This person wrote me a check for a thousand dollars. Well when I took it to the bank it bounced. So I approached the person about his check. He said that he would give me fifty dollars now and give me the rest later. Just hold on to the check. Well I never saw him again. So I went to talk to the D. A. and he said he couldn't prosecute the person for writing a bad check because he gave me fifty dollar and I excepted. This broke the original contract. So by excepting the 50 dollars I broke the original contract. What other action can I take.
2007-12-23 15:23:51 · 7 answers · asked by Robertus911 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
A cheque (UK) is a promise to pay a certain amount. You could have taken legal action against that person if you had not accepted the 50 dollars, but the DA is right, since you accepted the reduced amount u have no further course of action.
2007-12-23 15:29:34 · answer #1 · answered by Robin 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The DA is full of crap and just does not want to do his job.
If you did not give the guy a receipt for the $50, he has no proof he actually paid you anything. In fact it could be for a totally different debt. It could have been interest for the bad debt.
Also checks stand alone. You can not have "conditions" on a check that are not stated on the check itself.
Here is what you can do. Go to the bank the first day of the month early in the morning. It is quite likely he had just gotten paid and there will be money in the bank. If there is $1000, you got your money. If not, they will "bounce" the check on you again and will charge his account an "insufficient fund" fee. If you do that often enough, he will either get the hint and pay the check or he will close the account. If he closes the account, to go the DA again, tell them he gave you the check and then closed his account.
You can also track him down. Unless he moved to a different state and changed his name, there are a number of easy ways to find him.
1. Go to the post office that did the deliveries to his old address. Ask for his change of address. If he wanted his mail to continue to reach him, he filled out a card and the post office can give you the new address.
2. Do an Internet search.
3. If he was a professional such as a doctor, nurse, vet, etc you can check with the state board of that particular field and find him that way.
4. If you do find out where he works, you could show up there and ask for him and demand he gives you another check. The beauty of this is if he bounces a second one on you, you got him for two bounced checks. If he refuses to give you a new check, you can make a stink at his place of employment and that will not help his standing with the boss.
5. You could sue him in small claims court. First you have to find out where he lives so papers can be filed against him. You go to court with the check and if he shows up, you give the check to the judge and he will ask him if he wrote the check and if yes, the judge will order him to pay it. Now it is no longer just a check issue, it is a court ordered payment issue. If he does not pay, he is in contempt of court.
6. You could find a couple of scruffy guys and have them pay him a visit. (just kidding.)
2007-12-24 13:32:18 · answer #2 · answered by forgivebutdonotforget911 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A check is not a contract, it's a promissory note.
When the check bounced you could have both sued the writer for the value of the check plus damages, AND filed a police report for the crime of writing a bad check.
BUT.... when you took the $50, you effectively renegotiated the payment terms, so the criminal option is off. However, the guy still owes you $950, so you can go ahead and sue him for that.
Richard
2007-12-24 01:34:52 · answer #3 · answered by rickinnocal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
was it $50 in cash?if so you never got the fifty as far as i know.....go to the police station and file a complaint,you may not have a criminal case but he may pay to make it go away as the police will have to question him about it,are you sure you dont have a civil case?it cost like $50 to file the complaint in my state,and you dont need a lawyer to file it,he may want to pay when he gets the summons,if you file the civil complaint dont say anything about getting $50,thats funny I had the same thing happen to me,I wasnt as civil as you though i told him the hospital bill would cost more than what he owed me so he was better of paying me and he did but i dont recommend that..good luck
2007-12-23 23:42:54 · answer #4 · answered by cantonbound 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I would recommend consulting a local collections attorney. Even if the prosecutor won't do anything, you may have a civil remedy.
2007-12-23 23:37:50 · answer #5 · answered by Lesley 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't think so... i believe that if someone writes a check KNOWING there isn't enough in the bank, that is fraud. and illegal. you can sue them for three times the amount the check was written for, and you can win. if you have proof.
2007-12-23 23:32:56 · answer #6 · answered by jack spicer 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes because it is a legal binding contract
2007-12-23 23:33:38 · answer #7 · answered by juan o 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