[eskielover]

It has taken me forever to get this claim filed against the guy who cheated me out of my money for doing my fencing here. Initially I kept thinking that I would get the rest of the money to get the job finished completely, so we waited (not knowing that he never intended to do the job in the first place......duh). Then I decided to ask him how much fencing he could do with the money I had already paid him....I wanted a written estimate so I could determine if I wanted to go ahead with that, or just get my money back. He said he left the estimate under the windshield wiper of my truck.....NOT!!!! Asked him for a copy & he never brought me one.

When I was looking for other less expensive horse fencing materials, he claimed that he had already purchased the wire horse fencing last fall. I got angry because he had never even provided me with the estimate that I had asked for......so I got fed up & told him I didn't want to bother, I just wanted my money back. Then he gave me a song & dance that they were requiring a restocking fee.....I called the company & No, that company (no matter where they are located doesn't charge a restocking fee). He claimed that it would take them 30-60 days to send out the refund check & that his lawyer had gotten them to not charge the restocking fee (I don't think so). I asked him what Tractor Supply he had purchased the fencing at & he said it was one in Cincinnati......interesting, I called Tractor Supply & they are not located in Cincinnati.......All the lies. Interesting as it seems that most of the people who have done work at my farm have cheated me & have used similar lies.

Think it's a high school course for people who don't know what to do in life.....Setting up your own business...lying & cheating 101.

I got the form to fill out a few months ago while I was trying to get other things done....just my luck, had it on my bed & one of my dogs laid on the form & stuck their nail through it. I had to go back to small claims & get several more forms that time. Felt silly asking for more, but managed to jokingly get out that my dog had torn up the other form. I can so understand where that excuse of the dog eating my homework came from...lol.

Anyway, I got the form all filled out. They only give you a few lines to put a whole lot of information about the case. I rewrote is so many times over the weekend before I finally got the right words in the right place to say the right thing. You know me & words....I can say a lot in a lot of words, but don't have the art of saying a lot in a little words....don't think I ever will enjoy that talent.

I went into the small claims place at the court house today. Come to find out, someone else has filed against him also. Doesn't surprise me. So, my court date to go up against him is August 13 (Just his luck, it's a friday...lol). They figure that he won't even bother to show up.....both of us are scheduled for that same day to let him have it.

He has his own business...not working for anyone, so he probably hasn't been working. He got divorced at the time I first had paid for the materials for the fencing (I was heading to California & he was supposed to be doing that while I was gone.....dumb idea). I think he got my money to pay his divorce lawyer.....that's stealing in my book.....getting money with the intentions of not using it for what it was intended for. He has the house up for sale.....so I am hoping to at least file a lien on the property if nothing else so I will at least get my money when the house sells (if not before).

Grrr, no wonder I hate hiring people to do things around my farm. Think there has only been one person out of 5 that hasn't cheated me badly here. I'm not stupid either, but have definitely been way too trusting.

Learned that I always purchase the materials.....they tell me what they need & I either go with them if they get a discount & pay for the materials, or go get them myself.

So still on my court filing list is the painter, won't bother with the guy who did the heat pump because he's judgment proof....but I will file many reports with other groups to give him as much grief as possible. I already have a person working on another situation that I got involved with to try & get the money back.

Sad thing is that even when you go to small claims, it doesn't guarantee you get your money...they give them a date & if the date passes, then you are allowed to go after them legally......right now, I'm that little dog that has grabbed him by the ankle I will not let go until I get my money back!!!!

[lynn P.]

Sorry this happened to you ((eskielover)). You're very smart to put a lien on his property, which means you'll most likely get your money. It's sad there are many dishonest workers out there. Unfortunately when they see a woman they think they can get away with being dishonest.

We live in a nice house and when ever we get someone to come out and give an estimate - they'll hike the price up, assuming we can afford it lol. We always joke saying - there's the regular price and then there's the inflated price for the nicer neighborhoods. We've learned not to give money, until the job's done. Good luck Eskie.

[splitimage]

Good luck with small claims court. At least you're standing up for yourself and not just letting it go without a fight.

--splitimage

The small claims judgment must be filed correctly (in district court in my state) to become a lien against real estate. The creditor has a homestead exemption from execution that most times prevent the house from being sold to satisfy a judgment lien. Most times the mortgage holder has all of the equity tied up anyhow.

There is no judgment against personal property until the Sheriff levies against the property. The divorce may complicate matters. If there is personal property that is not exempt, it may be sold at a Sheriff's sale.

Did you contract with a person or a company? If the business is incorporated or is a limited partnership, the guy may be shielded from personal responsibility. If the guy were employed, garnishing his wages might work. Many in his situation simply file for bankruptcy.

When I was practicing, it quickly became apparent a judgment often is just a piece of paper that is not negotiable for any groceries.

Scoundrels that know the law get away with a bunch of unethical conduct.

I wish you well.

[eskielover]

I know exactly what you are talking about Byz. Thank you for your input though as many think that just going to small claims insures you get your money back.....not the case. Will get the judgment. He has so much time to pay on that & then if he doesn't that is when I have to take it to the next step. It doesn't look like his business has been filed as an actual business like my LLC I established for my farm has been. I went to the government website for businesses & couldn't find it. The lady at the small claims desk said he hasn't been working.....or at least hasn't been finishing the jobs he started which is why there is another small claim going against him the same day as mine. If he ever starts to work for another company, we can garnish his wages, but as it stands, working for himself, & he's not working, there is no way to get the money. Possibly can attach his bank account, but then he can just close it.......so it's not really a good option either (at least it doesn't seem like one). Don't think that he has any assets that can be sold to get the money out of either.

Like you said, most of the time those judgments are nothing more than a piece of paper that the guy just walks away from........grrrrr. Not doing much for my anxiety level. I sort of just fell apart at the appointment with my psychologist today.......seems that there is just too much load that I am carrying at this point.....all real & all problems that I have to deal with.......anyone would be in overload let alone anyone dealing with anxiety & depression. I really thought I had shaken myself of the depression but seems like I may be continually haunted with it at this point.

I keep trying to see the light & enjoy the wonderful things I have in my life.....even though it's only 10% of the picture, I try not to let the other 90% get me down......but it is an endless fight especially when you try to fight for yourself & end up spinning your wheels & loosing anyway even when you win......they just walk away & there is no way of winning.

But I also know the other side of that too as my husband managed to miss manage finances when my depression first hit....he was in denial that it was as bad as it actually was back in 1994 & couldn't believe that I wouldn't be back working in my career even though my career had gone away with the aerospace contracts.....just couldn't find another company that wanted my old technology or even was willing to hire me for less than I was making (rather high salary at the time). It wouldn't have bothered me to earn less to get new technology training on the job, but no job was willing to do that......which dug my depression ony deeper......husband kept spending like we had my salary & so did I because I wasn't planning on being around to care.....so I helped dig the hole that we are living in, but most of the debt is medical from hospital bills & Dr bills that we couldn't pay over what medicare paid & husband refused to file for financial aid to wipe the amount out & I wasn't well enough to care.......much of our debt is sitting in collection, not being paid either.

I know this guy took my money for the materials saying he was going to purchase them while I was in California & get the fencing started......when he wanted the money to pay for his divorce lawyer. That is out right stealing in my book (not that the other isn't, but most of the debt for items had been paid except for a little...most was medical that should have been written off)