i got scamed, need advice

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

My countys soil and water conservation service had a cost share program to replace fuel tanks on the farms with new double walled tanks. they gave us a list of sources and we ordered a 275 gallon tank from one , the deal was pay half up front and 40% when the tank was shiped we paid the 50% then two weeks later the guy called up and said it was being shiped send the rest of the money which we did, two months later and we have nt got a tank and the company is now out of business, and i tracked the guy down to a phone number in florida the tank cost us 4,700 . i believe the whole company is run by one guy. So its not like he did nt know what was going on, so far nobody has been any help, do we have any recourse , has any body else had a similar experience.

John P. · Aug 6, 2009

Try the state attorney's office.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

In addition to the A.G. I would be at the soil office demanding something be done. They gave you the list of suppliers, they should have some knowledge of whether they actually supply said tanks or not. It is cost share money at risk too.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

the soil office said youre on your own their is nothing they can do. I know at least one other guy got hit for 8 grand but he runs a big greenhouse and has more important things to do, i left a message at the d.a's office and they never got back to me. consumer affairs said im stuck. they said "its not a crime to go bankrupt"

Bill(Wis) · Aug 6, 2009

You paid $4700 for one 275 gallon tank? Am I reading that right. And this was foisted off on you by your own county department of whatever? In my humble opinion, you have been led to the slaughter. Good luck.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

yea i know. i could go down to the plumbing store and but a single wall tank for $600 ? . according to the county if we dont put in a tank to meet the code they will fine you so we figuired it was a good time to do it. the whole thing is assanine, they just like to pick on the farmers, their are thousands of houses with outside single wall tanks , i guess their fuel oil is less toxic then mine.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

Same thing happened to me many yrs. ago with J.C.Whitney, smaller order but big to me then, they cashed the check never filled the order. They never missed my buseness I guess but I never needed them again either!

Bill(Wis) · Aug 6, 2009

Just keep on electing liberals and it will get worse. Wisconsin, a super abundant state, doesn't bother farmers very much on these matters. Guess why? They are smart enough to know where thier "bread is buttered". Need another hint? Outside of beer, we don't sell a whole lot outside of agricultural products

Anonymous-0 · Aug 6, 2009

A wise old businessman told me to never order anything from FL. The laws there are set up to favor scammers and crooks. No offense to the honest Floridians..

sotxbill · Aug 6, 2009

it is a crime if he intentionally never intended on delivering the tanks spent the money foolishly and then declared backruptcy to cover his tracks. Report it in writing to the local and state folks..

Will Herring · Aug 6, 2009

(quoted from post at 22:05:22 08/06/09) it is a crime if he intentionally never intended on delivering the tanks spent the money foolishly and then declared backruptcy to cover his tracks. Report it in writing to the local and state folks..

If your tank "shipped" and you paid the rest and it never showed up, then that would be a scam. Try the Better Business Bureau, Attorney General, and anyone else you can find. That's a bunch of crap to pull a stunt like this. It isn't a crime to be bankrupt, but it IS a crime to lie to people so they send you money for stuff you're not delivering on.

T_Bone · Aug 6, 2009

Hi cw,

Mount your tank on a trailer and they'll leave you alone as it's not "fixed" to the property so there for not there problem any longer but now is a DOT problem.

As long as the trailer never leaves the property then DOT can't say a word.

Here in AZ, I saved my son's company he was working for several thousand bucks with that idea as the city, county and EPA required a sealed concrete holding basin equal too the steel tank size regardless if the tank was a single or double wall.

T_Bone

kyhayman · Aug 6, 2009

If he actually declaired bankruptcy you are pretty much stuck. Twenty years ago I made delivery on $5500 worth of squash to my co-op. They went bankrupt between when I delivered and when checks were cut 2 weeks later. Left me as the second largest unsecured creditor. Got 0. I learned a lesson. When I get it, I pay for it or put it on a credit card where at least their fraud prevention backs me up. When I sell something I get paid or get a signed contract stating that I retain title until the item is paid in full.

