the money owed was three times that of the original amount, with no guarantee that I would be able to enforce a judgement out of state. Yes I was in the right; yes I had been wronged and damaged; yes I had a strong case and would in all liklihood win. But it wasn't a financially sound decision to do so. It took my lawyer (and friend) a good while to make me see that this was really a business decision, and had nothing to do with being wrong or being right.

I truly wish you the best of luck. Who knows, at the very least a nasty letter sent on an attorney's letterhead might persuade him to send back the core?

 

this would appear to me to be the best solution. good luck

 

if he sent payment by mail, you might be able to get the post office involved (mail fraud).

 

When dealing with an unknown customer you should have covered your tranny core cost in the first payment.....which would have been returned to the customer after you received a rebuild-able tranny core back to you

In my option your SOL now to try and recover your core cost....since you both live in different states.....unless you want to travel to his state and file with the small claims court and travel again on the court date to try and win a judgement....which you may not be able to collect

My experience in matters like this is lick your wounds and forget it....since its a no win situation

 

I think Bamalam is about right. The nasty, wordy attorney letters I get usually cost between $75-$125 and work about 25-40% of the time.
Sucks, but I'm thinking live and learn.

 

ESKIMO, what method of payment was used?

 

Cashier's check / money order, IIRC...

 

I was hoping you were going to say credit card or pay pal. I would have a lawyer send him a bill on legal letter head.