Vendor Cheats Me Out of $170: My CRAFT SHOW Nightmare!

[ConnieR]

My advise is to contact your local District Attorney. This is the type of business that he is used to. I am sure he will give you the proper advise on how to go forward on this situation. Good luck.

FYI: I had over a $700 check from a host go bad and it took almost a year to get it! So I do feel for you!

 

[bsaxman]

Bummer!

For this reason I always push credit card orders. If someone wants to write a check, I ask them if it would be more convenient to use their debitcard instead, and i've noticed that most people forget we accept plastic!

Sorry about your bad customer... :-(

 

[chefann]

<snip> and i've noticed that most people forget we accept plastic!

I think that's because many home-party consultants don't encourage use of plastic because they pay fees to take them. We're spoiled, in that HO covers that for us, since the cards are processed by them and they don't charge us for that convenience.

 

[pamperedcheermom]

I did a craft show in November. The vendor (handmade tutu skirts) next to me chatted all day and had a good time. She ended up placing a $170 order with me at the end of the day! The packaged was delivered 11/21; I called and left her a message saying I hope she was enjoying her merchandise and to call me if she needs anything. Well, about 2 weeks later I receive notice that her check bounced!!! I call her 3 more times about this, leaving her nice messages regarding her check. I know people make mistakes and maybe it was a small mix up. One of those times I talked to a live person who said she was her sister and would give her the message about the check. Well, never heard from her so sent a certified letter (12-6) trying to collect my money. The letter was finally returned to me 12-30, unclaimed. I called her once more and left her a message saying that I was going to file an affidavit with the criminal district attorney if I did not hear from her within the next couple of days. I figured I would give her one more chance. Then, I called the church where they had the craft show and let them know that a fellow vendor had written me a bad check and was ignoring me! They called me back and gave me more info on her including her business partners number. It turns out I was not the only one she wrote a bad check to that day! Can you believe it!!! I called her business partner and told her my problem. By then, she was tired of hearing from all the people her friend cheated that day! She said she would call her for me.

Well, she called me today to say that she never received the merchandise and that she had called me and told me back in November!!!! What the &^$$&*&*!!!!!! I want to go to her house and beat her up. What a liar! She said she never got any of my 4 messages - only the first one, which is why she says she called to say that she never got the stuff. I told her that I didn't believe her and that she could fight with the constable when they come to her house for writing bad checks.

I'm going to call home office in the morning, but what are they going to do?? Its too late now, even if she really didn't get the stuff. Fedex says they left it at her door, but there is really no guarantee. I still really don't believe her though.

I want to scream!!!!!!

My partner and I had sorta the same thing happen to us at a Church booth. We took orders, placed the order the next day, but the HO was having some kind of problem delivering (this was back in September) and the order was held up for a over a week. It finally came in and we started delivering. One girl told us we could leave her order at her shop with her employee if she wasn't in. That's what we did and a few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the chairperson for the booth saying we never delivered the products and the girl wanted a refund. My partner called the shop and told the employee to look under the counter to see if the bag was still there and THERE IT WAS. Been there from the 2nd week of October to a few weeks ago and nobody saw it???
Another lady complained saying it took to long to get her products. Deliveries were made as soon as possible and sometimes we couldn't get in touch with the customers and didn't want to leave products on their doorsteps.
Seemed like no matter what we did, they weren't happy. Not sure why because we had a great time at the booth and everybody was so friendly. Then they turned on us!
No bad checks though so that's a good thing!

 

[chefann]

That's why I usually do direct shipping in a booth situation.

 

[RebelChef]

That just doesn't sound right to me. If the check is drawn on them don't they have to cash it for you regardless?

It doesn't, does it? Personally, I think it's a pretty shoddy way of conducting business.

When I moved, before I opened a local account (my credit union was 2 hours away), hubby would take his payroll check to be cashed at the bank it was drawn on. (Bank One which is Chase now.) They'd charge him every time for cashing it because he didn't have an account there. You'd better believe that made me open a local account in a hurry. NOT with Chase! lol It's also aggravating that customers are the only ones who can use the drive thru. If you have a check from a customer, to cash at their bank, you have to go inside. What's the difference? Your ID is going to look the same inside or out. Some rules are just too ridiculous.