Even if he didnt go bankrupt collecting $4700 from someone on the other side of the country wont be easy or probably cost effective.

kenstrac · Aug 7, 2009

did you send him payment by US mail?
If you did that's mail fraud.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Aug 7, 2009

You're probably stuck. I got took on some windows we wanted installed in our house. The contractor required 1/2 down to place the order for the windows. Never saw them again or our money. We did get a notice that they had filled for bankruptcy. We finally had someone else put the windows in. About a week after they were done, the original guy had the nerve to send a letter stating we had a contract. I called them back and asked that they return our down payment which of course they said they couldn't do.
My advice to everyone is if they require a down payment for something to be delivered, go elsewhere. A reputable business won't need money up front to deliver.

BDT in Minnesota · Aug 7, 2009

Sounds like you got snagged in the (inter)NET..Thanks for sharing your experience and the "heads up" on that scam.....Last winter, I had a dis-tasteful experience when I purchased a boiler panel for my floor heat on eBay.... The seller said 5 available, so I bought one... The address given was in Minnesota, which would have been an easy one day round trip to get the boiler panel and save the shipping charges....... A week later, I get this e-mail from a dude in Illinois who says there is a Problem with my order.. He states that the boilers, built in Germany, are six weeks behind in production, then there would be shipping time, plus a one month backlog to assemble the panel!!! It would have been over three months to get the panel, at best.. He tried to fast talk me into accepting a different product,,,, no thanks, I ordered the correct product that I wanted.... I paid with PayPal, and I got my money back with no arguements, But I made darn sure it was handled within the 30 days... This dude still had that same fraudlent add on eBay.... to me, "5 available" means exactly that; not hopefully available someday!! Must be careful

BDT in Minnesota · Aug 7, 2009

Curious, did you pay with a check or a credit-debit card??? If by credit card, contact your credit card company...

Anonymous-0 · Aug 7, 2009

I paid with a check unfortunetely, at the time he was kind of pushing me to pay with a crdit card which i thought was strange. but i wish i had now,

JMS/.MN · Aug 7, 2009

Your county soil and water conservation office (USDA/uffda) lined you up with this outfit, and they charge $4700 for a 275 gallon tank? Not intending to be insulting, but who would pay that much for that little?

SuperHank · Aug 7, 2009

Go to small claims court. The defendant will probably not appear but sue both the company and the individual in his personal name whether you have anything in writing with his name on it or not. If your reasearch shows he has a new corporation sue it also as the "alter ego" of the defendant. Ask for prejudgment interest and costs and any other fee you can add on. If he lives in Florida once you have a judgment you can bring it to Florida so it can be "domesticated" against the individual but you do not have to prove the case all over again. The next step is kind of iffy but if you can find an asset in Florida in the name of the individual or corporation you can bring a "prejudgment writ of attachment or garnishment" that will tie up the asset before he can move it to another state. The trick is to find the asset but with the internet it can be done. Get the small claims judgment first. Your local clerk and judge will help.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 7, 2009

well when the county pays 80% of the cost you do things that you would never normally do, If it was nt for the threat of being fined we would nt have done it, and since they were paying 80% of it we figuired we'd better do it. and it aint no normal tank its a bunch of double wall, whistles when its full nonsense, to evreyone else thanks for the advice. Ill post the results if we ever get any.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 7, 2009

(quoted from post at 15:53:26 08/07/09) well when the county pays 80% of the cost .

Holy Sh!t!!!!!!!!!

Your 20% was 4700 bucks for a 275 gallon tank???

Anonymous-0 · Aug 7, 2009

That is mail fraud get your postal inspector on it. You should have sent it registered mail with a Postal Money order! If you would have the post office would get your money back. They take that very seriously.

If it involved the internet you could file a complaint with MMM.ic3.gov/

Anonymous-0 · Aug 7, 2009

no, i had to pay the whole cost up front, then soil and water was supposed to cut me a check for 80% of it. So it should of cost me $940.

i got scamed, need advice

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