Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire BAD CHECK HELP

Guys need some input on this.....

A woman back in Jan this year came in the car lot in bad need of a car.Mother of 3 tring to make it on her on.She came up short in the funds on what she needed between what she had and what the finance co would give.So we let her give us post dated checks for 100.00 for 7 month,cash one a month.About a week after the deal she called and said that her bank account was closed and she forgot about it and for me to hold the checks and she would pick them up.She picked the first one up with no problem.The 2nd came due and she had been kicked out of her house and had to get another place to live.Well you know the story some hard luck story everytime a check comes due and still owes for the 2nd one.
Ok I said enought is enought got tired of nice guy called her and told her she needed to do something or I was putting the checks in the bank.She told me to go ahead that there was nothing that could be done that she was friends with the sheriff and he said I did not have a leg to stand on.
So I called the clerk of court() to ask them about it,told them the deal and they said they would call me back,10 mins later the sheriff was at the lot and told me to leave her along and not to contact her about this that there was nothing I can do about it that I made enough money on the car and that it was harasment if I did not stop.

I though writing a check on a closed accout was againest the law and you have a right to collect you money..

Help me out on this if you know how I can get around this cornbread good ol boy crap that goes on here.....

Next election , you run for sheriff


Mike

Here, "postdated checks" aren't technically legal tender.

You can accept them, and the payee might make good on them.

(Here), if the payee bails, you're pretty much SOL.

Unless you have a signed loan agreement, you're done for.

That is a bunch of crap. It is against the law to write check's on a closed account. I'd try small claim's court. Good luck to ya.

It became a civil issue when you agreed to accept the checks for "later" payment. If she had just written "hot" checks it would be different. There is a distinct difference in civil vs. criminal law, and cops don't (can't) enforce civil law, without court order. Contact an attorney or judge, which ever is appropriate for the amount of money that you are owed.

"I though writing a check on a closed account was against the law and you have a right to collect your money.."

doesnt sound like there is any money to collect.

Easy--follow the woman around who's driving (your) car--take pictures of it parked in front of the Sheriff's house midday--show these to the Clerk of Court (his wife)--you'll feel better I promise.

CF

Sounds like sheriff may have significantly overstepped his bounds.
Lawyer advice time on this one!

IF she truly is a single Mom down on her luck, AND you can afford it, then writing off the bad debt may not be a bad thing.

She wrote the checks on a valid account, since closed.

I don't think I would get to far....people at the top pick the man they want for that job.

Security interest in the car?

No good deed goes unpunished...It is a crime to write a bad check, it can also be criminal fraud to write one on a closed checking account. Problem is that, at least in my area, there is a lot a latitute in how a prosecutor may choose to handle these cases, and that sheriff won't be any help to you.

In the end, it also won't get you any closer to getting your money back. Some states and counties have special offices that do nothing but handle bad checks, you could do a quick internet search to see if anything like that exists in your area. They could be a big help to you.

You could also file a case in small claims court for a breach of contract. However you slice it, she did agree to pay you $700 over seven months for the balance of the car and the post dated checks sort of prove that. However, even if you win your case, you still need to collect the money, which isn't always easy. This person doesn't sound like she has a pot to pizz in you so in the end, it could be like getting blood from a stone.

Yep, learn from your mistake and cut your loss.

laws can vary state to state, but taking post dated checks is risky business. in some states like florida where i live, even currently dated checks can be risky. about 2 years ago i sold a 93 chevy 4 wheel drive pickup to a guy i knew for about a year. it needed some minor things like tires and brakes and we agreed on $2000. i met him at the tag office to get my check and transfer title. before we went in he asked if i would take a post dated check for a date 5 days later. i asked why and his reason was he was to be paid for a job on that day. i told him to date the check for the day we were there and i would hold it for the 5 days. it was written on an active business account. we went into the tag office and transferred the title. he did not purchase tags, just transfered title. 6 days later i went to his bank and was told the funds were not in the account. many attemps to contact him failed. the sherrifs dept told me to go to the county attorneys office. there i was told there was nothing i could do as what i did by accepting a check on those terms constituted an agreement. i knew the funds were not available and should not have transferred title untill the funds were there. he technichly didnt give me a bad check in their view. he immediatly transferred the truck to another person. i never got paid.

i did ask one and have been one for 53 years. w.k. bray # 410 pa.

You could take her to small claims court and use the checks as evidence she agreed to pay an additional $700.00, or whatever the sum was over the time indicated by the check dates. But even if you get a judgement in your favor, you will not likely collect since she's broke and will likely stay that way, unless the good sheriff begins paying her better for her services.

If it makes you feel any better, you just learned more about the law and justice system than any $700.00 college course could have taught you.

Florida has some very tough bad check laws. In FL, you could be entitled to treble damages on a bad check, plus atty fees, and a bad check written for $2000 can be a felony. Most counties in FL have a special office to deal with bad checks.

Problem is that two years might be too long to pursue this. You might want to make a call to your local bad check office to find out if the statute of limitations has run. At the time, it might have paid to have talked to a lawyer. The advice you received doesn't seem to follow the statute. Your case wasn't clouded by a post-dated check. Your deadbeat check writer wrote a check without having the funds in his account. The funds weren't there on the day he wrote and dated the check and for that matter they weren't there 5 days later either. While its true that his acct wasn't closed at the time, it doesn't have to be to get the enhanced damages and criminal liability. You certainly had a case against this guy, maybe you still do, whether or not there was criminal liability is a tougher call to make, probably not, but you could be entitled to a court judgment of $2000, plus $6000 more in damages.

Take the car back, go to jail for "theft", ask the judge how the court enforces payment on penalty, tell him to [bleep] off after not being allowed the same creedence, despite being a law-abiding, honest person, spend more time in jail plus fines.....


Lesson learned: They have more of a right to steal than you do to collect. Make sure no lawyer that turns politician ever gets elected. The law isn't there to protect honest, hard working people, its about money and who has it and who doesn't.

Looks like a judgement is as good as you'll get. May collect, may not, but the principle should always be present.

Judge Judy.

If she financed the car based on the down payment which should've been disclosed on the contract, you are on the hook for the balance if the car is repossessed (if they check terms of sale).

You should contact your attorney, but I think you'll be out of luck unless you file suit. The amount is nominal so you need to think that one over.

Or, don't sell a car to someone who can't afford to buy it. This is how we got into or current financial crisis.

Dan