 

[RebelChef]

Colleen, I'm glad to see my credit card company isn't the only one that tries to rip off its customers. My bill was due on the 2nd and I went online to pay it a little after midnight on the 1st. It wouldn't accept payment that day without a $15 rush processing fee. If I paid it without the fee, it would have been 1-2 days late because of processing time, incurring late fees. Why make the due date that date if it's not going to process? And why should it take 1-2 days for an online payment? I pay lots of things online and they credit immediately. I'm seriously considering closing that account. I can't stand dealing with companies that have deceptive trade practices. Charging a rush fee to accept payment on the due date is just that, in my opinion.

 

[DebbieJ]

That's why I usually do direct shipping in a booth situation.

Me too, even if I have to pay the difference. It's SOOOO worth my time, gas, and energy.

 

[Chef Kearns]

I hope you will ask for plastic in the future! I'm sooooo sorry this happened to you. It is such a pain in the butt dealing with dishonest people. She probably has a long list of tricks to use to not pay.

 

[Jennyskitchencorner]

My bank will gladly call the bank that the check is wrote on to assure there are funds available. Knock on wood this doesn't happen to me, my condolences.

 

[Smiley3]

Taking a check is always a scary event!! All we can do is hope for the best...I have (so far):angel: not had a returned check...and I have taken quite a few.: .Good luck with trying to retrieve your funds...just remember: what goes around will eventually come around and that TUTU woman will get hers...I am going to state at the end of my speil that Credit cards and Debit cards Perferred!!!

 

[ChefNic]

ChefJWarren ~
What ever happened with this?
Did it get taken care of?

 

[Rebeccascabinet]

I am sooo sorry. I had that happen once for a pretty signifcant amount and I just kept taking it to her bank (about every 2 weeks) until she had enough money to clear it. It finally cleared about 2 months later - right before Christmas. I am sure that was her christmas money, but she never returned my calls or letters. She left me no choice, but to keep trying her bank till I could get my money.

 

[Chef Endora]

I wonder if she has always been a toad, or is this a recent development?:yuck:

I thought there is a law that a bank has to cash a check that is drawn on them with ID of the payee as long as there are sufficient funds. At least it was that way before I changed careers. I did 10 years in banking and never heard of charging a fee to cash a check drawn on them providing there a sufficient funds in the account.

 

[ChefJWarren]

I did try to resubmit it to the bank, but she no longer had an account there. Also, (TOTALLY MY FAULT, I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER) it was an out of state check. She just moved here. I'm too trusting.

I turned it over to the district attorney. They have a special department just for going after hot check writers. It costs me nothing, they just fine the heck out of the bad check person! Ha Ha. I have talked with them and they needed more info because they couldn't find her. They finally did and she told them that I never "gave" her the merchandise. I told them that it was direct shipped and that I had Fedex confirmation. I faxed that over. I asked if it would be a problem that she didn't sign and they said no, as long as I have confirmation it was dropped at her house. Still waiting.

 

[dannyzmom]

I did try to resubmit it to the bank, but she no longer had an account there. Also, (TOTALLY MY FAULT, I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER) it was an out of state check. She just moved here. I'm too trusting.

I turned it over to the district attorney. They have a special department just for going after hot check writers. It costs me nothing, they just fine the heck out of the bad check person! Ha Ha. I have talked with them and they needed more info because they couldn't find her. They finally did and she told them that I never "gave" her the merchandise. I told them that it was direct shipped and that I had Fedex confirmation. I faxed that over. I asked if it would be a problem that she didn't sign and they said no, as long as I have confirmation it was dropped at her house. Still waiting.

I'm glad to hear you're going after her. I hate crooks

 

[pamperedlinda]

Good for you Jessica! I'd like to see her wrangle her way out of this one. That is just low! Keep us posted.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Jessica...I hope they get this resolved for you! What a cheat!