How best to handle this TV repair scam
April 1, 2013 11:27 AM   Subscribe

A family member took a TV into a repair shop and paid $125 cash up front. After several months of weekly excuses, we're certain the TV is never going to be repaired. How best can we handle this?

The repair shop seems to be a one-man operation in a small poor town. My family member, Bob, called repeatedly for status updates. The repairman always put him off, promising to call the next week. Eventually, he stopped taking calls from Bob's phone altogether, so Bob started borrowing phones. It's been 5 or 6 months now. We've also found some reviews online of other customers saying the same thing -- he kept their money and their TV.

We have a receipt, but paid with cash, so there's no way to get a bank to help. I'm not convinced the BBB will help. What's next? Lawsuit? Is that worth it for a couple hundred dollars, and even if we win, how to compel payment?
posted by mad bomber what bombs at midnight to Shopping (15 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I am not a lawyer, but I'd think the next step is small claims court. Get a judgement, then figure out how to get that judgement enforced.
posted by straw at 11:28 AM on April 1, 2013 [6 favorites]


Small claims court is exactly the proper forum for this.
posted by inturnaround at 11:29 AM on April 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


You could potentially take them to small claims court, but for $125, I'd just write it off as lesson learned and warn others about them on Yelp and similar sites.
posted by tau_ceti at 11:29 AM on April 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


The BBB is no help at all at situations like this, nor will making a nasty report to them change anything. Nthing small claims court.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:31 AM on April 1, 2013 [4 favorites]


Here's what I'd do. File in Small Claims court, THEN call The People's Court and see if they'll mediate your case.

You get a trip to New York, and an appearance fee. Any money won is paid out of a fund, so even the dipstick repairman will get paid. Everyone wins.

If you're really entrepreneurial, get the other folks on Yelp to file as well, or bring them as witnesses.

All you need is a receipt from the guy.

Another thing to do is to write a demand letter and send it Certified Mail. Bring the phone records. They're evidence too.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:32 AM on April 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'd go to the cops, sounds like a scam.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 11:37 AM on April 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


Best answer: This is theft; he has both the TV and your money. Call the non emergency line of the local police department.
posted by Kruger5 at 11:47 AM on April 1, 2013 [12 favorites]


Best answer: Please notify your state Attorney General's office as well.
posted by trunk muffins at 11:50 AM on April 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Yeah this probably qualifies as theft, depending on how exactly your state statute is worded, but the police will probably encourage you to go to small claims, unless they're just desperate for work. Once you've got a court order, if he still refuses to pay they should be more willing to help enforce the order.
posted by kavasa at 11:53 AM on April 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


You could potentially take them to small claims court, but for $125, I'd just write it off as lesson learned and warn others about them on Yelp and similar sites.

It's $125 and the tv, though. It's still in the shop.
Definitely small-claims court.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:08 PM on April 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks everybody! I guess we'll consider notifying the police. Bob's elderly and might not cooperate, we'll see.
posted by mad bomber what bombs at midnight at 1:18 PM on April 1, 2013


The BBB doesn't have "legal" authority, but involving them can prompt a business to do the "right" thing. A tailor ruined an item of mine and refused to admit it. I filed a BBB complaint and got them to pay for the replacement item.
posted by radioamy at 1:55 PM on April 1, 2013


Go to the store
Say "I want my money and TV back now, or I call the cops and this gets very inconvenient for all of us"
Get your money and TV back
Bash them on Yelp
Take your TV to another repair place

If they say "Go ahead, call the cops" go ahead and call the cops.
posted by signsofrain at 7:10 PM on April 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


For the money, small claims court, but it may not be worth the effort. For the TV itself (is it worth the effort?), you may be able to self-file for a writ of replevin [may be named something else, or modernized as "claim and delivery"], which will require that you pay for process service of the owner of the shop, after which you either proceed to a hearing or gain the legal right to appear and seize the property.

(I helped retrieve an antique stove that was left unrepaired in much the same manner, the owner having obtained such a writ, but it was worth potentially thousands of dollars.)

Note: The cops may not be able to help. After all, there's nothing legally mandating that the repair shop be able to repair your TV. Obviously, though, they may be able to mediate this all very much more quickly than the courts.
posted by dhartung at 3:52 AM on April 2, 2013


SignsofRain has it right. Let the guy call the cops while you're standing there. He's the one in the wrong here. Go get him, elderly or not!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 1:06 PM on April 2, 2013


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