Yeah, whatever. In a perfect world, this is what you do, you get reimbursed for all your expenses, and go back to square one - not!

Fact is, the proprietor of J&H Racing made some bad business decisions, couldn't cover his expenses, and unfortunately, had to go under. *If* the money was there, the customers would be taken care of, but it isn't. If J&H files for bankruptcy, the best anyone can do is get in line and wait, and divy up what funds are left over, assuming there's anything left.

Sorry to hear about the bad luck, "sillinous", but you *did* get screwed. :(

FDNewbie - well, damn, thats some food for thought.

Personally, I've always been weary of credit cards. But, hey, if you work your way up to get 0% APR and get zero liability, its pretty damn useful for cases like this, huh. I am still young so I guess I better think about how to best go about taking the plunge, but I'm definitely going to manage it carefully.

Starting outs a bitch, but you gotta start somewhere, LOL.

Gil, I know you're 100% right that's the ideal situation. Still can't hurt to shoot for it. Plus I think the 2nd part of that statement still holds: a lawyer would know what the steps and consequences of filing for bankruptcy are, and instead of him taking our speculation, he can get hard facts telling him you have this many days to file for this, or we can go after these assets he has etc etc. Hopefully he can get SOMETHING man. Hopefully.

Nihilanthic, it's like the Chase commercials. Just cuz you have the power doesn't mean you should use it. Use it VERY carefully. I did it real simply. I had a spending budget per month. Instead of going to the bank (which was damn near impossible, since it would close at 3 or so, and I got outta class at 4 or 5), I'd pay for EVERYTHING on credit card, and kept receipts like a mofo. Added up what was spent each day, keeping tabs of how much money I had left to spend, etc. Come the end of the month, you just pay them w/ a check. End of story.

Of course, in the beginning, you can cheat a little by having your parents buy something big every now and then on your card, and them paying it off. The credit card company doesn't know the diff...all they see is that you can handle large purchases, and pay it in full, on time ;) Within 6 months, they'll prob. re-evaluate your credit limit, and increase it.

But yea...just be careful. Applying for cards and getting rejected hurts your credit. Paying late hurts your credit. Having TOO MUCH credit (or too many cards) hurts your credit. Bottom line, you gotta know what you're doing, your it'll hurt you too. But I don't wanna get into this too much and take away from this guy's thread. Moral of the story is, he had the cash (he wrote a check, right?) In the future, don't write that check. Pay by credit card. Then write the check to your credit card. That way, if/when you get suckered, you just cry to your credit card company, and they'll give you your money back. Sometimes they just refund you...other times they'll actually contact the other party's bank, and in a straight-up hostile takeover manner, they'll seize the funds from his bank account LOL. I only know that because they did that w/ $1000 I got suckered out of, and the guy disappeared. They pulled it from his bank account, w/o requiring his authorization, because I had documentation proving I had gotten scammed ;)

i didn't read the whole thread, but has anyone suggested going to your bank and placing a stop payment on the check?

i don't know your banks policies, but my bank will honor a stop payment even after the check has been cashed... they suck the money from his bank, and let him settle up on his end.

it may or may not work in your exact case, but it's definately worth a trip to the bank to find out!

:eek: What bank is THIS?! That's a double-edged sword btw...

there is your answer folks. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but I think your chances of getting the $4k back are 1 out of 10. If he didn't have the balls to call you and let you know what is up, and that your car is on its way back, he sure as hell doesn't have the balls or money to hand back. He knew his place was going down the shitter...he knows he is taking money...he knows he is going to get away with it.

If he has nothing...how is suing going to get it? Can;t take what people don't have.

You can't go after personal assets? I'm sure the guy owns SOMETHING... car, home, business, etc. Or is there a boundary between personal property and business property?

This is the best advice in this thread. Sorry about your misfortune but he will get whats coming to him, someway, somehow

I cannot tell you the exact verbage because I do not know it...but I am aware that depending on the business type, etc., no you cannot go after his house, etc. In fact, under bankruptcy each person is still allowed one home, one car, a specific amount of cash, certain amount of salary, etc. etc.

Only thing that can be done is garnish his future wages, which even that has a % cap and if he has a lot of debt, it will be pennies getting paid back compared to the sum owed and the big creditors will get first dibs.

