OT sold livestock,need opinion.

scenario:
sold a load of bison payable x $/lbs on net weight taken on a commercial legal for trade truck scale at 2 mls from point of delivery.No shrink deduction allowed

recieved payment 2 weeks late,$3600.- short of calculation,with no scale ticket or statement included. On inquary for explanation from the buyer i was told that there was no printed scale ticket,only a handwritten one. Buyer said that weight did not sound right and decided to pen the animals up for a week,then run them individually across a small scale,tally up the weight and pay based on that total,what resulted in lesser payment recieved caused by shrink or inacurate scale.
up on talking later that day to the feedlot manager I learned that there was indeed a printed scale ticket as he had picked it up in person at the comm weigh scale on the day of delivery,but given it to the buyer the same day.

As i had a net scale weight taken at time of loading i new the animal weight before the trip.
and gotten the net weight from the manager by phone after arival at the feedlot. i knew my shrink % and the final weight.

The buyer keeps insisting that there is no legal scale ticket,and the manager has no more proof,and don't want to get involved for fear of losing his job.

What to do? going to small claims court is not gonna get me the money.just a judgement.
I also hate to let him get away with it.

State weights and Measures? USDA ? State agency??

where ever it was weighed would still have it on record

i phoned the scale premises, they told me, there is always a printed weigh ticket issued, but they do not keep copies and weigh history is not kept either.
I'm in Canada

Its times like this you need a friend with a heavy hand.

Sounds like somebody is just plain stealin'. For me it would just eat at me if I let he get away with it, I'd have to do something one way or the other. Here in the states, if it was any amount of money, I'd sue for damages and legal fees. Attorneys are a dime a dozen and most will take cases with a "you don't pay unless we win" promise. But maybe the legal system is a little different where you're at.

If all else failed and you didn't have any other recourse, for me, it would be worth a night or two in jail to get some satisfaction the ol' fashion way. Probably not much help, but it sounds like whoever you're dealing with has done this before and is only going to do it again.

Casey

Here in the US a copy of all scale tickets printed, has to stay at the office of the company that owns the scale.

Even if a ticket is printed in error the voided ticket must remain on record. All scale tickets have to be accounted for.

Surprised it is not that way in Canada.

Gary

Man I tell ye if the customs of the old west where still alive that SOB would be pushing daisies by now.

The legal system is a friggin joke in this country, it is only there to protect the criminals from the public,not the other way around.
Stealing in this way is seen as a civil matter.no cops involved. If you give the thief a couple of drifts it is a criminal matter and you get arrested and go in the pen.

friggin lawyers want a 2 grand retainer up front, no garranties of the outcome. I talked to 3 of the pricks allready

I believe I'd rather have a judgement I couldnt collect than no judgement and no money. Sometimes that court summons will get people to play ball when they wouldnt otherwise.

Personally I would drive over with a trailer and pickup a couple, tell him its the rebate in reverse.
Walt

Sounds like the buyer got one over on you.. I have been scammed a few times, myself... It is very frustrating.. Folks like us try to operate inside the law, but we get cheated, and there is little we can do.. Just spread the word that the buyer is a crook, his day will come..

Hi Bison,

That second $10 scale ticket you should have kept is looking mighty cheap right now. That don't help you on this load tho.

You might give a call to your division of weights and measures and see what they say as far as if duplicate records are required at the time of scale. Maybe there's been more than one mistake made here.

Since you had a third party handle the sales transaction, is there a gov't agency that watchs the third party and did they(3rd party) do there job? Portable scales to his ranch?

A written complaint to your correct department that handles cattle and such. Ya, it won't do much good now other than maybe get his name known to the department so if he pulls this again, they'll be watching for all other mistakes he's made.

T_Bone

That's too bad, I think you're out of luck this time. How many head were on the load for you to get shorted $3600, I mean that's got to be about 3600 lbs in total.

Get yer tag numbers, his cheque and a trailer. Go get the animals.
Spite is a powerful motivator.

There's nothing the legal system will ever do for you in that situation.
Sadly, it also brings back the old saying... screw me once, shame on you; screw me twice, shame on me.

Rod

What kind of man are you? I will guarantee you that same buyer would not pull that on me. If he did, I would be waiting outside at every sale he attended until I got up close and personal with the man. He would regret cheating me. You have to stand up for yourself. Why did you tolerate the payment being two weeks late? Dont you see he was testing you for 2 weeks to see if you would just bend over and take it? What was the agreement on timing of payment? I hate to hear a grown man cry, when he acts like a mouse and lets another man bully him. Tom

In Oregon you get a Judgment and the other guy gets 30 days to pay or go to jail for contemp of court. Boy that puts Bee in their Bonnet.
Walt

PS If you didn't get what sold them for then you have the right to get them back call the Sheriff and see if he will send a deputy out with you.

In Iowa when you get a judgment in small claims and the looser doesn't pay, you go back to the judge and ask for an execution of a judgment. When you go back for the execution of a judgment, the looser is not notified. The judge will instruct the sheriff to go the looser's bank and seize the amount of the judgment. If the looser doesn't have the money in the bank, the sheriff will then seize property of fair market value to satisfy the judgment.
I know for a fact this is true. I had a drunk driver damage my car and refused to pay even though his criminal conviction required him to. I had to sue to get reimbursed. I got a nasty phone call from him when he found out the sheriff had been to his bank and "Cleaned him out".

Is there a Canadian equivalent of small claims court? Also, talk to your local prosecutor. You may be able to press fraud charges.

yes there is small claims court in Can.
like i stated before,gets a guy judgement only.
if no payment is forth coming than you will have to hire a lawyer who starts procedure with the sherrif to collect.you cannot collect the cost of the lawyer,you wil have to go to court again for that.You cannot seize land,house or machinery used for conduct of business,or in case of more then one name on bank acount any money.
Been there done that once before on busted hay sale, after all was said and done i had gotten 5% of money owing,rest went to lawyer puncture wound. all in all took 2 yrs to complete

Well Tomtex, i ain't scared of any one or anything, i had enough rowdy arguments in my life,but i ain't going to chase that guy around the country to end up spending time in the pen. knowing myself, that is what it would be coming to.