well, it could if there was a clear cut contract for paid services or goods .....not sure of the legality of it but its kin to basically buying a CD at K-Mart and then stopping payment on the check IMO ..the fact that he sent him a check, period, ...he is admitting some type of liability in the matter ....so I think JPM has a good case even if the guy tries to backtrack and say he wasn't at fault whatever you do JPM, don't lose that check!!!
Right now he doesn't even have the 300 dollars. After canceling the check he spent it, on what i'm not sure. So, if it were to go to small claims court and he was ordered to pay, he would still have to come up with the money. We are trying to do the same thing without the added hassal. I'm not sure on the whereabouts of the check. I would assume the bank still has it.
Id ask the bank to send it back to you. Yeah if he doesnt have the money, you will have a hard time collecting. The judgement does not mean hell have to pay you on the spot. Youll have to send him demand letters, documenting the judgement and if he still doesn't pay, you can have a collection company handle it, file a lien on something he owns or take him back to court for being in default. I could be wrong on the methodology, but its always worked that way to the best of my experience and understanding. A few years ago, I had an individual who stopped payment for services rendered because he didn't like my assesment of his classic vehicle. I took him to court, won and ended up hiring a collection company to recover the $400 he owes me. I still haven't seen any $$$. I could take him to court for being in default, but at this point, its just not worth any more $$$ on my part. Ive already spend more than what he owes me trying to recover it. Im pretty much just cutting my losses at this point and writing it off.
This is one reason why you ALWAYS get the insurance companies involved. It's nice that you wanted to help this guy out, and he's probably not a bad guy. But that doesn't mean it's ok to have your money ****ed up. It's a bummer to have your rates raised, believe me; no one's a worse driver than me and I've been in 4 or 5 fender benders since getting my lisence seven years ago, but tough luck, junior, you got in a wreck. That's life. Crap like this is why we have to pay those insurance rates. You should be having that company you pay hundreds of bucks to every month fighting this out with the other guy's company while you crack a beer in front of the tv with a brand new bumper on your car.
I agree about getting the insurance companies involved most of the time. I also agree about waiting (even though it can be a pain in butt) for an officer to arrive and write up an accident report. Quick story...... One day when I was in college several years ago I was driving home from class. I'm on T.C. Jester which is two lanes going each direction. I'm in the right lane while there is a van next to me in the left lane. The van (for whatever reason) comes over into my lane and makes contact, causing a little body damage (but you know how much even a 'little' body damage costs to get fixed correctly at a body shop...but I digress). We both pull over to exchange information. The driver very apologetically explains that she wasn't paying attention and that she was driving her 8 female passengers to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting [insert pithy comment here]. She says her organization will take care of everything, yadda, yadda. Two days later I get a call from my carrier. Apparently the driver (and her corroborating passengers) claimed I was the one who drifted out of my lane and caused the contact. To make a long story short each carrier picked up the tab for their insured. Of course I was steamin' about that. But needless to say I advise my family and friends to, as a rule, always call the police to come out and make an accident report. That way everyone's story is memorialized and there's less chance of what happened to me happening to someone else. Live and learn I guess.
Talked to our insurance company today. They said there was nothing they could do because we decided to settle it on our own. I guess i just have to hope the guy pays.
Hey guys just wanted to give those interested an update. 2 weeks ago i was given the first installment of 150 dollars via a money order. When i met the guy he apologized for everything, and said it was his fault. Yesterday afternoon i was given the last half of the money. So, everything ended up working out. Thanks for all the advice you guys provided. I'll definitely think twice about letting someone pay out of pocket if i'm ever put into that situation again.
I'm not sure if you guys know the continuing saga of Kimbo, but his internet legend-dom got him a real fight with a real fighter. He fought a BIG (over 6-5, 280-300 lb) Boston area cop/amateur fighter in a bare knuckles match in some basement somewhere and got exhausted and basically lost when he couldn't continue (despite the efforts of hi s crew), though he did bloody the other guy's face. I will upload to yousendit. It was good to see the man, the myth, the legend in action again, but also sad that it puts a bit of a dent in the legend of KIMBO, internet bread warrior. EDIT Here's the video: Kimbo meets his match
Small claims would eat up the signature on the check. That is admitting fault. If he wants to n**ga box, then call Rex Kwon Do.
