A cautionary tale:
Recently my trusty car blew a head gasket. I was going to repair it myself and use it as an educational experience to my son. Unfortunately it might have backfired when I got stuck. My son is now convinced that he doesn't want to be a mechanic.
Anyway I had to break down and hire a mobile mechanic to help. The guy seemed to be a good worker and reliable so we agreed on a price of $300 and he said he also wanted $150 for a deposit for the machine shop to grind the valves.
I gave him $450 and he wrote me a receipt.
A week later I picked up the head and was dissapointed he hadn't deposited the $150 for the valve job, so I had to pay that.
I called the mechanic I had picked up the head and the mechanic made an appointment to come and put everything back together.
He never showed up, never answered his cell phone, and never returned my messages. He took the money and ran.
This is very depressing. I have been raised to trust people until proven otherwise. In my day a man's word was his bond. If a person told you he was going to do something and shook your hand it was as good as any contract.
Now my faith in humanity and my ability to judge people has been crushed.
So now the question is what do I do to get my money back? I went to the police and they are stretched so thin and have budget problems so they can't respond to property crimes less than $500.
I filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office. I went and bought a form for small claims court, but I have to pay $65 to file the papers, I am responsible for serving the papers to the guy, and even if I do get a finding that he owes me the money, no one will force him to give me that money and there is no way to force him to comply, so I am wondering if it is worth throwing the $65 into the hole.
I found this guy on Craig's List and he has since removed the posting and hasn't repeated. I emailed Craig's List & asked if they can do anything or keep him from advertising.
I thought about posting something warning people not to hire this creep. Would that be harassment and could I get in trouble?
I have wondered how to make this guy's life so miserable he would recant and give me the money back or fix the car but haven't come up with any ideas. I don't want to go to his house and slash his tires or anything that could land me in jail.
You are a creative bunch. Any ideas?