I hate it for you. Been there but not quite as bad. I got an estimate for a new engine, paid half for it and then he almost tripled the cost in the end. He never let me know what was going on and it took him 10 months to fix it. He also locked up my 3rd gen and refused to let me have it for over a year. Everytime I asked, he had an excuse. Get a lawyer. I used a pre-paid legal service to help get my stuff back.

www.prepaidlegal.com

It's like $325 but they took care of all the paperwork I needed.

Good luck!

ah shit. The situation (school, etc.) you're in compunds the problem. That just sucks man. I feel for ya and good luck with this!

call bank to stop payment on check
notify bank of check fraud
look any invoice or contract for work on car
have a copy of check paid to business
document dates of events, when paid, no response, when got car back
make a list of how much you suffered in losses because of this
file a complaint with better business bureau BBB to have it documented
file a police report against business for grand theft
contact your local state attorney general
call your local bar association for referral on a good attorney
file a complaint with superior court to sue business/him/house/car
for embezzlement, grand theft, larceny, extortion, fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract, intensional infliction of emotional distress, loss of use, gross negligence and whatever else you can think of. good luck.

Man that totally sucks! I hate hearing crap like this!

^^^I agree!

The same thing happened to me when rotormotorsports.com folded after I ordered $2500 worth of stuff. Fortunately I paid by VISA so when I found out that they closed I just called the credit card company and told them the situation and they started on the paper work. To make a long story short VISA had my money back in 6 weeks (they had to investigate the alligations) and I learned my lesson. So I know your pain. Hopefully you can get some of your money back. You can't trust anyone anymore.

R.K.

PLEASE just take a trip down to the bank. you might go home a happy man.
and even if you don't, at least you tried.

when you come in with a problem like this, they're happy to help out most of the time.

If you wrote him a check maybe there is a chance that he hasnt cashed it yet. Cant you go to the bank and void the check or something?

damn that sucks man, sorry to hear

usually, the shops around here take the payment AFTER the car is done..now i know why he wanted the downpayment...to screw you!!

but damn, this is def not a civil case, he stole money from you and thats a criminal act, so its a criminal case (or something along those terms, but def not a civil case)..

Wow, that SUCKS DUDE@! I'm really sorry to hear that you got ripped off.

As a banker I can tell you once the check is written handed over to another party and cashed..., your chances of getting it back is nil. But if the check has not been cashed you can file a stop payment immediately with your bank for a small fee. Do some checking on his business, maybe you got lucky and he is a sole prop., and not a corportation.
Also, if you can prove in court that this person intended to, or was setting up to, fold his business prior to taking on your rebuild you might be in a more favorable position.
Consult an attorney.

You said 'money.'

Does this mean you paid him with cash? Or a credit card. If a credit card, file a claim with the CC company ASAP, you should get your money back.

crazyrx7
 

Not to add more injury to this already tragic tale, but when did rotormotorsports.com close???

My buddy just sent his motor over there to have some parts coated, although its been about 3 months. The motor blew a bearing after 2 months, and a very observant break in period, where the boost gauge was watched exclusively. The builder of the motor is potentially blaming a malfunctioning oil pump (which was also coated). How coating it would make it ineffective has yet to be explained. The new rebuild has not been done yet, so I don't know who will pay for it. Anyone have problems after having their oil pump coated??? The rotors, were also coated, and the bearings were brand new.

I like how many people that live in other states have knowledge about other state laws.

I'm not even going to venture in the "call the cops" story.

The shop guy had the car towed back to his house. He could have parted it out and sold it as a chop shop.

This is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. It doesn't take a lawyer to see that.

Furthermore, if the shop was incorporated, I would say "good luck" in getting ur money back.

I don't want to sound unsympathetic, but this shows that FD's are not for just everyone.

If u have to pay others to work on the car, u better have a good job to support this lifestyle since it's as expensive to raise a kid.

The situation really sucks. Batman is right though retrieveing money from an incorporated entity is near to impossible. If your in Illinois you should have given A-spec a call, they do high quality work. But I guess its too late for that.

It does cost $$ to incorporate.

Even if he didn't, lost the court case, it will be a whole other matter in collecting the $$$$$.

U don't want to know, it might make u more piss off and join the dark force.